PERIOD OF OPPRESSION (1215-1492)
During the thirteenth century the persecutions of the Jews continued,
although they are of a more sporadic character than those of the time of
the crusades. In 1235 a number of Jews were killed in Fulda on the charge
of ritual murder. This is the first distinct case of its kind, but was
frequently repeated in France and various places in Germany, although
Emperor Frederick II (1236) and Pope Innocent IV (1247) defended the Jews
against this accusation.
An important change in the political condition of the Jews resulted from
the law of Frederick the Belligerent of Austria (1244). In this law the
territorial ruler for the first time proclaimed his right to legislate
for the Jews, heretofore considered the exclusive privilege of the
Emperor of Germany, as overlord of all the Jews. This law deals largely
with the regulation of money-lending. It permits a very high rate of
interest, and allows the Jews to be tried in accordance with their own
laws. It prohibits all violence toward the persons and properties of the
Jews, their synagogues and cemeteries, and forbids the forcible baptism
of Jewish children. It became the prototype for all similar mediæval
legislation, and was repeated almost verbatim in subsequent laws issued
by the kings of Bohemia, Hungary, the Dukes of Saxony and Silesia, and
others during the thirteenth century.
In England, the Jews were constantly being blackmailed by King John
(1199-1216) and by King Henry III (1216-1272). The most notable and
typical instance of the extortion of money from the Jews, is that
reported of King John, who imprisoned a Jew and ordered that one of his
teeth should be drawn every day until he agreed to pay the sum demanded
of him. The heavy taxes laid upon the Jews forced them to charge higher
rates of interest, thus embittering the people against them, and making
them so miserable that they asked to be permitted to emigrate. Finally
Edward I, in 1290, ordered the expulsion of all the Jews from England.
They were permitted to take their property with them, and a sea captain,
who put the Jewish exiles aboard his vessel on a sand bar where they were
drowned by the high tide, was put to death.
In France the vassals possessed power independent of the crown. There the
Jews were expelled from the territory of the king and recalled several
times during the fourteenth century. At each expulsion they were robbed,
so that an assembly of Jewish notables proposed to declare it unlawful,
under penalty of excommunication, for any Jew to settle in territory from
which the Jews had been previously expelled. Judah Hechasid, author of a
book on religious ethics, however, condemned this resolution because it
would not be effective and merely cause the Jews to transgress the law.
A very serious persecution broke out in Franconia, in 1298, the Jews
being accused of desecrating the host in Roettingen. This is the first
case of this kind, often repeated up to the sixteenth century. The
leader of the mob was a man named Rindfleisch. Another bloody persecution
broke out in Alsace, in 1336, under the leadership of an innkeeper, John
Armleder, so-called because he fastened to his arm a patch of leather
which was imitated by all his followers. These riots were finally
suppressed after having brought great misery upon the Jews, but the
evil-doers were not punished.
The most serious persecutions broke out in 1348-1349, during the
so-called Black Plague which spread all over Europe. As a reason for
these attacks the rumor was circulated that the Jews had poisoned the
wells or had smeared some poisonous salve on the doors. In many cases
the Jews were killed and their houses sacked. The protection of the
Emperor availed them nothing; even if the Emperor threatened a city with
punishment for breach of the peace, the affair was usually compromised
by allowing the city to retain part of the plunder taken from the Jews,
the Emperor taking the rest. The Flagellants, who appeared at about this
time, by their religious fanaticism also stimulated the hatred against
the Jews.
Other annoyances were frequent. On the basis of the view that the Jews
were chattels of the king, various rulers occasionally declared void the
bonds held by the Jews. The most typical instance is that of Wenzel,
King of Bohemia and German Emperor, who in 1385 annulled all the bonds
held by Jews and accepted from the debtors a fraction of their debts in
settlement.
During the fifteenth century frequent expulsions took place. The cities,
originally small settlements where the Jews were the merchants and
bankers, had grown in size and importance, and the citizens were jealous
of their successful Jewish competitors. Such expulsions were often
ordered under the excitement aroused by some false accusation. Thus, in
1421, the Jews of Vienna were accused of having desecrated the host, and
a number of them were publicly burned at the stake, all the others being
expelled from the city and the entire province. Such expulsions took
place in 1426 at Cologne, the oldest Jewish settlement in Germany, in
1440, at Wittenberg, and in 1475 at Bamberg.
The religious troubles of this period contributed to turn the people
against the Jews. The Hussites were then a great menace to the Church,
and John Capistrano, an Italian monk, preached against them in various
places in the kingdom of Bohemia. Everywhere he set the mob against
the Jews, and occasionally as at Breslau in 1453, he tried them on the
charge of ritual murder. A number of Jews were burned at the stake, and
many others expelled. From other cities of that kingdom, as Bruenn and
Olmuetz, the Jews were expelled.
Another Catholic revivalist, Bernardin of Feltre, appeared in Trent,
where he arranged a ritual murder trial. The body of a boy named Simon
was found, and the Jews were accused of having murdered him (1475). Again
a number of Jews were cruelly put to death and the remainder expelled
in spite of the fact that the Doge of Venice exonerated them from the
charge, and that the Pope declared the accusation to be baseless. Simon
was considered a martyr and later on made a saint. A similar charge was
brought against the Jews of Ratisbon, but they succeeded in proving
their innocence. The expulsions continued. In 1499 the Jews were expelled
from Nuremberg and Ulm, in 1493 from Magdeburg, in 1496 from the province
of Styria, and somewhat later from Ratisbon and Saxony. The exiles sought
refuge in villages and little towns under the rule of the nobles, or
emigrated to Poland, where, toward the end of the fifteenth century,
there was already a considerable Jewish settlement. This soon became in
numbers the most important in Europe.
FRANCE
Under Louis IX (1226-1270), a religious fanatic, the Jews were
treated badly. In 1236 a mob of crusaders attacked them, and wrought
great suffering among them. In 1240 Nicholas Donin, a converted Jew,
brought charges against the Talmud as containing statements which were
blasphemous to the Christian religion. Consequently all copies that could
be found were seized and in cart-loads were publicly burnt at Paris in
1244. In 1254 the King decreed the expulsion of all the Jews from France,
but the decree was repealed under Philip IV (1288-1314). All the Jews
found in the kingdom were imprisoned and their property confiscated under
Philip’s successor, Louis X.
They were recalled in 1315, but under Philip V suffered greatly from
a fanatical mob, known as Shepherd Crusaders. After many vicissitudes
their final expulsion was decreed in 1394. Only in the south of France,
where the feudal barons still had sovereign rights, and in the Papal
possessions at Carpentras and Avignon, a few isolated Jewish communities,
with a ritual of their own, remained. Most of the Jews exiled from
France went to the adjoining German territories of Alsace and Lorraine,
and when these territories were annexed to France in the sixteenth and
seventeenth centuries, the Jews were permitted to remain there. But they
were not allowed to settle in France proper until 1791.
SPAIN
The Christian kingdoms in the latter part of the Middle Ages continually
expanded, so that the Moors were restricted to the southern part of the
peninsula. The growing religious fanaticism of the Christians affected
the condition of the Jews unfavorably, but individuals rose to prominence
as financiers or physicians. James VIII of Aragon ordered a public
disputation between Jews and Christians held at Barcelona in 1263. The
Jewish side was defended by Moses ben Nachman, and, although he had been
assured perfect freedom of speech, the Christians took such offence at
his remarks that they demanded his execution. The King sent him instead
into exile. He went to Palestine, where he died. Alphonso X (1254-1284),
of Castile, employed Don Isaac, a Jew, as his astronomer. Alphonso’s
constitution, regulating the condition of the Jews, is rather severe.
They were restricted in their commercial activity and compelled to wear
yellow badges.
In a civil war between Peter the Cruel (1350-1369) and Henry II
(1369-1379) the Jews sided with the former, and although Henry was
victorious he treated them with moderation. In 1391 Ferdinand Martinez
began to preach violent sermons against the Jews in Toledo, the largest
Jewish community of Spain. His example was followed in many other
places, and in consequence of these incendiary speeches, riots broke
out all over Christian Spain. A great many Jews were killed or forcibly
converted to Christianity. Many of the latter fled as soon as they were
able to do so to Mohammedan countries in order to be able to practice
the Jewish religion openly. They were called Marannos, probably from
the Hebrew מוחרם (excommunicated). The Jews called them אנוסים
(compelled to profess the Christian religion).
In 1413-1414 another public disputation between Jews and Christians was
arranged by Pope Benedict XIII, one of the three who claimed the Papal
throne at that time. It took place in Tortosa, Aragon. The idea had been
suggested to the Pope by Solomon Halevi, a converted Jew who called
himself Paul and later on became Bishop of Burgos. He was an influential
friend of the King of Castile. Another convert, a Jewish scholar like
Paul, had written a satire against Paul and his conversion. This was
Joshua Alorqui, who as a Christian took the name of Geronimo de Santa Fe,
and was derisively called by the Jews מגד״ף, “Blasphemer.”
Among those who took up the cudgels for the Jews at Tortosa was Joseph
Albo, author of the philosophic work “Ikkarim.” The many converts whom
the Church forced to remain in her fold while they were Jews at heart
and secretly practiced Judaism, provoked the ecclesiastic authorities.
For their sake a special court of inquiry, called the “Inquisition,” was
created in 1480. This may be defined as a court-martial to try cases of
heresy. It proceeded with the utmost severity and with absolute disregard
of the most elementary forms of court procedure. From time to time it
arranged public executions, at which those convicted of heresy were
burned at the stake, often after having undergone terrible tortures. Such
an execution was called an auto-da-fe.
In 1483 Thomas Torquemada was appointed Grand Inquisitor, and he was
assisted by the blind monk, Peter Arbues. During the time of the
existence of the Inquisition (1480-1808), 31,712 were burned at the stake
and hundreds of thousands were punished with imprisonment, confiscation
of property, or were publicly disgraced. One of the latter kinds of
punishment was the sentence compelling the victim to wear a hideous
penitential gown, the San Benito. Peter Arbues was assassinated by
Marannos, and Pope Pius IX declared him a saint in 1868. The victims of
the Inquisition were mostly converted Jews, although there were also
Moors and native Christians among them. In spite of the terrors of
the Inquisition, the Jews assisted the Marannos in the observance of
the Jewish religion, and this was the cause of the edict of expulsion
promulgated by Ferdinand, King of Castile, and his wife Isabella, Queen
of Aragon, on March 30, 1492, soon after the capture of Granada, the last
Moorish stronghold in Spain.
Most of the exiled fled to Portugal, where they found a temporary home.
But when Manuel, King of Portugal, married the daughter of Ferdinand
and Isabella, it was stipulated in the marriage contract that the Jews
should be expelled from that country also. This expulsion took place in
1498. Most of the exiles went to Turkey, where they were kindly received.
Others went to the Barbary States in Northern Africa, and especially to
Morocco. A number went to Italy and settled in the various cities, even
in the Papal possessions. Still there were a great many Marannos left in
Spain, and while they were compelled to profess and practice the Catholic
religion, they remained Jews for many generations. Hence up to the end
of the eighteenth century, they were always autos-da-fe held at which
Jews were publicly burned. From time to time the wealthy Marannos would
escape and seek refuge in countries where they were permitted to publicly
practice their religion.
ITALY
Italy was split up into many petty states whose boundary lines were
constantly shifting. The treatment of the Jews varied in its details
according to time and locality but is the same in general throughout
mediæval times. It was characterized by restriction of economic liberty
and humiliation in social position. The Jews produced quite a number
of eminent scholars, physicians (sometimes attending on the Popes),
astronomers and translators of Arabic works into Latin. Their economic
activity was largely confined to money-lending and, in the fourteenth
century, they became the pioneers of banking by combining the pawn-shops
in a certain city into companies which were given the exclusive privilege
of money-lending.
In the fifteenth century clerical agitation became very strong, and
loan associations were formed under priestly management to suppress
money-lending by Jews. One of the most notable agitators in this respect
was Bernardin of Feltre, who is known through his participation in the
ritual murder trial at Trent (1475). Italy became a force in Jewish
culture by the establishment of the first Hebrew printing presses.
The first book printed seems to have been published in 1474. One of
the earliest printed books was the “Psalms” with the commentary of
David Kimhi, 1475. The edict of the expulsion of the Jews from Spain
affected also those of Sicily and southern Italy, at that time Spanish
dependencies. Since that period there has existed no Jewish community in
that part of Italy.
HUNGARY
In Hungary the Jews settled at a very early date. They were tax-farmers
and financiers. Our first documentary evidence goes back to 1251, when
King Bela IV granted them a charter, essentially a reproduction of that
granted by the Duke of Austria in 1244. Under Louis (1342-1382) they were
given the alternative of expulsion or conversion to Christianity. During
the fifteenth century the Jews suffered from persecution and expulsion.
POLAND
In Poland the Jews appear in the thirteenth century as a small community
without any intellectual life. In 1264 they obtained their first charter,
this being confirmed by Casimir the Great (1333-1370). It is also a
reproduction of the Austrian law of 1244. When Capistrano appeared (1450)
in Poland the Jews suffered from mob attacks but fared not as badly
as those of Bohemia. The persecution of the Jews in Western Europe,
beginning with the crusades, drove many of them to emigrate to the large
and thinly settled kingdom of Poland. Hence toward the close of the
fifteenth century, Poland was the center of Rabbinic learning and has
to-day proportionately the largest Jewish population in the world.
THE EAST
In 1187 Saladin reconquered Jerusalem. From that time Jews began to
emigrate to Palestine and Egypt. The persecution of the Jews through the
Inquisition and their expulsion from Spain drove many to Morocco and
Algeria. The conquest of Constantinople by the Turks in 1453 brought
many Jews to the Balkans, and the number of the immigrants was so large
that their dialect, Ladino, became the universal language of the Jews of
the East, just as in Poland and Hungary the immigrants from Germany made
Yiddish predominant.
JEWISH LITERATURE, THIRTEENTH TO FIFTEENTH CENTURY
From the thirteenth century the spiritual life of the Jews declined.
Talmudic literature, ritualism and Kabbala were almost exclusively
cultivated. Poetry, exegesis, philosophy and scientific literature were
constantly declining. The most prominent representative of Maimonides’
tradition is David Kimhi of Narbonne, 1170-1230. He wrote a Hebrew
Grammar, מכלול, and commentaries to most of the Biblical books. He
also took an active part in the defense of Maimonides’ works when the
orthodox of Spain and France, influenced by the zeal of the Dominican
Friars in their attack on the Albigenses and the scholastic philosophy,
wished to commit the “Moreh” to the flames. Besides Kimhi two members
of his family are noted for grammatical and exegetical works. These
are his father Joseph and his brother Moses. To Southern France belongs
also the family of Ibn Tibbon, four generations of which were prominent
translators of philosophical, Rabbinic and scientific books from Arabic
into Hebrew.
Judah the Elder (1100-1150) translated Bahya’s “Duties of the Heart,”
Saadya’s “Dogma and Science,” and Judah Halevi’s “Kuzari.” His son
Solomon translated Maimonides’ “Moreh” and the commentary on the Mishna.
But the orthodox party prevailed in their opposition to Maimonides, and
in 1233 the “Moreh” was publicly burned at Paris. The Dominicans, who
had been appealed to, extended their inquisitory activities, and on the
testimony of Nicholas Donin, a converted Jew, charged the Talmud with
hostility to the Christians. All copies of the book that could be found
were burned at Paris in 1244. In spite of these attacks philosophical
studies did not die out completely. In the fourteenth century Levi ben
Gershom (1288-1344) flourished in Southern France. His philosophical
work, “The Wars of the Lord,” is an attempt to reconcile Judaism with
Platonic philosophy. He also invented an astronomic instrument in which
the great astronomer Kepler was much interested.
To the fourteenth century belongs Hasdai Crescas, whose commentary to
Maimonides’ “Moreh” and philosophical treatise, “The Light of the Lord,”
have great scientific value. Of little independent value is the work
“Ikkarim” (Fundamental Principles), by Joseph Albo (1380-1440). He is an
imitator of Maimonides; but, instead of thirteen fundamental articles of
faith, he recognized only three—God, revelation and the future life.
To the school of the preachers belongs Isaac Arama, whose work, “Akedat
Yizhak,” is a philosophical interpretation of the Midrash, and follows
the weekly portions of the Haggadic writers.
Isaac Abarbanel, born in Lisbon, 1447, died in Venice, 1508, wrote
various dogmatic treatises in which, as in his commentaries on the
Pentateuch, he outlined his views. He showed little independence,
sometimes plagiarized, and is very verbose. He put together a great
number of questions on some topic in Biblical literature, and attempted
to answer them. From this time philosophy and scientific literature are
on the decline. The intellectual activity of the Jews is confined mostly
to Rabbinic literature.
Secular subjects are rarely taken up until the end of the eighteenth
century. Then a revival of secular knowledge and scientific literature
took place. Of the scientific writers Jacob Anatoli, 1200-1250, in Italy,
translated serious scientific works from Arabic and Hebrew into Latin
for Frederick II. Kalonymos ben Kalonymos of Rome, 1280-1340, wrote an
ethical treatise, “Eben Bohan” (Tried Stone from Isaiah xxviii, 16), and
a travesty on the Talmud, “Masseket Purim.” To the same period belong
Immanuel ben Solomon of Rome, a friend of Dante, author of “Mehabberot,”
a poem in the style of the “Divina Commedia.” This in some places is
lascivious, and was condemned by Joseph Caro in the “Shulhan Aruk.” In
the style of Dante, Moses Rieti (1388-1460) wrote his “Mikdash Meat.”
To the fifteenth century belong Judah Messer Leon of Mantua, who wrote
a text-book on rhetoric in Hebrew, Nofet Zufim (honeycombs), and Elijah
del Medigo, a native of Crete, who was professor of philosophy in Padua.
He wrote an apology for Judaism in Hebrew, “Behinat Ha-Dat” (Evidenced
Religion). In this class the polemical writers against Christianity are
included. Joshua Allorqui of Spain, who later on became a convert to
Christianity, wrote such a polemical treatise under the title “Be not
like thy fathers.” In scientific literature we have the anthology of the
Midrashim called “Yalkut Shimeoni,” by Simeon Kara (the Bible reader) of
the thirteenth century. This is a selection of homiletical expositions
from old Rabbinic works arranged in the order of the books of the Bible.
A similar work is the “Yalkut Machiri” of uncertain date, but most likely
from the fourteenth century, by Machir ben Aba Mari. Only parts of it are
in existence.
TALMUDIC LITERATURE
In the beginning of the thirteenth century, orthodox authorities in
France and Spain attacked Maimonides’ philosophy. Their leaders were Meir
Abulafia in Spain, and Solomon ben Abraham of Montpellier in France. They
denounced the work of Maimonides to the Dominicans, and the latter burned
it publicly at Paris in 1244. Of Talmudic authorities who possessed
secular learning and worked in the field of exegesis the most prominent
was Moses ben Nachman of Gerona (Ramban, 1200-1270). His commentary on
the Pentateuch contains sound exegetical views, is strictly traditional
and gives space to Kabalistic interpretations. He indulged in vehement
invectives against Ibn Ezra, and in his notes on Alfasi vehemently
attacked Zerahiah Halevi for his critical remarks on Alfasi in “The Wars
of the Lord.”
One of the most prominent Spanish Rabbis was Solomon Ibn Adret (Rashba),
in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries. He was opposed to philosophy
and issued a prohibition that no one should read the Moreh before he was
twenty-five years old. He professed a belief in every statement in the
Talmud, even if in conflict with well-known scientific facts. He left
thousands of responsa.
A younger contemporary of his is Asher ben Yechiel, a disciple of Meir
of Rothenburg (German rabbi of the thirteenth century), who emigrated to
Spain in 1305 and died in Toledo in 1327. He wrote a work on the plan of
that by Alfasi, making an abstract of the practical laws of the Talmud.
It is printed in most of the Talmud editions, and quoted as Rosh. He had
eight sons who were Talmudic scholars, and of these the most prominent
was Jacob ben Asher, who died in 1350. He wrote an important set of
codes of the Rabbinic law, called Turim. The first, Orah Hayyim, treated
chiefly of liturgics, the second, Eben Haezer, of matrimonial laws, the
third, Yoreh Deah, of dietary laws, the fourth, Hoshen Mishpat, of civil
laws.
Another disciple of Meir of Rothenburg was Mordecai ben Hillel, who
was killed in Nuremberg during the Rindfleisch riots of 1298. He wrote
notes to Alfasi’s code of value, because of their many historical
references. To the fourteenth century belongs Isaac ben Sheshet (Ribash)
of Barcelona, who fled after the persecution of 1391, and became Chief
Rabbi of Algiers, where he died about 1410. In his decisions he is very
orthodox, but distinguished by his humanitarian views. Thus he forced
his congregations to rescind an order against the landing of further
immigrants. His successor was Simeon ben Zemach Duran, whose responsa
are collected under the title (Tashbez). He is supposed to have been the
first rabbi who received a salary. In Italy, in the thirteenth century,
Isaiah di Trani the Elder, and his grandson, Isaiah di Trani the Younger,
flourished.
In the latter half of the fifteenth century Joseph Colon wrote a volume
of responsa. His opponent was Elijah Kapsali. Of special interest in
Colon’s decisions is the case of the congregation of Nuremberg, in
which he held that all German congregations were obliged to contribute
toward the expenses of the trial of Israel Bruna, who was accused of
complicity in the murder of a Christian child in 1477. In Germany the
most important rabbi of the fifteenth century was Israel Isserlein of
Marburg, 1400-1470, author of Terumat Ha-Deshen, a collection of responsa
containing important historical notes. When the authorities in Breslau
issued a law that Jews had to swear with uncovered head and by the name
Yahve, he permitted it, provided it was not meant as an attempt to
convert the Jews.
The German and French rabbis in the thirteenth century were characterized
by their strict adherence to authority and rigorous view of the law. The
most prominent is Judah ben Samuel Hechasid, author of “Sefer Hasidim.”
Eleazar ben Jehudah of Worms, a descendant of the Kalonymos family, and
author of Rokeah (druggist), is a type of this ascetic school. Another
is Moses of Coucy, author of a compendium of the 613 commandments Sefer
Mizwot Haggadol, abbreviated Semag.
In the thirteenth century the study of Kabbala received strong impetus
from Isaac, the blind, son of Rabed. His disciples were Ezra and
Ezriel; their disciple was Ramban, and he introduced Kabbala into his
commentary on the Pentateuch. About 1390 Moses of Leon wrote the Zohar,
a Kabbalistic Midrash on the Pentateuch, which he claimed was written by
Simeon ben Yohai, disciple of Akiba, and discovered by him in a cave. It
is written in Aramaic.