Esther in medieval garb

Throughout the Middle Ages, the Book of Esther served the Jews as a paradigm of Jewish-Gentile relations. Ch. 7 (pp. 143-155), "The State of the Jewish People in the Diaspora: Perception of Antisemitism, " discusses social, political, economic, and religious reasons given for antisemitism in medieval Jewish exegesis of Esther. Relates how the exegetes used Haman's words (Esther 3:8) to explain medieval antisemitism. They assert that Christians see the Jews as a cohesive people, dispersed among other peoples and opposed to them; as disloyal to the king and perhaps cursing the king and Christianity in their liturgy; their rites are strange; they are dishonest in trade; they are subversive, prone to plots, etc. This perception echoed the mood of late medieval Christian Europe which became less and less tolerant of Jews. (From the Bibliography of the Vidal Sassoon International Center for the Study of Antisemitism - The Hebrew University of Jerusalem)