Language:
English
Year of publication:
1998
Titel der Quelle:
Journal of Medieval and Early Modern Studies
Angaben zur Quelle:
28,2 (1998) 309-340
Keywords:
Siege of Jerusalem (Middle English poem) Criticism, interpretation, etc.
;
Christianity and antisemitism History To 1500
;
Antisemitism in literature
;
English literature History and criticism
;
Jews in literature
;
Judaism in literature
Abstract:
"The Siege of Jerusalem, " a poem written in an English monastery in the late 14th century, attempts to assuage English concerns about Christianity and the Crusades. It relates a conquest of Jerusalem by Roman rulers of provinces, newly converted to christ who launch a crusade to avenge Jesus' death. The poem contains contradictions (calling for both the destruction and exploitation of the Jews) which are overcome by the Jews' being killed or enslaved, and their bodies turned into gold. Although it includes genocidal fantasies, it also stresses the desirability of contacts with Jews that could profit the Christians. The Christians in the poem need the Jews as enemies in order to unite physically and spiritually, as well as for imperial profit. States that the poem may have been written after a resounding Christian defeat in the 1396 Crusade.
Note:
On the 14th-century poem.
URL:
Locate this publication in Israeli libraries
