Health and Segregation: Iberian Jewish Responses to the Crisis of the Late Fifteenth Century

Abstract

In 1480, the Cortes of Toledo decreed the apartamiento (removal) of Jews from their quarters in urban areas, allowing a two-year period for its implementation. This radical decision to enforce the complete segregation of Jews into separate, closed quarters—preceded by similar but inconsistently enforced decrees across various Iberian regions and kingdoms throughout the fifteenth century and before—marked a turning point in Jewish life, leading to a rapid and severe worsening of the living conditions of Jewish communities. This paper investigates how these communities faced a major crisis with profound consequences for the health and well-being of their members. It examines the interplay between the three interconnected domains involved in this situation and their agents: the ruling society’s decree(s) and their effects, the collective responses of the Jewish communities and their representatives, and the organization of everyday preventive measures and healthcare provision in environments that were becoming increasingly unsanitary and insalubrious.