Collected Studies : Maimonidean Argument in France

Joseph Shatzmiller’s Collected Studies (Volume 3): Maimonidean Argument in France is a comprehensive compilation of his research on the intellectual and mental history of the Jews in Provence.

The central focus of the book is the ongoing conflict between adherents of Maimonidean philosophy and its opponents, which persisted throughout the thirteenth century due to the movement of translations from Arabic to Hebrew.

Additionally, the book delves into other important aspects of Provence Jewry, including their attitudes towards the Albigensian heresy and the intellectual contributions of figures such as Kalonymus ben Kalonymus, Jacob ben Eliyahu, and the renowned biblical commentator, astronomer, and philosopher Gersonides.

Shatzmiller’s research illuminates the significance of Provence Jewry within the larger framework of Jewish communities in the Mediterranean and western Europe during the Middle Ages. “The collection of studies that these four volumes offer is the result of more than sixty years of commitment to scholarship.

Like many colleagues, I relied in the beginning on printed material in books that dealt with law, religion, and secular literature.

Then, as a disciple of George Duby, I discovered the world of archives and hand-written Latin manuscripts.

The present collection relies, to a great extent, on previously unknown information discovered during years of search in the archives of Southern France, mostly on those of the county of Provence.

They are situated in the cities of Marseille and Aix-en-Provence as well as the town of Digne.

The legal registers of the High Middle Ages (1250-1350) as well as those produced by the counties’ administration introduce us to the ordinary people of the region, to their daily life and to their preoccupations; their names are spelled out, the dates are recorded and the localities in which they were active are designated.

At times these documents encourage us to endorse information found in contemporary literary sources and to overcome our hesitation and excessive caution concerning their value as historical evidence.”— Joseph Shatzmiller