Publisher's Synopsis
The literature against the Jews was crucially influential in the shaping of Christianity during the centuries following the crucifixion, particularly during the period when Christianity remained outside official Roman toleration. And yet, this phenomenon did not decline in the Middle Ages when Christianity emerged as the supreme power in the Western world and Judaism could no longer threaten it in any way. The Jewish response to this literary practice did not arise for some time, yet from the 12th century onwards the effort to counter Christian ideological attacks became a central intellectual activity and a pressing concern on the part of Jewish scholars in the West. This collection of studies is devoted to an examination of the significance of this phenomenon as a longue durée process, and pursues its concerns from a variety of innovative perspectives.
