Landjuden in Hessen vor der Emanzipationszeit: Probleme und Ansätze der neueren Geschichtsforschung

Abstract In recent years, the topic of ›rural Jewry‹ has become a separate subject of research on Jewish history. However, despite numerous relevant regional studies, there are still no uniform methodological and conceptual guidelines for this understudied area. There is disagreement as to whether rural Jews were a transitional phenomenon since the great expulsions of Jews in the late Middle Ages, or whether they were a population group that existed throughout the ages with their own way of life and culture. It is doubtful that there was such a thing as a ›typical rural Jew,‹ however this may be defined. Rather, it can be assumed that there were always great social and other differences within the rural Jewish community, and that a visible process of change took place over the centuries in the early modern period. What has been established in general research on rural Jews can also be demonstrated using the example of Hesse, especially the landgraviates and the dominions of the knights of the empire. In order to substantiate the findings of research on rural Jewry to date, four case studies from Hesse are presented, all of which relate to the influence of the authorities on the cultural system of rural Jews. The topics covered include the normative influence of the Hessian landgraves on the situation of rural Jews, the relationship between village Jews and their Christian neighbours, using the example of a conflict over common land, the internal social structure, using the example of a ›small‹ court Jew from Michelstadt, and the readjustment of the village charity system of the Jews in Reichelsheim under pressure from the state administration.