Midevil Jewish History

The first Jews that settled in Ashkenaz developed their communities based on internal and external factors. Their communities were developed on extremely different ideas than those of the communities in Spain.
The most popular external factor that lead to the formation of a community in Ashkenaz was the establishment of charters. These charters granted by the king/bishops offered many enticing privileges to the Jews if in return they settled in the countries of Ashkenaz. The kings/bishops in these areas wanted Jews to settle in their kingdoms since the Jews had an efficient and effective network of commerce and would help to boost the economy. An archbishop of Speyer invited the Jews to settle in his city “in order to enhance a thousand fold the respect accorded to our town.” This is evidence of the high value attached to Jews for settlement of a new town.
Some of the many kings who offered the Jews a charter are King Charlemagne (offered charters to Jews of Fran...