Minority Groups 11th through 16th Century

Discuss processes of stigmatization as they affected Jews, lepers, and the poor. Pay attention to change over time, as well as regional and religious differences.

Explain the ambivalent attitudes of communities towards Jews, lepers, and the poor; eg. why were lepers seen as both damned and blessed in late medieval Europe?

In the European Christian society minority groups like Jews, lepers, and the poor were stigmatized by the majority. The majority group here were European Catholics with some social standing. (However, its is important to notice that all of European society was stigmatized. For example, in religious processions in Europe the towns people were organized in the parade from the highest status in society to the lowest). However the minority groups everyone could stigmatize were Jews, because of their different religion; lepers, due to their skin illness; and the poor, because they had no money and often begged.

Lets focus on Jewish stigma first. In 1215 the fourth lateral council required that all Jews should be identified with a sign. (This sign was to be a gold circle on their clothing). There were also other stigmas like sanitary stigma. This meant that if a Jew touched a fruit on a stand he had to buy it. In addition, in the 16^th century spacial segregation was imposed. Jews were enclosed in ghettos. Jews were blamed on killing Jesus, they were considered greedy, and Europeans believed Jews were involved in magic. There were many other beliefs about Jews like that Jewish men menstruated and that all Jews had unnaturally big sex organs.

Secondly lets consider lepers. From the 11^th through the 13^th century leprosy emerged. It was a skin illness that left people with a distressing physical appearance. Open scars all over the body, could infect the throat, often led to blindness and amputation. The treatment of lepers in Europe differed form that of Jews. This was due to the fact that leprosy was present in the Bible. The story of Jobe a leper gave the message that one has to stick with God through thick and thin. At the first sign of a skin problem a person was reported to the authorities, and examined by a priest. The priest preformed a ritual of seclusion in the Church making the sick the living dead. Then lepers were removed from society. They received stigma symbols like a bell, a black coat and gloves. Christian texts argued that lepers were the poor of Christ. It was believed that lepers were preforming their penance for their sins on Earth. Due to the Biblical aspect of leprosy, lepers were not treated as badly as Jews. However, with time leprosy became associated as coming out of sin, especially sexual sin. The disease induced sexual drive. (Women could be considered lepers even without any physical symptoms).

The poor were the last group of intense stigmatization. The idea of poverty changed over time in Europe. Beginning with St. Francis of Assisi who came from a well off family but experienced a spiritual awakening and thus joined the Franciscan order and married Lady Poverty. This was considered voluntary poverty, and was imitation of Christ. It was viewed as a positive in the eyes of Europeans. Then there was also involuntary poverty, this group included beggars, and peasants. However, the idea of good works in Catholicism was central. Catholic theology of works was mean for people to do good things and especially preform acts of charity. Thus, when a Catholic donated alms to a beggar he would do an act of charity and thus help himself with salvation. In return, the beggar could pray for the donor, further helping him in salvation. Helping a beggar was like helping Jesus. In the 15^th though 16^th centuries, the outlook on poverty changed. Now, there were the deserving poor who were poor of no fault of their own. This group included widows, orphans, or the physically incapable. Then there was the undeserving poor who included the able bodied people. There was a change in focus in the European outlook on poverty. The focus was now on the recipient and not the donor. Thus the poor were treated differently. Why should this happen? In the 15^th century there was an increase of the poor and beggars due to population growth and not enough production. Thus prices rose. People could afford food, some lost their jobs and thus poverty increased.