The State and the Jews—Persecution

 

Execution of French Jews

Execution of French Jews, 1410

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.

Images

  1. The River Loire at Blois
  2. Royal Assaults on Jews

Primary Texts

  1. Count Hugh of Maine, 992 Contemporary Hebrew Letter
  2. King Robert of France, Early Eleventh Century Mid- or Late-Eleventh-Century Hebrew Narrative
  3. Count Theobald of Blois, 1171 Contemporary Hebrew Letter
  4. King Philip Augustus of France, 1192, Ephraim of Bonn’s Late-Twelfth-Century Hebrew Narrative
  5. King Philip Augustus of France, 1180, Rigord of St. Denis’s Early-Thirteenth-Century Chronicle of King Philip Augustus
  6. King Philip Augustus of France, 1192, Rigord of St. Denis
  7. King Edward I of England, 1275, Late-Thirteenth-Century Latin Narrative

Secondary Texts

  1. R. Chazan, “The Blois Incident of 1171- A Study in Jewish Intercommunal Organization,” Proceedings of the American Academy for Jewish Research, XXXVI (1968)- 13-31.
  2. R. Chazan, “The Bray Incident of 1192- Realpolitik and Folk Slander,” Proceedings of the American Academy for Jewish Research, XXXVII (1969)- 1-18.
  3. R. C.Stacey, Politics, Policy, and Finance under Henry III- 1216-1245 (Oxford- Oxford University Press, 1987), 132-159.
  4. R.Mundill, England’s Jewish Solution- Experiment and Expulsion, 1262-1290 (Cambridge- Cambridge University Press, 1998), 45-107.

Videos

  1. Why did European governments sometimes turn against the Jews? Prof. Robert Chazan.

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