Basel massacre
Encyclopedia
The Basel massacre of Jews
took place in 9 of January 1349.
Following the spread of the Black Death
through the surrounding countryside of Savoy
and subsequently Basel
, the Jews were accused of having poisoned the wells, on account of the fact that they suffered a lower mortality rate than the local gentiles from the pestilence.
The City Fathers of Basel attempted to protect their Jews but to no avail: the local guild
s demanded their blood and 600 were handed over. They were shackled inside a wooden barn on an island in the Rhine, which was set afire. The few survivors - young orphans - were forcibly converted to Christianity
.
Following the massacre, it was decreed that all Jews were banned from settling in the city of Basel for 200 years. However, the city's subsequent financial collapse necessitated their early re-admittance.
Jews
The Jews , also known as the Jewish people, are a nation and ethnoreligious group originating in the Israelites or Hebrews of the Ancient Near East. The Jewish ethnicity, nationality, and religion are strongly interrelated, as Judaism is the traditional faith of the Jewish nation...
took place in 9 of January 1349.
Following the spread of the Black Death
Black Death
The Black Death was one of the most devastating pandemics in human history, peaking in Europe between 1348 and 1350. Of several competing theories, the dominant explanation for the Black Death is the plague theory, which attributes the outbreak to the bacterium Yersinia pestis. Thought to have...
through the surrounding countryside of Savoy
Savoy
Savoy is a region of France. It comprises roughly the territory of the Western Alps situated between Lake Geneva in the north and Monaco and the Mediterranean coast in the south....
and subsequently Basel
Basel
Basel or Basle In the national languages of Switzerland the city is also known as Bâle , Basilea and Basilea is Switzerland's third most populous city with about 166,000 inhabitants. Located where the Swiss, French and German borders meet, Basel also has suburbs in France and Germany...
, the Jews were accused of having poisoned the wells, on account of the fact that they suffered a lower mortality rate than the local gentiles from the pestilence.
The City Fathers of Basel attempted to protect their Jews but to no avail: the local guild
Guild
A guild is an association of craftsmen in a particular trade. The earliest types of guild were formed as confraternities of workers. They were organized in a manner something between a trade union, a cartel, and a secret society...
s demanded their blood and 600 were handed over. They were shackled inside a wooden barn on an island in the Rhine, which was set afire. The few survivors - young orphans - were forcibly converted to Christianity
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
.
Following the massacre, it was decreed that all Jews were banned from settling in the city of Basel for 200 years. However, the city's subsequent financial collapse necessitated their early re-admittance.