Coexistence pact
In the 12th and 13th centuries, most of the medieval Galician cities were founded. The vassals of Celanova then fled towards Allariz, Ribadavia, and Ourense. Jewish communities were established in these new cities and began to have conflicts with the Christian majority by the end of the 13th century. The exemplary resolution, through dialogue, of the interethnic conflict in Allariz illustrates why, in medieval Galicia, popular antisemitism and Jewish anticristianism did not result in massacres, as it did in other places throughout the Middle Ages.
Ethnologic Museum
Pact with the Chief Jew
On May 20, 1289, the Council of Allariz, with the presence of the King’s representative and the town’s parish priests, reached an agreement with the Chief Jew, Isaac Ismael, to regulate coexistence, which had been disrupted by mutual grievances during processions. They agreed to mutually respect each community’s religious festivals and to live in harmony, each in their respective part of the town.
