The ‘Golden Age’ of Jews in Poland The Legend and Reality

Authors

  • Jacek Wijaczka Uniwersytet Mikołaja Kopernika

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.12775/BPMH.2014.001

Keywords

„Golden age“, Poland in the 16th century, Jagiellons, Stephen Báthory (1533–1586), Jews, Piotr Skarga (1536–1612), Khmelnytsky Uprising (1648)

Abstract

The article addresses the question of the so called ‘golden age’ of Jews in Poland which took place in the 16th and the first half of the 17th centuries. The immigration of the Jewish population from Western Europe to Poland grew significantly in the Late Middle Ages owing to numerous acts of violence and pogroms aimed at Jews. Polish kings started to issue privileges protecting Jews and enabling them to settle in Polish towns. Admittedly, in the 16th century anti-Semite excesses also occurred in Poland, but their number was insignificant. It was not until the first half of the 17th century that the tension in Christian-Jewish relations exacerbated. It was then that the number of anti-Jewish incidents in various towns increased due to religious hostility. The ‘golden age’ finally came to an end when the Chmielnicki uprising broke out.

References

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Bulletin of the Polish Historical Mission

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Published

2014-09-15

How to Cite

1.
WIJACZKA, Jacek. The ‘Golden Age’ of Jews in Poland The Legend and Reality. Bulletin of the Polish Historical Mission. Online. 15 September 2014. No. 9, pp. 33-50. [Accessed 2 July 2025]. DOI 10.12775/BPMH.2014.001.

Issue

No. 9 (2014): Bulletin der Polnischen Historischen Mission

Section

Studies and Materials

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