Walram von Jülich was Archbishop of Cologne from 1332 to 1349 — the most powerful Catholic ecclesiastical authority in the lower Rhineland. On 23–24 August 1349, a mob destroyed the Cologne Jewish community. What did Walram do?
Pope Clement VI had reissued the protective bull *Sicut Judaeis* in September 1348 substantially prohibiting Christian violence against Jews — substantially the standard papal position derived from the 1120 [Calixtus II original](/articles/calixtus-ii-sicut-judaeis). Enforcement required action by the senior local archbishops. Walram did not actively promulgate the bull in his archdiocese, did not pressure the Cologne city council, and did not threaten the participating Christians with excommunication. The Cologne mikvah — the substantial Jewish ritual bath 17 metres beneath the modern Rathausplatz — survived the destruction by being too deep underground to reach. Walram died of plague himself within days of the massacre.
Read the full story →Walram von Jülich, Archbishop of Cologne from 1332 to 1349, was the senior Catholic ecclesiastical authority for the entire lower Rhineland during the Black Death. He had personal authority sufficient to prevent the 1349 anti-Jewish massacres in his archdiocese. He chose not to use it.
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