Life in the Middle Ages Flashcards
Who ruled Spain at the time?
The Muslims
How were the Sephardim treated? What was Spain like?
As long as they were willing to play a low key role, they enjoyed freedom and were treated relatively well. The climate and food was good, and the culture was much more educated. The Sephardi Jews were well integrated into the economy. (merchants, land-owners, bankers, farmers, etc.)
How were the Ashkenazim treated? What was Europe like?
They were treated as servants, and had very little job opportunities (farming, handicraft, shopkeepers, etc.). Most גוים were illiterate. There was no knowledge of hygiene or science, and no measurement of time. They were very superstitious and violent.
What effect did the creation of towns have on Ashkenazi Jews?
They were generally good for the Jews. They created a middle class, so Jews could make a פרנסה free of the wealthy landowners
Explain about the ghettos.
In many towns (especially Germany) and area was walled off for the Jews. These towns made it possible for Jews to live together and תורה to grow. But there was also terrible overcrowding, and a smell of garbage, sewage, and animals.
What was the Black Death? Explain it’s effects.
This was a plague, that arrived in Europe in 1347. It spread through Europe, infecting the air. Terrible sanitation and no knowledge on how to prevent it from spreading made it the worst plague in history. Between 1/3 and 1/2 of Europe died, and from unburied bodies came typhus and other epidemics.
What did the Black Death lead to (for the Jews)? Why was this?
Because of slightly better hygiene (because of the הלכות), and the fact that Jews bury their dead immediately, there were less deaths. The Jews were accused of poisoning the wells, (and not being affected by this through black magic). This caused a wave of pogroms, in which tens of thousands of Jews were killed.
As a result of the Black Death and the disasters after it, Germany lost it’s place as the main תורה center in the Ashkenazi world. The leadership shifted to ______
Poland
