Rabbinic Bans in Medieval France and Provence

Among the various grounds given by the Talmud for pronouncing a ban (nidui) is insulting a rabbinic scholar (talmid hakhamim). This rabbinic ban was adopted enthusiastically by medieval scholars in northern France and in Provence. However, while nidui may have been an effective tool for protecting the rabbinic social class from outsiders, when employed within the circle of Talmudic scholars it easily led to mutual intimidation. In several cases from the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, what began as an argument between a teacher and a student within a rabbinic academy escalated into a cycle of bans hurled from one growing camp at the other. This paper will explore the legal roots of this type of excommunication, its social-political dimensions, and its influence on other types of rivalry between feuding camps of Jewish intellectuals.