Jewish Law under Christian Sovereignty. Legal Pluralism and Governance in Early Modern Italy

This chapter explores the place of Jewish law (halakhah) within the legal and political frameworks of early modern Italy, challenging interpretations that treat Jewish jurisdiction as either marginal or purely internal. Although formally subject to Christian sovereignty, Jewish communities continued to regulate key aspects of civil life according to their own legal traditions, producing a complex and unstable form of legal pluralism. This chapter argues that Jewish law did not function in isolation but was regularly invoked, translated, and interpreted within Christian judicial contexts, where it could acquire practical authority despite its contested theological status. Drawing on two case studies – the inheritance dispute surrounding Samuel Abravanel’s will in Ferrara (1546–1557) and the Venetian investigation into the jurisdiction of the Universitas Hebraeorum in 1631 – the chapter examines how Jewish litigants, rabbis, and Christian jurists navigated overlapping legal orders. These cases reveal both the strategic use of multiple forums by Jewish actors and the willingness of Christian authorities to engage directly with halakhic norms when defining the boundaries of Jewish autonomy. Ultimately, this chapter situates Jewish law as an operative, though subordinate, element of early modern Italian legal culture, contributing to broader discussions of governance, jurisdiction, and minority rule under Christian sovereignty.