Declassifying the Unclassifiable: The Moriscos and their Forgotten Legacy

My dissertation examines the often-neglected Aljamiado texts composed by Spanish Muslims during the sixteenth century. Written in a combination of Spanish, Arabic, and Aljamiado (Spanish transliterated with the Arabic alphabet) the manuscripts provide critical insight into the realities of Spain's persecuted Muslim population, known as Moriscos. This summer, I will continue my research on various Aljamiado manuscripts housed in Spain's National Library. The CGII's generous support will enable me to make the most of my extended stay in Madrid by enrolling in intensive Arabic courses while concurrently consulting manuscripts. This project seeks to understand the Moriscos' textual legacy from an anthropological perspective, rather than a philological or linguistic one as was often done in the past. The Moriscos' marginalized literature and their posterior historiographical representations shed light on the most pressing questions of the 21st century.