Conflict and Religious Conversation in Latin Christendom: Studies in Honour of Ora Limor (Cultural Encounters in Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages)

The literature against the Jews (contra Iudeos) was crucially influential in the shaping of Christianity during the centuries following the crucifixion, particularly during the period when Christianity remained outside official Roman toleration. And yet, this phenomenon did not decline in the Middle Ages when Christianity emerged as the supreme power in the western world and Judaism could no longer threaten it in any way. The Jewish response to this literary practice did not arise for some time, yet from the twelfth century onwards the effort to counter Christian ideological attacks became a central intellectual activity and a pressing concern on the part of Jewish scholars in the West. Although both Latin and Hebrew polemics were often intended, first and foremost, for local audiences in order to satisfy local needs and intellectual demands, they also engaged each other, and raised urgent theological and cultural questions in doing so. This cultural discourse did not just find expression in polemical literature (Nizahon and Adversus Iudaeos) but also in a variety of other representations and daily practices. This collection of studies is devoted to an examination of the significance of this phenomenon as a longue durée process, and pursues its concerns from a variety of innovative perspectives that join together authoritative scholars from the field of Jewish-Christian relations. Front Matter ("Editorial Board", "Title Page", "Copyright Page", "Table of Contents", "Illustrations"), p. i Free Access ‘There is no Hatred in Polemics — And Liberty is Granted’, p. 1 Ram Ben-Shalom, Israel Jacob Yuval https://doi.org/10.1484/M.CELAMA-EB.1.102007 Jewish Romans, Christian Romans, and the Post-Roman West: The Social Correlates of the contra Iudaeos Tradition, p. 23 Paula Fredriksen https://doi.org/10.1484/M.CELAMA-EB.1.102008 Free Access Ecclesia and synagoga: The Changing Meanings of a Powerful Pairing, p. 55 Miri Rubin https://doi.org/10.1484/M.CELAMA-EB.1.102009 Emicho of Flonheim and the Apocalyptic Motif in the 1096 Massacres: Between Paul Alphandéry and Alphonse Dupront, p. 87 Benjamin Z. Kedar https://doi.org/10.1484/M.CELAMA-EB.1.102010 ‘Ante omnia, fratres carissimi, diligatur Deus, deinde proximus’: Herman/Judah’s Opusculum de conversione sua Re-examined, p. 99 Harvey J. Hames https://doi.org/10.1484/M.CELAMA-EB.1.102011 Semantics of Mohammed and Islam in Joachim of Fiore, p. 115 Alexander Patschovsky https://doi.org/10.1484/M.CELAMA-EB.1.102012 Martyrdom and Sexuality: The Case of an Eleventh-Century Piyyut for Hanukkah and its Visual Interpretation in the Fifteenth Century, p. 133 Sarit Shalev-Eyni https://doi.org/10.1484/M.CELAMA-EB.1.102013 Polemic and Pluralism: The Jewish-Christian Debate in Solomon ibn Verga’s Shevet Yehudah, p. 167 Jeremy Cohen https://doi.org/10.1484/M.CELAMA-EB.1.102014 Christians, Jews, and Hebrew Books in Fifteenth-Century Sicily: Between Dialogue and Dispute, p. 191 Nadia Zeldes https://doi.org/10.1484/M.CELAMA-EB.1.102015 The Foundation of Christianity in the Historical Perceptions of Medieval Jewry as Expressed in the Anonymous Various Elements on the Topic of Christian Faith (London, BL, MS Addit. 27129, pp. 88b–92a), p. 221 Ram Ben-Shalom https://doi.org/10.1484/M.CELAMA-EB.1.102016 From Polemics and Apologetics to Theology and Politics: Alonso de Cartagena and the Conversos within the ‘Mystical Body’, p. 253 Claude B. Stuczynski https://doi.org/10.1484/M.CELAMA-EB.1.102017 Between Calvinists and Jews in Seventeenth-Century Amsterdam, p. 277 Yosef Kaplan https://doi.org/10.1484/M.CELAMA-EB.1.102018 Back Matter ("Index", "Titles in Series"), p. 305 The literature against the Jews (contra Iudeos) was crucially influential in the shaping of Christianity during the centuries following the crucifixion, particularly during the period when Christianity remained outside official Roman toleration. And yet, this phenomenon did not decline in the Middle Ages when Christianity emerged as the supreme power in the western world and Judaism could no longer threaten it in any way. The Jewish response to this literary practice did not arise for some time, yet from the twelfth century onwards the effort to counter Christian ideological attacks became a central intellectual activity and a pressing concern on the part of Jewish scholars in the West. Although both Latin and Hebrew polemics were often intended, first and foremost, for local audiences in order to satisfy local needs and intellectual demands, they also engaged each other, and raised urgent theological and cultural questions in doing so. This cultural discourse did not just find expression in polemical literature (Nizahon and Adversus Iudaeos) but also in a variety of other representations and daily practices. This collection of studies is devoted to an examination of the significance of this phenomenon as a longue duree process, and pursues its concerns from a variety of innovative perspectives that join together authoritative scholars from the field of Jewish-Christian relations "There is no hatred in polemics and liberty is granted" Jewish Romans, Christian Romans, and the Post-Roman West: the social correlates of the Contra Iudaeos tradition Ecclesia and synagogue: the changing meanings of a powerful pairing Emicho of Flonheim and the apocalyptic motif in the 1096 massacres: between Paul Alphandéry and Alphonse Dupront 'Ante omnia, fratres carissimi, diligatur Deus, deinde proximus': Herman/Judah's Opusculum de conversione sua re-examined Semantics of Mohammed and Islam in Joachim of Fiore Martyrdom and sexuality: the case of an eleventh-century Piyut for Hanukkah and its visual interpretation in the fifteenth century Polemic and pluralism: the Jewish-Christian debate in Solomon ibn Verga's Shevet Yehudah Christians, Jews, and Hebrew Books in fifteenth-century Sicily: between dialogue and dispute The foundation of Christianity in the historical perceptions of Medieval Jewry as expressed in the anonymous Various elements on the topic of Christian faith (London, BL, MS Addit. 27129, pp. 88b-92a) From polemics and apologetics to theology and politics: Alonso de Cartagena and the Conversos within the 'Mystical body' Between Calvinists and Jews in seventeenth-century Amsterdam. Classical civilization (and hence contemporary Western culture) had deep roots in Afro-Asiatic cultures, but these influences have been systematically overlooked. This series of monographs and collections of articles addresses the social, religious and cultural interactions between East and West, particularly the alienation between East and West as the two parts of the Roman Empire grew apart from the fourth century onwards. To treat the cultures of Western Europe, Byzantium, and the Muslim East separately, as if too fundamentally disparate for substantive borrowings or syncretism to take place, is a drastic simplification of the cultural and religious encounters between East and West throughout Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages. (from the back cover)