Christian polemics and apologetics in Europe during the Middle Ages were primarily directed inwards, either against "heretics," such as the

Cathars Catharism (; from the grc, καθαροί, katharoi, "the pure ones") was a Christian dualist or Gnostic movement between the 12th and 14th centuries which thrived in Southern Europe, particularly in northern Italy and southern France. Fol ...

, or between

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

and

Eastern Orthodox Eastern Orthodoxy, also known as Eastern Orthodox Christianity, is one of the three main branches of Chalcedonian Christianity, alongside Catholicism and Protestantism. Like the Pentarchy of the first millennium, the mainstream (or "canonical") ...

. A subset of polemic and apologetic activity continued against Judaism and Islam, both openly in Christian Europe and more circumspectly in the pre-Ottoman and Ottoman lands.

Polemics against heretics

Given the absolute control of the state, and the lack of ethnic separation (such as protected to a degree and at some times Jewish communities in Christian Europe) military and police actions were generally used against Christian heretics, rather than polemics and apologetics. For example, the

did not survive

Albigensian Crusade The Albigensian Crusade or the Cathar Crusade (; 1209–1229) was a military and ideological campaign initiated by Pope Innocent III to eliminate Catharism in Languedoc, southern France. The Crusade was prosecuted primarily by the French crown ...

(1209-1229) and massacre at

Montségur Montségur (; Languedocien: ''Montsegur'') is a commune in the Ariège department in southwestern France. It is famous for its fortification, the Château de Montségur, that was built on the "pog" (mountain) on the ruins of one of the las ...

(1244) to leave traces of Cathar apologetics.

Polemics against Islam

The

Crusades The Crusades were a series of religious wars initiated, supported, and sometimes directed by the Latin Church in the medieval period. The best known of these Crusades are those to the Holy Land in the period between 1095 and 1291 that were in ...

also formed the background to medieval Christian

criticism of Islam Criticism of Islam is broadly defined as criticism of the Islamic religion in its beliefs, principles, and/or any other ideas attributed to Islam. Criticism of Islam has existed since Islam's formative stages. Early written disapprovals came f ...

and medieval Islamic

criticism of Christianity Criticism of Christianity has a long history which stretches back to the initial formation of the religion during the Roman Empire. Critics have challenged Christian beliefs and teachings as well as Christian actions, from the Crusades to moder ...

, resulting in conflicting responses from Christian authors of chivalrous epics and hostile theological polemics.

Peter the Venerable Peter the Venerable ( – 25 December 1156), also known as Peter of Montboissier, was the abbot of the Benedictine abbey of Cluny. He has been honored as a saint, though he was never canonized in the Middle Ages. Since in 1862 Pope Pius IX co ...

's commission of a Latin translation of the Qur'an, was followed by polemical writings from Pedro Pascual,

Riccoldo da Monte di Croce Riccoldo da Monte di Croce (Florence; 1320) or Ricold of Monte Croce ( la, Ricoldus de Monte Crucis) was an Italian Dominican friar, travel writer, missionary, and Christian apologist. He is most famous for his polemical works on Medieval Islam a ...

''Contra legem Sarracenorum'' "Against the Quran of the Saracens" (1300), and

Ramon Llull Ramon Llull (; c. 1232 – c. 1315/16) was a philosopher, theologian, poet, missionary, and Christian apologist from the Kingdom of Majorca. He invented a philosophical system known as the ''Art'', conceived as a type of universal logic to pro ...

Polemics against Judaism

Virulent antisemitism in medieval Europe obviated the need for any debate or discussion in most periods and most countries. However, during the 12th Century converted Jews such as

Petrus Alfonsi Petrus Alphonsi (died after 1116) was a Jewish Spanish physician, writer, astronomer and polemicist who converted to Christianity in 1106. He is also known just as Alphonsi, and as Peter Alfonsi or Peter Alphonso, and was born Moses Sephardi. ...

and

Pablo Christiani Pablo Christiani (or ''Paul Christian''; né "Saúl" or "NN שאול בן" ) was a Sephardic Jew who, having converted to Christianity, used his position as a Dominican friar to endeavor to convert other Jews in Europe to Roman Catholicism. Earl ...

, well versed in Jewish religion, initiated the ''Contra Iudaeos'' (or ''Adversus Iudaeos'') literature either from missionary or polemic reasons. This was both an impetus to and response to Jewish apologetics answering Christians, and more robust polemical writings (where safe to publish) among the community as a guard against conversion.Philippe Bobichon,"Juifs et convertis engagés dans les controverses médiévales", in D. Iancu-Agou (dir.), ''Les juifs méditerranéns au Moyen âge : culture et prosopographie'', Paris, Cerf, 2010, pp. 83-125

References

{{reflist Jewish–Christian debate Christian apologetics Christianity in the Middle Ages