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medieval worlds • no. 11 • 2020
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Verlag der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften Austrian Academy of Sciences Press
A-1011 Wien, Dr. Ignaz Seipel-Platz 2
Tel. +43-1-515 81/DW 3420, Fax +43-1-515 81/DW 3400 https://verlag.oeaw.ac.at, e-mail: verlag@oeaw.ac.at |
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DATUM, UNTERSCHRIFT / DATE, SIGNATURE
BANK AUSTRIA CREDITANSTALT, WIEN (IBAN AT04 1100 0006 2280 0100, BIC BKAUATWW), DEUTSCHE BANK MÜNCHEN (IBAN DE16 7007 0024 0238 8270 00, BIC DEUTDEDBMUC)
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medieval worlds • no. 11 • 2020, pp. 152-164, 2020/06/30
This paper addresses the question of how the Latin translation of the Talmud, known as the Extractiones de Talmud (1245), is related to the changing perception of the Jews and in particular to the reassessment of their legal status during the thirteenth century. It draws particular attention to Pope Gregory IX’s description of the Talmud as another law – an alia lex, as he called it – which challenged the traditional representation of the Jews as witnesses of the Christian truth, depicting them instead as heretics. This new perception of the Jews had far-reaching consequences for their legal status, for the popes used it to subject them to direct papal jurisdiction. To conclude, the question of whether the discovery of the Jewish »Oral Law« can be considered the cause of this new representation of the Jews in the strict sense is addressed. It is argued that it may, conversely, have been the intended representation of the Jews as heretics, who could thus be subsumed under papal jurisdiction, which was instrumental in bringing to light and decrying this body of rabbinic wisdom.
Keywords: Babylonian Talmud; Hebrew-into-Latin translations; canon law; religious law; blasphemy; heresy; Nicholas Donin; Gregory IX; Innocent IV