Persecution of Jews during the Black Death

[3] As the plague swept across Europe in the mid-14th century and annihilated nearly half the population, people had little scientific understanding of disease and were looking for an explanation.

[4] Jews were frequently used as scapegoats and false accusations which stated that they had caused the disease by deliberately poisoning wells were circulated.

The first massacre directly related to the plague took place in April 1348 in Toulon, where the Jewish quarter was sacked, and forty Jews were murdered in their homes.

[11][12] Around 2,000 Jews were burnt alive on 14 February 1349 in the "Valentine's Day" Strasbourg massacre, where the plague had not yet affected the city.

While the ashes smouldered, Christian residents of Strasbourg sifted through and collected the valuable possessions of Jews that were not burnt by the fires.

Anti-Semitism was widespread in the 14th century, and in some locales, the plague was stated to be the work of Jews as retribution for the dying's wicked ways.

Some commentators have argued that Jews who were not killed actually stood a better chance of surviving the plague because of greater cleanliness, sanitation and observance of the laws of kashrut.

David Nirenberg, dean of the University of Chicago Divinity School and a specialist in medieval Jewish history, doubted whether there is credible evidence for that assertion.

[21] Pope Clement VI (the French-born Benedictine, whose birth name was Pierre Roger) tried to protect the Jewish communities by issuing two papal bulls in 1348, on 6 July and 26 September.

Clement was aided by the research of his personal physician, Guy de Chauliac, who argued from his own treatment of the infected that the Jews were not to blame.

[22] Clement's efforts were in part undone by the newly-elected Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor, who made property of Jews killed in riots forfeit and gave local authorities a financial incentive to turn a blind eye.

[23] The influence of Clement VI and of the Church over much of Western Europe proved limited and so many of their attempts to protect Jews were futile.

Despite Yuzpa's assertion that the Jews fought back during the massacres, there are contradictory accounts, which claim that there was no evidence of "armed resistance".