Gilbert Crispin, Alan of Lille, and Jacob ben Reuben: A study in the transmission of medieval polemic

Abstract

One of the most influential medieval polemics against the Jews was Gilbert Crispin's Disputatio ludaei et Christiani, which was written in the late eleventh century and may reflect a genuine discussion between Crispin and a Jewish disputant.1 However, the dependence of the third book of Alan of Lille's Contra Haereticos 2 upon Crispin's disputation has not been widely recognized. Blumenkranz, for example, in discussing the impact of Crispin's work in the twelfth century, noted the resemblance between the Disputatio and the Dialogus inter Christianum et ludeaum ascribed to William of Champeaux,3 but made no mention of the far closer relationship between Crispin and Alan. 4 Vasoli, in a special study of the Contra Haereticos, also overlooked the major source of book three. Even d' Alverny, who noted the relationship between the two works, did not give a precise indication of its extent. Alan, she writes, "was inspired in large measure by the Disputatio of Gilbert Crispin and reproduced entire passages of this work."6 In fact, just under forty percent of Alan's polemic is copied almost word for word from Crispin or a previous digest of Crispin. (from Introduction)