Introduction
For Jewish communities, the Middle Ages was characterized by exile and the necessity to coexist with people from different social, political, cultural, and religious backgrounds. Dispersed as strangers, they faced intolerance, inhuman violence, economic prosperity, political figures’ support, and the acknowledgment of their knowledge and skills, all at the same time. This paper aims to analyze primary and secondary sources dedicated to the attitude toward the Jews by Christians and Muslims during the Middle Ages. According to the results, the Jewish community faced intolerance to their traditions and religion, which were used to cover people’s motifs of violence as well. At the same time, political figures strongly influenced Jewish communities’ positions and public attitudes.
The Jews in Exile: Understanding Their Place Through Historical Documents
The analysis of documents dedicated to the place of Jews in Christian and Muslim countries in the Middle Ages as people in exile allows us to distinguish several essential aspects that contribute to a better understanding of this historical period. Firstly, there is no historical evidence of equal treatment of Jews and the representatives of other religions, along with their respect for Jews’ viewpoints, values, and beliefs. For instance, Christian and Muslim documents emphasize the significance of people’s differentiation based on their faith and associated rights and responsibilities.
Thus, according to Canon 68, “In some provinces, a difference in dress distinguishes the Jews or Saracens from the Christians.” In the same way, Obadiah the Proselyte describes the practices of the Jews’ segregation under al-Muqtadi in Baghdad – both women and men are obliged to wear specific pieces of clothes and badges of particular color to distinguish them from Muslims. While these rules were introduced to prevent sexual liaisons and recognize the volumes of an annual tribute, the visual differentiation between the Jew and others was regarded as a reason for the former’s humiliation, insult, and oppression.
In addition, the Jews were deprived of multiple human rights in other spheres as well. Thus, they were not allowed “to be preferred for public offices since by pretext of some sort they manifest as much hostility to Christians as possible.” Moreover, the Jews’ attempts to follow their traditions, especially after being converted to Christianity, were strongly prohibited. In general, documents under analysis demonstrate a lack of respect or a strong intolerance to the Jew’s faith in different periods during the Middle Ages.
Relations Between Jews and Their Ruling Regimes: Interactions with Muslims and Christians
While Muslims demonstrated more inclusiveness to the Jews as people who believe in one God rejecting close relationships with them at the same time, Christians were affected by the bursts of anti-Semitism based on the idea that all Jews as Christ’s murderers should be eliminated. Moreover, as Odo, the Bishop of Tusculum, wrote about Talmut, “We found that these books were full of innumerable errors, abuses, blasphemies, and wickedness […] to such an extent that these books cannot be tolerated in the name of God without injury to the Christian faith.” Thus, Muslims and Christians traditionally converted the Jews to Islam or Christianity against their will, destroyed their books, and limited their human rights based on religious beliefs.
Secondly, the sources of information allow us to assume that religion was not the only reason for the Jews’ oppression, humiliation, and destruction. To be precise, religion was frequently used as an artificial reason that covered people’s practical interests. As a loss of a homeland and the necessity to face violence and hostility, exile led to strong social cohesion.
Prosperity and Peril: The Complex Era in Jewish History Revealed by the Documents
In Europe, the Jews were substantially successful in trade and financial activities. Therefore, when a devastating plague appeared in Europe in the 14th century, “the Jews throughout the world were reviled and accused in all lands of having caused it through the poison which they are said to have put into the water and the wells.” As a result, millions of them, including women and children, were burnt, drowned, and stabbed to death.
However, at the same time, in Strasbourg, the nobles “were determined to do away with the Jews who were their economic competitors and to whom they were indebted for loans.”Therefore, it is possible to assume that the Jews were targeted for the economic stability and competitiveness they created by their coordinated efforts. At the same time, different situations could be observed in the Arab world. The wealth of the Jews was acknowledged, and while they were obliged to pay annual tributes, nothing could be taken from them by force. In addition, the Jews’ achievements in science, medicine, jurisprudence, and chronology were also substantially appreciated.
Finally, documents suggest that the Jews were treated depending not only on theology and their activities but the positions of political figures as well. This aspect explains why the medieval era in Jewish history is viewed as a time of both prosperity and peril. For instance, in the 7th century, the Jewish community in Europe was protected by Pope Gregory the Great, and “his attitude toward the Jews finally became the official policy of the Catholic Church” for the next several centuries.
The Jews were granted the rights and freedoms, and, as Frederick, Duke of Austria, writes, “wherever a Jew shall pass through our territory, no one shall offer any hindrance to him or molest or trouble him.” At the same time, the situation drastically changed in the 12th century with the initiation of the Crusades, during which thousands of Jews were brutally killed or forced to commit suicide. In turn, in the Arab world, an opposite tendency may be observed – while the Jews were initially humiliated and oppressed, their talents, occupational success, and scientific achievement were subsequently recognized for coexistence with Muslims in peace and tranquility.
Conclusion
The analysis of both primary and secondary sources shows that the Jews faced violence and humiliation regardless of their place of living. In particular, in both Christian and Muslim countries, there was no tolerance for their religion; their religious books were frequently prohibited and burnt, and people were converted to another faith by force. At the same time, documents show that the intentions to exterminate Jewish people were caused by economic motifs as well.
At the same time, evaluated materials provide evidence that authorities’ attitudes toward them substantially impacted public attitudes toward the Jews. In particular, the regulations of influential governmental and religious figures allowed the Jews to use their human rights and accumulate wealth. At the same time, the negative perceptions of rulers based on religious beliefs or economic interests led to the Jews’ humiliation and even extermination. Therefore, the Middle Ages are regarded as the period of the Jew’s prosperity and suffering simultaneously.