Richard,
Sounds like a conference!
Patrick.
>At 02:33 AM 12/20/00 +0100, you wrote:
>>At 08:33 19.12.00 -0700, you wrote:
>>
>>>every list needs a Certifiably Insane member
>>
>>Dear Christopher,
>>
>>If this is what's troubling you I should say that we do not have much to
>>worry as long as you are still with us.
>
>hey. don't leave out some of the rest of us.
>
>>And now back to business, which on this forum is medieval religion.
>
>i'll take this as an opening to ask a big question:
>
>the early 11th cn seems (to some of us, at least), to be a time of great
>religious and social creativity in western europe. indeed, i wd go so far
>as to say that it marks the beginning of modern europe, and certainly of
>the "high middle ages" with its romanesque and gothic architecture and art,
>its pilgrimages, universities, crusades, heresies and inquisitions...
>
>curiously, in the same place and the same time (western europe, ca. 1000)
>ashkenazic jewry becomes a major center of jewish culture. up until that
>time, we have virtually no rabbinic writings from the area, and lots of
>evidence that jews sent their children and their questions to rabbis half
>way around the world for authoritative results. starting with rabenu
>gershom of mainz "the light of the exile" (died 1028), northern european
>jewry become one of the major cultural centers of world jewry.
>
>any ideas on what this might mean beyond mere coincidence?
>
>richard
__________________________________
Patrick J. Nugent
Earlham College
Richmond, Indiana 47374 USA
(765) 983-1413
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