Mind-Benders of Jewish History
Rashi lived through the First Crusade
The commentary every cheder child learns was written by a man who lived to see the First Crusade sweep through the Rhineland in 1096, devastating the very communities of Ashkenaz he came from.
How we know
Rashi 1040–1105; the First Crusade reached the Rhineland in 1096, in his lifetime.
One of many fact-checked wonders across eight traditions at The Spring of Wisdom.