Danny Grabe

PhD Candidate
Friedrich-Schiller-Universität Jena, Historisches Institut

“My research interests focus mainly on the socio-economic history of  European Jews in the early middle ages up to the 11th century. In my PhD dissertation I take up the ongoing discussion about the Jews in the Christian sources of that time period. There has been some considerable debate on these texts against the backdrop of a relative absence of Jewish sources. Some scholars even deny the very existence of a Jewish presence in given places, since some of the non-Jewish texts appear to use Jews solely as a rhetorical device. My project “Doctors, Glassblowers, Slave Traders? Professions of Jews And Their Functions Between Topos And Reality in the Christian Sources of the Early Middle Ages.” will deal specifically with the economic pursuits of Jews in the time frame of 508-1096.

It addresses the question of the professions of Jews and how they are used for the purposes of the respective texts. For instance, why do Christian sources exhibit such fascination with Jewish physicians while Jewish sources remain nearly silent in this regard? Why is the Jewish physician so often depicted as an outstanding expert while their Christian ounterparts are occasionally accused of significant blunders? Is it all just part of a rhetorical exercise or do the Christian sources, too, contain some truth? Jewish sources will be used to contrast the Christian ones and will, furthermore, shed some light on aspects which are not covered by 
non-Jewish texts.

Since I went through the entire and sometimes rigorous German teacher education and taught at school myself, I am also interested in the historical circumstances of Jewish teachers. Therefore, I am planning a small study on the work ethics, salaries, and curricula of Jewish teachers as shown in the responsa of the 11th century.”

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