Full Description
Joseph Shatzmiller's Collected Studies (Volume 3): Maimonidean Argument in France is a comprehensive compilation of his research on the intellectual and mental history of the Jews in Provence. The central focus of the book is the ongoing conflict between adherents of Maimonidean philosophy and its opponents, which persisted throughout the thirteenth century due to the movement of translations from Arabic to Hebrew. Additionally, the book delves into other important aspects of Provence Jewry, including their attitudes towards the Albigensian heresy and the intellectual contributions of figures such as Kalonymus ben Kalonymus, Jacob ben Eliyahu, and the renowned biblical commentator, astronomer, and philosopher Gersonides. Shatzmiller's research illuminates the significance of Provence Jewry within the larger framework of Jewish communities in the Mediterranean and western Europe during the Middle Ages.
"The collection of studies that these four volumes offer is the result of more than sixty years of commitment to scholarship. Like many colleagues, I relied in the beginning on printed material in books that dealt with law, religion, and secular literature. Then, as a disciple of George Duby, I discovered the world of archives and hand-written Latin manuscripts. The present collection relies, to a great extent, on previously unknown information discovered during years of search in the archives of Southern France, mostly on those of the county of Provence. They are situated in the cities of Marseille and Aix-en-Provence as well as the town of Digne. The legal registers of the High Middle Ages (1250-1350) as well as those produced by the counties' administration introduce us to the ordinary people of the region, to their daily life and to their preoccupations; their names are spelled out, the dates are recorded and the localities in which they were active are designated. At times these documents encourage us to endorse information found in contemporary literary sources and to overcome our hesitation and excessive caution concerning their value as historical evidence."
— Joseph Shatzmiller
Contents
Vol. Three: Maimonidean Argument in France
I Intellectualism in Provence
1 Kalonymos ben Kalonymos: 'A Scroll of Petty Apologetics' (Hebrew)
2 Rationalisme et orthodoxie religieuse chez les juifs provençaux au commencement du XIVe Siècle*
3 Albigensian Heresy as Reflected in the Eyes of Contemporary Jewry
II The Great Maimonidean Controversies
1 Towards a Picture of the First Maimonidean Controversy
2 The letter from Rabbi Asher ben Gershom to the Rabbis of France at the Time of the Controversy about the Works of Maimonides
3 Les Tossafistes et la première controverse maïmonidienne. Le témoignage du Rabbin Asher Ben Gershom
III The Ban of Barcelona
1 In Search of the "Book of Figures": Medicine and Astrology in Montpellier at the Turn of the Fourteenth Century
2 The Lion Figure for the Cure of Kidney and the Controversy over the Study of Philosophy at the Beginning of the Fourteenth Century
3 Between Abba Mari and Rashba: The Negotiations that Preceded the Ban of Barcelona (1303-1305)
IV Gersonides
1 Gersonides and the Jewish Community of Orange in His Time
2 More about Gersonides and the Community of Orange in His Time
3 Gersonide et la société juive de son temps
4 Un autographe de Gersonide : Examen graphologique
5 Compte-Rendu
V Outstanding Intellectuals
1 Jacob Ben Elie, traducteur multilingue à Venise à la fin du XIIIe siècle
2 Au service de la Cour de Naples : Kalonymos d'Arles et Judah Romano
Appendix: Early Academic Experiments
1 Une expérience universitaire méconnue : le Studium de Manosque, 1247-1249
2 Une expérience universitaire renouvelée : le Studium de Manosque (1299-1300)
