Jewish women in Europe in the Middle Ages : a quiet revolution / Simha Goldin.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Goldin, Simha.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Jewish women--Europe--History--To 1500.

Women in Judaism--Europe--History--To 1500.

Judaism--Europe--History--To 1500.

Judaism.

History.

Women in Judaism.

Jewish women.

Europe.

Physical Description:

ix, 271 pages : map ; 23 cm

Place of Publication:

Manchester, UK ; New York : Manchester Univ. Press, [2011]

Summary:

The Twelfth Century witnessed fundamental changes in the status of Jewish women, as their relationships with their husbands and their families were transformed completely. The prohibiting of polygamy and divorce without the woman's consent gave rise to a quiet revolution.

As male-dominated medieval Jewry attempted to improve their security within the Christian society that was seeking to displace them, the family unit- in many ways the backbone of Jewish society - was strengthened. However, this resulted in improvement in status for women, which would provoke internal opposition within the Jewish community.

This engaging study looks closely at the changing attitudes towards women and associated changes in social status.

Using original Hebrew sources, Jewish women in Europe in the Middle Ages explores the relationships between men and women within Jewish society. Goldin's book depicts a social conflict within a community, a conflict that was gender-oriented, but primarily social in nature. Book jacket.

Contents:

Heroines by choice or by chance: martyrs, converts, and anusot (forced converts)

Four differing paradigms of male attitudes to women

Women and the family unit

Marital relations, power and social standing

Women and the Mitzvot

Cases of some prominent Jewish women.

Notes:

Includes bibliographic references (pages 257-266) and index.

ISBN:

9780719083297

071908329X

OCLC:

721884064