Black Legend

The Black Legend (in {{ll|Spanish}}, leyenda negra) is the excessive depiction of Spain and the Spaniards as bloodthirsty and cruel, greedy and fanatical. The term was coined by Julián Juderías in his 1914 book La leyenda negra y la verdad histórica (The black legend and the historical truth). This is contrasted with the White Legend (in Spanish, leyenda rosa, which means rosy legend) which promoted an idealized view of Spaniards. Each term tends to satisfy a certain prejudice.

Modern historiography

Marcel Bataillon (1895-1977) revealed the extent of Erasmus's influence in Spain in Erasme et l'Espagne (1937). Erasmus was a humanist, and the popularity of his ideas in Spain goes against the stereotype of the country as being a monolith of fanatical Catholicism.

Related Topics:
Marcel Bataillon - Erasmus - Humanist

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~