Kirchenakte Documented events from judgments, reports and church documents
517-581 · 64 years · show in timeline

Gallic and Frankish synods 517 to 581: bans on sharing meals and marriage with Jews, Easter curfew, exclusion from office

From 517 onward, synods of bishops in Burgundy and the Frankish kingdom step by step adopted special rules that separated Jews from Christians and degraded them: Christians were not to eat with Jews or marry them, Jews were not to be judges or tax-gatherers over Christians, were not to appear in the streets from Maundy Thursday to Easter, and had to show reverence to clerics. Christian slaves of Jews could be bought free by any Christian for 12 solidi. According to Graetz, King Childebert I made the Easter ban a law of the state in 554.

Period
517-581 (64 years)
Country
France
Institutions
Synod of Epaon 517
Second Synod of Orléans 533
Synod of Clermont 535
Third Synod of Orléans 538
Fourth Synod of Orléans 541
First Synod of Mâcon 581
Category
Anti-Judaism, Persecution
Level of evidence
B two independent scholarly sources · what does this mean?

What happened to the people

How were they charged and sentenced?

  1. The Synod of Epaon in Burgundy (517) decreed in canon 15: not even a layman may partake of the banquets of Jews; anyone who has done so once may not again eat with a cleric. According to Graetz the synod was presided over by a Bishop Avitus, and King Sigismund confirmed the decision.
    Evidence: Carl Joseph Hefele, übers. von William R. Clark, T. & T. Clark, Edinburgh 1895, Bd. 4, S. 110 (Epao, Kanon 15)
    „But at the banquets of Jews, even a layman must not partake, and anyone who has done so once, may not again eat with a cleric.“
    A History of the Councils of the Church, from the Original Documents, Bd. 4 (A.D. 451 to A.D. 680), Bd. 4, S. 110 (Epao, Kanon 15). Original
    Evidence: Heinrich Graetz, Jewish Publication Society of America, Philadelphia 1894, Bd. 3, S. 37
    „firmed the decision of the council of Epaone, held under the presidency of the bloodthirsty bishop Avitus, forbidding even laymen to take part in Jewish banquets (517)“
    History of the Jews, Bd. 3, Bd. 3, S. 37. Original
  2. The Second Synod of Orléans (533) forbade marriage between Christians and Jews; existing marriages had to be dissolved on pain of excommunication. The Synod of Clermont (535) decreed that Jews must not be appointed as judges over a Christian population.
    Evidence: Carl Joseph Hefele, übers. von William R. Clark, T. & T. Clark, Edinburgh 1895, Bd. 4, S. 187 (Orléans 533, Kanon 19)
    „No Christian must marry a Jewess, and conversely. If any such union has been accomplished, it must be dissolved on pain of excommunication.“
    A History of the Councils of the Church, from the Original Documents, Bd. 4 (A.D. 451 to A.D. 680), Bd. 4, S. 187 (Orléans 533, Kanon 19). Original
    Evidence: Carl Joseph Hefele, übers. von William R. Clark, T. & T. Clark, Edinburgh 1895, Bd. 4, S. 191 (Clermont 535, Kanon 8)
    „Jews must not be appointed as judges over a Christian population.“
    A History of the Councils of the Church, from the Original Documents, Bd. 4 (A.D. 451 to A.D. 680), Bd. 4, S. 191 (Clermont 535, Kanon 8). Original
  3. The Third Synod of Orléans (538) forbade Christians to marry Jews or even to eat with them, and decreed that from Maundy Thursday for four days Jews must not appear among Christians. The Fourth Synod of Orléans (541, according to Graetz 545) punished Jews who converted Christians to Judaism with the loss of all their slaves.
    Evidence: Carl Joseph Hefele, übers. von William R. Clark, T. & T. Clark, Edinburgh 1895, Bd. 4, S. 207 (Orléans 538, Kanon 13)
    „Christians must not marry with Jews, nor even eat with them.“
    A History of the Councils of the Church, from the Original Documents, Bd. 4 (A.D. 451 to A.D. 680), Bd. 4, S. 207 (Orléans 538, Kanon 13). Original
    Evidence: Carl Joseph Hefele, übers. von William R. Clark, T. & T. Clark, Edinburgh 1895, Bd. 4, S. 209 (Orléans 538)
    „From Maundy Thursday for four days onwards, Jews must not appear among Christians.“
    A History of the Councils of the Church, from the Original Documents, Bd. 4 (A.D. 451 to A.D. 680), Bd. 4, S. 209 (Orléans 538). Original
    Evidence: Carl Joseph Hefele, übers. von William R. Clark, T. & T. Clark, Edinburgh 1895, Bd. 4, S. 214 (Orléans 541, Kanon 31)
    „he is to be punished with the loss of (all) his slaves“
    A History of the Councils of the Church, from the Original Documents, Bd. 4 (A.D. 451 to A.D. 680), Bd. 4, S. 214 (Orléans 541, Kanon 31). Original
    Evidence: Heinrich Graetz, Jewish Publication Society of America, Philadelphia 1894, Bd. 3, S. 37
    „early as the third and fourth councils at Orleans (538 and 545), severe enactments were passed against them.“
    History of the Jews, Bd. 3, Bd. 3, S. 37. Original
  4. The First Synod of Mâcon (581), summoned by King Guntram and attended by 21 bishops, decreed: Jews may not be judges or tax-gatherers over Christians (canon 13); from Thursday in Holy Week to Easter they may not show themselves on streets and public places, must show respect to all clerics and may not sit down before priests unless invited (canon 14); no Christian may eat with Jews on penalty of excommunication (canon 15).
    Evidence: Carl Joseph Hefele, übers. von William R. Clark, T. & T. Clark, Edinburgh 1895, Bd. 4, S. 403
    „which was summoned by the Frankish King Guntrum in the year 581. It was attended by twenty-one bishops from several ecclesiastical provinces“
    A History of the Councils of the Church, from the Original Documents, Bd. 4 (A.D. 451 to A.D. 680), Bd. 4, S. 403. Original
    Evidence: Carl Joseph Hefele, übers. von William R. Clark, T. & T. Clark, Edinburgh 1895, Bd. 4, S. 404 (Mâcon 581, Kanon 13 bis 15)
    „Jews may not be judges or tax-gatherers over Christians.“
    A History of the Councils of the Church, from the Original Documents, Bd. 4 (A.D. 451 to A.D. 680), Bd. 4, S. 404 (Mâcon 581, Kanon 13 bis 15). Original
    Evidence: Carl Joseph Hefele, übers. von William R. Clark, T. & T. Clark, Edinburgh 1895, Bd. 4, S. 404 (Mâcon 581, Kanon 14)
    „Jews may not show themselves on streets and public places, because they have done so to insult Christians. Moreover, they must testify respect to all clerics, and must not sit down before priests, unless they are invited to do so.“
    A History of the Councils of the Church, from the Original Documents, Bd. 4 (A.D. 451 to A.D. 680), Bd. 4, S. 404 (Mâcon 581, Kanon 14). Original
    Evidence: Carl Joseph Hefele, übers. von William R. Clark, T. & T. Clark, Edinburgh 1895, Bd. 4, S. 404 (Mâcon 581, Kanon 15)
    „No Christian may partake of meals with Jews under penalty of excommunication.“
    A History of the Councils of the Church, from the Original Documents, Bd. 4 (A.D. 451 to A.D. 680), Bd. 4, S. 404 (Mâcon 581, Kanon 15). Original
    Evidence: Heinrich Graetz, Jewish Publication Society of America, Philadelphia 1894, Bd. 3, S. 39
    „The Council of Macon (581) adopted several resolutions which aimed at assigning an inferior position in society to the Jews.“
    History of the Jews, Bd. 3, Bd. 3, S. 39. Original

Background

Who received the assets, who profited?

  1. Canon 16 of Mâcon: no Christian may henceforth be slave to a Jew. If a Jew has a Christian slave, any Christian can purchase him for 12 solidi, either to set him free or to employ him as his own slave. A Jew convicted of trying to persuade a Christian slave to apostasy lost the slave and the right to make a will.
    Evidence: Carl Joseph Hefele, übers. von William R. Clark, T. & T. Clark, Edinburgh 1895, Bd. 4, S. 405 (Mâcon 581, Kanon 16)
    „either in order to set him free, or to employ him as his own slave“
    A History of the Councils of the Church, from the Original Documents, Bd. 4 (A.D. 451 to A.D. 680), Bd. 4, S. 405 (Mâcon 581, Kanon 16). Original
    Evidence: Carl Joseph Hefele, übers. von William R. Clark, T. & T. Clark, Edinburgh 1895, Bd. 4, S. 405 (Mâcon 581, Kanon 16)
    „he loses the slave and the right to make a will.“
    A History of the Councils of the Church, from the Original Documents, Bd. 4 (A.D. 451 to A.D. 680), Bd. 4, S. 405 (Mâcon 581, Kanon 16). Original

Response of the Church

  1. According to Graetz, King Childebert I of Paris embodied the ban on appearing in the streets at Easter in his constitution in 554, thus exalting the intolerance of the clergy into a law of the state. The Catholic Encyclopedia names further royal measures in the same period: in 581 Chilperic compelled Jews to receive baptism, and in 629 Dagobert made them choose between baptism and expulsion.
    Evidence: Heinrich Graetz, Jewish Publication Society of America, Philadelphia 1894, Bd. 3, S. 37
    „Childebert I of Paris embodied this last point in his constitution (554), and thus exalted the intolerance of the clergy into a law of the state.“
    History of the Jews, Bd. 3, Bd. 3, S. 37. Original
    Evidence: The Catholic Encyclopedia, Bd. 8 (1910), Artikel History of the Jews
    „In 554, Childebert I of Paris forbade them to appear on the street at Eastertide; in 581, Chilperic compelled them to receive baptism ; in 613, Clotaire II sanctioned new decrees against them; and in 629, Dagobert bade them choose between baptism and expulsion.“
    History of the Jews, Artikel History of the Jews. Original · Archive copy

See also

Scholarly literature and reference works

  1. Scholarly literature
    Carl Joseph Hefele, übers. von William R. Clark, T. & T. Clark, Edinburgh 1895: A History of the Councils of the Church, from the Original Documents, Bd. 4 (A.D. 451 to A.D. 680), 1 January 1895. Original (retrieved 23 Oct 2026)
  2. Scholarly literature
    Heinrich Graetz, Jewish Publication Society of America, Philadelphia 1894: History of the Jews, Bd. 3, 1 January 1894. Original (retrieved 23 Oct 2026)
  3. Reference work
    The Catholic Encyclopedia, Bd. 8 (1910): History of the Jews, 1 January 1910. Original · Archive copy (retrieved 23 Oct 2026)
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