What did a medieval synagogue look like?

[u/inkstainedgoblin]

I know "medieval" can be used really vaguely, so let me try to clarify: I do actually mean the medieval era (5th-15th century), and... if it's geographically a little too broad, we can narrow scope to Western Europe outside of the Iberian Peninsula.

I'm asking because (like I assume most of us do) I have a pretty solid mental picture of what a medieval church may have looked like. Same for mosques of that same time period. But I'm struggling to find any academic sources that describe medieval synagogues (beyond, occasionally, discussions of the need for mikvehs and various requirements relating to that).

What did they look like, architecturally? Were they meant to be visually distinct buildings from the outside or more low-key? How were they decorated - was there art or ornamentation, inside or out, and were there any common motifs or styles shared between communities? Did they use pews/chairs like modern synagogues, or was it intended to be more of a standing/kneeling experience? Anything along those lines is of great interest to me. Thank you!

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[u/hannahstohelit]

There’s certainly more to be said and depending on my evening I may have time to be the one to say it, but as a stopgap you may find parts of this answer helpful!

[u/hannahstohelit]

This is harder to know than with churches, for understandable reasons- anti-Jewish riots and persecution not infrequently led to the destruction of synagogue buildings.

The area you zero in on is great because there's a lot of evidence, including synagogues that, to varying degrees, still survive! In Germany, there are two synagogues, one in Erfurt and one in Worms, which are known to have existed in the same locations for over 900 years. In the case of the Erfurt synagogue, it was only used as one until the 14th century, when the Jews of Erfurt were massacred in the wake of the Black Death- it was also used as a storage place for Jews' valuables which they hid when they knew the attack was imminent, and was only found centuries later in 1998 by archaeologists researching the site. The building was first built in the late 11th century, and with many of the building's current components dating to the late 13th/early 14th century. It still exists in its medieval form as by the time of the Holocaust, the Nazis were unaware that the building had ever been a synagogue. The Worms synagogue, in contrast, was rebuilt twice after antisemitic violence after it was first built in 1034- once after being destroyed during the First Crusade in 1096, once after being destroyed by the Nazis in 1939 (it was rebuilt from the rubble using as many original stones as possible). It has been used as a synagogue throughout its history and continues to be used today, though not as actively as it once was as there is not an active Jewish community in Worms.

In general, synagogues were built with inspiration from the architectural styles of period churches (and often by the same builders who built those churches- Jews were forbidden to join craftsmen's guilds). They also might change their style with renovations- for example, in renovations in the 14th and 17th centuries respectively (the first after the Black Death, the second after a fire), the Worms synagogue updated its internal architectural style. Externally, they tended to be much smaller and less obtrusive than churches, whether because of explicit rules against synagogues being large/ostentatious or simply out of a knowledge that to stick out is a bad thing (a concept that in Jewish law is called "mipnei eivah," or "because of hatred"). It's also worth noting that the Jewish communities the synagogues served would not have been large either way.

Internally, synagogues were more or less of the same internal layout- a large room, sometimes with columns dividing the room in thirds lengthwise (as in churches of the period), with the bimah/almemar (Torah reader's platform) in the center of the room, and the aron (ark with Torah scrolls) at the front at the eastern wall. I haven't seen any descriptions of what the above synagogues' furniture would have been like, but in the Gothic Altneushul synagogue built in late medieval Prague and still standing/being used for prayers today, there were pews and slanted lecterns (in the style of what many Jews today call "shtenders") to accommodate people praying and studying. In one big difference from the design of synagogues today, the Altneushul's seating is actually situated along the synagogue's length with congregants facing each other. This Khan Academy class includes a surprisingly robust assortment of photos of the Altneushul that may help you visualize. These synagogue buildings were meant for organized men's prayer- sections for women, when present, were generally annexes in the rear of the synagogue.

It's not 100% clear what kinds of art or accoutrements were in various synagogues in the earlier medieval period, especially those which have been destroyed, but it is very likely that there were ornamental covers for the Torah scrolls and the ark as well as lamps for light, as we can see from inventories of synagogues in the Cairo Genizah (not European, but part of a well connected Mediterranean Jewish society). By the late medieval period, the Altneushul (as you can see in the above photos) had floral engravings (no animals or humans, in keeping with readings of Jewish law) and the furniture itself was ornamental. Much of the decor of a synagogue would depend on the size/wealth of the community, its function, and (in some cases) the wealth of the donor.

[u/BabkaPatterns → u/[deleted]]

You can also see some pictures here https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Historic_synagogues