Summary Of Sehok
Jewish and Christian societies did not restrict their dealings to only business concerns, as the story of Sehok provides another example of Jewish-Christian relations within the Jewish communities. To introduce the town, the story begins by saying, “[Sehok] went to the city of Le Mans, a small Jewish community at the edge of France. In this city lived his aunts, one married to a Christian” (“Chronicle”). Though evidence would suggest that people belonging to Jewish and Christian communities in the Middle Ages hardly even interacted, let alone intermarried, the “Chronicle of Le Mans” suggests that this was a definite possibility. The casual way in which the author references it could even imply that it was not that remarkable of an occurrence.
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As Sehok spent more time in Le Mans, he became increasingly relentless and cruel toward the Jews. However, “when the elders of the land reproved him, he became their enemy and oppressed them. He was unwilling to heed numerous delegations, refusing even to listen to them” (“Chronicle”). This passage indicates that the Jewish community had some form of self-governance. The Jewish elders should have had the jurisdiction to condemn Sehok for his actions, even though he did not bow to their reproval. Their delegations would have held power over him, but Sehok did not listen. Inside the Jewish community, the elders held some sort of authority for punishment, despite it being unenforceable in the context of the story. The Jews did not have to go through a Christian governing body to assign admonishment on Sehok, and instead were able to take matters into their own hands. It seems as if the Christian rulers granted them that jurisdiction, and did not interfere in Jewish legal matters until it affected the …show more content…
The story describes a Jewish man named ha-Levi, who, every day, “rose before sunrise, at the time of the morning star, and made his way to the synagogue” (“Chronicle”). The Christians did not begrudge him this daily routine. The document also later depicts the Jewish congregation in the synagogue, “sitting and singing the songs of David” (“Chronicle”). The Jews in Le Mans were able to worship in peace, and even had their own house of worship that was respected by their Christian neighbours. This peace was based on previous precedents, and a series of papal bulls known as sicut judaeis. The precedent would have been set before the events in the story supposedly occurred, but were summed up in sicut judaeis, which was written in the twelfth century. One version of sicut judaeis, published in 1199, stated that, “in the celebration of [the Jews’] own festivals, no one ought to disturb them in any way,” and also required that no Christian could “compel them, unwilling or refusing, by violence to come to baptism” (Innocent III). Among other commandments, the papal bulls demanded that Christians allow the Jews to worship without disturbance, and did not forcibly convert them. Though the papal bull required it, the depiction of the Christian treatment of Jewish worship in the “Chronicle of Le Mans” shows that
As Sehok spent more time in Le Mans, he became increasingly relentless and cruel toward the Jews. However, “when the elders of the land reproved him, he became their enemy and oppressed them. He was unwilling to heed numerous delegations, refusing even to listen to them” (“Chronicle”). This passage indicates that the Jewish community had some form of self-governance. The Jewish elders should have had the jurisdiction to condemn Sehok for his actions, even though he did not bow to their reproval. Their delegations would have held power over him, but Sehok did not listen. Inside the Jewish community, the elders held some sort of authority for punishment, despite it being unenforceable in the context of the story. The Jews did not have to go through a Christian governing body to assign admonishment on Sehok, and instead were able to take matters into their own hands. It seems as if the Christian rulers granted them that jurisdiction, and did not interfere in Jewish legal matters until it affected the …show more content…
The story describes a Jewish man named ha-Levi, who, every day, “rose before sunrise, at the time of the morning star, and made his way to the synagogue” (“Chronicle”). The Christians did not begrudge him this daily routine. The document also later depicts the Jewish congregation in the synagogue, “sitting and singing the songs of David” (“Chronicle”). The Jews in Le Mans were able to worship in peace, and even had their own house of worship that was respected by their Christian neighbours. This peace was based on previous precedents, and a series of papal bulls known as sicut judaeis. The precedent would have been set before the events in the story supposedly occurred, but were summed up in sicut judaeis, which was written in the twelfth century. One version of sicut judaeis, published in 1199, stated that, “in the celebration of [the Jews’] own festivals, no one ought to disturb them in any way,” and also required that no Christian could “compel them, unwilling or refusing, by violence to come to baptism” (Innocent III). Among other commandments, the papal bulls demanded that Christians allow the Jews to worship without disturbance, and did not forcibly convert them. Though the papal bull required it, the depiction of the Christian treatment of Jewish worship in the “Chronicle of Le Mans” shows that