The Painful History of the Jews in England: Immigration, Persecution and Liberation – 2
■ Ibrahim Sediyani
– continued from last chapter –
■ THE MAIN SOURCE OF HOSTILITY TO THE JEWS: VATICAN
As early as 1198, Pope Innocent III or with real name Lotario dei Conti di Segni (1161 – 1216) in the Vatican had written a letter to all Christian princes, including King Richard I the Lionheart (1157 – 99) of England, calling for forgiveness of all usury that Jews were demanding from Christians. This anti-Semitic decision will make the existence of the Jewish community impossible. (73)
The next King of England, John (1166 – 1216), who ascended to the throne on 27 May 1199, a year after this decision, made extensive use of York Castle during his reign, using the castle as his personal domain for his own security. During this time the castle was kept in good condition. During this period, the first records of the castle’s use as a dungeon appear, with reference to prisoners taken during John’s Irish Campaigns at York Castle. By the 13th century there was a well-established system of castellans, who were granted various lands around York in exchange for the provision of knights and crossbowmen to help guard the castle. (74)
In England, the secular power soon followed the initiative of the church. The new King of England, John, who was indebted to the Jewish community when he was Lord of Ireland, was at first – only ostensibly so – tolerant of the Jews. He approved the charter of Rabbi Josce of London (? – ?) and his sons and made it valid for all Jews in England. He wrote a stern warning to the Mayor of London against the constant attacks on Jews in that city alone, of all cities in England. On July 12, 1199, Jacob was reappointed chief rabbi of all the Jews of England. (75)
The “mechanism of exploitation of Jews”, which was more systematized during the reign of the previous king of England Richard I, was also continued by the new king of England John. John’s first act was to pardon Richard Malebysse (1155 – 1209), the ringleader of the Jewish Massacre in the city of York nine years earlier, and return his property. Two years later, on April 10, 1201, he published a new document for the Jews of England and Normandy, making use of old statutes, especially those of his grandfather Henry I Beauclerc (1068 – 1135). (76) These privileges cost the Jews in the region 4000 Marks in taxes. (77)
On the other hand, King John of England did not refrain from repeating his “sensitivity” to maintaining internal peace. In 1203, he instructed the Londoners, “If we have offered peace even to a dog, it will be inviolably preserved.” (78)
On July 15, 1205, Pope Innocent III ruled that the Jews were condemned to eternal slavery for crucifying Jesus. (79)
However, the capture of Normandy by France in 1206 was a significant loss for England as well as for Anglo-Jews. This region has been very important politically, culturally and linguistically since the Jews settled in England. Jews who first came to England from this region have always maintained their ties with this place. As a matter of fact, like the English nobles, the Jews of England had an Anglo-Norman character. However, after the loss of Normandy, it became difficult for them to do business on both sides of the Channel. Moreover, from now on, local religious scholars on the Island came to the fore and had to find solutions to religious problems with their own means. Because Jews were prohibited from consulting continental scholars. (80)
With the loss of Normandy, a new spirit seems to have come to King John of England’s attitude towards the Jews in his country. As the country’s administration deteriorated economically, John again targeted the Jews. After the Irish Campaign in 1210, he started a massive Jewish persecution in the country and had most of them arrested and then tortured in order to collect 66,000 Marks of tax. During these tortures, some Jews even said “yes” to the requested amount in order to escape immediately after being released. The Jews who left England during this period were able to return only in the first years of Henry III of Winchester (1207 – 72)’s reign. One account of the tortures is striking and horrifying: At the height of his victory over the Pope, King John passed a law in 1210 demanding at least 100,000 Sterlings (£) from religious institutions in England and 66,000 Marks (DM) from the Jews. One of the runners-up, Abraham of Bristol (? – ?), who refused to pay his quota of 10,000 marks, had, by the king’s orders, seven teeth pulled out, one every day, until he was ready to vomit. The king ordered that Abraham of Bristol, who objected to the tax demanded from him, had one molar tooth removed every day. The Jew in question resisted this for seven days, that is, until his seven teeth were removed, but when it was time for his eighth tooth, he agreed to pay. (81)
The outbreak of civil war soon made the situation of the Jews in England even more difficult. The barons, who were opponents of the king, attacked the Jews both to get rid of their debts and because they saw them as agents of the king. As a matter of fact, Jews were one of the first targets of the rebels who occupied the capital London on May 17, 1215. This time, the looted houses were demolished and their stones were used to repair the city walls. (82)
■ FROM 1215 “MAGNA CARTA” TO 1275 “STATUTUM DE JUDAISMO”
Although King John (1166 – 1216) of England gained as much as possible from the Jewish community, the triangular struggle between king, barons, and burgesses that formed the constitutional history of England during his and his son’s reign was an important element on his side. Even the “Magna Carta Libertatum” (Great Charter of Libertatum), signed on June 15, 1215 and known simply as “Magna Carta”, contained articles that prevented Jewish subjects from obtaining interest during the period when there were few heirs. (83)
With the accession of Henry III of Winchester (1207 – 72) on October 28, 1216, the situation of the Jews improved slightly, but only for a short time. Jews also benefited from the peaceful environment experienced throughout the country in the early periods of Henry’s long reign. (84) The imprisoned Jews were released and at least some of their property was returned. In fact, in order to prevent the repetition of previous events, each city where Jews were located was asked to choose 24 cities as guarantors. As a result of these positive developments, some of the Jews who emigrated from the country during the reign of the previous king, John, returned to England. (85)
However, despite all these short-term relative improvements, there were no “peaceful days” for the Jews in England and they would never come. The “Fourth Lateran Council” (Concilium Lateranense Quartum), held in Rome, the capital of Italy, in November 1215, contained remarkable provisions against the Jews. The most important of these decisions was a kind of “obligation to wear a badge” that had never been implemented before in the Christian world. The council placed restrictions on Jews mixing with Christians and required the wearing of distinctive clothing, such as tabula or Jewish badges. (86) These decisions were adopted in England. It began to be implemented in England in 1218, three years after the decision, and Jews were required to wear a certain sign in a visible part of their outer clothing. (87)
Stephen Langton (1150 – 28), Archbishop of Canterbury, was the first to put this decision into action in England. The badge took the form of a rectangular white patch two fingers long and four fingers long. The action of the church was followed by similar practices of the English counties. (88) Apart from this, Jews in England were prohibited from employing Christian servants, entering churches, storing their goods there, and building new synagogues. The priests of the parishes in which they resided were ordered to pay tithes not only on their real estate but also on interest income. (89)
In 1222, Stephen Langton, Archbishop of Canterbury, convened the Synod of Oxford, which passed a set of laws prohibiting Jews from building or owning new synagogues or mixing with Christians in England. (90) (synod: assembly of priests)
Church leaders made the first allegations of “ritual child sacrifices, such as the crucifixion, to mock Jesus” at Easter, and the accusations began to develop themes of conspiracy and occult practices. King Henry III supported the claims made against the Jews of Lincoln after the death of a boy named Hugh (1246 – 55), soon to be known as Little Saint Hugh. (91) Such stories coincided with the rise of hostility towards Jews within the church. (92)
Despite these pressures, the situation of the Jews was relatively good. But, as in every period when money was needed in the country, King Henry III knocked on the doors of the Jews. It is reported that he fell into an economic bottleneck as a result of his fondness for art and unsuccessful wars. Since Henry III came of age and took control personally in 1227, the amount of taxes collected in the ten years reached 65,000 Marks. However, this figure was approximately four times the tax collected in the previous decade. Apart from this, this figure increased even more with the indirect taxes collected by deleting the interest of the debts of the army members who went on campaign in 1230 to the Jews, and the principal of some of them. (93) Not only that, a “Papacy decree” stating that no interest could be charged from a Crusader was implemented. Even those who donate money instead of going in person are also included in this scope. These decisions, which paralyzed the commercial activities of the Jews, inevitably caused interest rates to rise. (94) On the other hand, during the same period, restrictions were imposed on them regarding travel and settlement. For example, in 1234, the King ordered the sheriff of Warwickshire to prevent Jews from living in places where they were not allowed. He gave similar instructions to the sheriff of Buckinghamshire in 1235 and to the sheriff of Northamptonshire in 1237. (95)
The rumor of “ritual murders” during the same period was another issue that challenged the Jews. It has been claimed that the Jews circumcised a Christian boy in Norwich, named him Jurnin, and then kept him to mock the crucifixion of Jesus. After a meticulous search, the boy’s father found his son and, with the support of Bishop William de Rele (? – ?), provoked the people against the Jews. After the trial, four Jews were found guilty and were first dragged behind horses and then executed in the city square. (96)
For this reason petitions were sent to the king many times to remove Jews from the counties, and Jews were expelled from Bury St. Edmunds in 1190, from Newcastle in 1234, from Wycombe in 1235, from Southampton in 1236, from Berkhamsted in 1242 and from Newbury in 1244. (97) Simon de Montfort (1208 – 65), 6th Earl of Leicester, issued an edict in 1231 to expel the Jewish population from Leicester “in my time, or in the time of any of my heirs, and until the end of the world.” He justified his action “for the sake of my soul, the souls of my ancestors and my successors.” (98) Jews seem to have sought refuge in suburbs outside His control at that time.
King Henry III of England had built the Domus Conversorum in London in 1232 to help convert Jews to Christianity, and efforts intensified after 1239. By the late 1250s (99), as many as 10% of England’s Jews had converted, largely due to deteriorating economic conditions (100).
In 1244, a body of a Christian child was found in St. Benedickt’s Cemetery in the capital London, with writings thought to be Hebrew written on his legs, arms and chest. It was thought that the article was an insult to Christianity and it was speculated that the child might also have been crucified. The incident was interpreted as a “ritual murder” that was believed to have been committed before. Following the tensions that followed, many Jews fled London. Meanwhile, the body in question was buried by the authorities of St. Paul’s Church and various miracles were told about it. (101)
The Papacy continued to develop its theological commitment to Judaism and restrictions on Jews. A number of Benedictine orders in England expressed particular hostility towards Jews or sought to profit from them. For example, fictional stories of Jewish ritual murders emerged from Benedictine monasteries that apparently attempted to establish rival local cults. In Worcester, Bishop William de Blois (? – 1236) pushed for tighter restrictions on Jews and wrote a letter to Pope Gregorio IX or with real name Ugolino dei Conti di Segni (1170 – 1241). In the letter, he asked him to help enforce discrimination between Jews and Christians, including badges and bans on Christians who worked for Jews, especially in their homes. (102)
The value of the Jewish community to the royal treasury had decreased significantly in the 13th century due to two circumstances: the king’s income from other sources had steadily increased, and Jewish contributions had decreased both in absolute and relative terms. In addition, the king found other sources from which he could get loans Italian merchants, called “the Pope’s usurers”, occasionally provided him with money for the security of the Jews. The narrowing of the area in which Jews were allowed to carry out their lending activities reduced their means of profit, while the king prevented the automatic increase in interest through his permanent tribute. By the mid-13th century, Jews in England, like Jews on the continent, had become property of the king. There seemed to be no limit to the tributes he could impose on them, but it was clearly contrary to his own interest to deprive them entirely of capital; without this capital, they would not be able to earn interest for him. (103)
King Henry III’s massive financial pressure on the Jews forced them to repay their debts through bond sales, fueling anti-Jewish resentment. (104) Taxation of 20,000 Marks in 1241, £40,000 in 1244, and twice £50,000 in 1250 meant that the taxation in 1240 – 55 was three times that collected in 1221 – 39. When cash payments could not be met, the bonds were confiscated for a price well below their value, which resulted in the land wealth being transferred to the courtiers. (105) Jewish bonds were purchased and used by wealthier barons and members of Henry III’s royal circle as a means of seizing land from lesser landowners through payment defaults. (106)
Discontent grew further as the Crown destabilized the loans and debt market. Loans were often secured by bonds that gave the lender the right to acquire the borrower’s lands. Interest rates were relatively high and borrowers were often late in paying their due dates. However, repayments and actual interest paid were subject to negotiation, and it was unusual for a Jewish lender to foreclose on debts. (107) Because the Jews were overtaxed by the Crown, they were forced to sell debt bonds at discounted prices to raise cash quickly. The discounted bonds would be purchased by wealthy courtiers, who could then redeem the loans and claim the lands securing the loans. (108) This resulted in the transfer of landed wealth by indebted knights and others, especially from the 1240s onwards. Because the taxes imposed on the Jews were unsustainably high. (109) Leaders such as Simon de Montfort, 6th Earl of Leicester, later used anger over the dispossession of middle-ranking landowners to fuel anti-Semitic violence in London (where 500 Jews died), Worcester, Canterbury, and many other towns. (110)
King Henry III passed the “Statute of Jewry” in 1253, which sought to halt the building of synagogues and reinforce the wearing of Jewish badges (instead of imposing fines). (111) The ban on Christian servants working for Jews was to reduce the “risk” of sexual contact, which was also prohibited. The extent to which this charter was actually implemented by Henry III remains unclear. (112) The laws themselves followed the existing statements of the Catholic Church. (113)
Jews, who were accustomed to being asked for taxes from time to time, were faced with a very heavy tax demand of one third of their income in 1253. The king was not satisfied with this and threatened to exile all Jews who did not serve him in some way and closed many synagogues. Additionally, it was re-emphasized that all male Jews must wear their badges visibly. Jews were prohibited from entering churches and chapels unless necessary. In 1254, while Henry was in continental Europe, his brother, Richard of Cornwall (1209 – 72), collected a ransom of 10,000 Marks from the Jews. Richard, who wanted to be king, demanded this tax when he had difficulty in covering his expenses. (114)
The taxes required during this period were heavy. The king was greedy and imposed heavy taxes without mercy. So much so that later on, the Jews even used their jewelry to pay these taxes. (115) Due to the deterioration of the conditions, the Jews came together in 1254 and sent a delegation led by Elias ben Moses (? – ?) of London to Prince Richard, stating that they wanted to leave the country: “Our Lord, we see clearly that the King intends to wipe us out from under heaven. We ask in the name of God to allow us to leave here safely, never to return, leaving our homes and belongings, so that we may settle in another country under a merciful king.” In the face of their request, the British authorities did not allow it, saying, “Where will you go, you poor creatures?” (116) In 1255, when the King demanded a large amount of tax from them again (8000 Marks), the Jews once again expressed that they wanted to leave and stated that Italian bankers could take their place. But they still did not receive a positive response. (117)
Many anti-Semitic rumors circulated in the 1230s and 50s, including stories of “child sacrifice”. (118) Among these, there is also the story of “Little Saint Hugh of Lincoln” in 1255, which we briefly mentioned above. (119) The incident is considered particularly significant as it was the first charge sanctioned by the Crown. (120) In August 1255, some prominent Jews gathered in Lincoln to celebrate the marriage of the daughter of the Torah tosafot Berechiah de Nicole (? – 1270) were arrested on charges of murdering an eight-year-old boy named Hugh. Allegedly, the Jews kidnapped the child and then informed the Jews in other cities to hold a ceremony in which the child would be crucified. As a matter of fact, it was claimed that the reenactment in question was performed afterwards, a crown of thorns was placed on the child’s head, and after torture, he was crucified and finally killed by a spear stuck in his heart. (121) It was claimed that although the Jews buried the child’s body, the soil threw it out and it was seen from the well near the house of a Jew named Copin (? – ?). Meanwhile, those looking for the child heard that he was last seen entering that Jew’s house. (122) While the child’s body was greeted as a “martyr” and buried in Lincoln Church, Copin, who was accused of preparing the ritual in question, confessed his crime and said that other Jews were also aware of it. Copin was subsequently tied to the back of a horse and dragged to death. Another 91 Jews, who were thought to be accomplices, were taken to London for trial and 18 of them were executed. (123)
The property of those executed was expropriated by the Crown. In February 1255, King Henry III mortgaged the Jewish community to his brother Richard of Cornwall for 5000 Marks and lost all rights for a year. (124) Thus, Henry III could not receive any income from here except in cases of execution. (125)
The story was memorialized in later English literature and entered popular folk culture through a contemporary ballad. This was reported as fact in the book “History of the Worthies of England”, written by the English historian and Christian clergyman Thomas Fuller (1608 – 61) and published a year after his death (1662). (126)
In the late 1250s, as Henry III did not have full control over the government, the barons sought restrictions on the resale of Jewish bonds. Jewish loans became a motivating factor in the subsequent war. The excessive Jewish taxation, anti-Semitic laws and propaganda policies that Henry III implemented until 1258 caused a very important and negative change. (127)
Although the level of debt to Jewish moneylenders in the 1260s was actually lower than in the 1230s, Henry III’s policies caused the landed classes to fear that their debts to Jews would result in them being deprived of the land they had used to secure the loans. One of the factors that contributed to this was the excessive taxation of the Jews and forcing them to collect them regardless of the circumstances. The other was the king’s support for courtiers and relatives who purchased Jewish loans to seize land from those who could not pay their debts. These were the fears that Simon de Montfort and his supporters used to gain support for their rebellion. (128) During Henry III’s civil war with the barons, Jews could not avoid being targets again. In particular, the son of the same name of Simon de Montfort, the great enemy of the Jews in Provence and the Cathars in the Languedoc, took the lead in these attacks. The opponents, led by Simon de Montfort, identified Jews as the first target in every city they entered, and took particular care to destroy business records. Henry de Montfort (1238 – 65), one of Simon’s sons, followed in the footsteps of his father and grandfather and plundered the Jews in Kingston. Similar attacks occurred in Canterbury, Worcester, Lincoln, Bristol and Bedford. (129) With the outbreak of the barons’ war, drastic measures were taken to eliminate all traces of indebtedness to the king or high barons. Between 1263 and 1265, Jews in London, Canterbury, Northampton, Winchester, Cambridge, Worcester and Lincoln were plundered and the archives (official records chests) were either destroyed or left at the barons’ headquarters at Ely. (130)
Simon de Montfort, who had expelled the Jews from the town of Leicester in 1231, at the height of his power after the Battle of Lewes (14 May 1264), canceled the debts and interest of about 60 people, including those held by the baron’s supporters, to the Jews. (131) Montfort was accused of sharing the spoils, but after the battle he issued an edict for their protection. (132) However, his closest allies, including his two sons, had led the violence and killings, so it seems implausible to see him as unaware of the possible consequences of the campaign. Anti-Semitism reached its peak after the barons’ “Lewes victory” in May 1264. During Montfort’s short rule, many Jewish assets were confiscated, their synagogues were entered and many of them were massacred. (133)
During this period, Crown Prince Edward I Longshanks (1239 – 1307), who would later become the King of England, was disturbed by another problem that arose as a result of the activities of the Jews. The lands of many nobles, to whom they lent money and whose economic affairs were disrupted, passed into the hands of larger nobles, thus increasing the power of the large barons. Prince Edward, whose influence in the government increased after the civil war, prepared a reform that would please the minor barons, together with his brother Edmund Crouchback (1245 – 96), in order to preserve the power of the monarchy. Thus, the “Jewish Provisions”, delivered to the Ministry of Finance by Walter de Merton (1205 – 77), Bishop of Rochester, in January 1269, became law. According to this; Jews were prohibited from giving loans against land collateral, and the land collateral in existing loans was also cancelled. This decision naturally constituted a major obstacle to the usury activities of the Jews. (134)
When Henry de Montfort died and the rebels were defeated, King Henry III’s policy was reversed and the debts were repaid as best he could. However, Henry III’s financial situation was very weak and he wanted to continue the Crusade he tried to start in the 1250s. Parliament refused to comply with this law without a law restricting the misuse of Jewish finances, especially by Christians. In 1269 Henry III agreed to impose limits on standing fee rents, to end the sale of Jewish loans to Christians without royal permission, and to ban the charging of interest on loans purchased by Christians. These were grievances that helped fuel a wider crisis from 1239 onwards. In 1271 he accepted the ban on Jews owning freehold land and ordered the previous law to be reinstated. (135) However, these policies would not be sufficient to allay wider fears that would quickly re-emerge under the next king, Edward I.
The next King of England, Edward I Longshanks, who ascended the throne on November 20, 1272, immediately revealed his policy regarding the Jews after becoming king. He did not like Jews for both religious and economic reasons. Having lost hope of fighting against Muslims, his “Crusader spirit” directed him to the Jews. (136) The most important reason for this hatred is that he is a religious man. The promise he made after a shipwreck in 1266 has been suggested as the reason for his piety. He founded a monastery for the Cistercians and was sensitive about visiting holy places. He took a close interest in the mendicant sects, especially the Dominicans, and was greatly influenced by them. (137)
He took steps in this regard in the first years of his reign. While returning from the Crusade in late 1274, he visited his mother, Queen Eleanor of Castile (1241 – 90), in early 1275, and during this visit, his mother asked her son to expel the Jews from the feudal territories. Accepting this, Edward implemented the said decision on January 12, 1275 and ordered the Jews in Marlborough, Gloucester and Worcester, who were dependent on the queen, to be transferred to other cities. (138)
During the 1270s and 1280s, Queen Eleanor accumulated vast lands and estates in the process, causing widespread resentment and conflict with the church, which viewed her acquisitions as profiting from usury. (139) By 1275, as a result of punitive taxation, the crown had eroded the wealth of the Jewish community to the extent that taxes were yielding little return. (140)
King Edward I Longshanks of England is known for his violence against the Welsh and Scots, but his “reputation” regarding the Jews is less well known. (141) This has been a point of contention for scholars of Jewish history who see a “blind spot” in general historical works that fail to account for their actions and biases. (142) But to his contemporaries his “reputation” was remarkable, and the events of “Expulsion” were seen even in a global context. For example, in the “Commendaatio Lamentabilis” dedicated to him after his death and widely distributed, he was said to be superior to the Egyptian Pharaohs in expelling the Jews. (143)
It can be said that King Edward I of England was the first British monarch to use “Antisemitism” as a tool of government policy. Before his reign, kings generally sought to preserve their ability to tax Jews, thus taking action to limit violence and other attacks against them. Antisemitism had been used by opponents of the crown rather than the crown itself, but during Edward I’s reign Antisemitism was deliberately deployed in the interests of the English state and developed as a “state policy”. (144) Edward I began taking measures designed to focus discontent on the Jews or gain credit for acting against them; most importantly, through “coin toss” allegations that label the entire Jewish community as criminals. (145) He also appears to have a strong interest in specific actions taken against Jews, such as alleged “blasphemy by Jews”.
There is disagreement about the motivations behind some of King Edward I’s actions. There is a tendency among some English historians to view some of Edward’s actions as purely fiscally motivated, including the “Expulsion”, which could be seen primarily as a concession granted to Parliament in exchange for taxation grants. This tends to be the conventional wisdom among British historians (146), but it risks underestimating (147) his own “sincere religious bigotry” (148), especially when considering other actions taken towards expulsion.
However, this point of view is nothing more than an attempt by British historians to whitewash British history and the United Kingdom state. Therefore, this approach has a completely nationalist feeling and is far from scientific. As a matter of fact, it is a political approach.
Other topics of discussion include the authenticity of Edward I’s attempts to convert Jews to Christianity or to provide them with alternative employment rather than loans when usury was banned. These can be interpreted as “unilateral positive steps” or “cynical actions” that are sure to fail. Since there is no documentary record of this, other than official statements and justifications, it is impossible to know what Edward I had in mind. Because we were not living at that time and we were not there either. However, since British academics tell stories as if they were with Edward when all these events were happening and try to exonerate the state, we need to ask them about this too. I’m sure they even knew what Edward I was thinking. As a matter of fact, there is nothing they do not know, and “scientific history” is whatever British academics advocate.
King Edward I’s restrictions on Jews came as church leaders, including Hereford bishops Thomas de Cantilupe (1218 – 82) and Richard de Swinefield (? – 1317), campaigned for tougher measures against Jewish communities. In this they were supported by the Vatican, which, throughout his reign, introduced increasingly harsh calls to separate Jews from non-Jews by requiring the wearing of Jewish badges and restricting social contact.
Jews were mostly expelled from some towns where they had been for a long time. With Edward I’s permission, they were expelled from his mother Eleanor’s dowry lands in January 1275; these included towns such as Marlborough, Gloucester, Cambridge and Worcester. Other local expulsions took place in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Warwick, Wycombe (1234), Northamptonshire (1237), Newbury (1243), Derby (1261), Romsey (1266), Winchelsea (1273), Bridgnorth (1274) and Windsor (1283). Jews were prohibited from entering any of the new North Wales boroughs created by Edward I under the town charter. (149)
Beginning in the 1270s, the Crown accelerated land acquisition from indebted English landowners by forcing the sale of debt bonds held by Jews. Since the early 1200s, the Jewish community had been taxed far beyond its means, resulting in a decrease in the capital that a small number of wealthy Jewish moneylenders had to support their debts. Jews were also not allowed to retain land assets. Bonds relating to lands could be sold to compensate for a defaulted debt. Continued excessive taxes would force Jewish lenders to sell their bonds very cheaply to free up their capital to be purchased by Edward I and Queen Eleanor. Access to the purchase of Jewish bonds was essentially a form of royal patronage. (150)
By the 1270s, this left the Jewish community in a desperate situation, while Edward, Eleanor, and several others acquired larger new estates. However, his contemporaries thought that the problem was caused by “Jewish usury”, which contributed to the rise of anti-Semitic beliefs. Eleanor’s involvement in “Jewish usury” and the expropriation of middle-class landowners led to her criticism from both members of the landed class and the church. A splendid example of a property purchased cheaply can be seen in the bequest of Leeds Castle by Admiral William de Leybourne (1242 – 1310) to Edward and Eleanor, which became a favorite residence. (151)
Discontent with these transactions arose and was fed by political demands from the landed classes for both financial and social restrictions on Jews. Concerns were also taken into account by the church; The Archbishop of Canterbury, John Peckham (1230 – 92), wrote to him to warn him not to “purchase the lands which the Jews, under the protection of the Royal Court, had usurped from the Christians.” (152)
Edward returned from the Crusades in 1274, just two years after becoming King of England. In 1275 he issued some experimental decrees. The Church laws against usury had recently been reiterated more fervently than ever at the “Second Council of Lyon” (1274), and in the “Statutum de Judaismo” (Statute of the Jewry) it strictly forbade Jews to lend money through usury, but allowed them to lend money to them: Engaging in trade and handicrafts and even seizing farms for a period not exceeding ten years, but expressly excluding them from all feudal advantages of landed property. (153)
However, this permission to own land, which was generally seen as a way for Jews to earn a living, was misleading. Farming cannot be started at once, nor can handicrafts be acquired at once. Moreover, by the 13th century in England, guilds already had a monopoly on all skilled labor, and in most markets only members of the “Guild Merchant” could buy and sell. (154)
King Edward I of England adopted the “Statutum de Judaismo” (Statute of the Jewry) in 1275, restricting the activities of the Jewish community. Most importantly, it banned the practice of usury (charging interest). According to the law; if those who continue to engage in usury cannot collect their receivables, the pledged lands will not be allowed to be seized and the Crown will not assist in the collection of the receivable. (155)
The regulation did not cancel existing loans but changed their terms. According to this; As of October 13, 1275, no additional interest will be added to existing loans, and the principal can be collected with the interest accumulated until that date. (156)
The first major step towards the expulsion of Jews from Britain was taken with the “Statute of the Jewry” (Statutum de Judaismo) in 1275. The statute prohibited loans at interest and allowed Jews to rent land, which was previously prohibited. This right was granted for the next 15 years, supposedly giving Jews a period of time to readjust. (157) But this was an unrealistic expectation. Especially since access to other jobs is generally restricted. (158) Edward I also attempted to “convert” the Jews by forcing them to listen to Christian preachers. (159)
By depriving Jews of usury, King Edward I of England was effectively preventing them from earning a living under the living conditions then existing in feudal England. In principle, the “Statute of the Jewry” deported them fifteen years before their final deportation.
Some Jews tried to evade the law by lending money in exchange for goods to be purchased.
Others attended the “Domus Conversorum”, a residence camp in London for Jews who had converted from Judaism to Christianity (all of them converted, of course, as a result of persecution and oppression).
Some of them left the country.
– will continue –
FOOTNOTES:
(73): Isidore Singer, The Jewish Encyclopedia, volume 5, Joseph Jacobs, “England”, p. 161 – 174, Funk & Wagnalls Publishing, New York 1903
(74): İbrahim Sediyani, Güneş’in Batmadığı İmparatorluğa Mezopotamya Güneşi’ni Taşıyorum Viking Bilgelerin Desteğiyle – 11, Sediyani Seyahatnamesi, volume 15, chapter 11, England and Wales trip, 9 April 2024
(75): Isidore Singer, The Jewish Encyclopedia, volume 5, Joseph Jacobs, “England”, p. 161 – 174, Funk & Wagnalls Publishing, New York 1903
(76): Cecil Roth, A History of the Jews in England, p. 32, Clarendon Press, Oxford 1964
(77): James MacMullen Rigg, The Jews of England in the Thirteenth Century, The Jewish Quarterly Review, issue 15, p. 14, October 1902, https://www.jstor.org/stable/i263172
(78): Robin R. Mundill, The King’s Jews, p. 12, Continuum Publishing, London 2010
(79): Isidore Singer, The Jewish Encyclopedia, volume 5, Joseph Jacobs, “England”, p. 161 – 174, Funk & Wagnalls Publishing, New York 1903
(80): Cecil Roth, A History of the Jews in England, p. 34, Clarendon Press, Oxford 1964
(81): Roger of Hoveden, The Annals, Comprising The History of England and of Other Countries of Europe from AD 732 to AD 1201, volume 2, p. 117 – 119, H. G. Bohn Publishing, London 1853
(82): Cecil Roth, A History of the Jews in England, p. 36, Clarendon Press, Oxford 1964
(83): Isidore Singer, The Jewish Encyclopedia, volume 5, Joseph Jacobs, “England”, p. 161 – 174, Funk & Wagnalls Publishing, New York 1903
(84): James MacMullen Rigg, The Jews of England in the Thirteenth Century, The Jewish Quarterly Review, issue 15, p. 14, October 1902, https://www.jstor.org/stable/i263172
(85): Cecil Roth, A History of the Jews in England, p. 38, Clarendon Press, Oxford 1964
(86): David Wilkins, Concilia Magnae Britanniae et Hiberniae ab Anno MCCLXVIII ad Annum MCCCXLIX, volume 2, p. 591, S. T. P. Archidiacono Suffolciensi, et Canonico Cantuariensi Collecta, Concilia I. London, London 1737 / Isidore Singer, The Jewish Encyclopedia, volume 5, Joseph Jacobs, “England”, p. 161 – 174, Funk & Wagnalls Publishing, New York 1903 / Gerald Richardson, The English Jewry Under Angevin Kings, p. 179, Methuen & Co. Publishing, London 1960 / Joe Hillaby – Caroline Hillaby, The Palgrave Dictionary of Medieval Anglo-Jewish History, p. 364 – 365, Palgrave Macmillan Publishing, Basingstoke 2013
(87): David Wilkins, ibid / Gerald Richardson, ibid / Joe Hillaby – Caroline Hillaby, ibid
(88): Joseph Jacobs, ibid
(89): David Wilkins, ibid / Gerald Richardson, ibid
(90): Jewish History 1220 – 1229, Jewish History, https://web.archive.org/web/20210715173946/http://www.jewishhistory.org.il/history.php?startyear=1220
(91): Joe Hillaby – Caroline Hillaby, The Palgrave Dictionary of Medieval Anglo-Jewish History, p. 46 – 47, Palgrave Macmillan Publishing, Basingstoke 2013
(92): Gavin Langmuir, History, Religion and Antisemitism, p. 298, University of California Press, Berkeley 1990
(93): Cecil Roth, A History of the Jews in England, p. 43 – 44, Clarendon Press, Oxford 1964
(94): ibid, p. 53
(95): Robin R. Mundill, The King’s Jews, p. 15, Continuum Publishing, London 2010
(96): Matthew Paris, English History: From the Year 1235 – 1273, volume 1, p. 277, Henry G. Bohn Publishing, London 1852
(97): Isidore Singer, The Jewish Encyclopedia, volume 5, Joseph Jacobs, “England”, p. 161 – 174, Funk & Wagnalls Publishing, New York 1903
(98): John Robert Maddicott, Simon De Montfort, p. 15, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 1996 / Robin R. Mundill, England’s Jewish Solution, p. 265, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 2002 / Oliver D. Harris, Jews, Jurats and the Jewry Wall: A Name in Context, Transactions of the Leicestershire Archaeological and Historical Society, issue 82, p. 113 – 133, 2008, https://www.academia.edu/218466/Jews_jurats_and_the_Jewry_Wall_a_name_in_context
(99): Patricia Skinner, Jews in Medieval Britain, Robert C. Stacey, “The English Jews Under Henry III: Historical, Literary and Archaeological Perspectives”, p. 51, Boydell Press, Woodbridge 2003
(100): Joe Hillaby – Caroline Hillaby, The Palgrave Dictionary of Medieval Anglo-Jewish History, p. 48 – 49, Palgrave Macmillan Publishing, Basingstoke 2013
(101): Matthew Paris, English History: From the Year 1235 – 1273, volume 2, p. 21 – 22, Henry G. Bohn Publishing, London 1853
(102): Nicholas Vincent, Two Papal Letters on the Wearing of the Jewish Badge, 1221 and 1229, Jewish Historical Studies, issue 34, p. 209 – 210, 1994 – 96, https://www.jstor.org/stable/29779960
(103): Isidore Singer, The Jewish Encyclopedia, volume 5, Joseph Jacobs, “England”, p. 161 – 174, Funk & Wagnalls Publishing, New York 1903
(104): Richard Huscroft, Expulsion: England’s Jewish Solution, p. 93 – 96, Tempus Publishing, Stroud 2006
(105): Joe Hillaby – Caroline Hillaby, The Palgrave Dictionary of Medieval Anglo-Jewish History, p. 364 – 365, Palgrave Macmillan Publishing, Basingstoke 2013
(106): ibid, p. 52 – 53
(107): John Tolan, England’s Jews: Finance, Violence and the Crown in the Thirteenth Century, p. 140, University of Pennsylvania Press, Philadelphia 2023 / Paul Hyams, The Jewish Minority in Medieval England, 1066 – 1290, Journal of Jewish Studies, issue 25, p. 270 – 293, April 1974, https://www.liverpooluniversitypress.co.uk/doi/10.18647/682/JJS-1974
(108): Paul Hyams, ibid, p. 291
(109): John Carmi Parsons, Eleanor of Castile: Queen and Society in Thirteenth Century England, p. 123 and 149 – 151, St. Martin’s Press, New York 1995 / Marc Morris, A Great and Terrible King: Edward I and the Forging of Britain, p. 86, Windmill Books, London 2009 / Joe Hillaby – Caroline Hillaby, The Palgrave Dictionary of Medieval Anglo-Jewish History, p. 13 and 364, Palgrave Macmillan Publishing, Basingstoke 2013 / John Tolan, England’s Jews: Finance, Violence and the Crown in the Thirteenth Century, p. 140 and 170, University of Pennsylvania Press, Philadelphia 2023 / Paul Hyams, ibid
(110): Robin R. Mundill, England’s Jewish Solution, p. 41 – 42, Cambridge University Press Cambridge 2002
(111): Joe Hillaby – Caroline Hillaby, The Palgrave Dictionary of Medieval Anglo-Jewish History, p. 103, Palgrave Macmillan Publishing, Basingstoke 2013
(112): Patricia Skinner, Jews in Medieval Britain, Robert C. Stacey, “The English Jews Under Henry III: Historical, Literary and Archaeological Perspectives”, p. 51 – 52, Boydell Press, Woodbridge 2003
(113): Joe Hillaby – Caroline Hillaby, The Palgrave Dictionary of Medieval Anglo-Jewish History, p. 103, Palgrave Macmillan Publishing, Basingstoke 2013
(114): James MacMullen Rigg, The Jews of England in the Thirteenth Century, The Jewish Quarterly Review, issue 15, p. 15, October 1902, https://www.jstor.org/stable/i263172
(115): Matthew Paris, English History: From the Year 1235 – 1273, volume 2, p. 340, Henry G. Bohn Publishing, London 1853
(116): Matthew Paris, English History: From the Year 1235 – 1273, volume 3, p. 76, Henry G. Bohn Publishing, London 1854
(117): ibid, p. 114
(118): Richard Huscroft, Expulsion: England’s Jewish Solution, p. 96, Tempus Publishing, Stroud 2006
(119): Patricia Skinner, Jews in Medieval Britain, Robert C. Stacey, “The English Jews Under Henry III: Historical, Literary and Archaeological Perspectives”, p. 52, Boydell Press, Woodbridge 2003
(120): Richard Huscroft, Expulsion: England’s Jewish Solution, p. 102, Tempus Publishing, Stroud 2006
(121): Matthew Paris, English History: From the Year 1235 – 1273, volume 3, p. 138, Henry G. Bohn Publishing, London 1854
(122): ibid, p. 139
(123): ibid, p. 140
(124): Isidore Singer, The Jewish Encyclopedia, volume 5, Joseph Jacobs, “England”, p. 161 – 174, Funk & Wagnalls Publishing, New York 1903
(125): Joe Hillaby – Caroline Hillaby, The Palgrave Dictionary of Medieval Anglo-Jewish History, p. 656 – 657, Palgrave Macmillan Publishing, Basingstoke 2013
(126): Thomas Fuller, History of the Worthies of England, J. G. W. L. & W. G. Publishing, London 1662
(127): Richard Huscroft, Expulsion: England’s Jewish Solution, p. 102, Tempus Publishing, Stroud 2006
(128): Patricia Skinner, Jews in Medieval Britain, Robert C. Stacey, “The English Jews Under Henry III: Historical, Literary and Archaeological Perspectives”, p. 53, Boydell Press, Woodbridge 2003
(129): Cecil Roth, A History of the Jews in England, p. 61, Clarendon Press, Oxford 1964
(130): Isidore Singer, The Jewish Encyclopedia, volume 5, Joseph Jacobs, “England”, p. 161 – 174, Funk & Wagnalls Publishing, New York 1903
(131): Adrian Jobson, The First English Revolution: Simon de Montfort, Henry III and the Barons’ War, p. 132, Bloomsbury Publishing, London 2012 / Joe Hillaby – Caroline Hillaby, The Palgrave Dictionary of Medieval Anglo-Jewish History, p. 656 – 657, Palgrave Macmillan Publishing, Basingstoke 2013
(132): Charles Lethbridge Kingsford, Song of Lewes, p. 59 and 80, Clarendon Press, Oxford 1890 / Isidore Singer, The Jewish Encyclopedia, volume 5, Joseph Jacobs, “England”, p. 161 – 174, Funk & Wagnalls Publishing, New York 1903
(133): James MacMullen Rigg, The Jews of England in the Thirteenth Century, The Jewish Quarterly Review, issue 15, p. 16, October 1902, https://www.jstor.org/stable/i263172
(134): Cecil Roth, A History of the Jews in England, p. 65, Clarendon Press, Oxford 1964
(135): Joe Hillaby – Caroline Hillaby, The Palgrave Dictionary of Medieval Anglo-Jewish History, p. 53 – 55, Palgrave Macmillan Publishing, Basingstoke 2013
(136): Thomas Frederick Tout, Edward The First, p. 161, Macmillan & Co. Publishing, London 1893
(137): ibid, p. 69
(138): Robin R. Mundill, The Jewish Entries From the Patent Rolls, 1272 – 1292, Jewish Historical Studies, issue 32, p. 33, 1990 – 1992, https://www.jstor.org/stable/i29779876
(139): Joe Hillaby – Caroline Hillaby, The Palgrave Dictionary of Medieval Anglo-Jewish History, p. 13, Palgrave Macmillan Publishing, Basingstoke 2013
(140): Richard Huscroft, Expulsion: England’s Jewish Solution, p. 90 – 91, Tempus Publishing, Stroud 2006 / Joe Hillaby – Caroline Hillaby, ibid, p. 364 – 365
(141): Tony Kushner, The Jewish Heritage in British History, Colin F. Richmond, “Englishness and Medieval Anglo-Jewry”, p. 46, Frank Cass & Co. Publishing, London 1992
(142): ibid, p. 43 – 46
(143): Debra Higgs Strickland, Edward I, Exodus and England on the Hereford World Map, Speculum, issue 93, p. 455 – 456, April 2018, https://eprints.gla.ac.uk/130830/1/130830.pdf
(144): John Robert Maddicott – David Michael Pallister, The Medieval State: Essays Presented to James Campbell, Robert C. Stacey, “Anti-Semitism and the Medieval English State”, p. 163 – 177, Hambledon Press, London & Rio Grande 2000
(145): ibid, p. 165
(146): Patricia Skinner, Jews in Medieval Britain, Robin R. Mundill,, “Edward I and the Final Phase of Anglo-Jewry”, p. 56, Boydell Press, Woodbridge 2003
(147): Tony Kushner, The Jewish Heritage in British History, Colin F. Richmond, “Englishness and Medieval Anglo-Jewry”, p. 45, Frank Cass & Co. Publishing, London 1992
(148): Paul Hyams, The Jewish Minority in Mediaeval England (1066 – 1290), Journal of Jewish Studies, issue 25, p. 288, April 1974, https://www.liverpooluniversitypress.co.uk/doi/10.18647/682/JJS-1974
(149): Isidore Singer, The Jewish Encyclopedia, volume 5, Joseph Jacobs, “England”, p. 161 – 174, Funk & Wagnalls Publishing, New York 1903 / Alison Taylor, Cambridge: The Hidden History, p. 82, Tempus Publishing, Stroud 1999 / Joe Hillaby – Caroline Hillaby, The Palgrave Dictionary of Medieval Anglo-Jewish History, p. 141 – 143, Palgrave Macmillan Publishing, Basingstoke 2013
(150): Michael Prestwich – Richard H. Britnell – Robin Frame, Thirteenth Century England: Proceedings of the Durham Conference 1995, volume 6, Robert C. Stacey, “Parliamentary Negotiation and the Expulsion of the Jews from England”, p. 93 – 94, Boydell Press, Woodbridge 1997 / Joe Hillaby – Caroline Hillaby, ibid, p. 360 – 365
(151): Joe Hillaby – Caroline Hillaby, ibid, p. 13
(152): Marc Morris, A Great and Terrible King: Edward I and the Forging of Britain, p. 225, Windmill Books, London 2009
(153): Isidore Singer, The Jewish Encyclopedia, volume 5, Joseph Jacobs, “England”, p. 161 – 174, Funk & Wagnalls Publishing, New York 1903
(154): ibid
(155): All sources on the Statutum de Judaismo
(156): Paul Brand, Jews and the Law in England (1275 – 90), The English Historical Review, issue 115, p. 1140, November 2000, https://www.sfu.ca/~poitras/ehr_statute-of-jewry_00.pdf
(157): Michael Prestwich, Edward I, p. 345, Yale University Press, London & New Haven 1997
(158): Richard Huscroft, Expulsion: England’s Jewish Solution, p. 118 – 120, Tempus Publishing, Stroud 2006
(159): John Tolan, England’s Jews: Finance, Violence and the Crown in the Thirteenth Century, p. 172, University of Pennsylvania Press, Philadelphia 2023
SEDİYANİ HABER
15 JUNE 2024
