Medieval Christian kings legally compelled Muslim and Jewish subjects to attend missionary sermons

Evidence

On 12 March 1243 Jaume presided over the ecclesiastical council of Lerida. Among the subjects addressed by the council was the conversion of Muslim and Jewish subjects of the Crown of Aragon. The council issued detailed statutes on the property and inheritance rights of converts from Judaism and Islam. It also fixed fines for anyone who insulted converts. Finally, it proclaimed that “whenever an archbishop, bishop, or Dominican or Franciscan friars come to a town or place where Saracens or Jews live and wish to proffer the word of God to these same Jews or Saracens, the latter should come when convoked and should patiently listen to their preaching. And if they should be unwilling, our officials should compel them to do so and accept no excuses.” — John V. Tolan, Saracens, 923 (#corroborates, via linked claim)

These ideas are also extended to Muslims by subsequent legislation. The third Lateran council (1179) prohibited both Jews and Saracens from owning Christian slaves. At a time when the Cathar heretics, denied any legitimate role in Christian society, are slaughtered by the troops of the Albigensian Crusade (and subsequently rooted out by papal inquisitors), Muslims, though theologically classed most often as heretics, are attributed the de facto social status of Jews. Apart from Alfonso X, no Christian legislator of the thirteenth century offers any justification for this association. But the two groups, Muslims and Jews, are increasingly lumped together in ecclesiastical and civil legislation. Muslims are granted a legitimate, subordinate role in the Christian polity, but one which will (along with that of the Jews) become more precarious in the later Middle Ages. — John V. Tolan, Saracens, 1017 (#complicates, via linked claim)

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: The medieval Church formally banned the Muslim call to prayer on Christian territory — Norman Daniel, Islam and the West, 1154; Thirteenth-century Aragonese law compelled Jews and Muslims to attend Christian sermons under royal authority.; Medieval Iberian rulers compelled Muslims and Jews to hear Christian sermons — John V. Tolan, Saracens, 923 (+18 more)

Broader Connections

• Thirteenth-century Aragonese law compelled Jews and Muslims to attend Christian sermons under royal authority. #corroborates (1.00)
• Medieval Iberian rulers compelled Muslims and Jews to hear Christian sermons #corroborates (1.00) — John V. Tolan, Saracens, 923
• Thirteenth-century canon law fused Muslims and Jews into one subordinate class #complicates (0.85) — John V. Tolan, Saracens, 1017
• Christian missionaries deliberately provoked Muslim rulers into martyring them #complicates (0.80)
• Medieval canon law tolerated subject Muslims only under severe restriction #complicates (0.80) — Norman Daniel, Islam and the West, 660
• Thirteenth-century Muslims proved impervious to both Christian arms and missionaries #complicates (0.80) — John V. Tolan, Saracens, 1093
• Muslims resisted both Christian military and missionary efforts throughout the thirteenth century #complicates (0.80)
• Medieval storytellers assumed Muslims shared Christian moral standards. #complicates (0.80)
• Muslim rulers spared Christian missionaries out of reciprocity and honor #complicates (0.80) — John V. Tolan, Saracens, 1291
• Medieval missionaries aimed at martyrdom rather than Muslim conversion #complicates (0.80) — Norman Daniel, Islam and the West, 1465
• Medieval Christian polemics against Islam were written for Christian audiences, not Muslims #complicates (0.80) — Norman Daniel, Islam and the West, 1421
• Both medieval Christian and Islamic law excluded the other’s adherents as witnesses #complicates (0.80) — Norman Daniel, Islam and the West, 2403