<BADGE, JEWISH, distinctive sign compulsorily worn by
Jews.
The first religious marks were imposed by Muslim
rulers
Muslim World
[Vestimentary
distinctions of different colors]
<The introduction of a mark to distinguish persons
not belonging to the religious faith of the majority did
not originate in Christendom, where it was later
radically imposed, but in Islam. It seems that Caliph
Omar II (717-20), not Omar I, as is sometimes stated,
was the first ruler to order that every non-Muslim, the
dhimmi, should
wear vestimentary distinctions (called giyar, i.e.,
distinguishing marks) of a different color for each
minority group. The ordinance was unequally observed,
but it was reissued and reinforced by Caliph
al-Mutawakkil (847-61).
Subsequently it remained in force over the centuries,
(col. 62)
[since 887/8: marks on
the house doors: swines for Christians and donkeys for
Jews - and yellow belts and special hats for the Jews]
887/8 compelled the Christians to wear on their garments
and put on their doors a piece of cloth in the form of a
swine, and the Jews to affix a similar sign in the form
of a donkey. In addition, the Jews were compelled to
wear yellow belts and special hats.> (col. 63)
Christendom.
1215: Lateran Council appeals for measures
against sex between the religions
<Although written documentary testimony concerning
distinctive signs worn by Jews from the 12th century is
still lacking, pictorial representations of this (col.
63)
period, especially in the Germanic countries, introduce
the pointed hat. This is subsequently referred to as the
"Jewish hat", worn by Jews or depicted in allegorical
representations of Judaism ("Synagoga"). It would seem,
however, that this distinction was instituted by the
Jews themselves.
Jewish ball pointed hat 01 |
Jewish ball pointed hat 02 |
|
There are some ambiguous references to the compulsory
imposition of distinctive Jewish clothing in documents
from the beginning of the 13th century (Charter of
Alais, 1200: Synodal rules of Odo, bishop of Paris, c.
1200).
The consistent record, however, can be traced back only
to canon 68 of the Fourth *Lateran Council (1215):
"In several provinces, a difference in vestment
distinguishes the Jews or the Saracens from the
Christians; but in others, the confusion has reached
such proportions that a difference can no longer be
perceived. Hence, at times it has occurred that
Christians have had sexual intercourse in error with
Jewish or Saracen women and Jews or Saracens with
Christian women. That the crime of such a sinful mixture
shall no longer find evasion or cover under the pretext
of error, we order that they [Jews and Saracens] of both
sexes, in all Christian lands and at all times, shall be
publicly differentiated from the rest of the population
by the quality of their garment, especially since that
this is ordained by Moses. ..."
Both the allusion to biblical law (Lev. 19), and the
inclusion of the canon among a series of others
regulating the Jewish position, indicate that the decree
was directed especially against the Jews.
Implementation of the council's decision varied in the
countries of the West in both the form of the
distinctive sign and the date of its application.>
(col. 64)
Jewish marks in England: Badges and hats since
1215 - tabula since 1253
[since 1215: Strong
regulations in England with the hat - rich Jews can
ransom from the rules]
|
Jewish knob pointed hat, England, 13th
century
|
<ENGLAND.
In England papal influence was at this time particularly
strong. The recommendations of the Lateran Council were
repeated in an order of March 30, 1218 [[and the Jewish
hat was introduced]]. However, before long the wealthier
Jews, and later on entire communities, paid to be
exempted, notwithstanding the reiteration of the order
by the diocesan council of Oxford in 1222.
[1253: Badge and tabula
order]
In 1253, however, the obligation to wear the badge was renewed in
the period of general reaction, by Henry III, who
ordered the tabula to be worn in a
prominent position.
[1275: Yellow badge
order in tablet form]
In the statutum de
Judeismo of 1275, Edward I stipulated the color
of the badge
and increased the size. A piece of yellow taffeta, six
fingers long and three broad, was to be worn above the
heart by every Jew over the age of seven years. In
England, the badge took the form of the Tablets of the
Law, considered to symbolize the Old Testament, in which
form it is to be seen in various caricatures and
portraits of medieval English Jews.> (col. 64)
 |
Encyclopaedia Judaica: Badge,
vol. 4, col. 63, a "Tablets of the Law" badge
depicted in this English caricature of the Jew
"Aaron son of the devil", dated 1277. Aaron is
wearing the typical Jewish hood (cloth hat).
London, Public Record Office. |
Jewish marks in France: Yellow and red-white
Badges
 French
Jewish
badges and Jewish clothing in the Middle Ages.
|
|
Encyclopaedia
Judaica: Badge, vol. 4, col. 64: pointed Jewish
hat, France, 12th century: This was the typical
pointed hat worn by Jews in France, from a
historiated initial letter "V" showing the
prophet Joel. Stavordale Bible, N. France, 12th
century. London, British Museum, Add. ms.
28106-7
|
Encyclopaedia
Judaica: Badge, vol. 4, col. 65, French two
colored red and white circular badge worn by
French Jews in 13th and 14th century. A drawing
after a French 14th century miniature. Paris,
Bibliothèque Nationale (National Library), ms.
Français 820, fol. 192.
|
[1217: Order for a
yellow round wheel badge - sabbath regulations - national
badge edict 1269]
<FRANCE. In 1217, the papal legate in southern
France ordered that the Jews should wear a rota ("wheel") on
their outer garment but shortly afterward the order was
rescinded. However, in 1219 King Philip Augustus ordered
the Jews to wear the badge,
apparently in the same form. Discussions regarding the
permissibility of wearing the badge on the Sabbath when
not attached to the garment are reported by *Isaac b.
Moses of Vienna, author of the Or Zaru'a, who was in
France about 1217-18.
Numerous church councils (Narbonne 1227, Rouen 1231,
Arles 1234, Béziers 1246, Albi 1254, etc.) reiterated
the instructions for wearing the badge, and a general
edict for the whole of France was issued by Louis IX
(Saint Louis) on June 19, 1269.
This edict was endorsed by Philip the Bold, Philip the
Fair, Louis X, Philip V, and others, and by the councils
of Pont-Audemer (1279), Nîmes (1284), etc.
[Badge variations:
yellow or white and red - punishments when the badge
is not worn]
The circular badge
was normally to be worn on the breast; some regulations
also required that a second sign should be worn on the
back. At times, it was placed on the bonnet [[cap]], or
at the level of the belt. The badge was yellow in color, or
of two shades, white
and red. Wearing it was compulsory from the age
of either seven or thirteen years.
Any Jew found without the badge forfeited his garment to
his denunciator. In cases of a second offense a severe
fine was imposed.
When traveling, the Jew was exempted from wearing the
badge. Philip the Fair extracted fiscal benefits from
the compulsory wearing of the badge, by annual
distribution of the badges by the royal tax collectors
at a fixed price.> (col. 65)
Jewish marks in Spain:
Badges and huts
|
Flavio Josefo / Flavius
Josephus in a Spanish drawing from the Middle
Ages with Jewish hat
|
Encyclopaedia Judaica: Badge,
vol. 4, col. 66, a typical hat worn by Jews in
Spain. A panel from a page of Las Cantigas de
Santa María, composed by Alfonso X of Castile
(1252-1284). Madrid, Escorial Library, ms.
T-I-I, Cant. 34.
|
[Badge regulations in
Spain since 1215 - flight of some Jews to Muslim
countries - badge regulations suspended - sporadic
badge regulations]
<SPAIN. The obligation to wear the Badge of Shame was
reenacted by the secular authorities in Spain shortly
after the promulgation of the decrees of the Lateran
Council, and in 1218 Pope Honorius III instructed the
archbishop of Toledo to see that it was rigorously
enforced. The Spanish Jews did not submit to this
passively, and some of them (col. 65)
threatened to leave the country for the area under
Muslim rule. In consequence, the pope authorized the
enforcement of the regulation to be suspended. The
obligation was indeed reenacted sporadically (e.g., in
Aragon 1228, Navarre 1234, Portugal 1325).
[Jews with "influence"
can arrange life without badge - Castile 1263: penal
law under Alfonso X - Aragon 1268: no badge rule, but
cape suggestion under James I]
However, it was not consistently enforced, and Jews who
had influence at court would often secure special
exemption. Alfonso X the Wise of Castile in his Siete Partidas
[[seven charters]] (1263) imposed a fine or lashing as
the penalty for a Jew who neglected the order. In 1268
James I of Aragon exempted the Jews from wearing the
badge, requiring them on the other hand to wear a round cape (capa rotunda).
[Castile 1405: badge
regulation - 1412: clothing and red badge law - and
hair and beard law - Aragon 1393: clothing rule for
Jews]
In Castile, Henry III (1390-1406) yielded in 1405 to the
demand of the Cortes and required even his Jewish
courtiers to wear the badge.
As a result of Vicente *Ferrer's agitation, the Jews
were ordered in 1412 to wear distinctive clothing and a
red badge, and
they were further required to let their hair and beards grow long.
The successors of Henry III renewed the (col. 66)
decrees concerning the badge.
In Aragon, John I, in 1393, prescribed special clothing
for the Jews.
[Barcelona
1397:
special terror against Jews with marks]
In 1397, Queen Maria (the consort of King Martin)
ordered all the Jews in Barcelona, both residents and
visitors, to wear on their chests a circular patch of
yellow cloth, a span in diameter, with a red "bull's
eye" in the center. They were to dress only in clothing
of pale green color - as a sign of mourning for the ruin
of their Temple, which they suffered because they had
turned their backs upon Jesus - and their hats were to
be high and wide with a short, wide cuculla. Violators
were to be fined ten libras
and stripped of their clothes wherever caught. When in
1400 King Martin granted the Jews of Lérida a charter of
privileges, he required them, nevertheless, to wear the
customary badge.
In 1474, the burghers of Cervera sought to impose upon
the local Jews a round badge of other than the customary
form. In the period before the expulsion of the Jews
from Spain in 1492, the wearing of the Jewish badge was
almost universally enforced, and some persons demanded
that it should be extended also to Conversos.> (col.
67)
Jewish
marks in Italy: Badges, hats and kerchieves -
first ghetto in 1555
[Different rules in
split Italy 1221-22: a blue "T" and beard law in
Sicily - badge in Pisa]
<ITALY. Presumably the order of the Lateran Council
was reenacted in Rome very soon after its promulgation
in 1215, but it was certainly not consistently enforced.
In 1221-22 (col. 67)
the "enlightened" emperor Frederick II Hohenstaufen
ordered all the Jews of the Kingdom of Sicily to wear a
distinguishing badge of bluish color in the shape of the
Greek letter T and also to grow beards in order to be
more easily distinguishable from non-Jews. In the same
year the badge was imposed in Pisa and probably
elsewhere.
[since
1257: Papal
States: circular yellow badge for
Jews - two blue stripes on the veil for women Jews]
In the Papal States the obligation was first
specifically imposed so far as is known by Alexander IV
in 1257; there is extant a moving penitential poem
written on this occasion by Benjamin b. Abraham *Anav
expressing the passionate indignation of the Roman Jews
on this occasion. The badge here took the form of a circular yellow patch
a handspan in diameter to be worn on a prominent place
on the outer garment: for the women, two blue stripes on
the veil.
[since 1360: Rome: red
cap for Jews - red apron for women Jews - and harsh
control]
Red Jewish hat 01 |
Red Jewish hat 02
|
In 1360 an ordinance of the city of Rome required all
male Jews, with the exception of physicians, to wear a
coarse red cape,
and all women to wear a red apron, and inspectors were appointed
to enforce the regulation. Noncompliance was punished by
a fine of 11 scudi; informers who pointed out offenders
were entitled to half the fine. The ordinance was
revised in 1402, eliminating the reward for informing,
and exempting the Jews from wearing the special garb
inside the ghetto [[since 1555]].
[Control in Sicily]
In Sicily, there was from an early period a custos rotulae
whose function it was to ensure that the obligation was
not neglected.
Elsewhere in Italy, however the enforcement was
sporadic, although it was constantly being demanded by
fanatical preachers and sometimes temporarily enacted.
 |
Encyclopaedia
Judaica: Badge, vol. 4, col. 67, circular badge
worn by Italian Jews. Detail from a 15th-century
painting by an unknown Italian artist of the
Madonna and Child. The four Jewish figures are
Daniel Norsa and his family. Mantua, Church of
Sant' Andrea. Photo Alinari, Florence. |
|
Encyclopaedia Judaica: Badge, vol. 4,
col. 66, circular badge worn by an Italian Jewish
bridegroom. Bottom half of an initial word panel
from the "Hamburg Halakhah Miscellany", Padua,
1477. Hamburg, Staats- und Universitätsbibliothek
(Municipal and University library). Cod. Heb. 337
(scrin 132), fol. 75v.
|
[1555-1792: First
ghetto system in the Papal States - with the badge]
The turning point came with the bull Cum nimis absurdum
of Pope *Paul IV in 1555, which inaugurated the ghetto system. This
enforced the wearing of the badge (called by the Italian
Jews scimanno,
from Heb. siman)
for the Papal States, later to be imitated throughout
Italy (except in Leghorn), and enforced until the period
of the French Revolution [[in 1792]].
[Rome: yellow hats and
yellow kerchieves - Venice: red hats and red
kerchieves - Crete: badges on the shops - David
d'Ascoli punished for resistance]
In Rome as well as in the Papal States in the sough of
France, it took the form of a yellow hat for men, a
yellow kerchief for women. In the Venetian dominions the
color was red.
In Candia (Crete), the under Venetian rule, Jewish shops
had to be distinguished by the badge.
David d'Ascoli, who published in 1559 a Latin protest
against the degrading regulation, was severely punished
and his work was destroyed.> (col. 68)
Jewish markings in
Germany: Hats, badges, bells, veils, collars]
[Holy Roman Empire: The
pointed hat]
German Jewish hats on the Naumburger Lettner in
the Naumburg cathedral, 13th century |
German Jewish hat of Nikodemus (right) with Jesus
(left) on the baptismal font of Lippoldsberg
(Lippoldsberger Taufstein) in the Lippoldsberg
abbey church, 13th century |
GERMANY. In Germany and the other lands of the Holy Roman
Empire, the pointed hat was first in use as a distinctive
sign. It was not officially imposed until the second half
of the 13th century (Schwabenspiegel,
art. 214, (col. 68)
c. 1275; Weichbild-Vulgata, art. 139, second half of 13th
century; cf. Council of Breslau, 1267; Vienna, 1267;
Olmuetz, 1342; Prague, 1355, etc.).
The church councils of Breslau and Vienna, both held in
1267, required the Jews of Silesia, Poland, and Ausdtria
to wear not a badge but the pointed hat characteristic of
Jewish garb (the pileum
cornutum).
A church council held in Ofen (Budapest) in 1279 decreed
that the Jews were to wear on the chest a round patch in
the form of a wheel.
German Jewish hat, Regensburg Pentateuch 01,
1300 approx. |
German Jewish hat, Regensburg
Pentateuch 02, 1300 approx.
|
Encyclopaedia Judaica: Badge, vol.4, col. 67,
Jewish pointed hat in Germany of about 1300,
here depicted in the Regensburg Pentateuch, a
Hebrew illuminated manuscript,
Germany, 1300. Jerusalem, Israel Museum, ms.
180/52, fol. 154v. |
The badge was imposed for the
first time in Augsburg in 1434, and its general
enforcement was demanded by Nicolaus of *Cusa and John
of *Capistrano. In 1530, the ordinance was
applied to the (col. 69)
whole of Germany (Reichspolizeiordnung,
art. 22). In the course of the 15th century, a Jewish
badge, in addition to the Jewish hat, was introduced in
various forms into Germany.
Jewish hats in a woodcut of
Johannes Schnitzer of Armsheim: Five Jewish
elders disputing, from the book: Seelen
Wurzgarten, printed by Conrad Dinckmut, Ulm,
26 July 1483
|
Jewish badge of the Middle Ages
with inscription (pattern): "Der Juden Zeichen
/ Welches Sie ihren Kleidern zu tragen
schuldig" ("The Jewish badge
of guilt which is their tragedy
to wear").
|
Encyclopaedia Judaica: Badge, vol.4, col. 68,
Jewish clothes with Jewish ring badges:
A German Jew and Jewess from Worms, 16th century,
in typical Jewish dress
with circular badges on their garments. Worms,
Stadtarchiv (municipal
archive).
|
[1418: Salzburg:
compulsary bells for the dresses of Jewish women]
A church council which met in Salzburg in 1418 ordered
Jewish women to attach bells to their dresses so that
their approach might be heard from a distance.
German Jewish hat on a statue of the portal of Maria
Strassengel church near Judendorf in Steiermark
(Austria)
[1434: Augsburg: yellow
circles and yellow pointed veils]
In Augsburg in 1434 the Jewish men were ordered to
attach yellow circles to their clothes, in front, and
the women were ordered to wear yellow pointed veils.
[Nuremberg: Special
visitor's hoods]
Jews on a visit to Nuremberg were required to wear a
type of long, wide hood falling over the back, by which
they would be distinguished from the local Jews.
[1530: general badge
regulation in Germany - 1551: general badge regulation
in Austria]
The obligation to wear the yellow badge was imposed upon
all the Jews in Germany in 1530 and in Austria in 1551.
Jew with Jewish badge in yellow
ring form (circular badge), Worms 16th century
|
Jewish
woman
with Jewish badge in yellow ring form (circular
badge), Worms 16th century |
A ring on the coat as a Jewish sign, fair leaflet
of Frankfurt, about 1516 |
German Jewish clothing of Jewish couple of
Frankfurt, etched by Caspar Luyken, from the book:
Neu-eröffnete Welt-Galleria from Abraham a Sancta
Clara; printed in Nuremberg by Christoph Weigel in
1703 |
[Prague: yellow
collars for Jewish women]
As late as in the reign of Maria Theresa (1740-80) the
Jews of Prague were required to wear yellow collars over
their coats.
Discontinuance.
[Medieval Yellow Jewish badges up to the
French Revolution 1791]
 |
Encyclopaedia
Judaica: Badge, vol. 4, col. 69, a decree issued
in Vienna, 1551, by Ferdinand I, emperor of
Austria, requiring Jews to wear a distinguishing
mark "namely on the outer coat or dress over the
left breast a yellow ring, circumference and
diameter of the circle as herein prescribed and
not narrower nor smaller, made of yellow
cloth..." Freiburg, Stadtarchiv (municipal
archive), XII°. |
[Jewish regulations
depending from region to region - almost no regulation
in Poland]
In the new communities which became established in
Western Europe (and later America) from the close of the
16th century under somewhat more free conditions the
wearing of the Jewish badge was never imposed, though
sometimes suggested by fanatics.
In Poland, partly probably because the Jews constituted
a distinct ethnic element, it was likewise virtually
unknown except in some major cities under German
influence. Similarly the Court Jews of Germany were
unable to perform their function unless dressed like
other people.
[18th century: Jewish
badge is neglected in big parts of Europe - Venice
with red hats]
In the course of the 18th century, although there was no
official modification of the established policy, the
wearing of the Jewish badge came to be neglected over a
good part of Europe. In Venice the red hat continued to
be worn by elderly persons and rabbis through sheer
conservatism.
From the 17th century, there were some regional
suspensions of the distinctive sign in Germany, as also
for the Jews of Vienna in 1624, and for those of
Mannheim in 1691.
[Jewish
emancipation
and French revolution end of 18th century: all badge
and hat laws are abrogated - Papal ghetto system
abolished only in 1797]
It was abrogated at the end of the 18th centrury with
(col. 70)
Jewish emancipation. Thus on Sept. 7, 1781, the yellow
"wheel" was abolished by Emperor Joseph II in all the
territories of the Austrian crown.
In the Papal States in France the yellow hat was
abolished in 1791 after the French Revolution reached
the area, although some persons retained it until
forbidden to do so by official proclamation. In the
Papal States in Italy, on the other hand, the
obliagation was reimposed as late as 1793. When in
1796-97 the armies of the French Revolution entered
Italy and the ghettos were abolished, the obligation to
wear the Jewish badge disappeared.
Its reimposition was threatened but not carried out
during the reactionary period after the fall of
Napoelon, and it then seemed that the Badge of Shame was
only an evil memory of the past.
[B. BL.] (col. 71)
