Jewish Daily Life in Medieval Northern Europe, 1080-1350
This sourcebook is designed to introduce students to the everyday lives of the Jews who lived in the German Empire, northern France and England from the 11th to the mid-14th centuries.
The volume consists of translations of primary sources written by or about medieval Jews, each source accompanied by an introduction that provides historical context. Through the sources, students can become familiar with the spaces that Jews frequented, their daily practices and rituals and their thinking.
The subject matter ranges from culinary preferences and details of sexual lives, to garments, objects and communal buildings. The documents testify to how Jews enacted their Sabbath and holidays, celebrated their weddings, births and other lifecycle events, and mourned their dead. Some of the sources focus on the relationships they had with their Christian neighbours, the local authorities and the Church, while others shed light on their economic activities and professions.
With contributions by members of the "Beyond the Elite: Jewish Daily Life in Medieval Europe" research team: Neta Bodner, Nureet Dermer, Aviya Doron, Miri Fenton, Etelle Kalaora, Albert Kohn, Andreas Lehnertz, Adi Namia-Cohen, Hannah Teddy Schachter and Amit Shafran.
Elisheva Baumgarten is a social historian who studies the Jews of medieval northern Europe. She is currently working on a European Research Council funded project “Beyond the Elite: Jewish Daily Life in Medieval Europe.”
Tzafrir Barzilay studies environmental history and the history of minorities in medieval Europe. He is the author of Poisoned Wells.
Eyal Levinson researches youth, men, fatherhood and masculinities in medieval Ashkenaz. He is the author of several articles both in Hebrew and in English.