The Intolerant Middle Ages: A Reader

Description

In this collection of primary sources, Eugene Smelyansky highlights instances of persecution and violence, as well as those relatively rare but significant episodes of toleration, that impacted a broad spectrum of people who existed at the margins of medieval society: heretics, Jews and Muslims, the poor, the displaced and disabled, women, and those deemed sexually deviant. The volume also presents a more geographically diverse Middle Ages by including sources from Central and Eastern Europe as well as the Mediterranean. Each document is preceded by a brief introduction and followed by questions for discussion, making The Intolerant Middle Ages an excellent entrance into the lives and struggles of medieval minorities. Contents List of Figures Acknowledgments Introduction 1 Precursors and Origins 2 Anti-Judaism and Persecution of the Jews 3 Heresy and Inquisition 4 External Others: Contacts, Intolerance, and the Making of Medieval Europe 5 Interreligious Violence in the Mediterranean 6 People on the Margins of Medieval Society 7 Disease and Disability in Medieval Europe 8 From THe Holy to the Sinful: Attitudes Toward Women 9 The Control of Sexuality Sources Index of Topics