The Cold Widow, Historical Novel

By Edward Sorg

It was in the Summer. We wrote the year 1587. The respectable citizen and landlord David Andres was standing in front of his new house in the Lange Gasse1 and watched how his friend Jeremias Neuner the riflesmith was fixing a very ornately made sign high up in the stonework at the corner of the house.
At a long arm there was some dainty climber to see from grape and hop like it befits for the sign of an inn, and also the plate had a frame of the same kind. This plate was particularly beautiful. Wendel Dieterlin himself had painted it, the great master, who had begun since a while, to decorate the houses of the city with signs of a new kind, like they were tradition in the country of Italia; he painted them with colors on the wet whitewash, so they might resist to every weather, and surrounded them with signs, pillars and other ornaments in pure excessive wealth of decoration.
What the master had depicted on this very plate, was the following: One saw a stage, that was erected among graves. And on it was much wood and other material piled up, that burns very easily and was able to nourish the flames, and the flames raised up. At the top, many heads and faces were looking out of the flames, whom one could easily recognised as Jews, due to their beards and costumes. Also women were among them and tender little children. A post on a stack of wood was towered up in the middle, to which a young woman was tied, who was superhumanly beautiful and lovely to look at. Her long open hair surrounded her face like a frame and felt on the bare breast; however the tender face showed such a strict seriousness in her features, as if it were the one of an offended queen.
Also the pile of wood at the woman had been set on fire, but look! the flames did not touch her, they felt back on every side, and so she stood there like one of the martyrs, about whom the Holy Scriptures tell us, that the force of the fire could nothing against them, or even like the three young men in the oven...

• Language: English
• Publisher: XinXii
• Release date: Feb 10, 2024
• ISBN: 9783989833821

Book preview

I

«It is about two hundred and fifty years ago, that the matter took place, of which I will speak now. It was then a time, when not everything was nice and beautiful, not in the Empire and not in our city. Louis the Bavarian, who was the Emperor at that time, was quite a good sovereign for the cities, and above all Strassburg has to thank him for particular favour and mercy, but this very Emperor was also in strife with worldly lords, especially with the Popes, and as the curse and excommunication of the Pope was expressed over the Bavarian, then he met his supporters and friends, and Strassburg was among them. But it was not a shame, and our forefathers did not take it as a shame, although they had been separated from Church and sacraments; and still anno 1350, as they wanted to absolve themselves from the excommunication, under the new sovereign, Charles of Luxembourg, they boldly said to the legates and emissaries of the Pope that they could not consider it as a sin and also could not apologize that they did not violate the oath against their God-given lord.

I also do not believe that the Heaven counted it as a sin for our forefathers, and when at that time nevertheless all kinds of disasters befelt the city, it would likely have had other causes then the curse and excommunication of the Pope. However, the tragedy, of which I speak, was initially a tumult and civil war, that broke out between the Zorns and those of Müllnheim in the year 1332 on the evening of the Martsche³, after the lords had a banquet and dance in the Sturm Mansion in the Brandgasse. But then, this uprising became of use for Argentina⁴, as the citizens have abolished the privileges of the lords over the city government at that time, and elect since then their authorities, and that is the Council, issued from the guilds, and the head of the Council is the Ammaster as the real head of the city.

That is what the big tumult of the Zorns and Müllnheims brought in good for the community. Of course, it would have been better, if it had happenned without murder and slaughter to take place before, and without the city to have to fear war and assault from the followers of the lords outside in the countryside.

Which evil furthermore happenned to the city or happenned in it at that time is the topic of the story I want to tell you; for now I will still not mention it and begin with the real purpose and end of my speech.

As you know, we Strassburger had always done business, particularly on the Rhine, where our forefathers have established the shipping and brought it to flourish, so far the chronicle does not deceive. Where you have a business and a turnover of money and goods, then you have Jews – this is as sure as to have bees where lime tree is blooming. And that also cannot be different: they have been excluded from craft, so which option do they have as trading, as they but want to live?

There also have always been Jews in our city, and not so few. And it was fine for the Council as it had its benefit of it, just as the Emperor, through all sorts of taxes and particular charges, and therefore had always made deals and contracts with them, so they had the right of residence, trade and interest on the money, that was denied to the Christians at that time. The Christians and Jews of Strassburg have made such a contract in the year 1338, and the document of it is still in the Pfalz⁵, where I have read it with my own eyes, and it is signed by Burkart Twinger, the first Ammaster⁶ after the overthrow in the government, and by many others among the nobles and the guilds.

The richest and most influential Jews in Strassburg were at that time Jeckelin and Mainrekint, also called Manekind, the sons of Selmelin, then Meiger Enselin from Überlingen and a widow, called Richenza, who was the daughter of Buna or Bunom. This widow had two daughters who were the most beautiful girls among the Jews, maybe also among the Christians of Strassburg. The older one was already married; her husband was Isaac who was also one of the richest people in the street. The youngest one, called Richenza like her mother, was still a child, lovely like a rosebud of which one could already conjecture how sweet the bloom would smell. They also get mature earlier, the women of the Jews.

The mother had also already chosen a companion for her, through agreement and contract with his father, like it is tradition for the Jews. They do not let the young people choose according to their will, but they bring them together, like they consider it for right and good – however there are not more unhappy marriages among them as among the Christians, in the contrary, maybe even less.

The companion was Mainrekint’s son and his name was David. He was a strapping young man and beloved by his fellows through his good manners. He was on many travels and came only seldom to Strassburg; but when he came, then he never forgot to go to Richenza’s house and to look, how the little bud flourished that once should offer him its bloom. And the child also liked David, though she hardly really understood, what a husband is, and she was pleased to see him again and accepted willingly the little presents, which he brought her from his travels.

So both might have found a beautiful happiness. But it had to happen differently.

There are still nowadays just few people who are well-disposed towards the Jews. It might be that they have themselves contributed some part to make themselves unwelcome. The lending business is a bad business; at the moment, when one asks the other for it, one tells him nice words and calls him a helper, even if he is not; when the day comes that one should pay back or also only the interests are due, then one grumbles about the usurer and bloodsucker and thinks to be a cheated man. It is for everybody like this, even if the conditions are a good deal. But they are not always such, and at that time, it has not been so different: because if the Jews in the agreement of 1338 had to commit not to take more than two pfennigs from a pound per week, then it is enough money and one must work a lot in order to be able to get rid of his debt. And it might also be, that despite of contract and statutes, the one or the other in the street has taken even more, as there are still usurer nowadays, who take advantage of the distress of the neighbour. To be honest, one should also not forget, that not all the money that the Jews earned this way remained in their pocket: when the pocket was full, so the Emperor or one of his servants came and emptied it, like a leech that the barber-surgeon takes away, when it has sucked off well. And the faithful knights of the Empire should have been satisfied of it, if they did not wanted to experience more evil.

When the count of Luxembourg ascended to the imperial throne in the year 1347, then he asked for credits so few like his forefathers and made a deal with the Jews: with the ones of Strassburg in the month of November of that year, and they had to pay him sixty marks silver every year for his protection. In the «unidle week», they have then experienced the nature of this protection. So the Jews were not to be envied, despite of the money; and when they were envied, then it was most by such ones, who stood in their books, nobles and poors, and by such ones who would have willingly done the same like them and would have taken interests if the law would not have forbidden them to do so. Also the one or the other who had not so much, might have looked with secret craving at the money bag of a Jew and might have reflected on the possibility to acquire it without having to greet afterwards the lad of the executioner.

One has tried it in the year 1337, a noble knight from Donolzheim, called «the unhewn», and allied with Zimberlin of Andlau; both have recruited a lot of people, gallows birds and vagabonds, like themselves, and behaved like kings, and the people have also called them so, «King Armleder», as they had bound themselves a piece of leather at the arm. They marched to Colmar and camped around the city and demanded the Jews to be handed over to them with all their goods. It would also have happened, if the Council of Strassburg had not plucked up courage and had sent help to Colmar. The fine kings then fled away, without the Jewish money, and have only taken with them what they could snatch through robbery from the Christians.

The Armleders did not die out, even if their kings went off, and in the little cities where no caring government tamed their greed and foolishness, they could gain more and more power, and many signs have shown that one day would come, that the Jews would be treated badly. It did not remain a secret for the Jews, and many of them have also sought a refuge in the big cities, where they hoped to find security, to Basle, Freiburg and to our city; very many have also gone to the holy Cologne, where they have been driven out at the very latest.

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³ Banquet of the lords and noble people of Strassburg that took place every year in March.

⁴ Latin name of Strassburg, also Argentoratum.

⁵ The town hall of the city of Strassburg, that was destroyed a few years before the French Revolution (eng. palace).

⁶ Ger. Ammeister.

II

The year 1348 did not announce itself well. All sorts of wonders and strange things happened in Heaven and on Earth. Already in January there had been the big earthquake and terrible havoc wreacked in the countries over there over the Alps, with flames that hit out of the earth, with the collapse of houses and churches, even of whole cities, and not the least with the death of many people.

The earthquake did not come to us. But the fear has seized the minds of many, as it is used to happen and they have predicted that even worse should follow. And this time the premonition did not deceive them.

The trade was in that year and in the following ones not really satisfying, and the new Emperor was to be blamed for that, the Luxembourg, the archstepfather