Crémieu

CRÉMIEU, village E. of Lyons, France. Remains of the medieval gate leading to the Rue Juiverie could still be seen in the middle of the 19^th century: the cemetery was near the Porte de Quirieu. The community apparently suffered during the *Black Death (1348–49): a Jew called Abraham "l'Espagnol" was imprisoned in Crémieu in 1349 and later brought to trial. A member of the community named Croissant contributed 500 francs of the total of 610 levied on the community in 1388. From 1441, the Jews began to move away; in 1449, to induce them to return, the Dauphin Louis appreciably reduced taxes, but failed to attract them back. From the 16^th century onward many Jews with the name Crémieu or Crémieux, Carmi, etc., resided in the area, especially in Carpentras, Avignon, and northern Italy.

Sources:Gross, Gal Jud, 261–3; F. Calvet-Rogniat, Crémieu ancien et moderne (1848), 35; R. Delachenal, Histoire de Crémieu (1889), 81ff.; P. Saint-Olive, La "Grande mortalité" en Bresse et en Bugey (1348–50) (1913), 10; Z. Szajkowski, Franco-Judaica (1962), index; Archives Juives, 4 (1967–68), 38.

[Bernhard Blumenkranz]