Volume 23, Issue 1-2

Abstract: The article deals with the influence of the severe famines of the later Middle Ages on Christian-Jewish relations. It focuses on the rising costs and food shortages that haunted large parts of Europe in the 15th century, particularly during the grave famine of the 1430s. Because of the catastrophic effects of these shortages on a society in which large parts of the population had no or only little access to their own food supplies, measures had to be taken by royal courts or – in the case of the empire – by city councils. In such times of major crisis all economic means to influence the supply situation were used. This also included the contacts with Jewish merchants – especially in the Mediterranean world – and, of course, moneylenders – a rarely considered but highly interesting field of research, since the first half of the 15th century brought extreme and in a way »new« tendencies of exclusion such as the decisions of the schismatic pope Benedict XIII. (1415), which were partly put into effect on the Iberian peninsula, or the Council of Bale (1434).

Abstract: Subsistence crises due to famine occurred frequently in early modern Europe. A poor harvest caused by rainy weather was often the trigger for such disaster. But people also looked for scapegoats who could be blamed for the shortage of grain. From the seventeenth century onwards the so-called »corn Jew« became a popular stereotype in diatribes which often had an anti-Jewish undertone. Concomitantly, a new type of anti-Semitic medal made its appearance. These were the so-called »Korn Jude« (Corn or Grain Jew) medals. Most of these medals were struck in Germany and were issued in various forms over a period of almost a century. Two artists seem to have turned the creation of such medals into a veritable hallmark: Christian Wermuth (1661–1739) and, a little later, Johann Christian Reich (1740–1814). This article discusses how the distribution and circulation of the »Korn Jude« medals coincided with periods of rising food prices and famine. It will be shown that these medals were designed to perpetuate the myth about the Jews’ responsibility for these hardships and to portray the Jew as a diabolic speculator, particularly in the grain market. They reflect, however, also older traditions of religious intolerance.

Abstract: The economic success of Court Jews during the late 17th and the 18th centuries is one of the major phenomena of early modern Jewish history in Central Europe. After long and controversial debates on the causes of this development and its consequences for Jewish society as well as for the formation of modern economy and state building in Europe, recent studies mostly focus on cultural aspects. This article argues for reintegrating the economy of Court Jews into the broader field of public finance and for rethinking the significance of Jewish merchants and bankers in comparison to other groups of public creditors.

Abstract: In the agricultural societies of Early Modern History Jews did not only have a share in the available rural common property such as water, pasture or woodland, they also had to pay their share of community charges. The conflicts arising from this contribution are outlined, as in the case of a controversy in Pfersee, a village near Augsburg, during the War of the Spanish Succession. The topic deals with the long-term historical change within the relationship of both religious groups resulting from the exchange processes in terms of the utilization of resources and burden-sharing. The arguments of the Jewish side favoured ›equal‹ contributions while the Christian villagers regarded themselves as the exclusive owners of municipal rights but claimed higher rates from the Jews. Between 1703 and 1712 the dispute in Pfersee culminated in the fundamental question as to whether the Jews were »cives romani« and therefore to be put on an equal footing with the Christians. In the following debate both sides can refer to positions of the contemporary legal literature that ultimately reflect the contradictory or interpretable position of the Jews.

Abstract: The article offers an edition, German translation and commentary of a Qina for the 9 th of Av from an otherwise unknown poet of Hebrew liturgical poetry memorizing an act of Jewish martyrdom at Lauda and Bischofsheim from 13 th century Ashkenaz. The text serves as starting point for a discussion of some features in the history of the literary genre of the Qina in Christian Europe and especially of the dynamics in the choice between universality and concreteness in this kind of liturgical poetry in response to historical events.

Abstract: Norms and regulations of medieval and early modern Jewish communities forbade Jews from bringing other Jews to trial in front of Christian courts. In spite of this prohibition there were several cases, in which Jews sued other Jews in courts of Christian authorities. One example is a dispute between the Jewish intercessor, Jakob Süßmann , and the Jewish community of Frankfurt , which was processed before the Frankfurt council. The said case, which started as a local affair took a surprising course and affected, in the end, whole Jewish communities in the Holy Roman Empire. Through this case, the essay shows that not only the infraction of, but also compliance with the norms could lead to unexpected complications. In addition, the essay argues that the examination of such court cases would reveal valuable information about Jewish efforts of political organization.