The State and the Jews—Charters

 

Statue of Ramon Berenguer IV in Parque del Buen Retiro, Madrid

Statue of Ramon Berenguer IV in Parque del Buen Retiro, Madrid

Given the popular hostility toward Jews depicted in the preceding section and the ambivalent stance of the Roman Catholic Church toward Judaism and Jews detailed earlier, the lay authorities became the key to Jewish well-being in medieval western Christendom. Lay authorities in both the south and the north were regularly committed to fostering Jewish presence, for a variety of reasons. In the south, as Christian armies began to push back the Muslims on the Italian and Iberian peninsulas, the lay authorities felt the need to reassure the Jews of the conquered areas in order to maintain societal stability and the local economies—hence charters such as those of Count Raymond Berenguer IV of Barcelona and King James I of Aragon. These rulers—and others like them—sought to reassure Jews through the grant of generous concessions to those willing to remain in place and make their contribution to Christian society in newly conquered areas.

In the north, charters emerged out of somewhat different circumstances. Here, rulers determined to lead their domains toward economic development that would enable them to close the gap between the older and better developed societies of the south and the young and vigorous societies of the north concluded that Jewish settlers, bringing with them economic expertise, would be a boon to the process of economic maturation. Thus, Bishop Rudiger of Speyer committed himself to attracting Jews to his town, in order to enhance its economy; he decided that the most effective way to entice Jewish settlers would be through offering them circumstances better than those enjoyed by Jews anywhere else in his region. At a later point in time, as the burgeoning principalities of eastern Europe sought to close the gap between themselves and their neighbors further westward, rulers in this area came to parallel conclusions, as reflected in the charter issue by Duke Boleslav of Greater Poland.

The interest of the lay authorities in fostering Jewish presence had a narrower and more self-serving focus as well. For the rulers of medieval western Christendom, the Jews offered rich taxation opportunities. Given the Jewish dependence on these rulers, tax demands were almost impossible to resist.

Images

  1. King Sancho VI of Navarre
  2. King Richard I of England
  3. King James I of Aragon
  4. Readmission to Speyer, 1352
  5. Emperor Henry VII

Primary Texts

  1. Bishop Rudiger of Speyer, 1084 Charter
  2. Emperor Henry IV, 1090 Charter
  3. Count Raymond Berenguer IV of Barcelona, 1149 Charter
  4. Emperor Frederick I, 1157 Charter
  5. King Sancho VI of Navarre, 1179 Charter
  6. King Richard I of England, 1190 Charter
  7. King James I of Aragon, 1239 Charter
  8. Duke Boleslav of Greater Poland, 1264 Charter
  9. King Louis X of France, 1315 Charter

Secondary Literature

  1. R. Chazan, The Jews of Medieval Western Christendom (Cambridge- Cambridge University Press, 2006), 170-174 and 188-191.

Videos

  1. How did government policies affect Jewish life? Prof. Robert Chazan.

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