Jewish Knowledge of Christianity in the Twelfth and Thirteenth Centuries

Abstract

Accessing knowledge is becoming easier and easier as newer technological advances have been applied to the world of learning. In twelfth-century Ashkenaz, Jewish knowledge of Christianity was apparently very limited. The thirteenth century provides much more evidence of Jewish knowledge of Christianity and Latin, and direct Jewish contact with Christian sages and texts, than can be seen previously. Jews in Christian countries began writing specifically anti-Christian polemics only in the generation after Rashbam, and the first such works were written by authors with strong connections to Islamic Andalusia. If the Jews with the most knowledge of Christianity of the twelfth and thirteenth centuries were only slightly familiar with contemporary Christian theological developments, it is hardly likely that other Jews had such knowledge. Jews and Christians shared the same vernacular languages and often had the same concerns in terms of economics, health, and personal security. Keywords:anti-Christian polemics; Ashkenaz; Christianity; Islamic Andalusia; Jewish knowledge of Christianity; thirteenth Century; twelfth century