The Posen Library of Jewish Culture and Civilization, Volume 4 : Late Medieval Era, 1200–1500

Volume 4 of The Posen Library of Jewish Culture and Civilization, covering the later Middle Ages and highlighting the religious and cultural shifts of Jewish life at that timeAt the start of the late medieval period, the center of Jewish intellectual productivity had shifted from Muslim lands to Christian Europe. By its end, Jews had been expelled from most of western Europe. In the intervening three hundred years, Jews in western and central Europe, the Middle East, and beyond produced a wealth of literary, legal, philosophical, and scientific writings, primarily but not exclusively written in Hebrew. Adding to this rich abundance, Jewish migration fostered increased contact and intellectual exchange among far-flung Jewish communities, each of which possessed a distinct regional culture. This volume gathers over a thousand primary sources—texts, translated from more than a dozen languages, as well as a stunning array of visual images—that represent the breadth and diversity of late medieval Jewish cultures. The birth of kabbalah, a major development in the field of Jewish mysticism, represents a highlight of these years. Alongside religious, literary, and scholarly writings, the volume presents personal letters, chronicles, communal records, account ledgers, tombstone inscriptions, legal contracts, court testimonies, and much more, giving expression to the full sweep of Jewish civilization. The texts and artifacts in this volume offer an exciting window into the social, political, economic, and religious life of Jews in the late Middle Ages.