The Worms massacre was the murder of at least 800 Jews from

Worms Worms may refer to: *Worm, an invertebrate animal with a tube-like body and no limbs Places *Worms, Germany Worms () is a city in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, situated on the Upper Rhine about south-southwest of Frankfurt am Main. It had ...

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire was a political entity in Western, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its dissolution in 1806 during the Napoleonic Wars. From the accession of Otto I in 962 ...

(now Germany), at the hands of

crusaders The Crusades were a series of religious wars initiated, supported, and sometimes directed by the Latin Church in the medieval period. The best known of these Crusades are those to the Holy Land in the period between 1095 and 1291 that were in ...

under

Count Emicho Emicho was a count in the Rhineland in the late 11th century. He is also commonly referred to as Emicho of Leiningen or Emich of Flonheim, and not to be confused with Bishop Emicho of Leiningen. In 1096, he was the leader of the Rhineland massacres ...

in May 1096. The massacre at Worms was one of a number of attacks against Jewish communities perpetrated during the

First Crusade The First Crusade (1096–1099) was the first of a series of religious wars, or Crusades, initiated, supported and at times directed by the Latin Church in the medieval period. The objective was the recovery of the Holy Land from Islamic r ...

(1096–1099). Followers of Count Emicho arrived at Worms on May 18, 1096. Soon after his arrival, a rumour spread that the Jews had boiled a Christian alive, and used his corpse to contaminate water to poison the town's wells. The local populace later joined forces with Emicho and launched a savage attack on the town's Jews, who had been given sanctuary in Bishop Adalbert's palace, though others chose to remain outside its walls. They were the first to be massacred. After eight days, Emicho's army, assisted by local burghers broke in and slaughtered those seeking

asylum Asylum may refer to: Types of asylum * Asylum (antiquity), places of refuge in ancient Greece and Rome * Benevolent Asylum, a 19th-century Australian institution for housing the destitute * Cities of Refuge, places of refuge in ancient Judea ...

there. The Jews were in the midst of reciting the

Hallel Hallel ( he, הַלֵּל, "Praise") is a Jewish prayer, a verbatim recitation from Psalms which is recited by observant Jews on Jewish holidays as an act of praise and thanksgiving. Holy days Hallel consists of six Psalms (113–118), which ...

prayer for

Rosh Chodesh Rosh Chodesh or Rosh Hodesh ( he, ראש חודש; trans. ''Beginning of the Month''; lit. ''Head of the Month'') is the name for the first day of every month in the Hebrew calendar, marked by the birth of a new moon. It is considered a minor ...

Sivan. In all, from 800 to 1,000 Jews were killed, with the exception of some who committed suicide and a few who were forcibly baptised. One, Simchah ben Yitzchak ha-Cohen, stabbed the bishop's nephew while being baptised and was consequently killed. One of the most famous victims was Minna of Worms.Emily Taitz, Sondra Henry & Cheryl Tallan, ''The JPS Guide to Jewish Women: 600 B.C.E.to 1900 C.E.'', 2003

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Worms Massacre (1096) 11th-century massacres Massacres in Germany Jewish German history First Crusade Medieval anti-Jewish pogroms Worms, Germany History of Rhineland-Palatinate 1090s in the Holy Roman Empire 1096 in Europe

See also

References