Severus of Menorca

'''Severus of Menorca''' was a bishop on the island of Menorca in the early 5th century.<ref name="Scott Bradbury">{{Cite book |last=Severus |title=Letter on the conversion of the Jews |date=2004 |publisher=Oxford Univ. Press |isbn=978-0-19-826764-5 |editor-last=Bradbury |editor-first=Scott |edition=Reprinted |series=Oxford early Christian texts |location=Oxford}}</ref>{{rp|1}} According to the ''Epistula Severi'' (''Letter on the Conversion of the Jews'' written by Severus of Menorca) Severus was at the forefront of a mass conversion where most of the Jewish population on the island converted to Christianity in 418 C.E.<ref name="Scott Bradbury" />{{rp|1}} The ''Epistula Severi'' explains that the relationship between the Jews and the Christians on the island grew tense when relics of St. Stephen arrived on the island approximately a year before the conversion began.<ref name="Scott Bradbury" />{{rp|5}} It took eight days to convert the Jewish population to Christianity<ref name="Scott Bradbury"/>{{rp|29.1}} and, in that time, the synagogue on the island was burnt to the ground<ref name="Scott Bradbury" />{{rp|13.13}} and 540 Jews were converted.<ref name="Scott Bradbury" />{{rp|29.2}}

== Authenticity of the ''Epistula Severi'' == Cardinal Baronius initially published the letter in 1594.<ref name="Scott Bradbury" />{{rp|9}} However, it was not until 1752 that it underwent its first scrutiny by R. P. Ludovici Du Mesnil.<ref name="Scott Bradbury" />{{rp|9}} He, like many scholars after him, was skeptical of the paper's authenticity.<ref name="Scott Bradbury" />{{rp|9}} Some scholars of the era claimed the letter was a "willful distortion or even an outright forgery".<ref name="Scott Bradbury" />{{rp|10}} Even today, some scholars doubt the letter's authenticity. A more recent scholar who believes the text is a forgery is Bernhard Blumenkranz.<ref name="Scott Bradbury" />{{rp|10}} Blumenkranz believes the text was written in the 7th century, arguing that the "atmosphere of physical intimidation" towards the Jews was common in 7th century Spain.<ref name="Scott Bradbury" />{{rp|11}} Furthermore, Blumenkranz mentions that the 7th century was an era notorious for the production of forgeries.<ref name="Scott Bradbury" />{{rp|11}}

On the other hand, Scott Bradbury argues against Blumenkranz, claiming that Bishop Severus of Menorca wrote the letter in 418 C.E.<ref name="Scott Bradbury" />{{rp|11}} Bradbury explains that the person who wrote the letter was exceptionally accurate when giving dates.<ref name="Scott Bradbury" />{{rp|12}} For example, Severus claims he arrived in Magona on Saturday the 2nd of February.<ref name="Scott Bradbury" />{{rp|12}} It turns out that the 2nd of February was indeed a Saturday and this detail is too accurate for someone from the 7th century.<ref name="Scott Bradbury" />{{rp|12}} Moreover, Bradbury discusses that other texts written in the 5th century allude to the Severus' letter. One of which is the ''De Miraculis Sancti Stephani'', a "collection of [St.] Stephen's miracles" written in around 425 C.E.<ref name="Scott Bradbury" />{{rp|13}} This document mentions the conversion of the Jews on the island of Menorca in 418 C.E., and the fact that St. Stephen's relics were monumental in the conversion.<ref name="Scott Bradbury" />{{rp|13}} Another document supporting this theory is a letter written to St. Augustine by Consentius, which also alludes to the events on Menorca.<ref name="Scott Bradbury" />{{rp|13}} Other scholars have given more evidence that the text was indeed written by a 7th-century Bishop. One such piece of evidence is that the anti-Semitic rhetoric Blumenkranz alludes to is "mild" in comparison to that of 7th-century writings.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Kraemer |first=Ross S. |date=December 2009 |title=Jewish Women's Resistance to Christianity in the Early Fifth Century: The Account of Severus, Bishop of Minorca |url=https://muse.jhu.edu/article/366692 |journal=Journal of Early Christian Studies |language=en |volume=17 |issue=4 |pages=635–665 |doi=10.1353/earl.0.0292 |issn=1086-3184|url-access=subscription }}</ref>{{rp|644}}

== Forced conversions == In the 5th century, Jews in the Roman Empire were protected from violence as well as from forced conversions by the law.<ref name="Paul Dilley">{{Cite journal |last=Dilley |first=Paul C. |date=2010 |title=The Invention of Christian Tradition: "Apocrypha," Imperial Policy, and Anti-Jewish Propaganda |url=https://grbs.library.duke.edu/index.php/grbs/article/view/1591 |journal=Greek, Roman, and Byzantine Studies |language=en |volume=50 |issue=4 |pages=586–615 |issn=2159-3159}}</ref>{{rp|607}} However, in the ''Epistula Severi'', it seems that this is not the case as the synagogue was burned to the ground.<ref name="Paul Dilley" />{{rp|610}} Furthermore, one of the Jews on the island of Menorca, Galilaeus, converts to Christianity out of fear of being killed by his Christian neighbours.<ref name="Paul Dilley" />{{rp|609}} Severus explains that Galilaeus is not really afraid of his Christian neighbours, rather he is afraid of being sentenced to “eternal damnation” (i.e. hell) if he does not convert to Christianity.<ref name="Paul Dilley" />{{rp|609}} Regardless of what Severus writes, it is clear that Galilaeus felt forced to convert, which is exactly what the law tried to prevent.<ref name="Paul Dilley" />{{rp|610}}

==References== {{Reflist}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Severus}} Category:Year of birth unknown Category:Year of death unknown Category:5th-century bishops in the Roman Empire Category:People from Ciutadella de Menorca Category:Spanish bishops Category:4th-century births Category:5th-century deaths