Language:
German
Year of publication:
2004
Titel der Quelle:
Kleine Schriften des Arye Maimon-Instituts
Angaben zur Quelle:
6 (2004) 45-61
Keywords:
Antisemitism History Middle Ages, 500-1500
;
Christianity and antisemitism History To 1500
;
Crusades
;
Jewish law History
;
Law History
Abstract:
Argues that in order to understand anti-Jewish actions, such as pogroms and expulsions, in medieval Germany, they must be seen in context: medieval justice was based on very different premises than those of today. Violent self-justice was common and approved; thus, one could kill a person who harmed one or whom one suspected of intending to harm one, and call on the help of friends and neighbors for that purpose. This could also be used to justify the lynching of a group - e.g. Jews accused of poisoning wells. A ruler who claimed a right to levy special taxes on a particular group, often the Jews, could use sanctions such as imprisonment to extort the money. The ravaging of the enemy's lands and goods and the forced conversion of his women and children (e.g. by the Teutonic Knights in Lithuania) was accepted practice. On the basis of medieval religion, it was natural to suspect unbelievers (not only Jews) of perverse acts such as ritual murder or host desecration. On the same basis, the Jews' practice of usury was denounced as a sin even against their own religion.
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