The Posen Library of Jewish Culture and Civilization, 3

Encountering Christianity and Islam, 600-1200

Franklin, Arnold E. (ed.)

This volume of the Posen Library of Jewish Culture and Civilization covers the religious, political, economic, and geographic transformations of Jewish life through the early Middle Ages
Volume 3 of the Posen Library of Jewish Culture and Civilization presents a time of tremendous vibrancy for Jews and Judaism in the early Middle Ages, with a comprehensive historical introduction to the period in over a thousand source texts, alongside the extant visual and material culture. The sources offer an unprecedented range of voices—male and female, religious and secular, mystical and rationalist, learned and commoner—from a historical period that is thoroughly unfamiliar to modern audiences. The volume captures passionate political controversies, virtuosic liturgical poets, learned scientific and medical texts, and spiritually uplifting philosophical and theological discussions, all alongside the plaintive voices of Jewish mothers writing to their sons, real-life cases of commercial transactions, legal contests, and the details of domestic disputes.