Poetry, Myth, and Kabbala: Jewish and Christian Intellectual Encounters in Late Medieval Italy

The diasporic nature of Jewish culture is here analyzed against the background of the rich exchange of intellectual motifs between Jewish and non-Jewish scholars, which took place in many Italian areas throughout the Middle Ages. In this essay particular emphasis is laid on the cultural cooperation on major themes such as poetics, philosophy, Biblical exegesis, and mysticism. The most significant characters who played an important role in this intellectual connection and their works are surveyed, on a time range spanning between the 13th and the end of the 15th centuries.