The continuous presence of Jews in Cologne after 321/330: conflicting hypotheses

Abstract

After the decree of Constantine the Great in 321, ordering the Jews to send representatives to the curia, there is no historical information about the Jewish community during the Merovingian period until the Carolingian period. The author evaluates the different views on a Jewish presence in Cologne during this period. German-Jewish historians mention a possible continuity during the Merovingian period, but East European Jewish historians deny a continuity. The denial of continuity during the Merovingian period is based on a wrong evaluation of the attacks by the Franks to replace Roman rule and the lack of historical information during this period that is due to Gregory of Tours who only wrote about the Franks and Jews living in Gaul. In addition, the archives of Cologne were destroyed in 881. The author points to the thorough historical and archaeological research that shows a continuous Jewish presence in Cologne during the Merovingian period.