Harbingers of Jewish Modernity: Marranos, Renaissance Jews, and Court Jews

Before considering whether or not Marranos, Renaissance Jews, and Court Jews were harbingers of Jewish modernity, the boundaries of Jewish modernity itself should be defined. Jewish modernity began in the seventeenth century where, "according to nearly all views today, many of the elements that become constitutive of later Jewish life made their appearance to any degree (Myer)." Each of the groups mentioned appeared after the Spanish Inquisition in the fourteenth century, and were thrown into unfavorable conditions by that expulsion.
The Marranos were the Sephardic Jews who converted to…