The Unknown Neighbour

The Jew in the Thought of Isidore of Seville
Erscheinungsjahr 2006
ISBN: 978-90-04-14964-9
Verlag: Brill

Buch, Englisch, Band 59, 388 Seiten, Format (B × H): 164 mm x 243 mm, Gewicht: 857 g

Reihe: The Medieval Mediterranean

This book provides a detailed analysis of Isidore of Seville's attitude towards Jews and Judaism. Starting out from his anti-Jewish work De fide catholica contra Iudaeos, the author puts Isidore's argument into the context of his entire literary production. Furthermore, he explores the place of Isidore's thinking within the contemporary situation of Visigothic Spain, investigating the political functionalization of religion, most particularly the forced baptisms ordered by King Sisebut, whose advisor Isidore was thought to have been. It becomes clear that Isidore's primary goal is to produce a new "Gothic" identity for the recently established Catholic "nation" of Visigothic Spain; to this end he uses anti-Jewish stereotypes inherited from the tradition of Catholic anti-Judaism.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Drews, Wolfram

Fachgebiete

• Geisteswissenschaften Jüdische Studien Jüdische Studien
• Geisteswissenschaften Geschichtswissenschaft Geschichtliche Themen Kultur- und Ideengeschichte

Inhaltsverzeichnis

List of Abbreviations
Preface
Introduction
Chapter 1. The problem: Parameters of identity in Visigothic Spain
Chapter 2. Isidore of Seville’s de fide catholica contra Iudaeos
2.1. Structure
2.2. Argument
2.2.1. Sources
2.2.1.1. The biblical text
2.2.1.2.Church fathers
2.2.2.Method
2.3. Theology
2.3.1. Fides
2.3.2.Sacraments
2.3.3.Conversion
2.4. The addressees of Isidore’s anti-Jewish treatise
Chapter 3. Isidore’s attitude towards Judaism
3.1. A stereotypical image
3.2. The relationship between Jews and gentiles
3.3. The present position of the Jews in the economy of salvation
3.4. Eschatology
3.5. Ecclesiology
3.6. The theological position of Jews and Judaism in Isidore’s entire corpus
3.7. Isidore’s position compared to other patristic authors
Chapter 4. Isidore’s position on contemporary Jewish policies
4.1. Forced baptism and its consequences
4.2. The role of force and free will in conversion
4.3. “The Jew” as an outsider: the Catholic nation
4.4. Anti-Judaism as cultural and political “capital”
Chapter 5. Conclusion
5.1. De fide catholica within the context of Isidore’s theological argument
5.2. The reception of Isidore’s anti-Jewish treatise
5.3. Catholic faith, Jews, and Spanish identity
Bibliography
Sources
Secondary literature
Index

Über Autor(innen)

Wolfram Drews, Dr.phil. (2001) in Medieval History (Freie Universität, Berlin), holds the chair in medieval history at the University od Münster. He has been a Research Fellow at Bonn University (Reallexikon für Antike und Christentum) and has published extensively on late antique and medieval Spanish history, as well as on the history of Judaism.