While the area of modern-day Spain (formerly a collection of kingdoms which included Castile, Aragon, and Catalonia) was still controlled by the Holy Roman Empire, the Catholic Church convened at the Council of Elvira where they issued 80 canonic decisions, many of which were intended to ostracize the Jews from the general Spanish community. For example, Canon 49 prohibited Jews from blessing their crops, and Canon 50 refused communion to any cleric or layperson that ate with a Jew.
Visigoth Rule (5th Century-711)
During the early 5th century, the Visigoths captured the Iberian Peninsula from Roman rule. While initially anti-Christian, the Visigoths later converted to Christianity and adopted many of the previous laws that existed during Roman rule. Under the rein of Toledo III, children of mixed marriages were forcibly baptized and Jews were barred from holding public office. The situation got progressively worse and, in 613, the Jews were ordered to convert to Christianity or face expulsion. Though many Jews chose to leave rather than convert, a large number of them still practiced Judaism in secret for centuries. In 633, the Fourth Council of Toledo, convened to address the problem of crypto-Judaism (Jews who converted to Christianity to escape persecution, yet observed Jewish law in private. The people who practiced this were also know as Marranos). While opposing compulsory baptism, the Council decided that if a professed Christian was determined to be a practicing Jew, his or her children were to be taken away and raised in monasteries or trusted Christian households.
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