Dying in the Law of Moses: Crypto-Jewish Martyrdom in the Iberian World

Miriam Bodian's study of crypto-Jewish martyrdom in Iberian lands depicts
a new type of martyr that emerged in the late 16th century -- a defiant, educated
judaizing martyr who engaged in disputes with inquisitors. By examining closely the
Inquisition dossiers of four men who were tried in the Iberian peninsula or Spanish
America and who developed judaizing theologies that drew from currents of
Reformation thinking that emphasized the authority of Scripture and the religious
autonomy of individual interpreters of Scripture, Miriam Bodian reveals unexpected
connections between Reformation thought and historic crypto-Judaism. The complex
personalities of the martyrs, acting in response to psychic and situational
pressures, emerge vividly from this absorbing book.