Current Book Project of Juniorprofessor Dr. Andreas Lehnertz
Jewish Craftspeople in medieval Ashkenaz
My current project is a study of Jewish craftspeople in medieval Ashkenaz, i.e., in the Holy Roman Empire, Northern France, and England. Scholarship on the economic history of the Jews in medieval Ashkenaz focuses almost exclusively on moneylending. This Jewish occupation generated a great mass of textual sources and is, therefore, most frequently explored. An economic and social history of Jewish professional involvement in crafts, however, has yet to be written. Jewish artisans such as goldsmiths, glaziers, or woodcarvers, among numerous other professions, such as messengers, launderers, or water carriers, frequently appear in the various types of sources but are seldom accounted for by scholars. I aim to modify this paradigm of historiography by providing a new and broad discussion of Jewish professional occupation and restructuring our understanding of the medieval Ashkenazi society and economy. Such a study will help to reveal a more versatile Jewish society and its everyday activities in medieval Ashkenaz.
Ph.D. Project of Sophia Schommer
The Sephardic Diaspora in Venice (1492–1541)
My dissertation project examines the early migration movement of the Sephardim - including the so-called marrani, the converted Jews - after their expulsion from the Iberian Peninsula in 1492 and 1497 and their reorganization in the lagoon city. Until now, research has focused on the second half of the 16th century, when a large Sephardic community formed in Venice, which even had an influence on the later community formation in Amsterdam. However, the fact that Sephardim were already present in the lagoon at the end of the 15th century and were able to refuse an edict of expulsion in 1497 is hardly considered. Yet the reorganization in the early phase of migration is particularly interesting, since, at that time, the foundation and conditions for further settlement as well as the establishment of larger communities were formed. My project aims to gain insights into the connections between the Sephardim and Christian and Jewish society within and outside the lagoon city, as well as into their activities. These findings are to be considered against the background of the political framework provided by the Serenissima to be able to draw conclusions about the Sephardim's agency in their reorganization in Venice. In this way, I would like to shed new light on the early Sephardic migration movements and contribute to a much more differentiated view on the Sephardic diaspora.
The Jewish Cemeteries in Neumagen-Dhron and Beilstein
Cemeteries and gravestones are outstanding testimonies to human communities and their past. It is therefore important to protect historical cemeteries, preserve them as monuments and make the historical information from the grave inscriptions and grave designs accessible. This also applies to the numerous cemeteries of the former Jewish communities in Germany, many of which are still historically unexplored, while their state of preservation is slowly but steadily deteriorating due to environmental influences and neglect.
The Jewish cemeteries in Neumagen-Dhron (www.kuladig.de/Objektansicht/KLD-274636) and Beilstein (www.kuladig.de/Objektansicht/O-67138-20130610-6) are striking examples of this problem: With the loss of the gravestones, the memory of those Jews who found their final resting place in these places, to whom the gravestones gave a name and often also a character, also fades. They are irretrievably forgotten. Both cemeteries are among the few that date back to the early modern period and are therefore among the oldest burial sites that have survived in the region to this day. They are also among the most important, as they were not only used by local families. Their documentation therefore plays a key role in researching Jewish history and culture on the Moselle over a significant period of time.
In the absence of Jewish community archives (which were mostly lost or destroyed, especially in the smaller communities), Jewish gravestones often provide unique information about the buried: In addition to names and dates of life, we also learn about community functions (rabbi, tutor, community servant, circumciser, etc.) or other occupations (scribe, baker, midwife, etc.); character traits of the buried (generous, helpful, etc.) and, since the 19th century, religious orientations ranging from ‘orthodox’ to ‘secular’ are also expressed through inscriptions or design. In this way, history can be written from them in many different ways, which often cannot be reconstructed in any other way.
Our project aims to provide good and systematic photographic documentation. Against the background described above, this in itself represents a highly commendable task. They help to preserve a memory that is currently increasingly being forgotten. While cemeteries and gravestones have been photographed many times, there is usually no complete photographic documentation that also includes the less conspicuous pieces and fragments, and very rarely do the photographs later allow a complete reading of the grave inscriptions, for example because they were not taken with grazing light or because grasses or branches were still in the way. Nevertheless, it is also important to systematically collect older photographs, as these often show a better state of preservation, which makes it easier to decipher the grave inscription.
According to current knowledge, the Jewish cemeteries in Neumagen-Dhron and Beilstein were established around 1578 (Neumagen-Dhron) and in the 17th century (Beilstein). Today, the two cemeteries are the responsibility of the Jewish communities in Trier (Neumagen-Dhron) and Koblenz (Beilstein); as mentioned, the local authorities are responsible for the preservation of the monuments. There are currently 127 gravestones in Neumagen-Dhron covering an area of 3,671 square metres, and around 110 in Beilstein covering 1,405 square metres. These have not yet been systematically documented and mapped, let alone read. Our project has now documented all the gravestones and created maps of them in the cemeteries for the first time. This was made possible by the generous support of the Manfred and Christa May Foundation in Kyllburg.
Images and Map: DOKU PLUS S.à r.l.