A History of Anti-Semitism: The Persecution of the Jews in the Middle Ages

Nathan Laporte 8:35 a.m., January 29, 2024

DECRYPTION - In the Middle Ages, the evangelization of European societies went hand in hand with a growing stigmatization of Jewish populations, who suffered the full brunt of the murderous consequences of the Crusades. Explanations with Sylvie-Anne Goldberg, historian and study director at EHESS in the podcast “At the heart of History”, hosted by Virginie Girod.

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While the medieval West was becoming Christianized, the Jewish presence was a puzzle. For the historian Pierre Sauvy, it is even "the only breach of religious unity that is tolerated in the West", a tolerance from which "heretics and pagans" do not benefit.  

From tolerance to the massacres of the Crusades 

To understand it, we must look at the writings of Saint Augustine in the 4th century. “Judaism is not considered a heresy, because Christianity considered, according to what Saint Augustine had written, that the Jews had to be preserved: they were the authentic witnesses of the truth of Christianity,” explains Sylvie- Anne Goldberg, historian and study director at EHESS, guest of Au Cœur de l’Histoire. “But there is a tipping point which follows the call to the Crusade.”  

In 1095, Pope Urban II called for the First Crusade to come to the aid of Eastern Christians and liberate the tomb of Christ in Jerusalem, threatened by the Seljuk Turks. “The Jews were a priori the first potential victims of the Crusaders who went to the Holy Land since they were considered to be the outposts of the infidels in Palestine,” continues Sylvie Anne Goldberg. Entire Jewish communities were thus massacred in Europe, along the banks of the Rhine.  

Monarchies that have become “absolutely Christian”

The Jews are in fact undergoing the consolidation of Western societies around the Christian religion which is taking place in the meantime. "We have anti-Jewish sources which begin very early, as soon as the Fathers of the Church begin to write texts. However, the texts to define what a good Christian is are based on the inverted image of what a good Christian is. is a Jew. A Christian must define himself essentially by the fact that he is not Jewish", recalls the historian. However, without means of disseminating information on a large scale, evangelization is essentially oral and takes centuries, even influencing the decisions of monarchs.  

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In the 9th century, Agobard, bishop of Lyon who campaigned for the unity of the Christian world, expressed concern to King Louis the Pious about intellectual competition from Judaism. “The king didn't care much, because he didn't believe that the Church should dictate its law to him,” says Sylvie-Anne Goldberg. “On the other hand, in the 12th century if we take the case of Saint Louis, the monarch considered that his royalty walked in line with divine wills.” 

The turning point of the Lateran council 

In particular, the king will endeavor to follow the instructions given by the Ecumenical Council of Lateran of 1215 which aims to strengthen Catholic unity in the West. “He will seek to eliminate this Jewish population from the coexistence that existed until then between Jews and Christians.” Already, Jews were accused of practicing ritual crimes, such as feeding on the blood of Christian children or desecrating hosts. “We make the Jews monstrous, it’s a way of demonizing them,” maintains the historian.  

In parallel with this demonization, discriminatory measures multiplied with the Lateran Council. To identify Jews, they were required to wear the rouelle, a piece of colored fabric. Access to certain professions is also restricted. "From the moment you exercise a profession that is recognized, you are part of a well-defined social layer in medieval society. When you are deprived of the right to exercise this or that profession, you are degraded socially", underlines Sylvie-Anne Goldberg.

Also read >> The origins of anti-Semitism during Antiquity

Jews are turning in particular to the profession of loan shark, lending money with a usury rate, which contributes to fueling the anti-Semitic prejudice of “Jew and money”. “The term usurer is to be placed in the name of fundamental sins hated by the Church. It is an additional symbolic marking,” she continues. 

A logical continuation of ostracization, Jews were also victims of mass expulsions in order to eradicate their presence and encourage conversions: in 1290, Edward I expelled all Jews from the Kingdom of England. In France, they were the subject of several edicts of expulsion and successive recalls during the 14th century. In 1492, it was the turn of Spain, which had just completed the Reconquista, to throw the Jews onto the roads of exile. “The fact of wanting to expel the Jews goes hand in hand with the process of Christianization: the stronger the Church becomes in the authorities of the royal powers, the more the place of the Jews is compromised within these societies,” summarizes Sylvie-Anne Goldberg.