Kalonymos family
As Kalonymiden refers to a Jewish family originally from Lucca in Italy and later was resident in Provence and Germany.
An exact time when parts of the family unit moved to Germany, can not be clearly established. After the Thietmar of Merseburg Report rescued a Jew named Qalonymus life of Emperor Otto II in the Battle of Cape Colonna with the Saracens in 982 years from the 11th to the 13th century it was one of the leading Jewish families in Germany's Rhine region (Worms, Speyer and Mainz). Important religious and cultural leaders of the time were Kalonymiden. They were the most famous representative of German Hasidism. The representative of the family brought with Italian traditions into their new home. Probably they were the ones who introduced the Pijjut in the Jewish service in Germany. The first known Pajtan from the Family Association of Kalonymiden was Moshe ben Qalonymus whose work was the seventh day of Passover in several Jewish prayer books entrance.
Among its known members include:
- Qalonymus ben Yehuda,
- Qalonymus ben Moshe meLucca,
- Qalonymus ben Isaac,
- Samuel ben Kalonymus he- Hasid,
- Yehuda ben Samuel he- Hasid,
- Yehudah ben Moshe ben Qalonymus meMainz,
- Jehuda ben ben Meir Qalonymus meSpeyer and
- Eleazar ben Judah meWorms.
- Rabbi Meshullam ben Kalonymos to 1096 was head of the Jewish community in Mainz. As transpired that the Crusaders had committed pogroms against the Jews in France, he sent a messenger to the Emperor Henry IV to Italy, who then ordered all secular and ecclesiastical princes, to protect the Jews. Although most were trying to do the same, it still came to the first pogroms against Jews in Germany, known in the Jewish culture as Gezerot Tatnu.
A representative of the family from Provence is Kalonymus ben Kalonymus.