This book is the product of many years of labor. A stimulating graduate seminar on medieval European Jewry with Professor Robert Chazan at New York University animated my interest in the, then, insufficiently explored and, still, hotly debated topic of Jewish martyrdom. My seminar paper on the phenomenon of medieval martyrdom evolved and grew into a master's thesis and doctoral dissertation on the history of Jewish martyrdom. Additional teaching, research, publishing of articles, valuable correspondence, and public and academic presentations, further prepared me for the writing of this book.

Until recently, a comprehensive study on this subject was still missing. I hope this book will contribute toward answering that scholarly lacuna, although I have no illusion that such a vast topic can be confined to a single book. Several significant studies focusing mainly on Jewish martyrdom in the Middle Ages appeared after I had finished my dissertation. I was happy to discover that some of these studies were in agreement with several of my early findings. Regrettably, I could not take advantage of Professor Jeremy Cohen's valuable study, Sanctifying the Name of God: Jewish Martyrs and Jewish Memories of the First Crusade, because it came out while this book was already in production.

Abundant thanks are in order to known and unknown people. I owe a great deal of gratitude to my adviser, Professor Robert Chazan, who provided perpetual support and guidance. More than just inspiring this study, he himself has become an inspirational model for me.