Worlds of Difference: European Discourses of Toleration c. 1100-c. 1550 [Paperback]

Cary J. Nederman (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 1, 2000

Toleration has become a keystone of liberal political philosophy, but with liberalism under attack today as inadequate for dealing with all the problems of a pluralistic world, other resources are needed. Cary Nederman directs our attention to the creative thinking about toleration that preceded the rise of liberalism and canvasses the diverse ideas proposed then within Christianity as a response to religious, cultural, national, and ethnic differences.

Editorial Reviews

Review

This is a superb book that finds toleration where most deny that it exists in the Middle Ages. Nederman not only finds toleration in this monolithically intolerant period, but demonstrates the various sources of medieval theories of toleration: Abelard s and Llull's faith in interreligious dialogue, John of Salisbury's skepticism, William of Rubruck's view of a multi-religious empire, Marsiglio of Padua's conception of the secular state, Nicholas of Cusa's acceptance of ritual heterogeneity based on national difference, and Barolome de la Casas's Ciceronian rationalism. By focusing on medieval theories of toleration, Worlds of Difference complements other works that begin their study of toleration from the Renaissance or beyond. Nederman's book will be required reading for all who want a complete view of the history of toleration. It is bound to be the authoritative work on medieval ideas of toleration for a long time to come. --Gary Remer, Tulane University

Nederman's work explicitly challenges the conventional view that theories of religious toleration are a distinctively modern product, usually described as a pragmatic adjustment to the fact of religious diversity and/or a theoretical byproduct of the emergence of liberalism. The study is original, thoughtful, and based on the author's detailed knowledge of the sources and the secondary scholarship. [The interested audience would include medievalists, historians of political theory, and those interested in the historical origins of human rights and the justification of religious freedom.] --Paul Sigmund, Princeton University

Nederman succeeds admirably in demonstrating that medieval attitudes to religious pluralism were considerably more diverse and nuanced than crude stereotypes would suggest. . . . Worlds of Difference is a major contribution to the study of both medieval thought and the history of toleration. --John Coffey, History: Journal of the Historical Association --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

About the Author

Cary J. Nederman is Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of Arizona. His most recent books include Three Tracts on Empire: Engelbert of Admont, Aeneas Silvius Piccolomini, and Juan de Torquemada (co-edited and co-translated with T.M. Izbicki) (Thoemmes Press 1999) and Beyond the Persecuting Society: Religious Toleration Before the Enlightenment (co-edited with J. C. Laursen) (University of Pennsylvania 1998).

Product Details

• Paperback: 168 pages
• Publisher: Pennsylvania State University Press (July 1, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0271020172
• ISBN-13: 978-0271020174
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,084,485 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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