TheJews settled in Spain had become rich by trading, and were very flourishing, until Heraclius, who had been at war with that country, made peace, on condition that all the Jews who would not consent to be baptized, should be destroyed or driven out of Spain. Many to save their lives and property submitted to the outward rite of baptism; others, more conscientious, stood firm, and were cruelly tortured. Some escaped into Gaul, but met with cruel treatment there: and during the remainder of the seventh century, the unhappy Jews, both in Spain and Gaul, were oppressed and ill-used by Christian kings, priests, and people.
The most remarkable event in the seventh century was, the rise of the Mahometan religion; so called from its founder, a man named Mahomet—an Arabian, the son of a prince of one of the chief wandering tribes who inhabited the country. The religion of these Arabians was a mixture of the superstitious belief of neighbouring people; they also believed themselves to be descended from the patriarch Abraham, and observed circumcision, with other rites and ceremonies belonging to the Jewish religion. They believed in one Supreme Being; and also in three goddesses of equal power and wisdom, to be worshipped as well: they likewise worshipped idols.
At Mecca, the capital of Arabia, there was a small temple, called the Cāābba, in which there was a stone, said to have fallenwhitefrom heaven, in the time when man was innocent, and to have gradually lost its pure colour as man became sinful; it was now quite black. This stone was held in such veneration, that people from all parts of Arabia came to the Cāābba, to worship, bringing gifts; and thus Mecca grew to be a rich and flourishing city.
Mahomet was left an orphan when he was quite young, and in order to provide for him, his relations placed him in the service of a woman, who was in the habit of going backwards and forwards to Syria, trading; that is, selling the spices and otherthings which grew in Arabia, to the Syrians; and bringing back such things as she could sell to her countrymen. Mahomet now accompanied her on her journeys; looking after the camels, and doing any other services required. Syria was at this time a Roman province. Mahomet, being a clever, intelligent lad, of an observing turn of mind, soon saw how much difference there was between the laws, manners, and customs of the polished Syrians, and those of his own uncivilized countrymen; and he greatly regretted not being able to read or write. The mixture of Jews and Christians which he found in Syria, turned his thoughts towards religious matters, and made him think that it would be a good thing to work a reformation in the corrupt and idolatrous religion of his own country. His ambition made him wish to distinguish himself as the founder of a new religion; but his poverty and dependent position seemed to render this impossible.
In the course of time, however, Mahomet made himself so useful to his mistress Cadigha, and gained such favour with her, that she married him, and thus gave him the riches and consideration necessary for carrying out his schemes. His first step was to remedy the defects of his education; the next to gain favour with the people: he gave much in charity; led a solitary life; and occasionally retired into the desert, where he pretended to receive instructions from the angel Gabriel. His wife assisted him by every means in her power; and in a short time the whole city of Mecca talked of nothing but Mahomet, who then began to lecture publicly. He taught that mankind should acknowledge one God (without division of persons, as in Christianity); he declared that the love of this Being was equal to His power, and that all His laws tended to make His creatures happy. Mahomet also taught, that as mankind sinned, God had from time to time sent prophets upon earth to reprove them, and bring them back to His service; and that the chief of these prophets were, Abraham, Moses, Jesus Christ, and Mahomet; the last being the greatest of all "There is one God, and Mahomet is His Prophet," was their confession of faith. Prayers were to be offered to God seven times a day; and the pilgrimages to Mecca, as well as circumcision and ablutions, were recommended as outward signs of belief, in the doctrines of what Mahomet declared to be a new Revelation, delivered to him by the angel Gabriel. The book, in which all the doctrines and precepts taught by Mahomet were recorded, is called "The Koran." The Koran contains many precepts worthy of Christianity; and many doctrines in which there is much truth, mixed, however, with a great deal of falsehood and error, whilst the indulgence of man's evil passions is allowed. Such a religion accorded well with the disposition of the Arabians; the disciples of Mahomet increased greatly, and amongst them were the richest and most respectable citizens of Mecca.
Very shortly, Mahomet began to spread his religion by conquest; and in a few years he had subdued to his empire and religion, all Arabia; thus establishing the "Saracen Empire," which afterwards extended itself over much of Asia, Africa, and even Europe.
The Arabian followers of Mahomet took the name of "Saracens," to induce a belief that they were descended from Abraham and his wife Sara; whereas they were the descendants of Ishmael, the son of Abraham and the bond-maid Hagar.
After the destruction of Jerusalem, many of the Jews settled in Arabia; and by the beginning of the seventh century, they possessed several towns and fortifications, and had armies commanded by princes of their own. Their number and influence made Mahomet wish for their help in his undertaking, and he treated them at first with great attention: he had adopted many of their opinions and customs, and he ordered his followers to turn towards Jerusalem when they prayed. He thus succeeded in gaining favour with the Children of Israel, who seeing what wonderful victories he gained, and misled by their own obstinate ideas as to the character of the promised Messiah, began actually to think that in this conqueror, they beheld the long-expected Messiah. Many of the Jews, therefore, embraced the Mahometan religion, which all, who were conquered by Mahomet, were forced to adopt. The Jews were soon afterwards offended by his eating the flesh of camels, a meat forbidden by the Mosaical Law; and they had speedily other reasons for changing their opinions concerning the pretended prophet; they then became his determined enemies. Mahomet returned their hatred; and in the Koran, to which he was continually adding chapters, as supposed to be delivered to him from time to time by the angel Gabriel, he reproaches the Jews with betraying and murdering the prophets sent by God, amongst whom he numbers Jesus Christ. He also declares, that for these things, and for breaking the laws of God and neglecting the Sabbaths, and above all for having refused to acknowledge his authority to establish a new Revelation, theJews were justly accursed of God. Not contented with such declarations, the impostor cruelly persecuted the unhappy Jews; their property was taken from them, many were driven into exile, and thousands were slaughtered. But in spite of all sufferings, the Jews remained faithful to their religion.
After the death of Mahomet,a.d.632, the miserable remnant of the once flourishing people of Israel was forced to remove into Syria; as the impostor's dying command was, that none but followers of what he called "the true religion," should be allowed to dwell in his native land of Arabia.
One of the Caliphs, or princes, who succeeded to the power of Mahomet, carried on war to force all nations to become Mahometans or Mussulmans: he subdued Mesopotamia, Persia, and Syria: the Jews rejoiced in the downfall of Persia, where they had met with persecution. At the head of an army of Saracens, this Caliph (Abubeker) attacked Jerusalem: the Christians gallantly defended it for four months, and were then obliged to surrender the city to the Saracens; who built a mosque, or Mussulman place of worship, on the very spot where the magnificent temple of Solomon had formerly stood.
The first Caliphs allowed the Jews the free exercise of their own religion, and even permitted the Princes of the Captivity to exercise considerable authority. During the eighth and ninth centuries the Jews had their share in the troubles and calamities caused by civil wars among the Caliphs. Besides this, their treatment varied much under the rule of the different Saracen princes, who succeeded each other more or less quickly: by some they were allowed to live in peace, and worship God in their own way; by others they were persecuted. One of the Caliphs forbade their riding on horses, and only permitted them to have mules, and make use of iron stirrups: the Jews were also deprived of every office or employment in the State, and they were obliged to wear a cord round the waist, to point them out to the ridicule and abuse of the people.
In Christian countries, during the seventh and eighth centuries, we find the Jews exposed to equal, and even greater persecutions. The members of the Christian Church were at this time divided into two great parties, one of which objected to having any images of saints in the churches: the Jews, being accused of encouraging these disputes, were commanded by the Greek Emperor to give up their religion, on pain of the severestpunishment. To save their lives, many of the Hebrews were baptized, but without any intention of really becoming Christians. This being suspected, afforded an excuse for still further persecutions of these unhappy people; but subsequent Emperors showed them favour, and allowed them to practise all the rites and ceremonies of their religion.
TheJews in Spain brought trouble upon themselves by listening to one of their own countrymen, who declared himself to be the expected Messiah, and persuaded the multitude to follow him to Palestine, where he promised to establish his kingdom. Many perished on this expedition; and those who did return to Spain had cause to repent bitterly of their foolish credulity, for during their absence the Government had seized upon all their lands and property.
When Gaul was taken from the Romans by the barbarians, various tribes of Germans, calling themselves Franks, established their empire in the country. Charles the Great, or "Charlemagne," as he is always called, became sovereign of the Empire of the Franks (or France, as we may now term it),a.d.772. The Saracens at this time were very troublesome in making frequent attacks upon the country; and the Jews were suspected of encouraging and aiding the Infidels, out of hatred to the Christians. Charlemagne, after defeating the Saracens at Toulouse, in the south of France, determined utterly to destroy the Jews, who were accused of causing all this bloodshed. He was, however, persuaded only to put to death some of those supposed to be the most guilty. The others were condemned to pay an annual fine; and were, moreover, obliged to assemble three times a year, at the gate of some Christian church appointed by the bishop, to receive a box on the ear! which we may well believe to have been no slight blow.
At other times, the Jews were treated with gentleness and moderation. Louis le Débonnaire became king on the death of his father, Charlemagne, early in the ninth century,a.d.814. His favourite physician was a Jew; and for his sake Louis granted great privileges to the Jews. These marks of favourmade them haughty and insolent; but when the bishops complained of their behaviour, the king would not listen to any proposition for their punishment. The favour and protection thus granted by the monarch, produced a great effect among his subjects; and those about the Court declared openly, that the descendants of Abraham ought to be treated with the greatest respect. Some even went so far as to observe the Jewish Sabbaths, and to attend the synagogues; preferring to hear the discourses of the learned rabbis, rather than the sermons of the Christian priests and monks, who were at this time extremely ignorant. During the reign of the next king, Charles the Bold, the Jews met with little favour; and in some places they were constantly insulted with impunity by the populace. In one part of Languedoc, it was the custom to pelt the Jews with stones, from Palm Sunday—that is, the Sunday before Good Friday—until the Tuesday after Easter Day.
During the tenth century, when there was much ignorance in all Christian countries, the Saracens were great promoters of learning; and under their protection the Jews were also able to apply themselves to study, and many famous men appeared amongst them at this time; but, unhappily, disputes between themselves soon brought them into fresh difficulties.
We now come to the eleventh century, during which, if not before, colonies of Jews settled in England; for when William, Duke of Normandy, conquered the country,a.d.1066, a considerable number of them were already established in the kingdom. William also brought with him, from Rouen, another colony of Jews, and gave them places to live in, from whence they could carry on trade with other nations. In return, they were to pay the king certain sums of money.
The Jews also appear to have been in favour with William Rufus, who encouraged disputes between the learned rabbis and the Christian bishops, declaring that he himself was quite ready to follow the religion of whichever party had the best of the argument or dispute. The Jews, always an industrious and money-making people, are said to have become so rich and powerful in England during William the Second's reign, that they not only held public meetings for the purpose of converting the upper and more learned classes, but also endeavoured by bribes to induce the poor and ignorant to renounce Christianity, and enrol themselves amongst the Jews.
What has been said of the condition of the Jews in England, applies also to all other European countries, where the Jews were richer, more fond of learning, and more polished—that is, more civil and gentle in their manners—than any other people. They were the only bankers; all trade with foreign nations was carried on by them alone; and even the gold and silver ornaments and vessels used in Christian churches, were mostly made by these determined enemies of Christianity.
During the eleventh century, of which we have been speaking, the Jews in Egypt were for a short time persecuted by a Saracen prince, who wished to establish a new religion in the place of Mahometanism, or Islamism, as the religion established by Mahomet was called. As neither Jews nor Christians would assist him, he persecuted both; obliging the former to wear some outward mark to distinguish them, and point them out as objects for hatred and insult. He commanded their synagogues to be closed, and tried to force them to follow the new religion, of which he wanted to be the head. After a time, however, he allowed them to return to the practice of their own rites and ceremonies. Towards the middle of the eleventh century, an Eastern Caliph determined to get rid of the Jews altogether. He shut up their academies or schools; banished the teachers; and killed the Prince of the Captivity, with all his family. This cruel persecution drove many of the Jews into the deserts of Arabia; but most of them took refuge in the western countries; and by the end of the eleventh century, they had become numerous and powerful in different towns of Germany. Some of the Jews, driven out of the East, passed through Africa into Spain, and there joined their brethren, who, having helped the Saracens to conquer Spain, were now greatly favoured by the Caliphs, and were a wealthy and flourishing people. Hatred of the Christians was a bond of union between the Jews and the Mahometans; but when one of the rabbis tried to convert the Saracens of Grenada to the Jewish religion, the king was so enraged, that he caused the rabbi to be seized and put to death at once. This was followed by a terrible persecution of the Hebrew race.
The Jews, however, suffered still greater miseries in those parts of Spain which were under the rule of Christian princes. One of these, called Ferdinand, having declared war against the Saracens, resolved, in the first place, to destroy all the Jews in his dominions, expecting by such an act of cruelty to obtainthe favour and blessing of God! but the clergy of his kingdom objected to the execution of such a scheme; and the Pope himself wrote, and blamed Ferdinand for such unchristianlike zeal, so that the design was given up.
Alphonso, the successor of Ferdinand, found himself in such difficulties, owing to the increasing power of the Saracens, that he showed favour to the Jews, in order to get them to help him with men and money in his wars against the Infidels. He even allowed them to act as judges over Christians; but the Pope did not at all approve of this, and reproached the king for having, as he expressed it, "put the synagogue of Satan above the Church of Christ." Alphonso, however, did not take away the indulgences, which he had granted only to further his own interest.
The close of this eleventh century was remarkable for the first of the Crusades, or wars undertaken by Christian nations, in order to take Palestine, or the Holy Land, out of the hands of the Saracens. In many parts of Spain, great numbers of Jews were massacred by those about to join the Crusade, under the mistaken idea that they should bring the blessing of God upon their intended expedition, by destroying the descendants of those who had crucified the Saviour of mankind. In Germany, the Crusaders, who marched through the country, murdered all the Jews who refused to become Christians. An immense number thus perished, many of whom were burnt in their houses; for the unhappy Jews barricaded their dwellings, and then threw their families, their property, and themselves into the flames, thus disappointing the avarice of their enemies, who coveted their riches. Even mothers, on the approach of the merciless Crusaders, killed their children with their own hands, telling them it was far better for them to go at once into Abraham's bosom, than to fall into the hands of the Christians. Some of the Jews, less brave and conscientious than their brethren, saved their lives by pretending to adopt the Christian religion, which they must naturally have hated more than ever, since those who professed to be guided by its precepts, had acted with a degree of cruelty and inhumanity, worthy only of the most ignorant savages. The same dreadful scenes took place in Palestine, for when the Crusaders arrived in that country, they, actuated by very mistaken notions of the spirit of Christianity, inhumanly murdered all the Jews they could lay hands upon; and men, women, and children alike perished by hundreds.
During this dreadful time, it is pleasant to know that someof the Christian bishops and clergy did try to protect the Jews; and they received into their houses such fugitives as could manage to escape from the fury of their enemies.
Thus ended the eleventh century.
Ourhistory has now brought us to the twelfth century; that is, to the space of 100 years, froma.d.1100 toa.d.1200. The twelfth century began as the eleventh had ended; for the Crusaders continued to persecute the Jews in Germany and other countries, as well as in Palestine.
The cry of the Christians was, "Let us destroy the descendants of those who crucified Jesus Christ, so that the name of Israel be no more remembered"—a cry as much at variance with prophecy, as with the spirit of Christianity; for the Holy Scriptures had plainly declared, that the once chosen people of God, though scattered throughout all lands, and severely punished for their unbelief, shouldnever be destroyed.
Among the Christian bishops who interfered in favour of the Jews, was one called St. Bernard, who thought that it was the duty of Christians toconvertrather than destroy them; and that kindness was more likely to do this than persecution. St. Bernard brought Innocent the Second, who was then Pope, to agree with him, and to befriend the Hebrew race.
On one occasion, when this Pope entered with much pomp and show into Paris, the Jews, approaching him with great respect, gave him a volume, or roll, containing the Law. The Pope received it, and said, "I reverence the Law given by God to Moses, but I condemn your explanation of it, because you still expect the Coming of the promised Messiah, instead of believing, as the Catholic Church does, that Jesus Christ was indeed the Messiah our Saviour; and that He now liveth and reigneth in Heaven, with God the Father, and God the Holy Ghost."
The next Pope was also favourable to the Jews, and forbade the people to insult them on any occasion whatever. Under such circumstances, the Jews became a rich and flourishing people in Rome, and in all the other cities of Italy.
Towards the close of the twelfth century, a Jewish rabbi,named Joseph, was prime minister to a Christian king of Spain, and had a coach of state, and guards to attend upon him; but having cause to be displeased with the wicked conduct of one of his countrymen, this man, whose name was Gonzales, contrived by his falsehoods to set the king against Joseph, who was in consequence turned out of his office in disgrace. Gonzales, who, though a Jew himself, was no friend to his brethren, now, under pretence of enriching the king, persuaded him to allow him to do as he pleased with eight of the principal Jews. The king consented; Gonzales caused these eight men to be put to death, and seized all their property. He then asked the king to give up to him twenty more; but the monarch refused, thinking it more honourable to demand some of their riches for his own use, than to deprive them of life as well as property: the unhappy Jews gladly consented to give the king large sums of money, in order to preserve their lives. Shortly afterwards, Gonzales, having displeased the king, was shut up in prison, and then the Jews again enjoyed that peace and quiet so favourable to the pursuit of learning, of which they were very fond. Among the learned men who distinguished themselves at this time, the chief was Moses Maimonides, or the son of Maimon. This man claimed to be descended from king David: his knowledge and learning were so wonderfully great, and so far superior to that of any other rabbi, that his countrymen called him "The Eagle of Doctors," (the eagle being the king of his kind,) and declared, that no one before had ever come so near in wisdom to their great founder and lawgiver, whose name he bore.
But the very wisdom and learning for which they praised him, soon raised the jealousy of the Jews against Maimonides; and this feeling was increased by his showing very little respect for the Talmud, and by his teaching some extraordinary doctrines, learnt from a Mahometan of Arabia, under whom he had studied. Thus Maimonides offended a great part of the Jewish people; and at Montpelier, a town in the South of France, the chief of the synagogue persuaded certain learned men to preach against Maimonides, and defend the Talmud: he also caused the works of Maimonides to be burnt, and excommunicated all who should dare to read them.
The learned men amongst the Jews were now divided into two parties: oneforand oneagainstMaimonides; and disputes were in consequence carried on for many years. At this time,learning was not entirely confined tomenamongst the Hebrew race; for several learned Jewishwomenmade themselves remarkable in the twelfth century. One of these women was so skilful in explaining the Law and the Talmud, that many went to hear her lectures upon these subjects: she spake to the people from behind a latticed window, so that, whilst her voice was heard, she herself could not be seen by those outside.
From Jewish historians we learn, that during this twelfth century many of their nation were raised, at different times, to high offices in the courts of princes; and that others became celebrated as generals. Several learned Jews also renounced their religion and became Christians, and then wrote books in favour of Christianity. One of these Jews turned Mahometan, and wrote a book, accusing his Jewish brethren of having altered the Law given to Moses by God. This greatly pleased the followers of Mahomet, who forbade any person to quote or translate any part of the Pentateuch, as used by either Jews or Christians.
In France, towards the end of this century, the Jews suffered greatly under Philip Augustus, or Philip the Second, who began to reigna.d.1180. Some Jews were accused of having murdered a Christian youth; king Philip eagerly seized upon such an excuse, and, under pretence of piety and zeal for the glory of God, banished all the Hebrew race from his dominions; allowing them only to keep the money for which they could sell their furniture, the king taking for his own use all the rest of their property. It is even said that these poor creatures were robbed of what money they had been allowed to keep, and reduced to such a state of want and misery, that many died in consequence. The industry and skill of the Jews, however, made their loss felt in every country from which they were expelled; and no doubt that was the case now, for shortly afterwards Philip recalled them, excusing himself to such of his subjects as disapproved of the measure, by saying, that he allowed the Jews to return in order to get from them money to pay the expenses of the Crusades.
So wickedly were the Jews treated at this time, that if one became a Christian, all his property was taken from him—a measure not likely to encourage conversions.
Something must now be said of the treatment of the Jews in England during the twelfth century. Henry the Second, who began to reigna.d.1154, has been blamed by monkish writersfor allowing them to live in peace; but the scene was soon changed.
The great wealth of the Jews caused them often to be applied to by those who wished to borrow money; but they were hated by all Christians, and grievously oppressed and ill-treated in most Christian countries. When Richard the First succeeded his father,a.d.1189, the Jews hoped, by giving him large sums of money, to secure his favour and protection; and great numbers of them came up to London from the most distant parts of England, just before the king's coronation. The common people in those days were very ignorant and superstitious, and fancied that the Jews were magicians or conjurors, who could bewitch the king, and so do him harm; and Richard, therefore, forbade any Jew to be present in Westminster Abbey at his coronation.
Some of them, however, hoping to forward their own interests, ventured into the abbey, loaded with valuable presents for the monarch; but as they knelt before him, the king spurned them with his foot, and the courtiers followed his example. A great outcry was immediately raised outside the abbey; and at the same time a report was spread, that Richard had given an order for the general massacre of the Jews. An order so agreeable to the people, who hated the race of Israel, was instantly acted upon; and under this false impression, hundreds of Jews perished miserably: houses were broken open, and all the inhabitants murdered; or if they resisted the entrance of their foes, their houses were set on fire. Many of these wretched Jews put their own wives and children to death, to prevent their falling into the merciless hands of the Christians. The day after the coronation, a proclamation was published to stop these shocking acts; but the fury of the people was not so easily checked, and the persecution continued in some degree for several months. Nor was it confined to London, for in other parts of England similar outrages were committed upon the unfortunate Jews.
When Richard the First went to Palestine to take part in the Third Crusade, the Jews suffered a still worse persecution; for although they had furnished the king with large sums of money for the expenses of this war, their enemies were not satisfied.
It has been said, that in those times the Jews best understood how to get rich by trade; one way in which they made money was, by lending it at high interest. If, for instance, any person wanted a large sum of money at once, in order to buy an estate,or carry out any great object, he would borrow it of the Jews; engaging, in return, to pay a certain sum every year, or every month, asintereston the money lent, until he could repay the whole sum.
The Jews who lent money asked very high interest for it; and were often guilty of great injustice and harshness to those who had borrowed it: all this added considerably to the hatred felt towards the Hebrew race on account of their religion.
WhenRichard the First was making preparations for the Holy War, (as the Crusade was called,) his Christian subjects felt very angry that they, who looked upon themselves as the favourites of Heaven, should be obliged to deprive their families even of needful things, in order to fit themselves or others out to join in this war, whilst the enemies of Christ were left in peaceable enjoyment of their riches; and they persuaded themselves that it would be a meritorious act, acceptable to God, to destroy all the descendants of those who had crucified the Saviour, and then take their wealth to pay the expenses of the Crusade. Before his departure for the Holy Land, the King gave an order that the Jews were not to be disturbed in any way; but no sooner had he left England, than the fury of the people broke out afresh, and very many of the unhappy Israelites were destroyed in different places, and their property seized; whilst the magistrates, whose duty it was to keep order and protectallthe king's subjects, made little or no attempt to stop these acts of cruelty and violence.
At York, the most dreadful scenes took place. The Jews of that city were great money-lenders, orusurers, as they were called in reproach; and as they lived in a sumptuous manner, indulging themselves in every luxury, the people envied them for their riches, and hated them more and more; and hearing what had been done in other parts of England, they prepared to attack their victims. Upon this, the chief persons among the Israelites prevailed upon the governor of York to allow their countrymen to take refuge in the castle, as its walls were strong enough toprotect those within them. Very soon, however, the Jews, seeing that the governor frequently went out of the castle into the city, suspected that he was plotting with their enemies for their destruction; and therefore, one day, when he had gone out as usual, they shut the gates, and refused to let him in again. The governor, very indignant, complained to the sheriff and to the heads of the Christian party, who, as they were the chief debtors to the Jews, were most anxious to destroy them. The sheriff immediately ordered the governor to attack the castle; but he soon repented of having given such a hasty order, and many of the principal citizens refused to join in its execution. It was, however, too late to check the populace, who were bent upon murder and robbery. The attack was made, the assailants encouraging each other by the cry, "Destroy the enemies of Jesus." The Jews offered to give large sums of money, on condition that their lives should be spared; but this offer was refused. When they saw that they could defend themselves no longer, one of their most esteemed rabbis proposed that they should kill themselves, saying, that it was better to die courageously for the Law than to fall into the hands of the Christians. Accordingly, these poor creatures killed their wives and children, set fire to the castle, and then slew themselves. In this way 500 perished. A few, who gave themselves up in hopes of meeting with mercy, were murdered, and all the houses belonging to the Jews were plundered.
Richard was very angry when he heard of such disobedience to his orders, and ordered the Bishop of Ely, as Chief Justice of England, to punish the guilty most severely. The chief offenders, however, had left York before the bishop entered that city; and he contented himself with depriving the sheriff and governor of their offices, and laying a fine upon some of the richest citizens.
Although so much has been said about the Jews in the twelfth century, there is still something more to be added, because during this period there were more impostors pretending to be the Messiah, than during any other similar period of time. The first of these impostors appeared in Francea.d.1137, and committed so many crimes, that the Government caused several synagogues to be destroyed, and at length the man himself was put to death, with a large number of his followers. The next year a false Messiah appeared in Persia, and collected a formidable army. The king of the country bribed him with a largesum of money to disband his followers, and then treacherously caused him to be beheaded, forcing the Jews to return to him the money, which he had given as a bribe to the unfortunate man.
Spain had also her impostor, who appeared ina.d.1157, and was supported by one of the most learned rabbis of Cordova, who had just written a book to prove that the Messiah must shortly come—a work which had probably put it into the head of this man to assume the character. The greater part of the educated and sensible Jews looked upon this impostor as a madman; but the people in general believed in him, and suffered severely for their folly.
Ten years afterwards, a person appeared in the kingdom of Fez, in Africa, and declared that in the course of a year the promised Messiah would come. The conduct of this impostor greatly displeased the Mahometans, to whom the kingdom belonged, and brought persecution upon all the Jews scattered throughout the country.
In the same year in which a false Messiah appeared in Fez, another Jew of Arabia took the title of Messiah. He pretended to work miracles, and gained many followers. He was at length seized, and taken before the ruler of the country, who asked him, what had led him to try and impose upon his countrymen? He boldly answered, that he had not done so, for that he was indeed a prophet sent by God. Being then asked what miracle he could work to prove that he was really sent by God, he said, "Cut off my head, and I will come back again to life." The king took him at his word, and ordered him to be beheaded, promising to believe in him if he came to life again. His followers actually continued for some time to expect his re-appearance; but at last they were obliged to give up all hope: they were heavily fined, as a punishment for listening to this impostor.
We have now spoken of eight pretended Messiahs; but there is still one more, the most famous of them all: this was a Jew, named David Alroi, or El David, who, with about 1,000 of his countrymen, dwelt in a city subject to the King of Persia, to whom they paid tribute. In 1199 El David took the title of Messiah; and, being a learned and clever man, he deceived the multitude by his pretended miracles, and persuaded them to take up arms in his cause. The King of Persia, alarmed by the success of the rebels, commanded El David to go to Court, promising toacknowledge him as the Messiah, if he would give some miraculous proof of being so. Contrary to all expectation, the impostor appeared before the king, persisting in his claim to be the true Messiah. He was then put into prison, in order to see whether he could work a miracle to set himself free. Somehow or other, he did manage to escape, and those who were sent in search of him were unable to find him; but, through the treachery of his son-in-law, who took a large bribe to betray him, he was given up to the king, and put to death, with a great number of those who had been deceived by him.
Thus remarkably was fulfilled our Saviour's prophecy, that "false Christs and false prophets should arise and deceive many." It may seem strange to us that the Jews, after refusing to acknowledge Jesus Christ, Who had given so many proofs of His Divine power, should afterwards have been so ready to follow any impostor who chose to style himself the Messiah, without being able to do one single thing to support such a claim.
The reason of this appears to be, that the Jews, in spite of all prophecy, still set their minds upon a Messiah, who could at once establish a kingdom upon earth; and they were, in consequence, always ready to take up arms, hoping that the time for establishing such a kingdom was now come.
Jesus, by His conduct, put an end to all hopes of the kind in Him; and therefore He was despised and rejected. The impostors who took His name promised to deliver the Jews from all their enemies, and restore them to their country; and therefore they were believed and followed.
The cruel treatment experienced by the Jews in England during the reign of Richard the First, led many of those who still possessed any property, to leave the country; so that when John became king,a.d.1199, the absence of so many rich people and the falling off of trade were much felt in the kingdom; and, in the early part of the thirteenth century, the king used every means in his power to bring them back. He solemnly promised, that if they would give him a large sum of money, they should enjoy all their former privileges: he allowed them to possess lands, build synagogues, and even choose a High Priest. Great numbers of Jews then returned to England, where they were soon more cruelly plundered than they had been before. It was the old story; they were odious to the people on account of their religion, and still more so, perhaps, for the enormous usury whichthey exacted for money lent. Thus there was a continual cry for their banishment, or rather for their destruction; but the king found it more for his own interest to keep them in the country, where he could upon all occasions make them purchase his protection by paying a heavy fine; and the Jews, seeing that so long as they gave money to the king they might exact what interest they pleased for money lent to his subjects, acted accordingly, and became more and more oppressive to all who were so unfortunate as to be their debtors.
In the beginning of the thirteenth century,a.d.1210, John wished to raise a large sum of money: as usual, he fell upon the Jews. The money not being readily paid, the king, in spite of the privileges which these unfortunate people had so dearly purchased, ordered men and women to be put into prison until he received the enormous sum which he now demanded. A Jew of Bristol was called upon to furnish such an immense sum, that he refused, declaring that the payment of it would reduce him to beggary. Upon this refusal, the king cruelly ordered that one of the poor man's teeth should be taken out every day until he did pay. This wretched Jew lost seven teeth, and then agreed to give the sum demanded by the king.
Henry the Thirdbecame King of England on the death of John,a.d.1216: he was quite a child when his father died; but those who governed for him, set the Jews who were in prison at liberty; and ordered that they should be protected against the violence of the Crusaders. Still, during the whole of Henry's long reign, which extended far into the latter half of the thirteenth century, the Jews were subject to great oppression and ill-usage in England.
As a privilege and favour to the citizens of Newcastle, the king commanded that no Jew should be allowed to dwell in their city.
The Archbishop of Canterbury, and the Bishops of Lincoln and Norwich, took a sure way of driving the Jews out of their dioceses; for they forbade all Christians to sell them any provisions whatever.
The Prior of Dunstable, on the other hand, gave the Jews leave to reside in those places over which he had any control, on condition of their paying him every year two silver spoons.
The Jews were at this time accused of committing all sorts of dreadful crimes; how far these accusations were true or false, we do not know. They were human creatures, and the cruel treatment they met with, might well lead them into the commission of many wrong acts, which would, of course, be exaggerated by the hatred of their enemies; who believed them guilty, upon the slightest suspicion, and compelled them, in consequence, to pay heavy fines.
In the middle of the century, when Henry the Third demanded fresh supplies of money for the purposes of war, the Jews, irritated by such repeated oppression, wished to leave England, and seek some more hospitable country, in which they might dwell: the king refused to allow them to leave the country, and forced them to pay the tax demanded. The next year, the king again applied to them, declaring that in spite of the taxes he had already levied, he continued to be greatly in want of money, and must raise it from any quarter, and by any means.
The unfortunate Jews truly declared that they could not pay the taxes now demanded of them; upon which Henry the Third actually sold them and their possessions to his brother, to raise the sum required! It was now expected that the Jews would be completely robbed of everything they possessed, in order to repay the prince the money for which he had bought them; but he, being convinced that they really could not have furnished the sum required, had compassion upon them, and left them in peace.
To such a height had hatred of the Jews risen in this reign, that when (about 1264) the barons took up arms to force the king to agree to their demands, they could think of no better way of gaining the favour and help of the people, than by killing the Jews; and 700 were accordingly massacred. The pretence for this massacre was, that one of the Jews had tried to force a Christian to pay an enormous and unfair interest for a loan of money: supposing this to have been true, the crime of one man should not have caused the death of hundreds. At the same time, houses were plundered, and the magnificent synagogue, built in the beginning of Henry the Third's reign, was burnt to the ground: it was afterwards rebuilt; but in 1270, the king most unjustly took it from the Jews, and gave it to a body offriars, who lived near it, and complained that their devotions were disturbed by the howling of the Jews during their worship.
The fact was, that the chapel belonging to the friars was small and dark, and they coveted the fine large synagogue close by their dwelling; and as no ideas of justice ever interfered with the treatment of the Jews, they begged the king to give them this synagogue, and furnished him with an excuse for doing so.
On the death of Henry the Third,a.d.1272, his son Edward the First became King of England, and very soon afterwards a law was made, which promised to improve the condition of the Jews; as it fixed a yearly tax to be paid by them, instead of leaving them liable to be called upon for contributions on every occasion, at the will of their enemies. This law also permitted them to possess houses and lands wherever they pleased. But, on the other hand, it was forbidden for any Christian to lodge in the house of a Jew; and every one of the Hebrew race above seven years of age, was obliged to wear a distinguishing mark upon his upper garment: this mark was a figure of two ropes joined together.
In the latter part of his reign, Edward changed his conduct towards the Jews, and they were treated with much injustice and even cruelty. The oppression suffered by these unhappy people, had not unnaturally raised up in them a spirit of retaliation; it made them think, that it was justifiable to use every possible means, right or wrong, to repay themselves for all the money unjustly taken from them by the Christians: their attempts to do this, increased the hatred entertained for them. They were accused of coining false money, and of cheating in every possible way. A great outcry being raised against them, they were, in all parts of the kingdom, thrown into prison, and many of them were executed, whilst their houses, lands, and goods, were sold for the use of Government. But to show the people that these measures were not taken merely for the sake of the plunder, the king ordered, that half the money produced by this sale should be put by, and given to such Jews as would renounce their religion and become Christians. Very few, however, could be brought, for the sake of worldly advantages, to embrace the religion of their persecutors; nor can we be surprised, that the very unchristianlike conduct of the followers of the blessed Jesus, should have increased the hatred and contempt felt by the Jews for the Christian religion.
Towards the end of the thirteenth century, abouta.d.1290, Edward the First, who had already banished the children of Israel from those parts of France which were under his dominion, now commanded them all to leave England, and never to come back on pain of death. He took whatever property they had, only allowing them to keep enough money to pay the expenses of removal into foreign countries; and of this miserable sum many of them were robbed by the seamen at Dover and other ports, whilst some hundreds of the poor wretches were even thrown into the sea and drowned: for this crime, however, many of the guilty seamen were punished by death.
The clergy in England were so delighted to get rid of the Jews, that they willingly gave the king very considerable sums of money to make up for the loss of a people, from whom former monarchs had always obtained help in time of need.
After this banishment of the Jews by Edward the First, they never appeared in any considerable numbers in England, until the seventeenth century.
In France we have seen the Jews banished by Philip the Second, and then recalled by the same monarch at the end of the twelfth century (p. 408). They immediately returned to all their former ways of making money by usury, so that early in the thirteenth century they had again become rich, and purchased lands of the lords who had large estates; but on certain conditions, which made them in some degree the property of the liege lord, of whom they held their lands. This "feudal tenure," as it was called, was common over Europe in those times; and all, whether Jews or Christians, who thus held lands under a liege lord, were called his "vassals," and were bound to do him certain services, whenever called upon to do so.
For some time Philip allowed, or at least did not try to put a stop to, the usurious practices of the Jews, because they gave him large sums of money in return for letting them alone; but at last the complaints of his subjects forced him to make some laws to check the evil. Philip the Second dieda.d.1223; Louis the Eighth, who succeeded him, reigned only three years: but when Louis the Ninth, surnamed Saint Louis, became king,a.d.1226, he immediately made a law, forbidding any of his subjects to borrow money of a Jew. The condition of the Jews in France at this time was miserable enough; their property was at the mercy of those lords, in whose territories they had fixedtheir residence; without his leave, they could not change their place of abode, and if they ventured to do so, their liege lord had a right to follow them, and seize upon them as runaway, slaves! If one lord sold land to another, the Jews living on such land, also became the property of the purchaser: sometimes even, they were sold apart from the land, the price asked for them varying according to the talent and industry of each individual. But there was something worse still; if one of these Jews did become a Christian, the whole of his property was forfeited to his liege lord. So that these unhappy people were at the same time oppressed and persecuted for being Jews, or for becoming Christians; and this, by persons calling themselves Christians, who should have rejoiced at every conversion, and done all in their power to make them more frequent. Louis the Ninth, although called St. Louis on account of his remarkable piety and devotion, not only approved of these cruel and unjust laws, but added others; forbidding Christians to have any intercourse with the Jews, who were, in short, treated with the greatest harshness and injustice.
But the most terrible persecution of this unhappy race, took place ina.d.1238, when they were accused of having, in mockery of the Christians, crucified some children on Good Friday: on this supposition, multitudes of the Jews were put to death with the most cruel tortures, until the Pope, Gregory the Ninth, interfered to save them from further slaughter. During the imprisonment of Louis the Ninth in the Holy Land, whither he had gone upon a Crusade, he ordered the Jews to be driven out of his dominions; but when Philip the Third (the Bold) became king, ina.d.1270, he recalled the Jews, because he stood in need of their money. In other parts of France, which were governed by Dukes or Princes of their own, subject more or less to the king, the Jews met with much the same kind of treatment; but in some provinces they did become magistrates, and possessed Christian slaves. Philip the Fourth (the Fair), who succeeded his father as king,a.d.1285, followed the example of Edward the First, who was then King of England, and banished the Jews altogether from France; seizing all their wealth, with the exception of a small sum to pay the expenses of their journey: many died of fatigue and want by the way, and the rest sought refuge in Germany. Some avoided banishment by being baptized: most of these returned afterwards to Judaism; but the conversion of some of them, at least, was sincere. Amongst those who became true Christians, was one Nicolas de Lyra, who spent the remainder of his life in explaining the Scriptures; and even wrote a book to prove from Scripture, that the Jews were wrong in not acknowledging Jesus Christ to be indeed the promised Messiah.
InSpain during the thirteenth century, the Jews suffered as much as they did in England and in France. At this time there were two Christian kingdoms in Spain: namely, the kingdom of Castile and the kingdom of Arragon; the southern part of Spain formed the kingdom of the Moors, who were Mahometans. The Bishop of Toledo, vexed at the increased numbers and riches of the Israelites in Spain, excited the populace against them, and putting himself at the head of the rioters, entered and plundered synagogues and houses; the Crusaders completed the work so unworthily begun by a Christian bishop, and, according to Jewish writers, this was one of the most severe and bloody persecutions ever endured by their unhappy countrymen: great numbers quitted the country at this time. The Spanish nobles tried to put a stop to the horrible cruelties practised towards the Jews; but Ferdinand the Third, who became King of Castile,a.d.1226, rather encouraged the persecution, in order to make himself popular with the lower orders, who detested the Jews.
In the kingdom of Arragon, towards the middle of the century, great efforts were made for the conversion of the Jews. One of the clergy, named Raymond, contrived to keep in check the violence of the people, who had a great respect for him; and at the same time he persuaded the king, James the First, who was a zealous Christian, that the best way to convert the Jews was by treating them with kindness, and trying to convince them of their errors. To carry out his views, Raymond caused many of the friars to learn the Hebrew and Arabic languages, and to study the Scriptures carefully, so as to be able to reason with the Jews, and point out to them how all the prophecies in the Old Testament were fulfilled in Jesus of Nazareth. All his attempts to convert the Jews were, however, unsuccessful, although theyhighly esteemed Raymond himself for his moderation and humanity.
The King of Arragon mean time, so far from sharing the prejudices against the Jews, applied to them for instruction in many matters of learning and science: the great and learned men amongst the Spaniards also encouraged and admired them; but the people, and the ignorant and ill-educated among the clergy, hated and despised them, and would gladly have destroyed them altogether.
In the middle of the century, Alphonso the Tenth, who was then King of Castile, encouraged all learned men, whatever might be their religious opinions; and the favour shown in consequence to the Jews, excited the jealousy of the people, who formed fresh plots for their destruction. The dead body of a man was thrown into the house of a Jew, who was then accused of having murdered the man: this accusation roused the fury of the populace, who put numbers of the Jews to death. The massacre threatened to become general, but the authorities interfered, and declaring that the Jew was innocent of the crime laid to his charge, order was at length restored.
During those times, when the Israelites enjoyed the favour of the kings in Spain, many learned men flourished, and educated pupils, who afterwards became celebrated amongst their countrymen.
The Spanish Jews were again disturbed by an impostor called Zechariah, who pretended that by studying the prophecies, he had discovered the exact day on which the Messiah would appear; and declared that the Jewish people would then be gathered together by the Lord, Who would subdue their enemies and resettle them in their ancient kingdom. The Jews, always too easily deceived, prepared for this grand event by prayer and fasting; and on the appointed day they crowded to the synagogues clothed in white robes. Besides having the mortification of a bitter disappointment, they thus brought upon themselves the insult and ridicule of their enemies.
In Germany, during the thirteenth century, the Jews suffered much, in consequence of their being constantly accused of committing crimes more or less heinous. At one time they were charged with encouraging the Persians and Tartars to attack the country and destroy the Christians; at another time, with preventing the baptism of those amongst them who wished to becomeChristians; and they were repeatedly accused of murdering Christian children at the time of the Passover. What truth there was in any of these accusations, we do not know, but each was made by the people a pretext for robbery and murder; nor could the authorities save the wretched Jews from the fury of their Christian enemies. On one occasion, when the people of Munich were murdering all the Jews they could find, the town officers, unable to stop the tumult, advised the wretched victims to take refuge in their synagogue, a strong stone building, till the fury of their persecutors should cool down: but in spite of the efforts made by the Duke of Bavaria and his officers, they were all burnt, or otherwise killed in the synagogue. Notwithstanding all these persecutions, many learned rabbis flourished in Germany during this century; and towards its close violent disputes arose amongst the Jews themselves, as to the doctrines which were to be believed and taught. The consequence was, that the Jews were divided into two parties or sects, the Rabbinists and the Caraites: these two sects hated each other, since the Caraites taught that the Talmud, regarded by the Rabbinists with the greatest veneration, was not to be depended upon in any way whatever.
Towards the end of the century, when Germany was disturbed by the wars between Albert of Austria and another prince, who both wished to be Emperor of Germany, a peasant pretended that he was sent by God to destroy all the Jews. This man went about the country declaring his errand, and exciting the people to execute the Will of God. The multitude rose at once, and killed great numbers of the Jews; whilst many of these unhappy people destroyed themselves and their families, to escape from their enemies. Albert would gladly have put a stop to this barbarous persecution; but he was afraid that if he did so, many of his followers, who believed that the peasant really had a divine commission, would abandon him, and take the side of the rival prince. The riot was at last stopped, and a heavy fine laid upon the town of Nuremburg, where it had begun: half the town was already burnt down, by the Jews setting fire to their own houses.
It has been already said, that the Roman Pontiffs, or Popes, often interfered to stop the persecution of the Jews, and to check the mistaken zeal of those who wanted toforcethem to become Christians. In 1247, Innocent the Fourth wrote a letter in defence of the Jews, declaring that they were not guilty of the crimes laid to their charge; and he also said, that their conditionunder Christian princes, was far more miserable and wretched than that of their fathers had been under Pharaoh.
There were a great many Jews in the kingdom of Naples, and they had much wealth: as they had done the king some important service, he treated them with great indulgence. But after his death, attempts were made to convert them, instead of allowing them still to enjoy the free exercise of their religion. The Jews, fearing a persecution, offered to become Christians, provided they were allowed to marry into the richest and noblest families in the kingdom—a condition that they felt certain would be refused; but to their surprise and sorrow, permission was granted, and thus they were obliged to profess Christianity; but those who were not able to make advantageous marriages, soon returned to the practice of their own religion.
It is said, that a monk, who wished the Jews to be punished for pretending to be Christians, hid a cross in a heap of earth, and then accused one of these poor creatures of having done it: the people, enraged at such an act, rose at once and massacred a great number of the Jews, and more would have been put to death if the nobles had not interposed, and even given shelter in their own houses to some of the most wealthy, who were always the peculiar objects of popular fury. In the East, the number and the power of the Jews were much lessened during the thirteenth century. The Caliph of Bagdad, who was a zealous Mahometan, and very fond of money, was vexed to see a people growing rich by their own industry, whilst they were always ready to receive any one who declared himself to be the Messiah: and he therefore began a persecution, by which he hoped to compel all Jews, either to become Mahometans or to leave his dominions. Some departed; others, to avoid exile, pretended to become followers of Mahomet. In some parts of the East the Jews suffered greatly from the invasions of the Tartars; but towards the end of the century they enjoyed peace for a short time, under a prince, whose chief minister and favourite was a Jewish physician, who obtained many privileges and indulgences for his countrymen. But on the death of this prince, his Mahometan subjects, enraged at the favour he had shown to the Jews for the sake of his minister, accused the latter of having poisoned his master: he was condemned without any proof, and vast numbers of his countrymen were at the same time murdered.
Palestine was greatly distressed by the wars between theChristians and the Saracens. The Jews had still some synagogues in their native land; and even amidst their troubles, several learned rabbis appeared amongst them, the most remarkable of whom was styled the "Father of Wisdom"; he had been born in Spain, but went to live in Judæa, where he built a synagogue. Several learned rabbis of the Caraite sect flourished in different parts of the East during the thirteenth century.
The fourteenth century does not seem to have brought any comfort to the wretched Hebrews. The same avarice or love of money which made Philip the Fourth drive them out of France, made Louis the Tenth, who became kinga.d.1314, bring them back again; because he wanted some of their money to enable him to reduce the Flemings to subjection. The Flemings were the inhabitants of Flanders, a country in that part of Europe which we now call Belgium. The conditions upon which the Jews were allowed to return to France were, that they should pay a heavy tax to the king; and that their stay in the country should be limited to a period of twelve years. During this time they might make money by trade and labour: they might buy land for synagogues and burying-places, and they might purchase any books they pleased with the exception of the Talmud: but they were forbidden to converse publicly or privately with any Christian; and they were obliged, as before, to wear a mark upon their upper garment.
Philip the Fifth became King of France ina.d.1316, and during his reign the Jews suffered much from a body of men called "The Shepherds." They really were shepherds and labourers, who left their usual occupations to go, as they said, to the relief of the Holy Land. Their leaders were two priests, who, by pretending to work miracles, got many of the lowest classes of the people to join the band. Having thus strengthened themselves by the addition of a considerable body of desperate ruffians, the Shepherds plundered the southern provinces of France, and by breaking open the prisons, added still further to their own numbers, by receiving the liberated criminals as brethren. They committed the most unheard-of barbarities, especially upon the Jews, who fled before this savage band, and took refuge in considerable numbers, in a strong castle, near Toulouse; and here defended themselves bravely, but in vain. When no hope of safety remained, they put themselves or each other to death. Many of the Shepherds were taken and executed.
Aboutten years after the affair of the Shepherds, the Jews in France were accused of having been bribed by the Saracen king of Granada to poison all the wells and rivers in the country. There was no proof of this but the declaration of a leper, who said, that a rich Jew had given him money to poison some wells; but this was enough for the populace, who, without waiting for inquiry or trial, rose at once, and put numbers of the suspected race to a cruel death.
The king, Philip the Sixth, shamefully took advantage of this popular outcry, and imprisoned the wealthy Jews in Paris until they told him where their treasures were hid; he then seized the greatest part for his own use, and banished the whole race from his dominions. The Jews, thus expelled from France, took refuge in the northern part of Italy, then called Lombardy, and there first established "banks," and the system called "banking"; by which merchants, in lands far distant from each other, could receive the price of goods exchanged, without the risk of sending money: and by this means, the Jews from this time were often able to save their riches from the avarice and violence of their enemies. But the system of banking was not useful to the Jews alone: it was of the greatest service to trade in general, as well as to individuals, and has continued so up to the present time, when every considerable town in almost all European countries has its bank or banks. The great skill and cleverness of the Jews in all matters connected with money, made the monarchs of various kingdoms willing to let them remain in their dominions; for though they would gladly have been rid of the Jews themselves, they were anxious to keep their wealth in the country.
After John the Second became King of France,a.d.1351, the Jews tried to obtain leave to return to France; but the permission was not granted until 1356, when, John having been taken prisoner by the English, the money of the Jews was needed to raise the sum demanded for his ransom. The children of Israel were, therefore, re-admitted into France for twenty years, on condition that they should at once pay a considerable sum, and that each Jew should pay annually a fixed tax. They wouldhave been wiser to have remained out of the kingdom; for during the reign of Charles the Sixth, which began in 1380, they were often fined, scourged, and many of them executed, on pretence of their having committed various crimes. The wicked absurdity of many of these accusations is proved by the fact, that when Charles the Sixth became mad, the Jews were accused of having deprived him of his senses!
Towards the end of the fourteenth century, the people of France again became clamorous for the banishment of the Jews; and supported by certain noblemen who owed those unhappy creatures money, they broke into their houses, murdered the inhabitants, and seized all the property they could find. Some of the persecuted race took refuge in one of the prisons: their wives attempted to follow them, with their children in their arms, but the mob forced the little ones away from their mothers, and carried them off to be baptized. The government, too weak to venture on punishing the perpetrators of these crimes, replaced the Jews who survived in their houses; and ordered that all persons who had taken any of their property should give it back to them—an order which was, of course, only laughed at. Ina.d.1394, an Act was passed, banishing the Jews from France for ever; but as the town of Metz, in that part of the country called Lorraine, was then a free city, under the protection of the Emperor of Germany, the Jews continued to reside there in peace; and after Lorraine became a part of the kingdom of France, the French monarchs did not molest the Jews in Metz. But though, until the seventeenth century, Metz was the only city in France where the Jews wereallowedto reside, a few were always to be found in different parts of the kingdom. Mary de Medicis, the wife of Henry the Fourth, who became kinga.d.1589, sent for a Jewish physician to Paris, where he was allowed free exercise of his religion for himself and his family.
The Jews, who were driven out of France in 1394, went mostly into Germany, where, however, they could not have much hope of peace, as their brethren in that country had suffered much from the beginning of the fourteenth century. About the middle of the century, a number of ignorant and superstitious Christians, imagining that the Almighty had ordered them to scourge themselves and kill the Jews, formed themselves into a company, called "Flagellants," for the purpose of carrying out what they conceived to be the Divine commission. They proceeded to whip themselves in the most cruel manner, and then began their work of destruction. After many of the Jews had been murdered, the Flagellants came to some agreement with their unhappy victims; but this was rendered useless by the conduct of a Jew of Frankfort, who, not being satisfied with the agreement made, set fire to one of the public buildings, which was burnt down, with all the valuable papers it contained: the flames spread to the cathedral, and burnt that also to ashes. For this crime, not only the guilty Jew, but all his innocent brethren also, were put to death; with the exception of a few, who managed to escape, and took refuge in Bohemia.
The year after the affair of the Flagellants, the Jews in Germany were accused of poisoning wells and springs, and a fresh massacre took place all over the country.
At Metz, the Jews not only defended themselves, which they were perfectly right to do, but in revenge put to death, in a barbarous manner, 200 unarmed Christians, who were in no way answerable for the attack upon them.
The enraged populace punished this real crime, by killing many thousands of the Jews, and setting fire to their houses. The flames spread, and did much damage in the town. This persecution extended over the whole of Germany; some of the princes and nobles tried to save and help the miserable victims, but with little success.
The Jews who had fled into Bohemia suffered equally at Prague; during the Feast of the Passover, they were burnt in their synagogues whilst engaged in their devotions.
Soon afterwards another persecution was raised, on the old charge of poisoning springs and rivers; and this persecution extended through Germany and into Italy, Provence, and other parts. The Emperor of Germany himself, convinced of their innocence of this pretended crime, endeavoured to convince his Council that it was impossible for the Jews to have committed it; but such was the feeling against the Hebrew race, that in order to save them from worse calamities, the Emperor was forced, at the close of the fourteenth century, to command these unhappy creatures either to be baptized, or to leave the country. The Jewish historians tell us, that very few did give up their religion; or, as they expressed it, "forsake the glory of their God."
In Spain, the Jews suffered dreadfully at the beginning of thefourteenth century from the Shepherds, who, after finishing their work of destruction in France, carried fire and sword into Spain; marking out the race of Israel as their especial victims: and a pestilence that broke out in the army of the Shepherds increased their fury against these devoted people, whom they accused of having caused it by poisoning the rivers. This story was readily believed, or at least accepted, by those who ought to have known better; and great numbers of Jews were actually imprisoned on this charge: after a long confinement, the judges declared them to be innocent. The king, unwilling to allow that he had imprisoned them unjustly, pretended that he had only kept them in prison in order to convert them; but he caused a large number who refused to be baptized, to be put to death.
Alphonso the Eleventh, king of Castile, was the friend and protector of the Jews, and had one of that nation for his principal minister and adviser. But this displeased his turbulent and rebellious subjects, who accused a Jewish boy of having in some way insulted the Sacrament: they became so violent upon the subject, that the king was obliged to summon a Council, to decide whether the Israelites should be put to death, or banished. Banishment was decided upon; and they were commanded to leave the country within three months' time: but mean time it was discovered that aChristian, and not aJewishlad, had committed the offence complained of; and the king recalled the sentence of banishment, to the great disappointment and indignation of the enemies of the Jews, who declared, that the witnesses who had proved the Christian lad to be guilty, had been bribed to do so.
The same kind of treatment was experienced by the Israelites in other parts of Spain during the fourteenth century; but during that period the Popes in general treated them with humanity. Troubles and disputes unconnected with the Jews had caused the Popes for a time to leave Rome, and take up their residence at Avignon, in the south of France. Clement the Fifth, then Pope, did all in his power to save the Jews from the violence of the Shepherds, and all their other enemies: he also provided for them the means of instruction, by ordering that Hebrew should be taught in all the Christian universities, or places of education for young men; so that there might be some, able to show the Jews from their own Scriptures, how all ancient prophecies pointed out Jesus Christ as the true Messiah. Again, when the Jews were persecuted on pretence of their having poisoned the rivers, PopeClement the Sixth exerted himself on their behalf; many of them found a safe asylum in Avignon, and the Pope left nothing undone to relieve their misery, and soften the fury of their persecutors. In Italy, the Jews seem to have been pretty well treated during the fourteenth century, and in Poland they met with favour and indulgence: by their industry they gained wealth and power, and became a prosperous and flourishing people, as they have ever since continued to be in that country. Poland produced many learned Jews; and Jewish children from all parts were sent there to study the Talmud, and to learn and practise all the peculiar rites and ceremonies of their religion.