THE IMAGE OF THE OTHER: THE DISTINCTIVE SIGN OF THE JEWS IN MEDIEVAL GERMANY (13th-16th CENTURIES)

About the authors:

Dmitrii V. Baiduzh, Cand. Sci. (Hist.), Associate Professor, Department of History and Global Politics, University of Tyumen; d.v.bajduzh@utmn.ru

Victoriia O. Medvedeva, Master Student, Department of History and Global Politics, University of Tyumen; v.o.medvedeva@utmn.ru

Abstract:

This paper studies the special distinguishing sign of the Jews in the Germany during the 13th-16th centuries. Since early 12th c., Europe saw a large-scale process of rethinking the place of existing social groups and the emergence of new ones, clearly expressed by a set of iconic practices. The legitimization of the Jews’ emblems is its direct consequence. Using semiotic analysis, the authors consider visual signs in written and pictorial sources of various types as elements within the framework of a common sign system, as well as reveal the specifics of emblematic manifestations characteristic of Jewish identity. Most often, the signs were yellow and round. In Germany, the signs were used quite late relative to other European countries. In addition, Jews in Germany were in a better position because they depended on the emperor, and political decentralization had an impact on it. The authors conclude that the church prescription for Jews to wear specific signs was explained by the processes of streamlining the social organization of the Christian world. Finally, the authors state that the emblems were part of two strategies: the distinction between Jews and Christians, and the integration of Jews into the medieval urban space. In addition, the emblems could be a means of defamation or a positive, neutral sign.

References:

1. Antonov D. I., Mayzuls M. R. 2013. “ Judas Iscariot’s Damned Money”. In: Arkhipova A. S., Frukhtman Ya. M. (eds.). Fetish and Taboo: The Anthropology of Money in Russia, pp. 413-434. [In Russian]
2. Bedos-Rezak B. M. 2010. “Medieval Identity: A Sign and a Concept”. Translated from English by D. V. Bajduzh. Signum, no. 5, pp. 19-93. [In Russian]
3. Douglas M. 2000. Purity and Danger: An Analysis of Concepts of Pollution and Taboo. Moscow: Kanon-Press-Ts. 288 pp. [In Russian]
4. Lotman M. Yu. 2004. Semiosphere. Saint-Petersburg: Iskusstvo-SPB. 704 pp. [In Russian]
5. Mayzuls M. R. 2022. An Imaginary Enemy: Gentiles and Heretics in Medieval Iconography. Moscow: Alpina non-fikshn. 436 pp. [In Russian]
6. Mayzuls M. R. 2020. “Stigma on the face: the medieval origins of the ‘Jewish nose’”. Vestnik RGGU, no. 5, pp. 10-38. [In Russian]
7. Pastoureau M. 2012. The Symbolic History of the European Middle Ages. Saint-Petersburg: Aleksandriya. 160 pp. [In Russian]
8. Pastoureau M. 2022. Yellow. History of Color. Мoscow: New Literary Observer. 448 pp. [In Russian]
9. Rose E. M. 2021. The Murder of William of Norwich. The Origins of the Blood Libel in Medieval Europe. Moscow: New Literary Observer. 432 pp. [In Russian]
10. Trahtenberg D. 1998. Devil and Jews. Medieval Ideas about Jews and Their Connection with Modern Anti-Semitism. Moscow; Jerusalem: Gesharim. 294 pp. [In Russian]
11. Chernykh A. 2013. “The appearance of coats of arms as a problem of heraldry and history of the 12th century”. Srednie veka, vol. 3, no. 2 (10), pp. 124-149. [In Russian]
12. Oexle O. G. Die “Wirklichkeit” und das “Wissen”. Beiträge zur Sozialgeschichte des Mittelalters. Translated from German by Yu. Arnautova. Moscow: New Literary Observer. 360 pp. [In Russian]
13. Baumgarten E. 2022. Biblical Women and Jewish Daily Life in the Middle Ages. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press.
14. Cassen F. 2013. “From iconic O to yellow hat: anti-Jewish distinctive signs in Renaissance Italy”. In: Fashioning Jews: Clothing, Culture, and Commerce, pp. 29-49. Indiana: Purdue University Press.
15. Cassen F. 2017. Marking the Jews in Renaissance Italy. Religion, and the power of Symbols. Cambridge; N. Y.: Cambridge University Press. 225 pp.
16. García García A. (ed.). 1981. Constitutiones quarti Lateranensis una cum Commentariis glossatorum, pp. 107-108. Vatican.
17. Cutler A. H. 1970. “Innocent III and the distinctive clothing of Jews and Muslims”. In: Studies in Medieval Culture. Bd. 3, pp. 92-116. Kalamazoo, Mich.
18. Deneke B. 1993. “Die Kennzeichnung von Juden. Form und Funktion”. In: Maué H. (ed.). Visualisierung städtischer Ordnung. Zeichen — Abzeichen — Hoheitszeichen, pp. 240-252. Nürnberg.
19. Geltner G. 2012. “Social deviancy: a medieval approach”. In: Chazelle C. M., Doubleday S. R., Lifshitz F., Remensnyder A. G. (eds.). Why the Middle Ages Matter. Medieval light on Modern Injustice, pp. 29-40. London.
20. Geremek B. 1989. Le marginal. In: L'homme medieval. Dir. J. Le Goff, pp. 381-413. Paris.
21. Grayzel S. 1966. The Church and the Jews in the XIIIth Century. N. Y.: Hermon Press. 378 pp.
22. Hughes D. O. 1986. Distinguishing Signs: Ear-Rings, Jews and Franciscan Rhetoric in the Italian Renaissance City. Past and Present. Vol. 112, pp. 3-59.
23. Kisch G. 1942. The Yellow Badge in History. Historia Judaica. Vol. 4, pp. 95-144.
24. Kisch G. 1970. The Jews in Medieval Germany. A Study of Their Legal and Social Status. N. Y.: Ktav Publishing House.
25. Lipton S. 2014. Dark Mirror: The Medieval Origins of Anti-Jewish Iconography. N. Y.: Metropolitan Books. 416 pp.
26. Mellinkoff R. 1981. The Mark of Cain. Berkeley, Calif.
27. Moore R. I. 2007. The Formation of a Persecuting Society. Authority and Deviance in Western Europe 950-1250. Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishing. 240 pp.
28. Nemo-Pekelman C. 2014. “Signum mortis: une nouvelle explication du signe de la rouelle?”. In: Tolan J. V., Lange N. R. M., De (eds.). Jews in Early Christian Law: Byzantium and the Latin West, 6th-11th centuries, pp. 153-166. Turnhout.
29. Nirenberg D. 1996. Communities of Violence: Persecution of Minorities in the Middle Ages. Princeton: Princeton University Press. 301 pp.
30. Pastoureau M. 1986. Figures et couleurs: études sur la symbolique et la sensibilité médiévales. Paris.
31. Po-Chia Hsia R. 1992. Trent 1475. Stories of a Ritual Murder Trial. New Haven; London: Yale University Press.
32. Resnick I. 2018. “The Jews’ Badge”. Jews and Muslims under the Fourth Lateran Council. Papers commemorating the octocentenary of the Fourth Lateran Council (1215), pp. 65-81. Turnhout: Brepols.
33. Resnick I. M. 2012. Marks of Distinction: Christian Perceptions of Jews in the High Middle Ages. Washington, DC: The Catholic University of America Press. 386 pp.
34. Richards J. 1991. Sex, Dissidence and Damnation: Minority Groups in the Middle Ages. London.
35. Robert U. 1891. Les Signes d'infamie au Moyen Âge. Juifs, Sarrasins, hérétiques, lépreux, cagots et filles publique. Paris: H. Champion.
36. Roth N. 2003. “Badge, Jewish”. In: Roth N. (ed.). Medieval Jewish Civilization. An Encyclopedia, pp. 67-70. New York.
37. Rowe N. 2011. The Jew, the Cathedral and the Medieval City: Synagoga and Ecclesia in the Thirteenth Century. Cambridge University Press.
38. Sansy D. 2019. “Identifier les juifs dans l’espace urbain. Les signes distinctifs des juifs en terre d’Empire (XIII-XVe siècles)”. In: Rostros judíos del occidente medieval, pp. 167-192. Publ. J. Juaristi. Pamplona.
39. Sansy D. 2001. “Marquer la différence: l’imposition de la rouelle aux XIIIe et XIVe siècles”. Médiévales, no. 41, pp. 15-36.
40. Scheiner J. J. 2004. Vom „Gelben Flicken“ zum „Judenstern“? Genese und Applikation von Judenabzeichen im Islam und christlichen Europa (841-1941). Frankfurt am Main. 169 pp.
41. Schreckenberg H. 1996. The Jews in Christian Art. N. Y.: Continuum. 400 pp.
42. Singermann F. 1915. Die Kennzeichnung der Juden im Mittelalter. Ein Beitrag zur sozialen Geschichte des Judentums. Berlin.
43. Tamm M. 2018. “Naissance de la persecution sémiotique: la création des signes distinctifs des minorités sociales et religieuses dans l’Occident médiéval (XIIIe — XIVe siècles)”. In: À travers le regard de l’Autre Réflexions sur la société médiévale européenne (XIIe-XVe siècles), pp. 57-78. Europress, Lda.
44. Toaff A. 1991. “The Jewish badge in Italy during the 15th century. Ebenbauer A., Zatloukal K. (eds.). Die Juden in ihrer mittelalterlichen Umwelt, pp. 275-280. Wien.
45. Vincent N. C. 1994/96. “Two papal letters on the wearing of the Jewish badge: 1221 and 1229. Jewish Historical Studies, vol. 34, pp. 209-224.