IMC 2023: Sessions

Social interactions between Jews and Christians were manifold. The crowded living situation of medieval European cities made daily encounters inevitable. Many networks existed due to professions (e.g., Jewish and Christian businesspeople) or affiliations (e.g., guilds and religious communities) to a specific social stratum. In this session, we aim to showcase the wide variety of these social entanglements by focusing on three types of interaction: the closeness of Jewish and Christian living quarters resulted in many neighborly contacts that span from friendly, even intimate, to conflicts and hatred. The first paper will analyze the types of connections that stem from the various kinds of interaction. The second paper will focus on the legal practice of oath-taking, which both Jews and Christians employed. The so-called Jewry oath is testimony to their cultural distinctiveness, following Jewish legal and ritual tradition. Yet, in its acceptance by the Christian authorities and counterparties, it also serves as a bridge between them. Close contact was, however, also frowned upon, mainly by the religious authorities. The third paper will examine a particular concern of the church, the employment of Jewish women as wet nurses in Christian households. It will analyze the various misgivings for their social, theological, and racial content.