Teaching resource
This lesson explores the prosperity and persecution of Jews in England from 1216–72. Examine the sources to explore the financial significance of Jewish communities, the Christian reaction to Jewish success and the King's response.
Satirical illustration of the Norwich Jewish community. A devil named Colbif is shown pointing to Abigail and Mosse. Catalogue reference: E 401/1565
This resource discusses the discrimination faced by Jewish people in 13th-century England and the alleged murder and disfigurement of a child. It contains a historical caricature of a Jewish person.
What was the relationship between Christians and Jews from 1216–72?
The end of King of John’s reign marked a new era for Jewish communities living in England. In fact, many historians describe it as a time of ‘prosperity’ for Jews. The Receipt roll that recorded the contributions made to the 1221 tallage (tax) placed on the Jews reveals that many Jewish individuals were able to pay their tax with ease. Below are two extracts from this Receipt roll. Source 1a considers a selection of payments made by members of Northampton’s Jews and Source 1b provides the total contributions made by each Jewish community across England.
[Column II]
Norhamton’
De Josceo filio Samuel XXV s[olidis] de Auxilio pro Johanna sorore Domini Regis Henrici maritanda, et pro Mosseo filio Brun’.
De Dauid’ filio Viuei XXXVIII s[olidis] IX d[enariis] pro Eodem.
De Samuel’ et Murel’ X s[olidis] pro Eodem.
De Bacceua Relicta Benedicti VI s[olidis] pro Eodem.
De Viueo filio Isaac CXIIII s[olidis] I d[enariis] pro Eodem.
De Samuel’ filio Abraham XVIII s[olidis] pro Eodem.
De Salamone filio Joscei de Warewich’ XVI s[olidis] III d[enariis] pro Eodem.
De Isaac filio Viuei XXIX s[olidis] VII d[enariis] pro Eodem.
De Bella filia Isaac VIII s[olidis] IIII d[enariis] pro Eodem.
De Isaac filio Deudon’ XI s[olidis] III d[enariis] pro Eodem.
De Flurie quondam uxore Deudon’ V s[olidis] pro Eodem.
De Mosseo filio Isaac XII s[olidis] VIII d[enariis] pro Eodem.
De Abraham filio Samuel’ XXII s[olidis] VI d[enariis] pro Eodem.
De Viueo filio Dauid’ XXXVII s[olidis] VI d[enariis] pro Eodem.
De Salom filio Mossei XXVIII s[olidis] III ob[olus] pro Eodem.
De Antera de Glovernia .xxvij. s[olidis] vj. d[enariis] pro Eodem.
De Chera filia Brun VI s[olidis] III d[enariis] pro Eodem.
De Sampsone Ruff’ IIII s[olidis] II d[enariis] pro Eodem.
De Mosseo filio Isaac II s[olidis] VI d[enariis] pro Eodem.
Summa XXI li[bris] III s[olidis] VI d[enariis] ob[olus].
Extract from the Receipt roll for Easter 5, Henry III that records the contributions from the Northampton Jewish community to the tallage around 1221. Catalogue reference: E 401/4, m. 4
Glouernia Summa XIX li[bris] II s[olidis] IIII d[enariis]
Norwich’ Summa XXVIII li[bris] VII s[olidis] IIII d[enariis]
Wintonia Summa LIII li[bris] VII s[olidis] III ob[olus].
Stanford’ Summa XXXVII li[bris] XVII s[olidis] XI d[enariis] ob[olus].
Notingham Summa VI li[bris] VI s[olidis] IX d[enariis]
Lincolnia Summa LII li[bris] X s[olidis] III ob[olus].
Cantebr’ Summa XVI li[bris] VI s[olidis] IX d[enariis]
Norhanton’ Summa XLVII li[bris] X s[olidis]
Oxonia Summa XXVII li[bris] VIII s[olidis] II d[enariis]
Ebor’ Summa CLXIIII li[bris] X s[olidis]
Bristoll’ Summa XXII li[bris] XII s[olidis] IX d[enariis]
Herefordia Summa XXXI li[bris] IX s[olidis] V d[enariis]
Wigornia Summa LXI s[olidis] II d[enariis]
Kantuaria Summa LII li[bris] VIII s[olidis] X d[enariis]
xx
Londonia Summa IIII li[bris] X s[olidis] IIII d[enariis]
Exonia Summa VIII li[bris] V s[olidis] VIII d[enariis]
Colecestria Summa XLVIII s[olidis] IX d[enariis]
Summa DCLIIII li[bris] III s[olidis] V d[enariis] ob[olus].
Gloucester Total – 19 pounds, 2 shillings, 4 pence.
Norwich Total – 27 pounds, 7 shillings, 4 pence.
Winchester Total – 53 pounds, 7 shillings, 1 pence.
Stamford Total – 37 pounds, 17 shillings, 11 pence.
Nottingham Total – 6 pounds, 6 shillings, 9 pence.
Lincoln Total – 52 pounds, 10 shillings, 1 and a half pence.
Cambridge Total – 16 pounds, 6 shillings, 9 pence.
Northampton Total – 47 pounds, 10 shillings.
Oxford Total – 27 pounds, 8 shillings, 2 pence.
York Total – 164 pounds, 10 shillings.
Bristol Total – 22 pounds, 12 shillings, 9 pence.
Hereford Total – 31 pounds, 19 shillings, 5 pence.
Worcester Total – 61 shillings, 2 pence [or 3 pounds, 1 shilling and 2 pence]
Canterbury Total – 52 pounds, 8 shillings, 10 pence.
London Total – 80 pounds, 10 shillings, 4 pence.
Exeter Total – 8 pounds, 5 shillings, 8 pence.
Colchester Total – 48 shillings and 9 pence [or 2 pounds, 8 shillings and 9 pence]
Total – 654 pounds, 3 shillings and 5 and a half pence.
Extract from the Receipt roll for Easter 5, Henry III that records the overall contributions from each of the Jewish settlements across England to the tallage around 1221. Catalogue reference: E 401/4, m. 4d
Focus on source 1a. Using the key in the transcript to help you, consider the following questions on the contributions made by members of the Northampton Jewish community:
The total contributions made by each Jewish community to the 1221 tallage (tax) are recorded at the end of the Receipt roll. Focus on source 1b and consider the following questions:
The financial success of Jews in England was not celebrated by everyone. In fact, many Christians living in settlements alongside Jewish families came to increasingly resent their Jewish neighbours. These anti-Jewish feelings were often only recorded in narrative accounts in the history books of the day but one record that survives at The National Archives offers a cartoon that captures the attitudes of those living in Norwich.
The cartoon survives on an Exchequer roll, a financial account that was created to list the tax payments made by Jewish individuals in the city of Norwich to the king. The presence of such an image on a formal administrative document is rare and offers a valuable opportunity to consider how Christian drawings from the 13th century portray Jewish members in their shared community.
Satirical illustration of the Norwich Jewish community, a devil named Colbif is shown pointing to Abigail and Mosse. Catalogue reference: E 401/1565
Look carefully at Source 2.
Let’s examine Source 2 in detail. Read through each description and match it to the correct section of the image.
Using this additional information, write a paragraph explaining how this image reveals attitudes towards Jews in Norwich in the early 1230s. Make sure you select evidence from the image to support your argument.
During the 1230s, the relationship between Christian and Jewish communities became increasingly tense. The first resource in this series, Jews in England in 1066, showed that accusations of Jewish violence – especially the murder of Christian children – had circulated in England since the 1140s. However, from the 1230s onwards, these cases were finding themselves before the king’s law courts for the first time. These accounts were most likely made up but were being taken seriously by the law. The extract below is taken from one such case in 1232 when it was recorded on the Hampshire Eyre roll that a one-year-old boy, named Stephen, was found strangled near St Swithun’s Priory, in Winchester. According to those who found the body, it had been dismembered (hands and feet removed), castrated, and its eyes and heart taken out. The case reveals that Abraham Pinche, a member of the Jewish community, was named by the jury as the perpetrator of the murder.
Quidam puer unius anni inuentus fuit mortuus et jugulatus in cimiterio sancti Swithuni truncatis manibus et
pedibus et testiculis abscisis et oculis extractis et corde. Et similiter testantur quod nutrix ipsius pueri illum uendidit […] Abrahe Judeo qui eum occidit et ipsa nutrix fugit et Emma mater pueri capta fuit pro suspicione mortis eius et inprisonata fuit in gaola ciuitatis tempore quo Pentecostes fuit seruiens gaole et inde euasit et ideo cust’ Dicunt etiam precise quod ad domum ipsius Abrahe Pinc fuit idem puer occitus per eundem Abraham et alios Judeos quorum nomina [igno]rant. Sed mater ipsius pueri tunc fuit infirma et ea nesciente factum fuit hoc set quando ipsa euasit fugit […] Dicunt etiam quando hac factum fuit Henricus de Bath cepit
omnes Judeos Wint’ pro facto illo et postea dimisit eas quietos de xx marcis quas cepit de eis.
A one-year-old boy was discovered dead and strangled in the church yard of St Swithun’s with his hands and feet having been chopped off, his private parts castrated, and his eyes and heart removed.
They [the jury] testify (say) that the nurse of the boy sold him to a Jew, Abraham, who killed him, and the nurse fled. And Emma, the mother of the boy, was captured on suspicion of his death and imprisoned in the city jail […] but then she escaped.
[They jury] also say that at Abraham Pinche killed the boy at his house along with other Jews whose names they did not know. They say the mother of the boy was ill at that time and did not know what had happened when she escaped […]
[The jury] also say that when this deed was done Henry of Bath (the sheriff) captured all the Jews of Winchester for this deed and afterwards he released them from 20 marks which he had taken from them.
Extracts from a court case accusing Jews of the murder of a Christian child in Winchester brought before the Hampshire Eyre, from around 1232. Catalogue reference: JUST 1/775, m. 20
Read through Source 3 and consider the following questions:
Consider the following information and reflect on the questions below:
The young boy’s mother was eventually found guilty of the crime, yet Abraham Pinche failed to win back the trust of the people of Winchester. Abraham was accused of stealing from a shop and eventually tried at the Hampshire Eyre (court) of 1236 and hanged as a felon (criminal).
In 1253, King Henry III enforced a series of new laws (known as articles) to tighten control over Jewish life. This was known as the Statute of Jewry. A statute was a new law introduced by the highest authority. Many historians believe that this marked a new phase in the deterioration of Christian-Jewish relations in England as the king’s new rules attempted to segregate and isolate Jews in their local communities.
De provisione facta per regem de Judeis Anglie
[I] Rex providit et statuit quod nullus Judeus maneat in Anglia nisi servicium regis faciat. Et quam cito aliquis Judeus natus fuerit, sive sit masculus sive femina, serviat nobis in aliquo.
[II] Et quod nulle scole Judeorum sint in Anglia nisi in locis illis in quibus hujusmodi scole fuerunt tempore domini Johannis Regis, patris regis.
[III] Et quod universi Judei in sinagogis suis celebrent submissa voce secundum ritum eorum, ita quod Christiani hoc non audiant.
[IV] Et quod quilibet Judeus respondeat rectori ecclesie, in cujus parochia manent de omnibus parochialibus ad domum ipsius Judei spectantibus.
[V] Et quod nulla nutrix Christiana de cetero lactet aut nutriat puerum alicujus Judei, nec aliquis Christianus vel Christiana serviat alicui Judeo vel Judee nec cum ipsis comedat, vel in domo sua commoretur.
[VI] Et quod nullus Judeus vel Judea comedat aut emat carnes in quadragesima.
[VII] Et quod nullus Judeus detrahat fidei Christiane vel publice disputet de eadem.
[VIII] Et quod nullus Judeus habeat secretam familiaritatem cum aliqua Christiana nec aliquis Christianus cum Judea.
[XI] Et quod quilibet Judeus ferat in pectore suo manifestam tabulam.
[X] Et quod nullus Judeus ingrediatur aliquam ecclesiam vel aliquam capellam nisi transeundo, nec in eis moretur in vituperium Christi.
[XI] Et quod nullus Judeus impediat aliquo modo alium Judeum volentem ad fidem Christi convertere.
[XII] Et quod nullus Judeus receptetur in aliqua villa sine speciali licentia regis nisi in villis illis in quibus Judei manere consueverunt.
Et mandatum est Justiciariis ad custodiam Judeorum assingnatis, quod sic fieri, et sub incursione bonorum predictorum Judeorum firmiter teneri faciant.
Teste Rege apud Westmonasterium xxxj. die Januarii. Per regeni et consilium
Provisions made by the King for the Jews of England.
I) The King has outlined that no Jew should remain in England unless he do the King service, and that from the hour of birth every Jew, whether male or female, serve us in some way.
II) And that there should be no more synagogues of the Jews in England, only those that existed in the time of King John should remain.
III) And that Jews should lower their voices in synagogues, so that Christians can not hear them.
IV) And that all Jews should pay a duty to their local Christian church.
V) And that no Christian nurses should look after the male child of any Jew, nor any Christian man or woman serve any Jew or Jewess, or eat with them, or stay in their houses.
VI) And that no Jew or Jewess eat or buy meat in Lent (a Christian festival).
VII) And that no Jew speak poorly of the Christian faith, or publicly dispute it.
VIII) And that no Jew have relations with any Christian woman, and no Christian man with a Jewess.
IX) And that every Jew wear his badge conspicuously on his breast.
X) And that no Jew enter any church or chapel.
XI) And that no Jew stop another Jew wanting to convert to the Christian faith.
XII) And that no Jew be received in any town but by special license of the King, except those towns in which Jews are allowed.
And the Justices assigned to the custody of the Jews are commanded that they put these rules into effect, and that they rigorously observed on pain of forfeiture of the chattels of the said Jews.
Witness the King at Westminster, on the 31st day of January. By King and Council.
The Statute of the Jewry (the provisions made by the King for the Jews of England), dated 31 January 1253. Catalogue reference: C 54/66, m. 18
This is the second resource of three on England’s medieval Jewish communities from around 1066–1290. It continues to develop the path for teachers to integrate a deeper awareness of medieval religions, tolerance and diversity, and religious persecution into the classroom, including recommended reading and accessible sources to aid schools, and equip students, with the skills and awareness to challenge misconceptions, tackle adversity and recognise their responsibility as global citizens in the modern world.
It builds on Jews in England in 1066 to examine the presentation of England’s Jewish community in the records at The National Archives. In doing so, it aims to showcase the ever-changing experience for Jews through the eyes of royal government over the course of the early 13th century. Some teachers may wish to cover these sources over two lessons. It is recommended that appropriate time is taken to understand and appreciate the sensitive material (as to not to misconstrue its meaning), especially in Sources 2 and 3.
To question the changing status of Jews in medieval England.
Differentiated learning outcomes:
The resource is focused around four tasks that in turn provide context to the financial significance of Jewish communities, the Christian response to Jewish success, and the increasing pressures on Christians and Jews living harmoniously in shared interfaith communities. These tasks are focused on the governmental documents that survive in The National Archives, namely the Receipt rolls, Eyre rolls and Close rolls. The notes below discuss the nature of this material and offer advice on how to aid student discussion in each case.
Receipt rolls record the details of all money paid into the Exchequer (treasury), or Exchequer of Receipt, and, as a result, offer a highly valuable collection of material for understanding Exchequer revenue. Alongside the main series of receipts are the Jewish receipt rolls, which record the income from tallages (taxes), fines and amercements (damages) levied on the Jewish community between the reign of King John and King Edward. Much like the Pipe rolls, the entries are highly formulaic and you may wish to help the students consider the Latin record to try and detect key vocabulary/numbers.
Eyre rolls record the legal proceedings from when small groups of judges (referred to as justices) were sent from the central courts at Westminster to preside over local courts across the counties of England. These justices sat in judgment over various kinds of legal cases, referred to as pleas that had occurred since the last eyre was conducted. The court case in this source arose in the Hampshire eyre in 1236 although the crime was said to have taken place four years earlier in 1232. Accusations of this nature had not been taken seriously in the royal courts before the 1230s and some historians argue that their appearance in the royal courts from this point onwards is further evidence to suggest that relations between Christians and Jews were becoming increasingly strained.
Letters close were often instructions or orders of a private, personal nature. They were therefore issued folded and ‘closed’ by the application of the great seal. The Close rolls present an enrolled copy of those letters sent. These records outline matters of varied importance. In some cases, letters are addressed to officials, such as sheriffs, or even foreign rulers. The Close roll entries in this resource reveal just how important these records can be by revealing the new rules restricting the livelihoods of Jews in England.
The documents offer students a chance to develop their powers of evaluation and analysis. Encourage your students to look at the original sources, if possible, although some are more difficult than others, in an attempt to understand the nature of the material and to see if they can pick out any key Latin vocabulary (using the key to help them). All documents, however, have been transcribed and a simplified translation is offered in each case to allow students to delve into the subject matter. Ensure too that they are familiar with terms like prosperity (wealth), tallage (tax), and statute (written law), before they start.
Students can study the document extracts and questions in pairs and report back to the whole class. Alternatively, they can work through the tasks independently.
This resource fits within the KS3 curriculum for the thematic strand ‘The development of Church, State and Society’. In particular, ‘Christendom, the importance of religion and the Crusades’ and ‘Society, economy and culture: religion in daily life’.
GCSE Edexcel Migrants in Britain, c800–present
Following the source activities on this page, students should create a poster that stands against the new rules introduced in the Statute of Jewry from 1253. What rules have been introduced and why are they unfair for Jewish communities living in England?
The kings following William I, offered England’s Jewish community the same protection in return for their civil obedience. They had to recognise and respect the king as the person in charge of their non-religious affairs and contribute to royal revenue through their moneylending activities. This relationship can be traced to its earliest form in documents such as the Laws of Edward the Confessor and the later ‘Charter of Liberties’ issued under King Richard I and King John. Here it said that Jews may live ‘freely and honourably’ in England and enjoy the same ‘liberties and customs’ as their predecessors for as long as they served the king in charge. The financial value of Jews to both the crown and the wider economy is recognised to have created Jews a place in English society. Many historians have used the term ‘the king’s Jews’ in reference to this unusual, even ‘special’ arrangement and have come to understand the experience of the Jewish community predominantly through the eyes of medieval royal government.
The resource also focuses on the relationship between Christians and Jews during the reign of King Henry III (1216–1272). Being only nine years old when his father died, the initial years of Henry’s rule saw England managed by a minority government, a council of influential noblemen, and this period is often described as a time of ‘prosperity’ for Jews living in England.
King Henry III came to the throne in 1216. His father King John's reign, is regarded as chaotic especially for Jews due to the the heavy taxation and imprisonment of members of their community faced. By comparison, the early years of Henry’s reign are often viewed as a successful period in the history of England’s medieval Jewish community. It is even said that the English Jewry recovered rapidly to such an extent that by 1241 they were the wealthiest Jewish community in Europe.
There are a variety of documents that survive from the 1220s and 1230s that show Jewish individuals thriving during these early years; especially financial records, such as the Receipt rolls, that preserve the tax contributions made by individual Jews. Records from the Exchequer of the Jews, a specialist administrative centre set up to handle Jewish financial and legal affairs also reveal how Jewish moneylenders used the legal system effectively to ensure debts were repaid to them on time. Some cases appeared outside the Jewish Exchequer in the central royal courts: the king’s court (which travelled around the country), the court at Westminster (known as the common bench), and the Eyre courts that travelled around specific counties at specific times. The cases brought by and against Jews in these courts varied significantly. Some reveal Jewish individuals able to express and voice the prejudice and persecution they received from Christians in their communities, while others highlight vicious and violent accusations brought against Jews increasingly from the 1230s onwards.
The growing wealth of England’s Jewish community was due to a number of factors: a booming economy and a widespread demand for cash meant that the business of many Jewish moneylenders flourished at this time. This stirred much resentment within the wider Christian population and contributed to a deteriorating relationship between the two communities. From the 1230s, there was a rise in anti-Jewish incidents and many related to the alleged ritual murder of Christian children: for example, the accusations levelled at the Winchester Jewry in 1232, the Norwich Jewry in 1233, and the Lincoln Jewry in 1255.
Other evidence also reflects growing resentment of the growing dominance of Jews in local trade and finance. For example, in the 13th century, Norwich was one of the largest and most important towns in England. One of its richest and most powerful residents was Isaac, son of Jurnet, a Jewish moneylender who owned a large amount of property in the city and was a banker to the king. Isaac employed other Jews to collect the money that borrowers in the city owed to him. The most well-known were Mosse Mokke and his wife Abigail. The grotesque cartoon depicting Mosse Mokke in league with the Devil leaves little doubt about how the Jews of Norwich were viewed in 1233. Many Christians viewed Jews in England as the enemies of Jesus Christ.
As relations between Christians and Jews became ever more strained, King Henry III enforced a series of new laws to tighten control over Jewish life. This was known as the Statute of Jewry, and it was issued in 1253. It attempted to segregate and isolate Jews. Some of the new conditions included that Jews could only remain in England if they ‘served’ the crown in some way, they had to wear a badge that marked them as Jewish, and no new synagogues could be built. King Henry’s legislation reflected what was happening elsewhere in Europe: other kings were also seen tightening their restrictions over their Jewish communities. The reaction to Henry’s clampdown was so strong that Elias l’Eveske, arch-presbyter (leader) of England’s Jews, asked if they could leave the country. This request was refused.
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issuu.com
A history of medieval Jewish Winchester. An overview with accompanying walking tour of the Jewish history of Winchester published as a collaborative project by the University of Winchester and Winchester City Council to uncover Winchester’s medieval Jewish past.
