The Disputation

Disputation

In the scholastic system of education of the Middle Ages, disputations offered a formalized method of debate designed to uncover and establish truths in theology and in sciences...

 of Paris

Paris

Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...

 took place in 1240 in the court of the reigning king of France, Louis IX

Louis IX of France

Louis IX , commonly Saint Louis, was King of France from 1226 until his death. He was also styled Louis II, Count of Artois from 1226 to 1237. Born at Poissy, near Paris, he was an eighth-generation descendant of Hugh Capet, and thus a member of the House of Capet, and the son of Louis VIII and...

 (St. Louis). The disputation had four rabbis defending the Talmud

Talmud

The Talmud is a central text of mainstream Judaism. It takes the form of a record of rabbinic discussions pertaining to Jewish law, ethics, philosophy, customs and history....

 against the accusations of a Franciscan

Franciscan

Most Franciscans are members of Roman Catholic religious orders founded by Saint Francis of Assisi. Besides Roman Catholic communities, there are also Old Catholic, Anglican, Lutheran, ecumenical and Non-denominational Franciscan communities....

 Order member.

Disputers

Nicholas Donin

Nicholas Donin

Nicholas Donin of La Rochelle, a Jewish convert to Christianity in early thirteenth-century Paris, is known for his role in the 1240 Disputation of Paris, which resulted in a decree to publicly burn all available manuscripts of the Talmud....

 represented the Christian

Christian

A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...

 side of the debate and four of the most distinguished rabbis of France, Yechiel of Paris

Yechiel of Paris

Yechiel ben Joseph of Paris was a major Talmudic scholar and Tosafist from northern France, father-in-law of Isaac ben Joseph of Corbeil. He was a disciple of Rabbi Judah Messer Leon, and succeeded him in 1225 as head of the Yeshiva of Paris, which then boasted some 300 students; his best known...

, Moses of Coucy

Moses ben Jacob of Coucy

Moses ben Jacob of Coucy was a French Tosafist and authority on Halakha . He is best known as author of one of the earliest codifications of Halakha, the Sefer Mitzvot Gadol.-Biography:...

, Judah of Melun

Judah of Melun

Judah of Melun was a French rabbi, a tosafist of the first half of the 13th century; he was son of the tosafist David of Melun .In Perez of Corbeil's tosafot to Baba Ḳamma Judah of Melun was a French rabbi, a tosafist of the first half of the 13th century; he was son of the tosafist David of Melun...

, and Samuel ben Solomon of Château-Thierry, represented the Jewish side of the debate. Donin was a member of the Franciscan Order and a Jewish convert to Christianity. He had persuaded Pope Gregory IX

Pope Gregory IX

Pope Gregory IX, born Ugolino di Conti, was pope from March 19, 1227 to August 22, 1241.The successor of Pope Honorius III , he fully inherited the traditions of Pope Gregory VII and of his uncle Pope Innocent III , and zealously continued their policy of Papal supremacy.-Early life:Ugolino was...

 to issue a bill ordering the burning of the Talmud.

Terms

The terms of the disputation demanded that the four rabbis defend the Talmud against Donin's accusations that the Talmud was immoral, blasphemous, and spoke offensively of Jesus. Though the rabbis presented a defense of the Talmud, a commission of Christian theologians condemned the Talmud

Talmud

The Talmud is a central text of mainstream Judaism. It takes the form of a record of rabbinic discussions pertaining to Jewish law, ethics, philosophy, customs and history....

to be burned and on June 17, 1244. Twenty-four carriage loads of Jewish religious manuscripts were set on fire in the streets of Paris.