Abstract

Since at least the later nineteenth century, scholars have discussed the ways in which the Observant Franciscan Giovanni of Capestrano dealt with Jews and Judaism in his writings and in his preaching rallies. Not surprisingly, the scholarly positions to a large extent have reflected the particular Sitz im Leben of the protagonists. On the one hand, Franciscan historians and other Catholic scholars who admired Capestrano's evangelical zeal have tended to downplay his anti-Judaism or have presented it as a legitimate, albeit somewhat lamentable, aspect of his fight against the socio-economic and religious ills of his times. On the other hand, many scholars of Judaism and the history of anti-Semitism have found him to...