Collected Studies (Volume 2)

InCollected Studies (Volume 2):Christian MajorityJewish Minority, Joseph Shatzmiller, the preeminent scholar of the Jews in Provence, examines the complex relationship between Christians and Jews during the Middle Ages. Through a careful analysis of historical documents and primary sources, Shatzmiller sheds light on the diverse experiences of the Jewish minority in Provence, from their legal status in Christian courts to the persecution and violence they faced during times of crisis. This book provides a nuanced understanding of the relationship between Christians and Jews in medieval Western Europe, and the role of the Jewish community in shaping the social and political landscape of the region.The collection of studies that these four volumes offer is the result of morethan sixty years of commitment to scholarship. Like many colleagues, Irelied in the beginning on printed material in books that dealt with law,religion, and secular literature. Then, as a disciple of George Duby, Idiscovered the world of archives and hand-written Latin manuscripts.The present collection relies, to a great extent, on previously unknowninformation discovered during years of search in the archives of SouthernFrance, mostly on those of the county of Provence. They are situated inthe cities of Marseille and Aix-en-Provence as well as the town of Digne.The legal registers of the High Middle Ages (1250-1350) as well as thoseproduced by the counties administration introduce us to the ordinarypeople of the region, to their daily life and to their preoccupations; theirnames are spelled out, the dates are recorded and the localities in whichthey were active are designated. At times these documents encourage usto endorse information found in contemporary literary sources and toovercome our hesitation and excessive caution concerning their value ashistorical evidence. Joseph Shatzmiller