Disputed Messiahs: David Reuveni, Solomon Molkho, and Their Jewish and Christian Audiences

In the 1520s and 30s, two self-professed Jewish messiahs toured Europe and garnered wide attention among both Jews and Christians. What were their goals and background and who were their followers?

About the “Messiahs and Messianism” Series

Messianism in Jewish life has long been seen as both dynamic and threatening. But just who or what was a messiah in the eyes of Jews in antiquity? Did a messianic movement always stand in tension with normative Judaism? How were such figures received by non-Jews, and what traditions did Jews draw on for messianic narratives? This series delves into the history of Jewish messianic actors and thinkers, including famous and less familiar figures, from the first through the nineteenth centuries.

About the image above: Illustration from Account of a Journey from Venice to Palestine, Mount Sinai and Egypt (German, ca. 1467), British Library, Egerton 1900, courtesy of PublicDomainReview.org.