2026/05/18 by Asher Gladstone · 1 voice
Arts and Humanities · Social Sciences · #Jewish and Middle Eastern Studies #Medieval and Classical Philosophy #Sephardic Jews and Inquisition Studies
paper · doi:10.1163/24055069-20262001
openalex publication_date 2026/05/18 · openalex created_date 2026/05/19 · openalex updated_date 2026/05/21
Abstract Before Jews were legally permitted to reside in England in the mid-seventeenth century, a variety of English books were published which described postbiblical Jewish custom. These books included accounts of travel to the continent, works of Christian Hebraist erudition, translations of Jewish writings, polemical pamphlets, and studies in English legal history. Some were published directly in response to the readmission controversy as English Christians prepared themselves for the behavior of their potential Jewish compatriots. Through these textual descriptions, English readers could envision the practices and habits of living Jews before they were formally readmitted. Few authors and readers, however, agreed on what genres and sources most reliably related information about Jewish custom. Amidst the political controversy over readmission, English readers, writers, and publishers, scholarly and popular alike, debated the relative reliability of diverse sources that described the practices of contemporary Jews.