Jews, Christian Society, & Royal Power in Medieval BarcelonaJews, Christian Society, and Royal Power in Medieval Barcelona traces the development of the Jewish community of Barcelona from 1050 to 1300. Elka Klein challenges the common perception that medieval Jews lived in relative isolation from the surrounding society, argues for the existence of significant cultural common ground between Jews and Christians, and proposes a new model for understanding Jewish communal autonomy and the relationship between Jews and their rulers. Klein traces the development of the Jewish community of Barcelona in two contexts: the parallel development of the city of Barcelona and the changing relationship of the king to urban communities, Jewish and Christian. Until the later twelfth century, the Jewish community, like the Christian city of Barcelona, was left mostly to its own devices by the counts of Barcelona, who had neither the interest nor the power to interfere in internal affairs. Klein draws on both Hebrew and Latin sources to offer a picture of a communal elite whose power, mostly informal, derived from their influence within the community. This system changed in the later twelfth century as a result of the expansion of comitial-royal administration. Four Jewish families used their positions as bailiffs, accountants, and secretaries to consolidate power within their community. The rule of this courtier elite was short lived; two episodes of communal conflict in the early thirteenth century and increased royal activism led to the institution of a new regime of elected officials in 1241. The book concludes with an examination of the new elite and the implications of increased royal interference in internal affairs. A central argument of Jews, Christian Society, and Royal Power in Medieval Barcelona is that it is necessary to distinguish between autonomy by default, resulting from the indifference of the ruler, who leaves a community to govern itself; and autonomy by design, guaranteed by selective royal interference. Against the view that royal interference undercut Jewish autonomy, Klein argues that autonomy by default left the community with insufficient power to enforce its decisions; because Catalan kings generally interfered in support of existing structures, autonomy by design in fact strengthened the community. This book contributes to ongoing debates about the relationship between the cultures of the three religions in the Iberian peninsula. It joins a body of recent scholarship arguing that medieval European Jews and Christians shared considerable cultural common ground. |
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Abraham ACA Canc ACA reg acculturation Adret al-Harizi Alfaquim aljama Assis Astrug authority autonomy Baer Baer's bailiff Barcelona's Jews Baron Bartzeloni beit din Bensch Benvenist de Porta Bonafos Bonanasch Bonjuda Cambridge Catalan Catalonia chap charter Chresches community of Barcelona conflict Crown of Aragon cultural David discussion document Dolsa economic elite Fuero Geonim Girona Gracian HaSardi Hebrew History ibn Hasdai Isaac Isadore Twersky Jerusalem Jewish and Christian Jewish community Jewish court Jewry Jews and Christians Jews of Barcelona Judah Juden Judíos king Klein leaders loans Maimonidean Maimonides Makhir Malet Millàs Miret and Schwab moneylending Muslims Nahmanides Narbonne nasi nesi'im officials Patrimoni Perfet perg prohoms rebels Regesta Régné relationship reprinted responsa role Saltell Samuel scholars Septimus Sheshet Sheshet Benveniste Shetarot Solomon sources Spain status Studies suggests Teshuvot thirteenth century tion Tolosa Torre twelfth century Universitat de Barcelona University Press urban Vidal Yitzhak Baer Zarch
Popular passages
Page 291 - Minorities in Medieval Spain: The Legal Status of Jews and Muslims in the Siete partidas," Romance Quarterly 33 (1986):275-87; Carpenter, Alfonso X and the Jews: An Edition and Commentary on Siete Partidas 7.24 "De los judios," University of California Publications in Modern Philology 115 (1986); L.