192
HISTORY
OF
THE
MARRANOS
pay
particular
attention
to
their
own
“New
Christian’
poor,
giving
them
preference
over
others,
and
making
additional
distributions
to
them
on
all
special
occasions.
So
great
was
the
importance
attached
to
this
that
an
apposite
prayer
was
prescribed,
to
be
recited
on
the
occasion
of
giving
alms.
For
a
prolonged
period,
the
Marranos
handed
on
from
father
to
son
the
secret
of
their
old
family
name
(gener-
ally
of
Hebrew
or
Arabic
origin),
though
they
were
known
to
the
outside
world
by
the
Gothic
appellations
which
they
had
assumed
from
some
noble
sponsor
at
baptism.
On
escaping
to
freedom,
they
hastened
to
reassume
them
(witness
the
Abendana,
Abrabanel,
Musaphia,
and
Usque
families,
to
cite
only
a
very
few
examples).
At
a
later
period,
when
the
hidalgo
tradition
had
become
more
deeply
rooted,
some
families
combined
the
two
elements,
like
the
Aboab
da
Fonseca.
Ultimately,
the
Hebraic
tradition
died
out
in
the
Peninsula.
Some
enthusiasts
now
invented
fresh,
characteristically
Jewish
appellations
for
themselves,
or
else
had
to
rely
upon
the
information
of
graybeards
who
had
known
their
families.
Thus
a
well-born
youth
named
d’Oliveira,
a
nephew
of
Mestre
Pedro,
the
Queen's
physician,
was
assured
when
he
reached
Safed
at
the
close
of
the
sixteenth
century
that
his
proper
family
name
should
be
Gedaliah.
The
less
fortunate
had
to
content
themselves
with
the
recently
acquired
Spanish
or
Portuguese
surnames
which
are
considered
characteristic
of
them
in
Northern
Europe.
It
was
long,
however,
before
the
tradition
of
descent
from
the
houses
of
Levi
or
of
Aaron
died
out.
We
have
seen
how
Villareal
prided
himself
upon
his
semi-priestly
ancestry;
and,
outside
the
Peninsula,
incongruous
juxta-
RELIGION
OF
THE
MARRANOS
193
positions
of
the
Hebrew
and
the
Gothic,
such
as
Levi
Ximenes
or
Cohen
Herrera,
became
common.
As
far
as
the
first
names
were
concerned,
biblical
ones
(generally
patriarchal)
were
apparently
adopted
in
secret
at
the
time
of
baptism.
The
story
was
current
of
a
Marrano
youth
who,
asked
his
name,
ingenuously
inquired
if
he
should
say
that
by
which
he
was
known
out
of
doors,
or
that
by
which
he
was
called
at
home.
Thus,
more
than
one
Inquisitional
martyr
was
mourned
abroad
by
a
name
different
from
that
under
which
he
had
suffered
at
the
stake.
Occasional
attendance
at
Church
was
of
course
neces-
sary.
To
be
sure,
it
was
reduced
to
a
minimum.
At
service
time,
for
the
benefit
of
the
neighbors,
the
parents
would
summon
their
children
in
a
loud
voice
to
go
to
mass.
They
would
then
sally
into
the
street
together,
but
would
employ
their
time
in
going
for
a
walk
or
paying
a
call.
Thus
it
was
possible
for
a
child
in
one
authenticated
case
to
reach
the
age
of
fourteen
without
having
attended
a
Christian
service
more
than
once.
This,
however,
must
have
been
exceptional.
For
those
occasions
when
they
were
forced
to
enter
a
Church,
it
is
not
surprising
that
they
had
an
uncomplimentary
formula
to
recite,
specifying
that
they
bowed
down,
not
to
the
images,
but
to
the
God
of
Heaven.
Amusing
expedients
were
resorted
to
so
as
to
avoid
any
active
participation
in
the
service.
Thus
when
the
Host
was
elevated,
they
would
happen
to
be
wiping
their
eyes,
and
thus
would
be
unable
to
see
it
in
time
to
perform
the
customary
genuflexion.
From
what
has
been
said
above,
it
should
not
be
imagined
that
the
religion
of
the
Marranos
was
simply