Table of Contents

Acknowledgments ix INTRODUCTION: The Medieval Poetry of Jewish Martyrdom 1 ONE: Faith and Fury: Medieval Jewish Martyrological Poetry and Resistance to Conversion 17 TWO: "The Fire Does Not Burn": The Emergence of a Martyrological Motif 45 THREE: Burning Jewish Books 70 FOUR: Wheels within Wheels: Literature, History, and Methodology 100 FIVE: Une Bele Qedushah: Troyes 1288 126 SIX: Jonathan and His Magic Book: Paris 1290 155 Epilogue 180 Bibliography 189 Index 211

Promotional Information

Einbinder uses very impressive tools, and her work is on the cutting edge in Jewish studies. I know of no other book in English that takes this poetry so seriously or that is as successful in integrating the literary, historical, and religious dimensions of the poems. -- Marc Saperstein, George Washington University Einbinder approaches her subject beautifully and is always aware of the interplay of poetry and history. This is an interdisciplinary work of the first order--one that reads poetic texts as historical texts embodying the changing and developing attitudes of a community. Its subtle analysis also illuminates the complex interaction of Christianity and Judaism. -- Thomas Head, Hunter College and The Graduate School, City University of New York

About the Author

Susan L. Einbinder is Professor of Hebrew Literature at Hebrew Union College in Cincinnati.

Reviews

"An impressive examination of the character and function of the poetry of martyrdom commemorating Jews who perished at the hands of their Christian countrymen... Cogent, clearly argued, and inclusive in contextualizing historic, social, cultural, and political materials... An excellent scholarly work."--Choice "Einbinder should be congratulated ... for giving this material its long overdue attention and for generating further debate. No longer sidelined, Einbinder's 'patient poetry' has at last found a sympathetic interpreter."--Rebecca J.W. Jefferson, Journal of Jewish Studies "A serious work, attentive to nuanced meanings and readings of primary sources. Students of interdisciplinary studies will find something of merit in this affecting study."--Stephen D. Benin, Religious Studies Review "Susan Einbinder's impressively researched and movingly written book opens a window on a world that not too many medievalists are familiar with: that of the poetic commemoration of Jewish suffering in medieval France."--Renate Blumenfeld-Kosinski, Speculum