Pontoise

views updated

PONTOISE

PONTOISE , town in the department of Seine-et-Oise, France. Toward the close of the 12th century, the Jews of Pontoise were accused of having murdered a Christian child named Richard. In 1204 there was already an established Jewish community supervised by a Christian provost. Proof of the considerable financial activities transacted by the Jews of Pontoise was the introduction of a special royal seal which was to be affixed to all documents. Notable among the scholars of Pontoise was *Moses b. Abraham of Pontoise, the paytan, tosafist, and commentator on the Pentateuch and Talmud. Until World War ii, there were about 30 Jewish families in Pontoise, but no community was established after the war.

bibliography:

Gross, Gal Jud, 443ff.; J. Depoin, in: Mémoires de la societé historique de Pontoise et du Vexin, 36 (1921), 120f.; Z. Szajkowski, Analytical Franco-Jewish Gazetteer (1966), 274.

[Bernhard Blumenkranz]

More From encyclopedia.com