Contribution of Jews During the Middle Ages

During the final days of the Golden Age, a good amount of Jewish intellectual activity was concentrated in the Christian areas of northern Spain and southern France. Many Jews who were fleeing the Almohad persecutions in Muslim Spain decided to settle in Provence. Provence was the region of Jewish science and philosophy, where many Jewish scholars participated in the translation of scientific writing from Arabic to Hebrew as well writing original scientific treatises. Many of these Jewish intellectuals who were involved in these large-scale translations were sponsored by local patrons, where they functioned as intermediates between Christians and Muslims. The Provencal Jews also maintained a strong cultural heritage in Provence, where the primary language was Hebrew and where the Talmud and Jewish law were heavily studied. Many of the great contributors to the Provencal intellectual movement include Abraham bar Hiyya and Levi ibn Gershon (Gersonides).

Towards the end of the medieval era, after the Spanish Inquisition, many Jewish conversos, non-Christian who converted to Christianity as a result of governmental pressure, contributed greatly to the development of the novel in Spain and Portugal. For instance, Alonso Nunez de Reinoso revived the Byzantine novel, Jorge de Montemayor created the pastoral novel, Diego de San Pedro was the sentimental novelist, and Alfonso Martínez de Toledo brought speech into the Castilian prose. These authors were all crucial in the development of the novel and influenced Miguel de Cervantes in his magnum opus, Don Quixote.

Whenever the topics of Jews and the Middle Ages coincide, it is always about persecution. The great intellectual contributions of the medieval Jews are largely ignored. In a time where religious dogma ruled, where faith was elevated above reason, Iberian Jews, thanks to the more tolerant environment, were able to pursue science and mathematics while reconciling them with their religious beliefs. Even after the end of the Golden Age, Jews carried on their intellectual studies. You may wonder as to why I chose this topic. In all honesty, I chose it because I picked up a book at the public library about Medieval Jews and all of a sudden, I felt inspired to write about them. I hope you enjoyed the essay.