John of Valladolid

John of Valladolid (born 1335) was a Spanish Jewish convert to Christianity.

An able speaker, and possessed of some knowledge of rabbinical literature, he persuaded King Henry II of Castile that he could convince the Jews of the truth of Christianity if they were obliged to listen to him and to answer his questions. An order was accordingly issued, compelling the Jews to attend John's lectures in their synagogues and to discuss them with him. In company with another Jewish convert, John traveled throughout the Castilian provinces and lectured and debated in the synagogues, but with lack of success.

At Ávila, he assembled the Jews four times and discussed with them the tenets of Christianity before numerous Christian and Moslem audiences. At Burgos he summoned Moses ha-Kohen of Tordesillas to a religious controversy in the presence of Archbishop Gomez of Toledo.

John endeavored to demonstrate from the Bible the Messianic claims and the divinity of Jesus, and the truth of the dogma of the Trinity and of other Christian doctrines. Thus, for instance, he claimed that the final closed "mem" used in Isaiah ix. 6 is an allusion to the Immaculate Conception. Moses ha-Kohen refuted arguments of this kind, and the controversy was broken off in the middle of the fourth sitting.

Valladolid

Valladolid (/ˌvælədəˈliːdˌ -ˈlɪd/ or /ˌbɑːjədəˈliːd/, Spanish: [baʎaðoˈlið]) is a city in Spain and the de facto capital of the autonomous region of Castile and Leon. It has a population of 309,714 people (2013 est.), making it Spain's 13th most populous municipality and northwestern Spain's biggest city. Its metropolitan area ranks 20th in Spain with a population of 414,244 people in 23 municipalities.

The city is situated at the confluence of the Pisuerga and Esgueva rivers, and located within five winegrowing regions: Ribera del Duero, Rueda, Toro, Tierra de León, and Cigales. Valladolid was originally settled in pre-Roman times by the Celtic Vaccaei people, and later the Romans themselves. It remained a small settlement until being re-established by King Alfonso VI of Castile as a Lordship for the Count Pedro Ansúrez in 1072. It grew to prominence in the Middle Ages as the seat of the Court of Castile and being endowed with fairs and different institutions as a collegiate church, University (1241), Royal Court and Chancery and the Royal Mint. The Catholic Monarchs, Isabel I of Castile and Ferdinand II of Aragon, married in Valladolid in 1469 and established it as the capital of the Kingdom of Castile and later of united Spain. Christopher Columbus died in Valladolid in 1506, while authors Francisco de Quevedo and Miguel de Cervantes lived and worked in the city. The city was briefly the capital of Habsburg Spain under Phillip III between 1601 and 1606, before returning indefinitely to Madrid. The city then declined until the arrival of the railway in the 19th century, and with its industrialisation into the 20th century.

Valladolid (Spanish Congress Electoral District)

Valladolid is one of the 52 electoral districts (Spanish: circunscripciones) used for the Spanish Congress of Deputies - the lower chamber of the Spanish Parliament, the Cortes Generales. It is one of the nine electoral districts which correspond to the provinces of Castile and León. Valladolid is the largest municipality accounting for 275,000 voters - nearly two thirds of the total electorate. Medina del Campo and Laguna de Duero are the next largest municipalities although both have less than 20,000 voters.

Valladolid produced a close result in 2004 and was a key PSOE target seat in the 2008 election however in the end the People's Party (PP) increased their lead over the PSOE.

Boundaries and electoral system

Under Article 68 of the Spanish constitution the boundaries must be the same as the province of Valladolid and under Article 140 this can only be altered with the approval of congress. Voting is on the basis of universal suffrage in a secret ballot. The electoral system used is closed list proportional representation with seats allocated using the D'Hondt method. Only lists which poll 3% or more of all valid votes cast, including votes "en blanco" i.e. for "none of the above" can be considered for seats. Under article 12 of the constitution, the minimum voting age is 18.

Valladolid (disambiguation)

Valladolid may refer to:

In Spain:

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