Persecution

Medieval W. Christendom
While the lay authorities of medieval western Christendom sought to protect the
Jews living under their jurisdictions, in some instances these protectors turned into
persecutors. The groundings for such governmental persecution were diverse. In some
instances, rulers became convinced of Jewish crimes and inflicted punishment directly or
through the judicial system or through heavy fines. A the same time, secular authorities
responded to popular resentments and persecuted Jews as a means of securing broad
approval among the Christian masses. On yet other occasions, the motivation for
mistreatment of Jews was entirely fiscal, as rulers sought to enrich their coffers through
trumped up anti-Jewish charges and exorbitant fines on their Jews or through judicial
findings, fines, and large-scale confiscations of Jewish property. The deeper Jewish
dependence on the lay authorities, the more exposed Jews were to the omnipresent
dangers of governmental exploitation and persecution.