MDT Ep. 82: Concerning Plague Persecutions

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This episode, we examine the persecution of Jews that occurred during the plague years of 1348-1350, including the record of well-poisoning interrogations, the pope’s attempt to quell the violence, and a Jewish account of the persecutions and resistance. 

Today’s Texts

• “Appendix 2: Examination of the Jews Accused of Poisoning the Wells.” The Epidemics of the Middle Ages, by J.F.C. Hecker and translated by B.G. Babington, 3rd ed., Trübner & Co., 1859, pp. 70-74. Google Books.
• Clement VI. Bull of 1 Oct. 1348 [Latin text]. Acta Salzburgo-Aquilejensia, edited by Alois Lang, vol. 1, VerlagsBuchhandlung Styria, 1903, pp. 301-302. Google Books.
• Joseph ha-Kohen. The Chronicles of Rabbi Joseph Ben Joshua Ben Meir, the Sphardi. Translated by C.H.F. Bialloblotzky, vol. 1, Richard Bentley, 1835. Google Books.

References

• Cohn, Samuel K., Jr. “The Black Death and the Burning of Jews.” Past & Present, no. 196, Aug. 2007, pp. 3-36. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/25096679.
• Colet, et al. “The Black Death and Its Consequences for the Jewish Community in Tàrrega: Lessons from History and Archeology.” The Medieval Globe, vol. 1, no. 1, 2014, pp. 63-96. Western Michigan University, scholarworks.wmich.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1021&context=tmg.
• Hecker, J.F.C. The Epidemics of the Middle Ages. Translated by B.G. Babington, 3rd ed., Trübner & Co., 1859. Google Books.
• Jedwab, Remi, et al. “Negative Shocks and Mass Persecutions: Evidence from the Black Death.” Institute for International Economic Policy, Elliott School of International Affairs, The George Washington University, www2.gwu.edu/~iiep/assets/docs/papers/2017WP/JedwabIIEPWP2017-4.pdf. Working paper.
• Lloyd, Nathaniel. “In the Footsteps of the Wandering Jew: Anti-Semitic Canards in the Coronavirus Era.” Historical Blindness, 26 May 2020, www.historicalblindness.com/blogandpodcast//in-the-footsteps-of-the-wandering-jew-anti-semitic-canards-in-the-coronavirus-era. Podcast.
• Nirenberg, David. “Epilogue: The Black Death and Beyond.” Communities of Violence: Persecution of Minorities in the Middle Ages, updated edition, Princeton UP, 1996, pp. 231-250. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctvc77j55.14.
• Winkler, Albert. “The Medieval Holocaust: The Approach of the Plague and the Destruction of Jews in Germany, 1348-1349.” Federation of East European Family History Societies, vol. 13, 2005, pp. 6-24. BYU ScholarsArchive, scholarsarchive.byu.edu/facpub/1816.

Consulted for translation comparisons

• Horrox, Rosemary, translator and editor. The Black Death. Manchester Medieval Sources, Manchester UP, 1994.
• “Quamvis perfidiam Iudeorum.” Translated into French by Claire Chauvin, RELMIN, Université de Nantes, 2013, www.cn-telma.fr/relmin/extrait87469/.

Music credit: Hershman, Mordechai, performer. “Rochel Mevake Al Bonaiho.” 1921. Audio. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, www.loc.gov/item/jukebox-39537/.

Image: Photo of Chillon Castle on Lake Geneva,  by Hans Braxmeier from Pixabay.