Jews in early Christian law : Byzantium and the Latin West, 6th-11th centuries / edited by John Tolan, Nicholas de Lange, Laurence Foschia, and Capucine Nemo-Pekelman.

Turnhout, Belgium : Brepols, [2014]

BM535 .J497 2014

Eccl 330 J556 2014

9782503550527
2503550525

Contributions in English and French.

379 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm.

(OCoLC)877547794

Jewish-Christian relations, together forge a new look at a period in which sources about these communties are scarce: scattered references in narrative accounts (in Hebrew, Greek and Latin), complemented by archaeological evidence. A major source, and the principal object of this volume, is a series of laws, in Latin and in Greek: imperial legislation, conciliar canons, royal law (notably from Visigothic Spain). Yet these sources are difficult to interpret: are they the elucubrations of an intellectual elite, or do they reflect broadly shared ideas? What are the connections between these laws and social realities? While we can offer no clear answers to these issues, we offer a new assessment of the uses and pitfalls of these sources. A generation scholarship has called into question what is often referred to as the 'lachrymose' view of Jewish history as a vale of tears, an uninterrupted series of persecutions. While many of the legal texts adressed in this volume have been used to support the lachrymose view (since many attempt to restrict Jewish-Christian contact, while others involve exclusion of Jews from Christian society or even forced conversion), closer analysis of many of these texts gives evidence of close Christian-Jewish contact at all levels of society.

Jewish-Christian relations, together forge a new look at a period in which sources about these communties are scarce: scattered references in narrative accounts (in Hebrew, Greek and Latin), complemented by archaeological evidence. A major source, and the principal object of this volume, is a series of laws, in Latin and in Greek: imperial legislation, conciliar canons, royal law (notably from Visigothic Spain). Yet these sources are difficult to interpret: are they the elucubrations of an intellectual elite, or do they reflect broadly shared ideas? What are the connections between these laws and social realities? While we can offer no clear answers to these issues, we offer a new assessment of the uses and pitfalls of these sources. A generation scholarship has called into question what is often referred to as the 'lachrymose' view of Jewish history as a vale of tears, an uninterrupted series of persecutions. While many of the legal texts adressed in this volume have been used to support the lachrymose view (since many attempt to restrict Jewish-Christian contact, while others involve exclusion of Jews from Christian society or even forced conversion), closer analysis of many of these texts gives evidence of close Christian-Jewish contact at all levels of society.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

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