Medieval texts could depict Islam tolerantly while excluding Jews entirely

Evidence

The book is also remarkable for the relative tolerance exhibited in its characterization of non-Christian religions: the depiction of Islam, in particular, is arguably the most accurate account to be found in Western literature before the seventeenth century. The same cannot be said, however, of the characterization of the Jews in Mandeville’s Travels: they are the only group to be completely excluded from the polyphonic harmony of the author’s world. — Ivan Davidson Kalmar, Derek Penslar, Orientalism and the Jews, 294

Categorization

• SEED: An article angle: how medieval Christian literature drew a sharper line against Jews than against Muslims, complicating the modern assumption that Islamophobia always preceded anti-Judaism.