SYNOPSIS:
When we imagine Jewish life in medieval Europe, we tend to picture something pretty dark: blood libels, burned synagogues, and massacres. And yet the historical record and material evidence reveals something far more complicated “on the ground,” in terms of Jews and Christians co-existing, pragmatically and sometimes (for stretches of years) even peacefully, to the benefit of both communities. The seminar, "Scripture Visualized in Medieval Jewish and Christian Life (seminar with excursion to Mainz, Speyer, and Worms)," will take place on-site in the heart of one of the most important centers of Jewish life in the Middle Ages. The cities of Speyer, Worms, and Mainz (known by the shorthand “the cities of SCHUM”: “sch” for Speyer, “u” for Worms, and “m” for Mainz) boasted large Jewish communities, and were stops on the major travel routes along the Rhine and intersections of cultural exchange. Today, they are a UNESCO World Heritage Site and a place where one can still experience medieval Christian and Jewish contexts in exchange today. The course will be co-taught by Prof. Dr. Claudia Bergmann, chair of Biblical Theology in the Institute for Protestant Theology at the University of Paderborn; and Prof. Dr. Laura Lieber, chair of Transregional Religious History in DIMAS and the Faculty of Catholic Theology at the University of Regensburg. (The Jewish community of Regensburg, it bears noting, has long historical ties to the community of Speyer, in particular.)
Participants are asked to attend a preliminary planning meeting on either May 8 (6-8 pm) or June 12 (6-8 pm) and a closing meeting on October 15 (6-8 pm), both online. From 3-6 October 2025, students will travel to the three cities at the heart of Ashkenaz (specific itinerary, with travel and lodging options, provided during the initial zoom); During our days of intensive time together, we will visit historic synagogues, churches, cemeteries, and museums, and we will pay particular attention to how Jews and Christians visualized their shared biblical heritage in buildings, texts, and objects—items which reflected their identity to themselves and expressed it to each other. It will be a unique and uniquely rewarding experience for any student interested in medieval life and Jewish history in Germany.
SCHEDULE:
May 8: Initial meeting (Zoom)
Jun. 12: Optional zoom for late-joiners from UR --> I plan to recruit from my block seminars in May
Oct. 3: On-site, Students meet in Worms (our base)
Oct. 4: On-site, Mainz
Oct. 5: On-site, Speyer
Oct. 6: On-site, Worms (and depart)
Oct. 15: Concluding session (zoom)