Document Type
Journal Article
Date of this Version
4-29-2015
Publication Source
Oxford Bibliographies Online - Jewish Studies
DOI
10.1093/OBO/9780199840731-0011
Abstract
The term "early modernity" as the name of a period roughly extending from the end of the 15th to the end of the 18th century has only recently been employed by historians of Jewish culture and society. Despite a plethora of new studies in the last several decades, there have been few attempts to define the period as a whole as a distinct epoch in Jewish history, distinguishable from both the medieval and modern periods. Some historians have remained indifferent to demarcating the period, or have simply designated it as an extension of the Middle Ages, or have labeled it vaguely as a mere transitional stage between medievalism and modernity without properly describing its distinguishing characteristics. A few historians have used the term "Renaissance" to apply to the cultural ambiance of Jews living in Italy in the 15th and 16th centuries alone without delineating the larger period and the more comprehensive geographical area. The bibliographical survey that follows focuses on the entire period of three hundred years and attempts to provide a panoramic view of European and Ottoman Jewries both as distinct subcommunities and in their broader connections with each other.
Copyright/Permission Statement
Early Modern Jewish History by David B. Ruderman, 2015, reproduced by permission of Oxford University Press. DOI: 10.1093/OBO/9780199840731-0011
Recommended Citation
Ruderman, D. B. (2015). Early Modern Jewish History. Oxford Bibliographies Online - Jewish Studies, http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/OBO/9780199840731-0011
Included in
Cultural History Commons, European History Commons, History of Religion Commons, Intellectual History Commons, Jewish Studies Commons, Medieval History Commons
Date Posted: 02 August 2017
This document has been peer reviewed.