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IMC 2026: Sessions

Session 1706: Jewish Women and Conversion in the Medieval Crown of Aragon

Thursday 9 July 2026, 14:15-15:45

Organisers:Alexandra Guerson, New College, University of Toronto
Dana Wessell Lightfoot, University of Northern British Columbia
Moderator/Chair:Roisin Cossar, Department of History, University of Manitoba
Paper 1706-aOld Faith, New Faith, Difficult Choices: Jewish and Converso Women in Medieval Barcelona
(Language: English)
Anna Rich-Abad, Department of History, University of Nottingham
Index terms: Religious Life, Social History, Women's Studies
Paper 1706-bMixed Faith, Shared Strategies: Jewish Women and Conversas of the Falcó Family after 1391
(Language: English)
Alexandra Guerson, New College, University of Toronto
Dana Wessell Lightfoot, University of Northern British Columbia
Index terms: Religious Life, Social History, Women's Studies
Paper 1706-cConverso Women, Agency, and Social Mobility in Late Medieval Valencia, 1391-1492
(Language: English)
Guillermo López Juan, University of Northern British Columbia
Index terms: Gender Studies, Social History, Women's Studies
Abstract

The development of a new social class of conversos in 1391, during the systemic attacks against Jewish communities throughout the Spanish kingdoms, has for long been acknowledged as a transformative moment in Iberian history. This panel highlights the experience of Jewish women in three different communities - Barcelona, Valencia, and Girona in 1391 and in the decades that followed these violent attacks. From resistance to conversion to navigating new social and economic challenges, Jewish women and conversas sought strategies within their families and changing communities during this period of crisis and change.