The Jews in the late eleventh century were never good warriors because they never immersed themselves, nor their sons, in the art of warfare. They were master traders and financial gurus, eager to work with the Christians on peaceful terms. Yet, in the months following Pope Urban’s sermon at Clermont, they were brutally massacred in the worst way imaginable by overzealous crusaders.
Colonies of Jews had existed in Europe, all situated along trade routes, since the time of the Roman Empire. Sometime in the early Middle Ages, large groups of Jews migrated west and settled in several regions in Europe. Somehow they managed to maintain relations with their brethren in Byzantine and Arab held lands in the east. Probably for that reason alone, the western Jews had access to trade relations with the east. They also established one practice that the Pope had forbidden his Christian flock to engage in: money lending.
The Jews, although successful in business and wealthy, were in a peculiar situation: they had no legal or civic rights. Yet, kings and bishops befriended and protected them because they knew the Jews were the only race of people who kept Europe’s economy afloat. Kings and bishops borrowed money from the Jews whenever they needed it, despite the Pope’s advice against such a practice. The Jews, in turn, worked with the Christians. However, they were not popular amongst the commoners.
Throughout the course of the eleventh century, a cash economy replaced the older one of services. For that reason the poorer classes, including landless knights, had to rely on the Jews for money.
The Crusade (then termed armed pilgrimage) was an extremely expensive venture. A knight had to properly equip himself for such a lengthy expedition. The cost of armor and war horse combined cost more than what a knight earned in two years. He could rely on his lord or wealthy uncle–such was the case with Tancred de Hauteville–to finance his pilgrimage, and many knights did have all expenses paid by their lords. However, it’s quite likely that not all men-at-arms had that luxury. Those who were on their own had to rely on the goodwill of the Jews which they genuinely did not want to do.
As crusading enthusiasm swept throughout Europe in the late eleventh century, resentment towards the Jews intensified, particularly amongst Peter the Hermit’s poor and crazed followers. Those nutty crusaders viewed the race of Jews as an infidel worse than the Muslims. In their eyes, Muslims were persecuting Jews, but the Jews had crucified Christ. They needed to be purged from Christendom. For that reason alone, Peter’s crusaders thought it wrong to rely on the Jews for money. The Jews needed to be dealt with just as much as the Muslims, and few of Peter’s German followers decided to wage a most violent war against the Jews before they departed Europe for the Holy Land.
Sources Used:
Runciman, Steven. A History of the Crusades: The First Crusade. Vol.1. Cambridge; Cambridge University Press, 1951.
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