Kalonymus ben Meshullam

Kalonymus Ben Meshullam was a French Jew of the Kalonymos family.

He was head of the Jewish community of Mainz at the time of the Rhineland massacres. He is said to have sent a messenger to King Henry IV in Italy, in consequence of which the king promulgated an order throughout his realm to the effect that the Jews were not to be molested. On 27 May 1096, however, Kalonymus, together with fifty-three others, who had taken refuge in the palace of Bishop Adalbert of Worms from the Crusaders, committed mass suicide rather than fall into the hands of the enemy during the Worms massacre.

References

 This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Singer, Isidore; et al., eds. (1901–1906). "Kalonymus ben Meshullam". The Jewish Encyclopedia. New York: Funk & Wagnalls.