Reassessing Jewish Life in Medieval Europe
Reassessing Jewish Life in Medieval Europe
This book re-evaluates the prevailing notion that Jews in medieval Christian Europe lived under an appalling regime of ecclesiastical limitation, governmental exploitation and expropriation, and unceasing popular violence. Robert Chazan argues that, while Jewish life in medieval Western Christendom was indeed beset with grave difficulties, it was nevertheless an environment rich in opportunities; the Jews of medieval Europe overcame obstacles, grew in number, explored innovative economic options, and fashioned enduring new forms of Jewish living. His research also provides a reconsideration of the legacy of medieval Jewish life, which is often depicted as equally destructive and projected as the underpinning of the twentieth-century catastrophes of antisemitism and the Holocaust. Dr Chazan's research proves that, although Jewish life in the medieval West laid the foundation for much Jewish suffering in the post-medieval world, it also stimulated considerable Jewish ingenuity, which lies at the root of impressive Jewish successes in the modern West.
- Provides an important re-evaluation of current thought on the role of Jews in medieval Christian Europe
- Important reconsideration of how the medieval experiences of Jews in Europe shaped later events critical to Jewish history, providing a new perspective
- Provides a nuanced discussion of the interaction between two cultures, considering the perspectives of both
Reviews & endorsements
'A thought-provoking assessment of Jewish life in the Middle Ages that eschews persecutions and expulsions to concentrate on the remarkable growth in the number of Jews living under Christian rule between 1000 and 1500.' Anna Sapir Abulafia, Lucy Cavendish College, Cambridge
'Was there any place for Jews in medieval Europe after western Christianity reconceptualized itself as Christendom, thereby excluding all non-Christian 'others'? Were they just 'outsiders', the product of Christian 'Judeophobia'? In Reassessing Jewish Life in Medieval Europe, Robert Chazan provides a fascinating overview of Jewish life in medieval Western Christendom. He argues that although Jewish communities had to face grave difficulties, they were nevertheless successful in adapting themselves in an environment rich in opportunities, growing in number and wealth, and fashioning new forms of life and culture. A stimulating book, extremely useful for reconsidering the Jewish legacy in the post-medieval world.' Dominique Iogna-Prat, CNRS, University of Paris 1- Panthéon Sorbonne
'This study provides an intriguing interpretation of Jewish history in the Middle Ages and across the divide between the medieval and the modern. Writing with great authority and building on his own invaluable studies and a magisterial knowledge of others' scholarship, Robert Chazan argues that the negative experience of Jewish life in medieval Christian Europe was alloyed with much more that was positive, though traditionally undervalued by scholars. Together, they informed a broad set of practices and beliefs that were instrumental in the Jews' survival and prosperity long into the present. No student of medieval Jewish history or of the medieval legacy of Jewish life can ignore this wide-ranging and vigorous study.' William Chester Jordan, Princeton University
Product details
December 2010Adobe eBook Reader
9780511855498
0 pages
0kg
This ISBN is for an eBook version which is distributed on our behalf by a third party.
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Table of Contents
- Prologue: group narratives: tenacity and accuracy
- Introduction: the emergence of medieval European Jewry
- Part I. Historical Schemes:
- 1. The Jewish middle age: the Jewish view
- 2. The Jewish middle age: the Christian view
- 3. The European middle ages
- 4. The European Jewish middle ages
- Part II. Historical Themes:
- 5. Demographic movement and change
- 6. Economic activity
- 7. Status
- 8. Relocations within the Christian populace
- 9. Identity
- Epilogue.
