Norman Roth

Medieval Jewish-Christian Relations

Daily relations between Christians and Jews in the Middle Ages.

Jewish Moneylending

The profitable money business between Jews and Christians often became tense.

The Church and the Jews

A survey of Church issues relevant to Jews, including papal attitudes and actions and the enactments of ecclesiastical councils

Jewish Education in Muslim Lands

In Muslim countries, Jewish boys learned the whole range of Jewish and secular subjects.

The Almohads

The seizure of power in the Maghreb by a fanatical sect disrupted the relations between Muslims and Jews.

Jewish Commerce in Christendom

European Christians regulated Jewish commerce.

Jewish Hats in the Middle Ages

Manuscript illustrations, family seals, and rabbinic decisions all indicate that Jewish men in most of medieval Christian Europe wore special hats.

Jewish Clothing in the Middle Ages

For the most part, Jews dressed like their neighbors. But some trends were outlawed by rabbis.

Jewish Education in Christian Countries

Jewish boys in Christian countries studied Jewish texts from an early age.

Jews and “The Church”

Scholar Norman Roth questions whether the idea of the medieval Church makes sense as a category of analysis for Jewish history.