The Jews in Christian Europe: 1400-1700.
Watts, John
John Edwards, The Jews in Christian Europe, 1400-1700 (London; New
York: Roudledge, 1991) x + 194 pp. ISBN 0-415-06213-6. No price given.
The paperback edition of John Edwards's subtle and wide-ranging
study includes some minor collections to the 1988 original and a short
afterword bringing the bibliography up to date. It is a difficult and
thoughtful survey, much of it creatively questioning the thesis that die
religious convulsions undergone by Christendom in this period gave rise
to rationalist and mercantilist mentalities which enabled Jewish
communities to flourish. Edwards reveals the long persistence of
mediaeval attitudes, particularly where the Counter-Reformation was most
effective, and suggests that economic pragmatism of a traditional and
straightforward (rather than new and enlightened) kind was generally the
cause of tolerance. Never does he overlook the many-sided nature of
either Judaism or Christianity: a most impressive feature of the book is
its treatment of each faith both at an individual and a communal level
and as a matter spiritual, social and, indeed, political. Inevitably,
this makes for a complex treatment, which could perhaps have been
carried out at greater length. As an introductory text for students,
this book has limitations, but it has a great deal to offer anyone with
time to think.
