Focusing on the intricate dynamics between Christians and Jews in medieval Provence, this volume by Joseph Shatzmiller delves into the historical experiences of the Jewish minority. Through meticulous examination of primary sources, it reveals their legal standings, challenges, and the societal impacts they had amid periods of tension. The work offers a comprehensive view of the interactions that shaped the social and political fabric of Western Europe during the Middle Ages, highlighting the complexities of coexistence and conflict.
Focusing on the intellectual history of Jews in Provence, this volume examines the conflict between Maimonidean philosophy and its critics in the thirteenth century, driven by the translation of texts from Arabic to Hebrew. It explores the community's perspectives on the Albigensian heresy and highlights influential figures like Kalonymus ben Kalonymus, Jacob ben Eliyahu, and Gersonides. Shatzmiller's research underscores the vital role of Provence Jewry in the broader context of Jewish life in the Mediterranean and western Europe during the Middle Ages.
Focusing on the medieval history of Jews in Provence, this volume presents a detailed examination of community dynamics, including regulations, tax systems, and rabbinic leadership. Joseph Shatzmiller, an expert in Provençal Judaism, explores the complexities of Jewish life, highlighting interactions with Christian neighbors and internal conflicts. His meticulous research and insightful analysis create a vivid portrayal of Jewish society, making this work essential for those interested in the historical experiences of Jewish communities in medieval Europe.
Focusing on the role of Jewish physicians in medieval Western Europe, this volume explores their significant contributions to the medical profession. Joseph Shatzmiller utilizes extensive archival research to illuminate the experiences of Jewish doctors, their collaborations with Christian counterparts, and their leadership within their communities. Topics include Jewish medical education, the involvement of women in medicine, and the economic aspects of the profession. This work offers a detailed examination of the intersection between medicine and Jewish history during the Middle Ages.
Tracing the global history of slaving over thousands of years, this title
reveals the shortcomings of Western narratives that define slavery by the same
structures and power relations regardless of places and times, concluding
instead that slaving is a process which can be understood fully only as
imbedded in changing circumstances.
Demonstrating that similarities between Jewish and Christian art in the Middle Ages were more than coincidental, Cultural Exchange meticulously combines a wide range of sources to show how Jews and Christians exchanged artistic and material culture. Joseph Shatzmiller focuses on communities in northern Europe, Iberia, and other Mediterranean societies where Jews and Christians coexisted for centuries, and he synthesizes the most current research to describe the daily encounters that enabled both societies to appreciate common artistic values. Detailing the transmission of cultural sensibilities in the medieval money market and the world of Jewish money lenders, this book examines objects pawned by peasants and humble citizens, sacred relics exchanged by the clergy as security for loans, and aesthetic goods given up by the Christian well-to-do who required financial assistance. The work also explores frescoes and decorations likely painted by non-Jews in medieval and early modern Jewish homes located in Germanic lands, and the ways in which Jews hired Christian artists and craftsmen to decorate Hebrew prayer books and create liturgical objects.0Conversely, Christians frequently hired Jewish craftsmen to produce liturgical objects used in Christian churches. With rich archival documentation, Cultural Exchange sheds light on the social and economic history of the creation of Jewish and Christian art, and expands the general understanding of cultural exchange in brand-new ways
Mit der Figur des Shylock im Kaufmann von Venedig (1605) hat Shakespeare das Bild des jüdischen Geldleihers als eines miesen, erbarmungslosen Wucherers für Jahrhunderte bestimmt. Dieses Porträt hat in der europäischen Imagination langfristig einen festen Platz erobert. Im Mittelpunkt der vorliegenden Studie steht das Gerichtsverfahren gegen einen jüdischen Bankier in Marseille im ersten Viertel des 14. Jahrhunderts – ein Verfahren, bei dem der ortsansässige Jude seine Reputation als Geldleiher zu verteidigen hatte. Im Zuge dieser Verteidigung stellte der Jude dem Gericht 24 Zeugen vor, allesamt Nichtjuden, die das hohe Ansehen bestätigten, das der Jude in der Stadt genoss. Joseph Shatzmiller verknüpft die persönliche story um den Juden Bondavid mit der Diskussion allgemeiner Probleme der mittelalterlichen Sozial- und Wirtschaftsgeschichte. Zwischen 'Wucherverbot' und Feindseligkeit einerseits und dem gleichmütig ertragenen Faktum geradezu universeller Verschuldung auf der anderen Seite existierte eine Spannung, die auch in den ambivalenten Haltungen von Christen gegenüber Juden Ausdruck fand. Die vorliegende deutsche Ausgabe enthält ein Nachwort des Übersetzers und eine Auswahlbibliografie neuerer Publikationen zum Thema (1990–2007).
