I came across an interesting concept they had back then called "La Convivencia" and it means "The Coexistence" in Spanish.
From: La Convivencia - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
From: Fred [Label] Ltd - Art, Artist, Gallery, London, Fred Mann
Don't forget also to read: Poetry and La Convivencia
a Convivencia ("the Coexistence") is a term used to describe the situation in Spanish history from about 711 to 1492 – concurrent with the Reconquista ("Reconquest") – when Jews, Muslims, and Catholics in Spain lived in relative peace together within the different kingdoms (during the same time, however, the Christian push to the south into Moorish land was ongoing). The phase often refers to the interplay of cultural ideas between the three groups, and ideas of religious tolerance. Toledo was a center of la Convivencia.
From: La Convivencia - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Convivencia – the Spanish word for living together harmoniously. It’s also the term used to describe the co-existence of different faiths in medieval Spain. For the Christians, Moors (Moslems)and Jews who had to do the co-existing, the code of convivencia was about tolerance. In places like Toledo, Córdoba and Granada it meant more than that: mutual respect and an appreciation of science and scholarship created towns which were more agreeable to live in than medieval Paris or London.
Spain, Al-Andalus, was under Moslem rule for more than 700 years, during which time religious toleration ebbed and flowed between the opposing poles of admiration and hostility. A process of Christian reconquista gradually gathered speed over centuries until Fernando and Isabel, los Reyes Católicos, initiated a ruthless programme of ethnic cleansing. This began by making everyday life difficult for Moors and Jews and culminated in forced conversions to Christianity and exile.
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Sensual and beguiling these songs may be, but it would be naïve and dangerous to romanticise convivencia. These days, everyone you talk to in Spain has a different take on it. For some it represents an agreeable exchange of cultura y gastronomía, others see it as a sort of apartheid. One thing is clear: it was a concept of its time, nothing to do with today’s well-meaning, amorphous jargon about multiculturalism or celebrating diversity. By the time most of this music was written, convivencia was waning, and as several of the lyrics make clear, Moors (Muslims) and Christians fought each other valiantly and fiercely. But it’s encouraging to be reminded of how hard they also tried to get on together, each tolerating, respecting and sometimes enjoying each other’s traditions. Convivencia has a lot to teach us today.
From: Fred [Label] Ltd - Art, Artist, Gallery, London, Fred Mann
Don't forget also to read: Poetry and La Convivencia