Jewish Law and Litigation in the Secular Courts of the Late Medieval Mediterranean
Rena N. Lauer
Although medieval rabbinic law generally forbade Jews from suing their co-religionists in state courts, this practice was widely accepted among some Mediterranean Jewish communities. This study focuses on one such community, the of Venetian Crete’s capital city Candia, during century following Black Death (ca. 1350-1450). Court records indicate that Candiote quite often sued each other Venice’s colonial courts. Unlike many communities, rabbinical leadership Candia took intra-Jewish litigation as a given. Moreover, these leaders themselves accessed justice to sue fellow Jews. Among factors motivated use court special accommodation given Cretan Jews: when dealt with Jews’ marriages or divorces, judges were obligated adjudicate according law. Many utilized personal privilege, and actively implemented it. The Catholic Crete learned about mostly litigants themselves, not panel experts, giving significant agency shaping only outcome marriage divorce cases but also government’s understanding
Critical Analysis of Law