Bankert, Calvin

During the 16th century, Spaniards of Muslim heritage, known as Moriscos, were forced to convert to Christianity. As Spanish speakers wishing to preserve their Muslim culture, the Moriscos began to write in Spanish using Arabic script. This writing system, known as Aljamiado, manifests as a distinct new language with its own grammatical idiosyncrasies. This thesis focuses on a 16th century aljamiado manuscript – a religious text containing “teachings of much importance” – and the significance of such teachings from the Morisco perspective. The text emphasizes the rejection of transient worldly phenomena, which lead to suffering, and the importance of servitude to the divine Creator, which leads to peace. This thesis seeks to explain how this type of religious ideology might inspire harmony or adversity depending on the state of the shifting power structures that define a society. Following an analysis of the text, the author includes his edition of the manuscript.