Juifs et néophytes en Provence (1469-1525)
Subtitle: l'exemple d'Aix à travers le destin de Régine Abram de Draguignan (1469-1525)
By: Danièle Iancu-Agou.
Series: Collection de la Revue des Etudes juives -- 21
Publisher: Peeters
Published: 2001
Place of publication: Leuven
Language: fre; lat
Number of pages: 689
Subjects: Medieval History (c.500-c.1500); Judaism; France
Description: A study of Jews and neophytes in Provence, organized around the life of Régine Abram (1469-1525), a Jew who converted in 1472 and took the name Catherine Sicolesse. Examines various types of conversions. Mentions some forced conversions even under King René (1460-80), who declared himself a protector of the Jews. Pp. 107-121 deal with the changed policy towards the Jews, anti-Jewish riots, and expulsions between 1481-1500, following the incorporation of Provence into the kingdom of France. As a result of riots in Arles, Salon, and Tarascon between 1484-88, ca. 50 Jews converted. Examines Jewish reactions to local expulsions between 1493-96 and the global ban on Jews in 1500. Pp. 179-230 discuss the wave of "last recourse" conversions between 1501-25. Estimates that half of the Jewish community in Aix (the largest community in Provence) went into exile and half converted. Neophytes made up a microcosm of their own in Provence all through the 16th century. Special taxes imposed on them in 1503 and 1521 contributed to this.