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Article: The Jew as Chattel in medieval Europe.
- Article from:
- Judaism
- Article date:
- January 1, 2004
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2004 American Jewish Congress. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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WHEN ROMAN LAW WAS SUPPLANTED BY CATHOLIC Canon law the Jews lost their right to practice their religion as citizens but not legal autonomy. At the start of the Middle Ages, when the pagans took over the western provinces of the Roman Empire, now the countries of Western Europe, they regarded the Roman citizens as strangers. As these pagans converted to Christianity, the two groups fused: but the Jews still remained distinct, the result being that they were still considered strangers without losing the traditional right to regulate their own communities. (1)
According to Germanic custom, which was tribal in concept, a stranger was considered a person without a ...