Hanna van Recklinghausen
Encyclopedia
Hanna van Recklinghausen
(1332 – after 1349), was a banker in Lochem
in the Netherlands
. She is the earliest woman merchant known by name in the Netherlands.
She was the daughter of the Jewish Court Jew
banker Godschalk from Recklinghausen in Germany. Her father was a money-lender to the nobility, and she is listed as his assistant and colleague from 1347. Her sister Hannah Rose and another female family member is also listed as colleagues, but they are mentioned a little later than her. In the Jewish community, women were allowed to participate in business as long as they fulfilled the religious duties, and fathers was encouraged to learn their daughters to read and count.
Hanna van Recklinghausen is last heard of in 1349. During the Black death
, massacres were conducted in on the Jewish population in many cities, where they were blamed for the plague accused of having poisoned the water well
s. Lochem lay in the area belonging to the Duke of Gelderland
, Reginald III, Duke of Guelders, who in 1350 took a group of Jews in custody. It is unknown if Hanna van Recklinghausen was a part of that group, and it is also unknown what happened to that group, if it was placed under the duke's protection or killed. There is no further information of her after 1349.
Recklinghausen
Recklinghausen is the northernmost city in the Ruhr-Area and the capital of the Recklinghausen district. It borders the rural Münsterland and is characterized by large fields and farms in the north and industry in the south...
(1332 – after 1349), was a banker in Lochem
Lochem
Lochem is a municipality and a city in the eastern Netherlands. it is also the hebrew word for soldier or warrior. On 1 January 2005, the municipality merged with the municipality of Gorssel.- Population centres :Small hamlets are printed in italics....
in the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
. She is the earliest woman merchant known by name in the Netherlands.
She was the daughter of the Jewish Court Jew
Court Jew
Court Jew is a term, typically applied to the Early Modern period, for historical Jewish bankers who handled the finances of, or lent money to, European royalty and nobility....
banker Godschalk from Recklinghausen in Germany. Her father was a money-lender to the nobility, and she is listed as his assistant and colleague from 1347. Her sister Hannah Rose and another female family member is also listed as colleagues, but they are mentioned a little later than her. In the Jewish community, women were allowed to participate in business as long as they fulfilled the religious duties, and fathers was encouraged to learn their daughters to read and count.
Hanna van Recklinghausen is last heard of in 1349. During 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...
, massacres were conducted in on the Jewish population in many cities, where they were blamed for the plague accused of having poisoned the water well
Water well
A water well is an excavation or structure created in the ground by digging, driving, boring or drilling to access groundwater in underground aquifers. The well water is drawn by an electric submersible pump, a trash pump, a vertical turbine pump, a handpump or a mechanical pump...
s. Lochem lay in the area belonging to the Duke of Gelderland
Gelderland
Gelderland is the largest province of the Netherlands, located in the central eastern part of the country. The capital city is Arnhem. The two other major cities, Nijmegen and Apeldoorn have more inhabitants. Other major regional centers in Gelderland are Ede, Doetinchem, Zutphen, Tiel, Wijchen,...
, Reginald III, Duke of Guelders, who in 1350 took a group of Jews in custody. It is unknown if Hanna van Recklinghausen was a part of that group, and it is also unknown what happened to that group, if it was placed under the duke's protection or killed. There is no further information of her after 1349.