Debating Style: Rabbinic Attitudes towards Women`s Fashions in Medieval Ashkenaz.

Jewish women`s customs of dressing in Medieval Ashkenaz were debated by Halachic sages of the period; these debates provide us a new perspective on women`s daily life in medieval cities and the relations between women and sages. Both, Halachic sources of the era and modern studies, point on changing of dressing customs and growing importance of fashion in Jewish women`s life, from the end of the 11th century to the 13th century. These changes were part of cultural and economic developments in Northern France and Germany. It was a result of increasing importance of fabric markets, and fabric industry, which affected also Jewish women`s practices of adornment; in my lecture I will follow these new perspectives: the role of fashion in Jewish women`s life, and the conflicts between the role of fashion and the role of Halacha. What was the main change in women`s customs? How did sages react when women`s customs contrasted Halacha? Did the sages in Northern France and Germany have similar attitudes towards women`s fashion?