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Begin forwarded message: > From: H-Net Staff via H-REVIEW <[email protected]> > Date: August 10, 2020 at 7:20:51 AM EDT > To: [email protected] > Cc: H-Net Staff <[email protected]> > Subject: H-Net Review [H-Judaic]: Aron-Beller on Herzig, 'A Convert's Tale: > Art, Crime, and Jewish Apostasy in Renaissance Italy' > Reply-To: [email protected] > > Tamar Herzig. A Convert's Tale: Art, Crime, and Jewish Apostasy in > Renaissance Italy. I Tatti Studies in Italian Renaissance History > Series. Cambridge Harvard University Press, 2019. viii + 388 pp. > $49.95 (cloth), ISBN 978-0-674-23753-7. > > Reviewed by Katherine E. Aron-Beller (Hebrew University of Jerusalem) > Published on H-Judaic (August, 2020) > Commissioned by Barbara Krawcowicz > > Tamar Herzig's meticulously researched and superbly written book > offers an intriguing view into the dramatic life story of Salomone da > Sesso, better known as Ercole de' Fedeli (ca. 1452/57-after 1521). A > renowned Renaissance goldsmith in northern Italy, Salomone lived for > approximately thirty years as a Jew. In 1491, he converted to > Christianity, as did his wife and four children, after he was accused > of sodomy; this was half a century before the first foundation in > Italy of institutions that specialized in the instruction of converts > from Judaism and Islam. Were it only a biography of the colorful life > of one of the most important virtuoso artists of the time, it already > would have been a valuable contribution to Italian social history, > art history, Jewish history, and Jewish/Christian relations. To her > credit, Herzig, a specialist in the religious, social, and gender > history of early modern Italy, provides a more ambitious and richly > textured panorama of the wider effects of Salomone's life as a Jew, > as a Christian, and as a goldsmith, in relation to his family > members, his patrons, associates--both Jews and Christians--and the > Renaissance culture and society in which he lived. > > Using a "paper trail," as she calls it, of documents--chronicles, > detailed letters, missives that prominent Renaissance women and men > dictated to their scribes, inventories, payment registers, > testaments, guild regulations, acts of endowments, and notarial > records from archives in Mantua, Bologna, Ferrara, Rome, Florence, > and Modena--Herzig offers a patient and thorough explanation of every > stage of Salomone's life (p. 7). She consistently reflects on events > from different angles, coming near to a total history of his life. > What is missing and tantalizing for both her and her readers are > Salomone's thoughts on his conversion, faith, and beliefs. Since > virtually no personal writings have survived, much of his inner life > remains obscure. His prosaic speech at his own baptism was probably > not his own work and a letter of 1504 to Isabella d'Este did no more > than excuse his delay in delivering her bracelets. > > Herzig provides a detailed insight into and analysis of the > "scintillating material culture" that Salomone created and for whom > (p. 9). Though the relationship with his patrons--Eleonora of Aragon; > her husband, Duke Ercole d'Este; and their children, Duke Alfonso I > d'Este and Marchioness Isabella d'Este, and their respective spouses, > Lucrezia Borgia and Duke Francesco Gonzaga --was an unbalanced one of > dominance and subordination, it was also one of interdependence, > especially for the female fashionistas who anxiously awaited the > arrival of their glittering ornaments. These included Lucrezia > Borgia's various pieces of jewelry; Isabella d'Este's _maniglie > _(bracelets), which were to decorate her bare arms in the summer, and > a gold lid Salomone made for her perfume pomander; a "Queen of > Swords" for the military leader Cesare Borgia, the son of Pope > Alexander VI; and an enameled gold chain and a large gold button > commissioned for Lucrezia's brother, Giovanni Borgia, as a gift for > the king of France, Francis I, in the hope of attaining a position at > court. When these creations were not completed on time, or when > Salomone cheated his patrons of money, imprisonment hung over his > head irrespective of whether he was a Jew or a Christian. > > The question at the center of Herzig's study is why did Salomone > convert? People are always products of complex societies, prejudices, > and challenges, and Salomone is obviously no exception. Herzig > follows the theories of Paola Tartakoff that Jews by and large > converted to extricate themselves from trouble or because they were > pursuing social and economic advantages (often illusory).[1] Herzig > believes that Salomone only converted because he had fallen out with > the Mantuan Jewish community, been accused of sodomy, and probably > been sentenced to death. It should be noted that only convicted Jews > were in the unique position of possibly reducing their sentence for > grave crimes such as sodomy by converting. > > But had Salomone convinced himself that converting would also bring > financial success? As Herzig confirms, there was a surge in the rise > of Jewish baptisms in northern Italy at this time. Northern Italian > lay rulers, even more than churchmen, took the lead in endorsing > Jewish baptism, offering Jews work, and protecting them from their > enemies. Nevertheless, this was not universal, as Salomone found out > when his supportive patrons died. Without this cushion, neophytes > were left on their own to deal with the lingering shadows of their > Jewish past. Salomone's lack of success, after 1505, when Duke Ercole > d'Este died confirms the precariousness of life for converts after > baptism. > > Herzig examines the consequences of Salomone's conversion on his > immediate family. She enters the minds of each and every one of them, > offering an understanding of their behavior and reactions to > Salomone's dramatic act and its substantial effect on their lives. > His wife, Eleonora--who is only named in the sources once she was > baptized--converted in order not to lose the custody of her young > children. Salomone's oldest daughter, Caterina, undertook a life of > celibacy in a Dominican tertiaries' house, thanks to Duke Ercole > d'Este's patronage. Salomone's daughter, Anna, was selected to become > a _donzella_,_ _one of the female attendants of Lucrezia Borgia. Here > she was provided with an education, clothing, accommodation, a dowry, > and a "suitable" husband. > > Not surprisingly, the first half of _A Convert's Tale_ focuses on > Salomone's Jewish life. In the second half of the book, Salomone has > become the Christian Ercole. Here we witness Ercole's efforts to fit > into that society although in many ways he remained an outsider in > both communities. The powerful last chapter, "Baptizing the Jews," > brings the two halves of the book together; it meticulously describes > the dramatic baptism ceremony of Salomone and his oldest son, > performed by the Bishop of Ferrara, Bartolomeo della Rovere, nephew > of Pope Sixtus IV. This ceremony, which took place in the Cathedral > of St. George, Ferrara, on Sunday October 9, 1491, was intended to > provide "a spectacular manifestation of Christianity's triumph over > Judaism" (p. 92). > > The first half of the book is divided into two parts. In part 1, "The > Virtuoso Jew" (chapters 1-5), Herzig focuses on Salomone's formative > years, his professional development as a Jewish goldsmith, and his > relations with Jews in Bologna and Mantua until his falling out with > community members of Mantua in 1491. Coming from a relatively > affluent family of moneylenders, Salomone was a quintessential > outsider. He broke away from the Jewish profession of moneylending, > possibly having gained knowledge of precious metals and gems when he > had assessed their value for securities for loans. He spent his early > life in Florence and then moved to Bologna with his mother and > siblings after his father's death. He married a daughter of the > banker Zinatan Finzi in about 1478, and the couple had four children > (two boys and two girls) before their conversion to Christianity (and > an additional three daughters when living in Ferrara as Christians). > By 1487 they had moved to Mantua since it provided better > opportunities for Jewish goldsmiths; Salomone was apprenticed to a > Christian master goldsmith, Ermes Flavio, in the service of Francesco > Gonzaga, the Marquis of Mantua. Here he became recognized as a > talented goldsmith and became aware of Flavio's professional > privileges as a master craftsman--a title that could not be bestowed > on Jews in Italy at the time. In 1489 he decided to move with his > family to Ferrara to benefit from a more stable income as a goldsmith > rather than depending on specific commissions. If his life had > continued in this vein, Salomone, as a gifted goldsmith who created > new artistic trends, could, as Herzig maintains, have pursued "a > successful artistic career without having to compromise his religious > beliefs" (p. 29). > > Salomone had already accumulated serious debts in 1485, and continued > to act irresponsibly, gambling or indulging in illicit pleasures with > men or women in taverns, and then demanding financial support from > his Jewish relatives. He also sometimes cheated his patrons of sums > of money to pay these debts, thus making them unsympathetic to his > subsequent plight. When, in March 1491, a case of blood libel > surfaced and a baby girl was found mutilated and murdered in the > center of Mantua, the Jews of that city--some of whom Salomone had > already alienated--accused him of being an informer and of > incriminating certain Jews for the murder. Believing him to be a > threat to their collective welfare, the Jewish community did not > hesitate to denounce him to the Gonzaga rulers. > > Part 2 of the book (chapters 6-9), which is labeled "Apostasy," > begins by studying the Mantuan Jews' accusation against Salomone for > sodomy and other transgressions (although Salomone's _processo_ > before Ferrara's criminal court is not extant). It suggests that > members of the Jewish community did not show solidarity in the face > of Christian authorities: indeed, they did not hesitate to lay > information before princely courts that implicated fellow Jews in > capital crimes. Among these was sodomy, and here Herzig concentrates > on homosexuality in Renaissance Italy: how the crime could be lodged > against certain Jews by their Jewish adversaries, how sodomy was > particularly associated with goldsmithery in Renaissance Florence, > and how Christians responded to the allegation. She then describes > Salomone's conditional pardon, which was granted by Duke Ercole, > under pressure from his wife Eleonora of Aragon who wanted Salomone > to continue creating dazzling jewelry for her. The second part of the > book ends with Salomone's baptism. > > Part 3 (chapters 10-15), "A Family of Converts," begins Ercole's long > and tortuous attempt to achieve a desired assimilation in Christian > Ferrara. This, I believe, is the most impressive section of the book > as Herzig comes into her own, on more confident terrain of Christian > history, and elucidates the consequences of conversion not only for > the goldsmith but also for his two daughters and two sons in the > first fifteen years after their conversion. Ercole assumes the > honorific appellation of Master Goldsmith and continues to work in > Ferrara. Continuing to rely on local Jews for redeeming pledged > objects meant that the neophyte maintained contact with the community > despite his new existence. As a Christian goldsmith, he produced at > least four reliquary tabernacles as part of large-scale, expensive, > and prestigious ducal projects, but his anomalous status, as a former > Jew who had aroused suspicion of dishonesty and deceit, prevented his > full integration into Christian society. > > Herzig also follows the trials and tribulations of Ercole's children. > One senses how much easier it was for the next generation to > assimilate into Christian society. Ercole's oldest son, Alfonso, > began making various pieces of jewelry for Lucrezia Borgia, was > chosen as the goldsmith responsible for the safekeeping of the > duchess's jewels during her trip from Rome to Ferrara, and by 1504 > was working alongside his father as a qualified goldsmith. Ferrante, > Ercole's younger son, was also trained by his father and became a > full-fledged member of his workshop. Caterina, Ercole's oldest > daughter, at the late age of twenty-two, was placed in a monastic > house in order that her father need not secure her a dowry. Herzig > believes that Caterina, like her mother, would probably not have > converted on her own initiative. Whether she was able to acclimatize > and be accepted in the nunnery is questionable. His second daughter, > Anna, as mentioned above, entered the court of Lucrezia Borgia. It > was from this time that Ercole's health began to fail, due to the > harsh working conditions of his workshop. > > Part 4 (chapters 16-20), "Between Jews and Christians," tracks Ercole > and his family from 1505 and the death of their princely protector, > Ercole d'Este, to 1522. No longer employed as a court goldsmith, the > Fedeli workshop suffered the consequences of continuous warfare and > the stormy years of the Italian Wars (1494-1530), the failing health > of Ercole, unrealistic promises for the date of finished commissions, > and recurrent epidemics. This was a difficult period for everyone. > Ercole again chose to resort to shady means to ensure an income, > which suggests that he was indulging in gambling or other > disreputable pursuits, or just had poor administrative and managerial > skills. Faced with financial calamity, particularly after the > untimely death of Lucrezia Borgia in 1519, the goldsmiths suffered > through unannounced visits of the dukes' officials and threats of > incarceration as well as actual imprisonment for both Ercole and > Alfonso. Without a strong matronly patron demanding glittering works > of art, Ercole's commissions ran dry and only a few works were > commissioned by Alfonso d'Este during the last years of Ercole's > life. Conversion had therefore been no guarantee of financial > security. One wonders, then, whether Ercole's experiences as a > high-profile goldsmith actually prevented others from taking the same > path. > > The wealth of insight and perspective that Herzig brings to her > monograph makes _A Convert's Tale_ a huge and important contribution > to the study of apostasy, micro-history, and religion. Her research > inspires her readers to continue at least one line of inquiry, which > is to find out how many Jewish women across northern Italy were > baptized and entered nunneries. I certainly would have appreciated a > list of archives and primary sources at the back of the book to > ensure easy access to Herzig's trail. Nevertheless, Herzig's work > will stand at the forefront of research on the conversion of Jews to > Christianity in Renaissance Italy for many years to come. > > Note > > [1]. Paola Tartakoff, "Testing Boundaries: Jewish Conversion and > Cultural Fluidity in Medieval Europe, c. 1200-1391," _Speculum _90, > no. 3 (July 2015): 728-62. > > _Katherine Aron-Beller is a visiting scholar of the Stephen Roth > Institute for the Study of Contemporary Antisemitism and Racism._ > > Citation: Katherine E. Aron-Beller. Review of Herzig, Tamar, _A > Convert's Tale: Art, Crime, and Jewish Apostasy in Renaissance > Italy_. H-Judaic, H-Net Reviews. August, 2020. > URL: https://www.h-net.org/reviews/showrev.php?id=55408 > > This work is licensed under a Creative Commons > Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States > License. > > -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Groups.io Links: You receive all messages sent to this group. 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