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.
However, because it is not remarked on further, it is difficult to interpret whether this was a sign of her wickedness, in relation to the evil-doing of Sehok her nephew, or whether it was just a simple fact about her character. Either way, the statement provides an example of Jewish-Christian interrelations on a much more personal level.
Though the profit from their business dealings would suggest that interaction between the Jewish and Christian sectors of the city had a positive benefit, the depiction of the Jewish community in the story of Le Mans suggests that Christians generally left the Jews alone.
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
Christians.
In the story, even the count, who had control over the whole region, respected the community’s power structure. The count was also depicted as having a great respect for the community as a whole, as he only sought to condemn the Jews when Sehok presented him with seemingly irrefutable evidence of their wrongdoing. When Sehok first comes to the count with his plot to take down the Jews, the count does not immediately take his side. He says to Sehok, “If it turns out as you have said, then I shall consign these Jews to the sword and shall make you second in power in my realm. If not, know that you shall surely die” (“Chronicle”). It does not just take the word of a Christian to force the count into condemning a large group of his subjects. In fact, he is so protective of his Jewish community that he is willing to sentence a Christian man to death for threatening their safety. Though he eventually orders the destruction of the Jews, it is only once he sees proof of their treason and blasphemy. This excerpt suggests that Jews living in these medieval communities were able to have a relatively pleasant and mutually respectful relationship with their Christian lord.
The “Chronicle of Le Mans” also provides evidence that the Christians allowed the Jewish community considerable freedom when it came to their worship and religious practices.
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
this rule was truly followed in some districts.
Diving deeper into the details of the “Chronicle of Le Mans” reveals a relationship between Christian and Jewish communities that was largely positive, before its turn toward persecution. The Jews portrayed in the story of Sehok were free to live in an economically thriving, independent community, where they were respected by their Christian rulers and their Christian neighbours. The Jewish community of Le Mans was even described as saying that God’s “great kindness” had been “exhibited bountifully” toward them until the day of their persecution (“Chronicle”). However, this peaceful coexistence did not last, as the violence depicted in the story at Le Mans began to be enacted across Western Europe. As the early Middle Ages transitioned into the high medieval era, anti-Jewish rhetoric, accusations, and violence from Christians escalated. Jewish and Christian texts recorded this oppression, preserving the brutality in writing for generations of readers to come, and the “Chronicle of Le Mans” is only one of many documents that can be analyzed for these violent tales.