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OverviewIn 1341 in Aragon, a Jewish convert to Christianity was sentenced to death, only to be pulled from the burning stake and into a formal religious interrogation. His confession was as astonishing to his inquisitors as his brush with mortality is to us: the condemned man described a Jewish conspiracy to persuade recent converts to denounce their newfound Christian faith. His claims were corroborated by witnesses and became the catalyst for a series of trials that unfolded over the course of the next twenty months. Between Christian and Jew closely analyzes these events, which Paola Tartakoff considers paradigmatic of inquisitorial proceedings against Jews in the period. The trials also serve as the backbone of her nuanced consideration of Jewish conversion to Christianity-and the unwelcoming Christian response to Jewish conversions-during a period that is usually celebrated as a time of relative interfaith harmony. The book lays bare the intensity of the mutual hostility between Christians and Jews in medieval Spain. Tartakoff's research reveals that the majority of Jewish converts of the period turned to baptism in order to escape personal difficulties, such as poverty, conflict with other Jews, or unhappy marriages. They often met with a chilly reception from their new Christian brethren, making it difficult to integrate into Christian society. Tartakoff explores Jewish antagonism toward Christians and Christianity by examining the aims and techniques of Jews who sought to re-Judaize apostates as well as the Jewish responses to inquisitorial prosecution during an actual investigation. Prosecutions such as the 1341 trial were understood by papal inquisitors to be in defense of Christianity against perceived Jewish attacks, although Tartakoff shows that Christian fears about Jewish hostility were often exaggerated. Drawing together the accounts of Jews, Jewish converts, and inquisitors, this cultural history offers a broad study of interfaith relations in medieval Iberia. Full Product DetailsAuthor: Paola TartakoffPublisher: University of Pennsylvania Press Imprint: University of Pennsylvania Press ISBN: 9781512825459ISBN 10: 151282545 Pages: 224 Publication Date: 23 October 2023 Audience: College/higher education , Tertiary & Higher Education , Undergraduate Format: Paperback Publisher's Status: Active Availability: In Print  This item will be ordered in for you from one of our suppliers. Upon receipt, we will promptly dispatch it out to you. For in store availability, please contact us. Table of ContentsNote on Names, Money, Terminology, and Transliterations Map 1 Map 2 Map 3 Introduction PART I. BEFORE THE TRIBUNAL Four Arrests Chapter 1. Defending the Faith: Medieval Inquisitors and the Prosecution of Jews and Converts Chapter 2. From Resistance to Surrender: Jewish Responses to Inquisitorial Prosecution Four Condemnations PART II. AT THE FONT OF NEW LIFE Alatzar and Abadia, Baptized Chapter 3. Between Doubt and Desire: Jewish Conversion, Converts, and Christian Society Chapter 4. Homeward Bound: The Fates of Jewish Converts Two Converts, Repentant PART III. BY THE FIRE The Intervention Chapter 5. Apostasy as Scourge: Jews and the Repudiation of Apostates Chapter 6. Recruiting Repentance: The Re-Judaization of Apostates The Road to the Stake Conclusion List of Abbreviations Notes Glossary Bibliography Index AcknowledgmentsReviewsTartakoff's facility with the diverse and abundant source base makes her book an important new contribution to scholarship on medieval conversion. * <i>American Historical Review</i> * A shining example of microhistory. . . . Between Christian and Jew is a careful and well-written study which through its clear focus raises important questions about medieval Jewish apostasy-for Jews and Christians of the time and for the apostates themselves. * <i>Jewish Book World</i> * Between Christian and Jew represents a rare combination of a highly original study that makes major historiographical contributions and engages in sophisticated source analysis and in a moving story that resurrects historical subjects in a way that promotes the reader's curiosity and empathy. It not only offers a constructive new way of viewing the role Jewish converts played in Jewish-Christian coexistence that will inspire innovative future research but also stands as a model of readable history writing that other scholars should aspire to emulate. * <i>Comitatus</i> * An outstanding book and a compelling read, this is the first thorough account of a trial of Jews by the papal inquisition, under whose jurisdiction Jews did not normally fall. This is also the first work to attempt an overview of the phenomenon of Jewish conversion to Christianity in medieval Spain prior to the watershed of 1391, and Tartakoff's conclusions regarding the motives for conversion are very important. * Mark Meyerson, University of Toronto * ""Tartakoff's facility with the diverse and abundant source base makes her book an important new contribution to scholarship on medieval conversion."" * <i>American Historical Review</i> * ""A shining example of microhistory. . . . Between Christian and Jew is a careful and well-written study which through its clear focus raises important questions about medieval Jewish apostasy-for Jews and Christians of the time and for the apostates themselves."" * <i>Jewish Book World</i> * ""Between Christian and Jew represents a rare combination of a highly original study that makes major historiographical contributions and engages in sophisticated source analysis and in a moving story that resurrects historical subjects in a way that promotes the reader's curiosity and empathy. It not only offers a constructive new way of viewing the role Jewish converts played in Jewish-Christian coexistence that will inspire innovative future research but also stands as a model of readable history writing that other scholars should aspire to emulate."" * <i>Comitatus</i> * ""An outstanding book and a compelling read, this is the first thorough account of a trial of Jews by the papal inquisition, under whose jurisdiction Jews did not normally fall. This is also the first work to attempt an overview of the phenomenon of Jewish conversion to Christianity in medieval Spain prior to the watershed of 1391, and Tartakoff's conclusions regarding the motives for conversion are very important."" * Mark Meyerson, University of Toronto * Author InformationPaola Tartakoff is Professor of History and Jewish Studies at Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey and author of Conversion, Circumcision, and Ritual Murder in Medieval Europe, also available from the University of Pennsylvania Press. Tab Content 6Author Website:Countries AvailableAll regions |
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