The Armleder persecutions were a series of

massacres A massacre is the killing of a large number of people or animals, especially those who are not involved in any fighting or have no way of defending themselves. A massacre is generally considered to be morally unacceptable, especially when per ...

against

Jews Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

Franconia Franconia (german: Franken, ; Franconian dialect: ''Franggn'' ; bar, Frankn) is a region of Germany, characterised by its culture and Franconian dialect (German: ''Fränkisch''). The three administrative regions of Lower, Middle and Upper Fr ...

and

Alsace Alsace (, ; ; Low Alemannic German/ gsw-FR, Elsàss ; german: Elsass ; la, Alsatia) is a cultural region and a territorial collectivity in eastern France, on the west bank of the upper Rhine next to Germany and Switzerland. In 2020, it had ...

in 1336–1339.

History

In 1336 a nobleman of

, Arnold von Uissigheim, claiming that an

angel In various theistic religious traditions an angel is a supernatural spiritual being who serves God. Abrahamic religions often depict angels as benevolent celestial intermediaries between God (or Heaven) and humanity. Other roles include ...

had commissioned him to do so, gathered a band of marauders and pillaged and murdered the Jews. These assassins styled themselves ''Judenschläger'' (Jewbeaters). Somewhat later John Zimberlin, an innkeeper of Upper Alsace, followed the example set in Franconia. He tied pieces of leather round his arms and bade his followers do the same. This gave rise to the name ''Armleder'' ('arm leather'). Their leader was called King ''Armleder'', and under him they marched through Alsace, massacring Jews in some 120 communities, including

Rouffach Rouffach (; German and Alsatian: ''Rufach'') is a commune in the Haut-Rhin department in Grand Est in north-eastern France. Rouffach lies along the Alsatian wine route (''Route des Vins d'Alsace''). Its vineyards produce one of the finest Al ...

Ensisheim Ensisheim (; gsw-FR, Anze) is a Communes of France, commune in the Haut-Rhin Departments of France, department in Grand Est in north-eastern France. It is also the birthplace of the composer Léon Boëllmann. The Germanic languages, Germanic et ...

, Muelhausen, and

Ribeauvillé Ribeauvillé (; Alsatian language, Alsatian: ''Rappschwihr''; ) is a Communes of France, commune in the Haut-Rhin Departments of France, department in Grand Est in north-eastern France. It was a Subprefectures in France, sub-prefecture of the de ...

. Those who were fortunate enough to escape fled to

Colmar Colmar (, ; Alsatian: ' ; German during 1871–1918 and 1940–1945: ') is a city and commune in the Haut-Rhin department and Grand Est region of north-eastern France. The third-largest commune in Alsace (after Strasbourg and Mulhouse), it is ...

, where the citizens protected them. ''Armleder'', whom success had intoxicated, besieged the city and devastated the surrounding country. The citizens asked

Emperor An emperor (from la, imperator, via fro, empereor) is a monarch, and usually the sovereignty, sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), ...

Louis of Bavaria to assist them. When ''Armleder'' heard that the imperial troops were approaching, he fled to

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

. No sooner had the emperor left the country, however, than ''Armleder'' again appeared. The persecutions soon spread to

Bavaria Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total lan ...

Bohemia Bohemia ( ; cs, Čechy ; ; hsb, Čěska; szl, Czechy) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. Bohemia can also refer to a wider area consisting of the historical Lands of the Bohemian Crown ruled by the Bohem ...

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

Styria Styria (german: Steiermark ; Serbo-Croatian and sl, ; hu, Stájerország) is a state (''Bundesland'') in the southeast of Austria. With an area of , Styria is the second largest state of Austria, after Lower Austria. Styria is bordered to ...

, and

Carinthia Carinthia (german: Kärnten ; sl, Koroška ) is the southernmost States of Austria, Austrian state, in the Eastern Alps, and is noted for its mountains and lakes. The main language is German language, German. Its regional dialects belong to t ...

. The lords of Alsace, under the leadership of the

bishop of Strasburg {{Unreferenced, date=December 2009 These persons were bishop, archbishop or prince-bishop of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Strasbourg (including historically Prince-Bishopric of Strasbourg): Bishops and prince-bishops *Amandus *Justinus v ...

, formed an alliance (May 17, 1338), the members of which pledged themselves to pursue ''Armleder'' and fifteen of his most prominent followers. But it was very difficult to attack ''Armleder''s adherents; and in the following year a knight, Rudolph of Andlau, made an agreement with King ''Armleder'', granting an amnesty to him and his followers, provided that for the next ten years they would refrain from molesting the Jews. Though attacks ceased for a short time, the Jews, during the ten years of

armistice An armistice is a formal agreement of warring parties to stop fighting. It is not necessarily the end of a war, as it may constitute only a cessation of hostilities while an attempt is made to negotiate a lasting peace. It is derived from the La ...

, never lived in security; and in 1349 there occurred the terrible massacres on the occasion of the

Black Death The Black Death (also known as the Pestilence, the Great Mortality or the Plague) was a bubonic plague pandemic occurring in Western Eurasia and North Africa from 1346 to 1353. It is the most fatal pandemic recorded in human history, causi ...

, to which the attacks of Armleder had been the prelude.

History

See also

References

Further reading