The arts of intimacy : Christians, Jews, and Muslims in the making of Castilian culture

"The Arts of Intimacy is the story of Iberia's medieval cities - Cordoba, Seville, and above all Toledo - from the eleventh through the fourteenth centuries, a watershed in the making of a world recognizably our own. This illustrated book presents a dynamic vision of medieval Castilian culture and the Arabic, Hebrew, and Latin traditions that intertwined to create it." "The study of the arts, architecture, and literature of nascent Castile reveals what church synods and political charters have been careful to hide: that profound interaction takes place beneath the shroud of political rivalry and religious difference, and that Castilian Christian culture is forged in the many intimacies of Christians, Jews, and Muslims. In the end, The Arts of Intimacy reveals the extent to which Castilian identity is deeply rooted in the experience of confrontation, interaction, and at times union with Hebrew and Arabic cultures during the first centuries of its creation." "In this way the culture of medieval Spain is relevant to our own world both enriched and anguished by its diversity. The Arts of Intimacy is a vital book, dedicated to telling the story of the complexity of interactions between the three monotheistic religions in medieval Spain - yielding lessons that can be drawn through to our experience today. The volume serves as a souvenir of Spanish history and culture, and an invitation to examine how a complex culture is deeply shaped by both receptivity and conflict."--Jacket