Christian Attitudes towards the Jews in the Middle Ages: a Casebook. Edited by Michael Frassetto
R. N. Swanson
Pp. viii, 222 , NY/London Routledge 2007 $110.00. The title for this collection of eleven essays is somewhat misleading. volume does not actually cover all the middle ages, being mainly limited chronologically to period 1000–1300, and usually geographically restricted western Europe. Patricia Skinner provides some earlier analysis in her ‘Conflicting accounts: negotiating a Jewish space medieval southern Italy, c.800–1150 CE’, while Nancy C. Turner pushes at other chronological boundary when discussing ‘Jewish witness, forced conversion, island living: John Duns Scotus on Jews Judaism’; but they are decidedly limits. Several derive from gathering American Historical Association Chicago 2003, perhaps functions best as set conference proceedings, rather narrow theme. editor offers an ‘Introduction: Christians Middle Ages’, which seeks validate volume's limitations, without looking beyond them. subsequent miscellaneous agglomeration. comes first, followed by three overlapping analyses situation early eleventh century. Daniel F. Callahan examines ‘The cross, Jews, destruction church Holy Sepulcher writings Ademar Chabannes’; Phyllis D. Justice questions ‘A great conspiracy? Worsening Jewish-Christian relations Sepulcher’; Michael Frassetto considers ‘Heretics century: Rodulfus Glaber Chabannes’. Callahan's piece comparatively insubstantial, he – she especially make compelling case seeing century aftermath al-Hakim's Sepulchre pivotal emergence generic Christian hostility For appear secondary focus two writers, clearly shows osmosis minds heretics. more isolated individual studies. Rhineland massacres First Crusade unavoidable historiography relations, here considered distinctive angle Matthew Gabriele's ‘Against enemies Christ: role Count Emicho anti-Jewish violence Crusade’. Peter Abelard's seemingly lenient attitude particularly with respect charges deicide, also important issue. In ‘Abelard Heloise Hebraica veritas’, Constant J. Mews that Abelard was tolerant often suggested. He demonstrates Heloise's close concern issues surrounding highlighting knowledge Hebrew against ignorance. reappears Alex Novikoff's discussion ‘Reason natural law disputational Alfonsi, Abelard, Yehuda Halevi’, again showing exactly beacon tolerance inter-faith respect. At point flow disrupted, jumping into thirteenth Thomas Renna's essay Golden Legend’. Maureen Boulton follows ‘Anti-Jewish attitudes Anglo-Norman religious texts: twelfth century’; Hoder retreats firmly ‘Henry II, William Newburgh, development English anti-Judaism’. This retrogression only emphasises status Turner's concluding outlier. Given precision articles, it hard avoid sense is, extent, bandwagon: too many articles have homed ‘attitudes Jews’ bit larger research projects. invalidate essays, give impression least authors theme ‘Christian towards subsidiary concerns. This, however, undermine quality engrossing. striking: where did get from? extremism equally striking; extremist, how much impact his ideas really have? issue, analysed elitist or intellectualised than outcome daily everyday interactions responses. There certainly good useful material here, comprehensive its might suggest.
The Heythrop Journal