The architecture
of their synagogues is a striking example. The cathedral of
Worms was built in 1034, at the same period as the synagogue
there. The two structures display so many similarities that one
is tempted to believe they represent the handiwork of the same
builders. At all events, it is clear that the Jews cultivated
the Romanesque style, so majestic in its simplicity.[15]
Lorraine was not at that time a province of the German Empire;
and Rashi leaving the banks of the Seine for those of the Rhine
did not expatriate himself in the true sense of the word.
Lorraine, or, as it was then called, Lotharingia, the country of
Lothair (this is the name that occurs in the rabbinical sources),
was more than half French. Situated between France and Germany,
it came within the sphere of French influence. French was the
language in current use, spoken by Jew and Christian alike.
German words, in fact, were gallicized in pronunciation. In
Rashi's day the barons of Lorraine rendered homage to the king of
France, Henry I. Naturally, then, the Jews of Lorraine and those
of Northern France were in close intellectual communion. The
academies along the Rhine and the Moselle formed, as it were, the
link between France and Germany. In general, and despite the
rarity and difficulty of communication, the Jews of France,
Germany, and Italy entered freely into relations with one
another.
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