1.

Record Nr.

UNINA9910255259103321

Autore

Mell Julie L

Titolo

The Myth of the Medieval Jewish Moneylender [[electronic resource] ] : Volume I / / by Julie L. Mell

Pubbl/distr/stampa

New York : , : Palgrave Macmillan US : , : Imprint : Palgrave Macmillan, , 2017

ISBN

1-137-39778-0

Edizione

[1st ed. 2017.]

Descrizione fisica

1 online resource (XIX, 336 p. 24 illus.)

Collana

Palgrave Studies in Cultural and Intellectual History

Disciplina

940.902

Soggetti

Europe—History—476-1492

Labor—History

Social history

History of Medieval Europe

Labor History

Social History

Lingua di pubblicazione

Inglese

Formato

Materiale a stampa

Livello bibliografico

Monografia

Note generali

Includes index.

Sommario/riassunto

This book challenges a common historical narrative, which portrays medieval Jews as moneylenders who filled an essential economic role in Europe. It traces how and why this narrative was constructed as a philosemitic narrative in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries in response to the rise of political antisemitism. This book also documents why it is a myth for medieval Europe, and illuminates how changes in Jewish history change our understanding of European history. Each chapter offers a novel interpretation of central topics, such as the usury debate, commercial contracts, and moral literature on money and value to demonstrate how the revision of Jewish history leads to new insights in European history.