Louis, by the grace of God king of France, sends greetings to all those to whom the present letter shall come.

Know that, with the will and consent of the archbishops, bishops, counts, barons and knights of the kingdom of France, both those who have Jews and those who do not, we have established an ordinance concerning the Jews. Those whose names appear below have sworn to observe it:

William, bishop of Châlons and count of Perche; Philip, count of Boulogne; the duchess of Burgundy; the countess of Nevers; Walter, count of Blois; John, count of Chartres; Robert, count of Dreux, acting for himself and for his brother the count of Brittany; Guy, count of Saint-Pol; his brother Hugh of Châtillon; the count of Namur; the count of Grandpré; the count of Vendôme; Robert of Courtenay, butler of France; Matthew of Montmorency, constable of France; Archambaud of Bourbon; William of Dampierre; Enguerrand of Coucy; Amaury, seneschal of Anjou; Dreux of Mello; the viscount of Beaumont; Henry of Sully; William of Chauvigny; Gaucher of Joigny; John of Viezvi and William of Saillé.

The ordinance is as follows:

No debt owed to Jews shall accrue interest from this day, the octave of All Saints, onward. Neither we nor our barons shall henceforth compel the payment to Jews of any interest accruing from this day onward.

All debts presently owed to Jews shall be divided into nine payments over three years and paid to the lords to whom the Jews are subject. One-third of the debts shall be paid each year in three installments: one-third at the approaching Feast of the Purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary, one-third at the Ascension of the Lord and one-third at the following Feast of All Saints. The same arrangement shall be followed during each of the next two years.

It must also be known that we and our barons have established and ordained concerning the status of the Jews that none of us may receive or retain the Jews of another. This provision applies both to those who have sworn to observe this ordinance and to those who have not sworn.

From now on, Jews shall not possess seals for authenticating their debts. Jews must also have all their debts entered into official rolls, under the authority of the lords to whom they are subject, by the approaching Feast of the Purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Any debts that haven’t been entered into the rolls by that date shall no longer be enforceable or repayable to the Jews.

If Jews present any written instruments concerning debts that were drawn up more than five years ago, we decree that those instruments shall be invalid. The debts recorded in them shall not be repaid.

In testimony and confirmation of this matter, we have ordered our seal to be attached to the present letter. The counts, barons and others named above have likewise caused their seals to be attached.

Done at Paris in the year of the Lord 1223, in the month of November, on the Wednesday falling on the octave of All Saints, 8 November 1223.