CASTELLÓN DE LA PLANA

CASTELLÓN DE LA PLANA , city in the province of Valencia, E. Spain. Castellón was conquered by James i in 1233. After their rebellion in 1247, the Muslims who constituted the majority of the population were expelled. New settlers were encouraged to fill the vacuum, and soon afterwards it was decided to transfer the town to the fertile plain. From the period of the Reconquista the town was granted to feudal lords to whom all taxes, including those of the Jews, would be paid. Hence the paucity of the documents referring to the local Jews in the royal archives. The community prospered in the second half of the 13^th century. The Jews there engaged in agriculture, commerce, and crafts, mainly as weavers and saddle makers. By 1306 the Jews were already organized as an aljama. They had a synagogue, and land for a cemetery was acquired in 1320. In 1368 the town reverted to the king. There was constant friction between the Jews and the royal officials. In 1390 the Jewish community reached its peak, but it was destroyed in the anti-Jewish riots of 1391 in Spain. Despite the defense measures taken by the authorities, most Jews of Castellón were forced to convert. The New Christians (xristians novells) were not accepted by the local Christians. The community ceased to be sustained by the individual Jews who continued to live in the town. In 1400 the Jews asked permission to acquire a sefer torah. In the 15^th century, the baile general of the kingdom took steps to encourage Jewish resettlement. Under Fernando i (of the new Trastamara dynasty) harsh measures affected the Jews. His successor, Alfonso v, was a true protector of the Jews. In 1427 the baile general directed the municipality to allocate a street for Jewish residence. In 1423 the municipal authorities decided to force the Jews live in a separate quarter. In June 1427 the confines of the Jewish quarter were at last determined. Thirty years later we still find Jews living outside their quarter. When in 1451 the Jews complained concerning problems in the supply of kasher meat, the baile general ordered the local authorities to remove any obstacles. During Holy Week the Jews suffered from violence perpetrated by Christians. In 1468 the local baile summoned a resident of Castellón, Astruc Azar, to answer an accusation that he had contravened Jewish religious precepts in the course of a dispute with other local Jews. In 1473 he authorized Abraham Bitas and several Christians to search for treasure in the former citadel. The Jews of Castellón, 25 families, were forced to sell their property and presumably left Spain in 1492, from the port of Valencia.

bibliography:

J.A. Balbas, El libro de la provincia de Castellón (1892), 173ff.; Baer, Urkunden 1 (1929), 1088; Baer, Spain, 1 (1961), 195; Piles Ros, in: Sefarad 15 (1955), 94–97, 101. add. bibliography: J.R. Magdalena Nom de Déu, La aljama hebrea de Castellón de la Plana en la Baja Edad Media (1978); idem, Judíos y cristianos ante la "Cort del Justícia" de Castellón (1988); idem, "Nuevos datos sobre la aljama judía en Castellón de la Plana," in: Anuario de Filología 4 (1978), 199–246; J.R. Magdalena Nom de Déu and D. Sebastaia, Three Jewish Communities in Medieval Valencia (1990), 35–166.

[Haim Beinart]