Rhineland massacres begin
May 3, 1096
Followers of the People's Crusade under Count Emicho attacked Jewish communities in Mainz, Worms, and Cologne, slaughtering thousands. Bishops tried to shelter Jews but were often overwhelmed by mobs. The pogroms inaugurated a pattern in which Crusade mobilization was preceded by violence against Europe's Jewish communities. The Hebrew chronicles recording these events remain among the most harrowing testimonies of religious persecution in medieval literature.
In context
Also in 1096 (3 other events on record)
- Princes' Crusade departs Europe · Europe · War
- People's Crusade destroyed at Civetot · Middle East · War
- People's Crusade sets out · Europe · Religion
Before and after in Europe
Before and after in Religion
Era
High Middle Ages (1000–1300), one of 1,306 events from that era on Saeculum.