696 tombs
of the town’s history. Up to about 1300 Arabic was the
language of written expression in Toledo and probably
oral communication as well. It was a center for transla-
tion of Arabic texts, often with the assistance of Jewish
intermediates. There was also a strong Jewish presence
in the city during this period, and it was a center of
Sephradic culture.
Until the Battle of Las Navas de Tolosa in 1212 when
the wars of the RECONQUESTmoved on to GRANADA,
Toledo was a frontier town where the Reconquests
attempted by the ALMORAVIDS and ALMOHADS were
stopped and from which military expeditions into the
Muslim south were organized and launched. The town
became more Christian and integrated with the north
during the 13th century. In the 14th century, the city was
hit by the PLAGUESof the midcentury and damaged by
the wars of succession of Peter I the Cruel (r. 1350–69).
These were followed by a monetary crisis in 1391 and
bloody anti-Jewish pogroms at the end of the century.
The INQUISITIONagainst false converts to Christianity
was very active in the city by the late 15th century. There
was considerable economic prosperity in the 15th cen-
tury, although Toledo lost its political and intellectual
importance to VALLADOLIDwith its university and royal
residence.
See alsoAL-ANDALUS;MOZARABS;SEPHARDIM.
Further reading:Yitzhak Baer, A History of the Jews
in Christian Spain,2 vols. (Philadelphia: Jewish Publi-
cation Society of America, 1961–1966); Roger High-
field, ed., Spain in the Fifteenth Century, 1369–1516:
Essays and Extracts by Historians of Spain (London:
Macmillan, 1972); Edward James, ed., Visigothic Spain:
New Approaches (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1980);
Derek W. Lomax, The Reconquest of Spain (London:
Longman, 1978); Bernard F. Reilly, The Contest of Chris-
tian and Muslim Spain: 1031–1157(Cambridge: Black-
well, 1992).
tombs SeeBURIAL RULES AND PRACTICES; CEMETERIES;
DEATH AND THE DEAD; GRAVEYARDS.
Tomislav (910–928)founder of the kingdom of Croatia
Probably the son of the ruler Mutimir (r. 892–
ca. 900/910), Tomislav has been assumed to have suc-
ceeded him by 910. Victorious after a period of anarchy
and tribal warfare, Tomislav was recognized as the leader
of the Croats. He unified the northern regions and DAL-
MATIA, thus becoming the true founder of the kingdom of
CROATIA. Tomislav maintained ties with the PAPACYand
prevented a possible religious dispute by uniting his
kingdom with ROMEand the Catholic Church. In 920
in return he was recognized as king by Pope John X
(r. 914–928) and perhaps crowned by the same pope by
- Though without a permanent capital, he established
a chancellery and conducted friendly diplomatic relations
with the BYZANTINEEMPIRE. He soundly defeated Bulgar-
ian invasions in the 920s. He died in 928, although
according to one source, he lived until 940.
See alsoSIMEONI.
Further reading:John V. A. Fine, The Early Medieval
Balkans: A Critical Survey from the Sixth to the Late Twelfth
Century(Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 1991);
Stanko Guldescu, History of Medieval Croatia(The Hague:
Mouton, 1964); Tajana Sekelj Ivancan, Catalogue of
Medieval Sites in Continental Croatia (Oxford: Tempus
Reparatum, 1995).tonsure Tonsure was the cutting or shearing of hair on
the head in a style that reduced it to a crown. Even with a
scriptural basis, it was an aspect of a rite of initiation into
the world of the clergy, signaling the advancing the recip-
ient from the status of minor orders. Its practice was
recorded in Gaul from the sixth century and was men-
tioned by GREGORYof Tours. In itself it did not constitute
ordination to the priesthood but was a sign of a higher
ecclesiastical status and was created in a style distinguish-
ing the clergy from mere penitents who had been obliged
to wear temporarily short hair. This signification was offi-
cially recognized from the ninth century in several
canonical collections. Wearing the tonsure was the mark
of clerics and was valuable because it helped them escape
the administration of secular JUSTICEin case of a crime. If
a cleric stopped cutting his hair in this manner, he could
be punished by the authorities of the church by the
removal of his ecclesiastical BENEFICESor incomes.
See alsoCLARENDON,CONSTITUTIONS OF; CLERGY AND
CLERICAL ORDERS.
Further reading:Roger E. Reynolds, Clerical Orders
in the Early Middle Ages: Duties and Ordination(Alder-
shot: Ashgate, 1999); Roger E. Reynolds, Clerics in the
Early Middle Ages: Hierarchy and Image(Aldershot: Ash-
gate, 1999).Torah SeePENTATEUCH.Torquemada, Tomás de (1420–1498) Dominican Spanish
inquisitor general
Of Jewish descent, Tomás de Torquemada was born in
1420 at Torquemada or VALLADOLIDin SPAIN, the nephew
of a cardinal, Juan de Torquemada (1388–1468). He
entered the DOMINICAN ORDER at Valladolid with his
uncle’s sponsorship and was trained in THEOLOGY. He was
prior of the convent of the Holy Cross at Segovia when in
about 1477 he became the confessor to Queen ISABELI of
CASTILE, then married to FERDINANDII of ARAGON.He
enjoyed great influence in the religious policies of the
two monarchs. He soon presented them with a memoran-
dum on an allegedly serious problem caused by the
numerous newly converted Jews, whom he accused of