From Christian Polemic to a Jewish-Converso Dialogue

This article presents a new reading of the polemical strategies and arguments embodied in the “anti-Jewish” tractate by the converted bishop of Burgos, Pablo de Santa María (c.1352–1435), the Scrutinium scripturarum (c.1432). It suggests the Scrutinium reflected a unique polemical dynamic that emerg...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Yisraeli, Yosi (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
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Published: Brill 2018
In: Medieval encounters
Year: 2018, Volume: 24, Issue: 1/3, Pages: 160-196
Further subjects:B Pablo De Santa María Gerónimo de Santa Fe Scrutinium Sripturarum religious polemics The Tortosa Disputation Christian Hebraism conversion conversos Christian mission esotericism philosophy Maimonides Maimonidean controversy Christian Kabbalah
Online Access: Volltext (Verlag)
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Summary:This article presents a new reading of the polemical strategies and arguments embodied in the “anti-Jewish” tractate by the converted bishop of Burgos, Pablo de Santa María (c.1352–1435), the Scrutinium scripturarum (c.1432). It suggests the Scrutinium reflected a unique polemical dynamic that emerged between converts and Jews following the mass conversions of 1391 and the early fifteenth century, regarding the spiritual assimilation of converts to their new faith. Grappling with the new challenges faced by converts, the Scrutinium articulated a Christian approach toward rabbinic traditions and Jewish skepticism that differed dramatically from the scholastic–polemical traditions that were employed at the disputation of Tortosa. Its introduction of rabbinic esotericism provided its Latin-reading audience new historical and theological grounds for the integration of rabbinic authority within Christian scholarship and history. In doing so, it embodied what could be considered a distinct “converso voice,” which challenged the customary religious boundaries between Judaism and Christianity.
ISSN:1570-0674
Contains:In: Medieval encounters
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.1163/15700674-12340020