The Jews’ Political, Economic, and Social Status

Any enquiry into the significance of the work of an intellectual or community leader must begin with at least a brief examination of his or her social and cultural milieu. This background is especially important in Rashi's case, for he was active during a period of great change. According to evidence preserved in the literary accounts and archaeological findings that have come down to us, Jews began to settle in what is now France during Roman times, in the first century CE.That settlement continued uninterrupted until Rashi's time. During the Carolingian period (eighth to tenth centuries) the situation of the Jews—politically, socially, and economically—underwent marked improvement, as they played an important role in international trade. The end of the tenth century saw the Capetian dynasty rise to power, and its early years were characterized by a fragmented kingdom and a weak sovereign. Until the middle of the twelfth century and even beyond, each of the feudal states in France struggled with its own administrative problems, and all had only loose ties to the king.

In general, Jews continued to do well in France. Nevertheless, the weakness of the central government and the ascendancy of local fiefdoms meant that their social and political status differed in each of the feudal states that made up eleventh-century France, depending upon the good will of the local rulers.

Two developments during the eleventh and twelfth centuries influenced Jewish economic and intellectual life and the internal organization of the Jewish community: the growth of cities and the European intellectual renaissance. At the start of the Middle Ages cities went into decline, serving more as assembly points for ecclesiastical institutions than as regional economic centres. Only in the eleventh century did cities change, as they developed in the wake of increased commerce and overall economic growth. But while the process became evident during the eleventh century, cities did not really flourish until the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. Urban development was the primary agent of expanded Jewish settlement in France, and it influenced the internal organization of Jewish communities.