The perception of Jews in the canon law in the period of the first two crusades

Abstract

Many historians have argued that the status of Jews in Western Europe underwent a profound change during the period of the first two Crusades (1095-1149). 1 Previously, the Jewish minority had enjoyed a fairly peaceful relationship with Christians, but the First Crusade rudely shattered this calm. 2 For diverse reasons, ranging from greed to revenge for the Crucifixion, crusading bands attacked Jewish communities along the line of their march, and caused heavy casualties (especially, and perhaps exclusively, in the Rhineland)? Both civil and ecclesiastical authorities were unable to stop the pillage, although elsewhere, notably in France, where the official crusading army was organized and directed by a papal legate, the Jews did not suffer. 4 By the time of the Second Crusade, the authorities were able to afford the Jews better physical protection, but the Jews' overall status continued to decline. 5 The Christian perception of the Jewish minority had become markedly hostile, preparing the way for future persecutions. However, the theoretical underpinnings of this new attitude were already in place well before 1096. 6 In particular, by no later than the first decade of the eleventh century, ecclesiastical authorities had codified a pervasive body Of legislation that cast the Jews in a negative light. 7