Gilbert Dahan offers a compact overview of Jewish conditions in medieval Western Christendom, then moves to a discussion of the changing patterns of Christian-Jewish polemical confrontation. Dahan lays particular emphasis on the shift during the twelfth and thirteenth centuries from a fairly open exchange of views to a concerted Christian effort to convert the Jews. After establishing this context, Dahan analyzes the most common literary genres (including disputatio) in which these arguments were couched, their underlying structures and the most important recurring themes. This volume is particularly useful for its clear delineation of the historical phases of Christian polemicizing, its cogent analysis of key aspects of Christian polemical literature, and its rich citation of illustrative texts. Whether it be shared examination of the sacred texts or impassioned discussion over the theses belonging to each of the two religions, the Judeo-Christian "dispute" continued throughout the Middle Ages, and seems to be carried on in some way even in the Judeo-Christian dialogue of today.

Gilbert Dahan offers a compact overview of Jewish conditions in medieval Western Christendom, then moves to a discussion of the changing patterns of Christian-Jewish polemical confrontation. Dahan lays particular emphasis on the shift during the twelfth and thirteenth centuries from a fairly open exchange of views to a concerted Christian effort to convert the Jews. After establishing this context, Dahan analyzes the most common literary genres (including disputatio) in which these arguments were couched, their underlying structures and the most important recurring themes. This volume is particularly useful for its clear delineation of the historical phases of Christian polemicizing, its cogent analysis of key aspects of Christian polemical literature, and its rich citation of illustrative texts. Whether it be shared examination of the sacred texts or impassioned discussion over the theses belonging to each of the two religions, the Judeo-Christian "dispute" continued throughout the Middle Ages, and seems to be carried on in some way even in the Judeo-Christian dialogue of today.

L'allegorie etait-elle pratiquee par les poetes avant que les philosophes ne la decouvrent dans leurs textes? Les allegories fournies par les theoriciens antiques correspondent-elles aux phenomenes que l'interpretation allegorique pretend exploiter? De telles questions d'histoire litteraire ou doctrinale ne peuvent etre abordees sans une reflexion conceptuelle sur la notion meme d'allegorie. Les etudes reunies ici, issues d'une table ronde internationale organisee par l'Institut des traditions textuelles, concernent les etapes les plus importantes de l'histoire de l'allegorie. On y trouve ainsi des contributions sur les stoiciens, les exegetes judeo-chretiens, les traditions juive, musulmane et chretienne, les poetes anglais, ouencore les alchimistes. On y trouve egalement une large reflexion permettant de discriminer entre fausses et vraies allegories, de departager les formes originelles de la methode allegoriques de ses formes devoyees, de saisir sa raison d'etre autant que son usage dans les textes veneres ou dans les savoirs.