Foreignness, Local Identity, and Expulsions of Northern French Jews in the Fourteenth Century

During the fourteenth century, France endured significant political, environmental, economic, and social upheavals: The Great Famine (1315-1317), the Shepherds` Crusade (1320), the beginning of the Hundred Years` war (1337), the Black Death (1348-1351), and more. These large-scale crises resulted in new forms of social cohesion and unique expressions of local identities that further crystalized the dichotomies between local citizens and foreigners of various kinds. On top of these calamitous events, the Jews of northern France also faced three expulsions from the French realms. This paper will dive into the question of foreignness and belonging of northern French Jews throughout their repeated expulsions. It will do so by examining Hebrew sources as well as French administrative documents that attest to the change in self-perceptions of expelled Jews from their homes in the French kingdom.