The following is drawn from a manuscript known as the Solomon bar Simson Chronicle written in the mid-12th century. Almost nothing is known about its author, other than that he was part of the Jewish community. It documents the persecutions of Jewish communities that took place during the First Crusade. As the earliest bands of Crusaders set out for the holy land they passed through Germany and attacked what they called “infidel” Jews on their way. 

EMICO’S ATTACK ON THE JEWS OF MAINZ^[1]

It was on the third of Siwan…. at noon that Emico the wicked, the enemy of the Jews, came with his whole army against the city gate, and the citizens opened it up for him. Emico a German noble, led a band of plundering German and French crusaders. Then the enemies of the Lord said to each other: ‘look! They have opened up the gate for us. Now let us avenge the blood of ‘the hanged one’ [Jesus].”

The children of the holy covenant [Jews] who were there, martyrs who feared the Most High, although they saw the great multitude, an army numerous as the sand on the shore of the sea, still clung to their Creator. Then young and old donned their armor and girded on their weapons and at their head was Rabbi Kalonymus ben Meshullam, the chief of the community. Yet because of the many troubles and the fasts which they had observed they had no strength to stand up against the enemy. [They had fasted to avert the impending evils] Then came gangs and bands, sweeping through like a flood until Mainz was filled from end to end.

The foe Emico proclaimed in the hearing of the community that the enemy be driven from the city and be put to flight. Panic was great in the town. Each Jew in the inner court of the bishop girded on his weapons, and all moved towards the palace gate to fight the crusaders and the citizens. They fought each other up to the very gate, but the sins of the Jews brought it about that the enemy over. came them and took the gate.

The hand of the Lord was heavy against His people. All the Gentiles were gathered together against the Jews in the courtyard to blot out their name, and the strength of our people weakened when they saw the wicked Edomites [here meaning Christians] overpowering them.  The bishop’s men, who had promised to help them, were the very first to flee, thus delivering the Jews into the hands of the enemy. They were indeed a poor support; even the bishop himself fled from his church for it was thought to kill him also because he had spoken good things of the Jews….

When the children of the covenant saw that the heavenly decree of death had been issued and that the enemy had conquered them and had entered the courtyard, then all of them-old men and young, virgins and children, servants and maids-cried ,out together to their Father in heaven and, weeping for themselves and for their lives, accepted as just the sentence of God. One to another they said: “Let us be strong and let us bear the yoke of the holy religion, for only in this world can the enemy kill us-and the easiest of the four deaths is by the sword. But we, our souls in paradise, shall continue to live eternally, in the great shining reflection.” [In Jewish law the four death penalties were: stoning, burning, beheading, strangulation.]

With a whole heart and with a willing soul they when spoke: “After all it is not right to criticize the acts of God-blessed be He and blessed be His name-who has given to us His Torah and a command to put ourselves to death, to kill ourselves for the unity of his holy name. Happy are we if we do his will. Happy is anyone who is killed or slaughtered, who dies for the unity of his name so that he is ready to enter the world to come, to dwell in the heavenly camp with the righteous-with Rabbi Akiba [2nd. c. Jewish martyr] and his companions, the pillars of the universe, who were killed for his name’s sake. Not only this; but he exchanges the world of darkness for the world of light, the world of trouble for the world of joy, and the world that passes away for the world that lasts for all eternity. Then all of them, to a man, cried out with a loud voice: “Now we must delay no longer for the enemy are already upon us. Let us hasten and offer ourselves as a sacrifice to the Lord. Let him who has a knife examine it that it not be nicked, and let him come and slaughter us for the sanctification of the only One, the Everlasting and then let him cut his own throat or plunge the knife into his own body.”

As soon as the enemy came into the courtyard they found some of the very pious there with our brilliant master, Isaac ben Moses. He stretched out his neck, and his head they cut off first. The others, wrapped by their fringed praying­ shawls, sat by themselves in the courtyard, eager to do the will of their Creator. They did not care to flee into the chamber to save themselves for this temporal life, but out of love they received upon themselves the sentence of God. The enemy showered stones and arrows upon them, but they did not care to flee, and [Esther 9:5] “with the stroke of the sword, and with slaughter, and destruction” the foe killed all of those whom they found there. When those in the chambers saw the deed of these righteous ones, how the enemy had already come upon them, they then cried out, all of them: “There is nothing better than for us to offer our lives as a sacrifice.”

The women there girded their loins with strength and slew their sons and their daughters and then themselves. Many men, too, plucked up courage and killed their wives, their sons, their infants. The tender and delicate mother slaughtered the babe she had played with, all of them, men and women arose and slaughtered one another. The maidens and the young brides and grooms looked out of the Windows and in a loud voice cried: “Look and see, O our God, what we do for the sanctification of Thy great name in order not to exchange you for a hanged and crucified one….”

Thus were the precious children of Zion, the Jews of Mainz, tried with ten trials like Abraham, our father, and like Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah [Daniel 3:21]. They tied their sons as Abraham tied Isaac his son, and they received upon themselves with a willing soul the yoke of the fear of God, the King of the Kings of Kings, the Holy One, blessed be He, rather than deny and exchange the religion of our King “an abhorred offshoot [Jesus]….’ [Isaiah l4: 19]. They stretched out their necks to the slaughter and they, delivered their pure souls to their Father in heaven. Righteous and pious women bared their throats to each other, offering to be sacrificed for the unity of the Name. A father turning to his son or brother, a brother to his sister, a woman to her son or daughter neighbor to a neighbor or a friend, a groom to a bride, a fiancé to fiancee, would kill and would be killed, and blood touched blood, The blood of the men mingled with their wives’, the blood of the fathers with their children’s, the blood of the brothers with the sisters, the blood of the teachers with their disciples’, the blood of the grooms with their brides’, the blood of the leaders with the cantors’, the blood of the judges with their scribes’, and the blood of infants and sucklings with their mothers’. For the unity of d honored and awe ­inspiring Name were they killed and slaughtered.

The ears of him who hears these things will tingle, for whoever heard anything like this? Inquire now and look about, was there ever such an abundant sacrifice as this since the days of the primeval Adam? Were there ever eleven hundred offerings on one day, each one of them like the sacrifice of Isaac, the son of Abraham?

For the sake of Isaac who was ready to be sacrificed on Mount Moriah, the world shook, as it is said: “Behold their valiant ones cry without;” [Isaiah 33:7] and “the heavens grow dark” [Jeremiah 4.28]. Yet see what these martyrs did! Why did the heavens not grow dark and the stars not withdraw their brightness? Why did not the moon and the sun grow dark in their heavens when on one day, on the third of Siwan, on a Tuesday eleven hundred souls were killed and slaughtered, among them so many infants and sucklings who had not transgressed nor sinned, so many poor, innocent souls?

Wilt Thou, despite this, still restrain Thyself, O Lord? For thy sake it was that these numberless souls were killed. Avenge quickly the blood of Thy servants which was spilt in our days and in our sight. Amen.