Talmud, Talmudisti, and Albert the Great

"Talmud, Talmudisti, and Albert and Great." Albert the Great (Albertus Magnus) was one of forty Parisian ecclesiastics and scholars who participated in Odo of Chatêauroux' s investigation of the Talmud in 1247, leading to its condemnation on 15 May 1248. Although Albert the Great composed no systematic polemic against Judaism, scattered throughout his writings one finds a few references to the Talmud, to medieval Jewish scholars, and to Judaism itself. Nevertheless, no study has yet attempted to examine Albert's understanding of Judaism and the Talmud. Despite Albert's prominence in the new mendicant movement, which Jeremy Cohen has argued raised anti- Jewish polemics to a harsher, more aggressive level, Cohen remarks that Albert's attitude toward Jews and Judaism was relatively benign and traditional (i.e., Augustinian). This paper examines this claim, explores in Albert's writings his views of Jews and Judaism, and discusses his contributions to the increasingly aggressive missionary effort directed toward the Jews by his fellow Dominicans.