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Nov 27, 1095
The Crusades
In the First Crusade in 1095, flourishing communities on the Rhine and the Danube were attacked by Crusaders, yet many Jews were spared due to the efforts of the Papacy. In the Second Crusade in 1147, the Jews in France suffered especially. During the Third Crusade in 1188, Philip Augustus treated them with exceptional severity. The movement helped both to militarize the medieval western Church and to sustain criticism of that militarization. -
Sep 8, 1292
Johann de Wettre's execution
On this date in 1292, Johann de Wettre, "a maker of small knives," was condemned to die at Ghent for sodomy. De Wettre was burned at the pillory next to St. Peter's in what appears to be the earliest documented execution of homosexuality in Christian Europe. As a result, people of the LGBTQ "group" pushed for their voices to be heard, even through torture/pain. -
Jan 1, 1330
The Black Death
The Black Death was one of the most devastating pandemics in human history, resulting in the deaths of an estimated 75 to 200 million people in Eurasia and peaking in Europe in the years 1346–1353. Mainly Jews were blamed because they were thought to be affected less than other races/religions. As the plague waned in 1350, so did the violence against Jewish communities. -
Jan 1, 1530
the Egyptians Act of 1530
The Egyptians Act of 1530 was an Act passed by the Parliament of England in 1531 to expel the "outlandish people calling themselves Egyptians", meaning Gypsies. The Act accused Gypsies of using crafty and subtle devices to deceive people. The "Egyptians" would claim to tell fortunes while frequently committing felonies like robbery. Stolen goods were to be restored to their owners and property confiscated from Gypsies was to be divided between the Sovereign or the arresting officer. -
Jews In Hamburg, Germany
The history of Jews is recorded from atleast 1590 on. Around 1925, about 20,000 Jews lived in Hamburg. When the Nazis came to power, most synagogues were destroyed and soon the associated communities also were destroyed. In 1945, a Jewish community was founded by survivors of the Shoah. And finally in 1960, the new Synagogue "Hohe Weide" was built. -
The execution of James Pratt and John Smith
James Pratt and John Smith were two London men who, in November 1835, became the last two people to be executed for sodomy in England. Pratt and Smith were arrested in August of that year after being convicted of having sex in the room of another man, William Bonill. On 5 November 1835, Charles Dickens and newspaper editor John Black visited Newgate Prison. Dickens wrote an account of this in Sketches by Boz and described seeing Pratt and Smith while they were held there.
