Benutzerspezifische Werkzeuge

The Jewish Hat. A Cultural History

The notorious, pointed "Judenhut" informed the iconography of Jews for roughly 500 years, from the First Crusade to the Early Modern Era. The hat was originally an elegant garment in the Arab Mediterranean and among Orientophilic Europeans, but it came into disrepute when it was used to identify Jewish figures in increasingly derogative church art. Its status declined further after the Vatican imposed a regulation for Jews to be visibly identified (in 1215). By 1270, several German-speaking cities prescribed the pointed hat as a garment to wear publicly at all times. In an increasingly anti-Jewish atmosphere, the hat crystallized as a sign of deception and was transferred to non-Jewish derelicts, such as heathens and heretics, sorcerers and sinners. My hypothesis is that the "Judenhut" still lingers on in various hats of popular culture today.