Alienages and ghettos

[sqbr]

I'm currently working on a Dragon Age: Origins fic which amongst other things addresses the position of the Denerim elven Alienage under Anora. Since the alienages are fairly obviously based in part on Jewish ghettos I've been looking into them and it's just as happy funtimes as I was expecting.

From the page on the Frankfurt ghetto:

The Frankfurt Jews were promised, by the Emperor and his descendants, the right to administer their own homes, cemeteries, synagogues and all the easements. In view of the growing number of pogroms — Jews were held responsible for the Black Plague in 1348 — the Emperor included a statement in the promise that turned out to be fatal. The Emperor stated that Frankfurt would not be held responsible if the Jews were killed as a result of sickness or riots. It also stated that the belongings of the deceased would revert to the city.
Two weeks after the Emperor left the city, on July 24, 1349 all the Jews of Frankfurt were beaten to death or burnt as their houses were set aflame.

Rinse, repeat.

Also: on the second page of result for "medieval jewish ghetto" I came across Elven alienage = Jewish ghetto? from the Dragon Age forum. I've only read part of the discussion (my self defense mechanism doesn't let me read too much of internet fora, especially since the game's writer is involved. Too much chance of finding out he's a prat) but there's one guy who is insisting that the comparison is antisemetic, which, no. (Of course cue people saying "PC taken too far" when it's just PC done wrong)

Other informative links I have found so far (for what going to be a relatively minor part of a shortish fic I may never get around to finishing, yet part of me feels I should go get out some books or something. It is part of my family's history after all)

• Girona's Medieval Jewish Ghetto Entry
  
• The original Jewish ghetto in Venice
  
• The Golem of Prague

Comments

Because I've totally been thinking about this...

[darkrose]

...I've also gotten the idea that Alistair naming my Tabris the Bann of the Alienage may run into similar problems as you described above. The Chantry and the nobility are likely to resist when she insists that the guards have to be elven, and that they will have the authority to keep non-elves out. And from the other side, there are going to be people in the Alienage who still blame her for Howe's purges, and who worry that the change in the treatment of their people is only going to last as long as F!Tabris is the King's mistress.