Includes bibliographical references and index.

List of Abbreviations -- Preface -- Introduction -- Chapter 1. The problem: Parameters of identity in Visigothic Spain -- Chapter 2. Isidore of Seville's de fide catholica contra Iudaeos -- 2.1. Structure -- 2.2. Argument -- 2.2.1. Sources -- 2.2.1.1. The biblical text -- 2.2.1.2.Church fathers -- 2.2.2.Method -- 2.3. Theology -- 2.3.1. Fides -- 2.3.2.Sacraments -- 2.3.3.Conversion -- 2.4. The addressees of Isidore's anti-Jewish treatise -- Chapter 3. Isidore's attitude towards Judaism -- 3.1. A stereotypical image -- 3.2. The relationship between Jews and gentiles -- 3.3. The present position of the Jews in the economy of salvation -- 3.4. Eschatology -- 3.5. Ecclesiology -- 3.6. The theological position of Jews and Judaism in Isidore's entire corpus -- 3.7. Isidore's position compared to other patristic authors -- Chapter 4. Isidore's position on contemporary Jewish policies -- 4.1. Forced baptism and its consequences -- 4.2. The role of force and free will in conversion -- 4.3. "The Jew" as an outsider: the Catholic nation -- 4.4. Anti-Judaism as cultural and political "capital" -- Chapter 5. Conclusion -- 5.1. De fide catholica within the context of Isidore's theological argument -- 5.2. The reception of Isidore's anti-Jewish treatise -- 5.3. Catholic faith, Jews, and Spanish identity -- Bibliography -- Sources -- Secondary literature -- Index.

This book provides a detailed analysis of Isidore of Seville's attitude towards Jews and Judaism. Starting out from his anti-Jewish work De fide catholica contra Iudaeos , the author puts Isidore's argument into the context of his entire literary production. Furthermore, he explores the place of Isidore's thinking within the contemporary situation of Visigothic Spain, investigating the political functionalization of religion, most particularly the forced baptisms ordered by King Sisebut, whose advisor Isidore was thought to have been. It becomes clear that Isidore's primary goal is to produce a new "Gothic" identity for the recently established Catholic "nation" of Visigothic Spain; to this end he uses anti-Jewish stereotypes inherited from the tradition of Catholic anti-Judaism.

Description based on print version record.