ANGERS

ANGERS (Heb. אנגיירש), capital of the Maine-et-Loire department, western France, and of the ancient province of anjou . Jews probably resided in Angers from the 12th century. They were expelled by Charles II in 1289. The Jews who evidently resettled in Angers during the 14th century became the victims of bloody persecutions and humiliating restrictions. In 1394, soon after Anjou was reunited with France (1390), the Jews of Angers were again expelled, with the rest of the Jews of the kingdom (see france ). Jews subsequently visited Angers on business, but in 1758 the municipal council prohibited them from entering the market. The present "Rue de la Juiverie," bordering on the modern part of the city, is not the site of the medieval Jewish quarter. A number of Hebrew inscriptions may be seen on four covings above the portal of the Cathedral of Angers, describing the attributes of the savior, taken mainly from Isaiah 9:5. In 1968 there were 250 Jews in Angers. -BIBLIOGRAPHY: Brunschvicg, in: REJ, 29 (1894), 229–41; Joubert and Delacroix, in: Société d'agriculture, science et arts d'Angers, Memoires (1854), 129 ff. (Bernhard Blumenkranz)