§4.6 - The Cemetery

Summary

ESTABLISHMENT

AL THOUGH the cemetery was not in the immediate vicinity of the Jewish quarter, it was however an extension of the judería..The community established a cemetery with the king's permission, which was generally granted upon request. In 1274, for instance, Jaime I authorized the community of Villafranca del Panades to have its own burial-place, and in 1298 the aljama of Montblanch obtained the right to set up a cemetery. The Jews who settled in Alcolea de Cinca were allowed by the Infante Alfonso to possess their burial place according to a charter of 1320. In 1321 the Jews of Castellon de la Plana were permitted to acquire some land for a cemetery. Not every community or Jewish settlement possessed a cemetery. The Jews of Cervera, for example, had to bury their dead elsewhere. Many such a community subsequently applied for permission to have a burial place. One of the communities that needed a cemetery of its own after a period of growth was Burriana. Until 1326 the Jews of Burriana buried their dead either in Valencia or in Murviedro. The plot chosen proved to be too small, since in 1328 the same community asked Alfonso IV to confirm the use of another burial-ground to replace the old one, which was now completely full. The cemetery of Lérida became too small in the middle of the fourteenth century following the high mortality of the Black Death. Thereupon Pedro IV decided in 1353 that a suitable plot ofland should be allocated to the Jews for this purpose. The cemeteries of some communities were filled following massacres: the Jews of Montclus, who suffered heavily at the hands of the Pastoureaux, the ‘Shepherds' Crusade’ of 1320-1, buried their dead in their small cemetery which suddenly became too crowded.

LOCATION

The location of the cemetery depended on several factors, one of which was the availability of suitable land at a reasonable distance from the quarter. In several localities the cemetery was on a hill not far from the town. In Barcelona, the cemetery of the Jews was on the mountain known as Montjuich. This cemetery is very old: sources from as early as the end of the eleventh century speak of old tombstones. The name is commonly translated as ‘the Jews’ Mountain', although the etymology of the word is obscure.