Jews in Medieval Christendom November 6 2012 I Legacy of Late Antiquity II Women in Judaism in Late Antiquity Rabbis are not Judaism a b Rabbinic Corpus a Rabbinic texts and rabbinic law possible rabbinization in communities previously not influenced b Prayer liturgy as specified especially by Rabbis c Under Roman Christian rule a new consensus of marginality i Jews in society not of society which is Christian society later becomes Muslim ii Protected Jews were the most reliable other in Christian kingdoms iii Necessarily subordinate iv Could be restrictive oppressive Jews are not supposed to hold positions of power over Christian but they do have their own rights still v Also empowered limited Jewish autonomy under traditional leaders helps to shape the Jewish identity i Like Bible a literature that talks about women reflects largely male concerns ii Wegner Mishnah tendency to limit women s sexual reproductive function while retaining other areas of autonomy regulate their jobs but they DON T want to leave them in the house or de economize them they ARE concerned with areas to handle the ownership of women s sexuality iii Can refine Wegner s treatment of Talmud and Midrash Babylonian texts more likely to reflect view of women as bizarre other i Much more varied ii Public role of women in some contexts iii Evidence limited for women as property owners donors etc possibilities of women of a social status how much mobility and ability they had for prominent social personas c Diaspora Evidence III A Political Sketch a Zones of Medieval Jewish Culture Islamic lands i Northern Central Eastern European Ashkenazic ii iii Byzantine iv Spanish Sephardic b Jews in Christian Lands i Old Roman areas Turkey Greece Italy ii Developing medieval areas France German Eastern IV Legal Status a Legacy of Late Antique Jews as witness protected and restricted i ii A body of law that in practice restricted and protected Justinian intervention into Jewish practices is exceptional In Western Eurppe Main heirs is the Catholic Church iii b In the States of Medieval Europe i Charters first for individuals then cities then kingdoms ii iii Protective but put Jews at risk Jews as serfs of the royal chamber V Economy Northern Europe a Jews and Money i In developing states of Northern and Central Europe Jewish merchants invited to settle ii With the rise of merchant class in merdieval towns prohibitions restrictions on owning land Jews increasingly pushed into lending In princedoms with striong states served as money lenders for princes as well a source of revenue for kings iii iv A similar process ongoing in the flow of Jews o eastern Europe b Where there was no such selection of Jews there was greater as well economic diversity i Byzantine empire Islamic lands ii