The Jews in the legal sources of the early Middle Ages

A collection of medieval legal texts promulgated in order to regulate the life of the Jews in Christian society. Includes laws of the Church and secular laws (which were combined in the Byzantine period) from the 5th-12th centuries. Among the topics discussed are penalties for attacking Jews and plundering their property, rules concerning conversion to Christianity, Jewish ownership of Christian slaves, marriage and sexual relations between Christians and Jews, posts and honors permitted Jews, rights of Jews in religious and commercial practice and travel, and charters granted Jews by Christian rulers. Includes secular texts, papal decretals, and conciliar canons. Some of the material contains unflattering depictions of Jews, describing them as defilers, stained with sacrilege, violaters of oaths, criminals, and enemies of the Church and fatherland. (From the Bibliography of the Vidal Sassoon International Center for the Study of Antisemitism - The Hebrew University of Jerusalem)