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Nicole Shulman wrote: > >I too am surprised by the absence, particularly as I find it a tasty >thesis. I would like to clarify, however, that Moore does not present an >entirely rosy world of toleration in pre-12th century Europe. His main >point is that it is only in the late twelfth and thirteenth centuries that >intolerance becomes heavily *institutionalized* which is an important >distinction. The idea is that the creation of the "other" was one of the >steps in the formation of a European identity. Furthermore, by defining >and becoming concerned with various groups "otherness" they became more >apparent, hence the deluge of heretical menaces and the alarming number of >lepers (in an age when many conditions could be called leprousy). > >Although I am a fan of the thesis, I must admit that some of his supporting >points are not entirely convincing. Nevertheless, I find Moore's work is >historiographically important since he puts issues like medieval >anti-semitism (or "Jew hatred") in a larger and more illuminating context. >Has he fallen deeply out of favour, or is he so old hat that he's not worth >mentioning anymore? Surely I am not the only person on the list who had >her view of the evolution of medieval society shaped by his ideas! Old hat? Surely not! First there would have to be some kind of persuasive demolition of his argument. He claims himself to have become tired of the topic, which has brought him fame among students of medieval Jew-hatred--as he says, he is not an historian of antisemitism or of the Jews and he does not want to be drawn into an endless discussion, much of which revolves around Christian attempts to defend the church and Christian theology from charges of anti-Judaism (which was not his point in the first place). I am not trying to speak for him to but to report his remarks in conversation. My understanding of intolerance in the MA and of its "institutionalization" owes everything to Moore! Andrew Colin Gow, Ph.D. Assistant Professor of History Department of History and Classics 2-28 Tory Bldg. University of Alberta Edmonton, AB T6G 2H4 Canada %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%