European Jewry and the First Crusade / Robert Chazan.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Chazan, Robert.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Jews--Germany--History--1096-1147.

Jews.

Crusades.

Germany.

History.

Jews--Persecutions--Germany.

Jews--Persecutions.

Crusades--First, 1096-1099--Jews--Germany.

Germany--Ethnic relations.

Ethnic relations.

Croisades - 1re croisade, 1096-1099--Juifs--Allemagne.

Juifs--Allemagne--Histoire--1096-1147.

Juifs--Allemagne--Persécutions.

Allemagne--Relations interethniques.

Local Subjects:

Croisades - 1re croisade, 1096-1099--Juifs--Allemagne.

Juifs--Allemagne--Histoire--1096-1147.

Juifs--Allemagne--Persécutions.

Allemagne--Relations interethniques.

Genre:

History.

Physical Description:

ix, 380 pages ; 22 cm

Place of Publication:

Berkeley : University of California Press, [1987]

Summary:

Analyzes the causes of the anti-Jewish violence of the First Crusade. The spiritual revival and rapid growth of the 10th-11th centuries led both to Church reform and the Crusades, an attempt to direct feudal violence against the enemies of the Church. Under the impact of popular frenzy and loss of control by the papacy, the traditional Church doctrine of both denigration and toleration of the Jews broke down. The crusading bands' ideological motivation is reflected in contemporary Hebrew chronicles and in two Christian accounts. Discusses the Jewish response of martyrdom in preference to conversion. Contends that 1096 was not a turning-point - the destroyed communities were quickly resettled, and in later Crusades anti-Jewish excesses were prevented by the Church. The massacres indicated a change in Christian attitudes, including the view of Jews as enemies of Christendom, ritual murder accusations, and the demand for the Jews' total destruction or conversion. The appendix (pp. 223-297) contains an English translation of the texts of the two chronicles. (From the Bibliography of the Vidal Sassoon International Center for the Study of Antisemitism).

Contents:

The background. The awakening of Northern Europe ; The growth and development of Northern European Jewry ; Christian-Jewish relations

The sources and their reliability. The Christian sources ; The Jewish sources

The violence of 1096. Varieties of violence ; The devastating assaults : a closer look

The patterns of response. Preserving Jewish lives ; Conversion or martyrdom

Subsequent Jewish reactions. The return to normalcy ; Memorialization, rationalization, and explanation

The church, the Jews, and the later Crusades. Assertion of effective control over crusading ; Related economic issues

Glances backward and forward. Reflections of the late eleventh century ; 1096 as a watershed ; 1096 as a "portent of things to come" ; New-style persecution and new-style martyrdom

Appendix

Glossary.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 357-367) and index.

National Jewish Book Awards - Jewish History, Winner, 1988

Local Notes:

Acc.# 201150

ISBN:

0520055667

9780520055667

0520205065

9780520205062

OCLC:

13358338

Online:

Contributor biographical information

Publisher description