Barzilay’s research reexamining the function of violence in medieval minority-majority relations. One study contextualizes the language of violence in twelfth-century Hebrew sources in relation to contemporary chivalric culture. Another explores the views of Jews in the early-  eleventh century on issues of rulership and power. Others reconsider the concept of Antisemitism in the historiography on medieval Europe, suggesting new theoretical approaches for framing the upheavals of Jewish-Christian relations during this period. These studies stress the manifold role that violence served in the operation of medieval European institutions, not only as an instrument of governance or retribution (including against minorities), but also as a powerful symbol of potency, legitimacy and valor.

Image credit: London, British Library, Royal MS 20 C VII, fol. 55v (Chroniques de France ou de St Denis) License: Public Domain