Monthly Archives: December 2021

Researcher of the Week

Annika Funke

Doctoral Candidate
University of Trier
Supervisor: Prof. Lukas Clemens

“In the 15th century a series of expulsions drove out the Jews from most of the free and imperial cities in the German territories. Complying with the restricting settlement policies of the surrounding small towns and villages, Jewish communities reorganized as a rural settlement network with often no more than two families living in close proximity. Religious and communal life was subject to fundamental changes. To visit communal institutions or events, to conduct business and to perform acts of political participation and representation, Jews had to travel on a daily basis. In my PhD project, I investigate the interactions of small-town Jews with civic authorities, differentiating between institutionalized diplomatic actions and the scope of individual agency.

Continue reading Researcher of the Week

New Article on a Medieval Seal Matrix with a “Judensau”

The new vol. 100 of the journal Bremisches Jahrbuch features a German article by Andreas Lehnertz and Markus Wenninger on a seal matrix that shows a “Judensau.” The article “Zum Heiligenberger Siegeltypar mit einer ‘Judensau’: Das Siegel eines Christen, nicht das eines Juden” as well as a discussion can also be found in the archivalia.hypothesis blog.

Online Lecture: Muscle Jews and Redheads. The “Red Jews” in Yiddish Culture by Rebekka Voß, Goethe University Frankfurt (in German).

07.12.2021 19:30 CET

The “Red Jews” live in a legendary land behind the mythical river Sambatjon, so Jews and Christians told each other in the Middle Ages and early modern times, and still today. The lecture traces these Yiddish stories about the Red Jews and shows what role this imaginary people played in Jewish culture from the Middle Ages to the present. It is fascinating how Jews and Christians passed the legends on to each other, but at the same time argued about their meaning. The lecture will take place digitally. If you would like to attend via Zoom, please register at welterbe@erfurt.de. In addition, the lecture will also be broadcast on the Youtube channel erfurtkultur.

Continue reading Online Lecture: Muscle Jews and Redheads. The “Red Jews” in Yiddish Culture by Rebekka Voß, Goethe University Frankfurt (in German).