Jewish Life in Medieval Spain

Jonathan Ray is Professor of Jewish Studies at Georgetown University.

"This erudite and engaging new history of the Jews in medieval Spain reframes a storied period in Jewish and Spanish history. Instead of centering interfaith relations and comparing Jewish life under Muslim and Christian rule, Jewish Life in Medieval Spain foregrounds internal Jewish dynamics. It explores Jewish migrations, socioeconomic tensions, and intellectual rivalries, as well as the full spectrum of Jewish responses to Muslim and Christian conversionary pressures. Above all, it exposes the diversity of Jews' experiences." (Jewish History) "Scholars of Jewish history in medieval Spain have long lacked an accessible survey suitable for assigning to students or for recommending to colleagues interested in familiarizing themselves with the topic...Jonathan Ray's Jewish Life in Medieval Spain effectively remedies that lacuna. It is an intriguing, readable volume that cohesively presents Jewish history in the medieval kingdoms of Castile and Aragon from a new perspective and effectively incorporates recent scholarship." (Speculum) "An important new study...[Ray] has sought to highlight the diversity and complexity of Spanish Jewish life over the key seven centuries of Jewish existence in Spain...[and] argues for the need to focus on the internal factors impacting on Spanish Jewry. He has shone new light on our understanding of this period, adding a new dimension to Spanish Jewish history." (Journal of Religious History) "[W]ell documented with extensive sources, the text examines Jewish lifewith numerous examples provided by individual and communal stories...For those already knowledgeable about the broad outlines of Al-Andalus, the Reconquista, the early Inquisition, and Sephardic history generally—particularly those reading for academic purposes—this book provides a compelling micro perspective adumbrated by daily life events." (Choice)