Debating Truth

Nina Caputo is an Associate Professor in the Department of History. She received her B.A. and M.A. from the UCLA, and her Ph.D. from the University of California, Berkeley. Professor Caputo is a scholar of medieval Jewish history and interfaith relations in medieval Europe. She has received fellowships from the Mellon Foundation, the Oxford Centre for Hebrew and Judaic Studies, and the American Philosophical Society. Her first book, Nahmanides in Medieval Catalonia: History, Community, Messianism (2007), explores the history of encounters between Jewish and Christian interpretations of history and redemption. She has also co-editied Faithful Narratives: Historians, Religion, and the Challenge of Objectivity (Cornell, 2014) with Dr. Andrea Sterk. She is currently working on a book that uses Petrus Alfonsi to explore the figure of the convert and conversion in the Christian middle ages and a collection of essays.

• Preface Acknowledgements Part I: Graphic historyChapter 1."Our lord king ordered me to debate Friar Paul..." Chapter 2. "We have three types of books..." Chapter 3. "Jesus never walked with the righteous in the Garden of Eden..." Chapter 4. "Moses, called master, having been summoned by the lord king..." Chapter 5. "I write this letter to you from Jerusalem..." Part II: The Primary Sources Document I: Nahmanides' Hebrew Account of the Barcelona DisputationDocument II: The Latin Account of the Barcelona DisputationDocument III: A letter from King James I permitting the Dominicans to compel Jews to attend public sermons and protecting the property and freedoms of those who convertDocument IV: A letter from James I calling for the burning of copies of one of Maimonides' books on charges that it contained statements blaspheming JesusDocument V: Letter from James I to the Jewish communities of the Crown of Aragon instructing them to attend Friar Paul's sermonsDocument VI: Letter from James I limiting the friars' freedom to compel Jews to attend their sermonsDocument VII: James I's report of tribunal investigating charges that Nahmanides had blasphemedDocument VIII: Letter of reprimand from Pope Clement IV to James IDocument IX: Letter from Nahmanides to his son describing the physical landscape of Palestine. This document includes important demographic and political information as well as details about daily life in late thirteenth-century PalestineDocument X: Selected canons from the Fourth Lateran Council concerning the statement of the Catholic creed,definition of heresy, a call for regulations governing Jewish business and public conduct, and a statement of privileges and rewards for those who participate in renewed military campaigns to the Holy Land Part III: Context1. Reconquista and the Boundaries of Christendom 2. King James the Conqueror (1213-1276) 3. The Jews of Spain 4. Disputation in Medieval Society and Culture Part IV: HistoriographyModern and Medieval Traces of the Barcelona Disputation Making This Book: Sources, Historical Narrative, and Visual Media Part V: Resources for Further ResearchQuestions Sources for Additional ReadingGlossaryMaps and Figures

Caputo has created a work that is intellectually fascinating and visually stimulating.