Vivelin of Strasbourg explained

Vivelin of Strasbourg^[1] (d. after 1347) was an Alsatian Jewish financier in the 14th century, presumably one of the richest persons within the Holy Roman Empire in that time.^[2] He lived in Strasbourg and primarily dealt with the Archbishop of Trier, Baldwin of Luxembourg, but also with the King of England, Edward III, as he led a consortium that lent 140,000 florins to Edward III on the eve of the Hundred Years' War, in 1339.^[3]

He is not found in documents after 1347, and might have died during the Strasbourg pogrom of 1349, which saw almost 2,000 people being burned alive at the stake.

Further reading

• Book: Mentgen, Gerd . Herausragende jüdische Finanziers im mittelalterlichen Straßburg . Hochfinanz im Westen des Reiches, 1150–1500 . Friedhelm . Burgard . Trier . Trierer Historische Forschungen . 1996 . 75–100 . 3-923087-30-6 . de . https://books.google.com/books?id=6lKzAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA75 .

Notes and References

1. He was also known as “Latin: Vivelin Rufus” (Latin), “French: Vivian le Rous” (French), or “German: Vivelin der Rote” (German), which all means “Vivelin the Red”.
2. Book: Mentgen, Gerd . Die Strassburger Juden Vivelin der Rote und Simon von Deneuvre: Bankiers europäischer Fürsten im 14. Jahrhundert . Porträt einer europäischen Kernregion: Der Rhein-Mass-Raum in historischen Lebensbildern . Franz . Irsigler . Gisela . Minn . 2005 . Trier . Kliomedia . 131–137 . 3-89890-087-8 . de.
3. London, The National Archives, Public Record Office, C 67/17, m 3.