IMC 2007: Sessions

Session 822: Multicultural Aspects of the Medieval City

Tuesday 10 July 2007, 16.30-18.00

Sponsor:	Texas Medieval Association
Organiser:	Sally N. Vaughn, Department of History, University of Houston, Texas
Moderator/Chair:	Dolores Jørgensen, University of Virginia / Norges teknisk-naturvitenskapelige universitet, Trondheim
Paper 822-a	More Than the Normans: Cultural Diversity and Interaction at Caen, 11th and 12th Centuries (Language: English) Priscilla D. Watkins, Houston Community College, Texas Index terms: Demography, Economics - Urban, Social History
Paper 822-b	The Jewish Moneylenders of Chartres: An Overlooked Viewing Community for the Early 13th-Century Portal Sculptures (Language: English) Jennifer Lyons, Tufts University Index terms: Art History - General, Art History - Sculpture, Economics - Urban, Hebrew and Jewish Studies
Paper 822-c	Jewish Female Moneylending in 13th-Century English Towns (Language: English) Hannah Meyer, Queens' College, University of Cambridge Index terms: Economics - Urban, Gender Studies, Hebrew and Jewish Studies, Women’s Studies
Abstract	The papers in this session will deal with multiculturalism. The first will outline the various cultures in the city of Caen in Normandy - French, Normans, Italians, Jews, and Muslims are clearly identifiable, along with 'foreign merchants'. It will discuss their self-identity and their role in Caen's development. The second paper will establish a Jewish viewing community at the Cathedral at Chartres and their harmonious relations with their Christian neighbours in Chartres, despite violence against Jews elsewhere in France. Paper c: This paper will discuss the contribution made by Jewish female moneylenders to the 13th-century English urban economy. Through quantitative and qualitative analysis of the nature of the loans made by Anglo-Jewish females, this paper will question how far it is possible to identify a particularly 'female' type of moneylending activity. It will also explore the socio-economic background of the debtors who borrowed from Jewish female creditors and the effect of such credit transactions upon Jewish-Christian relations in 13th-century English towns.