Matilda Tomaryn Bruckner, "Jewish-Christian Dialogue in Medieval French Literature: Inscribing Biblical Encounters in the Vernacular"

Matilda Tomaryn Bruckner will offer a short introduction to the issues explored in her latest book, Jewish-Christian Dialogue in Medieval French Literature: Inscribing Biblical Encounters in the Vernacular (Boydell & Brewer, 2025). The book follows the use of biblical material in a selection of works from romance and bestiaries to theater and moralized Bibles. Building an analysis through a multidisciplinary approach that includes close reading, historical contexts, and "the turn to the literal" in 12th century exegesis, Prof. Bruckner demonstrates how Christians and Jews, Judaism and Christianity, meet figuratively around the reinvention of their sacred texts to define and dispute their identities. In a brief epilogue, she turns to what this study can contribute to current debates on antisemitism.

To learn more about Jewish-Christian Dialogue in Medieval French Literature and to purchase a copy, please visit the Boydell & Brewer site page for the book here.

Matilda Tomaryn Bruckner, Professor Emerita of French at Boston College, has published numerous books and articles on 12th and 13th century romance and lyric in Old French and Occitan. Her research and publications also include animal studies, narrative in verse and prose and, most recently, a turn to Jewish-Christian relations and the Bible.