Annotated bibliographies:
Primary Sources
Secondary Sources

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CountryYear Events/Assessments/Quotes/Comments
Austria, Bohemia, Hungary3001University of Vienna. "Gold Scroll Discovered: Earliest Evidence Of Jewish Inhabitants In Austria." ScienceDaily 18 March 2008. 15 April
Online at http://www.sciencedaily.com­ /releases/2008/03/080316124416.htm2008
3501Brook, p. 88.
8001Brook, p. 77.
2Jewish Virtual Library, "Austria"
8501Brook, pp. 258-259.
8751Brook, pp. 164, 249.
9001The Jewish Virtual Library, "Austria"
2Brook, p. 165.
9501Brook, pp. 165-166.
9751Jewish Virtual Library, "Czech Republic".
10251Brook, p. 77, citing the 1031 account of Rabbi Yehudah ben Meir ha-Kohen of Mainz ( Sefer ha-Dinim ).
10751Brook, p. 218. Beinart, p. 108, mentions other aspects of the decree.
2Beinart, p. 108.
3From the Chronicle of Solomon bar Simson (note that the Crusaders had come to the city of Sla, most likely Wesseli in Bohemia):
"Their overlord came to their aid and sent a duke with one thousand mounted swordsmen; also amongst the Jews dwelling in the city of Sla were five hundred young men who could bear swords, men of war who would not waver in the face of the enemy … [they fought and] of the Jews, only six were killed." (Eidelberg, pp. 67-68, 158-159).
Eidelberg in his notes on the Chronicle suggests that the 500 figure was likely an exaggeration but accepts the existence of a strong force of Jewish fighters.
4Eidelberg, pp. 11-13. His footnotes on pp. 139-140 give the Czech account as the Rymovana Kronika Ceska of Dalimil, which can be found in Fontes rerum bohemicarum 3:182 with translation of the relevant portions in Steinherz, "Kreuzfahrer und Juden", pp. 1, 18-22.
That 1314 chronicle was the first chronicle written in the Czech language and is very anti-German.
Robert B. Pynsent, in Marcel Cornis-Pope's History of the Literary Cultures of East-Central Europe: Types and Stereotypes , p. 344, describes Dalimil's work as also anti-Jewish, though confirming that Dalimil praises the Jews when they attack marauding German Crusaders.
11251Brook, pp. 77-78, citing the 1150 account of Rabbi Eliezer ben Nathan of Mainz (aka RaBaN ).
11501From Benjamin of Tudela, pp. 17-18, Marcus Adler translation:
"The nation called Wallachians live in those mountains ... They do not hold fast to the faith of the Nazarenes, but give themselves Jewish names. Some people say that they are Jews, and, in fact, they call the Jews their brethren, and when they meet with them, though they rob them, they refrain from killing them as they kill the Greeks."
11751Brook, p. 78, citing customs documents in Bohemia and Austria.
2The Jewish Virtual Library, "Austria"
12001Birnbaum, "1220". Note how again the rulers are the more pro-Jewish faction and the nobles/church the more anti-Jewish.
2Keil. In her paper she quotes the rabbi's ruling:
"Although it is true that the Torah says: male clothes can not be on a woman … (Deuteronomy 22:5), but when the enemy attacks the town, or when someone is traveling, and they [the non-Jewish] know that they are women, they would want to lie with them. Therefore women should wear men's clothes, and even swords, so that the enemy should think that they be men."
12251Wenninger, pp.83-86.
It was a surprise attack, and though the central castle held Teka carried off substantial booty. The castle has not been identified but it was close to the western Hungarian border. Wenninger notes on p.85 that Teka was a major financier with the office title "Count of the Chamber", a position that the 1222 Golden Bull said Jews were forbidden to hold, illustrating that legal limits were not always followed in reality.
2Contamine, p.86.
3Marcus pp. 31-35 (which has a translation of the actual text, as does the Internet Jewish History Sourcebook).
Interestingly, section XX says that if Jews suspect someone of murder and it comes down to trial by combat, the Duke will provide a champion.
12501Brook, p. 219.
2Beinart, p. 108.
3Baron, A Social and Religious History , vol. XVI, p. 146. The king based this on the Papal bull of 1247 urging this.
4Yuval, p.53, citing a ruling by Or Sarua a.k.a. Isaac ben-Moses of Vienna.
12751Beinart, p. 108.
13001Brook, p. 168.
13251Jewish Virtual Library, "Hungary".
13501Jewish Virtual Library, "Hungary".
2Brook, p. 219 and Jewish Virtual Library, "Buda" and "Hungary".
3Wenninger, pp. 86-87. The Count was Meinhard of Gorz. Thomas was the son of Hans the Jew.
Thomas was also to provide a mounted bowman when called up, a common practice for contracts with knights and armored men-at-arms of the time given the increasing importance of archery. The resulting unit was called a "lance" or " glaive ".
4Wenninger, p.86.
13751Birnbaum, "1380" and Tuchman, pp. 483-84. Note that the responsible King Wenceslaus was *not* the "Good King" of the 10th century carol.
The massacre was sparked when a priest led an Easter procession through the Jewish quarter of Prague and a boy threw a stone at the priest. King Wenceslaus IV had earlier arrested Jews and demanded payments of fines to get their release, remitted Jewish debt in return for a cut, etc.
14001Beinart, p. 72.
14501Talhoffer, Forward and p. 17.
No copies of Otto's "Ringkunst" survive, but Talhoffer 1443 quotes his techniques and tactical advice. Otto ultimately got baptised, am not sure when. For more details on his combat techniques and manuscripts containing them, see http://www.thearma.org/Manuals/master-ott-wrestling.html
Personal Speculation : Unarmed combat in the East was heavily developed by legally disarmed populations, Jews in the West were disarmed, and the West indeed has an unarmed combat tradition (though not currently as well known as the Eastern techniques) for Jews to have drawn on.
Interesting Historical Note : Krav Maga, the modern Israeli self-defense system, was founded by the wrestler Imrich Lichtenfeld (later Sde-Or), who was born in Budapest and raised in Bratislava.
14751Birnbaum, "1490".
15251Birnbaum, "1520".
2Jewish Virtual Library, "Hungary".
3Baron, A Social and Religious History , vol XVIII, pp. 51-53. In addition to why Jews would fight bitterly for the Hungarians (who maltreated them)and against the Ottomans (who generally treated Jews well), note the following:
- When the Jewish community surrendered, Suleiman granted their leader and his heirs a perpetual tax exemption.
- Although many Christians fled Buda before the Ottoman attack, the Hungarian Queen ordered that any Jews who also fled Buda before the attack not be allowed back into the city and confiscated their homes for the Crown, while Jews who had stayed in Buda also be forced to leave but were allowed to sell their homes first.
These are not typical consequences for a group that had fought hard *for* the Christians.
15501Marcus, pp. 367-370.
2Fiore Dei Liberi Forum discussion of Jewish Fight Masters, entry by batjka. Batjka's translation and comment:
"Because it is found that in the City of Prague and also elsewhere the Jews of the Marxbruder, only for the disdainful profit do they act in a scholarly and informed manner. Thus that they sometimes in the schools publicly fenced and themselves were mentioned as Marxbruder, Who is unadorned and a Christian reproved, for this reason, will those of the Feather be forbidden from teaching Jews and/or the Unbaptized, neither around nor for any money are they to be taught the art of fencing nor are they permitted to know it's secret techniques and parts; but if one Jew there for himself steps forward, is he abolished and none is permitted to wave the sword against him. The masters of the Feather however, may apply commoner tests, but such an overstepping of bounds would unite the Jews through their informed masses by being taught, so only after they are recognized by the first Hauptleut either with enrollment in the school, trained for one year long, or should in other ways by a Monetary fine be subjected to."
This is obviously a rough translation, but it gives the idea that the Maxburders were teaching the Jews and that the Jews were actually members of the Brotherhood.
Germany7001Wolkoff, p. 7.
8251Birnbaum, "840".
2Brook, p. 77.
9001Internet History Sourcebook, "Tolls of Raffelstettin"
9501Beinart, p. 38.
10001Graetz, wol. II pp. 245-246. This conversion was quite the sensation at the time.
2Beinart, p. 38.
10751Text of the charter is reprinted in the Internet History Sourcebook , "Bishop of Speyer".
Note : The Bishop explicitly says that he wrote the details and history down "Lest any of my successors diminish this gift and concession, or constrain them to pay greater taxes."
A more recent and complete translation of the text appears in Robert Chazan's Church, State, and Jew in the Middle Ages , pp.57-59.
In addition to granting economic and legal rights, the charter says that he "encircled them with a wall" for the Jews' protection and that "They must discharge the responsibility of watch, guard, and fortification only in their own area."
The Bishop clearly gives his motivation: he "wished to make a city out of the village of Speyer".
2Chazan, Church State & Jew , pp. 60-63 has the full text.
The text explicitly refers to and protects Jewish-owned land, gardens, vineyards, and fields posessed "by hereditary right", countering the myth that Jews were landless at this time.
3Beinart, pp. 38-39 and Chazan, pp. 48-49 and many pages afterwards.
Three reliable medieval Jewish chronicles provide the underlying data. The Jewish communities in France sent messengers to the Rhineland Jewish communities warning them of the coming Crusaders. The community leaders ignored the warnings, saying that although they were concerned for the French communities' plight "As for ourselves, there is no great cause for fear. We have not heard a word of such matters, nor has it been hinted that our lives are threatened by the sword … When the holy community of Mainz learned [that the Crusaders were indeed going to attack] they decreed a fastday and cried out loudly to the Lord. Young and old alike fasted day and night, reciting prayers of lamentation in the morning and evening." The Mainz Anonymous (Eidelberg, pp. 99-100).
These decisions were fatal mistakes. When Emicho's Crusaders reached Mainz, "The townspeople opened the gate to him … [when the Jews] saw the great multitude … they donned their armor and their weapons of war, adults and children alike, with Rabbi Kalonymos … at their head. But, as a result of their sufferings and fasts, they did not have the strength to withstand the onslaught of the foe … The bishop's people, who had promised to help them … were the first to flee, so as to cause them to fall into the hands of the enemy. The bishop himself fled from the church, for they wanted to kill him too, because he had spoken in favor of the Jews." Chronicle of Solomon bar Simson (Eidelberg, p. 30).
The Crusaders and burghers then stormed the bishop's home and the Count's courtyard where the remaining Mainz Jews had taken refuge. The Chronicle of Solomon bar Simson records that women as well as men threw stones at the attackers, killing one Crusader before being "completely annihilated." (Eidelberg, pp. 35, 37).
At Worms too, some Jews fought the combined Crusader/burgher force while others took refuge in the local bishop's place. "People assembled from the surrounding villages, together with the errant ones and the burghers, and they besieged and fought against them. A great battle was fought between the two groups until they captured the chambers where the children of the Sacred Covenant were sheltered … [one youth, Simha ha-Cohen, said he'd agree to be baptized] 'if you take me to the bishop.' So they took him and brought him to the bishop's courtyard. The bishop's nephew was there … [Simha] drew his knife … then he dashed at him and plunged the knife into his belly, and the man fell dead. Turning from there, he stabbed yet another two, until the knife broke in his hand. They fled in all directions. When they saw that his knife had broken, they attacked him and slew him." The Mainz Anonymous. (Eidelberg, pp.103-104).
11001Beinart, p. 65.
2Wenninger, p. 87, footnote 16.
11251Chazan, p. 151, quoting Rabbi Ephraim ben Jacob of Bonn:
"It came to pass, after the festival of Sukkot 4906 [fall, 1146], they [the Jews] went out of their cities and turned to the [rural] fortresses. The bulk of the [Jewish] community of Cologne gave to the archbishop of Cologne great sums, so that he might turn over to them the fortress of Wolkenburg, unrivalled in the area of Lorraine. They [the Jews] removed the castellan through lavish gifts. To them [the Jews] by themselves it was given over, and a non-Jew or uncircumcised did not pass among them ... Indeed, from the time that rumor spread among the gentiles that Wolkenburg had been turned over to the Jews and to it all the Jews had gathered, they [the Christians] ceased to pursue them." Ephraim was born in 1133, and was 13 when he took refuge in the fortress -- so he was an eyewitness (Eidelberg, pp. 117, 124).
Ephraim mentioned two other instances of Jews fighting: "There was a Jew of Worms, a valorous and pleasant man, Samuel, son of Isaac. At that time, some oppressors attacked him on the road between Mainz and Worms and slew him. But he succeeded in wounding three of the enemy." (Eidelberg, p. 125).
"In Carentan …. There were two young men, valiant brothers, who stood in defense of their own lives and those of their bretheren. They slew and wounded their enemies, and the foe could not prevail against them, until the enemy came upon them from the rear into the courtyard and slew all of them." (Eidelberg, p. 129)
11501Wolkoff, p. 11.
11751Wolkoff, p. 11.
12001Birnbaum, "1200".
2Penslar, p. 38 and Norman Roth, MJC, p.63 ("Arms, Jews and").
That Jews asked Rabbis Eliezer, Meir of Rothenberg, and Moses of Vienna about this indicates sustained bearing of arms by some Jews.
12251Contamine, pp. 86, 241.
Guido Kisch's 1949 book "Jewry-Law in Medieval Germany" has both untranslated excerpts from this work and black-and-white copies of these pictures.
The Dresden Library, which has a digital copy of the Sachsenspiegel online, gives the author as Eike von Repgow.
The illustrations in the Sachsenspiegel Landrecht showing armed Jews are:
- Book III, Article 2: Illustrations in the Heidelberg and Dresden manuscripts show a mounted and armed but unarmored Jew (identified by wearing a Jew's hat). Kisch, p.39, titles these illustrations "The Jews under the King's Peace", saying underneath that, contrary to Contamine, "Jews and clerics were under the same law and forfeited royal protection by carrying arms." The actual text makes a subtler point: Jews had the choice of either accepting royal protection (in which case they could not carry arms) or they could carry arms to defend themselves but forfeit royal protection. The Jew in the picture -- which is at the bottom of page 1 of Book III -- is choosing to defend himself.
- Book II, Article 71, 3. An illustration in the Dresden manuscript shows a Jew in a Jew's hat as one of a group of armed (with polearms) but unarmored men receiving instructions from a man in a castle. Kisch, p. 91, provides a black-and-white copy of the Dresden image and titles it "A Jew's Participation in the Judiciary Police Service: An armed Jew wearing his Jews' hat in a group of armed men standing before a castle." Contamine on p. 241 refers to a secondary source and says that the Jew is unarmed and distinguishable by his hairstyle, but I'm looking directly at a downloaded hi-res image of the Dresden Library manuscript and I think Kisch is clearly right (for one thing, the Jew can't be distinguished by his hairstyle because his hair is covered by his hat).
2Jewish Virtual Library, "Frankfurt, Germany" and Roth, MJC , "Frankfurt". It was known as the Judenschlacht ("Slaughter of the Jews") and took place despite the supposed protection of Emperor Fredrick II who was friendly to the Jews. An investigation into the matter, which took until 1146, excused the Frankfurt citizens -- supposedly they acted out of hysterical fear that the Jews were cooperating with the coming Mongols.
3Wolkoff, p. 22.
4Penslar, p. 38. I have put this under "Germany" not "Austria" because Rabbi Isaac spent much time in Germany as well as Austria.
Historical note: Rabbi Isaac trained Rabbi Meir of Rothenberg, who later also got asked the same question.
12501Penslar, p. 38, citing in turn David Biale, Power and Powerlessness in Jewish History (New York: Shoken, 1986), p. 72-73.
Rothenberg can also be spelled Rothenburg.
2Penslar, p. 38. Note that the existence of responsa means that some Jews indeed had arms and needed to ask the question.
3Magin, p. 69, footnote #9.
12751Magin, p. 77, who points out that the Article 260 declaration is part of the document's strong anti-Jewish attitude.
2Magin, pp. 72-73.
2Birnbaum, "1280".
3Beinart, pp. 59-60.
1300
13251Beinart, p. 60 and Birnbaum, "1330". Eventually the bands started attacking non-Jews as well.
2Tuchman, pp. 109-116.
3Tuchman, pp. 115-116.
13501Nature Communications 5, September 9, 2014. Article 4835, " Sequencing an Ashkenazi reference panel support population-targeted personal genomics and illuminates Jewish and European origins."
http://www.nature.com/ncomms/2014/140909/ncomms5835/full/ncomms5835.html#supplementary-information
2Wenninger, p.87, footnote 15.
13751Nürnberger Handschrift GNM 3227a, Folio 43R. A translated copy of the fighting section is online at http://www.thearma.org/Manuals/Dobringer_A5_sidebyside.pdf .
2Tuchman, p. 116.
14001Graetz, History of the Jews, p. 300.
2Wenninger, p. 91, footnote 38.
14251Quoted in the De Re Militari website, review of David Eltis' "Towns and Defense in Later Medieval Germany".
This is not to say that Jews still were part of the militia at this time, but it does give a sense of the strong militia tradition.
2Magin, p. 71.
I've included Alsace under Germany even though Alsace is currently in France because at the time it was more closely tied to the Holy Roman Empire.
14501Many sources. Beinart pp. 72-73 gives a map if you want to get depressed.
2Beinart, p. 73.
3Beinart, p. 80.
4On exhibit at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. Item 04.3.36. It's in the Hall of Arms & Armor, online picture exists but has poor resolution.
5Wenninger, p. 90.
14751Gow, pp. 6-10. Note that the 1480 document includes illustrations of armed Jews.
2Magin, p. 71.
3Wenninger, p. 90.
15001Birnbaum, "1500". Ironically, it is a Christian bible scholar who convinces Emperor Maximillian to not do it.
2Pollak, p. 26.
3Battenberg, pp. 93-94, noting that in 1523 the equipment he had with him was "two horses, two armors, two saddles, one ring armor, two bridles, one head armor, two spears, and two fist weapons."
4Marcus, pp. 186-187. Some excerpts from this document ("That Jesus Christ Was Born A Jew"):
"Perhaps I will attract some of the Jews to the Christian faith ... For our fools -- the popes, bishops, sophists, and monks ... have until this time so treated the Jews that to be a good Christian one would have to become a Jew. And if I had been a Jew and seen such idiots and blockheads ruling and teaching the Christian religion I would rather have been a sow than a Christian ... I would advise and beg everybody to deal kindly with the Jews and to instruct them in the Scriptures; in such a case we could expect them to come over to us. If, however, we use brute force and slander them ... what good can we expect of them? ... If we wish to make them better, we must deal with them not according to the law of the pope, but according to the law of Christian charity. We must receive them kindly and allow them to compete with us in earning a livelihood, so that they may have a good reason to be with us ... And if some remain obstinate, what of it? Not every one of us is a good Christian."
15251Tlusty, p. 177. Jews could also leave their weapons at their inn.
2Luther's text translated and reprinted in Marcus, pp.187-189. Some excerpts:
"What then shall we Christians do with this damned, rejected race of Jews? ....
First, their synagogues or churches should be set on fire, and whatever does not burn up should be covered or spread over with dirt so that no one may ever be able to see a cinder or stone of it ... Secondly, their homes should likewise be broken down and destroyed ... Let us apply the same cleverness [expulsion] as the other nations ... and settle with them for that which they have extorted usuriously from us, and after having divided it up farly let us drive them out of the country for all time ... If this advice does not suit you, then find a better one so that you and we may all be free of this insufferable devilish burden -- the Jews."
Please note that Germans four centuries later followed his advice exactly.
3Battenberg, pp. 94-95, noting that Jews like von Derenburg were not allowed to imply that their having arms meant that they had formal rank and that von Derenburg's acting as if he had higher rank (e.g. riding wearning expensive clothes with 11 mounted Jewish servants, attending the 1548 Augsburg Diet) was considered highly inappropriate.
15751Bamberger, p. 20. Note that Altona (near Hamburg) was then owned by Denmark but is now owned by Germany.
Bamberger says that Jews were forbidden to settle there before this, and the Jewish Encyclopedia Online says that Jews were similarly banned from settling in Norway and Sweden as well. Entry for trade appears to have been allowed, though.
2Multiple websites. According to Tlusty, p. 179, the Jewish eyewitness Elhanan Helen wrote a song about it called the Megillas Vintz, in which the Jews just had to run "home to get their pikes and swords" to be armed.
3Bamberger, pp. 20-22 w/translated text of 1622 Gluckstadt invitation on page 150.
Bamberger says that Christian IV did so because he saw how Jews were helping Holland prosper (the decline of the Catholic Church's power helped too).
HollandEarlier:See the listings for Germany above.
15251Birnbaum, "1530".
15501Birnbaum, "1570" and Jewish Encyclopedia Online, "Amsterdam".
15751JewishEncyclopedia, "Amsterdam" and Birnbaum, "1590". Services were held at the home of Rabbi Samuel Palache, ambassador of Morocco to Holland.
Palache was buying Dutch arms for Morocco.
2Birnbaum, "1590" and Kritzler, pp. 82-83.
3Kritzler, pp. 85-89.
Rabbi Samuel Palache, now president of Amsterdam synagogue Neveh Shalom and in his 60s, used Moroccan funds to get ships/crew and led them on attacks on Spanish shipping.
Khazaria/3001Brook, pp. 88-89.
Ukraine2Brook, p. 264, citing Jacob Neusner's "Judaism, Christianity, and Zoroastrianism in Talmudic Babylon", providing a brief history of Adiabene on pp. 261-264.
3Dubnow, p. 17, citing the stories of the Christian martyrs Basil and Capiton.
350Brook, p. 89.
5501Brook, p. 11.
5751Brook, p. 11.
2Brook, p. 89.
6251Brook, pp. 133-135.
2Brook, pp. 12, 247.
3Brook, p. 126.
6501Brook, p. 13.
6751Brook, pp. 126-127.
7001Brook, p. 248. Graetz, vol. III pp. 123-124 says the Jews moved to the Crimea, Bosporus, and Kaffa, and thence to Khazar lands and the Caucasus.
See too later entries in this sheet with Kaffa as a Jewish destination. Also, Graetz notes that the Alans, Bulgars, and Khazars had no problems with the new settlers being of a different race and religion.
2Brook, pp. 127-129.
7251Many websites.
7501Brook, pp. 130-131.
7751Beinart, p. 24. For details on al-Mas'udi's 943 CE work The Meadows of Gold and Mines of Gems , see the Primary Sources list.
8001Brook, pp. 94, 248. In case of conflicting data/dates on Khazaria, I tend to go with Brook's conclusions.
Note : The Khazars had a dual kingship, with the Kagan as the monarch and the Bek as the Prime Minister/War Leader.
The Schechter letter (949) says that Bulan was a Jewish-descended warrior in Khazar service who rose to the rank of Bek due to his victories, that he was from a mostly-unobservant Jewish refugee community active in the Khazar military, that the famous three-way religious discussion came after the promotion, when (in part due to his wife) he became more actively Jewish, and that he then changed his name to Sabriel. (Brook, pp. 96-98 and many websites on the subject).
2Adler, p. 3 (Obaidallah ibn Khordadhbeh, c. 817)
8251Brook, p. 248. Shake (p. 25) also dates such coins to the years 837-838.
2Brook, pp. 99-100, 248.
8502Brook, p. 249.
8753Brook, pp. 138-139.
9251Brook, pp. 138-139, 249. From the Schechter Letter (written in 949 by a Khazarian Jew in Constantinople), excerpted in Brook, p. 257:
"... all the nations were stirred up against [Khazaria] ... only the king of Alania was in support of [the people of Khazaria, for] some of them were observing the Law of the Jews."
2Brook, p. 91, citing The Schechter letter.
3Brook, p. 91 and al-Mas'udi. From the latter's work, Volume I, page 407:
"To this king flock the Jews from all the Moslim districts, and from the Byzantine empire; for the emperor forced the Jews of his dominions to turn Christians, and loaded the converts with favours. The present [332 A.H.] Byzantine emperor is Armanus (Romanus II) … under these circumstances, many Jews took flight from the Byzantine Empire into the country of the Khazar."
Al-Mas'udi also (pp. 407-409) makes it clear that Khazaria allowed multiple religions:
"In this town [Itil, the capital] are many Moslims and Christians, Jews, and Pagans … In accordance with the constitution of the kingdom of the Khazar, there are nine supreme judges in the country; two of them for the Moslims; two for the Khazars, who follow the laws of the Pentateuch in passing sentence; two for the Christians, who follow the laws of the gospel in their decisions; and one for the Sclavonians, Russians, and other pagan population. The pagan judge decides after the heathen laws; that is to say, the dictates of reason, (not revelation)."
9501Adler, p. 35 (Reply of Joseph of Khazaria, to R. Chisdai, ca. 960)
"I dwell at the mouth of the river and do not permit the Russians who come in ships to enter into their country, nor do I allow their enemies who come by land to penetrate into their territory. I have to wage grevious wars with them, for if I would permit them they would lay waste the whole land of the Mohammedans as far as Baghdad."
2Brook, pp. 151-153.
9751Brook, p. 67, citing Muhammad ibn Isaq an-Nadim's Kitab al-Fihrist (987-988).
10001Brook, p. 155.
10501Dubnow, p. 31.
10751Dubnow, p. 32.
11001Birnbaum, "1110"; Dubnow p. 32.
11501Brook, p. 78, citing Rabbi Eliezer ben Nathan of Mainz's 1150 account.
11751Adler, p. 66 (Rabbi Petachia of Ratisbon, 1187), saying "In the land of Kedar there are no Jews but only Karaites."
12001Brook, p. 68.
12501Beinart, p. 68 and Blady, p. 118.
13001Cassel, "IV. The First Jews Arrive."
13501Blady, p. 118.
14001Blady, pp. 140-141.
14751Dubnow, p. 34.
15501Birnbaum, "1560".
15751Brook, p. 212.
2Weinryb, pp. 38-39. Luck/Lutsk was originally in Poland but is now in the Ukraine.
Lithuania, Belarus7001Jewish Encyclopedia Online, "Lithuania".
11001Cassel, "IV. The First Jews Arrive"
11251Brook, p. 216.
12501Cassel, "II. Lithuania's Founding". Dates from Wikipedia.
12751Brook, p. 216.
13001Baron, A Social and Religious History , vol. XVI, p. 171.
2Birnbaum, "1320".
13501Beinart, p. 65 and Cassel, "II. Lithuania's Founding".
2Beinart, p. 65 and Birnbaum, "1380". The Charter of 1388's preamble text and summary of each section can be found in the Jewish Encyclopedia, "Lithuania".
3Jewish Virtual Library, "Belarus"
13751Mickunaite, Giedre. Making a Great Ruler: Grand Duke Vytautas of Lithuania . Central European University Press, Budapest, 2006, pp.191-195.
Baron, A Social and Religious History, Vol. XVI, pp. 8-9, says that the Karaites were settled along Lithuania's border with the Teutonic Order as a paramilitary force in Troki (I assume that's the same as Trakai), Halicz, and other communities.
Walukonis provides more detail, saying that "The Karaites were settled in a chain of forts along the northern and northwestern border between Lithuania and the Livonian Knights. They were to guard for the fortress of Troki and the bridge connecting it to the mainland. There were also groups in Smolensk, Starodub, Kiev, Zhitomir, and other towns." He also says that some of the thousands of Tatar (and thus presumably also accompanying Karaite) troops resettled had come north and joined the Lithuanians because they had backed the losing side in a fight between two Khans.
This needs to be further researched.
The date and family count are heavily based upon Karaite historical tradition. Some scholars claim that the military service aspect (though not the settlements themselves) are 17th century inventions. Mickunaite points out that the Karaite settlements are in strategic locations and have layouts consitent with military settlement.
Karaites are a (currently very small) Jewish sect that rejects Rabbinic teaching (e.g. the Talmud and the Oral Law). There is still an active Karaite synagogue in Trakai. Scholars are divided on whether Karaite historical tradition is accurate. Unfortunately, key records were destroyed by fire in 1813.
To make matters even more complex, Baron mentions a third group of Jewish settlers - the Krymchaki, Jews who also settled from the Crimea but who were Rabbinic and who kept separate from both the "regular" Rabbanites and the Karaites.
14001This is a subject of scholarly debate. Witkowski, pp. 219-222, summarizes the arguments as follows:
- Non-Christian allied troops are solidly proven to have been part of the Lithuanian/Polish army, the question is whether Jews were too.
- The relevant primary source document is a Bavarian chronicle by the monk Andreas of Ratisbon (Regensburg), born ca. 1380. In his chronicle Andreas refers to another Bavarian (but anonymous) chronicle describing the battle and explicitly lists Jews among the non-Christian troops.
- Some modern scholars, such as Giedre Mickunaite (cited above), in historical context conclude that these were the resettled Karaites. A further hypothesis is that the Karaite unit fought as part of the Tartar contingent.
- However, Witkowski believes that Andreas added the Jews for propoganda purposes (e.g. that the anti-Teutonic Knight forces were allied with unacceptable groups), saying that many other German primary sources do not mention Jews.
Both sides make credible arguments, more research is needed to form a firm conclusion.
14251Beinart, p. 65.
2Beinart, p. 80.
14751Birnbaum, "1490" and JewishEncyclopedia, "Alexander Jagellon". Beinart, p. 65 and 109, puts the expulsion date at 1495, as does the JewishEncyclopedia.
Birnbaum says the expulsion was to cancel debts, Jewish Encyclopedia says it was a surprise because when he took the throne of Lithuania in 1492 Alexander not only paid back his father's debts to the Jews but expanded their rights.
15001Birnbaum, "1490" and JewishEncyclopedia, "Alexander Jagellon".
2Weinryb, p. 38.
3Birnbaum, "1500".
15251Walukonis.
2Briefly mentioned in Baron, A Social and Religious History , vol. XVI, p. 32, who says that he was a leader of the Jewish community and that the noble title granted was De Leliwa.
A more detailed paper (in Polish) is Robert Szuchta's "First Jew as a Nobleman: Mir Ezofowicz, the Sub-Treasurer of Lithuania", Rzeczpospolita, April 28, 2008.
3Baron, A Social and Religious History , vol. XVI, p. 30.
15501Baron, A Social and Religious History , vol. XVI, p. 33.
2Penslar, p. 39. This was part of a measure increasing the rights of and distinction of Lithuanian gentry.
Baron, A Social and Religious History, vol. XVI, p. 31 says Jewish wearing of swords was banned, but given the context I think the more recent scholarship is more accurate. Also, the Jewish Encyclopedia Online ("Lithuania") translates the decree's text as: "The Jews shall not have silver mountings on their sabers and daggers" amid other sumptuary decrees.
15751Cassel, sections V-VII.
Poland8001Wolkoff, p. 9.
10251Brook, p. 77, citing Rabbi Yehudah ben Meir ha-Kohen of Mainz's 1031 work Sefer ha-Dinim .
11001Beinart, p. 65 and Dubnow, p. 41.
2Brook, p. 77, citing a French Jewish trader's account wherein he came to Poland with Radanites.
11501Beinart, p. 65 and Dubnow pp. 41-42.
12001Dubnow, p. 42.
12501Beinart, p. 64, and Dubnow, p. 45-47 (who provides details on contents). Charter also known as the Statute of Kalisz.
2Brook, p. 214 and Dubnow, pp. 47-49.
It is important to understand the dynamic here. Jews were being used by the central authority for administration and tax-gathering. Thus the hatred of the nobles and townsmen for Jews was not just religious but part of a greater power struggle (see "1350" below).
Note that the same term -- servi camerae -- was used by German kings and that burghers were similarly active in massacres of German Jews starting with the First Crusade.
12751Penslar, p. 39.
13251Weinryb, p. 38. Please note that Poland was very heavily divided and decentralized, so conditions varied greatly from area to area. However, as a general rule Jews had more rights/freedoms in southern Poland, away from the main areas of German settlement.
2Wolkoff, p.11 and Beinart, pp. 64-65.
13501Beinart, p. 64.
13751Beinart, pp. 64-65.
14001Beinart, p. 65.
14251Jewish Encyclopedia Online, "Casimir IV., Jagellon".
14501Penslar, pp. 39 & 287 (footnote 24). In general, Polish Jews heavily pay for but usually do not personally serve in the army.
2Jewish Encyclopedia Online, "Casimir IV., Jaegellion" and Birnbaum, "1450".
3Jewish Encyclopedia Online, "Casimir IV., Jaegellion".
4Jewish Encyclopedia Online, "Casimir IV., Jaegellion".
14751Jewish Encyclopedia Online, "Cracow".
15001Beinart, p. 109.
2Dubnow, p. 66 gives the 50k population figure; Baron's Social and Religious History vol XVI p.4 gives the 30k population figure.
The implication from both sources, however, is that while there was *some* immigration pre-1500, especially from Germany, the truly large increase in Polish Jewish population took place after 1500.
Baron's Social and Religious History says the reasons for the massive increase were:
- German Jews who had fled to Bohemia/Hungary after 1348 now fled those increasingly inhospitable areas (p.4).
- The Polish/Lithuanian expansion into the Ukraine opened up vast underpopulated territories for settlement/selling of grain, cattle, and timber to the growing Western European market.
Baron does not mention this, but a look a the map shows that the defeat of the Teutonic Knights also opened a path to the Baltic, letting these goods be shipped to market.
Baron, pp.5-7, also noted that immigrants from Spain/Portugal/Italy had a more difficult time adapting than refugees from northern Europe because the area was more rural, was less culturally advanced, economically less diversified, and colder. Thus there were divisions between the two groups of immigrants and between the (generally richer) immigrant Jews and the native Jews.
3Baron, Social and Religious History , vol. XVI, p. 11.
15251Baron, Social and Religious History , vol. XVI, pp. 14-15.
2Birnbaum, "1540".
3Penslar, pp. 38-39.
15501Birnbaum, "1550". Note that the king/noble dynamic described above was continuing and increasing.
2Brittanica.com, "Compact of Warsaw" and Baron, Social and Religious History , vol. XVI, p. 81.
The context was the death of the last Jagiellon king and the possibility of the diverse Commonwealth shattering into bloody religious strife such as was going on in much of the rest of Europe -- especially when it became clear that Henry of Valois would win the election to be the next King and the Catholic Henry had helped plan the St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre of French Protestants. After this declaration was signed by all lay members of the legislature (the Sejm), Polish Protestants joined the Catholics in electing Henry king. A translation of the text into English can be found at http://www.reformation.org/confederation-of-warsaw.html
Oddly, although Baron says the document explicitly includes Jews this translation does not mention them. Thus I need to see other translations.
3Penslar p. 40, citing a responsum from Rabbi Moses Isserles. The Jew died in battle, and the responsum was for his widow.
15751Baron, Social and Religious History , vol. XVI, p. 39.
2Penslar, p. 39. Quoting the Charter: "It is permitted to them to possess and bear freely weaponry of the sort that other denizens use for their defense."
Zamosc is in modern south-eastern Poland.
3Birnbaum, "1590".
Note: I put Posen in Poland rather than Germany because Posen was Polish before Prussia took it over in 1793, and was again Polish after World War II.
4Baron, Social and Religious History , vol. XVI, p. 94. To consider the effect, imagine the members of a US religion or group being banned from Washington.
5Penslar p. 40 and Jewish Encyclopedia Online "BERACHAH, "THE HERO". His deeds were testified to by 11 other Jews serving in the army and mentioned in responsa of Rabbis Meir of Lubin and Joel Sirkes.
Russia8001Adler, p. 3 (Obaidallah ibn Khordadhbeh, c. 817)
8251Brook, p. 149.
9001Brook, pp. 149-150, citing al-Masudi (who estimated the Rus force at 500 ships/15K troops).
By 960, King Joseph of the Khazars, in his reply to Hasdai ibn Shaprut, is saying:
"I live at the mouth of the [Volga] river ... and prevent the Rus'ians who arrive in ships from entering into the Caspian Sea for purposes of making their way to the Ishmaelites [Muslims] ... I am at war with them [the Rus'ians]. Were I to let them pass through even one time, they would destroy the whole land of the Ishmaelites as far as Baghdad.
9251Brook, pp. 150-151.
9501Brook, pp. 151-153.
1050I have seen very little referring to Jews in, say, Moscow before the 1400s. The trade routes through Russia don't seem to offer much opportunity, for one thing -- the Silk Road did not go through Russia itself (remember that the Ukraine and Crimea are separate listings). The dominance of the Byzantine Church in the second millenium CE didn't help either.
Also, Dubnow on pp. 35-36 reports that Ivan III in the 1470s could not find a single person in Moscow to translate a Hebrew letter for him from his agent in Kiev.
11501Benjamin of Tudela, p. 62 (Marcus Adler translation).
12251Langer, p. 261.
12751Langer, p. 261. The implications for the future is my observation. Need to confirm date in book - this cell may have shifted.
13751Langer, p.. 340-341.
14251Langer, p. 341.
14501Jewish Encyclopedia Online ("Judaising Heresy") and Dubnow pp. 36-37.
14751Ibid.
This is an interesting and little-known set of events. I think that had these people succeeded in pushing a religion that represented trade, connection to the rest of the world, and learning, Russia might have become a Khazaria reborn and the world would have better off. Instead, it only fed Russian xenophobia and anti-Semitism. However, please note that it is unclear what kind of Judaism was being offered, since there are a range of accusations against the group and founders, including questions about how authentically Jewish they and their religion were.
"Unclear" is the operative word here, however, since the surviving histories were all written by the victors (the Russian Orthodox Church) with a serious axe to grind.
2German merchants driven out: Langer, p. 341.
15001Jewish Encyclopedia Online ("Judaising Heresy").
15251Birnbaum, "1540".
15501Jewish Encyclopedia Online ("Judaising Heresy").
2Brook, p. 213 and Beinart, p. 109.