The image of Christians in medieval Ashkenazic rabbinic literature

Abstract

Recent scholarship has sought to characterize the way that Jews perceived Christians during the medieval period, focusing especially on polemical texts in which Jews shared their understanding of Christianity. 1 During the trial of the Talmud in 1240, Yehi’el of Paris was asked whether the restrictive talmudic legislation that was directed toward Gentiles includes Christians. He responded in the negative, a response to which we shall return. 2 (from Introduction)