IMC 2007: Sessions
Session 1609: The Christian Work of Jewish Conversion
Thursday 12 July 2007, 11.15-12.45
Moderator/Chair: | Frans van Liere, Department of History, Calvin College, Michigan |
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Paper 1609-a | Exempla and the Dissemination of Ideas about Jews and Muslims in 13th-Century Europe (Language: English) Index terms: Ecclesiastical History, Sermons and Preaching |
Paper 1609-b | Aquinas on the Forced Conversion of Jews: Belief, Will and Toleration (Language: English) Index terms: Philosophy, Theology |
Paper 1609-c | Visual Polemics in 14th-Century Toledo: Anti-Jewish or Pro-Converso? (Language: English) Index terms: Architecture - Religious, Art History - General, Hebrew and Jewish Studies, Sermons and Preaching |
Abstract | Paper a: The 13th-century Latin Church waged an ideological battle of increasing intensity against both Muslims and Jews. While polemics made the most obvious contributions, a vast range of sources helped to form medieval Christians' attitudes towards their foes. This paper explores the role of one such source – collections of moralized sermon stories called exempla – in disseminating ideas about the non-Christian other beyond school and monastery into the city. These exempla present contrasting views of Jews and Muslims, which may have influenced their audience to conceive of each as a distinct and separate threat. Evidence from several 13th-century authors, including Jacques de Vitry and Stephen of Bourbon, is presented. |