Medieval Ashkenazic culture often appears monochromatic, especially when contrasted with the dizzying array of cultural and intellectual disciplines that were cultivated by the Jews in Spain and Provence. The typical perception of Franco-German Jewry is that of a self-contained minority devoting itself to traditional intellectual pursuits (Bible, Talmud, Halakhah etc.), while addressing the externally imposed need to respond to the increasingly aggressive missionary activities of the Catholic Church. Its spiritual life (with the prominent exception of the German pietists) is typically portrayed as profound but uncomplicated.