11th century

In 1097 Troyes, France, fourteen-year-old Elvina reaches out to a shunned family of German Jews, eventually drawing her grandfather, Bible and Talmud scholar Solomon ben Isaac, into helping her new friend's cousin Ephraim, whose memories of the Crusaders' cruelty have driven him mad.

Elvina, the unusual granddaughter of renowned Jewish rabbi Solomon ben Isaac, who prefers studying and writing to activities considered respectable for girls, takes a great risk by helping a young boy who has run away from a group of Christian Crusaders in eleventh century Troyes, France.

Presents chronologically arranged primary and secondary source articles that examine some of the major political, social, and cultural events of the eleventh century.

Elvina, the unusual granddaughter of renowned Jewish rabbi Solomon ben Isaac, who prefers studying and writing to activities considered respectable for girls, takes a great risk by helping a young boy who has run away from a group of Christian Crusaders in eleventh century Troyes, France.