Did Rashi ever visit England

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  • #1473346
    TeNaK Talk
    Participant

    Did Rashi ever visit England or know about the existence of England?

    #1473412
    Joseph
    Participant

    England’s been around a long time.

    #1473461
    akuperma
    Participant

    He obviously knew of the existence of England. England had a significant Jewish community at the time, and one that produced Torah literature, and whose Jews spoke the same language (Judeo-French). It is less likely he visited it as Rashi was not know for travelling (unlike some Torah scholars), and it appears he spent his life in the area that is the border between France (which existed at the time) and Germany (which did not exist at the time).

    #1473475
    ubiquitin
    Participant

    He must have known about its existence given the Norman conquest that occured when he was a teenager .
    I highly doubt he ever visited .

    why dod you ask?

    #1473485
    Joseph
    Participant

    ubiq, did the 24 hour news cycle of the era report the Norman Conquest?

    #1473495
    akuperma
    Participant

    The 24 hour news cycle took a bit longer, but yes, the Norman Conquest was well known. It was big news.

    #1473492
    ubiquitin
    Participant

    did the 24 hour news cycle of the era report the Norman Conquest?

    If by 24 hour news cycle you mean the 24 hours of town crier news over the course of the year, then yes without question much of it was devoted to local affairs and the exploits of their nearby relatives.
    I’m not saying he knew the details of the going ons of the Chinese Song dynasty (though didint he have ruach hakodesh?) but it is hard to imagine he didnt know of local events. Troyes, is not far from normandy Where William ruled.

    #1473517
    frum not crum
    Participant

    In honor of Purim, i have a question to add to this conversation.

    If Rashi ate fish in Worms, why can’t we eat worms in fish?

    #1473539
    akuperma
    Participant

    ubiquitin and joseph: The “town crier” didn’t do news. It was more for public service announcements (remember to pay taxes this week, remember to make an eruv tavshillin, etc.). People wrote books, sometimes works of art (the famous Bayeux tapestry), letters were sent. The “new cycle” took years but word got through. The Chinese probably were unaware of western Europe, in part since the area was a bit too primitive to interest them (though the Chinese routinely were in contact with the Muslims and to a lesser extent with the remaining Romans in whatg we call the Byzantine Empire). England and France were well connected, and for much of the medieval period the “big story” was one trying to conquer the other (Jews were illegal aliens in both countries, and we stayed out of politics as best we could).

    #1473658
    GAON
    Participant

    I assume he surely knew about its existence. There were many Baalei Tosfos that lived in England. e.g. רבינו יעקב מאורליינש, משה בן רבינו יום טוב מלונדריש רבינו, there is a chibur named תוספות חכמי אנגליה.

    According to some, the אבן עזרא is buried in England or at least visited England at some point. If the Ibn Ezra who came from Spain was able to travel to England, I’m sure Rashi who lived in France had at least knowledge…

    #1473831
    GAON
    Participant

    “If Rashi ate fish in Worms”

    The only problem – how do we really know Rash ate fish?

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