History of European Jews in the Middle Ages
History of European Jews in the Middle Ages covers Jewish history in Europe in the period from the 5th to the 15th century. Jews had been present in Europe since antiquity and experienced during that time, as well as during the early Middle Ages, a gradual diaspora shifting from their motherland of the Levant to Europe. These Jewish individuals settled primarily in the regions of Central Europe dominated by the Holy Roman Empire and Southern Europe dominated by various Iberian kingdoms. As with Christianity, the Middle Ages were a period in which Judaism became mostly overshadowed by Islam in the Middle East, and an increasingly influential part of the socio-cultural and intellectual landscape of Europe.
The status of Jews in Christian Europe was defined by St Augustine's witness theology and Roman law. This allowed Jews to live relatively safely in a Christian society and even enjoy a certain degree of religious toleration up to the twelfth century. The Jews who immigrated to Iberia, and their descendants comprise the Sephardic Jews, while those who immigrated to the German Rhineland and France comprise the Ashkenazi Jews. The situation in Western Europe began to change at the end of the eleventh century with the start of the Crusades and the charge of Blood libel, which resulted often in progroms though Church authorities and rulers often issued protection letters such as Sicut Judaeis. By the thirteenth century, Augustine's witness theory had eroded so that Jewish presence was often not tolerated anymore and Jews were expelled from many lands. The later Middle Ages saw stronger persecutions and forced conversions during the Black Death. By the end of the Middle Ages, most of Western Europe had expelled all its Jews while Poland had become the heartland of the Ashkenaz Jews.
With the end of the medieval age, a similar phenomenon was to repeat itself in Spain, the Italian peninsula and throughout most German towns and principalities in German-speaking lands in the sixteenth century. As a result, many Jews migrated to Eastern Europe, with large Yiddish speaking populations expanding over the next several centuries. By the 17th century a trickle back process began, with reverse migration back to central and western Europe, following pogroms in Ukraine.
Early Middle Ages (500–1000)
Background
Many Jewish communities in Europe date back to antiquity. After 380s, when the emperors instituted Christianity as the state religion in the Roman Empire, they also passed several laws that limited the rights of heretics, pagans and also Jews, though Judaism remained a religio licita. The Theodosian Code, a compilation of imperial constitutions from the reign of Constantine I to Theodosius II that were issued as laws in 438, provided a blueprint for how Jews should be treated in a Christian society. As such, it included both restrictions as well as providing them protective basic rights.The papacy insisted on the implementation of the Theodosian Code from the fifth century onwards and combined it with the teachings of St Augustine to justify the continuation of a Jewish presence within Christianity. Augustine argued that because the Jews were unknowing witnesses to Christ spared by God, they must be protected. As they accepted the Old Testament, this was a disinterested testimony to the truth and historical basis of biblical Christological prophecy and as such Jews were living witnesses to the divine origin of Scripture. According to Augustine, Christians should encourage the presence of Jews amongst their midst as well as the continued observance of Jewish rites; as such, he placed little emphasis on evangelising Jews. Augustine's teachings were brought together with theology by Paul and the existing Roman law into Church doctrine by pope Gregory the Great. In a letter to the bishop of Naples he explained that just as Jews were forbidden from pursuing more freedom than the laws permitted so should Christians be forbidden to infringe the rights that Jews had. The letter, starting with the phrase Sicut Judaeis, became later known as Constitutio pro Judaeis and was re-issued by later popes in response to persecutions and appeals from Jews for protection. Most importantly, Pope Gregory insisted that Jews should not be forced to convert or physically harmed. Augustine's teaching and the Church protection allowed the Jews of Europe to live relatively safe and even enjoy a certain measure of religious tolerance up to the twelfth century.
Italy
The majority of archaeological and epigraphical evidence of the Jews in Late Ancient Rome lies in funerary sites, making it difficult to uncover a historical picture of their daily lives or their interactions with outsiders. Their fate in each particular country depended on the changing political conditions. In Italy they experienced difficult days during the wars waged by the Heruli, Rugii, Ostrogoths, and Lombards. The severe laws of the Roman emperors were, in general, more mildly administered than elsewhere; the Arian confession, of which the Germanic conquerors of Italy were adherents, was characterized by its tolerance.Germany
Jewish migration from Roman Italy is considered the most likely source of the first Jews within German territory, but there are multiple theories present in the scholarship currently available. While the date of the first settlement of Jews in the regions which the Romans called Germania Superior, Germania Inferior, and Magna Germania is not known, the first authentic documents relating to a large and well-organized Jewish community in these regions date from 321 and refers to Cologne on the Rhine. These documents stated that Jews could be called to the Curia and owed taxes to Rome, and that Jewish religious leaders were exempt from curial service, signalling that a uniquely Jewish community, prosperous enough to be taxed, had existed in Cologne for some time. During the Carolingian period, Jews had a vital function as importers of goods from the East, and their laws and customs were generally tolerated, although they were not allowed to proselytize to Christians. It was during this peaceful time, that Jews from other communities emigrated to Francia in hopes of better treatment, notably members of the Persian House of Exilarchs, such as Isaac the Jew and Makhir of Narbonne came to Francia and with them, brought a large community of Persian Jews, who later assimilated to European customs. However, these peaceful relations would end with the beginning of the First Crusade and thousands of Jews in communities all along the Rhine were attacked and killed under the presumption that if they were going to attack enemies of the Christ in Jerusalem, they should attack "Christ's enemies" around them in Germany. In 1095, Henry IV of Germany granted the Jews favorable conditions and issued a charter to the Jews and a decree against forced baptism. Despite those difficulties, German Jews continued to practice, refine, and evolve their religious and social customs, including the development of the Yiddish language and an identity as Ashkenazi Jews.Visigoth Spain
Jews had been present in Spain since early classical times and had prospered under the Roman and - to a certain extent - also the Byzantine Empire. After the decline of the Roman Empire, the Visigoths controlled large portions of former Roman territory, including southwestern Gaul until 507, and much of the Iberian peninsula until 711. At the start, Jewish communities generally flourished under Visigothic rule in both Gaul and Spain.The position of Jews became regulated under the Breviary of Alaric. which was essentially a simplification of the Theodosian Code and did not substantially change their status. Published in 506, it decreed that Jews were to be considered Roman citizens and were to live under Roman law. They were given freedom to practice their religion, although efforts to convert pagans and Christians to Judaism were to be curtailed. Alaric also decreed that the judicial autonomy of the Jewish communities was to be respected. After Sisebut took the Visigothic throne in 612, these privileges were revoked, and suppression of the Jewish religion became policy, resulting in attempted forced conversion. There was a brief respite in 640, when Chindasuinth usurped the throne and pursued a pro-Jewish policy. His son Recceswinth, to the contrary, denounced Jews as "polluting the soil of Spain" in 653, and enacted a new code meant to make it impossible for Jews to remain in Spain. These laws proved to be unpopular, and were resisted by both Jews and Christians alike. Therefore, when the Muslims invaded Spain, Jews often helped them in ending Visigothic rule and garrisoned captured cities.
Activities
The first historical testimonies on the activities of the Jews show that most were engaged in agriculture, and a minority were engaged in trade, as well as in handicrafts. In the South, "particularly in south Italy and Greece - the Jewish communities had almost a monopoly of dyeing and silk-weaving". Some were involved in qualified services such as interpreters, translators, and medical practitioners.European Jews were involved in the intellectual and cultural spheres of medieval society : "Jews contributed to medicine, astrology, mathematics as well as to the arts, literature and music."
Many Jewish women, in comparison to Gentile women, worked alongside their male counterparts. These Jewish women relied on Christian women as wet nurses and caretakers of their young, which brought about some concern from their male partners regarding if their offspring would be truly "Jewish" and not impacted by these intimate relationships with Christians. It was common for many regions of Medieval Europe to have communal ovens that Jewish and Christian women would use in tandem. There is evidence of written correspondence between Jewish males and rabbinical authorities discussing whether or not certain intimate interactions were in accordance with Jewish law; it seems that many of the conclusions were that it should be left to the discretion of the women.