Schmitt, Sophia

I am a research associate in the unit of Judaic Studies at Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität (LMU), Munich, where I teach courses on pre-modern Jewish history and rabbinic literature. In addition, I serve as the coordinator of the ERC project “MAJLIS: The Transformation of Jewish Literature in Arabic in the Islamicate World“. A scholar of medieval Jewish history, I study the social, legal, cultural, and economic relations between Jews and Christians in medieval northern Europe, with a special interest in the history of interreligious relationships, violence, legal history, and social spaces. In my research, I examine interreligious relations on a continuum between conflict and cooperation from a variety of perspectives through source material that takes into account both Jewish and Christian points of views. This approach considers negotiations surrounding integration and separation both on the local level, as well as within broader developments in medieval society, highlighting the effects of cultural-religious difference on long-term structural changes.

I received my PhD in Medieval History from LMU, with a dissertation that showcases how Jews in the southern German empire created and employed local and regional networks in their defence against anti-Jewish violence in the 15th century, incorporating both archival documents in German and Latin as well as Hebrew source material. I was a research associate in a collaborative German–Israeli research project, “Responsa and Archival Records from Medieval Ashkenaz in Legal and Cultural Conversation”. Together with my colleagues, I selected, summarized, annotated, and commented on the responsa of R. Meir of Rothenburg and R. Hayim Or Zaru’a. These sources provide fascinating historical information about Jewish life and Jewish–Christian relationships in the 13th and 14th centuries, especially when paired with contemporary archival sources.

My current research project examines the impact of natural disasters on Jewish–Christian relations in medieval Ashkenaz, combining environmental history with the history of mentalities, within the framework of shared Jewish–Christian cultures. It analyses institutional and cultural reactions to catastrophes, preventative measures, and sociocultural and religious structures that contributed to the means of handling catastrophes. Including the perspective of medieval Jews and Christians, both comparatively and in conjunction, against the background of their respective social standing, this project will provide insights into various scopes of action employed by Jews and Christians during the crisis. Additionally, it formulates contemporary perceptions of nature and of self-efficacy in shaping the future.

Areas of Interest

Jewish–Christian relations, history of anti-Judaism, history of violence, medieval urban spaces, legal history, environmental history, medieval Ashkenaz

Historical Periods of Interest

12th through 15th centuries CE

Positions

Education

Awards and distinctions