For the most part, in these early medieval years, the Jews were acknowledged but mistrusted as outsiders in Christian Europe. On November 27, 1095, Pope Urban II invited all Christians to join him in a war to capture the holy sites in Jerusalem, and in their frenzy to rescue the Holy Land from “infidels,” the German Crusaders decimated the local Jewish population along the Rhine in the late spring of 1096. Eight hundred innocent lives were lost in three days in Worms.
GLOSSARY
alewife: Woman who brewed ale or cider for sale. Her home often became a gathering place (an alehouse).
apprentice: Young boy (occasionally a girl) who lived with the craftsman’s or master’s family while learning his art or trade. An apprenticeship often began around the age of nine and usually lasted at least seven years.
blacksmith or smith: Craftsman who used iron to make horseshoes, nails, cooking pots, ax heads, plows, and tools of all kinds. The smith also made knives, helmets, armor, arrowheads, swords and other weapons, although in later times there were armorers who specialized in high-end gear.
borage: An early growing herb or salad green. Thought to be an antidote for grouchiness.
bunting: starling Small, plump, wild birds that were popular to roast and eat.
Candlemas: February 2. Holiday to celebrate the beginning of the end of deepest winter. Candles were blessed in a church ceremony.
capon: Castrated rooster. Surplus male chicks were fixed, to make them more tender before being fattened for cooking. (Hens lay eggs and so were less likely to end up in a cooking pot.)
cardamom: An aromatic and very costly spice from India. Seeds are usually crushed into powder, often used with cinnamon and clove. Popular in pickling and spice cookies.
chancel: The part of the church nearest the altar. (See also nave. )
changeling: A child or infant, supposedly a fairy, who is substituted for another in secret. A common theme in folklore.
censer: A vessel in which incense or fragrant wood is burned during a religious ceremony. The vessel is usually swung to diffuse or spread its fragrant smoke.
Crusades: Armed expeditions taken by European Christians to capture the Holy Lands from the Muslims. This term was not yet in use during the First Crusade in 1096.
Ember Days: Period when the church days of fasting, normally Friday, was expanded to include Wednesday and Saturday as well. No meat or dairy was allowed during this period.
Easter: A moveable date, celebrating the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Held on the first Sunday after the first full moon following the vernal equinox (first day of spring). Preceded by 40 days of Lent during which no meat or dairy products could be consumed, and everyone was restricted to one meal each day.
Epiphany: January 6, the last day of the Christmas period.
herring: Exceptionally plentiful small fish which was easy to catch and preserve (salted) and very cheap. Most common medieval fish protein and widely hated by the end of Lent.
horseradish: White-fleshed root used since ancient times as a very strong, hot condiment. Much cheaper than pepper. Also used as medicine to aid in digestion. Mixed with milk, it was supposed to clear the complexion.
Horsetail grass: Common weed with grass like branches and no leaves. Believed to heal wounds, soothe arthritis, and stop bedwetting. Still used in used foot baths to treat fungal infections.
Kirtle: Outer dress usually worn over lighter shift. The sleeves were usually detachable.
Lammas: August 1, the earliest harvest festival when the first grain was baked into bread and was blessed.
Lent: See Easter.
mace: Medieval weapon. A heavy metal-headed club, often spiked, used for dealing crushing blows.
manor: Estate of a noble. Peasants who lived on the manor’s land paid the lord in labor or goods.
maul: Heavy hammerhead mounted on a long wooden handle. Wooden mauls were used to firm up the surface of dirt floors. Iron mauls, often the rounded back side of an ax, were used for driving wedges or stakes.
mugwort: A common, tall, hairy plant which often grew alongside paths and roads. Thought to relieve tired travelers who often carried the leaves in their shoes. Also used as an insect repellent.
nave: The central part of the church. This is where the congregation stood in medieval times since churches had no seating.
niello: A very old but still practiced method of engraving using sulfur to blacken the lines of an etched design.
pudding grass: Also known as pennyroyal. Common marsh weed with lilac flowers. Used to treat almost everything from hysteria to flatulence (farting). Still considered a useful insect repellent.
relic: A piece of material such as wood, cloth, or bone associated with a saint. Relics were extremely popular and very valuable. The relic of a popular saint would bring pilgrims and money to a church because the relic was thought to possess the miraculous powers of the saint. There were lots of fake relics. At least two churches claimed to have the head of John the Baptist.
rush:Tall stalky plant that grows in marshes and along waterways, used for roofs, floor covering, bed stuffing, baskets, animal feed, and even in bread making when times got really bad.
sacristy: The room in a church where the sacred vessels and other religious treasures are kept.
skep: A manmade hive for honey bees. Since sugar was not available to Europeans until the thirteenth century, honey was the main sweetener. Honey bees also produce beeswax, which was so valuable that it was usually reserved for church candles.
sinew: Stringy material from animal tendon or muscle. Sinew was used as fastening and string and especially to tie off the ends of sausages. Still is.
sorrel: Leafy green vegetable with a somewhat bitter taste. Wet sorrel leaves were applied to rashes and insect bites to relieve itching.
strakes: Iron bands fastened along the rim of wooden cart wheels to reduce wear and tear.
tanner: Tradesman who turned animal skins into leather. The tanner used natural chemicals including tree bark, animal dung, and urine. Tanning was a very smelly process, requiring a great deal of time and water (causing polluted waterways). The tanner colored the leather with dyes that often stained his own skin. A profitable but unpleasant trade.
tansy: A bitter herb used as a seasoning, especially at Easter when it was thought to promote good digestion when consuming the first dairy following Lent. Curiously the herb was also often used for the bitter herb at Passover seders. Also used as an insect repellent, smells like moth balls.
tierce: The third bell of the day. Before mechanical timekeeping, the days were measured in intervals of sunlight hours which varied by season, so that a summer hour was longer than a winter hour. Church bells marked the time of day as follows: midnight (matins), 3 a.m. (lauds), 6 a.m. (prime), 9 a.m. (tierce), midday (sext), 3 p.m. (nones), 6 p.m. (vespers) and 9 p.m. (compline).
thatch: Reeds, grasses, or other plant materials used for roofing. Widely available at no cost and effective as roofing, but a fire hazard.
trencher: Slice of hard bread used as an edible platter to serve food.
valerian: A flowering plant. The root (very bitter and foul smelling) was used ease pain and aid sleep.
wallow: Muck in which a pig lies. Pigs do not have sweat glands, so they keep cool by wallowing. A pig’s intelligence should not be underestimated.
wattle and daub: Daub was clay or mud mixed with straw, sticks, and animal hair to form plaster which was then spread on a wattle or basket like structure of woven branches. Primary building method in German medieval housing.
FOREIGN PHRASES
Alevei! : (Yiddish) It should happen to me.
Dos gefelt mir : (Yiddish) This pleases me.
l’chaim !: (Yiddish) To life.
Nu: (Yiddish) So, well...
Prayer for wine: (Hebrew)
Baruch atah, Adonai Elohaynu melech ha’olam borei p’ri ha-gafen
Blessed are You, Lord, our God, King of the Universe, who creates the fruit of the vine
The Silver Cup Page 15
