Tradition and Crisis: Jewish Society at the End of the Middle Ages

New York: The Free Press of Glencoe, Inc, 1961. First American edition. Hardcover. vg. Octavo. VIII, 280pp. Uncut. Original pictorial wrappers over with white and black lettering on spine. Fascinating work in which Jacob Katz describes the development of Jewish apartness after the Middle Ages which reached its apogee in the 18th century, giving specific attention to social stratification. The author examines the dynamics of Jewish society in the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries, and probes into Jewish attitudes toward the Gentile world. He describes various aspects of Jewish communal and super-communal institutions: family kinship, synagogue, schools and economic activities. He shows the importance of two major internal movements for change, Hasidism and Haskala, to Jewish communities in various parts of Europe, and to those Jews that had already resettled in the Holy Land. Minor age wear on wrappers with head of spine creased and partly chipped. Previous owner's stamp on inside of front cover. Wrappers in overall good, binding and interior in very good condition.