ABSTRACT
This chapter examines sacred space in papal Avignon and the Comtat Venaissin from medieval through modern times, with a focus on the escoles (synagogues) within the region's carrières (Jewish Quarters), illustrating Jews’ marginalized position throughout the time of the Ancien Régime. Stylistically these houses of worship combine Italian, French, and Provençal architectural and decorative traits, integrating religious traditions anchored in antiquity with various contemporary European Jewish customs. Of interest is how these synagogues reference earlier houses of worship, in the diaspora, but also in ancient Palestine, including the Jerusalem Temples and the biblical desert Tabernacle of the Israelites. Key to understanding women's role in worship is the unique spatial solution applied in these southern French synagogues, relegating them to dark, lower-level spaces. In contrast to their inferior status in the synagogue, clear signs of female agency suggest that Jewish women in these communities were breaking established gender hierarchies in other domains of devotional piety anchored in biblical legacies.
