13th–14th centuries
Auto-da-fé of the works of Maimonides at the instigation of opposing rabbis, first burning of a Jewish book by the Church
1233·Montpellier
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The philosophical writings of Maimonides were burned in Montpellier at the instigation of Provençal rabbis who deemed them dangerous to simple faith and had sought the support of the Dominicans. This is the first Jewish book consigned to the flames by the Church in the West.
The controversy divided the communities of the Midi and of Spain for a generation. Those who had called upon the secular arm against their adversaries saw, not long after, on the place de Grève in Paris, the Talmud itself take the path of the pyre: the tribunal that had been invited to settle an internal dispute did not stop where it was expected to.
- Period :
- 13th–14th centuries
- Type :
- Trials and executions
- Region :
- Western Europe
- Country :
- France
Lettres de Hillel de Vérone ; correspondance de la querelle maïmonidienne ; chroniques dominicaines.