LECTUREIII.Inmy last lecture I brought down the history of the Jews in this country, to the death of Henry the Second. The reign of that monarch seems, upon the whole, especially when compared with subsequent reigns, not to have been very unfavourable to the prosperity of the Jews. They experienced the usual share of imprisonment, fine, and banishment, which does not seem to have much depressed their general state. From the nature of some of the fines, which I described to you on Friday evening last, we may infer the wealth and power of individuals amongst them. One Josce, it seems, was fined by the king for supplying the rebels in Ireland with large sums of money;another Jew was fined for taking in pawn the abbey plate ofSt.Edmundsbury. When the king intended to proceed to the Holy Land, after having made an agreement to the same effect with Philip Augustus, King of France, at the parliament held at Northampton in the year 1188, the Jews were commanded to supply nearly half the subsidy requisite for the undertaking—the Christians being taxed at £70,000, and the Jews at £60,000; and though this money was never levied, in consequence of a disagreement between the two kings, and Henry’s subsequent death, as I have alreadystated,1yet these are facts which clearly prove the flourishing state of the Jewish finances in England during this reign; and although the Jews had been frequently subjected to heavy pecuniary exactions under the reign of Henry the Second, still the vigorous administrationof that prince had shielded them from popular violence. They were still able to carry on their trades and their professions. In spite of the reports circulated by the monks, that the Jews were sorcerers (in consequence of their superior medical skill), Christian patients would frequent the houses of the Jewish physicians in preference to the monasteries, where cures were pretended to have been effected by some extraordinary relics, such as the nails ofSt.Augustine, the extremity ofSt.Peter’s second toe, the breath of our Lord, which Nicodemus secured in a glove, the feathers of the wings of the archangel Michael, and more such-like relics. I need hardly add that the cures effected by the Jewish physicians were more numerous than those by the monkish impostors.1– From Henry’s History of Great Britain, one would be led to believe that the “one hundred and thirty thousand pounds were raised.”—Vol. v.,p. 182.Andrews—who was evidently no friend to the Jews—in his continuation of Henry’s Britain, observes—“The partiality in favour of Jewish physicians was unaccountable, and probably ill-founded; yet Elizabeth chose to trust her health in the hands of the Hebrew,Rodrigo Lopez, rather than have recourse to many English students in medicine, of considerable abilities, who attended her court.” And in a note he adds—“The same fantastic preference had made FrancisI., when indisposed with a tedious complaint, apply to CharlesV.for an Israelite, who was the imperial physician. Accordingly, the person whom he sought for visited Paris; but the king, finding that he had been converted to Christianity, lost all confidence in his advice, and applied to his good ally, SolimanII., who sending him a true, hardened Jew, the monarch took his counsel, drank asses’ milk, andrecovered.”11–Vol. ii.,p. 63.When King Henry died, the Jews began to hope for better days. They were encouraged in their hopes by Richard’s conduct, who, after his return from Normandy—where he had been as prince—proclaimed liberty to all prisoners and captives, even to the greatest criminals. The coronation day,which was to take place in the beginning of the month of September,A.D.1189, was proclaimed by the intended king to be an universal day of joy; and to crown all, that year was believed by all Jews to have been one of their jubilees.All these circumstances conspired to flatter the oppressed Jews, and to raise their expectation that they also would experience mercy from the lion-hearted monarch, and led them to hope that together with this reign an era of better days would be introduced into the annals of their history in this country. But, alas! hope told them a flattering tale.From the accession of this sovereign to the throne, the Jews had to date in characters of blood the commencement of a new and most severe series of sufferings and outrages; their footsteps in this country from the days of Richard to the days of Edward the First—when they were finally banished—may be tracked by their blood; against them sympathy has been steeled, and for their rightsjustice has had no balances. So far has the bitterness of their affliction been from exciting commiseration, or their hopeless prostration from disarming cruelty, that however Norman, Saxon, Dane, and Briton may have differed in other respects, and however adverse they were to each other, they concurred in treading down the Jews, and contended which should look with greatest detestation upon a people whom it was accounted a point of religion to hate, to revile, to despise, to plunder, and to persecute.How truly was it said, that “except, perhaps, the flying fish, there was no race existing on the earth, in the air, or in the waters, who were the objects of such an unintermitting, general, and relentless persecution as the Jews of this period. Upon the slightest and most unreasonable pretences, as well as upon accusations the most absurd and groundless, their persons and property were exposed to popularfury.”11– Sir Walter Scott.It may not be uninstructive, however, to dwell on the history of the Jews in this realm during that period—though a dreary tale of woe—as it throws a great measure of light upon the national character of the people of this country, and the nature of its government during the dark ages of its annals; and if it be painful to you to hear of massacres, extortions, and persecutions perpetrated by your ancestors, upon a defenceless people, it is still a subject of congratulation that you are permitted to turn your eyes upon the improved state both of the persecuted and the persecutors—an idea which is naturally reflected from the opaque surface of these barbarous times with a luminous brightness, upon your own more happy epoch.RichardCœur de Lion, whose whole thoughts were engaged in the contemplated relief of the Holy Land, and the recovery of Jerusalem, seems to have regarded the Jews with feelings of especial antipathy, as being the determined and sworn enemies of a religionof which he professed himself so zealous a champion. The courtiers and the clergy, especially Baldwin, Archbishop of Canterbury, endeavoured to make the king believe that the Jews were in general sorcerers, and might possibly bewitch him if allowed to be present at his coronation. Actuated by these sentiments, and desirous, perhaps, to give proof of thesovereigncontempt he entertained towards the opponents of Christianity in general, Richard, as one of the first acts of his reign, caused a proclamation to be issued, the day before his inauguration, forbidding any woman or Jew to approach the palace during the ceremony of his coronation. Both women and Jews were considered by the ministers of the Church to practice sorcery andwitchcraft.11– Miss Strickland gives the following as a reason for the exclusion of women:—“As the etiquette of the queen-mother’s recent widowhood prevented her from sharing in this splendid festival, all women were forbidden to be present at its celebration.”—Queens of England,vol. i.,p. 373.The issuing of such a proclamation at the commencement of the reign, was an ill omen of the treatment which the Jews were to expect under the government of the new monarch. They were desirous, if possible, to reconcile the mind of the king, and with a view to this purpose, deputed some of the chief men from amongst them to carry rich presents tohim.1These persons, hoping that they would be protected by reason of the gifts of which they were the bearers—which, asDr.Tovey says, “were full worthy of his acceptance”—ventured to approach the courtyard of the palace at the time of the coronation, in order to crave leave of admittance, but the confluence pressing forward, they were, before they could obtain permission to enter, forced within the gates. The attendants who were stationed at the entrance, charged them with disobedience to the king’s command, and with blows forced them backinto the street. The mob who were assembled at the outside, when they saw what took place, raised a cry that the king desired the proclamation he had issued to be enforced, and forthwith fell upon such of the Jews as were mingled with the crowd, and beating them, many were severely wounded, some killed, and many were left half dead. A report was now quickly spread through the city that the king had ordered all the Jews to be put to death, for the disregard they had shown to his proclamation. The people lost no time in putting this supposed order into execution. The Jews were sought out by the populace in every quarter of the city, and wherever they were found, were slain without mercy. Many took refuge in their houses, and defended themselves with determined courage, till the rabble, whose fury was increased by the opposition they experienced, set fire to their houses and burned them to the ground, the Jews and their families perishing in the flames. The cruelties that were inflicted were so atrocious,that the more sober-minded citizens, who had in vain endeavoured to restrain the mob, sent information at length to the king of what was taking place. He was at the time seated at the banquet, but immediately gave directions to Randulph de Grandville, the Lord High Steward, to quell the tumult. This officer, taking with him some of the chief nobility, used his endeavours to put a stop to the outrage; but the populace would pay no regard to his authority, threatened him with violence, and compelled him to retire. No interference of the chief justice and his officers, whom the king had despatched to quell the tumult, availed, until the multitude were gorged with spoil, and tired with the labour of slaughter. The tumult continued during the whole night; the houses of all the Jews were plundered, and most of them burned, and it was not till the next day that an end was put to the proceedings, by a large force sent into the city by the king. A few of the most active of the rioters were apprehended, and three of them were afterwards executed;not, however, for the pillage and murder of the unfortunate Jews. One of them was hanged because he did notconfinehis villany to the Jews, but took advantage of the uproar to plunder the house of a Christian; and the other two—who also met with the same fate—because by setting fire to the house of a Jew they had exposed the dwellings of the neighbouring Christians to destruction. And we are further informed by another historian, “that the inquiry soon stopped, as many considerable citizens were involved in the guilt, and as the priests applauded the pious zeal which destroyed so many enemies to the Christianfaith.”21– Those who came from a distance must have been totally ignorant of the royal proclamation since it was only one day old.2– Noorthouck,p. 34.The celebrated Rabbi, Jacob of Orleans, was among the great number of Jews who were slain on this night; as appears from the following short notice of that awful event, by Rabbi♦Gedaliah ben Joseph Jachija, in hisShalsheleth Hakabbalah,fol. cxi.,col. i.:—“In the year 4930 [A.M.1190,A.D.] whenRichard became new king in the city of London, which is in England, our Rabbi, Jacob of Orleans, was put to death in glorification of God’s name, and many other Jews withhim.”1♦‘Gedeliah’ replaced with ‘Gedaliah’1– SeeAppendix A.The following circumstance, which occurred during that dreadful uproar, will give us some idea of the means which the Christian Church of that period employed in order to bring the Jews to a knowledge of salvation. Whilst animated by the above-mentioned mad frenzy and murderous rage, a Jew who was called Baruch (being interpreted, Benedict or Blessed), of York, was seized, and commanded to choose either to profess Christianity or to die immediately. This man, to save his life, called out that he would embrace the Christian faith, whereupon he was carried by the mob to the Prior ofSt.Mary of York, and was by him baptized. The king, hearing of the conversion, or rather of the baptism, commanded the Jew to be broughtinto his presence, and catechised him whether he had sincerely renounced his former faith. He answered that he had not, but only through fear of death submitted to whatever the Christians required of him. Richard, who was at the time attended by the chief dignitaries of the Church, asked the Archbishop of Canterbury what punishment should be inflicted on the apostate? The archbishop replied—“Not any; for if he will not be a man of God, let him be a man of the devil.”“With which answer,” says the author of the Anglia Judaica, “the king being something surprised, suffered the man to slip away, and there was no further notice taken of him.” He continues—“This archbishop, delighting more in carnal than spiritual warfare, had his brains knocked out, within a few months after, at the siege of Acre.” Poor Benedict, however, did not survive more than a few days after that.The Jews, in order to secure the king’s favour, came forward with large supplies ofmoney towards the holy expedition—profanely so called—which the king undertook that year, and were therefore declared by proclamation to be under the king’s especial protection.But the spirit which had broken out in London against them, was speedily communicated to other parts of the country. To put an end to these disorders, the king caused writs to be issued through all the counties, forbidding any molestation to be offered to the Jews. But notwithstanding these writs, the Jews were, in many places, subjected to severe persecutions; they were attacked in so many places at once, that their utter ruin seemed determined and inevitable. Brompton tells us that the citizens of Norwich were the first who followed the bad example of the Londoners, and were soon followed by those of other places. In Dunstable and some other towns they saved themselves by professing to renounce the Jewish faith, and by being baptized into the so-called Church of Christ. In the town of Lynn they weretreated with great severity and cruelty. And here must be remarked—for it is the part of an impartial historian to state the whole truth,proandcon—that the Jews were themselves the authors of their sufferings at Lynn.The circumstances under which the tumult there took place, were the following:—a Jew had been converted to Christianity; his brethren were enraged at his conduct, and sought to be revenged. They waylaid him, and one day as he passed through the streets, endeavoured to get him into their power; he, however, fled, and took refuge in a neighbouring church; some of the Jews pursued him thither; whereupon the sailors belonging to a ship then lying in the harbour, raised a cry that it was intended to put the convert to death, and being joined by the townspeople, under the plea of saving the man’s life, fell upon the Jews, drove them to their dwellings, and entering with them, slew many, carried off whatever valuables they could find, and then set fire to their houses. The mariners,enriched by the spoil, embarked immediately on board their vessel, and putting to sea, got clear off. The townspeople were called to account for the outrage which had been committed, in disobedience to the proclamation issued by the king, but escaped punishment by laying the whole blame to the charge of the sailors.Dr.Jost betrays here—as well as in many other places—no small measure of partiality, when he takes upon himself, without any reason whatever, to assert that “it was doubtlesshis[i.e.the convert’s] fault that he was persecuted in the open street, by his formerco-religionists.1”1–Den Anlass dazu gab ein getaufter Jude, der, ohne Zweifel durch seine Schuld, von seinen ehemaligen Genossen auf offener Strasse verfolgt wurde.Geschichte der Israeliten,vol. vii.,p. 119.The same spirit of animosity still pervades the feelings of the Jews towards their converted brethren. A circumstance to the same effect happened in this town (Liverpool) about three years ago. A Jew who had been groundlessly suspected of inquiring into the doctrines of Christianity, entered a Jewish shop onthe eve of the Passover, and was accosted by another Jew who was in the shop, by the salutation, you are an accursedM’shoomad,1which the accused repudiated with disdain. The accuser, thinking, I suppose, that he had an opportunity to do God service, gave his brother a tremendous blow on his face; by which he almost broke his nose. As I said before, the charge was made without any ground; the insulted Jew therefore, who was ignorant of the precept, “pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you,” took out the offender, on the first day of Passover, from the synagogue, and brought him before the mayor of this town, and had him duly punished.1– A nickname given by unconverted Jews to their brethren who believe in Christ. SeeAppendix B.TheRev.Mr.Pauli, missionary to the Jews at Amsterdam, writes thus on the eighth of Junelast:1—“This moment I hear of the following extraordinary occurrence.Last night a Jewish gentleman, no doubt from the country, was passing the Jewish quarter. Some Jews took him for me, and in a second a tremendous crowd, chiefly Portuguese Jews, was assembled, and in spite of all remonstrances of the poor man that he was not ‘Domine’ Pauli, they rushed upon him and beat him unmercifully, and left him half dead. When the mistake was found out, they did all they could to prevent the ill-used gentleman from giving notice of the affair to the police. He complied with their request, only wishing heartily that his bruises and broken head could be transferred to me.”1– See Jewish Intelligence for July, 1845,p. 259.TheRev.H. S. Joseph, formerly a Jewish Rabbi of Bedford, now a clergyman of the Church of England, was called upon after his conversion to Christianity, by aMr.Moses T. Ansell, a connexion of his, who professed to be friendly disposed towards him, and wishing to discuss in a quiet manner the doctrines of Christianity, with whichMr.Joseph readily complied. The discussion lasted forsome time, during whichMr.Joseph endeavoured to prove to his friend that his reasons for embracing Christianity were cogentones.1Mr.Ansell, finding that he could not disprove the convert’s arguments from Scripture, said to him—“Now we are by ourselves; you need not be afraid of me, I will divulge your mind to nobody. Tell me, then, do you really believe that Jesus of Nazareth, the crucified one, was the Messiah?” (The unbelieving Jews fancy that it is impossible for a Jew to be really a believer in Christ, however powerful the arguments are in favour of Christianity.)Mr.Joseph replied—“I believe from my heart that Jesus of Nazareth was the true Messiah, and in him alone do I hope for salvation.” No sooner did he utter that confession, than his guest laid violent hands on him, and knocked him down to the ground. What carnal weapons! It was well forMr.Ansell thatMr.Josephwas a Christian. To return, however, to the twelfth century.1– See a small pamphlet of his, entitled, “Reasons for believing that Jesus of Nazareth was the expected Messiah.”By this time King Richard had passed over to the Continent, to join the king of France in the crusade to Palestine. Those who had taken the cross were assembled in most of the principal towns, preparing to follow him. Of these, the greater number were ill provided with funds to defray the expenses of their journey to the Holy Land, and their zeal in the sacred cause readily justified any conduct, whereby the pious object to which they were pledged might be advanced. They observed with envy that the Jews were possessed of wealth; they regarded them as infidels, and worked themselves into a belief that they should render good service to God, if, by wresting the riches from the hands of unbelievers, they obtained the means for aiding in the overthrow of the enemies of Christianity in the East.On the seventh day of March 1190, a public fair being held at Stamford, had drawn together to that place great multitudesof people, and amongst them whole troops of thoseroaming saints, as they were called. These zealous men, indignant that the enemies of Christ should abound in wealth, while they, who were His great friends, were obliged to strip their wives and children of common necessaries, in order to be equipped with travelling expenses, argued that God would be highly honoured if they should first destroy all the Jews, and then possess themselves of their property. “So ready are men to believe what makes for their worldly advantage”—observes Tovey—“accordingly they flew upon them with great vigour and resolution, and finding very little resistance from an oppressed and spiritless enemy, quickly made themselves masters both of their persons and fortunes; the former of which they treated with all kinds of barbarity. Some few of them, indeed, were so fortunate as to get shelter in the castle, whither, as they fled without their riches, the source of all their misery, they were not earnestly pursued. And as thesedevout pilgrims pretended to do all this for the advancement of God’s glory, to show they were in earnest, they took shipping as fast as they could, and fled away for Jerusalem; not so much as one of them being detained by the magistrates, or any further inquiry made by the king into such a sanctified piece ofvillany.”11– Anglia Judaica,pp.19, 20. SeeAppendix C.The same outrages were committed in several other parts of the kingdom. The same spirit prevailed also at Lincoln. An attack was on the point of being made on the helpless Jews there; but as by that time the melancholy intelligence was noised abroad, and the Jews were every where made acquainted that thefaithful (?)aimed at their destruction, they retired, therefore, as soon as possible into the king’s fortress, which liberty they purchased, with a large sum, of the governor; so that the majority of them escaped with little damage. At York, the popular feeling communicated itself to all classes ofthe inhabitants, and many of the nobles and principal gentry of the neighbourhood associated themselves with the soldiers of the cross, and with the knights of the temple, whose characters were stained with the vilest of human passions.The origin of their persecution at York was the following. It appears that Benedict and Jocenus, two of the richest Jews of York, were deputed by their brethren of that city to carry presents to the king on his coronation day. The fate of the former you have already heard; the latter was so far fortunate as to be able to return to York, where he related the sad catastrophe which had befallen his brethren in London; but instead of exciting commiseration in the breasts of his Gentile neighbours, his narrative had the effect of stimulating them to a like outrage. The houses of the richest of the Jews were accordingly spoiled and burned, and many, together with their families, were murdered. The common people, urged by the example of their superiors, fell upon suchas escaped the first assaults, and with savage fury slew them, without regard to age or sex. Fifteen hundred, with their wives and children, escaped to the castle, and, by permission of the sheriff and keeper, took refuge there. Afterwards, thinking—for which they had good reason—that these officers also had taken part with their assailants, they refused to allow them to enter, whereupon the sheriff assembled an armed force, and laid siege to the castle. The mob joined in the attack, and though they were before sufficiently bent upon destruction and plunder, they were—to the shame of the ecclesiastics of that day be it recorded—further stimulated by the exhortations of the clergy. One in particular, a canon of the order of Præmonstratenses, displayed uncommon zeal on the occasion. For several days he appeared amongst the people, dressed in his surplice, after having eaten a consecrated host, and greatly increased their fury by continually calling out in a loud voice—“Destroy the enemies of Christ!—Destroy the enemies ofJesus!” At length the priest received the punishment his conduct justly merited; for having approached too near the walls, he was crushed to death by a stone which was rolled down from the battlements.For a time the Jews defended themselves with desperate bravery; but the assault being warmly pressed, they found that they had no hopes of escape, and they offered a large sum of money that their lives might be spared. This was refused, and they proceeded again to take vigorous measures for their defence, determining to hold out to the last moment; calling at the same time—which was right—a council, to take into consideration what was to be done in case of their being driven to extremities, which consultation altered their purpose completely. For when they gathered themselves♦together into one place, one of their rabbies, a man of great authority amongst them, and who also made the convocation, stood up and addressed them in the following words:—“Ye men of Israel, the God of our fathers, to whom none can say,what doest thou? commands us at this time to die for his law; and behold! death is even before our eyes, and there is nothing left us to consider but how to undergo it in the most reputable and easy manner. If we fall into the hands of our enemies (which I think there is no possibility of escaping), our deaths will not only be cruel but ignominious. They will not only torment us, but despitefully use us. My advice therefore is, that we voluntarily surrender those lives to our Creator, which He seems to call for, and not wait for any other executioners than ourselves. The fact is both rational and lawful; nor do we want examples from amongst our illustrious ancestors, to prove it so: they have frequently proceeded in the like manner upon the sameoccasions.”1Thus spoke the old Rabbi, after which he sat down and wept.♦‘toegther’ replaced with ‘together’1– SeeAppendix D.The auditors looked first wistfully at each other, and then gave utterance to their thoughts—some loudly approving the adviceof the Rabbi, whilst others, with tears in their eyes, avowed their dissent from the Rabbi’s opinion.To which the rabbi, standing up a second time, replied—“Seeing, brethren, that we are not all of one mind, let those who do not approve of this advice depart from this assembly.” The less courageous departed. But by far the greater number adhered steadfastly to the leader’s proposal. And as soon as they perceived themselves alone, which increased their despair, they first burned every thing belonging to them that was consumable by fire, and buried the remainder in the earth (to prevent its falling into the possession of their enemies); they then set fire to several places of the castle at once, after which each man took a sharp knife, and first cut the throats of their own wives and children, and then their own. The persons who remained last alive were this rash counsellor, and the aforementioned Jocenus, who were possessed of a strong desire to see everything performed according to their directions;for they did not survive much longer; as soon as that atrocious work was over, the Rabbi, out of respect to Jocenus (who was a person of importance), first slew him, and thenhimself.1When this dreadful act was completed, those who remained alive took up the dead bodies, and threw them over the walls, on the heads of the besiegers; and determined at last upon the expedient of their brethren. They also burned their clothes, and such of their valuables as would consume, and threw the rest of their treasures into the sinks and drains of the castle; and the greater part of those who survived, collecting themselves together in one of the buildings, set fire to it, and resigned themselves to the flames. A few only, of less courage than their brethren, still remained.These, coming forward upon the ramparts, called out to the assailants, and showed the manner in which their companions had fallen, and offered to receive baptism, if their lives might be spared. This was granted to them; but they no sooner passed the gate than the people fell upon them and slew them, with the exception of one or two who escaped; which proved that the Rabbi was not far wrong in his calculation. The populace afterwards betook themselves to the destroying and burning of all the houses of the Jews in the city which had not been previously demolished. Thus perished fifteen hundred Jews at York on this occasion, besides those who fell in the other parts of England.1–Dr.Jost states, that “Jocenus first strangled his wife Hannah with his five children, and then allowed himself to be slain by the Rabbi, whose example was followed by all the remainder.”Jossen erwürgte seine Frau Hanna mit fünf Kindern, und liess sich dann von dem Rabbi♦niederschlachten. Seinem Beispiel folgten alle Uebrigen.♦‘niedercshlachten’ replaced with ‘niederschlachten’Now comes the secret. No sooner did the English make an end of butchering that unhappy people, than many gentlemen of the province—who having been their debtors, and took, therefore, the most active part in the carnage—repaired to the cathedral, where their bonds were deposited, compelledthe officer to deliver those obligations, and burned them in the church with great solemnity before the altar.When the account of these outrages reached the king’s ears, he was exceedingly enraged at this insult upon his authority, which at the same time affected his revenue; he sent over immediate directions to the Bishop of Ely, his chancellor, to apprehend and punish the offenders. The chancellor accordingly proceeded to York with a strong force, to execute the king’s commands: but the principal actors in the massacres there, being warned of his approach, made their escape; some of them taking refuge into Scotland, but the greater number proceeding on their journey to the Holy Land. The governor of the castle and the sheriff were, however, apprehended, and not being able to clear their conduct, were deprived of their respective offices. A heavy fine was also imposed upon the inhabitants of the city, for which the chancellor took one hundred hostages with him. Richard,mala bestia(wicked beast), or as he iscalled Mallebisse, was obliged to pay twenty marks for the use of his land, as also for protection to himself and his twoesquires,1till the king’s return; but, with these exceptions, it does not appear that any individual was brought to punishment for the part he had taken in the late disturbances.1– SeeAppendix E.When Richard returned home, after his captivity, the affairs of the Jews were again brought under his consideration; and he appointed justices itinerant to proceed through the different parts of England for the purpose of making further inquiries concerning the slaughter of the Jews—who were the murderers?—what lands and chattels belonged to them at the time they were slain?—who took possession of the same?&c.He established very curious regulations, professedly for the protection of the Jews, but really—as it was well observed—“that he might fleece them at his pleasure.” He established the famousEXCHEQUERof theJews.The revenues arising from them were placed under the care of an office for the purpose, in which thejusticiariesof theJewspresided. To these places Jews and Christians were indifferently appointed. They had not only the Jewish revenues under their care, but were also judges of all civil matters, where a Jew was one of the parties. Lord Coke takes notice of this court, and calls it the “Court of the Justices of the Jews.”“In order to know”—observesDr.Tovey—“what were the particular monies, goods, debts, real and personal estates belonging to every Jew in the nation, he commanded (something after the manner of the Conqueror’s Domesday) that all effects belonging to Jews should be registered.“That the concealment of any particular should be forfeiture of body and whole estate.“That six or seven public places should be appointed, wherein all their contracts were to be made.“That all such contracts should be madein the presence of two assigned lawyers, who were Jews, and two that were Christians, and two public notaries.“That the Clerks of William de Sancta Maria, and William de Chimelli, should likewise be present at all such contracts.“That such contracts should likewise be made by indenture: one part of which was to remain with the Jew, sealed with the seal of him to whom the money was lent; and the other in a common chest, to which there was to be three locks and three keys.“One key whereof was to be kept by the said Jewish lawyers, the other by the Christian lawyers, and the third by the aforesaid Clerks.“The chest also was to be sealed with three seals.“The aforesaid Clerks were also commanded to keep a transcript roll of all such contracts; which roll was to be altered as often as the original charters of contract were altered.“And the fee for drawing every such charterwas to be three pence; one moiety whereof was to be paid by the Jew, and the other moiety by him to whom the money was lent. Whereof the two writers were to have two pence, and the keeper of the rolls the third.“It was ordained likewise, that as no contracts for money, so no payment of it, or acquittance, or any other alteration in the charters, or transcript rolls were to be made, but in the presence of the aforesaid persons, or the greater part of them.“The aforesaid two Jews were to have a copy of the said transcript roll, and the two Christians another.“Every Jew was to take an oath upon hisroll,1that he would truly and faithfully register all his estates, both real and personal, as above directed; and discover every Jew whom he should know guilty of any concealment; as likewise all forgers, or falsifiers of charters, and clippers of money.”1– Parchment MS. of the Pentateuch.Under those regulations the Jews lived peaceably; for they very seldom, on their part, violate any regulations established between themselves and others; and as it was the king’s interest to adhere to the above regulations on his part, the Jews therefore enjoyed comparative tranquillity. But at no small expense.The justices of the Jews at that time were a certain Benedict, and Joseph Aaron. Their contracts, or, as they were then called,Shtaroth, from the Hebrew, or rather Chaldee, wordשטרShtar, were written either in indifferent Hebrew, or bad Latin, or the same sort ofFrench.1That court where all those documents were deposited, obtained the name of “The StarChamber.”2It was well remarked that Richard made the Jews most unfortunate. He used them as a press, with which to squeeze his subjects. By which they incurred no small degree of animosity from their Christianneighbours.31– SeeAppendix F.2– SeeAppendix G.3– See Geschichte der Israeliten,vol. vii.,p. 130
Inmy last lecture I brought down the history of the Jews in this country, to the death of Henry the Second. The reign of that monarch seems, upon the whole, especially when compared with subsequent reigns, not to have been very unfavourable to the prosperity of the Jews. They experienced the usual share of imprisonment, fine, and banishment, which does not seem to have much depressed their general state. From the nature of some of the fines, which I described to you on Friday evening last, we may infer the wealth and power of individuals amongst them. One Josce, it seems, was fined by the king for supplying the rebels in Ireland with large sums of money;another Jew was fined for taking in pawn the abbey plate ofSt.Edmundsbury. When the king intended to proceed to the Holy Land, after having made an agreement to the same effect with Philip Augustus, King of France, at the parliament held at Northampton in the year 1188, the Jews were commanded to supply nearly half the subsidy requisite for the undertaking—the Christians being taxed at £70,000, and the Jews at £60,000; and though this money was never levied, in consequence of a disagreement between the two kings, and Henry’s subsequent death, as I have alreadystated,1yet these are facts which clearly prove the flourishing state of the Jewish finances in England during this reign; and although the Jews had been frequently subjected to heavy pecuniary exactions under the reign of Henry the Second, still the vigorous administrationof that prince had shielded them from popular violence. They were still able to carry on their trades and their professions. In spite of the reports circulated by the monks, that the Jews were sorcerers (in consequence of their superior medical skill), Christian patients would frequent the houses of the Jewish physicians in preference to the monasteries, where cures were pretended to have been effected by some extraordinary relics, such as the nails ofSt.Augustine, the extremity ofSt.Peter’s second toe, the breath of our Lord, which Nicodemus secured in a glove, the feathers of the wings of the archangel Michael, and more such-like relics. I need hardly add that the cures effected by the Jewish physicians were more numerous than those by the monkish impostors.
1– From Henry’s History of Great Britain, one would be led to believe that the “one hundred and thirty thousand pounds were raised.”—Vol. v.,p. 182.
Andrews—who was evidently no friend to the Jews—in his continuation of Henry’s Britain, observes—“The partiality in favour of Jewish physicians was unaccountable, and probably ill-founded; yet Elizabeth chose to trust her health in the hands of the Hebrew,Rodrigo Lopez, rather than have recourse to many English students in medicine, of considerable abilities, who attended her court.” And in a note he adds—“The same fantastic preference had made FrancisI., when indisposed with a tedious complaint, apply to CharlesV.for an Israelite, who was the imperial physician. Accordingly, the person whom he sought for visited Paris; but the king, finding that he had been converted to Christianity, lost all confidence in his advice, and applied to his good ally, SolimanII., who sending him a true, hardened Jew, the monarch took his counsel, drank asses’ milk, andrecovered.”1
1–Vol. ii.,p. 63.
When King Henry died, the Jews began to hope for better days. They were encouraged in their hopes by Richard’s conduct, who, after his return from Normandy—where he had been as prince—proclaimed liberty to all prisoners and captives, even to the greatest criminals. The coronation day,which was to take place in the beginning of the month of September,A.D.1189, was proclaimed by the intended king to be an universal day of joy; and to crown all, that year was believed by all Jews to have been one of their jubilees.
All these circumstances conspired to flatter the oppressed Jews, and to raise their expectation that they also would experience mercy from the lion-hearted monarch, and led them to hope that together with this reign an era of better days would be introduced into the annals of their history in this country. But, alas! hope told them a flattering tale.
From the accession of this sovereign to the throne, the Jews had to date in characters of blood the commencement of a new and most severe series of sufferings and outrages; their footsteps in this country from the days of Richard to the days of Edward the First—when they were finally banished—may be tracked by their blood; against them sympathy has been steeled, and for their rightsjustice has had no balances. So far has the bitterness of their affliction been from exciting commiseration, or their hopeless prostration from disarming cruelty, that however Norman, Saxon, Dane, and Briton may have differed in other respects, and however adverse they were to each other, they concurred in treading down the Jews, and contended which should look with greatest detestation upon a people whom it was accounted a point of religion to hate, to revile, to despise, to plunder, and to persecute.
How truly was it said, that “except, perhaps, the flying fish, there was no race existing on the earth, in the air, or in the waters, who were the objects of such an unintermitting, general, and relentless persecution as the Jews of this period. Upon the slightest and most unreasonable pretences, as well as upon accusations the most absurd and groundless, their persons and property were exposed to popularfury.”1
1– Sir Walter Scott.
It may not be uninstructive, however, to dwell on the history of the Jews in this realm during that period—though a dreary tale of woe—as it throws a great measure of light upon the national character of the people of this country, and the nature of its government during the dark ages of its annals; and if it be painful to you to hear of massacres, extortions, and persecutions perpetrated by your ancestors, upon a defenceless people, it is still a subject of congratulation that you are permitted to turn your eyes upon the improved state both of the persecuted and the persecutors—an idea which is naturally reflected from the opaque surface of these barbarous times with a luminous brightness, upon your own more happy epoch.
RichardCœur de Lion, whose whole thoughts were engaged in the contemplated relief of the Holy Land, and the recovery of Jerusalem, seems to have regarded the Jews with feelings of especial antipathy, as being the determined and sworn enemies of a religionof which he professed himself so zealous a champion. The courtiers and the clergy, especially Baldwin, Archbishop of Canterbury, endeavoured to make the king believe that the Jews were in general sorcerers, and might possibly bewitch him if allowed to be present at his coronation. Actuated by these sentiments, and desirous, perhaps, to give proof of thesovereigncontempt he entertained towards the opponents of Christianity in general, Richard, as one of the first acts of his reign, caused a proclamation to be issued, the day before his inauguration, forbidding any woman or Jew to approach the palace during the ceremony of his coronation. Both women and Jews were considered by the ministers of the Church to practice sorcery andwitchcraft.1
1– Miss Strickland gives the following as a reason for the exclusion of women:—“As the etiquette of the queen-mother’s recent widowhood prevented her from sharing in this splendid festival, all women were forbidden to be present at its celebration.”—Queens of England,vol. i.,p. 373.
The issuing of such a proclamation at the commencement of the reign, was an ill omen of the treatment which the Jews were to expect under the government of the new monarch. They were desirous, if possible, to reconcile the mind of the king, and with a view to this purpose, deputed some of the chief men from amongst them to carry rich presents tohim.1These persons, hoping that they would be protected by reason of the gifts of which they were the bearers—which, asDr.Tovey says, “were full worthy of his acceptance”—ventured to approach the courtyard of the palace at the time of the coronation, in order to crave leave of admittance, but the confluence pressing forward, they were, before they could obtain permission to enter, forced within the gates. The attendants who were stationed at the entrance, charged them with disobedience to the king’s command, and with blows forced them backinto the street. The mob who were assembled at the outside, when they saw what took place, raised a cry that the king desired the proclamation he had issued to be enforced, and forthwith fell upon such of the Jews as were mingled with the crowd, and beating them, many were severely wounded, some killed, and many were left half dead. A report was now quickly spread through the city that the king had ordered all the Jews to be put to death, for the disregard they had shown to his proclamation. The people lost no time in putting this supposed order into execution. The Jews were sought out by the populace in every quarter of the city, and wherever they were found, were slain without mercy. Many took refuge in their houses, and defended themselves with determined courage, till the rabble, whose fury was increased by the opposition they experienced, set fire to their houses and burned them to the ground, the Jews and their families perishing in the flames. The cruelties that were inflicted were so atrocious,that the more sober-minded citizens, who had in vain endeavoured to restrain the mob, sent information at length to the king of what was taking place. He was at the time seated at the banquet, but immediately gave directions to Randulph de Grandville, the Lord High Steward, to quell the tumult. This officer, taking with him some of the chief nobility, used his endeavours to put a stop to the outrage; but the populace would pay no regard to his authority, threatened him with violence, and compelled him to retire. No interference of the chief justice and his officers, whom the king had despatched to quell the tumult, availed, until the multitude were gorged with spoil, and tired with the labour of slaughter. The tumult continued during the whole night; the houses of all the Jews were plundered, and most of them burned, and it was not till the next day that an end was put to the proceedings, by a large force sent into the city by the king. A few of the most active of the rioters were apprehended, and three of them were afterwards executed;not, however, for the pillage and murder of the unfortunate Jews. One of them was hanged because he did notconfinehis villany to the Jews, but took advantage of the uproar to plunder the house of a Christian; and the other two—who also met with the same fate—because by setting fire to the house of a Jew they had exposed the dwellings of the neighbouring Christians to destruction. And we are further informed by another historian, “that the inquiry soon stopped, as many considerable citizens were involved in the guilt, and as the priests applauded the pious zeal which destroyed so many enemies to the Christianfaith.”2
1– Those who came from a distance must have been totally ignorant of the royal proclamation since it was only one day old.2– Noorthouck,p. 34.
1– Those who came from a distance must have been totally ignorant of the royal proclamation since it was only one day old.
2– Noorthouck,p. 34.
The celebrated Rabbi, Jacob of Orleans, was among the great number of Jews who were slain on this night; as appears from the following short notice of that awful event, by Rabbi♦Gedaliah ben Joseph Jachija, in hisShalsheleth Hakabbalah,fol. cxi.,col. i.:—“In the year 4930 [A.M.1190,A.D.] whenRichard became new king in the city of London, which is in England, our Rabbi, Jacob of Orleans, was put to death in glorification of God’s name, and many other Jews withhim.”1
♦‘Gedeliah’ replaced with ‘Gedaliah’
1– SeeAppendix A.
The following circumstance, which occurred during that dreadful uproar, will give us some idea of the means which the Christian Church of that period employed in order to bring the Jews to a knowledge of salvation. Whilst animated by the above-mentioned mad frenzy and murderous rage, a Jew who was called Baruch (being interpreted, Benedict or Blessed), of York, was seized, and commanded to choose either to profess Christianity or to die immediately. This man, to save his life, called out that he would embrace the Christian faith, whereupon he was carried by the mob to the Prior ofSt.Mary of York, and was by him baptized. The king, hearing of the conversion, or rather of the baptism, commanded the Jew to be broughtinto his presence, and catechised him whether he had sincerely renounced his former faith. He answered that he had not, but only through fear of death submitted to whatever the Christians required of him. Richard, who was at the time attended by the chief dignitaries of the Church, asked the Archbishop of Canterbury what punishment should be inflicted on the apostate? The archbishop replied—“Not any; for if he will not be a man of God, let him be a man of the devil.”
“With which answer,” says the author of the Anglia Judaica, “the king being something surprised, suffered the man to slip away, and there was no further notice taken of him.” He continues—“This archbishop, delighting more in carnal than spiritual warfare, had his brains knocked out, within a few months after, at the siege of Acre.” Poor Benedict, however, did not survive more than a few days after that.
The Jews, in order to secure the king’s favour, came forward with large supplies ofmoney towards the holy expedition—profanely so called—which the king undertook that year, and were therefore declared by proclamation to be under the king’s especial protection.
But the spirit which had broken out in London against them, was speedily communicated to other parts of the country. To put an end to these disorders, the king caused writs to be issued through all the counties, forbidding any molestation to be offered to the Jews. But notwithstanding these writs, the Jews were, in many places, subjected to severe persecutions; they were attacked in so many places at once, that their utter ruin seemed determined and inevitable. Brompton tells us that the citizens of Norwich were the first who followed the bad example of the Londoners, and were soon followed by those of other places. In Dunstable and some other towns they saved themselves by professing to renounce the Jewish faith, and by being baptized into the so-called Church of Christ. In the town of Lynn they weretreated with great severity and cruelty. And here must be remarked—for it is the part of an impartial historian to state the whole truth,proandcon—that the Jews were themselves the authors of their sufferings at Lynn.
The circumstances under which the tumult there took place, were the following:—a Jew had been converted to Christianity; his brethren were enraged at his conduct, and sought to be revenged. They waylaid him, and one day as he passed through the streets, endeavoured to get him into their power; he, however, fled, and took refuge in a neighbouring church; some of the Jews pursued him thither; whereupon the sailors belonging to a ship then lying in the harbour, raised a cry that it was intended to put the convert to death, and being joined by the townspeople, under the plea of saving the man’s life, fell upon the Jews, drove them to their dwellings, and entering with them, slew many, carried off whatever valuables they could find, and then set fire to their houses. The mariners,enriched by the spoil, embarked immediately on board their vessel, and putting to sea, got clear off. The townspeople were called to account for the outrage which had been committed, in disobedience to the proclamation issued by the king, but escaped punishment by laying the whole blame to the charge of the sailors.Dr.Jost betrays here—as well as in many other places—no small measure of partiality, when he takes upon himself, without any reason whatever, to assert that “it was doubtlesshis[i.e.the convert’s] fault that he was persecuted in the open street, by his formerco-religionists.1”
1–Den Anlass dazu gab ein getaufter Jude, der, ohne Zweifel durch seine Schuld, von seinen ehemaligen Genossen auf offener Strasse verfolgt wurde.Geschichte der Israeliten,vol. vii.,p. 119.
The same spirit of animosity still pervades the feelings of the Jews towards their converted brethren. A circumstance to the same effect happened in this town (Liverpool) about three years ago. A Jew who had been groundlessly suspected of inquiring into the doctrines of Christianity, entered a Jewish shop onthe eve of the Passover, and was accosted by another Jew who was in the shop, by the salutation, you are an accursedM’shoomad,1which the accused repudiated with disdain. The accuser, thinking, I suppose, that he had an opportunity to do God service, gave his brother a tremendous blow on his face; by which he almost broke his nose. As I said before, the charge was made without any ground; the insulted Jew therefore, who was ignorant of the precept, “pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you,” took out the offender, on the first day of Passover, from the synagogue, and brought him before the mayor of this town, and had him duly punished.
1– A nickname given by unconverted Jews to their brethren who believe in Christ. SeeAppendix B.
TheRev.Mr.Pauli, missionary to the Jews at Amsterdam, writes thus on the eighth of Junelast:1—“This moment I hear of the following extraordinary occurrence.Last night a Jewish gentleman, no doubt from the country, was passing the Jewish quarter. Some Jews took him for me, and in a second a tremendous crowd, chiefly Portuguese Jews, was assembled, and in spite of all remonstrances of the poor man that he was not ‘Domine’ Pauli, they rushed upon him and beat him unmercifully, and left him half dead. When the mistake was found out, they did all they could to prevent the ill-used gentleman from giving notice of the affair to the police. He complied with their request, only wishing heartily that his bruises and broken head could be transferred to me.”
1– See Jewish Intelligence for July, 1845,p. 259.
TheRev.H. S. Joseph, formerly a Jewish Rabbi of Bedford, now a clergyman of the Church of England, was called upon after his conversion to Christianity, by aMr.Moses T. Ansell, a connexion of his, who professed to be friendly disposed towards him, and wishing to discuss in a quiet manner the doctrines of Christianity, with whichMr.Joseph readily complied. The discussion lasted forsome time, during whichMr.Joseph endeavoured to prove to his friend that his reasons for embracing Christianity were cogentones.1Mr.Ansell, finding that he could not disprove the convert’s arguments from Scripture, said to him—“Now we are by ourselves; you need not be afraid of me, I will divulge your mind to nobody. Tell me, then, do you really believe that Jesus of Nazareth, the crucified one, was the Messiah?” (The unbelieving Jews fancy that it is impossible for a Jew to be really a believer in Christ, however powerful the arguments are in favour of Christianity.)Mr.Joseph replied—“I believe from my heart that Jesus of Nazareth was the true Messiah, and in him alone do I hope for salvation.” No sooner did he utter that confession, than his guest laid violent hands on him, and knocked him down to the ground. What carnal weapons! It was well forMr.Ansell thatMr.Josephwas a Christian. To return, however, to the twelfth century.
1– See a small pamphlet of his, entitled, “Reasons for believing that Jesus of Nazareth was the expected Messiah.”
By this time King Richard had passed over to the Continent, to join the king of France in the crusade to Palestine. Those who had taken the cross were assembled in most of the principal towns, preparing to follow him. Of these, the greater number were ill provided with funds to defray the expenses of their journey to the Holy Land, and their zeal in the sacred cause readily justified any conduct, whereby the pious object to which they were pledged might be advanced. They observed with envy that the Jews were possessed of wealth; they regarded them as infidels, and worked themselves into a belief that they should render good service to God, if, by wresting the riches from the hands of unbelievers, they obtained the means for aiding in the overthrow of the enemies of Christianity in the East.
On the seventh day of March 1190, a public fair being held at Stamford, had drawn together to that place great multitudesof people, and amongst them whole troops of thoseroaming saints, as they were called. These zealous men, indignant that the enemies of Christ should abound in wealth, while they, who were His great friends, were obliged to strip their wives and children of common necessaries, in order to be equipped with travelling expenses, argued that God would be highly honoured if they should first destroy all the Jews, and then possess themselves of their property. “So ready are men to believe what makes for their worldly advantage”—observes Tovey—“accordingly they flew upon them with great vigour and resolution, and finding very little resistance from an oppressed and spiritless enemy, quickly made themselves masters both of their persons and fortunes; the former of which they treated with all kinds of barbarity. Some few of them, indeed, were so fortunate as to get shelter in the castle, whither, as they fled without their riches, the source of all their misery, they were not earnestly pursued. And as thesedevout pilgrims pretended to do all this for the advancement of God’s glory, to show they were in earnest, they took shipping as fast as they could, and fled away for Jerusalem; not so much as one of them being detained by the magistrates, or any further inquiry made by the king into such a sanctified piece ofvillany.”1
1– Anglia Judaica,pp.19, 20. SeeAppendix C.
The same outrages were committed in several other parts of the kingdom. The same spirit prevailed also at Lincoln. An attack was on the point of being made on the helpless Jews there; but as by that time the melancholy intelligence was noised abroad, and the Jews were every where made acquainted that thefaithful (?)aimed at their destruction, they retired, therefore, as soon as possible into the king’s fortress, which liberty they purchased, with a large sum, of the governor; so that the majority of them escaped with little damage. At York, the popular feeling communicated itself to all classes ofthe inhabitants, and many of the nobles and principal gentry of the neighbourhood associated themselves with the soldiers of the cross, and with the knights of the temple, whose characters were stained with the vilest of human passions.
The origin of their persecution at York was the following. It appears that Benedict and Jocenus, two of the richest Jews of York, were deputed by their brethren of that city to carry presents to the king on his coronation day. The fate of the former you have already heard; the latter was so far fortunate as to be able to return to York, where he related the sad catastrophe which had befallen his brethren in London; but instead of exciting commiseration in the breasts of his Gentile neighbours, his narrative had the effect of stimulating them to a like outrage. The houses of the richest of the Jews were accordingly spoiled and burned, and many, together with their families, were murdered. The common people, urged by the example of their superiors, fell upon suchas escaped the first assaults, and with savage fury slew them, without regard to age or sex. Fifteen hundred, with their wives and children, escaped to the castle, and, by permission of the sheriff and keeper, took refuge there. Afterwards, thinking—for which they had good reason—that these officers also had taken part with their assailants, they refused to allow them to enter, whereupon the sheriff assembled an armed force, and laid siege to the castle. The mob joined in the attack, and though they were before sufficiently bent upon destruction and plunder, they were—to the shame of the ecclesiastics of that day be it recorded—further stimulated by the exhortations of the clergy. One in particular, a canon of the order of Præmonstratenses, displayed uncommon zeal on the occasion. For several days he appeared amongst the people, dressed in his surplice, after having eaten a consecrated host, and greatly increased their fury by continually calling out in a loud voice—“Destroy the enemies of Christ!—Destroy the enemies ofJesus!” At length the priest received the punishment his conduct justly merited; for having approached too near the walls, he was crushed to death by a stone which was rolled down from the battlements.
For a time the Jews defended themselves with desperate bravery; but the assault being warmly pressed, they found that they had no hopes of escape, and they offered a large sum of money that their lives might be spared. This was refused, and they proceeded again to take vigorous measures for their defence, determining to hold out to the last moment; calling at the same time—which was right—a council, to take into consideration what was to be done in case of their being driven to extremities, which consultation altered their purpose completely. For when they gathered themselves♦together into one place, one of their rabbies, a man of great authority amongst them, and who also made the convocation, stood up and addressed them in the following words:—“Ye men of Israel, the God of our fathers, to whom none can say,what doest thou? commands us at this time to die for his law; and behold! death is even before our eyes, and there is nothing left us to consider but how to undergo it in the most reputable and easy manner. If we fall into the hands of our enemies (which I think there is no possibility of escaping), our deaths will not only be cruel but ignominious. They will not only torment us, but despitefully use us. My advice therefore is, that we voluntarily surrender those lives to our Creator, which He seems to call for, and not wait for any other executioners than ourselves. The fact is both rational and lawful; nor do we want examples from amongst our illustrious ancestors, to prove it so: they have frequently proceeded in the like manner upon the sameoccasions.”1Thus spoke the old Rabbi, after which he sat down and wept.
♦‘toegther’ replaced with ‘together’
1– SeeAppendix D.
The auditors looked first wistfully at each other, and then gave utterance to their thoughts—some loudly approving the adviceof the Rabbi, whilst others, with tears in their eyes, avowed their dissent from the Rabbi’s opinion.
To which the rabbi, standing up a second time, replied—“Seeing, brethren, that we are not all of one mind, let those who do not approve of this advice depart from this assembly.” The less courageous departed. But by far the greater number adhered steadfastly to the leader’s proposal. And as soon as they perceived themselves alone, which increased their despair, they first burned every thing belonging to them that was consumable by fire, and buried the remainder in the earth (to prevent its falling into the possession of their enemies); they then set fire to several places of the castle at once, after which each man took a sharp knife, and first cut the throats of their own wives and children, and then their own. The persons who remained last alive were this rash counsellor, and the aforementioned Jocenus, who were possessed of a strong desire to see everything performed according to their directions;for they did not survive much longer; as soon as that atrocious work was over, the Rabbi, out of respect to Jocenus (who was a person of importance), first slew him, and thenhimself.1When this dreadful act was completed, those who remained alive took up the dead bodies, and threw them over the walls, on the heads of the besiegers; and determined at last upon the expedient of their brethren. They also burned their clothes, and such of their valuables as would consume, and threw the rest of their treasures into the sinks and drains of the castle; and the greater part of those who survived, collecting themselves together in one of the buildings, set fire to it, and resigned themselves to the flames. A few only, of less courage than their brethren, still remained.These, coming forward upon the ramparts, called out to the assailants, and showed the manner in which their companions had fallen, and offered to receive baptism, if their lives might be spared. This was granted to them; but they no sooner passed the gate than the people fell upon them and slew them, with the exception of one or two who escaped; which proved that the Rabbi was not far wrong in his calculation. The populace afterwards betook themselves to the destroying and burning of all the houses of the Jews in the city which had not been previously demolished. Thus perished fifteen hundred Jews at York on this occasion, besides those who fell in the other parts of England.
1–Dr.Jost states, that “Jocenus first strangled his wife Hannah with his five children, and then allowed himself to be slain by the Rabbi, whose example was followed by all the remainder.”Jossen erwürgte seine Frau Hanna mit fünf Kindern, und liess sich dann von dem Rabbi♦niederschlachten. Seinem Beispiel folgten alle Uebrigen.
1–Dr.Jost states, that “Jocenus first strangled his wife Hannah with his five children, and then allowed himself to be slain by the Rabbi, whose example was followed by all the remainder.”
Jossen erwürgte seine Frau Hanna mit fünf Kindern, und liess sich dann von dem Rabbi♦niederschlachten. Seinem Beispiel folgten alle Uebrigen.
♦‘niedercshlachten’ replaced with ‘niederschlachten’
Now comes the secret. No sooner did the English make an end of butchering that unhappy people, than many gentlemen of the province—who having been their debtors, and took, therefore, the most active part in the carnage—repaired to the cathedral, where their bonds were deposited, compelledthe officer to deliver those obligations, and burned them in the church with great solemnity before the altar.
When the account of these outrages reached the king’s ears, he was exceedingly enraged at this insult upon his authority, which at the same time affected his revenue; he sent over immediate directions to the Bishop of Ely, his chancellor, to apprehend and punish the offenders. The chancellor accordingly proceeded to York with a strong force, to execute the king’s commands: but the principal actors in the massacres there, being warned of his approach, made their escape; some of them taking refuge into Scotland, but the greater number proceeding on their journey to the Holy Land. The governor of the castle and the sheriff were, however, apprehended, and not being able to clear their conduct, were deprived of their respective offices. A heavy fine was also imposed upon the inhabitants of the city, for which the chancellor took one hundred hostages with him. Richard,mala bestia(wicked beast), or as he iscalled Mallebisse, was obliged to pay twenty marks for the use of his land, as also for protection to himself and his twoesquires,1till the king’s return; but, with these exceptions, it does not appear that any individual was brought to punishment for the part he had taken in the late disturbances.
1– SeeAppendix E.
When Richard returned home, after his captivity, the affairs of the Jews were again brought under his consideration; and he appointed justices itinerant to proceed through the different parts of England for the purpose of making further inquiries concerning the slaughter of the Jews—who were the murderers?—what lands and chattels belonged to them at the time they were slain?—who took possession of the same?&c.He established very curious regulations, professedly for the protection of the Jews, but really—as it was well observed—“that he might fleece them at his pleasure.” He established the famousEXCHEQUERof theJews.The revenues arising from them were placed under the care of an office for the purpose, in which thejusticiariesof theJewspresided. To these places Jews and Christians were indifferently appointed. They had not only the Jewish revenues under their care, but were also judges of all civil matters, where a Jew was one of the parties. Lord Coke takes notice of this court, and calls it the “Court of the Justices of the Jews.”
“In order to know”—observesDr.Tovey—“what were the particular monies, goods, debts, real and personal estates belonging to every Jew in the nation, he commanded (something after the manner of the Conqueror’s Domesday) that all effects belonging to Jews should be registered.
“That the concealment of any particular should be forfeiture of body and whole estate.
“That six or seven public places should be appointed, wherein all their contracts were to be made.
“That all such contracts should be madein the presence of two assigned lawyers, who were Jews, and two that were Christians, and two public notaries.
“That the Clerks of William de Sancta Maria, and William de Chimelli, should likewise be present at all such contracts.
“That such contracts should likewise be made by indenture: one part of which was to remain with the Jew, sealed with the seal of him to whom the money was lent; and the other in a common chest, to which there was to be three locks and three keys.
“One key whereof was to be kept by the said Jewish lawyers, the other by the Christian lawyers, and the third by the aforesaid Clerks.
“The chest also was to be sealed with three seals.
“The aforesaid Clerks were also commanded to keep a transcript roll of all such contracts; which roll was to be altered as often as the original charters of contract were altered.
“And the fee for drawing every such charterwas to be three pence; one moiety whereof was to be paid by the Jew, and the other moiety by him to whom the money was lent. Whereof the two writers were to have two pence, and the keeper of the rolls the third.
“It was ordained likewise, that as no contracts for money, so no payment of it, or acquittance, or any other alteration in the charters, or transcript rolls were to be made, but in the presence of the aforesaid persons, or the greater part of them.
“The aforesaid two Jews were to have a copy of the said transcript roll, and the two Christians another.
“Every Jew was to take an oath upon hisroll,1that he would truly and faithfully register all his estates, both real and personal, as above directed; and discover every Jew whom he should know guilty of any concealment; as likewise all forgers, or falsifiers of charters, and clippers of money.”
1– Parchment MS. of the Pentateuch.
Under those regulations the Jews lived peaceably; for they very seldom, on their part, violate any regulations established between themselves and others; and as it was the king’s interest to adhere to the above regulations on his part, the Jews therefore enjoyed comparative tranquillity. But at no small expense.
The justices of the Jews at that time were a certain Benedict, and Joseph Aaron. Their contracts, or, as they were then called,Shtaroth, from the Hebrew, or rather Chaldee, wordשטרShtar, were written either in indifferent Hebrew, or bad Latin, or the same sort ofFrench.1That court where all those documents were deposited, obtained the name of “The StarChamber.”2It was well remarked that Richard made the Jews most unfortunate. He used them as a press, with which to squeeze his subjects. By which they incurred no small degree of animosity from their Christianneighbours.3
1– SeeAppendix F.2– SeeAppendix G.3– See Geschichte der Israeliten,vol. vii.,p. 130
1– SeeAppendix F.
2– SeeAppendix G.
3– See Geschichte der Israeliten,vol. vii.,p. 130