Introduction: Historic Jewish Enmity

Medieval W. Christendom
Jews who were convinced to remain in areas of Italy and Spain that fell
under Christian domination and Jews who immigrated into older areas of Jewish
settlement in the south and into newer areas of Jewish settlement in the north
encountered considerable animosity on the part of the Christian majority. In part,
this animosity was a normal human reaction to those who dissent from the majority
vision; in areas where Jewish presence was new, the animosity was the normal
human reaction to newcomers; in part, the skewed Jewish economic profile
triggered resentment. However, the most potent source of majority animosity was
undoubtedly the legacy of Christian anti-Jewish teachings that pre-dated the
Middle Ages. While Paul insisted on an eventual reconciliation between God and
the Jewish people, the Gospel portraits of Jewish enmity and malevolence had
much deeper impact on popular thinking. Given the centrality of the Crucifixion to
the annual Christian calendar, Jewish enmity and malevolence were regularly and
widely recalled and commemorated.

While there are early hints of the impact of imagery of historic Jewish enmity
on European Christians, the first major outbreak of violence rooted in such imagery
came as an offshoot of the First Crusade. The call of Pope Urban II in 1095 to a holy
military mission against the Islamic enemy electrified western Christendom. While
the papal vision of a unified army operating under ecclesiastical control was
thwarted, effective baronial militias coalesced, made their way eastward, and
during the summer of 1099 achieved a stunning victory with the conquest of
Jerusalem. The call to the crusade galvanized many elements in Christian society
and aroused diverse views and commitments. In certain sectors of the crusading
population and among some burgher sympathizers, the notion of a sacred struggle
against the Islamic foes of Christendom was translated into the sense that the
battle against “the enemy” should be generalized and should begin with the local
and more heinous enemy—the Jews. While this sense ran counter to ecclesiastical
teachings, the exhilaration of the call to battle evoked radical ideas that the Church
could by no means control. Significant anti-Jewish violence along the Rhine River
was grounded in this sense of the Jews as historical enemies of Christ and
Christianity.