Dear all

I recently discovered new ancestors for my children (shared, among others, with Miguel de Cervantes).
Mencia NUÑEZ (de TOLEDO), wife of Francisco NUÑEZ de TOLEDO, is indeed the sister of, among others, the famous Alvar Garcia DE SANTA MARIA, royal counsellor and chroniquer, and Pablo DE SANTA MARIA/Pablo de BURGOS who, as one of the most famous rabbi of Spain (called Solomon HALEVI), shocked his community by converting to catholicism in 1390, and becoming bishop of Burgos later...

The three of them were children were children of Isaac/Ishaq HALEVI and Maria BENVENISTE, Isaac being himself son of Abraham HALEVI who died before 1354

These two families, the HALEVI and BENVENISTE are probably the richest and most prestigious of the Burgos jewish community. Actually, the influence of the BENVENISTE go far beyond the limits of Burgos, as you find them in Narbonne, Aragon, Cataluña etc..

We know that Maria BENVENISTE had a brother called Meir, and that Solomon HALEVI/Pablo de BURGOS had a cousin called Abraham BENVENISTE.

But these two names are too common within the family to allow me a precise and trustworthy identification, so I would be very happy to get some help to reconstruct the BENVENISTE genealogy and, why not, the HALEVI as well. Any bibliographical suggestion will be welcome as well.

regards

antoine barbry

On Friday, October 7, 2022 at 2:11:29 PM UTC-7, antoin...@gmail.com wrote:
> Dear all
>
> I recently discovered new ancestors for my children (shared, among others, with Miguel de Cervantes).
> Mencia NUÑEZ (de TOLEDO), wife of Francisco NUÑEZ de TOLEDO, is indeed the sister of, among others, the famous Alvar Garcia DE SANTA MARIA, royal counsellor and chroniquer, and Pablo DE SANTA MARIA/Pablo de BURGOS who, as one of the most famous rabbi of Spain (called Solomon HALEVI), shocked his community by converting to catholicism in 1390, and becoming bishop of Burgos later...
>
> The three of them were children were children of Isaac/Ishaq HALEVI and Maria BENVENISTE, Isaac being himself son of Abraham HALEVI who died before 1354
>
> These two families, the HALEVI and BENVENISTE are probably the richest and most prestigious of the Burgos jewish community. Actually, the influence of the BENVENISTE go far beyond the limits of Burgos, as you find them in Narbonne, Aragon, Cataluña etc..
>
> We know that Maria BENVENISTE had a brother called Meir, and that Solomon HALEVI/Pablo de BURGOS had a cousin called Abraham BENVENISTE.
>
> But these two names are too common within the family to allow me a precise and trustworthy identification, so I would be very happy to get some help to reconstruct the BENVENISTE genealogy and, why not, the HALEVI as well. Any bibliographical suggestion will be welcome as well.
>

Looks like a good place to start would be:
Francisco Cantera Burgos, _Alvar García de Santa María y su familia de conversos. Historia de la judería de Burgos y sus conversos más egregios_ (Madrid, 1952)
(which I am unable to view)

I am finding some brief notes in:
Raúl Romero Bartolomé, _Bienveniste: Una saga de judíos «viejos» y cristianos «nuevos»_
It says that the cousin of Solomon/Pablo was Abraham Benveniste 'el Viejo' (whose namesake grandson was head rabbi of Castile), originally from Soria, and that Solomon's father, Isaac ha-Levi, came to Burgos from Aragon, and was "alguacil de Alfonso IX" (which I assume to mean Alguacil for the Jews)..

Thank you Todd for your useful advice. I had also noted the importance of F.. Cantera Burgos' book but it is unavailable, including for its 2007 reprint. The closest library where it is to be found is 250 kms away so I think I'll use the interlibrary loan scheme...

Several of the Benveniste family members were being called alongwith the word "nasi" ("prince") upfront. Certain authors pretend the use of the "nasi" epithet was reserved to the families supposed to be descendants from king David, but I am more convinced by the explanation it was used for families leading the community.
Any further explanation will be well received.
regards

PS: I recently discovered another interesting Jewish link with contemporary descent: Juan Ram, who escaped Zaragoza alongwith the Sanchez family members after the murder of Pedro Arbuès the Inquisitor, and settled in Sicily where he had a descent in the local nobility, is the son of Berenguer Ram and N..Ruiz of Teruel. N..Ruiz is herself the daugther of Juan "el generalero" and Donosa Ruiz. The latter is a descendant of the Najari family of Teruel/Albarracin where some mebers converted to christianity around 1391.
The Najari surname is presented by some authors as coming from what is now Irak, therefore what used to be Babylonia...

Antoine Barbry

I am reviewing the Cantera's book, -I am looking for a possible nephew of Salomo Halevi- but you may like to read also: https://www.amazon.com/Rabbis-Wife-Bishops-Historical-Novel-ebook/dp/B0987WJ2VQ

On Friday, October 14, 2022 at 9:14:31 AM UTC-7, antoin...@gmail.com wrote:
> Thank you Todd for your useful advice. I had also noted the importance of F. Cantera Burgos' book but it is unavailable, including for its 2007 reprint. The closest library where it is to be found is 250 kms away so I think I'll use the interlibrary loan scheme...
>
> Several of the Benveniste family members were being called alongwith the word "nasi" ("prince") upfront. Certain authors pretend the use of the "nasi" epithet was reserved to the families supposed to be descendants from king David, but I am more convinced by the explanation it was used for families leading the community.
> Any further explanation will be well received.
> regards
>
> PS: I recently discovered another interesting Jewish link with contemporary descent: Juan Ram, who escaped Zaragoza alongwith the Sanchez family members after the murder of Pedro Arbuès the Inquisitor, and settled in Sicily where he had a descent in the local nobility, is the son of Berenguer Ram and N..Ruiz of Teruel. N..Ruiz is herself the daugther of Juan "el generalero" and Donosa Ruiz. The latter is a descendant of the Najari family of Teruel/Albarracin where some mebers converted to christianity around 1391..
> The Najari surname is presented by some authors as coming from what is now Irak, therefore what used to be Babylonia...
>
> Antoine Barbry

Le lundi 6 février 2023 à 00:55:25 UTC+1, Laura Puras a écrit :
> I am reviewing the Cantera's book, -I am looking for a possible nephew of Salomo Halevi- but you may like to read also: https://www.amazon.com/Rabbis-Wife-Bishops-Historical-Novel-ebook/dp/B0987WJ2VQ

Dear Laura,

Thank you very much for this advice! I will definitely buy and read it. It's no surprise that the Halevi/Santamaria family is used as basis for novels, their history is beyond fiction!
regards

antoine