260 Popes and Jews, 1095–1291
JEWS AS hErETICS
In the ancient world Judaism was often equated with the Arian heresy because of
the latter’s emphasis on the humanity rather than the divinity of Christ. hence
Arians were often regarded as ‘judaizing’ Christians. In the high Middle Ages, as
an inevitable result of Jews and Christians living side by side in many parts of
medieval Europe, informal private discussions between the two religions concerning
their beliefs and practices were common. Yet unlike the formal publicized debates
such as the disputations of Paris or Barcelona, where Christians invariably won the
argument because Jews were under considerable constraints from both secular and
religious authorities not to offend Christian sensibilities, such private discussions
were less predictable.83 disputations between Christians and Jews were wide
ranging and exhaustive.84 Since, as we have seen, Jews were often as much, if not
more, conversant than their Christian counterparts with the new as well as the
old Testament— at least until the rise of scholasticism in the thirteenth century—
popes were often reluctant to permit such discussions.85
hence in 1233 Gregory IX urged the clergy of Germany to forbid Jews to dispute
their religion with Christians,86 while in 1259 Alexander IV forbade any lay person
to dispute, either publicly or privately, about the Catholic faith.87 That popes at
times made direct comparisons between heretics and Jews was not surprising since,
according to Christian theology, neither Jews nor heretics understood the truth of
Christianity, although for different reasons. In particular, as we saw in Chapter
Five, after the Inquisition began its work in the thirteenth century, Jews came to be
increasingly associated with heretics. not only did the papacy authorize the
Inquisition to enquire into the practices of both groups, but the definition of her
etic came to include those Christians who had reverted to or embraced Judaism. In
‘Turbato corde’ of 1264 Clement IV complained that he was immensely disturbed
that a number of Christians in Spain had defected to Judaism and ordered that
Christians found guilty of this must be treated as heretics. All Jews found to have
induced Christians to adopt their rites must be appropriately punished.88
Two decades later, in 1281, Martin IV made a similarly direct comparison when
he wrote to the archbishops and bishops of France describing the findings of
French inquisitors. his letter explained how in order to escape punishment for
their crimes, not only Christians accused of heresy, but also Jews who had been
83 other disputations during the period include the disputation of Ceuta (1179) and the
disputation of Majorca (thirteenth century). Whether these actually took place or were literary topoi
remains a subject of scholarly debate. See, for example, Maya Soifer, ‘You Say That the Messiah has
Come.. .’. The Ceuta disputation (1179) and its Place in the Christian AntiJewish Polemics of the
high Middle Ages’, Journal of Medieval History 31/3 (2005), 287–307, passim; 296.
84 Simonsohn, The Apostolic See and the Jews. History, p.331.
85 Grayzel, Vol. 2, p.68, footnote 3.
86 Gregory IX, ‘Sufficere debuerat perfidie’, Grayzel, Vol. 1, pp.198–200; Simonsohn, pp.141–3.
87 Alexander IV, ‘Justis petentium’ (17 September 1259), Grayzel, Vol. 2, pp.66–7; Simonsohn,
pp.216–18. This canon derived from a letter of Gregory IX excommunicating heretics but was soon
interpreted to apply also to Jews.
88 Clement IV, ‘Turbato corde audivimus’ (27 July 1267), Grayzel, Vol. 2, pp.102–4; Simonsohn,
pp.236–7.