Thinking with Jews: Jews and Judaism and the Struggle for Orthodoxy in Late Medieval and Reformation England
Bortz, Sean Benjamin
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2018-09-17
Abstract
In late medieval and Reformation England both defenders of the church and its dissidents employed images of Jews and Judaism in order to not only negatively characterize opponents but also provide contrast for lay audiences regarding the particulars of true religion and clearly identify the bearers of true religion from those in opposition. In the fifteenth century both lollard dissidents and defenders of traditional religion thought with Jews about one another as they sought define or re-define authentic Christian beliefs and practices. The lollards in particular developed a rhetorical strategy which was later appropriated and expanded by evangelical reformers in the sixteenth century. Defenders of traditional religion throughout the period sought ways to think with Jews about their heretical opponents as they defended and preserved traditional orthodoxy. This evidence points to, among other things, a firm connection between sixteenth-century reformers and their lollard predecessors and shows that although English reformers largely embraced the theology and doctrines of Continental reformers, the rhetorical strategy they employed as evidenced how they thought with Jews was inspired by fifteenth-century lollards.