Lists of Names on Slate Fragments from Cologne’s Medieval Jewish Quarter

The inscribed slates from Cologne’s medieval Jewish quarter, recently dicovered in the remains of the quarter’s destruction following the pogrom of 1349, provide insights into areas of Jewish daily life that are often underrepresented in other contemporary sources. In addition to doodles, drawings, and writing exercises, there are many fragments inscribed with economic and administrative texts. About 60 of these slates contain lists of names, consisting of names and often sums of money, that were apparently used by Cologne Jews to index debts, donations, fines, and the like. The identification of individuals on these lists in other contemporary sources allows the dating of some of them and provides hints as to their purposes. Additionally, the names themselves as well as their spellings enable us to infer information about the vernacular language(s) spoken among Cologne’s Jewish community. Lastly, the analysis of individual hands makes it possible to sometimes match multiple lists to one person, allowing further conclusions about their use.