General FAQs
Timeline FAQs
General FAQs
Q: “I thought Jews back then weren’t allowed to fight or even have weapons.”
A: In reality, medieval Jews fought in the service of Jewish, Christian, Muslim, Mongol, Indian, Chinese, and other armies. Jews also fought back against oppression and massacre, sometimes successfully, sometimes not. The stereotype that medieval Jews never fought, however, is based in two facts:
- There were indeed many times and places when Jews were banned from bearing arms or armor. For example, in 1181 England ordered its Jews to get rid of any “mail or hauberk” they had – then expelled them a century later. However, being banned from bearing arms in many places does not mean they were banned in all.
- Jews were a very small percentage of the population. As a result, even if a Jewish community successfully defended itself against an initial attack it could be overwhelmed when additional forces joined the fight, as in Mainz in 1349. Therefore most surviving medieval Jewish histories from Christian Europe focused on making sure the dead are remembered, not glorifying combat and warriors.
Q: “Were there Jewish knights in medieval times?”
A: The classic Western European medieval knight:
- Fought armored and mounted for his liege lord.
- Held the formal title of knight.
For the openly Jewish, pick either one.
- There were openly Jewish landowning fighters who provided knight-like (armored and mounted) military service for the Christian kings of 11th-15th C Spain and Portugal during the Reconquista and for the Carolingian kings in 8th-9th century southern France. Two such Jews even fought a formal mounted and armored duel in the tournament lists. Some Jews performed mounted knight-like service Germany, Austria, and Hungary too (though required service in city militias was far more common). However, all hard evidence to date indicates that such Jews were never formally dubbed as knights.
- In 1529 Mordecai da Modena was dubbed Knight of the Golden Spur by Emperor Charles V of the Holy Roman Empire, but it was for his skill as a physician, not as a fighter. Similarly, in 1525 Lithuania ennobled the openly Jewish Meir (“Michael”) Ezofowicz, granting him the title of De Leliwa, but he was Lithuania’s sub-treasurer.
At least one medieval skilled fighter was knighted while a converso – a Jew publicly pretending to be Christian out of fear of state and Inquisition. Joseph Nasi was a jousting partner of the future Emperor Maximillian and was knighted by Emperor Charles V. After moving to the Ottoman Empire he openly proclaimed his Judaism and eventually became a Duke (of Naxos). Note that his was not just a “social” knighting: his Constantinople home included a jousting-ground where he and his attendants regularly trained.
A number of Jews were knighted for martial prowess after permanently converting to Christianity, such as Duarte Brando (later Edward Brampton) who in 1475 defeated a German champion in single combat in King Edward IV’s presence.
My research so far is showing a similar pattern in the Muslim world. For example, Transoxiania (on the Silk Road north of Afghanistan) had local military futuwas (generally a term meaning communal group but in this case meaning religious fighting orders with chivalric overtones). Around the 900s Jews joined these futuwas but only as provisional members.
Therefore in discussing Jewish knighthood one needs to very carefully distinguish between the many examples of Jews who functioned like knights – providing legally-recognized armed military service and sometimes leading their own troops while having elevated social rank – and those who were granted the specific title of “knight” itself. Be cautioned that not all sources make this distinction.
Q: “What are the implications for <modern issue>?”
A: History repeats itself because while technology may change, human nature does not. Therefore when trying to predict the likely consequences of a modern action it is useful to look at the last dozen times that action was taken in a similar situation. This won’t provide a 100% certain prediction – individual choices do sometimes change outcomes – but it will provide a pretty reliable sense of the odds.
Furthermore the historical patterns that affected Jews and the lessons that can be learned from them often apply to non-Jews as well. For example, the Roman adage that to truly understand a political situation one should always ask “cui bono?” – “who benefits?” — applies far more broadly than to just medieval anti-Semitism.
Unfortunately, all too often people take a political stance for emotional or other reasons, invent inaccurate historical justifications for that pre-selected stance, and terminate/troll any discussions raising facts countering that stance. Therefore this website focuses on getting the historical facts right and lets the modern implications fall where they may.
Q: “I read something in another website/book/article that disagrees with you.”
A: Much of what is in this website contradicts popular views. You are encouraged to compare my historical perspective and data sources to those of the other material and form your own judgments.
If the other source has facts, historical perspective, primary sources, mention of medieval Jews who fought or had the right to bear arms, illustrations of fighting Jews, etc. that I lack, I would greatly appreciate being sent the link using the “Contact Me” page – even if it disagrees with what is already here. I’ll be happy to assess the source’s information and, if it is worthy, add it to the information here with appropriate citation.
Please note, however, that being published or on the Internet doesn’t make something true, and the first thing I will do is check what historical documents and reputable research back up any statements. Furthermore, certain types of websites or sources will be rejected out of hand because their claimed “facts” are so often wrong. Such sources include:
- Conspiracy theorist materials.
- Sources that focus on:
- Attacking or promoting a specific religion.
- Attacking or promoting a specific race.
- Arguing about who is a “real Jew”.
Q: “I don’t have any facts from reliable sources to offer in rebuttal, but I’m offended by something you have here.”
A: Not my problem.
Q: “Why don’t you talk about where Jews fought spiritually through prayer, scholarship, or passive resistance?”
Q: “Why don’t you talk about this Great Rabbi/act of scholarship?”
A: Plenty of others have already done so. This website focuses on medieval Jewish fighters and areas of medieval Jewish freedom, which are under-served topics.
Q: What about other “non-standard” troops?
A: Consistently, kingdoms that gave more rights to Jews and allowed Jewish fighters also gave more rights to other “non-standard” populations and fighters as well – usually because these kingdoms needed loyal fighters more than they needed to be picky about where those fighters came from. For example, 12th-13th century Spanish and Portuguese kings, short on troops for the Reconquista, used Jews to fight Muslims and to garrison (not just take refuge in) fortresses. In the same period, and for the same reason, these kings also created “commoner-knights”, giving commoners increased status and tax breaks if they fought mounted and armored for the Crown. At that time there was also a Spanish order of female knights – the Order of the Hatchet, honoring the women who in 1149 fought the Muslims and saved Tortosa when the menfolk were considering surrendering the city. These women received increased status and tax breaks, just as the “commoner-knights” and the Jewish fighters did.
This does not mean that such troops or populations necessarily gained full equal rights. What it does mean is that kingdoms or regions that tolerated one minority or lower-class group more than the medieval norm were usually more tolerant of other groups as well. Therefore if one seeks areas where other types of “non-standard” fighters existed, areas that had and tolerated Jewish fighters would be good places to look.
Q: “Where can I find out more about <topic>?”
A: Find the events that interest you in the Timeline. Then read the matching footnotes, which will always have sources for further investigation and sometimes more information than could fit in the Timeline itself. To find out still more, scan the list of primary and secondary sources for not only the source(s) for the footnotes but also other related books/articles/etc.
Please note that every year there are more and more published translations of original historical source documents. Because reading accounts in the writers’ own words so often provides insights/facts/subtleties left out when modern authors briefly summarize what the accounts said, I’ve included these translations in the “Primary Sources” list to make them easier for non-academic-specialists reading this website to find. True, translations are themselves imperfect and different translators give different “spins” on an original author’s message, but the closer one can get to the original the better.
Timeline FAQs
Q: “How complete is the Timeline?”
A: General assessments of Jewish political conditions have pretty well “jelled”. Areas most likely to see significant changes in that regard are Italy (due to the challenge of compactly portraying policies that constantly varied among the many different cities), Ethiopia (due to the extreme scarcity of reliable information), and Babylonia/Persia/Silk Road (where my research is still in progress). The current effort is now focused on filling in gaps, drilling down for more detailed analyses in areas where Jewish medieval fighters were or may have been, and replacement of lesser sources with more detailed/accurate/primary ones.
Q: “Why do you have so many footnotes?”
A: Claims about Jewish history are rife with inaccuracies (particularly on the Internet). Knowing where a statement comes from helps one decide how much confidence to put in that statement, as well as showing where to start reading if one wants more information about a particular event.
Q: “Why didn’t you include <event>?”
A: There are two possibilities:
- It’s not needed for the Timeline’s purpose. It would be impossible to list every historical event, so the Timeline provides as complete a list of medieval Jewish fighters as possible and then lists enough general representative events to give the “flavor” of a time/place.
- I am unfamiliar with it. If an event is not here yet is relevant to the Timeline’s topic, please let me know via the Contact Me page of this website.