https://youtu.be/-p3WlesJgaI
Just found out there’s a dramatization of The Disputation of Barcelona with Christopher Lee in the role of King James of Aragon!
For those that don’t know, a disputation in the Middle Ages was essentially a formal debate but “disputations” done with members of Jewish communities were essentially rigged and intended to humiliate Jewish people. The Christian side would oftentimes be given the privilege of having both first and last word in the debate but the big kicker was that blasphemy laws would still be in effect meaning that the representatives for Judaism would somehow have to argue against the positio “Jesus was the Messiah”... without disrespecting Christian dogma. So basically a boxing match with one person having their hands tied. Oh also to top it off the judges were frequently Christian clergy anyway.
The exception was the 1263 Disputation of Barcelona. In this disputation the invited Jewish champion was the eminent rabbi Moses ben Nahman (also known by his Latinized name Nachmanides as well as his Hebrew acronym nickname of “The Ramban”). Ben Nahman agreed to show up but only if his conditions were met namely that nothing said in the debate can be legally used against a participant and also that the judges not be Christian clergy. King James agreed, giving his royal promise as a king that participants are under his protect and that the judges shall be a council of lay nobility with James himself being the main judge. To the surprise of everyone present, the judges announced that per the terms of the debate that the Jewish side produces the stronger arguments with King James making it clear he remained a Christian and even referred to Ben Nahman as leading a “wicked cause” but that he had never encountered someone so skilled in advancing well thought out and intelligent arguments. Because the terms said the debate was to be judged purely on what is said by the participants, the judges had no choice but to award the title of victor as well as the prize money to the Jewish side.
andulkaphoto
germansingergirl
