Iberian Moorings: Al-Andalus, Sefarad, and the Tropes of Exceptionalism by Ross Brann (review)

Abstract

and punished more harshly for crimes compounded this issue. In a lengthy and valuable discussion in the introduction, ShohamSteiner traces how and why Wissenschaft scholars, Zionist historians, and Orthodox Jewish historiography steered clear of this topic, even consciously omitting sources that dealt with crime from collections of rabbinic responsa. He also notes that the tendency to write lachrymose history rendered Jewish crime a subject that was antithetical to broad narratives of Jewish history. Joining a host of other scholars of medieval and early modern Europe who have focused on daily life, ShohamSteiner’s work nevertheless stands out as exemplary for his choice to analyze sources that had been purposefully disregarded. The book concludes with eleven appendices in which ShohamSteiner translated some of the rich sources that are prominent in his book. These will prove extremely useful to readers who cannot read the original Hebrew sources. Jews and Crime in Medieval Europe is thus an innovative work of scholarship that is accessible to and relevant for students and scholars alike, providing new insights into a topic that was willfully neglected by previous generations of scholars.