This work by brother Alonso de Oropesa OSH († 1469) must be
considered in the context of the attacks on converted Jews in Spain
(and above all in Toledo), the so-called conversos. As a general of
the Order of the Hieronymites (since 1457), but also as a close
confidant and adviser of King Henry IV of Castile (1454-1474),
Alonso advocated a tolerant attitude towards converted Jews. In
1450, he began writing the 'Lumen ad revelationem gentium et gloria
plebis Dei Israel' - De unitate fidei et de concordia et pacifica
equalitate fidelium (f. 1-203, Tabula 204-207); in 1465, he
dedicated the completed book of 52 chapters to the Archbishop
Alfonso Carrillo of Toledo (1410-1485). The announced second part
of the work apparently was never written.In 1979, Luis A. Diaz y
Diaz prepared a Spanish translation based on the three manuscripts
then known. The present manuscript has not yet been acknowledged in
research; it thus constitutes the fourth manuscript known so far.
It was certainly written still in the 15th century and is made up
of parchment and paper leaves. Despite its significance, no Latin
text edition of the work has yet been prepared.
