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Abstract
This article examines how a seemingly universal category, the imaginary
Jew, fared in a local setting – arguably the most compelling and
high-stakes local setting in Europe: early modern Rome. In Rome – the
caput mundi, city of the Holy See – the premier manufacturer of Judaic
symbolism confronted Europe’s oldest continuous community Jewish
community. Imagined Jews and living Jews in Rome were equally robust,
equally impossible to ignore, and had equal claims to antiquity. Both
categories of Jews converged at the weekly conversionary sermons
established in the late sixteenth century, an event that also regularly
drew Christian observers from across the city as well as tourists. This
article analyzes the specific manifestation of imaginary Judaism that
held sway in early modern Rome, symbolized most powerfully at
conversionary sermons. It argues that in early modern Rome, “imaginary
Jews” was both a visual and a rhetorical category, in which living Jews
acted as imaginary Jews, and which always included Christians. This
definition differs from those in use elsewhere in Europe, and
demonstrates that ‘imaginary’ and living Jews should not be considered
opposites. This allows us in turn to understand the popularity and
significance of conversionary preaching. Conversionary preaching was a
uniquely potent spectacle because it addressed living Jews, imaginary
Jews, and Christans alike.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 68-104 |
Journal | Past & Present |
Volume | 235 |
Issue number | 1 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 23 May 2017 |
Keywords
- Conversionary Preaching
- Jews
- Counter-Reformation
- Italy
- Early Modern Rome
Fingerprint
Dive into the research topics of 'Conversionary preaching and the Jews in early modern Rome'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.Projects
- 1 Finished
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Research in Italy - Catholic Reinvention: Catholic Reinvention and Jewish Conversionary Preaching in Tridentine Rome
Michelson, E. D. (PI)
11/01/15 → 30/06/15
Project: Standard