Of course, I wasn't around then so I can only judge by those Jews whom I know something about. The two most renowned Torah scholars of the Middle Ages were Maimonides (RAMBAM) and RASHI. Maimonides lived in Golden Age Spain where his family led a secret Jewish existence. When Maimonides was a young adult, his family fled first to Morocco, and not finding peace there the fled to Egypt, Palestine, and back to Egypt. In Egypt Maimonides was put on trial for his life having been accused of converting to Islam and then returning to Judaism. We are supposed to be grateful that the nice Muslims acquitted him. RASHI lived in France and made wine.
ML/NJ
Not quite. His family led an open Jewish existence. They fled, shortly after the above mentioned Almoravides came to power. I'm not familiar with any trial he was put on -- and I just checked on-line on a few sites that went into enough detail that I think they would have mentioned it.
Further he didn't just live in Egypt. He was appointed physician to the Vizier of Egypt, who basically ruled there for Saladin.
There is a legend that may or may not be true that King Richard the Lion-Hearted, in the Holy Land for the Crusades, heard of Maimonides fame and offered him the position of royal physician. Maimonides turned him down, choosing to remain in Muslim Egypt, rather than go to Christian England.
Considering that that was about the time that all the Jews of York were massacred, there may have been a good reason behind that decision. And though I doubt Maimonides had any foreknowledge of it, about a century later, the Jews would be thrown of England.
RASHI lived more than 200 years before RAMBAM. RASHI was French BTW.
RAMBAM was born in Spain, afterwards lived in Egypt. His family never "secretly" observed Judaism, they were always open about it.
Don't know where you get your information.