HST 304/JST 304: Jews and Christians in the Middle Ages

The Jews constituted a permanent religious and legal minority in Christen Europe.  This course explores the complex relations between Jews and Christians in medieval Europe, paying attention to political, social, economic, and cultural issues.  The course highlights the unique dependency of Jews on secular monarchs, papal policies toward Jews, the role of moneylending in negative perceptions of Jews, Jewish-Christian polemical literature and public debates, physical violence against Jews, and daily social interactions between Jews and Christians.  While recognizing the uniqueness of the Jews, the course seeks to integrate the history of minority culture into the history of the majority. The course will utilize primary sources (e.g., historical narratives, imperial and ecclesiastical legislations; royal decrees; polemical texts, and theological treatises) as well as modern scholarship.  Using diverse sources is meant to impart the skills of textual interpretation, argumentation, and clear presentation. [HST/JST 304 Syllabus, Dr. Hava Samuelson]

This guide includes library resources related to topics studied in this course. For any questions or further assistance, please contact the librarian.