Detail map of Paris, Île-de-France, France,Roma, Lazio, Italy Overview map of Paris, Île-de-France, France,Roma, Lazio, Italy

A: Paris, Île-de-France, France, B: Roma, Lazio, Italy

Pope Gregory IX Orders the Seizure and Burning of Jewish Books

6/9/1239 to 6/20/1239
Pope Gregory IX from a medieval miniature.

Pope Gregory IX from a medieval miniature.

In response to a denunciation of "blasphemies" in the Talmud by Nicholas Donin, a Jewish convert to Christianity, On June 9, 1239 Pope Gregory IX ordered the archbishops of France, England, Spain and Portugal to seize all Jewish books and examine them. In his letter of June 20, 1239 Gregory ordered the churchmen of Paris to burn the confiscated works if they were found to contain "objectionable" content.

Marcus, The Jew in the Medieval World. A Source Book: 315-1791, rev. ed. (1999) 163.

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