Meeting material challenges in a rapidly changing environment constituted the first priority for the Jews of medieval western Christendom, one they accomplished by and large effectively. At the same time, these Jews encountered major challenges in the cultural and spiritual spheres, again in a rapidly changing and creative majority ambiance. For the Jews of medieval western Christendom, the […]
Introduction Introduction- Creating a Physical Setting Images Speyer medieval synagogue- view from the northwest, view from the northeast, sandstone tile floor Synagogue of Santa Maria la Blanca, Toledo, 13 th century Córdoba Synagogue, south and north walls, 1314-15 Detail of the Dedicatory Inscription of the Synagogue of El Tránsito, Toledo, 1357 Illuminating the Synagogue, Sister […]
Introduction Introduction- Economic Flexibility Primary Texts Business Dealings among Jews Eleventh-Century Responsum Business Arrangement between Jew and Bishop Eleventh-Century Responsum from Sefer ha-Dinim Business Dealings between Jew and Non-Jew Eleventh-Century Responsum Business Dealings between Jew and Non-Jew Eleventh-Century Responsum Early Jewish Money Lending, An Anonymous Responsum Dispute between a Jew and a Prior over Loan, […]
Here are the confines of Germany, a country full of hills and mountains. The Jewish congregations of Germany inhabit the banks of the great river Rhine, from Cologne, where the empire commences, unto Cassanburg, the frontier of Germany, which is fifteen days’ journey, and is called Ashkenas by the Jews. These are the cities of […]
Introduction Introduction- Demographic Movement Images Map of Medieval Spanish Jewish Settlement Map of Medieval Northern European Jewish Settlement Map of Expulsions from Europe Map of Medieval Eastern European Jewish Settlement Primary Texts Establishment of Jewish Rights throughout France, Rabbi Meir Bar Simon’s Milhemet Mizvah Purported Movement of Jews from Italy to Rhineland, R. Elazar of […]
Having described the context within which Jewish life in medieval western Christendom developed—the diverse forces that encouraged, limited, and opposed the Jews, we must now proceed to examine the Jewish experience from within, to identify the challenges presented to the Jews in western Christendom on both the material and spiritual planes, their responses to these challenges, and the legacy […]
Within the Christian majority of medieval Europe, diverse forces encouraged, limited, and opposed the presence of Jews. What was it that drove the Jews themselves to remain in older areas of Jewish settlement and to strike out dramatically into areas heretofore beyond the boundaries of late ancient and early medieval Jewish settlement? The answer is […]
Introduction Expulsion Images Expulsion from France, 1182 Edict of Expulsion from Aragon and Castile, 1492 Edict of Expulsion from Granada, 1492 King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella Primary Texts King Philip Augustus, 1182, Rigord of St. Denis Duke John of Brittany, 1239 Ducal Document Count Charles of Anjou and Maine. 1289 Comital Document King Edward I […]
Given the considerable negativity of the Church’s doctrines, policies, and imageries and the lack of pre-1000 Jewish population in western Christendom, the obvious question is how a burgeoning European Jewish population developed in the period between 1000 and 1500. The answer lies in the fact that some—but by no means all—elements in European society were interested in fostering Jewish […]
Given the considerable negativity of the Church’s doctrines, policies, and imageries and wide-ranging popular animosity, the obvious question is how a burgeoning Jewish population could have developed across Europe in the period between 1000 and 1500. The answer lies in the fact that some—but by no means all—elements in European society were interested in fostering […]