Jewish polemics and apologetics in the Middle Ages

Jewish polemics and apologetics in the Middle Ages were texts written to protect and dissuade Jewish communities from conversion to Christianity, or more rarely to Islam. The terms polemics (from "battles") and apologetics (from "defence") may be distinguished but may also be considered somewhat subjective. A smaller number of proselytizing text also exists intended to convert Christians, or more rarely Muslims, to Judaism.

Defences of Judaism to Greek, Egyptian and Roman religionists are found in Philo's Apology on behalf of the Jews, and Josephus' Against Apion as well as other Hellenistic Jewish authors. In the early centuries following the emergence of Christianity from Judaism, but before Christianity's establishment as state religion by Constantine, mutual Jewish-Christian debate, polemics and apologetics occurred as for example in the words of Rabbi Tarfon and, on the other side, Justin Martyr's Dialogue with Trypho, and the lost Dialogue of Jason and Papiscus (2nd century), and the later Dialogue of Athanasius and Zacchaeus (4th century), Dialogue of Simon and Theophilus (5th century), and Dialogue of Timothy and Aquila (6th century).

The Middle Ages is generally counted as covering Europe from the 5th to 15th centuries.

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