by Karin Sczech
Philippe Blanchard, a colleague who works on medieval Jewish cemeteries in France, contacted me with a question of identification. From a grave in the cemetery of Châteauroux comes a pendant, which can be seen here how it was found.
Unfortunately, it is an iron object that has not yet been restored.
The X-ray image suggests an eyelet at the upper, wider end. The drawing was made after the X-ray.
Perhaps someone has an idea?
11th Workshop of the ”Arbeitsgruppe Mittelalter im Netzwerk Jüdisches Kulturerbe“ in cooperation with the Jewish Museum Augsburg Swabia
The ”Arbeitsgruppe Mittelalter im Netzwerk Jüdisches Kulturerbe“ invites to its next workshop on October 8–9, 2026, in Augsburg. The Jewish Museum Augsburg Schwaben is currently preparing to revamp its permanent exhibition. Against this backdrop, the workshop will once again address the question of how to portray and contextualize medieval Jewish life in a museum setting. Unlike in Cologne, for example, there are few archaeological finds or objects that could be used to present the diverse history of the medieval Jewish community in Augsburg. It is primarily municipal sources and a few Hebrew sources that provide insight into the life of this community. Together in Augsburg, we will discuss how vivid, scientifically grounded multimedia and spatial presentations can be developed and narrated from this seemingly disparate source material; how medieval Jewish history can be conveyed within the context of urban history and urban space; and where, on the one hand, the limitations and, on the other, the future potential of museum concepts can be identified.
We invite interested individuals from all disciplines (building research, archaeology, architectural and art history, history, Jewish studies, historic preservation, and museology). The number of participants for both days is limited. Travel and accommodation expenses cannot be covered.
Registration and further information: malin.drees@jmaugsburg.de /maria.stuerzebecher@erfurt.de / simon.paulus@ifag.uni-stuttgart
21 July – 13 September 2026, Erfurt Small Synagogue
Yiddish is primarily a language spoken and written by Jews in German-speaking regions. In its earliest stages, the language developed from various German dialects, which were enriched with Hebrew-Aramaic and Romance elements, and later, at the end of the Middle Ages in the East, with Slavic elements as well. These languages had a major influence on the vocabulary and structure of Yiddish, which is why Yiddish is also referred to as a component language. From the outset, Yiddish was written using Hebrew letters. Modern Yiddish works are mostly written in Eastern Yiddish, while the examples presented here mainly document (early) Western Yiddish. The exhibition aims to show the diversity of early Yiddish from its beginnings to the advent of printing. To this end, various forms of writing in the Yiddish language are presented. Our evidence ranges from glosses and single-word examples, legal texts, short texts, letters and narrative texts to scientific treatises. The different genres impressively demonstrate the diverse use of the early Yiddish language.
The exhibition was curated by the Department of Yiddish Studies and the Junior Professorship in Medieval History, specialising in Jewish history, at the University of Trier, where it was first shown in 2025. It will be on display at the Small Synagogue in Erfurt from 21 July to 13 September 2026. Admission is free and no booking is required.
10.- 12.08.2026, Freie Universität Berlin – Holzlaube, Fabeckstraße 23–25, Room 2.2058
16 July 2026, 18:00 CET
Within the Colloquium “Arbeitskreis für Jüdische Geschichte des Mittelalters und der frühen Neuzeit,” Dorothea Weltecke (Berlin) will speak about »Dynamiken der Religionsgeschichte – Juden, Christen und Muslime zwischen Antike und Neuzeit« at Stadtmuseum Simeonstift Trier, 18:00 CET.
13 July 2026, 16:15 CET
Within the Colloquium “Arbeitskreis für Jüdische Geschichte des Mittelalters und der frühen Neuzeit,” Savoy Curry (Jerusalem) will speak about »In and Out of the City, Between Archives and Responsa: Sexual Crimes in Late Medieval Ashkenaz« at Trier University, 16:15 CET.
https://uni-trier.zoom-x.de/j/64506740626?pwd=EjpAFKGNODTI8MifhEf7Gh7uzHVSPN.1
Meeting-ID: 645 0674 0626
Kenncode: WUckD1v0
29 June 2026, 16:15 CET
Within the Colloquium “Arbeitskreis für Jüdische Geschichte des Mittelalters und der frühen Neuzeit,” Javier Del Barco (Madrid) will speak about »Wandering Manuscripts: The Italian Journey of Hebrew Bibles from the Bibliothèque nationale de France« at Trier University, 16:15 CET.
https://uni-trier.zoom-x.de/j/64506740626?pwd=EjpAFKGNODTI8MifhEf7Gh7uzHVSPN.1
Meeting-ID: 645 0674 0626
Kenncode: WUckD1v0
8 June 2026, 16:15 CET
Within the Colloquium “Arbeitskreis für Jüdische Geschichte des Mittelalters und der frühen Neuzeit,” Nureet Dermer (Beer Sheva) will speak about »French Jews’ Mobility after the Expulsions of the Fourteenth Century: Individual Trajectories and Collective Patterns« at Trier University, 16:15 CET.
https://uni-trier.zoom-x.de/j/64506740626?pwd=EjpAFKGNODTI8MifhEf7Gh7uzHVSPN.1
Meeting-ID: 645 0674 0626
Kenncode: WUckD1v0
1 June 2026, 16:15 CET
Within the Colloquium “Arbeitskreis für Jüdische Geschichte des Mittelalters und der frühen Neuzeit,” Albrecht Classen (Tucson/AZ) will speak about »Frühneuzeitliches Lachen über oder sogar mit Juden in der Schwankliteratur des 16. Jahrhunderts: Problematische Beziehungen literarisch reflektiert« at Trier University, 16:15 CET.
https://uni-trier.zoom-x.de/j/64506740626?pwd=EjpAFKGNODTI8MifhEf7Gh7uzHVSPN.1
Meeting-ID: 645 0674 0626
Kenncode: WUckD1v0
The recently published Festschrift for Lukas Clemens (Zwischen Mosel und Mittelmeer. Interdisziplinäre und epochenübergreifende Studien zu Ehren von Lukas Clemens anlässlich seines 65. Geburtstags, ed. Hanna Schäfer, Andreas Lehnertz, Philipp Sebastian Weiss, Verlag für Geschichte & Kultur Trier, 2026) also includes the following new papers on Jewish studies:
