The Jews in Western Europe

1400-1600

'

As European politics, society, economy and religion underwent epoch-making

changes between 1400 and 1600, the treatment of Europe's Jews by the non-
Jewish majority was, then as in later periods, a symptom of social problems and
tensions in the Continent as a whole.
Through a broad-ranging collection of documents, John Edwards sets out to
present a vivid picture of the Jewish presence in European life during this vital
and turbulent period. Subjects covered include the Jews' own economic
presence and culture, social relations between Jews and Christians, and the
policies and actions of Christian authorities in Church and State. He also
draws upon original source material to convey ordinary people's prejudices
about Jews, including myths about Jewish 'devilishness', moneygrabbing, and
'ritual murder' of Christian children.
Full introductory and explanatory material makes accessible the historical
context of the subject and highlights the insights offered by the documents as
well as the pitfalls to be avoided in this area of historical enquiry.
Manchester Medieval Sources Series
series adviser Janet L. Nelson
THE JEWS
This series aims to meet a growing need amongst students and teachers of medieval
IN WESTERN EUROPE
history for translations of key sources that are direct!y usable in students' own work.
The series will provide texts central to medieval studies courses and will focus upon the 1400-1600
diverse cultural, social as well as political conditions that affected the functioning of all
levels of medieval society. The basic premise of the new series is that translations must
be accompanied by sufficient introductory and explanatory material and each volume translated and edited by John Edwards
will therefore include a comprehensive guide to the sources' interpretation, including
discussion of critical linguistic problems and an assessment of the most recent research
on the topics being covered.
already published i,i tht serns
Janet L. Nelson The A1111als of St-Btrti11: 11i11th-cmtury histories, volu= I
Timothy Reuter The A1111als of Fulda: 11i11th-cmtury histories, oolu= II
Chris Given-Wilson Chro11icks of tht RevoluJion, 1397-1400: the reign of Richard II
R. N. Swanson Cathalic E,iglafldfaith, religion and obseroanu before the Reformation
Rosemary Horrox The Black Death
fortlicomi11g titles in tht series will i,iclude
Donald Bullough The Vikings i,i Paris
Simon Lloyd The impact of the crusades: tht u:ptrimct of England, 1095-1274
Richard Smith Sources for the population history of England, I 000-15-f<)
J. A. Watt The origins ofanti-umitism i11 Europe
Alison McHardy The early reign of Richard II
Ian Robinson The pontif,cau of Gregory VII
Edward Powell CrimL, law and society in Lau =dieval England
Jeremy Goldberg Womm in England

Manchester University Press

Manchester and New York

distribuud ucluszwly rn the USA and Canada by St. Martin's Press

Copyright © John Edwards 1994
Publuhed by Manchester University Press
Oxford Road, Manchester MIS 9NR, UK
and Room 400, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY IO(HO, USA Contents
Distribuud e.rclusivtly in tht USA and Canada
by St. Martin's Press, Inc., 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010, USA
Foreword page ix
Bntish Library Catal.oguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Preface X
Note on the documents
Library of Congress Catal.oging-in-Publication Data
The Jews in Western Europe/ translated and edited by John Edwards.
xi
p. cm. - (Manchester medieval sources series)
Translation of documents originally written in Latin, Hebrew,
General introduction: Jews as Europeans
French, German, Portuguese, Spanish and Italian in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0-7190-5508-2. - ISBN 0-7190-S509-0 (pbk.)
I. Jews-Europe--History---SOurces. 2. Judaism-Relations- I: The Church and the Jews 25
Christianity-History---SOurces. s. Christianity and other
religions-History---SOurces. 4. Jews-History-70-1789-Sources. 1. The New Testament and the Jews 27
5. Europe--Ethnic relations---SOurces. I. Edwards, John, 19+9-. 2. Pope Gregory IX's attack on the Talmud so
II. Series. s. Inquisitors and the Jews 31
DStS5.E81J48 1995
9i-0'.0492+-dc20 94-11584
4. The 'Jew' defined 33
5. The Inquisition and Jewish converts in Spain 39
6. A Venetian Jew on trial 43
ISBN o 7190 S508 2 hardback 7. Pope Julius III's attack on the Talmud 44
ISBN o 7190 S509 o paperback
II: Expulsion of Jews 46
Spanish persecutions and expulsions
8. Pogroms in Spain, 1.'391 47
9. Local expulsion from Toro, 1404 48
I 0. Expulsion edict, 1492 49
1 1. Jews convert 52
12. The Jews depart from Spain, 1492 53
13. An offer of return, 1492 55
14. Messianism among Jewish Christians 57
15. Trial of a 'Messianic' Jew 58
Portuguese persecutions and expulsions
16. Expulsion 61
17. Returnees and the converts' malaise: the case
of Ganzalo de Vargas 63
18. Massacre of New Christians in Lisbon 64
Typeset in Monotype Bell 19. The voice of the converso 67
by Koinonia Ltd, Manchester
Printed in Great Britain 20. The Rabbis on conversion 68
by Bell & Bain Ltd, Glasgow
vi CONTENTS CONTENTS vii

Other European expulsions 45. The Jew as alchemist: Germany, 1472 135
21. Bohemia, 1427 71 46. The Jew, religion and art: Italy, 1491 IS6
22. Italy, 1504 72 47. Jews and the Roman carnival, 1472 189
48. Life in the Roman Jewry, c. 1520 140
49. The Jew and the Renaissance: Italy, 1571-1600 143
Ill: Jews in the European economy 74
23. The Jewish stereotype: Spain, 1492 75
Glossary
24. Economic laws: Spain, 1412, 1432 75
Bibliography of printed works cited
25. The Jew as royal tax-farmer: Spain, 1488 77
Index
26. The Jew as moneylender: Italy, 1479; Spain, 1480 78
27. The Jew as lawyer: Spain, 1484 80
28. The Jew as royal treasurer: Spain, 1488 81
29. The Jew as physician: Italy, 1462, 1474 82
SO. Papal taxation of Jews: Italy, 1472 84

IV: Jews in European ~ociety 87

Sl. Social laws in Spain: 1412,1432 88
s2. Jewish dress and badges: Spain, 1491 91
SS. Sunday travel by Jews: Spain, 1482 92
S4. A Jewish kidnapping: Italy, 1434 93
S5. Separation of Jews from Christians: Spain, 1477,
1492; Italy, 1523 97
36. Attempted starvation of Jews: Spain, 1484 99
S7. Racial laws against Jewish Christians: Spain, 1449;
Portugal [undated] 100
SS. Ritual murder accusations: the story of Simon of
Trent, Italy, 1475 102
39. Ritual murder accusations: the story of the
'Holy Child' of La Guardia, Spain, 1491 104

V: Jews in the Reformation 117

40. A Christian Hebraist: Johann Reuchlin 1 17
41. Martin Luther on the Jews 120
42. Jean Calvin on the Jews 124

VI: Jews in European culture 127

43. Jewish preaching: Spain and Italy 128
44. Rabbinical scholarship protected by the Pope:
Italy, 1519, 1530 lSS
For Viv Foreword
'Set me like a seal on your heart,, like a seal on your arm.
For love is strong as death.' Attentive to the nuances of language, and hence the hazards of translation,
[Song ofSongs 8:6] John Edwards presents here a selection of the documentary sources for
Christian intellectual attitudes towards, and Christians' relations with, Jews _ln
their midst, during the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. Here are exposed tf
ideological roots ofa medieval mentality which persisted through and beyono
the Reformation and Counter-Reformation. Drawing extensively on archival
materials, and especially those of Mediterranean western Europe, John
Edwards presents rich evidence for the distinctive economic activities of Jews
within Christian societies. He shows the varieties of Jewish responses both to
the opportunities of urban life, and to the fundamental insecurities of their
own position as they attempted to appease and pre-empt Christian persecution
at central and local levels. Through these texts readers will be able to
reconstruct complex and volatile relationships between Jews and Christians,
to discern practice often at odds with official prescription, and to trace the
beliefs that legitimised the expulsion of Jews from Christian states. John
Edwards' coverage of late medieval and early modern Europe shows crucial
continuities linking periods often, and misleadingly, treated apart. His book
admirably fulfils the aims of the MUP series. It constitutes an original and
masterly contribution to the history of European Jewry and so to that of
Europe itself.
Janet L. Nelson, King's College London
 PREFACE xi

of translation itself are discussed in the Note on the documents.

Finally, as is the convention, acknowledgements are in order. I would
Preface like to thank all my colleagues in the School of History in the
University of Birmingham for their comradeship and scholarship
In 1988, I published a work entitled The Jews in Christian Europe, 1400- during most of the last two decades. In particular, I wish to thank
1700, which aimed at 'a two-way view of Christian and Jewish life, Robert Swanson, who has also contributed to the present series, for,·s
with a stress on the relationships between adherents of the two faiths, example in trimming this work to a proper shape, even though he as
rather than on their separate and internal histories•.~ Inevitably, this not yet read a word of itl I am also grateful to Jane Thorniley-Wal r
was not entirely possible in a short monograph, but the invitation to for being such a kind and understanding editor, even when externally-
contribute to the present series provides an opportunity to add one imposed and unforeseen difficulties so often delayed the completion of
vital dimension to the earlier work, that is, the presentation of original this book, and to Michelle O'Connell, who took over in the latter
documentary sources from the period concerned. Although many stages of production. I must also thank my Birmingham students, who,
scholars have laboured to make such material available to a general probably without knowing it, have given me so much inspiration and
readership, their efforts have, up to now, been scattered among various courage over the years, and who have stoically accepted the imposition
learned works. What has so far been lacking, as I have discovered of earlier drafts of some of what follows. My greatest debt of all,
during ten years' teaching of an undergraduate course in medieval and, though, is recorded in the dedication
latterly, early modern Jewish history in the University of Birmingham, Moseley, Birmingham,
has been a convenient selection of documentary sources which might on the Feast of St Mary Magdalen, 199S.
form the basis of such a course. The present work attempts to respond
to that need.
The history and background of the Jewish presence in fifteenth- and
sixteenth-century Europe is discussed in the Introduction which
follows, but it is necessary to state at the outset that the selection of
texts which is offered here is inevitably just a small and arbitrary
sample of the sources which are available. By the very nature of the
surviving documents, a certain imbalance towards the Christian 'side'
is unavoidable. History tends to be written by majorities and 'winners'
rather than minorities and 'losers'. It may also be observed that there
is a certain weighting in favour of Southern European sources, and
particularly those of Spain and Italy, in the selection of sources offered
here. This matter will be discussed in the Introduction. At this stage,
though, it is necessary only to note that the primary purpose of this
collection of sources is to provide a working translation for the use of
students of general, religious and Jewish history, and to help the
general reader also to gain a better and more colourful picture of how
Jews and Christians lived in Europe in this period, and how they did,
or did not, get on together. The problems and pitfalls of the process
1 London, 1988; revised, paperback edition, 1991.
2 John Edwards, Tiu Jews in Christian Europe, 1991 edn, p. ix.
 NOTE ON THE DOCUMENTS xiii

Because of the centrality of Judreo-Christian experience in the life and

history of Europeans, in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries and
Note on the documents since, and particularly because both these religions so much revere
their written texts, or 'Scriptures', on which faith and practice are
Translators belong to a class of professionals whom the world takes pleasure meant to be based, questions of translation or 'decoding' must be
in reviling. Like estate agents, auditors and accountants, they enjoy a function considered in relation to what follows. In view of this it is hardly
similar to that performed by the sin-eaters of certain primitive communities,
whose job was to absorb others' sense of wrongdoing through the consump-
surprising that it was in the case of translations of the Bible that
tion of a ritual meal. Should we fail to enjoy, let alone understand, a novel or Europeans first confronted these issues, and did so precisely in ~e
a poem, we can always lay the guilt on a faulty rendering, with a swipe or two period which is covered by the present work. In an essay on English
at syntax and vocabulary for good measure.' translations of the Bible, Gerald Hammond tackled the problems
In writing these words, Jonathan Keates was reviewing the recent which face all those who attempt to render a text into another
reprint of George Steiner's great study of translation and the language, including those others whose translations have, in certain
translator's art, After BabeLi His opening salvo does little to inspire cases, been used here. In general terms, he notes that '"Translation" is
with joy and optimism one who is about to present to the reader, in one of the most influential forms of literary criticism, for it both
translation, a complex set of sources for the history of western and interprets and creates the text it addresses. Indeed, in its original uses
central European Jews in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. in English, the word interpret means "translate".' He also observes, in
this essay, that 'Idioms are even more embedded in language and
The selection of documents which is presented here was originally culture systems than single words are, so that what is offered is not
written in a wide range of languages - Latin, Hebrew, French, German, translation but only an equivalent'.• By way of illustration Hammond
Portuguese, Spanish and Italian. All these languages were spoken, or recounts some episodes in the controversy, which took place in the
at least understood, by fifteenth- and sixteenth-century Europeans, in 1520s - and 1530s, between two famous English Christian figures,
various countries, whether they were Jews or Christians - or, in the Thomas More, who died as a Catholic because of his refusal to
case of Spain, Muslims. It may be thought that, when it comes to recognise King Henry VIII's supremacy over the Church in England,
'historical' as opposed to 'literary' texts, there is no need for the and William Tyndale, who became an inspiration to Protestants. The
translator to agonise over the problem raised by Keates. The author of issue was the latter's English translation of the Christian New
the work he reviewed had, however very different ideas on the subject. Testament. Tyndale's responses to More's challenges over particular
Steiner wrote, in a passage he describes as a 'truism', that 'Translation renderings indicate that translators in that period were little troubled
exists because men speak different languages'/ His expressed purpose by that 'semantic accuracy' which Hammond rightly describes as an
in composing the chapter which precedes this observation was to illusion.5 The point at issue here, though, is nothing less than the very
demonstrate that, since linguistic chaos exists in the world, and has nature of the translations which follow. If historical documents are
done, in metaphor at least, ever since the building of the tower of indeed to be treated with the care and attention normally lavished on
Babel [see Glossary], all communications, even within the expression what is commonly called 'literature' - novels, poetry, plays, and so on
of a single human 'language', require an exercise in decoding. Such - then the question of 'accuracy' must be addressed from the outset.
observations clearly apply at least as much to 'historical documents' as In essence, there seem to be two main approaches to translation. In the
they do to the literary texts which normally exercise the professional first case, one can attempt a literal' rendering of the text in hand. This
translator and his or her readership. means that the translator should follow, as far as possible, the style
and phraseology of the original document, even if they do not convert
I Jonathan Keates in The lndepmdnrt, 8 May 1998.
2 George Steiner, A.fur Babel. Aspects of language and translation, Oxford, 1975, 1998. 4 Gerald Hammond, 'English translations of the Bible', in Tiu l1Urary guuk to Liu
S Steiner, A.fur Babel, 1975 edn, p. 49. Bibk, eds Robert Alter and Frank Kermode, London, 1987, p. 649.
5 Hammond, ·English translations', pp. 651-2.
xiv NOTE ON THE DOCUMENTS NOTE ON THE DOCUMENTS xv

easily into English expression. The alternative approach is the attempt least those for which the present author is responsible], but the varied
to produce a translation which does 'read well' in English, even if this registers oflanguage which are used in these texts are intended to do
means that sentences have to be re-arranged, and forms of expression as much as possible to convey what appears to be the sense of the
changed. An illustration of the problems which arise from the need to original. This means that the English versions offered here must
resolve this issue comes from sixteenth-century debate over the way in attempt to reflect, for example, the language of Papal lawyers, or else
which the Holy Scriptures themselves should be translated. that of government draughtsmen, or of private citizens making personal
In the thirteenth chapter of Paul's First Letter to the Corinthians, and business arrangements, or of preachers, theologians, novelists and
there is a famous passage in which the author describes, to the poets. Many of these texts are clearly the work of one author, who~s
members of that church, what he saw to be the proper nature of named, but the various ecclesiastical and secular legal document;.,
Christian behaviour. The main subject of the earlier verses of this which are included in the collection, do not have undisputed author-
chapter, in the original Greek, agape, is commonly translated either as ship. Yet, if'historical' documents are indeed to be treated as what they
··1ove' or as 'charity'. In his translation, Tyndale uses 'love', but More in fact are, that is, 'literary' texts, then the problem of authorship,
regarded this as a dangerously 'untheological' word. For him, 'charity' which has so vexed scholars and critics in recent years; must be
was safer, because it more closely resembled the expression used in the addressed, if a suitable kind oflanguage is to be used to translate them.
Latin translation, the Vulgate [see document 1 below], which was the None of these documents is straightforward. As I wrote some years ago,
version commonly used by the Western Church at the time. The Latin
It must be evident, at the most basic level, to both the historian and the
word used here was c[h]aritas. The point is that both men came to the literary scholar, that even the most common words, such as rey [king] or
Biblical text with their own purposes and prejudices. More was seflorlo Qordship] are not immutable in meaning, and have to be consid-
desperate to preserve the Catholic Church which he knew and loved, ered not only in their textual uses, but also in the circumstances in which
and of which the Vulgate (even though it was known by the 1520s to the texts which employ them were produced.'
be based on an inadequate range of texts and to contain 'inaccuracies')
was a bastion, while Tyndale believed that the Bible should be freed of Nowhere are these words more applicable than to the religious
deliberate Catholic obstruction, which largely kept it in the hands of vocabulary, with its diverse Jewish and Christian understandings and
the clergy and of the better-educated among the laity, and be given interpretations, which fills so many of these documents. As for their
directly to all the Christian people of England. Thus their respective historical context, the General Introduction and the shorter introduc-
uses of the texts of Scripture were developed under the influence, not tions to the chapters, attempt to address the matter. The reader
only of a desire to render the Biblical text accurately, but also of their should, however, bear in mind throughout George Steiner's warning.
individual hopes and fears for the future of the Western Church.
The historian's problem as to what he is talking about is a genuine one. He
This is just one example of the general truth that all translation depends, must not only 'explain' his document, i.e. paraphrase, transcribe, gloss it at
not only on the skill and accuracy of the translator, but also on his or the lexical-grammatical level, but also 'understand' it, i.e. show 'how what
her background and approach to the task. However, the effect and was said was meant and thus what relations there may have been between
effectiveness of a translation also depend on the skill and background various different statements within the same general context'. And the
meaning thus arrived at must be the 'true one'. By what metamorphic
of the reader.6 Each word is like a package of associations and
magic is the historian to proceed?9
memories, which speaks differently to each person, and yet an inner
core of 'accuracy', in the sense of a common Juda:o-Christian history 7 See, for example, Ann Jefferson and David Robey, Modun lituary tluory. A
comparatzve introduction (London, 1982}.
and heritage, exists throughout. It would be unduly presumptuous to
8 John Edwards, 'Conversos, Judaism and the language of monarchy in fifteenth-
suggest that a happy balance between literal accuracy and lively century Castile', in Circa 1499. Proceedings of the Jerusalem Colloquium: Litter~
interpretation has been achieved in the translations which follow [at Judtrorum in Terra Hi.spanica [ 1984], ed. Isaac Benabu (Jerusalem, 1992 [ 199ll]), p.
209.
6 The General Introduction and the Bibliography of Printed Works Cited are 9 Steiner, After &be~ pp. I 55-6, including a quotation from Quentin Skinner, 'Meaning
intended to help the reader in this respect. and understanding in the history of ideas', History and TMOry, vii ( 1969), p. +7.
xvi NOTE ON THE DOCUMENTS

To turn to more mundane matters, a glossary is provided, to help with

some of the more specialised vocabulary which has to be used. The
first use in the text of each of the terms included in the glossary is
marked by the use of bold type. Also, where translated passages General introduction: Jews as Europeans
involve cuts or omissions from the full text, .the usual symbol,' .. .', is in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries
included and, where explanatory material has been inserted into the
text, it has been placed in square brackets. The wide range of The Jewish contribution to European history ,
languages in which these documents originated, together with the
diversity of the countries and regions to which they refer, inevitably Most of world history until the later eighteenth century could be writ1 n
raises, for the translator, the problem of how to render personal and without more than marginal references to the Jews, except as a small
place names. The general principle followed here has been to use people which pioneered the monotheistic world religions, a debt acknowl-
edged by Islam, but creating endless problems for Christianity, or rather
English versions of placenames where they exist, leaving the rest in for the Jews unlucky enough to live under Christian rulers. Practically the
the original. As is common in historical writing, personal names have entire intellectual history of the Western world, and all that of the great
also normally been left in their original form, but rulers' names have cultures of the East, could be written without more than a few footnotes
been anglicised where possible and appropriate. abou_t the direct Je~ish contribution to them, though not without paying
considerable attention to the role of Jews as intermediaries and cultural
It is hoped that the words of these texts have been 'unpacked' brokers, notably between the Classic Mediterranean heritage, Islam and
sufficiently to allow at least some of the experience of Jews and the medieval West. This is rather surprising when we consider the
Christians in fifteenth- and sixteenth-century Europe to be conveyed extraordinary prominence in twentieth century cultural, intellectual and
to those with experience of another and later century. public life of members of this small people which, even at its demographic
peak before the Holocaust, formed less than one per cent of the world's
Acknowledgements population.
The author wishes to acknowledge the following copyright-holders: Since most of public life was closed to them, their absence from it before
Extracts from the French Revolution was perhaps to be expected .... With the possible
- the Jerusalem Bible: Darton, Longman & Todd exception of medicine, where the acknowledged Jewish expertise crossed
- the Vulgate Bible: EDICA S.A., Madrid (Biblioteca de Autores Cristianos) communal frontiers, Jewish learning and intellectual effort focused on holy
Other extracts listed by document number matters.'
SA: Societe d'Editions 'Jes Belles Lettres', Paris
SB: Ecole Practique des Hautes Etudes, Paris, and Mouton et Cie, Paris and the Hague The instinct of most people would probably be to agree with this
4A & B: The Regents of the University of California distinguished historian's assessment of the Jewish contribution to the
4C: Editions Galilee, Paris
5A, Magnes Press, Hebrew University of Jerusalem history of Europe. Indeed, until quite recently, it would have been
7, 9, 21, 29B, so, S5C, SS, 1-0B, 44A and B, 45, 47: Pontifical Institute of Medieval fairly hard to do otherwise, given the poor availability of material to
Studies, Toronto indicate the contrary.
11: Author and lnstituci6n Fernando el Cat61ico, Zaragoza
19: Magnes Press, Hebrew University of Jerusalem Two main matters must be tackled at the outset and the first of them
29A, 46: Nischi-Lischi, Pisa is clearly delineated in Hobsbawm's comments. Up to now it has been
S4: Brill, Leiden
40C: Abaris Books, New York not only possible, but indeed normal, for the history of the late
41A and B: Fortress Press, Philadelphia medieval and early modern periods to be written without any regard
43: Yale University for the Continent's Jewish inhabitants. Remarks, written some years
48: CIAsicos Castalia, Madrid
49: Princeton University Press ago about Poland and before the recent political changes there, could,
Copyright in the following belongs to their respective authors: documents SB, 17, 20, I E. ~- ~obsbawm, in the Lorulon Review of&oles, XV, no. 7 [8 April 1993], p. 20,
24B, SIB, S7A and B. rev1ewmg Peter Pulzer, Jews and the German staU: the politual hisl()ry ofa minority,
All other extracts are believed to be out of copyright. Every effort has been made to 1848-/9SS, Oxford, 1992, and Ruth Gay, Tiu Jews of Germany: a historical portrait,
contact copyright-holders; in case of oversight, please inform the publisher. New Haven and London, 1992.
2 JEWS IN WESTERN EUROPE GENERAL INTRODUCTION

with appropriate adjustments, equally well describe the situation in developments in more recent history originated in the period covered
many countries further west. by this book, that is to say, the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries.
Where, then, were Europe's Jews, while these momentous events were
It is perhaps in modem Polish historians ... that the uneasi~ess of those
who experienced, or have subsequently to contemplate, the history of that
unfolding? It is hoped that the collection of texts which follows will
country becomes most apparent.. .. Whatever the political and historical provide some kind of answer to that question.
viewpoint of the writer, the Jews seem to be something of an embarrass- It has to be noted that this particular vision of history contains certain
ment to the non-Jew. There seems to be an underlying feeling that they paradoxes for those who hav.e some regard for that concept which (s
have been badly treated, but that to indicate this clearly is . to admit
still quite commonly referred to as the 'Christian West'. After all, hot
something which threatens to destroy whatever self-respect and independ-
ence, at least of mind, remain to a proud but much-abused people! did that 'civilisation' originate and why was it called 'Christian' in the
first place? At this point, it is necessary to go back in time and look at
A recent historian of eighteenth-century Poland has written, two phenomena which crucially influenced Jewish history in the period
between 14-00 and 1600, that is to say, the settlement of Jews m
To all intents and purposes, the Jews formed a separate estate inside the Western Europe and the rise and spread of Christianity.
Commonwealth [of Poland and Lithuania]. Their communities, the cahals,
centred round the synagogue, to which might be attached a school, a
communal bakery, printing shop or bathhouse. In a narrower sense, the Jewish settlement and expulsion
cahal was the council of elders and rabbis, who provided administration
and justice. They ran their own courts, they apportioned the state poll-tax Before its collapse in the fifth century, Jews seem to have lived in
and levied their own dues and taxes. They decided whether or not to confer nearly all the provinces of the western Roman empire, with particu-
the cha%aka, citizenship, on newcomers, essential if they were to be larly prominent settlements in Italy itself, Spain, Gaul and what is now
accepted into the community. They could also expel and ruin fellow Jews Germany. Thus in many of the areas covered by the documents in this
by excommunication, herem. The Christian municipal authorities had no book, Jews had lived continuously from the beginning of the Christian
say in such matters.'
era until the late Middle Ages. This was certainly so in Spain, southern
France (as Gaul had become) and Italy. Both the 'Barbarian' successor
It will be interesting to see, from the documents which follow, how far
states of the West and the Catholic Church inherited late Roman
such observations apply to an earlier period and to more westerly
legislation concerning Jews as well as so many other subjects.+ Thus,
countries. In any case though, it seems that this general sense of
by the end of the fourteenth century, a Jewish minority was quite
unease, separation and even alienation between Jew and Gentile has
widely spread over much of Western and Central Europe. Between the
only been increased by the horrors of the twentieth century, of which
fifth century and the starting-point of this documentary selection,
Europe's Jews have been leading victims. It is now hard for most
Jews had lived, either continuously or temporarily, in England,
people, though evidently not all, to see the Continent's history in terms
France, the Iberian peninsula, Italy and the German and other Central
of its inevitable 'progress' towards higher civilisation and [self-]
European territories which had come to be known as the 'Holy Roman
righteous world domination. Nonetheless, it would be hard to find
Empire'. There is no significant evidence of Jewish settlement in the
anyone who would deny the importance of the Renaissance and the
rest of the British Isles, in Scandinavia, or the Low Countries. The
Reformation, with the succeeding Counter-Reformation, which are
overall continuity of Jewish settlement in the western half of the
assumed to have led to the development of the European economy and
European continent in the early and High Middle Ages does not,
of what is still commonly termed the 'modern' world. Thus for many,
however, indicate that Jews could necessarily rely on security or
the 'received wisdom' still is that many of the supposedly beneficent permanence.
2 John Edwards, Tiu Jews in Christian Europe, 14-00-1700, London, 1988, 1991, p. I IS 4 For a useful survey of the Spanish case, in which the seventh-century Visigothic
[this and later references are to the revised, 1991 edition]. monarchy legislated in an increasingly severe manner against Jews, until such
s Jerzy Lukowski, Liberty'sfolly. Tiu Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealtn in the eighumth efforts were overwhelmed by the Muslim invasion of 71 l-71S, see Roger Collins,
century, London, 1991, pp. 78-9. Early medieval Spain. Unity in diversity, 400-1000, London, 198!1, pp. 129-42.
 JEWS IN WESTERN EUROPE GENERAL INTRODUCTION 6
For Jews, the period covered by the present work was dominated by Central Europe. Indeed, by 1500, it appeared that a similar process was
the phenomenon of expulsion, or, as it would apparently be described under way in Italy, a country which had a similarly fragmented politi-
today, 'ethnic cleansing'. As the documents offered below will clearly cal geography. Jews were officially expelled from Perugia in 1485,
indicate, the main examples of mass, or 'national' expulsion took place Vicenza in 1486, Parma in 1488, Milan and Lucca a year later, and
in Spain in 1492 and Portugal in 1497. However, the other, more local, Florence (as a result of the French invasion) in 1494. Ferdinand and
examples of such a policy, which are included in chapter 2 [ documents Isabella extended the provisions of their 1492 expulsion edict [ docu-
21 and 22], are no more than particular reflections of a much more
ment 10] to Sardinia and Sicily, in the same year, and when Ferdinan~
widespread tendency which could probably, for reasons which will be and his Spanish troops took control of the kingdom of Naples from th\
suggested below, be termed a movement, even though there was no French in 1510, they attempted to implement a similar policy in muc~
direct co-ordination between the authorities who implemented, or of southern Italy. Meanwhile, the advancing Valois French monarchy
attempted to implement, such measures. In any case, the result of the had, in 1498, ordered the departure of Jews from Provence (to the east
events of the late Middle Ages, from the thirteenth century up to about of the Rhone, but not, of course, including Papal territory). It thus
1500, was that a well-established Jewish presence disappeared from
appeared, by the second decade of the sixteenth century, that the
large areas of Western Europe.
centre of gravity of European Jewish life had moved irrevocably east-
The process began with Edward I of England's expulsion of the Jews of wards, with Poland and Lithuania taking over from Iberia as the main
his Gascon territories in south-western France, in 1288, and of the entire demographic, cultural and religious centre of Judaism. Events in the
English community of Jews in 1290. Between 1306 and 1394, the Cape- latter part of the sixteenth century, and in the decades after 1600, were
tian and Valois rulers of France made a series of attempts to remove to demonstrate that such a view would not be totally accurate. None-
Jews from the territories under their control, while the devastations of theless, it is true that most of the Jews who remained in Western
the bubonic plague, which is commonly known as the 'Black Death', Europe after 1500, in southern France, Germany and Italy, lived under
both during its original outbreak in 1348-1351 and its subsequent the rule of the Church, whether of the Popes or of their subordinates.5
recurrences well into the next century, led to further local attacks on Thus it is now time to address the question of the Church's policy
Jewish communities. As a result there were further local expulsions in towards the Jews in this period, in both theological and practical terms.
Germany, and further attempts at such measures in France and Spain
[for the latter, see document 9]. Apart from the case of England, The Church and the Jews
though, permanent or at least long-term expulsions only began effec-
tively in the fifteenth century, first in Germany and Austria, for exam- It could be argued that the very nature of medieval, and indeed oflater,
ple in Vienna in 1421, Cologne in 1424, Augsburg in 1439, all of Christianity was determined by the need of the younger faith to define
Bavaria in 1442 (with a second attempt in 1450), and the royal towns itself against the older. This is not the place for a detailed discussion
in Moravia in 1454. Fragmented politics led to the continuation of this of the composition of the various texts which came to form the 'New
piecemeal approach in the Empire, and the result was that, by 1510, Testament' of the Christian Bible, but it is hard to deny that one of the
Jews had additionally been largely or completely removed from Ge- underlying themes of these texts is an exaltation of the role of Christ
neva (by then part of the Swiss Confederation), Mecklenburg, and of his Church, which inevitably implied the downgrading of the
Pomerania, Halle, Magdeburg, Lower Austria, Styria, Carinthia, Jewish faith and practice in which Jesus and his disciples were brought
Wilrttemberg, the archdiocese of Salzburg, Nuremberg, Ulm, and up. From the very beginning of Mark's gospel, which is generally held
Brandenburg. By the time that Brother Martin Luther posted his to be the earliest, the message is clear. After announcing what is in
famous ninety-five theses on the door of Wittenberg church in 1517, effect the title of his work, the writer immediately goes on to quote one
there were no Jews living, legally, at least, in England, in France, apart of the Jewish prophets:
from a few small papal territories in the southeast, in the Spanish
kingdoms and Portugal, or in most of the rest of North-western and 5 Edward, The Jews tn C,h:istian Europe, pp. I 1-12; W . C. Jordan, The Frtneh monarchy
and the Jews, From Ph,l,p Augustlls to the last Capetians, Philadelphia, 1989; Jonathan
Israel, European Jewry in the age of mercantilism, 1550-1750, Oxford, 1987, pp. 5-9.
 GENERAL INTRODUCTION 7
6
JEWS IN WESTERN EUROPE
detailed history of the spread of Christianity in the late Roman Empire
Look, I am going to send my messenger before you; he will prepare
may have been, it is undeniable that the newly powerful Catholic
your way.6 Church was able to put its policies into practice as never before,
He was, of course, introducing John the Baptist as the precursor of frequently with the full apparatus of the still mighty Roman empire
Jesus but this and all the other texts which became part of the New behind it. This was, of course the state which, when still pagan, had
Test~ment apparently worked on the assumption that Judaism .at the persecuted Jews as well as Christians, having tried, by the destruction
time of Christ was in decline, if not dying, so that only the amval of of the temple at Jerusalem in 70 A.D., to remove the worship of God
the one who proved eventually to be the founder of Christianity, and from the earth altogether.• For the medieval Church, and for the Jevfs
not just another in the earlier series ofJewish prophets, could save first of the period, the implications of the 'conversion' of Constantine wel'F
the Jews and then the rest of the world. Because of the vital importance to be of immense significance. Medieval popes based their powers, over
of the assumptions included in the Christian Biblical texts to the future Christians and Jews, on the supposed gift or 'donation' by Constantine
life and health of Jews who found themselves under Christian rule, to Pope Sylvester (reigned S l 4-SS5} of imperial as well as ecclesiastical
including those in late medieval and early modern Europe, some power over the Western Catholic Church. This legend was intended
examples from the New Testament texts have bee~ i~cluded here by the Franks and their supporters to reduce Lombard control over
[document 1 and introduction to chapter 1]. It 1s important to the Papacy in the later eighth century and increase their own. It was
remember, though, that most Christians in that period did not read the exposed as a forgery as early as the year 1001, by the chancery of the
Bible for themselves. Recent studies have increasingly demonstrated, emperor Otto Ill, and was to be denounced once again by a papal
for example in the case of England, a country which effectively secretary of a later vintage, Lorenzo Valla, during the pontificate of
contained no Jews during the fifteenth century and most of the Nicholas V ( 1447-1455). •0 Nonetheless, it was to have its effect on
sixteenth, that knowledge of the Scriptures did indeed reach Christi~n Christian treatment of medieval Jews in one important respect. It
people all over Europe, by various audio-visual means.' The crucial helped to establish a clear correlation between religious and social power.
point for the purpose of this discussion, is, . however, that the
interpretation of the 'true' nature ofJews and Judaism was largely kept
in the hands of the representatives of the Catholic, or Roman, Church.
The New Testament and the Jews
The picture which thus emerged was inevitably influenced b! the Here again, the origins of the Papacy's notion of Christian society, and
highly negative portrayal ofJudaism in the New Testament and m the how it and its Jewish minority were to be governed, were to have
subsequent commentaries on its texts ~y the so-called_ Chu:ch considerable implications for European Jews in the fifteenth and
'Fathers', a series of theologians who wrote m Greek and Latm durmg sixteenth centuries. The relevant New Testament texts were, as so
the late Roman and early medieval periods. It was also influenced by often, ambivalent, and it is important always to remember that
the history of Christianity and in particular by the transformation of Catholics in this period used the Latin 'Vulgate' translation, so that
the Catholic Church, which then still included both Western and later readings, which may be more accurate, are not relevant to this
Eastern Orthodox Christians, from a persecuted, minority organisa- discussion [Note on the Documents, p.xiv, and document I]. Thus,
tion into the dominant cult of the Roman Empire, after the conversion while some of the recorded words of Jesus seem to imply that he was
of the emperor Constantine in the early fourth century.8 Whatever the not interested in worldly affairs and that his followers should avoid
6 The quotation, from Malachi S:1 (Jerusalem BibleJ is run together in Mark l:S such entanglements too, others imply the necessity for conflict in the
with one from Isaiah, to whom both are attributed. establishment of the hoped-for kingdom of God, and a worldwide
7 R. N. Swanson, Catlwlic England, pp. 4-6; Eamon Duffy, The stripping of the altars. mission to bring all human beings into that kingdom.
Traditional religion in England, 1400-/580, New Haven and London, 1992, pp. 58-
87. 9 John Gager, The ongzns ofanti-Snnitism, New York, 1983.
8 The precise date, if any, of Constantine's conversion cannot be stated, though his 10 Walter Ullmann,A slwrt history ofthe Pap11CJ in the Middle A~s, London, 1972, pp.
departure from paganism (whether or not it was ever complete) seems ~o have_ta~en 77-80; Malcolm Barber, The two cities. Medieval Europe, 1050-13~ London, 1992,
place between 8 12 and 824 [Carsten Peter Thiede,. Heritage ofthe First Chnstians. p. 102.
Tracing early Christianity in Europe, trans., Knut Hem, Oxford, 1992, pp. 124-7J.
8 JEWS IN WESTERN EUROPE GENERAL INTRODUCTION 9

The impression given in John's gospel is that Jesus did not see his role 'The Two Cities'
as being involved in political affairs. During the events which led up
to his death, by the typical Roman method of crucifixion, he apparently In the preaching of the kingdom by Jesus in Matthew 8-1 S, there is no
advocated non-violence. When his disciple Peter, who was later to be sign that it has anything to do with political authority. The signs of
regarded as the founder of the Church and the first pope, drew his the coming of this kingdom may have involved defying some of the
sword to defend his master, cutting off the right ear of one of the commandments and practices of the Jewish Law, or Torah, as well as
Jewish High Priest's servants in the process, he was firmly told by help to the poor and the healing of the sick, but they did not apparently
Jesus to put the weapon away. require the overthrow of the existing political regime, which at that
time in Israel or Palestine'' involved native rulers under the overa~
Put your sword back in its scabbard; am I not to drink the cup that the authority of Rome. Indeed, when Jesus was directly confronted by
father has given me?. [John 18:11. This and subsequent quotations are other Jewish leaders with the question of what attitude religious Jews
from the Jerusalem Bible. See Bibliog,-aphy.J
should adopt towards the Roman authorities and their 'native' puppets,
he replied with the famous declaration, 'Give back to C.esar what
Later, when brought before Pilate, he stated that,
belongs to C.esar - and to God what belongs to God' [ Matthew
Mine is not a kingdom of this world; ifmy kingdom were of this world, my 22:21], which, like the statement in John's gospel, strongly implied a
men would have fought to prevent my being surrendered to the Jews. But separation of powers (or 'swords') between religious and political
my kingdom is not of this kind. [John 18:56] authorities. The debate about the proper interpretation of these and
other texts has gone on ever since, but the important point to note
Yet s~ch pronouncements still left a problem for Jesus's followers, who here is that much of the politics of the Middle Ages was to revolve
were apparently first called 'Christians' in Antioch in the early years around this particular problem. In addition, the inclusion of the texts
of the reign of the Roman emperor Claudius [41-54 A.O., Acts of the in chapter 1 is intended to demonstrate from the outset that much of
Apostles 11:26]. According to Matthew's gospel, Jesus saw himself, the treatment of European Jews, in the period up to the Reformation
despite what he said to Peter in the garden of Gethsemane, as a and thereafter, was to be a practical result of the controversies within
bringer of conflict as well as peace and reconciliation. 'Christendom' on the subject of authority, whether ecclesiastical or
secular.
Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth: it is n~t pea~e
I have come to bring but a sword. For I have come to set a man agamst his Crucial to this debate was the book which became the last of the 'New
father, a daughter against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her Testament' (as it was known to medieval Christians), that is, the
mother-in-law. A man's enemies will be those of his own household. 'Apocalypse', or revelation of St John. Almost certainly not written by
[Matthew 10:54-6, v.56 being in large part a quotation from the Jewish
prophet Micah's description of the social injustice of his own day, in 7:6.] the gospel-writer and 'beloved disciple' himself, this text nonetheless
appears to have emerged from that apostle's circle, towards the end of
All these texts, though, and many others in the New Testament, were the first century. It continues a Jewish tradition of writings which
concerned with the concept of 'the kingdom of God', which is already purport to describe hidden supernatural events, often to come in the
to be found in the Jewish psalms [for example 22:28 and 45:6], but is future, by means of highly coloured and metaphorical language. The
greatly developed in the teachings of Jesus. It is already proclaimed i_n most notable Jewish example was the book of Daniel, which in modern
John the Baptist's message of repentance [Matthew .'3:2] and 1s Bibles is divided between the Old Testament and the 'inter-testamen-
frequently referred to in chapters 8 to IS of Matthew's gospel, as well tary' writings known as the 'Apocrypha', and which is often excluded
as in Mark and Luke's gospels. The question is, and was to be for from Protestant Bibles today but was well known in the fifteenth and
medieval Christians, what kind of kingdom was this to be? sixteenth centuries. The significant point for religious and political
11 In the Hebrew Bible, Palestine meant the land of the Philistines. It only came to
mean the whole of Canaan in the first century of the Christian era. [W. M. Clow,
TM Bible w,der's tnqcU>f><Zdia and concardana, London, 1962, p. 272.J
JO JEWS IN WESTERN EUROPE GENERAL INTRODUCTION 11

discussion in the medieval and early modern periods was that John disciples, according to the last two verses of Matthew's gospel ['Go
took up the Jewish author's attack on Babylon, the symbolic enemy of therefore, make disciples of all the nations; baptise them in the name
Israel, and transferred all the enmity and symbolism to the then of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teach them to
current enemy, Rome. Thus Rome/Babylon was, for the author of observe all the commands I gave you.' Matthew 28:19-20], would have
Revelation, the fallen city, to face up to the 'problem' of the continued existence of Jews who
rejected Christian claims. Augustine did not refuse the challenge.
haunt of devils and a lodging for every foul spirit and dirty, loathsome bird.
All the nations have been intoxicated by the wine of her prostitution; every ,
Augustine and the Jews

'
king in the earth has committed fornication with her, and every merchant
grown rich through her debauchery [Revelation I 8:SJ.
Two chapters of the City of God specifically address this question. In
In contrast, John saw a vision of another, holy city named Jerusalem, the first [bk. 18 eh. 46], Augustine has no doubt that the Jewish
which was shortly to descend from heaven to earth, 'as beautiful as a people was responsible for its own fate at the hands of the Romans.
bride all dressed for her husband', where God would live 'among men'
But the Jews who rejected Him, and slew Him (according to the
[Revelation 21 :2-SJ. The most significant development of this power-
needfulness of His death and resurrection), after that were miserably
ful image, as far as medieval and early modern theologians were spoiled by the Romans, under the domination of strangers, and dispersed
concerned, was that achieved by the North African bishop and over the face of the whole earth.
theologian, Augustine of Hippo. He converted to Christianity in
Milan, in S86, after years of close association with the dualist However, following Paul [Romans 11:11, see document 1], he did not
movement known as Manichreism, 1~ which was strong at the time in consign all subsequent Jews to destruction as a consequence, indeed he
the land of his birth [in modern Algeria]. He was to be an immensely saw the Jewish diaspora, or dispersion, as part of God's will, for their
significant figure in the history of Western Christendom, both before good and that of Christians. Augustine first quotes from Psalm 59,
and after the Reformation, not least in the development of the using one Latin version, although another absolutely contradicts this
Church's attitudes to Jews. 1' Augustine developed considerably this meaning [a warning for translators and for their readers, see the Note
image of the 'two cities', heavenly and earthly, in his greatest and best- on the Documents, p. xiv].
known work, The City ofGod. 1• This intricate and elaborate develop-
ment of the concept included in John's Revelation was to be highly God will let me see my desires upon my enemies. Slay them not, lest my
influential in the centuries up to 1400, and long after. The notion of an people forget it, but scatter them abroad with my power.1"
opposition between the heavenly and the earthly cities was faithfully
reproduced, for example, by the twelfth century German writer, Otto Whatever the original meaning of the psalm may have been, Augus-
of Freising and many others.15 However, Augustine also had some tine's version led him to 'allow' Jews a role in God's plan for the
world's salvation, and hence security from violence or even extermina-
significant things to say about Jews.
tion. Referring to Psalm 59, he writes:
It was inevitable that a Christian vision of the heavenly city, transferred
to earth, on the lines of the 'great commission' given by Jesus to his Here did God show mercy to His Church, even by means of the Jews His
enemies, because, as the Apostle [Paul] says, 'through their fall cometh
12 A group of people, associated with the third-century Iranian Manes, or Manicha!us, salvation to the Gentiles'. And therefore he slew them not, that is, he left
who believed that there were two equal Gods, God the Father and Satan, who them their name of Jews still, although they be the Romans' slaves, lest
represented, respectively, the forces of good and evil in the world.
18 A fine biography is that of P.R. L. Brown, Augustine efHippo, London, 1967.
14 Saint Augustine, Tiu City of God, trans. John Healey, ed. R. V. G. Tasker, 2 vols, 16 The alternative Latin text was approved for liturgical use by Pope Pius XII on 2+
London, 1945. March 1945 [Biblia sacra iu.xta vulgatam ckmmtinam, ed. Alberto Colunga, 0.P. and
Laurentio Turrado, Madrid, 1977, p. ++9nJ. The Jerusalnn Bibk thus has:
15 Otto of Freising, Tiu two cities. A chronick ofuniversal hiswry lo tlu ytar 1146 A.D., 'Slaughter them, God before my people forget! Harry them with your power and
trans. C. C. Mierow, New York, 1966. strike them down, Lord, our shield!' [p. 7l!6J.
12 JEWS IN WESTERN EUROPE GENERAL INTRODUCTION

their utter dissolution should make us forget the law of God concerning The Church and the Jews, c. 1050-1215
this testimony of theirs. So it were nothing to say, 'Slay them not', but that
he adds 'Scatter them abroad': For if they were not dispersed throughout In the meantime, though, the Western Church, under the leadership of
the whole world with their scriptures, the Church would lack their a Papacy which was increasingly flexing its muscles in the period after
testimonies concerning those prophecies fulfilled in our Messiah. '7
1050, 18 felt the need to formulate a 'policy' towards those Jews who
were living among the Catholic faithful. Up until about 1200, it seems
The immense prestige of Augustine and his writings ensured that, at
clear that Augustine's views prevailed, both in the works of commen-
least up to the twelfth century, there was no direct pressure for the
elimination of Jews from Christian society, or for active efforts to be tators and polemicists, and in the pronouncements of popes and
Church councils. As far as the late medieval Church was concerned, t1t
made to convert them. Again, the City of God indicated the policy
basis for the treatment of Jews, by both ecclesiastical and secular
which was to be adopted. In chapter 29 of book 20, Augustine
commented on a text from the Jewish prophet Malachi: authorities, was to be found in the decrees of the Fourth Lateran
Council of the Roman Church, which were issued in 1215 [see
Know that I am going to send you Elijah the prophet before my day come~, introduction to chapter I]. These pronouncements were intended not
that great and terrible day. He shall turn the hearts of fathers towards their only to rule the Church's own affairs but also to be incorporated into
children and the hearts of children towards their fathers, lest I come and the legislation of Catholic states, for example in Spain [see document
strike the land with a curse. [Malachi S:2S--4 in the Jerusakm Bible, 4:5-6 4 (i) and (ii) for the case of Castile]. Historically, the Church had
in other versions.]
tended, even in countries, including Italy and even Rome itself, to
obtain its knowledge and form its opinion of Judaism not from the
The bishop of Hippo interpreted Malachi's words in a manner most
experience of living Jews but rather from the pages of Scripture and
positive for the Jews of his own day and, as it turned out, for those of
from later Christian commentaries upon it. As a result, a partial
the later medieval and early modern periods. After discussing various
consensus had emerged amongst clerics and laypeople, whether
earlier commentaries on this text, Augustine writes:
educated or uneducated.
There may be a farther and more choice interpretation of this place [text], The outlines of this consensus were as follows. It was generally agreed
namely, that Elijah should turn the heart of the Father unto the Child that, eventually, all Jews would convert to Christianity and Judaism as
[understood here to mean Jesus]; not by making the Father to love the
Child, but by teaching that the Father loves Him, that the Jews who had such would cease to exist. Augustine's views were faithfully repro-
hated Him before may henceforth love him also. duced by eleventh- and twelfth-century commentators, such as the
disciples of Anselm of Canterbury (c. lOSS-1109), and others influ-
It was clearly not Augustine's intention that Judaism should continue enced by him, who included Odo of Cambrai, William of Champeaux,
for ever as a separate religion, but rather that the 'remnant' should and even the controversial Peter Abelard. These writers, while
come to the truth in the fullness of time. This, indeed, was the true admitting the need for the Jewish 'remnant' to be preserved within
meaning of Elijah's predicted reappearance, in the Christian and Christian society, without violence or persecution being undertaken
Jewish prophetic traditions. For Jews, he was the precursor of the against it, nonetheless continued the old habit of drawing their
Messiah, who is still to come in the future, while for the Christian evidence of Judaism from the Bible, rather than their actual Jewish
gospel writers he was identified with John the Baptist [Matthew neighbours.19 However, as will soon become apparent, changes in the
11: 14: 'And he, if you will believe me, is the Elijah who was to Church's approach to Jews and Judaism were to appear thereafter,
return.']. Messianic movements among Jews, Christians and con-
verted Jews in Spain were to be a phenomenon of the period of the 18 For the growing strength of the Papacy in the period from 1050 to 1250, see, for
example, Walter Ullmann, A short hist.ory of tlu Papacy, London, 1972; B: Tiern~y,
1492 expulsion of the Jews from Spain [see introduction to chapter II Tiu cn'sis ofChurch and stau, 1050-1 SOO, Englewood Cliffs, N J., 1964; Colm Morris,
and documents 14 and 15]. TM Papal monarc~: tlu Western Church, 1050-Jfi/50, Oxford, 1988.
19 These writers are more fully discussed in Jeremy Cohen, Tiu.friars and tlu Jews. Tiu
17 Augustine, City of God, p. 5!5! I. evofution of 11Udieval anti.Judaism., Ithaca and London, 1982, pp. 25-6 and notes.
l+ JEWS IN WESTERN EUROPE GENERAL INTRODUCTION 15

which affect the actions of secular governments as well. In the images,29 produced pictorial art, in the form of manuscript illuminations,
meantime, though, it is necessary to place this theological debate in its which portrayed religious as well as secular life. Such examples survive
historical context, and, in order to do this, a discussion and assessment from the late medieval period in Spain, France, Italy and Germanyi1~
is required of the sources which are to be presented below. Nevertheless, it is clear that written sources, most of them translated
here for the first time, can illuminate many aspects of the role and
The Documen ts20 experience of European Jews in this period. Dividing the selection into
chapters has, however, been somewhat difficult, as, in the late medieval
It is quite proper that this Introduction should have started with a and early modern periods (and indeed in many others!), it is impossibl\
discussion, both of the origins and development of Jewish settlement to make a precise distinction between religious matters and political,
and life in medieval Western and Central Europe, and of the response social and economic questions. This point is fundamental to the self-
of the Christian, or Catholic, Church to the Jewish presence, as these understanding, and hence to the modern reader's comprehension, of
will be the main themes of all that follows. A wide variety of different Jews and Christians in this period. Thus it seems proper that the
kinds of text is presented here, and their strengths and weaknesses are documentary selection should begin with extracts from the Bible.11• As
shortly to be considered. However, one limitation has to be noted at the theme of the first chapter is 'The Church and the Jews', these texts
the start. This is that the necessary restriction to written texts are presented in preference to the shared books of the Hebrew Bible.
inevitably excludes many other ways in which both Jews and Chris- The purpose is to present a Christian viewpoint, which will, it is
tians experienced religion in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. In hoped, be counteracted by other documents in this selection. The
recent years, much work has been done on this subject, particularly in Biblical texts were, however, the basic vocabulary of relations, of
relation to Christianity, and the result is that scholars are increasingly whatever kind, between Christians and Jews in this period and only
appreciating the importance of auditory, visual and other sensual one further point needs to be made about them at this stage. It should
inputs in the experiencing and living of religious teaching and always be remembered that both Jews and Christians in the fifteenth
practice. This point is rightly stressed, elsewhere in this series, and sixteenth centuries believed the texts of the Bible to be the
by Robert Swanson, who writes, when discussing the written sources inspired Word of God, and indeed of Divine authorship, though
for English religious life (all Christian, of course) in the late Middle produced by human hands. Adherents of the two religions might differ
Ages: widely in their manner of interpreting Biblical texts (and Jews did not
But some elements are irrecoverable, or very imperfectly recoverable: the regard the Christian New Testament as Biblical at all), but this basic
emotional responses which were generated by participation in this continu- viewpoint must be borne in mind by the modern reader. During the
ity of celebrations, from presence at plays to attendance at services and period covered by this work, Christian scholars were beginning to be
processions, and being caught up in the drama and emotional appeal of the aware of the importance of textual accuracy, and of the limitations of
liturgy, to responses to the increasingly complex polyphonic music of the the Latin 'Vulgate' translation from Hebrew and Greek which was
age." then in use in the Western Church [ see the Note on the Documents
above, p. xiv], but they did not engage in the kind of debate about the
Not only was all this true for Christians in other European countries
dating and authorship of the books of the Bible which concerns so
as well but Jews, too, despite strict religious controls on the use of many modern scholars. Having made that point it is time to move on to

22 'You shall not make yourself a carved image or any likeness of anything in heaven
20 See also the Note on the Documents above, p. xii-xvi. or on earth beneath or in the waters under the earth; you shall not bow down to
21 Swanson, Catholic England, pp. 5-6 and 'Medieval liturgy as theatre: the props', them or serve them. For I, Yahweh your God, am a jealous God.' [ Exodus 20:1-5.
Studies in Church History, XXIX, 1992, pp. 2S9-5S. For England, see also Duffy, See also Deuteronomy 5:8-9.J
Stripping ofthe altars. A good Continental study which also addresses the q~e~tio~ 2S Th~rese and Mendel Metzger, Jewish Life in the Middle Ages. Illuminated Htbrtw
of the variety of religious experience is William A. Christian, Jr, Local religion in manusa-ipts of the th1rlttnth le si:ctttnth centun'es, New York, 1982.
sirtttnth-cenJury Spain, Princeton, 1981. 24 Document I and introduction to chapter I.
16 JEWS IN WESTERN EUROPE GENERAL INTRODUCTION 17

consider the other types of text which are represented in this selection, there was no mandatory control over the inquisitors' actions, and the
and which may properly be included under the heading 'religious'. powers originally granted by the Papacy enabled often young and
Do~uments issued by the Curia, or Court, of the Roman Popes are a inexperienced friars to arrest people summarily and even burn them
maJor source for Christian-Jewish relations in this period, and are well for_ heresy without any kind oflegal process. Inevitably, and properly,
represented here.2~ Since the mid-twelfth century at least, the Curia as 1t may seem, the ecclesiastical lawyers went to work to try to ensure
had been a centre of power (and, in the view of many, corruption) for . that such excesses would not occur in the future. It may, however, be
much of the Western Church. The Popes claimed to control all the asked how Jews came to be involved with the Inquisition, as the
Church's affairs, but the main business of the Curia was in ecclesiasti- extracts from the ma.nuals and from l~quisitio~ tri~ls99 clearly indicat1
cal jobs and legal cases concerning both clerics and laypeople.26 The that they were. The answer to this question 1s to be found i1
question of the Jews came within the remit of the Popes for two documents S (i) and (ii) and 4 (iii),"° but at this stage it is necessary only
reasons. Firstly, as heads of Western Christendom, they had to have to note firstly, that inquisitors' manuals, such as those quoted here,
a ~licy on this subject and were responsible for interpreting the were intended by their authors to guide colleagues both in procedure
Scriptures to the Catholic faithful in this and other matters, and and in the identification of heretical or unorthodox beliefs. The
secondly, they had Jewish subjects of their own in the normal, secular Dictionary ofthe Inquisitors, a Spanish source published in 1494, is a late
sense, in southeastern France, including Avignon, Vienne and and refined version of the form which had been developed in the
~arpentras, and in a band across the centre of Italy, including Rome fourteenth century by, for example, the Frenchman Bernard Gui and
itself Thus the papal documents in this collection concern not only the Catalan Nicolau Eymerich. The most obvious defect of these
directly theological and spiritual matters but also the economic, social, earlier manuals is their tendency to categorise heretical Christian ideas
religious and cultural activities of Jews, as individuals and as commu- of their own day in terms of the heresies of the early Church. In the
nities. The general question of the authorship of this category of ~ase of Judaism, this approach not surprisingly led to the continuance,
source has been considered in the Note on the Documents, but it is mto the early modern period, of a disregard for the living experience
worth noting at this stage that all may have had a specifically papal of European Jews, in favour of stereotyped ideas drawn from a
hand in them, and in particular those which were concerned with traditional interpretation of Biblical texts. The case of Inquisition
theological matters. In general terms, the administrative documents trials, however, is somewhat different.
are concerned with individual cases and are as likely to be objective as Both the Papal and the separate Spanish Inquisitions of the fifteenth
any of the secular legislation which is considered below, while the and sixteenth centuries had as their primary purpose the reconciliation
specifically religious texts may have to be judged by different of heretics t? th~ Church, so that the former offenders might be fully
standards, which will also be discussed in due course. re_stored t~ 1t~ hfe. In b~th cases, extensive records of the resulting
The Inquisitorial sources in this collection are of two types. Firstly, trials survive m the arch1v.es of Spain and Italy. The texts presented
there are inquisitorial manuals.27 The Inquisition, a term which here involve the ambiguities of existence for Jewish 'converts' to
originally meant any kind of official inquiry, was, in this particular Christianity who were believed to have reverted to the beliefs and
case, a specialised tribunal set up in the 12sos by Pope Gregory IX to practices of their former religion.' 1 In four cases, the identification of
discover 'unorthodox' views among Christians, especially in the south ~uch 'judaisers', as they were known in the Inquisition's extensive
of France and northern ltaly.28 In the first two decades of its operation, Jargon, was made by means of ritual practices associated with the law
of Moses, while in the fifth [Document 89], the issue was a supposed
25 Documents 2, 7, 9, 21, 29 (ii), so, S5 (iii), SS, 44, 45, 47. case of the abuse and ritual murder of a Christian child in Spain in
26 See note 18, above. 1490. The wider issues involved in these trials will be considered
27 Documents S and 4 (iii~
29 Documents s, +.
28 The best brief introduction to the Papal Inquisition and its early work is Bernard
Hamilton, The Mtdinlal l"'l"isition, London, 1981. Also see W. A. Wakefield Hertsy so See also the introduction to chapter I.
Crusade and Inquisition in sordMrn France, I J0<>-1250, London, 1974. ' ' SI Documents 5 , 6 , 11, 17, S9.
18 JEWS IN WESTERN EUROPE GENERAL INTRODUCTION 19

below, but at this stage it is necessary to consider the value, if any, of their relevant features still need to be outlined. In chapter V, extracts
such evidence to the historian of Jews and Christians, including from the writings of two of the most important Reformers of the
converts, in the Europe of the period. This is a highly controversial Western Church, Martin Luther and Jean Calvin, as well as those of
subject. Some scholars, not all of them Jewish, have asserted that the the distinguished scholar and theologian Desiderius Erasmus, are
bias and avowed purpose of Inquisitorial tribunals invalidate all the included.~ As they concern very much the same matters as the Papal
material they collected as evidence of anyone's religious belief and pronouncements on the theological, and the social, position of the Jews,
practice.H Others, however, while recognising the obvious pitfalls, they should be regarded as being very much in the same category as the
nevertheless take the view that it is indeed possible to obtain Roman Catholic documents of that kind. The impact, if any, of th'
considerable, and in some cases unique, evidence from Inquisitorial Reformation on the life of Europe's Jews will be considered below, bul
records. As Brian Pullan has written, these trial documents at the very in terms of the value and nature of sources, the two other kinds of Jewish
least have the potential to be 'the key which unlocks the mind of the text which are presented here, and which may properly be classified as
people, rather than merely revealing their public acts and their private 'religious', are of greater interest. Marc Saperstein's anthology oflate
transactions'." In particular, they provide a rare opportunity to learn medieval and early modern Jewish preaching/7 extracts from which
about the religious lives of 'ordinary' women of the period, in contrast are offered here, draws attention to a vital source for the understanding
to the 'great' religious women on whom so much recent literature, ofJewish life in Europe in the period. The recording of Jewish sermons
including that written from a feminist perspective, has concentrated.H was as haphazard as that of their Christian equivalents, yet, as the editor
Studies of Inquisition trial (and pre-trial) documents, especially in of the anthology remarks, the comments included in them are often closer
Spain, have provided important information on this subject [see in time to the events to which they refer than are the chronicles which
Document 5 (ii)] even though these records, like all the other recorded them for posterity. In a sense it might be more appropriate
documents in this book were written by men.05 This a significant point, to include them among the literary than the religious sources in terms
which ought not to be forgotten. of the categories that are being employed here, because they com-
In a sense, the other kinds of sources used in this collection which may monly survive as a part of other published work. As with so much
generally be termed 'religious' are rather more straightforward, although recorded Jewish preaching of this period, the selection included here
shows a certain bias towards southern Europe. Isaac Arama is
82 See, for example, Ellis Rivkin, 'The utilisation of non-Jewish sources for the regarded as one of the most influential Jewish preachers in the period
reconstruction of Jewish history', Jewish !lJuzrterly Review, XLnTL 1957-8, p. 198,
and 'How Jewish were the New Christians?', in Josep M. Sola, Samuel G. Armistead of the Spanish expulsion,S8 while Joseph ibn Shem Tob directly
and Joseph H. Silverman, eds, Hispania Judaua: Studies on the History, Language and addresses the difficulties experienced by Jews in Spain in his own
Liurature ef the Jews in the Hispanic World, I. History, Barcelona, 1980, pp. 105-15; period (see introduction to chapter II below)., 9 Judah Moscato, on the
C. John Sommerville, 'Debate. Religious faith, doubt and atheism. Comment', Past
and Presmt, 128, 1990, p. 154. other hand, in a sermon preached in Mantua in about 1585, indicates
ss Brian Pullan, The Jews of Europe and the Inquisition ef 1-'tnue, 1550-1670, Oxford, that educated Italian Jews were fully immersed in the scholarly, as well
1988, p. 117. For further debate on this subject, see Edwards, 'Religious faith and as the social, life of the general population in the Renaissance period.to
doubt in late medieval Spain: Soria circa 1450-1500', Past and Present, 120, 1988, pp.
4-5 and 'Why the Spanish Inquisition?', Studies in Church History, XXlX, 1992, pp. The other Jewish religious source which is used here, in relation to the
227-9. issue (increasingly important as the sixteenth century progressed) of
84 For example, Eleanor McLaughlin, ·women, power and the pursuit of holiness in how converts from Judaism to Christianity should be treated [document
medieval Christianity·, in Feminist theowgy. A reader, ed. Ann Loades, London, 1990,
pp. 99-12!1; Benedicta Ward, 'Saints and sibyls: Hildegard of Bingen to Teresa of
Avila', in Aftn Eve. Womm, theowgy and the Christian tradition, ed. Janet Martin !16 Documents 40 (i) and (ii), 41 and 42.
Soskice, London, 1990, pp. IOS-18. 87 Marc Saperstein, Jewish preaching, /'z00-1800. An anthology, New Haven and
!15 Renee C. Levine [Melamed], 'Women in Spanish crypto--Judaism, 1492-1520', London, 1989.
unpublished Ph.D. thesis, Brandeis, 1982; Edwards, 'Male and female religious !18 Document 48 (i).
experience among Spanish "New Christians", 1450-1500', in The expulsion ef the
!19 Document 48 (ii).
Jews: 149'z and aftn, ed. Raymond B. Waddington and Arthur Williamson, New
York and London, 199+, pp. 41-51. 40 Document 48 (iii~
20 JEWS IN WESTERN EUROPE GENERAL INTRODUCTION 21

20], is that of rabbinical 'responses·. As Saperstein points out, these are all in their different ways intensely personal, they constantly
legal rulings, given by Jewish rabbis in response to requests, generally reflect on the same issues as arise in the more 'public' sources which
from individuals, for interpretation of Biblical and rabbinical Law are included here.
(Torah and Talmud) in specific cases, were more likely to be
preserved than other kinds of Jewish written output from the period.• 1
In various respects they are equivalent to the legal documents issued
'Religion'
for Christians by the Papacy, which have already been referred to. As One point which emerges clearly from all these texts is the predomi-
in the Catholic Church, decisions by legal scholars in individual cases nance of religion, whether as Judaism or Christianity, in the life o{
might well be generalised in application. There is no great complica- these Europeans of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. Something)
tion in their use by the historian although the same could not be said must therefore be said about what it means when the word 'religion'
of the textual work and reasoning which lay behind them. is used in historical material, whether primary, as in the case of this
A considerable range of material concerned with social and economic selection of documents, or secondary, as in that of the commentary
relations between Jews and Christians is included in this selection, and upon them which is provided here. In recent years, this matter has
it takes various forms. Much is secular legislation or edicts, issued by begun once again to excite the attention of scholars, as attempts are
rulers of various states, such as monarchies, especially in Spain, and made to reconcile the former extremes which have dominated the

l
Italian states such as the duchy of Milan and the territories of the subject for so many decades. So often, religion has been seen either as
Popes themselves (see above, p. I 6).•• Once again, some of these texts a matter of purely individual experience, as it was by William James,
were intended to be applied generally within the territories concerned, brother of the novelist Henry,+9 or as the result of impersonal social
while others dealt with specific cases. Some examples of private and economic forces, as in the Marxist tradition. Now, however, the
contracts and litigation involving Jews and Christians are included, as discussion seems to take a rather different form. Some years ago, it was
well as an interesting piece of communal legislation from Spain, the suggested that 'religious' phenomena might be subdivided in terms of
laws of Valladolid of 1432.+3 the old debate, into the individual and private on the one hand and the
Finally, it is necessary to look at a third category of source which may communal and public on the other. However, a third category was
be broadly referred to as 'literary'. Once again, it is hard to distinguish jncluded in the discussion, that is, the intellectual constructs con-
precisely between one category and another, given that the examples cerned with God which are commonly known as theology, or
given here of chronicles,++ personal correspondence,+s poetry,"" autobi- doctrine.50 There is no doubt that many or most of the documents
ography•1 and even a novel,4" share the characteristic that, while they presented here testify, in their various ways, to the importance of this
third category. The value of doctrine and theology as guides to any
real human experience has, however, been subjected to assault by
41 Saperstein, Jewish preaching, p. 5.
Gavin Langmuir, who has attempted to raise the profile and status of
42 Documents 4 (i) and (ii), 8, 10, 11, IS, 22, 24 (i), 25, 26, 27, SI (i), S2, SS, S5, S6, S1
(i). For the nature of the authority of Christian rulers over Jews in medieval and individual 'religious' experience by coining a new use for the word
early modem Europe, see Gavin I. Langmuir's discussion of the French case in 'religiosity'. In common parlance, this is not a particularly complimen-
·Judei nostri and the beginning of Capetian legislation' and 'Tanquam servi: The tary word with which to describe 'religious• people. In current English
change in Jewish status in French law about 1200·, in Toward a definition ef
Antismutism, Berkeley, Los Angeles, Oxford, 1990, pp. IS7-66 and 167-94. dictionaries/' the expression hovers uneasily between the polite
+s Documents 29 (i), s+, 45; excerpts from the 1452 laws are in documents 24 (ii) and
SI (ii). +9 William James, The varieties ef religious txperimce, Cambridge. Mass., 1985. A full
4+ Documents 12, 16, 18, 2S, S9 (vi). discussion of the merits and demerits of this work is to be found in Nicholas Lash,
Easter in ordinary. Reflections on human txperimce and the lrnowkdge ef God. London,
+5 Documents 40 (ii), (iii) and (v). 1988.
46 Document 19. 50 Edwards, The convmos: a theological approach', Bulktin <ifHispanic Studies, LXII,
47 Document 49. 1985, S9-49.
+8 Document 48. 51 For example, The concise Oxford dictionary, eighth edition, 1992.
 JEWS IN WESTERN EUROPE GENERAL INTRODUCTION

'religious' and the less polite 'religiose·, defined as 'excessively reli- favour of what they perceived to be a truly 'Christian' society.~ In that
gious'. For Langmuir, 'religion' corresponds to 'official' religious sense, the Spanish Inquisition, whose records have provided many of
teaching and doctrine, as represented here by the words of Popes, the sources which are used here, simply represented the continuation
rabbis and theologians, while 'religiosity' describes the religious life of of the attempt by the Catholic Church and secular authorities to
individuals, including Jews who found themselves in trouble with implement a religious and social prescription, which attempted to
Christian authorities, or converts from Judaism to Christianity who realise the vision of the fathers of the Fourth Lateran Council of 1215.
were investigated or tried by the Inquisition.5' Here, the general The difference was that, by the beginning of the fifteenth century,
assumption has been made that, as Leszek Kolakowski put it, 'what there was a large population, mainly in Castile and Aragon, of 'New
people mean in religious discourse is what they ostensibly mean'.5 ' Christian' converts from Judaism.67 As chapter V suggests, the Refon.1\-
Thus, for the purpose of what follows, it has not been regarded as ation did little to improve the lot of Europe's Jews, either in d1e
necessary to make guesses concerning the real motives of the sixteenth century or later.58 Indeed, as far as the Roman Church is
individuals and groups who appear or are referred to in these concerned, it seems to have made things worse, at least for those Jews
documents. The pitfalls of language have already been alluded to (see who found themselves under the direct rule of the Papacy. Not only
the Note on the Documents), but to understand these events and was the attack on the Talmud renewed, but increasingly oppressive
people's actions, it is essential that we realise the extent to which most measures were taken against Jews in the Papal states.59
people saw everything in religious terms. This is not of course to say Nonetheless, it is hoped that no reader of chapter VI of this selection
that, in Langmuir's terms, the 'religiosity' of individuals was necessar- will go away with the impression that Jews lived a constantly
ily identical to the 'religion' of public bodies and institutions. Doubt wretched life in Western and Central Europe in the period between
about the fundamentals of life and the faith were as much a feature of 14-00 and 1600. Despite religious and social restrictions, and false
the late medieval and early modern periods as they are of the present accusations of violent atrocities against Christians which caused
day..s+ Indeed, such doubts were to be a particular problem for converts oppression of Jewish communities in Spain, Italy and elsewhere,60 it
from Judaism in Spain who, having left one strong tradition, Judaism, was possible for Jews {at least male ones) to exercise some power in
often found it hard to adopt another, Christianity.55
that society. Western Jewry survived the expulsions and lived to see
some revival of its fortunes, with the growth of the Polish community
A Jewish life? and the restoration and development of those in the Netherlands and
England. Whatever the theologians and politicians may have said,
The general conditions of life of Europe's Jews are normally assumed Jewish life among Christians was possible during the Renaissance and
to have declined in the period under consideration here. There does Reformation and contributed far more to it than Hobsbawm and other
indeed seem to be some truth in Cohen's assertion that the 'discovery' 'modernists' seem to have dreamt of.
of rabbinical Judaism, in the form of the Talmud, in the thirteenth
century seriously threatened Jewish life by allowing the new Christian
religious orders of friars, particularly Franciscan and Dominican, to
make Jews a target as part of their campaign against heresy and in

52 Gavin I. Langmuir, His/Qry, religion and Antisemitism, Berkeley, Los Angeles and 56 Cohen, ThL friars and thL Jews, pp. 242-64.
Oxford, 1990, pp. ISS-iOO. 57 Document 5 and Edwards, Tht Jews in Christian Europe, pp. 15-17, 2 7-SO.
5S Leszek Kolakowski, Religion: if tlure is no God, Glasgow, 1982, p. 16. 58 Introduction to chapter V and Edwards, TM Jews in Christian Europe, pp. 50-6S.
54 Edwards, 'Religious faith and doubt', p. S and 'Debate. Religious faith, doubt and 59 Document 7 and Edwards, ·Tht Jtws in Christian Europe, pp. 66-92.
atheism', pp. 158-60; Langmuir, 'Doubt in Christendom', in Toward a definition <if 60 See the discussions of the 'ritual murder' accusations in Edwards, 'Why the Spanish
Anti-semitism, Berkeley, Los Angeles and Oxford, 1990, pp. 100-ss. Inquisition?' pp. 229-SO and Langmuir, 'Thomas of Monmouth: detector of ritual
55 Kenneth R. Scholberg, Satira e invectiva m la Espana r,uditva4 Madrid, 197 1, pp. murder', and 'The knight's tale of young Hugh of Lincoln', in Toward a definition
SOS-60. <ifAnti.semi/ism, pp. 209-S6 and 257-62,
I: The Church and the Jews

As the very foundation of the medieval Church's attitude to the Jews was
Scripture, it is proper to begin with some of the texts which particularly
influenced the teaching given to Catholics. Included here are some versesfrom
the Gospels andfrom one of Paul's epistles. These passages are presented 1~
the Latin of the Vulgate Bible, in which they would have been heard at tlie
time, as well as in a modern English translation.' In Catholic liturgies ofthe
late medieval and early modern periods, this extract.from Matthew's gospel
would have been sung, '!fun in a somewhat dramatised form, on Palm
Sunday, when the entry ofJesus to Jerusalem, before his arrest and tria4 was
commemorated. In it, the Jews appear to take corporate and everlasting
responsibility for the Christian Saviour's death. The extract from John's
gospel purports to be part of a dialogue between Jesus and Jewish religious
leaders, in which Jesus appears to link Jews in general with the devi4 an idea
which was to gain great popularity and irifluence in later periods/' In
contrast, the passage from Paul's epistle to the Romans gives a much more
positive view of the relationship between Jews and non-Jewish Christians,
though one which has only recently come to prominence in the teaching ofthe
Churches.3
In the thirteenth century, the Papacy became aware, through the agency of
Chn"stian converts from Judaism, that the elder religion did not rely for
inspiration and guidance on the Hebrew Scriptures alone, but also on the
rabbinical teachings included in the Talmud! As a result, Pope Gregory IX
condemned the Talmud in 1236, on the grounds that it was blasphemous of
Chn"stianity and encouraged antisocial behaviour t,y Jews against Chn"stians.

I Although some of the vernacular languages spoken in Western and Central Europe
in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries were much closer to the Latin of the Vulgate
Bible than was the English of the same period, the argument used by R. N. Swanson,
in another work in this series, nonetheless applies in this case: 'The aim of retaining
the original languages [ in the present volume only oneJ is to demonstrate the
problem of access in a society which was not necessarily Latinate, and the extent to
which control of interpretation could be retained by those possessing the linguistic
key'. [R. N. Swanson, Catholic England. Faith, religion and observance before the
Reformation, Manchester University Press, 199S, p. 46.J
2 John Edwards, The Jews in Christian Europe, l'l-00-1700, London, 1991, p. 2S; Joshua
Trachtenberg, TM Devil and the Jews, New Haven, 194S.
s Paul's full treatment of this question is to be found in chapters 9 to 11 of that epistle.
4 See above [ Introduction, p. 22] and Edwards, Tht Jews, pp. 20-1.
26 JEWS IN WESTERN EUROPE JEWS AND THE CHURCH 27

In this complex, andfairly unreadable, document, the pope accuses these texts, thought it necessary to include their own descriptions of Jews and Judaism
which were a major sourcefor Jewish orthodoxy and life, ofencouraging and alongside those ofthe various heretical movements in Christianity which they
even instructing Jews to blaspheme against Christianity and to behave in an saw, or imag,:ned, in their own time. This earlier work was to be taken up
anti-social manner towards Christians. Formal 'disputations' leading to the in tlu anonymous Dictionary of the Inquisitors, published in Spain in
condemnation of the Talmud, took place in Paris in 1240 and Barcelona in 1494, when Ferdinand and Isabella's Spanish Inquisition had been in
1263, and tlu same arguments were still being dep/Qyed by Catholic operation for nearly fifteen years. The 'dictionary entry' translated here
Christians in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, including the earlier reflects tlu perceived results of the work of local tribunals in Castile and
insistence that Jews had to be preserved as a remnant of the former Chosen Aragon, which are exemplified by the extract from the trial of a Jeu!jsh
People of God, and not destroyed.5 convert in Trujillo in Spanish Extremadura, in 1489-1490, which9 is
Thereafter, the Papal Inquisition, which had been set up in the reign ofthat included here, along with a brief extract from a register of statements given
same pope Gregory IX to investigate and repress unorthodox beliefwithin the to the Soria tribunal in 1501. This is an exampl.e offema/.e adherence to
Church itself, became increasingly interested in Jews, both because of tluir Judaism among the converts in Spain. The examp/.e of the Spanish
supposed hostility to the younger faith and because they were suspected of Inquisition was imitated, in the next century, by tlu Penetian inquisitors, who
conspiring with Chnstian heretics against Catholic Chnstendom. This attempted. in tluir turn, to defend the Chnstian faith, as they saw it, in a
assault on the religious life andpractice ofJudaism was carried out under the cosmopolitan and multi-religious city.7 In l 554, Pope Julius III renewed,
auspices ofthe Fourth Lateran Council ofthe Catholic Church, which, having once again, the thirteenth-century Christian attack on the Talmud. Thus
been called together by Pope Innocent Ill, had issued its decrees, or canons, in earlier traditions survived both the Reformation and the Counter-Reforma-
12 l 5. They were based on the presupposition that: tion of the Catholic Church.
What we strictlyforbid, lwwever, is that anyone slwuld dare to break out in insults
against the Redeemer. And since we should not shut our eyes to insults which are
1. The New Testament and the Jews
heaped upon Him who washed away our sins, we decree that such presumptuous (a) Matthew, chapter 27,"vv. 22-26
persons shall be duly restrained by suitable punishment meted out by the secular
ruln-s, so that none dare blaspheme against Him wlw was crucifiedfar our sake.8 [from Biblia sacra iu.xta vulgatam clementinam, ed. Alberto Colunga, O.P., and
Laurentio Turrado, Madrid, 1977, p. 990]
One ofthose who attempted to obey this injunction was Alfonso X of Castile [ 22] Dicit illis Pilatus: Quid igitur faceam de lesu, qui dicitur
{1252-1284). His seven-part law-code, known in Castilian as the Siete Christus? [ 23] Dicunt omnes: Crucifigatur. Ait illis pneses: Quid enim
Partidas, included, as chapter 24 of its seventh and last section, a series of mali fecit? At illi magis clamabant dicentes: Crucifigatur. [ 24] Videns
laws concerning the kingdom's Jews. The extracts offered here pronounce on autem Pilatus quia nihil proficeret, sed magis tumultus fieret: accepta
tlu vexed questions of the definition ofa 'Jew' and the fate ofconverts from aqua, lavit manos coram populo, dicens: Innocens ego sum a sanguine
Judaism to Christianity. Both these matters were to become important issues iusti huius: vos videretis. [ 25] Et respondens universus populus, dixit:
in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. Sanguis eius super nos, et super filios nostros. [26] Tune dimisit illis
~ the fourteenth century, inquisitors such as Bernard Gui and Nicolau Barabbam: Iesum autem flagellatum tradidit eis ut crucifigeretur.
Eymerich, who compiled handbooks for the guidance of their colleagues, [From The Jerusalem Bible, ed. Alexander Jones, London, 1968, p. 42]
[22] 'But in that case', Pilate said to them, 'what am I to do with Jesus
who is called Christ?' They all said, 'Let him be crucified'. [23]
'Why?', he asked 'What harm has he done?' But they shouted all the
5 See above ( Introduction, p. 12) also Edwards, The Jews, pp. 19, 29-SO. For relevant louder, 'Let him be crucified!' [24] Then Pilate saw that he was
texts with English translations, see Hyam Maccoby, Judaism on truil. Jewish- making no impression, that in fact a riot was imminent. So he took
Christian disputations tn the Muldk Ages, London and Toronto, 1982.
6 J. D. Mansi, Sacrorum Conciliorum nova tt amplmima colkctio, Florence, 1759-1798, 7 Brian Pullan, The Jews of Europe and the Ir,quisition of Venice, 1550-1670, Oxford,
repr. 1962, vol. 22, p. 1055. 1985.
28 JEWS IN WESTERN EUROPE JEWS AND THE CHURCH 29

some water, washed his hands in front of the crowd and said, 'I am nisi vita ex mortuis? [16] Quod si delibatio sancta est, et massa: et si
innocent of this man's blood. It is your concern.' [25] And the people, radix sancta, et rami. [ 17] Quod si aliqui ex ramis fracti sunt, tu autem
to a man, shouted back, 'His blood be on us and on our children!' [26] cum oleaster estes, insertus es in illis, et socius radicis, et pinguedinis
Then he released Barabbas for them. He ordered Jesus to be first olivre factus es, [18] noli gloriari adversus ramos. Quod si gloriaris:
scourged and then handed over to be crucified. non tu radicem portas, sed radix te. [19] Dices ergo: Fracti sunt rami
(b) John, chapter 8, vv. 42-45 ut ego inserar. [20] Bene: propter incredulitatem fracti sunt. Tu
autem fide stas; noli altum sapere, sed time. [ 21] Si enim Deus
[Biblia vulgata, p. 1051]
naturalibus ramis non pepercit: ne forte nee tibi parcat. [ 22] Vide ergo
[ 42] Dixit ergo eis Iesus: Si Deus pater vester esset, diligeretis utique bonitatem, et severitatem Dei: in eos quidem qui ceciderui'h,
me; ego enim ex Deo processi, et veni; neq ue enim a me ipso veni, sed severitatem: in te autem bonitatem Dei, si permanseris in bonitate,
ille me misit. [ 45] Quare loquelam meam non cognoscitis? Quia non alioquin et tu excideris. [2S] Sed et illi, si non permanserint in
potestis audire sermonem meum. [ 44J Vos ex patre diabolo estis; et incredulitate, inserentur: potens est enim Deus iterum inserere illos.
desideria patris vestri vultis facere. Ille homicida erat ah initio, et in (24] Nam si tu ex naturali excisus est oleastro, et contra naturam
veritate non stetit; quia non est veritas in eo; cum loquitur mendacium, insertus est in bonam olivam: quanto magis ii qui secundum naturam
ex propriis loquitur, quia mendax est, et pater eius. [45] Ego autem si inserentur sure naturre?
veritatem dico, non creditis mihi. [Jerusalem Bible, pp. 207-208]
[Jerusalem Bible, p. ISO]
[ I ] Let me put a further question then: is it possible that God has
[42] Jesus answered: If God were your father, you would love me, rejected his people? Of course not. I, an Israelite, descended from
since I have come here from God; yes, I have come from him; not that Abraham through the tribe of Benjamin, [2] could never agree that
I came because I chose, no, I was sent, and by him. [ 4SJ Do you know God had rejected his people, the people he chose specially long ago.
why you cannot take in what I say? It is because you are unable to [ 1 I ] Let me put another question then: have the Jews fallen for ever,
understand my language. [ 44J The devil is your father, and you prefer or have they just stumbled? Obviously they have not fallen for ever:
to do what your father wants. He was a murderer from the start; he their fall, though, has saved the pagans in a way the Jews may now
was never grounded in the truth; there is no truth in him at all: when well emulate. [12] Think of the extent to which the world, the pagan
he lies he is drawing on his own store, because he is a liar and the world, has benefited from their fall and defection - then think how
father of lies. [45] But as for me, I speak the truth and for that very much more it will benefit from the conversion of them all. [ 13] Let me
reason you do not believe me. tell you pagans this: I have been sent to the pagans as their apostle,
(c) Paul's epistle to the Romans, chapter 11, vv. 1-2, 11-24 and I am proud of being sent, [ 14] but the purpose ofit is to make my
[Biblia l'ulgata, p. I !OS]
own people envious of you, and in this way save some of them. [ 15]
Since their rejection meant the reconciliation of the world, do you
[1] Dico ergo: Numquid Deus repulit populum suum? Absit. Nam et know what their admission will mean? Nothing less than a resurrec-
ego israelita sum ex semine Abraham, de tribu Beniamin: [2] non repulit tion from the dead! [16] A whole batch of bread is made holy if the
Deus plebem suam, quam prrescivit. [11] Dico ergo: Numquid sic first handful of dough is made holy. [ 17] No doubt some of the
offenderunt ut caderent? Absit. Sed illorum delicto, salus est gentibus branches have been cut off, and, like shoots of wild olive, you have been
ut illis remulentur. [12] Quod si delictum eorum divitire mundi, et grafted among the rest to share with them the rich sap provided by the
diminutio eorum divitire gentium: quanto magis plenitudo eorum? olive tree itself, [ I 8] but still, even if you think yourself superior to
[13] Vobis enim dico gentibus. Quamdiu quidem ego sum gentium the other branches, remember that you do not support the root; it is
Apostolus, ministerium meum honorificabo, [14] si quomodo ad the root that supports you. [19] You will say, 'Those branches were
remulandum provocem carnem meam, et salvos faciam aliquos ex illis. cut off on purpose to let me be grafted in!' True, [ 20] they were cut
[ 15] Si enim amissio eorum, reconciliatio est mundi: qure assumptio, off, but through their unbelief; if you still hold firm, it is only thanks
 JEWS IN WESTERN EUROPE JEWS AND THE CHURCH
to ~our faith. Rath~r than making you proud, that should make you (6) And they say [ the rabbis] could overturn the Law [ of Moses].
afraid. [21] God did not spare the natural branches, and he is not
likely to spare you. [22] Do not forget that God can be severe as well It is said, 'Is it not permitted to overturn the word of the Law?' The
as kind: he is severe to those who fell, and he is kind to you, but only Talmud replies and proves that it is. Then it poses several questions
for as long as he chooses to be, otherwise you will find yourself cut off and produces several proofs. And in the end it expresses itself thus, To
too, [23] and the Jews, if they give up their unbelief, grafted back in sit still and do nothing is something else' [implying to Pope Gregory a
you~ place. God is perfectly able to graft them back again; [24] after willingness to reject Scripture and refuse conversion to Christianity].
all, if you were cut off from your natural wild olive to be grafted ( 10) Among [ the rabbis] are those who have given as a law: 'The I t
unnaturally on to a cultivated olive, it will be much easier for them the of the Christians, kill him'.
natural branches, to be grafted back on to the tree they came fr~m. This may be read in Elle-shmwt [ Exodus]: 'Pharaoh took six hundred
chosen chariots, and all the cavalry of Egypt'. On this, the gloss of
2. Pope Gregory IX's attack on the Talmud
Solomon says: Where did these horses come from, for if they belonged
A letter addressed by Pope Gregory in 1236 to the rulers of France, which to the Egyptians, is it not recounted [in the book of Exodus] that all
purports to reveal the blasphemous and anti-Christian nature of the Talmud their beasts were dead? If they belonged to the Israelites, did not
the written basis of the rabbinical Judaism of the western European Middl~ Moses say: 'All our beasts will leave with us, and not a hoof of theirs
Ages. will remain' [ Exodus 10:26]? Whence, then did these horses come?
[F~om: So_lomon ~rayze_l, The Church ':nd the Jews in the thirteenth century, The answer is that some of Pharaoh's servants, who feared the Word
Phlladelph1a, 19SS; m Latin. The transcribed Hebrew words in this extract are of God, hid their servants and animals. That is why Rabbi Simeon said:
the titles or first words of sections of the Talmud] The best of the goyim, kill him, the best of servants, crush his head'.
( 1) The Jews affirm that the Law which they call the Talmud was This means that, since these virtuous and God-fearing Egyptians
promulgated by God. handed over their animals for the pursuit of the people of God, the best
of the Gentiles may be killed like criminals.
It is said, The rabbis say, "It happened that a goy came before the
[famous rabbi] Shammai and said to him, "How many Laws do you (IS) And anyone who does not want to have to keep his oath has only
have?" Shammai replied, "Two, one written and the other oral"'. to announce at the beginning of the year that the vows and oaths that
he may make during the year are null and void.
(4) [The Jews] also say that the Law of the Talmud was conserved
without being written down until some people appeared whom they [Commentary, or gloss] Both [Rabbi Abaye and Rabbi Rabha] agree
call docto1:' and scribes, who, out of fear that it might disappear that the protestation made at the beginning of the year renders null
through bemg forgotten from the memories of men, collected it in a and void all vows made during the year, but Abaye wishes that, at the
book which considerably exceeds the Bible in length. moment when the vow is made, the protestation should not be
remembered, while Rabha says it should.
(5) In [the Talmudic Law] it is found, among other absurdities, that
the said doctors and scribes are superior to the prophets. Rabbi
S. Inquisitors and the Jews
Abdime says, 'Since the day in which the Temple [at Jerusalem] was
destroyed [by the Romans in A.D. 70], the gift of prophecy has been (a) Bernard Gui: France, 1S2S-4
taken away from the prophets and given to the doctors [rabbis].
( From: Bernard Gui, Lt manuel de l'Inquisiteur (The manual of the Inquisitor),
Objection: Is not the rabbi himself a prophet? composed in IS2S-4, ed. G. Mollat, Paris, 1964, vol. 2, pp. 6-7; in Latin, with
French translation]
[Answer]: Yes, but because this gift has been taken away from the
prophets, it has not been given to the rabbis. What follows concerns the perfidy of the Jews against the faith of
Christians.
[Rabbi] Amemar says: The rabbi is superior to the prophet.
The perfidious Jews struggle, when and where they can, secretly to
 JEWS IN WESTERN EUROPE JEWS AND THE CHURCH SS

pervert Christians and draw them into the Jewish perfidy. This is Thirdly, in the terms of the bull Turbato corde [ With a disturbed
especially the case with those who were formerly Jews and were heart'] of our lord pope Nicholas IV, bishops and inquisitors will
converted and received baptism and the Christian faith, above all consider as supporters of heresy those Jews who are favoured in such
those who are closely involved with [the Jews] or are joined to them a manner, whether in the case of the return to Judaism of one of their
by links of affinity or else are blood relations. own, or in that of a Christian adhering to Judaism.
It has been established, however, that in the case of Christians who It will be considered that someone has gone over, or returned, to the
may have converted or returned to the Jewish rite, even if they thus Judaic rite if he observes its ceremonies, solemnities and feasts; if, in
returned when they were children or else for fear of death, unless they short, he does what Jews customarily do. \
were absolutely and evidently forced to be baptized, if they confess this [To this, Pena adds]
[apostasy], and whether they are convicted by Christians or Jews,
there will be similar proceedings against their supporters, protectors In reality, both Christians converted to Judaism and Jews who have
and defenders as [there would be] against the supporters, protectors converted and judaised again will be treated as apostates. The offence
and defenders of heretics. of apostasy and heresy is obvious and hence the inquisitor's interven-
tion is legitimate, whatever the circumstances of the passage or return
(b) Nicolau Eymerich, 1379 to Judaism. Even if the Jew who judaises once again received baptism
[From: Nicolau Eymerich's Le manUl!l rk l'Inquisiteur, first published in 1379, under threat of death or as a child, the offence of 'rejudaisation'
with a supplementary comment by Luis Pella, in the Rome, 1578, re-edition, remains intact. Nevertheless, a child who falls back into Judaism will
both edited by Luis Sala-Molins, Paris and The Hague, 1977, pp. 72--4; French be treated with less rigour.
translation from Latin]
Jews guilty of having contributed in any way to [ such] a transfer to
Chapter 17 Judaism will be condemned to the following penalties: a ban on being
Christians adhering to Judaism; Jews converting and rejudaising in the company of Christians, a fine, imprisonment and a beating. But
Must one consider as heretics, and judge as such, those Christians who a particularly severe penalty will fall on a more serious offence,
have converted to Judaism or returned to Judaism, and those who possibly going as far as the surrender of the guilty party to the secular
assisted, welcomed or favoured this passage? arm [death by burning]. It is for the judge to decide as he sees fit. On
this point, such is the common opinion of inquisitors.
Let us subdivide this question so as to consider effectively its three
aspects. It should further be indicated that, in accordance with the provision of
Philip II [Laws of Castile, Part I.book 2. chapter 8: Jews and Moors],
Firstly, those Christians who have converted to Judaism, and Jews a Jew who converts to Christianity must change his name. Let him be
who, having converted to Christianity, return to the atrocious Jewish strongly advised to take one from the Christian martyrology, other-
sect are [indeed] heretics and must be considered as such. Both wise he will always raise suspicions among others concerning his
[categories] have renounced the faith of Christ which they had origins.
embraced by baptism. If they should wish to abjure the Judaic rite, but
do not agree to foreswear Judaism [itself] or do penance, they will be 4. The 'Jew' defined
pursued like impenitent heretics by bishops and inquisitors, who will
hand them over to the secular arm to be burnt. (a) A definition of a Jew from the thirteenth-century law-code of Alfonso X of
Secondly, those Christians who have favoured or counselled . .. a Castile, known as the Siete Partidas [Seven Parts].
Christian who has gone over to Judaism or returned to Judaism will be [From: Dwayne E. Carpenter, A{fonso X and tJu Jews: an edition ef and
considered as aiders and abettors [fautores] of heresy and judged as commentary on 'Siete Partidas' 7: ~4, 'De Los judlos', Modern Philology, 115,
such, for both those who go over to Judaism and those who return to Berkeley, Los Angeles, London, 1986, p. 28, in Spanish]
it are heretics. Title 7 Section 24 Law 1.
s+ JEWS IN WESTERN EUROPE JEWS AND THE CHURCH S5
What the word 'Jew' means and how it acquired this name, and the have committed. Also, we command that, after certain Jews become
reasons why the Church and the great Christian lords let them live Christians, all those who live under our lordship should honour them,
among them. and no-one should dare to remind them or their families of their Jewish
Someone is called a Jew who believes in and adheres to the law of origin in an insulting manner. And that they should possess their
Moses as it is stated literally, and is circumcised and does the other property, sharing it with their brothers and inheriting it from their
things that Law of theirs commands. And he took this name from the parents, just as if they were [ still] Jews. And that they may have all
tribe of Judah, which was more noble and more brave than all the the offices and honours that other Christians have.
other tribes. And, in addition, it had another advantage, that is that the
(c) A late fifteenth-ce?tury Spanish 'definition' which was included in ~ '
king of the Jews had to be elected from that tribe. And, in addition, handbook, or dictionary for inquisitors, published in Valencia in 1494, reflects
during battles, the people from that tribe were always the first to be both the changes and the continuity of attitude in Spain between the
wounded. And the reason why the Church and the emperors and the compilation of Alfonso X ofCastile's Siete Partidas in the 1260s and the reign
kings and other princes suffered the Jews to live among the Christians of Ferdinand and Isabella.
is this: that they might live in captivity for ever and that they should
be a reminder to everyone that they come from the lineage of those [From Le dictionnaire tks inquisiteurs [1494], ed. L. Sala-Molins, Paris and
The Hague, 198 I, pp. 269-76; in Latin, with French translation]
who crucified Our Lord Jesus Christ.
The Jews of today remain prisoners of their perfidy and their obstinacy
(b) A thirteenth-century statement of the Church's view of the conversion of for five reasons.
the Jews.
They say that the Law of Moses was promulgated for its own sake and
[From Carpenter, Alfonso X and the Jews, pp. SS-4; in Spanish]
with another end [than the Christian one] in view. They think this
Law 6. How Jews should not be compelled to become Christians, and Law must last for ever. [Also] they affirm that the land of Canaan and
what a Jew may gain if he does become a Christian, and what the city of Jerusalem, with all that they contain, were promised and
punishment the other Jews deserve who do them harm or dishonour given to them as a specific prize for their observance of the Law. They
for this reason. believe [also] that the Messiah promised in the Law will free them
Neither force nor compulsion should be used in any way against any from their earthly captivity and lead them back to the land of Canaan.
Jew, to make him become a Christian. Rather, the Christians should As a consequence, they deny that Christ is the true Messiah, and they
convert them to faith in Our Lord Jesus Christ by setting a good await another one, who will liberate them. They think, finally, that the
example, with the sayings of the Holy Scriptures, and with blandish- Law of the Gospel is imperfect, quite contrary to the Law of Moses,
ments, for our lord God does not desire or love service which is done and, as a consequence, sacrilegious and false.
to Him under compulsion. Also, we state that if any Jew or Jewess [Here are] three essential reasons for the Jews' refusal to convert, and
wishes to become a Christian man or woman by his or her own wish, for their hostility towards the faith of Christ. To start with, they fear
the other Jews should not forbid or prevent them in any way. And if poverty. Traditionally greedy, their Law promises them, on numerous
some of [those Jews] stone them or wound or kill them because they occasions, an abundance of material goods: they fear losing them if
wish to become Christians, or after they have been baptised, and if this they convert.
can be proved, we order that all the murderers and the conspirators in
Further, they are brought up from the cradle in the hatred of Christ,
such a murder or stoning should be burnt. And ifit should happen that of Christianity and of Christians. The Christian Law is totally and
they do not kill, but only wound or dishonour such a person, we order
constantly cursed in their synagogues. Now, that to which men are
that the judges in the place where this happens should pursue those
accustomed from their most tender infancy forms part of their nature
who do the wounding or inflict the dishonour in order to force them
... As a consequence, they abhor those truths which they hold to be
to make amends for their deed. In addition, they should give them such errors.
punishment as they think they deserve to receive, for the offence they
In the third place, they are incapable of converting because of the
S6 JEWS IN WESTERN EUROPE JEWS AND THE CHURCH 57

complexity and sublime nature of what Catholicism suggests they First case. The Jew is guilty with regard to our Law because he fights
should accept: the divine Trinity the double nature and [yet] the against it, despises it, or else commits some outrageous act against the
oneness of the person of Christ, the sacrament of the Eucharist. They Creator or the Redeemer. For example, he profanes churches, altars or
are absolutely incapable of understanding, of taking in, these truths, sacred ornaments. He obstructs the work of the Inquisition. In this
and they think that we adore three gods and that the Eucharist is the case, the inquisitor can pursue him without the shadow of a doubt,
worst of idolatries. since the defence of the Christian faith has been entrusted to him. It is
They blasphemed [Christ's divinity] because they accused him of not at all surprising that, in this case, the Jew falls under the,
doing miracles in the name of Beelzebub. They put him to death. jurisdiction of the inquisitor, since he is guilty of offences under\
ecclesiastical law .. ..
They persecuted his disciples.
Yet the Church tolerates the Jews as a witness to the Christian faith. Second case. The Jews contravene their own Law by practising loans
She has the duty to sustain and tolerate them in the measure that is at interest, or by neglecting to observe the commandments of the
Jewish Law. The Church does not involve itself [in such cases] unless
possible without outrage to the Creator.
what [the Jews] do which is contrary to their own Law brings some
The prince [any ruler] has the right to baptize by force the children harm to Christians. Such is the case when they practise usury to the
of the Jews, always on condition that, as it appears, he does not wish detriment of Christians. It must be said that the inquisitor does not
by this means to force adult Jews to receive baptism. By baptism, the have to intervene in such a case, since this practice [ of usury], chosen
young Jew frees himself from his father's power. An adult Jew is not as an example, does not come within his proper jurisdiction, which
admitted to baptism until he has returned usurious loans. extends over all that concerns the Faith, and that alone. But the
Converted Jews do not have the right to associate with infidels. [local] bishop, as judge in ordinary, can punish [such] Jews under the
Catholics can talk to Jews but they are forbidden to eat in their title of his ordinary jurisdiction. The offence of usury is an offence that
company. concerns both Laws [Jewish and Christian]. Jewish usurers can, as a
A Jew cannot have Christian slaves: this would be to sully the consequence, be given punishment in their persons by the Church. But
Christian religion. But a Christian may buy a Jew. [it may be objected], if they may be punished in their persons by the
Church, why does the Pope order the secular powers to constrain
A Jew or pagan who contracts marriage with a blood relation may them? In reality, the papal order is directed to the secular powers in
preserve this bond after conversion. places where the Church itself holds temporal jurisdiction. Where she
Jews must not be forced to become Christians. However, the question does not hold [this jurisdiction], she punishes directly, as has just
remains concerning which there has been lengthy discussion: can an been seen, always seeking the aid of the secular arm. This is because
inquisitor prosecute Jews? And, if so, on what pretexts? It has been of the mixed character of the offence [i.e. against both ecclesiastical
very firmly stated that inquisitors must not concern themselves with and secular law].
Jews because the latter are not within their jurisdiction. It has been [This applies to] also, those Jews who sin against nature [at that time
said with equal rigour that Jews must not be forcibly baptized and that in Spain, this normally meant homosexuality]. God punishes both
they must only be brought to renounce their customs by kindness and Jews and infidels who commit this sin. What God does, his vicar [the
good words. The canons [of Church law] stipulate that only free will Pope] can do.
can bring a man to conversion. All this is laid down. Nevertheless,
either a Jew is guilty of despising our faith and resisting the proper Third case. Jews commit offences not foreseen either by their Law or
functioning of the Holy Office, or else he is guilty with regard to the by the Christian Law. In this case, the inquisitor does not have to
Law of Moses, or else he is [guilty] in another matter. intervene, because it is not in his jurisdiction.
[The writer then gives three examples to illustrate his views on what an It happens that Jews are condemned to death and killed when they are
inquisitor may or may not do.] struggling against the Christian faith. This happens when they resist
58 JEWS IN WESTERN EUROPE JEWS AND THE CHURCH S9

the conversion of one of their own to Christianity, threatening him All their rites are tolerated, in so far as the celebration of them does
with stoning [for blasphemy] or actually stoning him. Jews guilty of not constitute an offence to the Catholic faith. [The Jews] retain all
this offence will be burnt and none of those who take part in such an the privileges which have been granted to them by the sovereign
act should escape the fire. pontiffs.
A Jew invokes the name of the Cross or crosses himself. One should But can the king or prince, without [ himself] sinning, expel them
always consider that he does this to show his contempt for the from a town or from a kingdom? It has been said that they can, and it
Christian religion. has been added tha~ the kin~ may seize [ the Jews'] goods, and that th;
Pope may order this, even 1f he does not have to carry it out, if the!
May the inquisitor pursue Jews who, on Easter day, crucify a lamb or
else stamp on the cross with their feet, to insult the faith? No. These
create no scandal and if they live peacefully. l
Jews thus show their wish to injure the Christian faith, but to injure Up to now, Jews subjected to perpetual captivity, through their own
the faith is not to commit an error against it. Thus these offences do fault, have benefited from Christian mercy, which has welcomed and
not concern the Office of the Inquisition, whose powers are perfectly nourished them. Up until our days, they have lived together with
delimited. But secular judges and ordinary ecclesiastical judges can C_h~istians. But today, the most Christian rulers of Castile, Aragon,
constrain [these Jews], at least indirectly [sic] to abandon such Sicily and Granada have taken measure of their ingratitude. [The
practices. Jews] respond to the generosity of the Christians by seeking conflict
with them, by imposing usury on them, by subverting numerous
Jews are obliged to accept evidence or charges brought against them
[Christian] faithful, whom they instruct in the Law of Moses and
by Christians. On the other hand, they are forbidden to bear witness
whom they initiate into their rights and ceremonies. Their activities
against Christians.
are such, their dealings with Christians so familiar, that today the
A Jew who embraces the sect of the Saracens should not be punished, heretics and apostates who live in these kingdoms are legion.
for the simple reason that ... the sect of the Jews is worse than that of
Thus, to end this scandal, these most serene kings have expelled [ the
the Saracens, and one shall not punish someone who abandons the
Jews] from their kingdoms and their lands. And they have shown
worst of sects for a bad sect.
proof of mercy, not of rigour, for they could have taken all their goods
Let us now examine which practices are permitted to Jews who live from them or had them executed. They could have had them all burnt
among Christians. like heretics, they could have had all their children forcibly baptized,
They may have old [established] synagogues, and maintain and despite [the will of] their parents, but they did not do so. The Jews
restore them, but they may not build new ones. have had centuries in which to amend their ways, and have done no
such thing. They have remained faithful to their depraved customs
They may celebrate, in their synagogues, their festivals and regular
despite all the time they have lived in the company of the [ Christian]
services, [but] peacefully and without making a disturbance.
faithful. It is right that they should have been exiled from the
They may [normally] gather together with the Christians of their kingdoms of the faithful. Their perversions were such that the rulers
town and neighbourhood, but sometimes this may be forbidden to could in good conscience have had them all killed.
them.
Jews who respect the [Christian] law are not molested by Christians. 5. The Inquisition and Jewish converts in Spain
Violence is not done to them to force them to convert. (a) The trial of Gonzalo Pfrez Jarada: the case of the Toledo Inquisition's
Without the sentence of a ruler, Jews must not be wounded or killed prosecutor against Gonzalo Perez Jarada, councillor of Trujillo, in south-west
Spain, in his trial, which took place in 1489-1490.
or despoiled of their goods.
[From H~im Beinart, Trujillo. A Jewish community in Extremadura on tk eve of
They bury their own dead, and the bodies of their dead are not the expulszon.from Spain (=Hispania Judaica, vol. 2), Jerusalem, 1980, pp. 288-
exhumed from their cemeteries. 9; in Spanish]
4-0 JEWS IN WESTERN EUROPE JEWS AND THE CHURCH 41

I, Diego Martinez de Ortega, bachelor in decrees [of canon law], who were involved in the aforesaid ceremonies [ i.e. conversos]. It
procurator fiscal in the Holy Inquisition in this most noble city of may be assumed, and objected against him that he did this in order
Toledo and all its archdiocese, appear before your reverences [the to keep to the aforesaid Law of Moses. For that reason he remained
inquisitors], before whom, and for their judgement, I propose accusa- silent concerning the incidents and ceremonies which he kept
tion against and accuse Gonzalo Perez Jarada, regidor of the town of quiet about and concealed, and [ matters] involving him which could
Trujillo, and citizen [vecino] of Illescas, who is present, that the same, not be forgotten, thinking that they would remain secret and would
living in the name and possession of Christian and calling himself such not be discovered, so that he might continue in his errors. And those
and enjoying the privileges and exemptions and liberties that Chris- matters about which he remained silent, and which he concealed, ar{
tians enjoy, is [in fact] in contempt of Holy Mother Church, a heretic as follows: 1
and apostate from our Holy Catholic faith, following and keeping the Item. Holding the said Law of Moses to be good, and having devotion
Law of Moses and its rites and ceremonies. About this, being to it and to its Synagogue, he gave a gown to a Jew so that [ the latter]
imprisoned in the town of Valladolid, in the gaol of the Holy would undertake to pour oil into the synagogue lamp [ which burns
Inquisition, and being much urged, and warned a number of times, he perpetually before the ark containing the scrolls of the Law of Moses],
made his confession falsely, with dissimulation and deception, thinking so that God would grant health to one of his sons, who was ill.
in that way to be freed from temporal penalties and paying no regard
to how he might pay those of eternity. He remained silent about and Also, [ the accused] , believing in the said Law of Moses, and that the
things of the Synagogue were more to be honoured than those of Holy
concealed the nature and seriousness of other greater [offences],
thinking that they would remain secret and would not be discovered Mother Church, when he saw the scroll of the Law, humbled himself
before it and gave it great reverence and respect.
from [the evidence] of those which he had falsely confessed.
Also, he refused to eat suffocated partridges [ i.e. those killed by
[Thus] he excused himself when he should have accused himself.
None the less he stated that he once stayed in a Jewish house, and they Christians] , and ordered that they should be brought to him alive, and
gave him pieces of beef and veal and other bits of meat, and that he he had the throats of the meat he intended to eat slit with [ Jewish]
ceremony.
accepted and ate them, but not as a rite [cirimonia] of the Law of
Moses. In the same way, he gave three yards of cloth to a Jew to make Also, on Friday afternoons the said Gonzalo Perez would pray with
a robe. And he arranged for a sheep to be given for the wedding of a bowing [ meldando] like a Jew.
Jewess who was his guest. Also, he went to pay his respects at the Also, he asked for a special Jewish prayer ( a pa%u] for one of his
weddings of certain Jews, because that is the custom in the town of children whom he was worried about, and asked ( the Jews] to come
Trujillo. Also, when he was ill, he ate meat on the Sabbath and ate and read it to him, in which [ action] he gave the appearance of
Jewish fruit [sic], but not as a 'ceremony'. Also, he gave some of his denying the faith and truth of the Holy Gospels and of Holy Mother
children's clothes to a Jewish peddler, because he asked for them. Also, Church, and of believing in the ghost of the dead Law.
on Friday night he went to dine with a Jew, and ate his bread and
drank his wine, and not 'for ceremony'. And many times he went into Also, he had phylacteries and asked for them so that he could put
the synagogue to call on many Jews and ask them for money, and them on and take them about with him. And he made booths and went
into them [for the Feast].
settled his accounts with them [there]. Also, he had a Jewish servant
boy who lived with him because another left. And he swore that he had Also, he took part in samas, which is the great conversation and
not carried out any other 'ceremonies·. business that takes place at the lighting of the lamps in the synagogue.
All of which, that is, his simulated and deceiving confession, having And also, he ate meat during Lent, even though he was not ill, and this
been carefully examined by your reverences, appears to be deceiving, in the houses of Jews, [ the meat] having been killed with [ Jewish]
and not [made] with a pure heart, by a man who is so suspect. Also, ceremony. And he sent the birds he intended to eat to Jews to have
he constantly conversed and dealt with Jews, and with other people their throats slit, and he did not eat bacon. And whenever he could he
ti JEWS IN WESTERN EUROPE JEWS AND THE CHURCH +s
excused himself from eating anything which was forbidden by the Law Ana, wife of Juan de Fraguas, an inhabitant of Soria ... , said that,
of Moses. perhaps five years ago ... this witness had as a neighbour Leonor, wife
And being regarded as guilty of the aforesaid offence of heresy, he was of Diego de Salinas, both 'New Christians', inhabitants of Soria, and,
first summoned and cited as a heretic in the town of Plasencia. He did one day, the aforesaid Leonor put a pot on to cook in this witness's
not present himself or appear before the Inquisitors who summoned house, with water in it to cook meat. And this witness, when she
and cited him, to save himself and make excuse for the infamy and [Leonor] was out of the room, thinking to do her a favour, put a little
offence which was being held and proved against him. And also, in bacon into ... her pot. And before she could throw the meat into the
order to comply more fully with the said Law of Moses, he fasted the pot, [Leonor] came back and when she saw the bacon, she turned d~e
Great Fast of the Jews [Yorn Kippur], not eating until nightfall, and pot over so that the bacon fell on a bench and filled it with water aga~
on that day he would ask pardon of others and they of him, and he to carry on with the cooking.
heard the recitation of, and [himself] recited, prayers from the Law of
Moses on the day of the Great Fast. And he has remained silent about 6. A Venetian Jew on trial
and has hidden what he knew about other people who carried out the The interrogation by Venetian inquisitors of Gian Giacomo 'detto Simeli [ the
aforesaid ceremonies, being [himself] a heretic and apostate in other 'like one'), on 17 August 1558.
cases and matters, which have come to my notice, and which I
[ From Pier Cesare Ioly Zorattini, Processi del S. Uffi%io di Yenezia contro Ebrei
[hereby] announce that 1 will declare and denounce during the e Giudat°%%1lnti (1548-1560), Florence, 1980, vol. I, pp. 279-28 1; in Italian]
progress of this summary process. By and through these same acts,
rites and ceremonies, the aforesaid Gonzalo Perez committed and Wednesday, 17th August 1558.
perpetrated the crime and offence of heresy and apostasy, and [hence] Ordered into the [ Inquisitorial] office, the abovementioned Simile, the
is a heretic and an apostate, and has incurred the sentence of major Jew, in continuation of his interrogation was asked, 'What reason
excommunication and the confiscation and loss of all his goods, and all made you be baptized and become a Christian?' He replied, 'Faith'.
the other penalties and censures established in the laws against such Asked who had instructed him in the faith, he replied, 'One Mr Mathio
heretics. Gottich, a German doctor, who was a Jew and who practises in the
Thus I hereby ask and require you, most reverend sirs, to pronounce house of the Magnificent Mr Andrea Pasqualigo, and who taught
and declare the said Gonzalo Perez to be indeed a heretic and apostate, [ the latter's] children Hebrew, Greek and Latin. He made me realize
and to have incurred the aforesaid sentences .... And I swear to God my error and enlightened me, in addition to which he read to me from
and on the sign of the Cross, and on the words of the Holy Gospels, the books [of the Law] and the Prophets. Also, I was taught by his
that I do not bring forward this accusation maliciously, but because I excellency Mr Mathio de Riva, a lawyer. Thus I came to the
am thus informed and because such denunciations have been made to [ Christian] faith and had myself baptized.
me. And if I am bound to undertake any other solemn act, declaration Asked if he knows the Lord's Prayer, the Hail Mary and the Creed,
or justification concerning [this matter], I am ready to do so, in so far he replied, 'Yes sir, and I say it [all] every morning'. Asked if he
as I can, and in no other manner. believes in our faith he replied, 'Yes sir, and for that reason I made
myself a Christian and I wish to die in that faith'. It was said to him,
(b) A Christian convert to Judaism tries to keep Jewish dietary laws: Spain,
'If you made yourself a Christian in order to be a Christian, why did
150 I. A pre-trial statement made to the Inquisition in Soria, on 9 February
you continue so long in Judaism, and live a Jewish life, as you stated
1501, by Ana, wife of Juan de Fraguas, also of Soria, in which she claims to
in the other [previous] interrogation?' He replied, 'I did it in order to
have observed concern about kosher law in a neighbour's kitchen.
bring my wife and my children, of whom I have two, one seven and the
[From Carlos Carrete Parrondo, ed., El tribunal de la lnquisici6n en el obispado other five years old, and my sister named Richa, a maiden of seventeen,
de Soria (1486-1502). Fontes lud~orum Regni Castelltz, II Salamanca, 1985, p. to the faith. For this reason I remained among the Jews and lived with
116; in Spanish]
them, but through it all I lived as the Christian which I am, and made
44 JEWS IN WESTERN EUROPE JEWS AND THE CHURCH

my confession and received communion and went to mass. Asked, 'Did Nevertheless, there are said to exist among these said Jews various
you go to these services in a yellow hat [the distinguishing mark of a books, which contain sundry blasphemies and insults against Christ
Jew in Venice]?', he replied, 'No sir. I went out of the territory [of our Redeemer, and his most holy name and honour. We [therefore],
Venice] to Brescia, where I spent a fortnight and passed the festival of wishing to provide appropriately in the above case, hereby commit this
Christmas. I stayed in the house of Mr Marcello Ugo, and there I wore matter to you and your men and order you to inform every one of the
a black hat [that of a Christian], and accompanied Mr Piero Barbena, Jewish communities which live within the limits of our jurisdiction
a lawyer, and went to Carpi, where I spent three or four days, and then that, at the end of four months after the date of this intimation and
went to Treviso ... .' notification, they should surrender each and every book in which thf
Asked, 'When were you baptized?', he replied, 'About three years ago'. name of Jesus our Saviour, who is called in Hebrew 'Iesevi Hanozri', iJ
Asked, 'During those three years, were your wife and your children in named with blasphemy or otherwise insulted, whether in their
this land [of Venice]?', he replied, 'No sir' .... Asked to which tribe [of synagogues and public places or in private houses, and that those who
Israel] he belonged, he replied, 'I am of the tribe of Levi'. Asked if, in were found to be in possession of such books by whatever means are
the synagogue, he did the office that is performed by the Levites in the to be punished by due penalties, both financial, with the confiscation of
synagogue, he replied, 'Not after I was baptized'. Warned that he goods, and, if their obstinacy and the nature of their offence requires
should take care to speak the truth, he replied, 'It is not otherwise'. Of it, punished without mercy, and corporally, even to the ultimate
his own volition he said, 'I did [all this] in accordance with my punishment [of death] , and also by other penalties by which apostates
baptismal licence, as the Magnificent Mr Andrea Pasqualigo said, so from the faith of Christ are punished. And nevertheless, those four
that I might bring [lit. 'reduce'] my children and my wife to the faith'. months having elapsed, either you yourselves or another or others
He said [to the inquisitor], without prompting ... 'Sir, be sure that no whom you may depute for this [purpose], should with all diligence
Jew is interrogated against me, because I want to oppose such a thing, enquire into these books and examine them studiously, and have them
as they will come to ruin me if they find out that I am a Christian'. enquired into and investigated. And those whom you find in posses-
sion of such books you should punish in every case and without fail, by
This account was confirmed and [the prisoner] was returned to his
means of the penalties with which the aforementioned apostates are
cell.
punished. In addition, you must not permit those same Hebrews who
are tolerated by Holy Mother Church as a memorial of the Lord's
7. Pope Julius III's attack on the Talmud
Passion, to be vexed or molested by [anyone] acting on apostolic
As the Counter-Reformation gets underway, Pope Julius m renews the papal [papal] authority, except by our express command, so that at some
attack on rabbinical Judaism which began three centuries earlier. [future] time, attracted by our gentleness and by the breath of the
[From Simonsohn, Documents, dated at Rome, 29 May 1554, pp. 2920-1; in Holy Spirit, they may be converted to the true light of Christ, [ all
Latin] this] provided that the books in their possession do not contain
blasphemy.
[Pope Julius III] ... To all and each of the venerable brother
patriarchs, archbishops and bishops and other our beloved sons who
are ordinaries of places, greeting, etc.
We have recently received, and not without disturbance of our soul,
from others of our venerable brothers, cardinals of the Holy Roman
Church, who are inquisitors-general of heretical depravity in the
universal Christian Republic, a certain quantity of Jewish books, called
Ghemarot Talmut, containing certain improper things and material
offensive to divine law and orthodox faith. This, by our order, was
condemned and burned [by the inquisitors] in the fire.
 JEWS AND EXPULSION 47

Crown's offer ofa return to their ol.d lives, but in a new guise, as Christians.
In Portugal,, 'New Christians' had to sriffer a massacre in Lisbon in 1506,
II: Expulsion of Jews again vividly descn·bed by Gois. In some respects, though, the poetry of
Portuguese Jewish converts to Christianity, with its deep involvement in the
theme ofJewish liberation, perhaps best expresses the pai,iful dilemmas which
The theme ofthis chapter is what appears to be called, in the 'modern' world, faced both departed and returned converts, and two examples of such poets'
'ethnic cleansing' These documents describe some of the actions which were work are inclrukd here. Meanwhile, as Jews and converts found themselves
taken, in various European states, and particularly in the Iberian peninsula, wandering around Europe, and in particular the Mediterranean, the rabbi{
as well as Bohemia (now part ofthe Czech Republic) and Italy, to remove the outside the lben"an peninsula werefaced with the problem ofdeciding whethe1Q
Jewish presence.from their communities. The story begins with the reaction of those who avowed their intention ofreturning to Judaism could be treated as
the king of Castile, Henry III, to the attacks on all the major Jewish Jews. opinions on this question, delivered before and qfter 1492, give a
communities in the kingdom. After the event, the king ordered the punishment thorough treatment of the issues involved.
of the ringleaders, but, in the succeeding decades, many Spanish Jews The chapter conclruks with examples ofexpulsion decrees from other parts of
converted to Christianity. Although the letter translated here was addressed
Euroj)e, where such measures had local rather than national effect. This was
specifically to the city council in Burgos, it is typical of royal reaction to the
because of the fragmented political map in some other Euroj)ean countries,
killing and robbery of Jews elsewhere in Castile and in the neighbouring
such as Italy and Germany. For those involved, efcourse, the disruption and
kingdom of Aragon.
suffen·ng were great. The overall effect was to remove Jews and their
A document issued by Benedict XIII, who was recognised as pope in much of community life from much of western Europe by 1500, though some Jews
Iben·a for a number of years but eventually emerged as an 'anti-pope', began to return in the latter part of the sixteenth century.
indicates that the idea of expulsion, which had already been tried out
elsewhere in Europe, was being at least considered in the kingdom efCastile,
nearly ninety years before the 1492 edict ofexpulsion, which is also included
here. Ferdinand's instruction to the Inquisitor-general Tomas de Spanish persecutions and expulsions
Torquemada, which he issued later that year in his capacity as king of
Aragon, appears to give substance to the view that the edict ofMarch 31 was 8. Pogroms in Spain, 1891
aimed more at the conversion than the expulsion of the Jews of Castile and Letter from Henry III of Castile to Burgos city council concerning a recent
Aragon. This interpretation isfurther co,ifirmed by the document which was pogrom, 16 June 1891.
issued in Barcelona in November 1492, which offered to restore their property [ From Fritz [ Yitzhak] Baer, Dte Juden im chn'stlichen Spanien, Berlin, 1929,
to Jews who returned to the kingdoms of the Catholic Monarchs as baptised 1986, repr. 1970, vol. 2, pp. 252-8; in Spanish]
Christians. The mental state of those who departed, and of the Jewish
Understand that it has become known how, in the last few days, in the
Christians, the conversos, who remained, are represented by the comments of
most noble cities of Seville and C6rdoba, through inducements and
the Andalusian priest-chronicler, Andres Berna/de,;, and by extractsfrom the
persuasion exercised by the archdeacon of Ecija, some of the lesser
trials ofthe self-proclaimed prophetess Ines de Herrera and of the converso
people of the said cities, behaving like troublemakers and men of little
preacher, Alonso de Cordoba Membreque. Estimates vary concerning the
understanding, without thought for our interests and our [preroga-
number oJSpanish Jews who departed in 1492, and it is even harder to gauge
tive? and not] fearing God or my justice, or considering the situation
how many returned as baptised Christians in that and succeeding years.
I am in or my age [he was a minor], attacked the Jews living in the
In the second section of this chapter, the focus shifts to Portugal. The aljamas of the said towns, killed some of them, robbed others and
Christian chronicler Damillo de Gois gives a graphic description of the forced others to become Christians.
combined mass baptism and expulsion of that country's Jews, while Spanish
As a result, the Jews who used to live in these communities have been
records indicate the mental state of some ef those who chose to take up the
driven out, about which I am very angry, because this does me great
48 JEWS IN WESTERN EUROPE JEWS AND EXPULSION 49

disservice. And I, with my Council, have ordered [a commission] to be pp. 252-6, records that the abbot gave a grant at this time for the building of
sent ... to investigate this event and by which person or persons it was a new synagogue in ToroJ
started, and to do such great justice with them, and punish them so
severely, that they should be an example to all who hear of it. They 10. Expulsion edict, 1492
should be punished so that no-one [else] may have such wicked and
ugly temerity as to go out against these Jews, in such a wicked way, [ From Luis Suarez Fernandez, Documentos acerca <k la e:cpulsi6n <k Los Judfos,
Valladolid, 1964, pp. S92-S; in Spanish]
knowing that [the Jews] were always guarded and defended by the
kings, my ancestors; and the Church itself, according to its law, Don Ferdinand and Doi\a Isabella, by the grace of God king and queen,
ordered them to be guarded and defended. of Castile, of Le6n, of Aragon [etc.]. To Prince John, our most dear'
and most beloved son, and to the other royal children, prelates, dukes,
Wherefore, having seen this my letter, I order you, each and every one,
marquises, counts, masters of the [ military] orders, priors [ etc.], and
to remedy this matter at once, and to have it publicly announced in this
to the town councils, corregidores, [ etc.] of the most noble and most
said city [of Burgos] that nobody at all should dare to act or move
loyal city of Burgos and of the other archdioceses, bishoprics and
against Jews in general or against any one of them, to do them any
dioceses of our kingdoms and lordships and to the communities of
annoyance or damage or injustice. You are to proceed at once with
Jews of the aforesaid city of Burgos . .. and of all the other cities and
judicial remedies, giving such people signal justice and punishment, so
towns and villages of that diocese and of all the other cities and towns
that it may be a chastisement [even] to those who hear of it. And it
and villages of our aforementioned kingdoms and lordships and to all
is necessary that you should put this into operation at once, and not
the Jews and individual members of [those communities], men as well
place a lengthy delay upon it ... and act in such a way that you give
as women, of whatever age they may be, and to all other persons of
a good account of the said city [of Burgos] and of the Jews of that
whatever law, estate, dignity and preeminence and condition they may
Jewry, as your ancestors did to those [kings] from whom I am
be, who are or may be affected in any way by what is written below in
descended, since as this city is the Head city [cabeza] of Castile, all
this our letter, salutation and grace.
[other] places will be calmed by the calm you impose in that city.
You well know, or should know, that because we were informed that
9. Local expulsion from Toro, 1404 in these our kingdoms there were certain bad Christians who judaised
and apostasised from our holy Catholic faith, for which much of the
'Anti-pope' Benedict XIII, bull dated SO January 1404, from Tarrascon in the reason was the communication by the Jews with the Christians, in the
diocese of Avignon.
parliament [cortes] that we caused to happen in the city of Toledo in
[From Shlomo Simonsohn, The Aposrolic See and the Jews: Documents: I 394- the former year of 1480, we ordered that, in all the cities and towns
1464, Toronto, 1989, no. 515, pp. 566-7; in Latin] and villages of our kingdoms and lordships, the Jews should be
To Alfonso de Illescas, bishop of Zamora, salutation and apostolic separated out• where they lived, hoping that with their separation
blessing. Although the stubborn perfidy of the Jews is held not [ apartamiento] the problem would be solved. Also we had procured
undeservedly as despicable by devotees of true religion and orthodoxy, and ordered that an Inquisition should be made in our aforesaid
because we are sure that nonetheless the remnant of prophetic witness kingdoms and lordships, which, as you know, was done more than
is eventually to be saved and added to the children of the Catholic twelve years ago and is still going on. It has discovered many guilty
Church, [and] also because they bear the image of God, the authority people, as is well known, and as we are informed by the inquisitors and
of the Apostolic See has judged that they are not to be eliminated [ sic] by many religious people, ecclesiastical and secular, a great danger to
from Christian territories, but out of humane duty should live among Christians has clearly emerged, this having followed, and still continu-
these same [Christian] faithful, and similarly permits them to carry ing, from the activity, conversation [ and] communication which
out the rites and ceremonies of their Law, without harm to our faith. [ these Christians] have maintained with Jews. [These Jews] demon-
[According to a subsequent phrase in this document, 'The Jews of the strate that they always work, by whatever ways and means they can,
aforesaid town were expelled', though a document in Baer, Die Juden, vol. 2, to subvert and remove faithful Christians from our holy Catholic faith,
50 JEWS IN WESTERN EUROPE JEWS AND EXPULSION 51

to separate them from it, and attract and pervert [them] to their devil's cunning and suggestion, continually and at every opportunity
wicked belief and opinion, instructing them in the ceremonies and warring against us, could happen, if the principal cause of all this is not
observances of their Law. removed, [ means we have] to throw the said Jews out of our
They organise meetings at which they read to them and teach them kingdoms.
what they have to believe and observe according to their Law, Because, when some grave and detestable crime is committed by
succeeding in circumcising them and their sons, giving them books members of some college and university, it is right that such a college
from which they recite their prayers, and announcing to them the fasts and univenity should be dissolved and annihilated and the lesser
they have to fast and joining with them to read and to teach them the members punished by the greater, and the ones [punished] by thi
stories of their Law, notifying them of the great festivals [pascuas] others. Also, those who pervert the good and honest living of citiel
before they arrive, informing them of what they have to observe and and towns, and may damage others by contagion, should be expelled,
do in [these festivals]. They give [to the Christians] and bring to and this even for lighter causes which may be a danger to the republic.
their houses unleavened bread and ritually slaughtered meat, instruct- Even more so for the most dangerous and contagious of crimes such
ing them in the things from which they must abstain, both foodstuffs as this.
and other things for the observance of their Law, and persuade them,
Therefore we, with the counsel and opinion of certain prelates and
in so far as they can, to keep and guard the Law of Moses, making
grandees and knights of our kingdoms, and of other persons of
them to understand that there is no other law or truth except that one.
knowledge and understanding in our Council, after much deliberation
This is evident from many statements and confessions, both by the
about [the matter], agree to order all the Jews and Jewesses of our
Jews themselves and by those who were perverted and deceived by
kingdoms to leave, and never return or come back to them, or any one
them, all of which has resulted in great harm and detriment to, and
of them. And in this matter we order this our letter to be given, by
opprobrium of, our Holy Catholic Church.
which we give order to all Jews and Jewesses of whatever age they
Seeing that we were informed of much of this before now, and that we may be, who live and dwell in our aforesaid kingdoms and lordships,
know that the true remedy for all these injuries was to reduce to both those native to them and non-natives, by whatever means and for
nothing communication between the said Jews and the Christians, and whatever reason they have come and may reside within them, that by
throw them out of all our kingdoms, we desired to content ourselves the end of the month of July coming, in this current year, they should
with ordering them to leave all the cities, towns and villages of leave all our aforesaid kingdoms and lordships, with their sons and
Andalusia, where it seemed that they had done the most damage, daughters, Jewish menservants and maidservants and household
believing that would be enough to stop [the Jews] of the other cities members, great or small, of whatever age they may be, and that they
and towns of our kingdoms and lordships from doing the above. We should not dare to return to them or reside in them, nor in any part
are informed that neither that [measure] nor the judicial acts which of them, for dwelling or passage or in any other way, on pain that, if
have been carried out against some of the said Jews, who have been they fail to do thus and comply, and are found to have been in our
found most culpable of the said crimes and offences against our holy aforesaid kingdoms and lordships and to have come into them by any
Catholic faith, are enough to be a complete remedy. For this reason means, they may incur the penalty of death and confiscation of all their
and to avoid and put an end to so great a shame and offence to the goods for our Chamber and Exchequer, which penalties they may
Christian faith and religion, because every day it is found and becomes incur in accordance with this same act and law without further
apparent that the said Jews increasingly pursue their bad and wicked process, sentence or declaration.
project wherever they live and have converse [with Christians], and
And we give orders and forbid that any person at all in our aforesaid
so that there should be no further occasion for offence to our holy faith,
kingdoms, of whatever estate, condition or dignity they may be, should
among those whom God has so far chosen to keep safe, as well as those
dare to receive or welcome or defend or guard publicly or secretly, any
who fell, amended their ways and returned to Holy Mother Church,
Jew or Jewess, from the said term of the end of July, henceforth for
which [danger], given the weakness of our human nature and the
evermore, whether in their lands, or their houses or in any other part
52 JEWS IN WESTERN EUROPE JEWS AND EXPULSION 5S

of our kingdoms and Iordships, on pain of the loss of all their goods, the most serene queen, my dear and beloved wife, decided to ask for
vassals and fortresses and other properties, and also the loss of any the opinion of our Council [ whether the reference was to the Royal
grants that they may hold from us through our Chamber and Council of Castile or to the Supreme Council of the Inquisition, which
Exchequer. was established in 1488 and covered both the Catholic Monarchs'
And so that the said Jews and Jewesses may, during the said interval kingdoms is not clear, though the latter seems more probable] on the
up to the end of the said month of Jui~, better dispose of themsel~es matter. They have told us it seems to them that there is no better
and of their goods and property, by this present we take and receive remedy than that you should write to the inquisitors and to the
them under our security and protection and royal defence, and we officials of the Inquisition in all our kingdoms and lordships, ordering
secure them and their goods, so that, during this time up to the them that, although there may be some action [ initiated] agains~
aforesaid end of the said month of July, they may walk and be secure those persons who may have converted in this way and become
and may enter and sell and exchange and transfer to others all the~r Christians, after their expulsion ( if they remained as Jews] was
movable and immovable goods, and dispose of them freely and at their announced, they should not take action against them, but rather the
will, and that during this time no harm or damage or illegal act should information or testimony which may have been provided against
be done to their persons or goods, against justice, under the penalties [ these convertsJ should be sent to you, so that the aforesaid Council
those who break our royal safe conduct fall into and incur. Also we may see it and provide for whatever fulfils the service of God, so that
give licence and faculty to the said Jews and Jewesses to _take their they may be sure that no such harm will be done to them, or at least
goods and property out of all our said kingdoms and lordsh1ps_, by sea that they should not be harmed by [ inquisitorial] excesses, and should
and by land, provided that they do not take out gold and silver or not be injured unjustly.
minted coins, or the other things forbidden [for export] by the laws All this seemed good to us. Therefore, I request and charge you that,
of our kingdoms. since this, which you now see, is in the service of our Lord, and from
it follows little damage to the [HolyJ Office, you should determine to
11. Jews convert provide in this way at once, writing on the subject, in the best possible
manner, to all the officials [ of the lnq uisition] , so that they may act on
The Inquisitor-general, and prior of Santa Cruz in Avil~, Toma~ de
and carry out all the above, for doing so will be a service to God, and
Torquemada, is ordered by Ferdinand, to collect reports fr~m his s~bo~dmat~
inquisitors in both kingdoms, Castile and Aragon, concernmg earhe~ e_rro_rs ( also] you will give me much pleasure and service.
(lapses into their former faith) by Jews who decided to convert to Christianity Given in the town of Santa Fe on 15 May 1492
after the issue of the expulsion edict for unbaptised Jews [see 10 above].
Dated at Santa Fe, near Granada, 15 May 1492. 12. The Jews depart from Spain, 1492
[From La expulsion de Los Judlos de la Corona_ de Aragon. Documentos para ~u
estudio, ed. Rafael Conde and Delgado de Mohna, Zaragoza, 1991, p. I 79; m A comment by a contemporary chronicler
Spanish] [ From Andres Bernaldez, Merrwrias de los reyes cat6licos, ed. M. G6mez-
The king Moreno and J. de M. Carriazo (Madrid, 1962), p. 254; in Spanish]
Venerable and devout Father Prior. I have been informed that, since The rich Jews paid the exit price for the poor Jews and they treated
the banishment of the Jews was published, some of them, indeed many, one another in that departure with great charity. So that in no manner
wish to be Christians, but are afraid to do this because of the did they want to convert, except for some, who were very few, of those
Inquisition, believing that, for a minor offence which they m~y in the greatest need. The Jews at that time, whether simple [sic] or
[previously] have committed, they will suffer a severe penalty. This lettered, commonly held the opinion and all believed, wherever they
frightens them very much, and they do not dare [to co~v~rt],_ unless lived, that just as with a strong hand and outstretched arm and with
this situation is remedied in some way. And because 1t IS nght to much honour and wealth, God through Moses had miraculously taken
ensure that those souls are saved which would otherwise be lost, I and out the other people of Israel from Egypt, so too from these parts of
54 JEWS IN WESTERN EUROPE JEWS ANO EXPULSION 55

Spain they would return and depart with much honour and riches, carried out in their bellies through those customs posts in which they
without losing anything of their own, to possess the Holy Promised had to be searched, and in the ports, both inland and beside the sea.
Land, which they confessed to having lost because of their great and The women, in particular, swallowed more; a person might swallow
abominable sins which their ancestors had committed against God. thirty ducats at one time.
Concerning which, in this departure, the total opposite of what they
expected took place, because they were deniers and enemies of the 18. An offer of return, 1492
truth.
For in the other Exodus, in which they came out from captivity in
Barcelona, 10 November 1492 ,
[ From Suarez Fernandez, Documnttos, pp. 487-9, in Spanish]
Egypt, by command of our Lord who was their Saviour and loved
them well, in return for the labours and scourges which the Egyptians
had given them and promised them, He commanded them to rob
Egypt with impunity: and they robbed it when they decided to depart
and go into the wilderness, wherever God commanded them. Saying
Don Ferdinand and Dofia Isabella, [etc],
Know that on the part of some Jews, residing in the kingdom of
Portugal, who by our command departed from our kingdoms and
lordships, an account has been given of how they, illuminated by the
'
that they would return, they asked to borrow gold and silver jewels, Holy Spirit, realising the error in which they were, wanted to return
silk and cloth and other things from the Egyptians, which they lent to these our kingdoms to convert to our holy Catholic faith and remain
them and which [the Jews] kept, as the twelfth chapter of the [book and die in it as Catholic Christians, and that, at their petition, it was
of Exodus] says. And at that time this was no discredit to them, for supplicated and asked of us as a grace that, in order that they might
they were good and humble and believed in God, sovereign and come to these our kingdoms, we should give them our letter of safe-
eternal, and the Egyptians were evil and unbelieving and idolaters and conduct, so that they might return freely and securely to them, with
not sons oflsrael but sons of Canaan and of perdition. And [now] the their children and wives and property. And thus, because their will was
Christians are good, and sons of the Law and blessing and obedience, to live and die in the same places in which they lived and dwelt when
and people of God and sons of Israel, since from the people of Israel they were Jews, we should command that the houses and goods and
they had the beginning of salvation, and had the law and knew and property which they sold and abandoned should be restored and
received the true Messiah who redeemed them, who was our Redeemer returned to them by the people who hold them now, for the quantities
Jesus Christ, God and man, whom God had promised to send and ofmaravedis for which they sold them, paying for improvements that
[duly] sent; whom they, through their malice, did not recognise or might have been made in them, or as our pleasure might be.
receive at that time, nor did they wish to give him a hearing of the
And we, favouring the above as being to the service of our Lord and
great miracles and marvels that he did. Instead, with malice they the exaltation of our holy Catholic faith, found it to be good and
persecuted him and killed him.
ordered this letter to be given and gave it, concerning this matter.
In the six months' period of the edict, they sold and virtually gave Whereby we take and receive, under our royal protection and defence,
away whatever they could of their estates. Young and old prepared all the Jews and Jewesses who may wish to come to our said kingdoms
themselves for the journey, demonstrating great courage and hope of and lordships, having first turned Christian [sic] in ... Ciudad Real or
having a prosperous departure and great happenings. And in every- in the said kingdom of Portugal, or else becoming Christians and
thing they had perverse misfortunes. For Christians took their many receiving water of the Holy Spirit in the first place [ they came to]
estates, very many rich houses and landed properties for a few coins, inside our kingdoms, that is to say, those who leave Portugal via
and [the Jews] went about begging to sell them, but they could not Badajoz should become Christians in the said city of Badajoz, and
find anyone to buy them. They exchanged a house for an ass, and a those who leave via Ciudad Rodrigo should become Christians in
vineyard for a small piece of cloth or linen, because they could not take Ciudad Rodrigo, and those who leave via the city of Zamora should
out either gold or silver. But it is true that they secretly took out an become Christians in the said city of Zamora. And that in whichever
infinite amount of gold and silver [in coin], which they swallowed and of the aforesaid cities they may be baptised, they should be baptised in
56 JEWS IN WESTERN EUROPE JEWS AND EXP U LSION 57

the presence of the bishop or of his vicar-general or the corregidor or or such that the laws of our kingdoms intend and dispose that they
magistrates of the city and they should carry an authentic certificate should not be paid.
that they received baptism in the above manner. Similarly, we
command that such a certificate should be carried by those who 14. Messianism among Jewish Christians
convert in the said kingdom of Portugal and may wish to enter our
aforesaid kingdoms, so that we may be certain how the said Jews A witness's statement to the Toledo tribunal of the Inquisition: testimony of
became Christians, and there may be no trick or pretence in it at all. Juan de Segovia at the trial of Ines de Herrera, May 1500, about an outbreak
of Messianism.
And we protect the said Jews who are in the said kingdom of Portugal
and who may wish to become Christians in [our kingdoms], if they [ From Baer, Die Judm, ii, pp. 528-9; in Spanish] l
come via the aforesaid towns and through any one of them, so that I admit my fault that . .. perhaps fourteen months ago I went fro"'
they benefit from what is contained in this letter, and not [if they [Toledo] to buy some leather [cordovanes] .. . and while approach-
come] by any other route. ing the city . . .. I found one Lope Donoso .. . and he said to me: 'A
In the case of these people, and the goods they may bring with them, marvel happened this past night. The daughter of Juan Esteban went
we give them protection against all or any persons of whatever law, up to heaven, taken by an angel, and there she saw those who were in
estate or condition, pre-eminence or dignity they may be, so that no pain [ in purgatory] and [ those] in glory, and other things which he
evil or harm or injustice at all should be done to them, in their persons told me, which they would describe to me in greater detail there in the
or in their aforesaid goods and wealth, against reason and law and as town. Overcome by what this person said to me, I strove to find out
ought not to be done. And we order you our ... justices, each and every the truth of it, how it happened and what it was, and went to Juan
one of you, in your places and jurisdictions, to observe and comply Esteban, the father of the girl, and repeated what the above person had
with this our letter of safe-conduct, and have it observed and complied said to me .. . and [ asked Juan] to tell me the truth. The said Juan
with, for the aforesaid Jews who thus come to our said kingdoms Esteban told me that what I had been told was the truth, and that in
having become Christians, or who become Christians within our said order to be more certain of it, I should do the necessary business,. ..
kingdoms, and bear evidence to it in the abovementioned form, in [ then 'my aforesaid daughter will tell you about it at length and
every respect and by every means, according to what is contained clearly', as indeed happened, and thus, as I was carrying out my
within it, and against its tenor and form you should not go or pass or business transactions in the square, the aforesaid Juan Esteban said to
allow [others] to go at any time or in any way. me that we should go to his house to talk to .. . his daughter, and that
I should ask ... the girl to tell me what had happened to her and how
And we hereby command you that, whenever you are so requested by she went up to heaven'. She was somewhat embarrassed, and her father
the aforesaid Jews who become Christians in this way, you should Juan Esteban said to her, 'Daughter, tell him the whole truth, how it
summon before you the persons to whom they sold their aforesaid happened'.
houses and estates, at the time when they departed and went from
these our kingdoms. When you find out from them the quantities of And then the girl told me how her mother, who was already dead,
maravedis for which they sold them, and when they have been paid came there and took her by the hand and told her not to be afraid,
back for the improvements that they may have made to them, you because it was God's will that she should go up to heaven and see its
should have them freely returned and restored [to their original secrets and see wonderful things. And at that moment her other hand
owners], so that [these people] may exist and live freely in their said was taken by another, a boy, who had died a few days before, and the
houses and estates, without any impediment being placed in their way, angel was flying around them, and in this way she said that they took
since it is our grace and will that things should be done and carried out her up to heaven, where she saw purgatory and the souls who were
thus. Similarly, if any persons used to owe [the former Jews] any debt, suffering in it, and in the same way how, in another remote part [of
you should ensure that such [debts] which are found to be just and heaven] there were others on golden chairs, in glory. In the same way
proper are repaid, as long as they are not usurious or for [unjust] gain, she told me that, while she was there, in another place higher up, it
seemed to her that there was much marble, and she asked the angel
58 JEWS IN WESTERN EUROPE JEWS AND EXPULSION 59
who it was speaking up there, and the angel said, 'Friend of God, those [ From Rafael Gracia Boix, Colecci6n de documentos para la historia de la
who are speaking up there are the ones who were burnt here on earth lnquisici6n de C6rdoba (C6rdoba, 1981), pp. St-S; in Spanish]
[by the Inquisition], who are there in glory. In the same way she saw
The aforesaid Mina said and deposed, declared and confessed the
angels of three kinds and other things she told me about which I
following: that for about two and a half years up to this date, she
cannot remember.
knows that she saw how Bachelor Alonso de C6rdoba Membreque
Thus I was left in such confusion and disturbance that I could not used to enter, and entered many times, the house of the said parish
decide what was the truth or what I should believe. Among the other councillor [Jurado Juan de C6rdoba de las Membrezas, this witness's
things that the aforesaid girl told me was that she had asked the angel master, being the cousin of her master, son of his brother, and thal
to give her a sign, so that what she said would be believed, and that the from the times in which this witness saw him enter there, she knowl
angel replied that he would bring her a letter from the Lord. And as that she saw how for the space of more or less four months the said
I was incredulous and not a little disturbed, I asked Juan Esteban to Bachelor Alonso de C6rdoba Membreque was accustomed to enter and
let me know when they brought this letter to his daughter, or entered a chamber [palacio] which is in the house of her aforesaid
anything else new offered itself. And having come back to my house in master, twice a week, to preach to Juan de C6rdoba Membreque,
[Toledo], I stated and recounted all the above, as it had happened, to merchant, citizen of this city of C6rdoba, and to many other people
my wife and, while we were disturbed ... not knowing how to decide mentioned in her confession, and that the days on which he preached
what was the truth ... , Luis Guantero, citizen of the town of Herrera, were Monday and Thursday of each week and on those days, both the
came to this city ... and while I was talking with him ... he told me said Bachelor Alonso de C6rdoba Membreque and all the other people
how the things th;i.t the girl and her father told me were increasing who heard his sermons, fasted the fasts of the Jews, not eating all day
every day, because they were taking her up to heaven once each week. until nightfall when the stars appeared, and she saw that when he went
I asked him if she had brought back any sign from heaven. He told me out to speak and preach each sermon, the said Bachelor Membreque
there were three: one was a really large ear of grain, one was an olive stripped and took off his gown and used to put on and wear a white
and the other a little letter [cartica]. And one should not doubt this shirt over his doublet and put a cloth [prayer-shawl?] over his head.
any more than one doubted God, and [only] those who were beyond This cloth was white and had four white ribbons, one at each corner
salvation would not believe in it, that is to keep the law and believe in of the cloth.
the Law of Moses, and that there was reason to fast, because in that When he preached on Thursdays, because he said it was the great fast,
land of Herrera everyone was doing it, even seven or eight year old the Bachelor put white linen shoes on his feet, and when he preached
children were being made to fast, and no-one bothered about his or her
on Mondays he took off his boots and shoes and thus barefooted he
property, because they held it to be most certain, and so those with would get up, dressed in the abovementioned fashion, onto a chest, on
wealth gave to those without, with that same hope of being carried to
which was placed an altar cloth, with a pair of [missal?] cushions
the Promised Land, and that God had made a most excellent city in upon it, and that the shirt that the said bachelor wore went down to
heaven, which was to be translated to earth, where all the conversos
his feet, the sleeves being puffed out and their mouths narrow [ as in
were to dwell and live in great abundance, lacking nothing ... And
bishops' dress at the time]. Also that in all the said preachings she saw
overcome by [Luis's] reasonings, I believed the above, and fasted for
and heard how the said Bachelor Alonso de C6rdoba Membreque
some days in the Jewish manner.
would start to preach and speak from a book which he held in his
hands at the time, and that he preached and spoke to the said Juan de
15. Trial of a Messianic Jew
C6rdoba Membreque, and to all the other people who were present
Evidence of Mina, a Muslim slave of Juan de C6rdoba de las Membrezas there [contained in her confession] that Elijah was to come to take all
known as 'El Membreque', given on 28 July 1502, in a trial conducted by the the conversos out of captivity and lead them to the Promised Land. [To
C6rdoba tribunal of the Inquisition, which was related to the earlier trial in prepare] for such a day, and so that what they desired should be
Toledo (see document 14). accomplished sooner, all those present, and all the conversos, should fast
60 JEWS IN WESTERN EUROPE JEWS AND EXPULSION 61

the fasts of the Jews, not eating all day until nightfall, when the stars Portuguese persecutions and expulsions
appeared, and that there, in the Promised Land, cousins would marry
each other, and that great riches were prepared for them, and that on 16. Expulsion
their way they would find a river of milk and another river of water,
and that in one of these all the conversos would bathe, and that An account by a contemporary chronicler
everyone, young or old, would become twenty-five years old. Bachelor ( From Damilio de Gois, Cronica do ftlicissimo Rei Don Manut~ in Damillo de
Gois, ed. Antonio Alvaro Doria, Lisbon, 1944, pp. 5S-6; in Portuguese]
Membreque read many other things from this book, in which it was ,
said that the earth would tremble at the time when Elijah came to take Many of the Jews born in the kingdom [ of Portugal] and of those wl-i>
them away, and that the heavens would open and the sun and the came from Castile received the water of baptism, and those who dill
moon would die and that the sea would turn to blood and that the trees not want to convert then began to arrange matters suitably for their
would dry up and that a great storm of stones would come, and in this embarkation. At this time the king, for reasons that moved him thus,
way all the houses would be destroyed and everything razed to the ordered that on a certain day their sons and daughters, aged fourteen
ground. And that a great river would come, which would carry away and below, should be taken from them and distributed among the
all the riches that the conversos left behind [in Spain], so that the Old towns and villages of the kingdom, where at his own expense [the
Christians would not enjoy them, and that all these earthquakes and king] ordered that they should be brought up and indoctrinated in the
miracles would be done by Elijah, so that all the conversos would faith of our saviour Jesus Christ. This was agreed by the king with his
believe in him and see the wonders he did and so that he would be council of state in Estremoz, and from there he went to Evora at the
king.. .. And that after these upheavals had happened, Elijah would beginning of Lent in the year 1497, where he announced that the
come in the figure of an angel and would ask all the conversos whether appointed day would be Easter Sunday.
they believed properly in the law of the Jews, and if they had believed Because there was less secrecy among the members of the [ royal]
in the law of the Christians, he would absolve them so that they came council than had been expected, concerning what had been ordered in
back to believe in the law of the Jews, because if they did not believe this matter, on the day on which [this] was to happen, it was
in it, they could not travel to the Promised Land. Also he would ask necessary for the king to command that the execution of this order
them which Jewish prayers they knew and how they recited them, in should be implemented at once throughout the kingdom, before by
order to know of them if they were firm in the beliefs of the Jews, and means and devices the Jews might have sent their children abroad.
that then, those who believed properly in the said law of the Jews and This action was the cause, not only of great terror, mixed with many
were firm in it he would strip of all their clothes and have them dressed tears, pain and sadness among the Jews, but also of much fright and
in shining white garments, without any colour at all, but all white surprise among the Christians, because no [ human] creature ought to
[with] white stockings. suffer or endure having his children forcibly separated from him. And
They would take up lighted candles in their hands, and he would take [even] among foreigners [perhaps the native population of Portugal's
them in procession through the cities and towns and villages where colonies] virtually the same feeling exists by natural communication
there were conversos, in the sight of all the world, and in the midst of [i.e. without Christianity], principally among the rational ones,
all the cities and towns and villages Elijah would preach, in such a way because with them Nature communicates the effects of her law more
that all the Old Christians would be converted to the law of the Jews, freely than with irrational beasts.
and then [Elijah] would take all the conversos with him to the This same law compelled many of the 'old' Christians to be so moved
Promised Land, and in the midst of the way, there was a cave from to pity and mercy by the angry cries, weeping and wailing of the
which would emerge the young conversos who were in the Promised fathers and mothers from whom their children were forcibly taken,
Land, and they would marry all the girls who were available there for that they themselves hid [Jewish children] in their houses so that [the
marriage, and on their way to the Promised Land they would eat Jews] should not see them snatched from their hands. Those [Chris-
nothing but unleavened bread and another bread, which should be tians] saved them, knowing that they were thus acting against the law
made with a flour called coscoja.
62 JEWS IN WESTERN EUROPE JEWS AND EXPULSION

and the pragmatic of their king and lord, and that this same natural these [reasons], it would be very prejudicial to take the Moors'
law made the Jews themselves use such cruelty that many of them children way from them, because it is clear that they would not
killed their children, by suffocating them and drowning them in wells hesitate to avenge those to whom such an injury was done on the
and rivers, as well as other methods, preferring to see them die in this Christians living in the lands of other Moors, once they found out
way rather than be separated from them, without hope that they would about it, and above all on the Portuguese, against whom they would
ever see them again; and, for the same reason, many of [the parents] have a particular grievance in this regard. And this was the reason
killed themselves. why [the Muslims] were allowed to leave the kingdom with thejr
While these actions were being carried out, the king never ceased to children and the Jews were not, to all of whom God permitted throu~
concern himself with what was necessary for the salvation of these his mercy to know the way of truth, so that they might be saved in it
people's souls, so that, moved by piety, he played a trick on them, by
ordering them to be allowed to embark. Of the three ports of the 17. Returnees and the converts' malaise: the case of Gonzalo de Vargas
kingdom that were designated for this, he forbade them two and The nostalgia of many Spanish Jews for the country from which they found
commanded that they should all go to Lisbon to embark, giving them themselves exiled in l 49!l led some to return as baptised Christians. This was
the [quarter of] the Estaos in which to shelter, and more than twenty not, however, to be the end of their problems. Some of the complexities of the
thousand souls gathered there. Because of these delays, the time that situation of individuals and families emerge from the records of the Inquisi-
the king had fixed for their departure went by, and thus they all tion.
remained as captives. Finding themselves in so wretched a state, many [ From Fontes ludteorum Regni Castel/,ae, iv, Los judLoconversos de Almazan,
of them placed themselves at the mercy of the king. He returned their 1501-1506. Origen familiar de los Lainez, eds Carlos Carrete Parrondo and
children to them and promised them that for twenty years he would Carolina Fraile Conde, Salamanca, 1987, pp. 112-14; in SpanishJ
inflict no harm upon them and that they would become Christians; [all (a) First witness [Sigilenza, 7 April 1501]
of] which the king conceded to them, together with many other
Pedro de Ledesma, painter, a dweller in ... Almazan, a sworn witness
privileges that he gave them. As for those who did not want to be
[ etc.] , said that perhaps a month and a half ago ... being ... one day
Christians, he ordered immediate embarkation to be granted to them,
in the house ofMart{n de G6mara ... , and being his guest at the hearth,
thus freeing them from the captivity in which they found themselves;
Gonzalo de Vargas, a New Christian, citizen of the said town, came
and they all passed over to the lands of the Moors.
there and they began to discuss some things concerning the faith; and
Now it appears that we might be regarded as neglectful if we did not then the said Gonzalo Vargas said, 'Oh, if only there was someone here
state the reason why the king ordered the children of the Jews to be who could understand me!', and this witness said to him, 'What do you
taken from them, but not those of the Moors, because they too left the mean, I don't understand you? I can't work it out'. And Gonzalo de
kingdom because they did not wish to receive the water of baptism and Vargas said, 'If evil has come to us, we deserve it, since we didn't do
believe what the Catholic Church believes. The reason was that from the ceremonies or the things we were supposed to do. That's why this
the seizure of the Jews' children no harm could result for the banishment came to us'. And then this witness said, 'Forget all about
Christians dispersed throughout the world, in which the Jews, because that. That Law is and was lost. No-one was saved by it; and our law
of their sins, do not have kingdoms or lordships, cities and towns, but of grace is such that all the world was saved in it'. And then ...
rather, everywhere they live they are pilgrims and taxpayers, without Gonzalo de Vargas said, 'Has anyone come back from there [the other
having power or authority to carry out their wishes against the world] ?'.
injuries and evils which are done to them. But for our sins and
punishment, God allows the Moors to occupy the greater part of Asia (b) Second witness [Sigilenza, n.d. 1501]
and Africa and a great part of Europe, where they have empires and Another witness says that certain people were talking about whether
kingdoms and great lordships, in which many Christians are under no Moor [sic] or Jew had been saved before the coming of Christ, but
tribute to them, as well as many whom they hold as captives. For all only those who believed in him, and this witness says that he heard ...
 JEWS IN WESTERN EUROPE JEWS AND EXPULSION 65

Gonzalo de Vargas reply to this that this [expulsion] came to them [sceptics] , a New Christian said that a lighted candle appeared to him,
because they did not keep the Sabbath or light candles. And he was which was placed beside the image of Jesus, and that some men from
told that all [the Jews] were lost [before] and that now he was in the the lower orders who were there hauled him out of the church by his
Law of Grace. Our Lord would have mercy on all of those who believe hair and killed him and immediately burned his body in the Ressio [a
in the Law of Jesus Christ, and to this Gonzalo de Vargas replied quarter of Lisbon].
[asking] if anyone had come back from [the other world] so that To this disturbance many people came, to whom a friar gave a sermon,
[they could] know which was the better Law. calling them together against the New Christians. After this two fria(s
(c) Third witness [Almazan, 2 June 1505] came out of the monastery with a crucifix in their hands, shoutinf,
Pero Casero, citizen of Almazan, said that perhaps ten years ago, this 'Heresy! heresy!'. This made such an impression on many foreigners,
witness and Gonzalo de Vargas, a New Christian and labourer, citizen [ who were:; ordinary people, sailors from ships which had come at
of Almazan, and others whom he cannot remember at the moment, at that time from Holland, Zeeland, Hoesteland [probably the Baltic]
the Berlanga gate of this town, talking about some things that he and other places, as well as men of the land [ Portuguese~. of the same
cannot remember, this witness saw and heard how Gonzalo de Vargas [ social] condition and low quality, that, more than five hundred
said that his father lived to a good age ['a good hundred at least'], having assembled, they began to kill all the New Christians they found
whom this witness knew had died a Jew, and this witness and those in the streets. They threw the dead and dying bodies onto, and burnt
present told him not to say that, and that his father had sinned in them on, a bonfire which they had made in the Ribeira [ the bank of the
dying a Jew. Gonzalo de Vargas said that his father having died a Jew Tagus in LisbonJ and the Ressio. In this business they were helped by
was no sin, because he had died in his Law as a Jew. slaves and serving-lads, who with great diligence carted wood and
other materials to light the fire. On this Easter Sunday they killed
(d) The roles reversed: statement by Francisco de Torres more than five hundred people. ·
[FromFonu~iv,p.526n] This crowd of wicked men and friars, who, without fear of God, walked
If the king our lord should order the Christians to become Jews and through the streets inciting the people to so great a cruelty, was joined
[rather] they left his kingdoms, some would become Jews and others by a thousand peasants, of the same kind as the others, and on
would leave, and those who left, once they saw that they were lost, [Easter~ Monday they continued their wickedness together with
would have to become Jews in order to return to their nature greater cruelty. And seeing that by now they could not find any
[naturak%4]. And they would be Christians and would pray like [more] New Christians in the streets, they attacked with battering-
Christians and would deceive the world. [People] would say that they rams and ladders the houses in which they knew [ the converts: were.
were Jews and inside, in the heart and will, they would be Christians. They hauled them out, and, dragging them through the streets with
their sons, wives and daughters, they threw them indiscriminately,
18. Massacre of New Christians in Lisbon dead and alive, onto the bonfires, without any mercy. And so great was
the cruelty that they even executed children and babies in the cradle,
Conversion to Christianity did not solve the problems ofJews in Portugal any
taking them by the legs, cutting them into pieces and smashing them
more than it had in Spain. In 1506, the massacres of 'New Christians' in the
neighbouring country were repeated in what seems to have been a particularly
against walls. In these cruelties, they did not forget to sack the houses
violent form. and steal all the gold, silver and jewels which they found in them, the
matter reaching such a frenzy that they dragged [even] from the
[From Damiilo de Gois, Cronica de Don Manuel, ed. Rodrigues Lapa, in
Historiadores quinhmtistas, Lisbon, 1972, pp. I J0-14; in Portuguese] churches many men, women, boys and girls, tearing them away from
the tabernacles [ containing the Eucharistic bread] and from the
In the monastery of St Dominic in [Lisbon], there is a chapel named images of Our Lord and Our Lady and the other saints, which they
after Jesus and in it a crucifix, in which at that time a sign was seen, had embraced for fear of death, killing and burning without distinc-
to which they gave the colour of a miracle, although those who were tion, [and] without fear of God, both women and men.
to be found in the church judged to the contrary. Among the

I
66 JEWS IN WESTERN EUROPE JEWS AND EXPULSION 67

On this day more than a thousand souls perished, without there being the king ordered proceedings through his official representative
anyone in the city who dared resist, because of the small number of against [the people] in the city [of Lisbon] and its territory, as well
people of quality who were in it, those of highest rank being away as its officials, as a result of which many lost their offices and property,
because of the plague. If the magistrates and other justices showed an and sentence was given against the city and its territory.
intention to attend to so great an evil they met so much resistance that
they were forced to retreat where they could be sure that what had 19. The voice of the converso
happened to the New Christians would not happen to them.
As had happened previously in Spain, Portuguese converts from Judaism (p
Among the Portuguese who occupied themselves with this business, Christianity sometimes expressed their unhappiness and confusion in poet~
which was so ugly and inhuman, there were some who, to avenge form.
themselves for the hatred and illwill that they had for certain 'pure' [From Elvira Cunha de Azevedo Mea, OrQfiones judaicas na lnquisiftlo
Christians, gave the foreigners to understand that the New Christians Portuguesa - seculo XVI, in Jews and Conversos. Studies in society and the
were their enemies, and, in the streets or in their houses, wherever Inquisition, ed. YosefKaplan, Jerusalem 1985, pp. 173-4; in Portuguese]
they came across them, they killed them, without anyone being able to (a) On the Book of Judith
impose order on such a disaster.
[Verses by Antonio Vaz, physician, Coimbra, 1585]
Once this day had gone by, which was the second of this persecution,
on [Easter] Tuesday these damned men went back to pursue their We know that we will not be defeated
cruelty, but not as much as on the other days, because by now they By the force of powerful men,
could not find anyone to kill, since all the New Christians who escaped Even if giants fight for them.
this great fury were placed in safety by honourable and merciful Only a weak woman went to fight,
people, who did whatever they could; and the time and its disorder Judith, the daughter of Adalanith.
permitted them, without being able to avoid the deaths in this tumult Apart from her looks
of more than nineteen hundred souls, who by all accounts were killed She carried within her breast
by these wicked and perverse men in the events of much of that day. ( the intention] to kill Holofernes
In the afternoon of that same day, a senior councillor, Aires de Silva, and not to return to her people
and the governor [of Lisbon], Dom Alvaro de Castro, came to the city but rather die.
with those of their forces whom they could assemble, the fury of [the She dressed in clothes to please,
rioters] being by now almost exhausted and at peace, as they were Abandoning her widow's weeds,
tired of killing and without hope of being able to carry out any more She put perfume on her face and hands.
robberies than they had already done. She so captivated him
This news reached the king in the town of Avis, where he was on the that she cut off his head with a third blow.
way from Abrantes to visit his mother Princess Beatriz, who was in The people were astonished
Beja. He was very sad and angry about it, and so, to find out the truth to see such great daring
about so great a disorder, he immediately sent from there the prior of and such great valour
the Crato and Dom Diogo Lobo, baron of Alvito, with powers to ma woman.
punish those who were found guilty, of whom many were imprisoned The least [of people] began to
and hanged for justice, mainly among the [Portuguese] natives, kill the strongest,
because the foreigners returned to their ships with the stolen goods the weak destroyed the powerful.
and spoils that they could carry, and each went back to his own Because you, Lord, followed them
hometown. The friars who [had] paraded through the city with the and heard their prayer with favour,
crucifix were defrocked and, after being sentenced, were burnt. And
 JEWS IN WESTERN EUROPE JEWS AND EXPULSION 69
68

We praise the Lord [ From: Moises Orfali Levi, Los conversos espafloks en la literatura rabfnica.
Probkmas jurldicos y opiniones kgaks durante los siglos XII-XVI, Salamanca,
and give you new praise for these mercies. 1982, pp. S2-S, 41-2; in Spanish translation from Hebrew]
You alone are a great Lord,
great is your virtue. (a) Before the 1492 expulsion: Rabbi Shamah ben Shlomo Duran (Algeria, c.
Salvation will not fail the one who 1450)
calls upon you. We even presume to say that not only forced converts but also forced
(b) A Song for Passover apos~ates, even in t~e case of incest, continue to be part oflsrael. Thei[
marriages are marriages; their act of repudiation [divorce] an act df
[From AmHcar Paulo, ·o ritual dos criptojudeus portugueses (algumas
reflexoes sobre os seus ritos), in YosefKaplan, ed., Jews and conversos, pp. 146- repudiation; their levirate is a levirate, their legal rites are legal. Not
7; in Portuguese] only theirs but also those of their children born in apostasy: Israel,
even when uncircumcised [physically] , is circumcised mahul [spiritu-
Adonai is a Hebrew title for God; Senhor ,mu is Portuguese for 'my lord'.
ally].
Adonai, adonai, adonai, senhor meu
Rabbi Sim6n ben Shlomo Duran (Lived from 1439 to about 1510)
Let us sing today to the Lord,
God of singular glory, It is more than ninety years since in Christian lands, because of anti-
Who threw the horse and the rider to the bottom of the sea. Jewish persecutions and decrees, many men, women and children were
As a conquering hero may his Name be 'the Omnipotent'. converted. This generation of converts, although they were able to flee
He consumed the chariot and army of Pharaoh. to nearby lshmaelite lands to return to their old faith, did not do so,
Famous generals and valiant soldiers also but rather remained among the [ Christian] Gentiles and had sons and
Were buried with him in the Red Sea .... daughters there. The same happened with their children, until their
Your great arm, Lord, a magnificent fortress, descendants, belonging to the third and fourth generation[s], felt the
Strong against the harsh enemy, urge to return to the God of Israel. They fled, therefore, from
Defeating him with ferocity, you put down your foes, Edomite lands to lands of Ishmael, where they returned to their
Prostrate at so much glory, former religion. During their stay in gentile lands, the majority of
Who will, by your anger, be cut down like weak straw. these converts contracted marriage with other converts. Only a
The flowing wave appeared, strong winds were not lacking, minority contracted marriage with the children of Edom ['old'
And in the midst of an abyss, the waters gathered together. Christians . Well then, one of them, of the third or fourth generation,
Let us go on our way and walk. came here and converted and, having converted, married and died
We shall praise the God of Israel, who delivered us from Egypt, without descendants. Now I ask: is the widow free of levirate or not?
From that king so cruel. It turns out that a converso brother of the husband is living in gentile
Our Law is holy, worthy of all praise. lands, both he and his father having been born there. The answer is
All will say with me, Blessed be the Lord. 'Yes' [she is exempt].
Israelites, join together with the people of Moses, (b) After the 1492 expulsion: Rabbi Shmuel de Medina (Salonika, Greece,
Who have the holy Law from God, 1506-1589)
It is with the Hebrew people.
Every converso who had the opportunity to abandon Spain or Portugal
20. The Rabbis on conversion
to return to Judaism and did not do so is [nonetheless] considered a Jew.
This applies to inheritance but not in the case of levirate .... [Such a
The conversion of large numbers of people from Judaism to Christianity
person] is disinherited because he had many years in which to return
inevitably raised the question of motives. After the departure of thousands of
Jews from Spain, as a result of the expulsion edict of 1492, the issue became ( to Judaism] but did not return, whereby he lost the right to
one of religious identity. inherit... . As far as levirate is concerned we confirm that forced
70 JEWS IN WESTERN EUROPE JEWS AND EXPULSION 71

converts are part of Israel. ... like a still-born child that never came to be, like unborn babes that
With respect to what I said before about one who is forced to convert, ne_ver see ~he light'], who said to her: 'How are you going to marry
that although he has sinned, he is an Israelite, ... it is app;opriate to this_ man, 1f you were married there to that other one? Until you
examine the situation of those converts who survived the persecution receive the act of repudiation from him, you remain united with him'.
and remained there for many years among the gentiles, their persecu- But she argues thus: 'He never married me according to the Law of
tors, without abandoning that place and going to another country, ~oses and of Israel, but rather he married me before those people's
where they might serve God openly and without fear. If there are any bishop, and with invalid witnesses'.
among them who had the opportunity to emigrate and did not take Therefore, she does not need him to give her the act of repudiation\
advantage of it, but rather, being forced at the beginning, afterwards
moved away from Torah and [now] voluntarily practise Gentile Other European expulsions
customs, these, and those like them, have no part with the God of
Israel and it is unnecessary to add that their testimony is not valid [ in 21. Bohemia, 1427
Jewish courts], since they are lower than the Gentiles.
Letter from Pope Martin V to the provost of Mount Saint Peter Brno
Rabbi Binyamin Ze'ev ben Matitiahu (Greece, mainly Arta, late fifteenth- to February 1427 • '
mid-sixteenth centuries)
[From Simonsohn, no. 645, p. 749; in Latin]
I was consulted when some of our people arrived in the holy
community of Arta from the captivity of Apulia [in southern Italy]. Martin [ etc.] to our beloved son the provost of the church of Mount
Among them there arrived a woman called Floba, who had been S~ Peter in Brno,_ in the diocese of Olmutz, greeting .... Previously
married there to an apostate from the whole Torah, because of the distracted by various causes, we hereby very much desire that, in
Christian religion: [she attended] churches and [observed Christian] churches and particular places the Most High [the Blessed Sacra-
precepts and customs, to such a point that, living there, she forgot the m_ent] sh?uld b~ venerat~d with devotion and careful study Also that,
religion of Israel, and had lived with [this converso] for a long time in ~1t_h the mtent1on of domg reverence to the Supreme Majesty, the
this state of perversion. d1vme cult should everywhere be observed. Since, on the part of our
beloved sons, the magistrates, councillors and commune of the town
But when the king of Spain's edict came out forbidding to remain in
ofYglavi_a [ sic in t~e diocese ofOlmutz, a petition recently shown to
their territories not only any Jew but also any apostate [i.e. converso],
us contamed [ the mformation] that, since for other reasons our
all these communities left, with their Judaism, their faith and their
beloved son and nobleman Albert, duke of Austria and of the March
prayer [lit. 'sanctification of the Name (of God)], and they arrived in
of ~ora~ia, !o whose temporal jurisdiction this same town is subject,
these other lands of our lord, His Royal Highness. There also came
cons1dermg 1t prudent that since the Jews, who had their homes in the
with them men, women and children from among those who were
said_ t~wn a~d also a synagogue in it, were causing trouble among the
apostates, and among them the aforesaid woman called Floba, with
Christia~ faithful, he should expel the Jews from the said town [ did
whom we are concerned here.
so] , and m the ~a~e wa'! ordered _the_ir houses to be distributed among
That accursed man, who had confined her in his house in submission these same Chr1st1an faithful, ass1gmng them to [ Christians]. In this
to the Christian religion, did not wish to return either to his people or way, this community of [Jewish] inhabitants and residents [were
to his God. Further, he bribed some people in the Court to allow him expell~d] from the kingdom of Bohemia, where, with many [ other]
to remain, when some faithful Jews gave testimony against him. perfidious enemies of the Christian name, and implicated in the errors
In any case, when this woman decided to go back to the service of the of heretics [the Hussites], they might [otherwise] detestably cause
Name of the Lord her God, she wanted to take a husband according to new and serious injuries and dangers to souls ....
the Law of Moses and of Israel, but there rose against her false men [~s- in earlier centuries, the Jews were here suffering by association with
from among those who 'do not see the light' [Job 3:16: 'Or put away d1ss1dent movements in the Church.]
72 JEWS IN WESTERN EUROPE JEWS AND EXPULSION 7S

22. Italy, 1504 and intending that, under the aforesaid penalties, any agents or
supporters of this depraved generation [of Jews] should be had and
The expulsion of the Jews from Piacenza in 1504 held and reputed as rebels and enemies of their native land, and of the
[From Simonsohn, The Jews of the duchy of Milan, 2, pp. 962-S; in Italian] Republic of Piacenza and of the Christian faith, and should be deprived,
Summoned ... in the aforesaid place . .. by command [the names of the as by this present [ order] they are deprived, of all privileges, honours,
city councillors follow]. dignities and immunities which they enjoyed in each and every thing
The royal letter [of the occupying French ruler Louis XII], dated in
which belongs to the city and diocese of Piacenza. ,

'
Milan on 8 February 1504, having first been read, together with the
petition of the Magnificent Commune of Piacenza, against the Jews
who were to be freed [sic] from this our city, the aforesaid elders
[Anziani] urgently requested the aforesaid lord magistrate [podesta]
to put this letter into effect as it stands. The lord podesta declared that
he was ready to comply with and put into practice everything and
every particular that fell to him, as set out in the letter, and ordered
the Jews who were living in that city at the time to be brought to him.
In the presence of Lazaro son of Calman and Lazaro son of another
Lazaro, deceased, both Jews, who listened and understood, he told
them to their faces that they should leave that city in the next three
days and leave the territory of Piacenza, on pain of two hundred gold
ducats, in cash, to be allocated, half to the [French] king's chamber
and the other half to the aforesaid Commune of Piacenza; and, in
addition, so that no-one at any time may pretend ignorance, he
revoked, and does revoke, his own proclamations or those made in his
name in recent days, that no-one must harm those Jews, and in
addition he ordered that, at the end of the next three days, it should be
announced publicly in that city, at the sound of the trumpet, in the
accustomed places, that the aforesaid proclamation [of protection] has
been revoked and is of no value.
Moreover the said lord Prior and elders . ,. unanimously provided and
ordained that no Jews should, at any time in the future, be introduced
or admitted to live in the said city of Piacenza, or in its diocese; and
that, if anyone dares to speak of, or secure the reception of such Jews,
they intended and intend that anyone who works to the advantage of
the Jews in this way will incur a fine of fifty gold ducats, ... to be
applied half to the royal chamber and the other half to the aforesaid
Commune of Piacenza; since the minds of these presiding lords is firm
and established that these Jews, and the rest of the Jewish people, who
are both strong enemies of the Christian faith and of the citizens [of
Piacenza], and depopulators of cities and peoples, should not at any
time in the future be allowed to live or act in this same city; wishing
 JEWS AND THE ECONOMY 76

2s. The Jewish stereotype: Spain, 1492

A chronicler's comments after the 1492 expulsion.

III: Jews in the European economy [From Andres Bernaldez, Memon·as, pp. 97-8; in Spanish]
They did not believe in giving reward to God by means of virginity
There are two main aspects of the involvement of Jews in the European and chastity: all their effort was to grow and multiply. And during the
economy of the late medieval and early modern periods which have w be time of the rise of this heretical depravity by converso gentlemen an~
considered here. In all western European countries with Jewish populations merchants [ in Seville] , many monasteries were violated and and manx
in this peri'od, there were restnctions on the economic roles which Jews might professed nuns corrupted and subjected to ridicule, some by bribes anti
fulfil. These were justified on theowgical as much as economic grounds, and some by deceptions, [ these converts] not believing in or fearing
are represented in the Church policies referred w in chapter I above. In the excommunication. Rather, they did it all to injure Jesus Christ and the
great majority ofcases, the result ofthese policies was to co1!fine Jews to trade · Church. And in general, for the most part, they were a profiteering
and finance, whatever their personal inclinations may have been. Although people, with many arts and deceits, because they all lived from idle jobs
examples are given ofJews who performed various economicfunctions in this and they had no conscience when buying or selling with Christians.
period, in public or private capacities, the chapter begins with a contemporary They never wanted to take jobs such as ploughing or digging, or
account of how Jews were commonly perceived by the Christian majority. walking through the fields looking after flocks, nor did they teach such
Bernaldez's reflection ofviews which prevailed not only in Spain but all over things to their children, but rather [ they took) jobs in the town, and
Western and Central Europe at the time, i's folwwed by two pieces of sitting down making their living with little effort. In these kingdoms,
legislation, also from Spain, which indicate at least the theoretical role of many of them gained great wealth and property in a short time,
Jews in the lastyears ofthe Castilian communiry. Thefirst ofthese is a section because they had no conscience about profit and usury, saying that
from the laws which were issued in Yalladolid in 1412 by the government of they gained everything from their enemies, clinging to the saying that
John II of Castile, while the second, dating.from twenry years later and also God ordered the people of Israel, in their departure to Israel, to rob
issued in Yalladolid, originated in the Jewish communiry itself. Even in Egypt by art and deceit, demanding from them as loans their vases and
translation, the differing sryles ofthe earlier and later documents reflect their gold and silver cups.
respective Castilian and Hebrew origins. It should be noted that the 1412
laws applied to Muslims (referred to as 'Moors' in the text) as well as Jews, 24. Economic laws: Spain, 1412, 1452
while the 1432 legislation applied to Jews alone.
The ejfectiveness or otherwise of such legislation (which had its parallels in (a) Legislation by the Castilian government for the regulation of Jewish and
the other countries of Jewish settlement in Western and Central Europe in Muslim life in the kingdom: the 'Valladolid Laws' of John II of Castile, 2
this period), is considered in the succeeding documents. Thus, despite the 1412 January 1412.
prohibition of royal tax collection by Jews, as late as 1488, just four years [ From Baer, Die Juden, 2, pp. 265-6; in Spanish]
before the Spanish expulsion edict, a Jew might still obtain a national (2) Also that no Jew or Moor should be a spice-seller or pharmacist or
contract to collect taxesfor the Castilian Crown. • The succeeding texts, culled surgeon or medical doctor. Nor should they sell bread or wine or flour
from the nch archival sources ofSpain and Italy, which surpass those ofother or [olive] oil or animal fat [manteca], or anything else edible, to
areas in the period, show fifteenth-century Jews as 11umeylenders, lawyers, Christian men and women, nor should they have shops or stores or stalls,
physicians, and even, in Castile, as royal treasurers. The 1472 mandate w a whether public or hidden, to sell any kind of edible food. And any Jew
tax-collector in the Papal states gives a detailed picture of the diffusion of who does anything to the contrary should incur a penalty of 2,000
Jewish settlement in the area, as well as the varied levels of economic maravedis for each offence, and, in addition, their bodies should be at
prosperiry which might be achieved by Jews in that period. my mercy, so that they may be ordered to receive corporal punishment,
• See document 28 below, p. 81. as has been thoroughly examined and belongs to my mercy.
76 JEWS IN WESTERN EUROPE JEWS AND THE ECONOMY 77

(5) Also that no Jews or Moors should be tax-farmers or legal free from the taxes of the said lord king, God keep him. Whereby the
representatives [procuradores] or collectors of customs dues royal towns are depopulated, both the places which contribute to aids
[almojarifts], or stewards or collectors of my [royal] rents or for any and others, which is a disservice to the said lord king, and from it
other Christian lord or lady, or among themselves. Nor should they comes great harm to the [Jewish] communities, may their Rock and
practise these offices, or any one of them, nor should they be brokers Saviour guard them. And certain others obtain letters of favour [cartas
... or moneychangers, nor should the said Jews or Moors, or any one de mercedJ from the said lord king, whom God preserve, and
of them, carry any weapons in cities, towns or villages. And any Jew confirmations of certain privileges which they possess, and others send
... or Moor .. . who goes against this, or against any part of it, should in people to ask or threaten, [so that] they stop paying or [ else] paj
pay as a penalty for each offence 2,000 maravedis, and Christians, of what they like, or so that the [Jewish] communities, may their Roci;
whatever estate they may be, who employ a Jew ... or Moor .. . to and Saviour preserve them, make a contract with them where they
exercise such offices, or any one of them, should pay that same fine for live; and, in times past, their ancestors, may they rest in paradise, in
each offence. their laws [takkanotJ in Castile, made laws about this.
(6) Also that none or any of the said Jews and Moors should have, in Therefore we order that no Jew, male or female, should obtain a letter
their quarters or areas or dwellings, squares or markets [in which] to from the said lord king, may God preserve him, nor from the said
sell or buy anything for Christians to eat or drink, on pain of [a fine queen our lady, blessed may she be among women, nor from any other
of] five hundred maravedisfrom each of them for each offence, but that lord or lady or prince or powerful person, allowing any kind of
they may have and sell, and should have and sell, such things for exemption from what they are obliged to pay in tax, or may be or is
themselves, in the areas where they live. allocated [to them] in the taxes of the communities [kehilwtJ, may
their Rock and Saviour preserve them, nor obtain confirmation of any
(b) The Takkanot [Laws] of Valladolid, 1452, which were produced by the
privilege concerning this, nor set a petitioner or threatener [sic]
Jewish communities themselves, under the authority of the Castilian govern-
against any person outside the terms of our Law, nor profit from any
ment. The whole of the first paragraph is a series of reasons justifying the
order or request which may come from their part, nor receive it, either
action ordered in the second paragraph. 'Denunciations' refers to the practice
for him or herself for any community, or for any other person or
whereby persons were relieved of communal taxes when they reported certain
persons, nor should any community benefit from any release or grant
crimes or misdemeanours.
which may come to them in this way, so that they should not pay the
[From De iure hispano-lubrairo. Las taqqanot de Valladolid de 1432. Un estatuto taxes assigned to them, both in aids [ servicios] and in requests
comunal renovador, ed. and trans. Yolanda Moreno Koch, Fontes !111UZOrum Regni
[pedi@s] or forced loans [emprestidos], or in any maravedis at all that
Castellae, v, Salamanca, 1987, pp. 71-S; in Spanish translation from Hebrew]
the said lord king, whom God preserve, may demand from the
Chapter 4. Concerning taxes and [feudal] services. communities, may their Rock and Saviour preserve them.
Seeing that, for our sins, taxpayers, who by law are obliged to pay, free
themselves of the obligation, and distribute [the sum demanded] so 25. The Jew as royal tax-farmer: Spain, 1488
that other Jews pay it. Also, some of the Jews dwelling in the said
Yuc;ef Abravanel is appointed recaudador mayor [chief collector] of the royal
kingdom of Castile, by means of their denunciations, act so as to taxes on livestock [serv,cio y monta%go de los ganados].
remove and take away from the communities [kehilwt], may their
Rock and Saviour keep them, where they live, the taxes of the said lord [From Suarez Fernandez, Documentos, pp. s11-12, dated so November 1488;
in Spanish]
king (may God guard him) and act, concerning the [feudal] aids
[st'l"Vicios] for which they are obliged, so as to remove from them the Don Ferdinand and Dona Isabella [etc.]. We make it known to you,
taxes for which they are obliged: and others go to certain places which our chief accountants [contadores mayores] that, in recognition and
are under seigneurial jurisdiction, [to obtain] certain liberties that consideration of the many good, loyal and agreeable services that Don
are given, and ordered to be given and announced, so that they may be Yu~ef Abravanel has done for us and continues to do each day, and as
some amends, satisfaction and remuneration for them, it is our grace
78 JEWS IN WESTERN EUROPE JEWS AND THE ECONOMY 79

and will to do him favour, and by this present we enact that he should carry on his business, and we give order to the commissioner and
be our chief collector of the taxes of servicio and montazgo of livestock commune of Pizzighettone that, during the time of the abandonment
for these our kingdoms and lordships, which same collectorship we of the said agreements, they should not expel the said Calamano or
wish that the said Don Yu~ef Abravanel should have and hold, and one admit any other Jew into the said land, or allow any undue interference
heir whom he may name and have, for all the days of their lives, that or novelty against him and his family or against their goods.
is of each of them, with thirty maravedis and other things for which the
(b) Action is demanded by the Crown against the Jews of Avila, in a letter
said rent of the servicio and montazgo was farmed this year, which
from Medina del Campo, on 18 December 1480
began on the day of Saint John [the Baptist] in June [24th], and
which will be completed on the day of St John in June in the first year [From Suarez Fernandez, Documentos, pp. 194-5; in Spanish]
coming from our Lord, of 1489 years, and from then on what it may Don Ferdinand and Dona Isabella [ etc.] .. . to you, the community
be worth for all the days of the lives of the said Don Yu~ef Abravanel [aijamaJ of the Jews of the city of Avila, and to each one of you,
and the said heir whom he may name and possess. salutation and grace. Know that it has been reported to us, in a petition
from the good men ['omes buenosJ and the councils of the district
26. The Jew as moneylender: Italy, 1479; Spain, 1480 [sexmo, lit. 'sixth'] of Santiago [Saint James] in the territory and
jurisdiction of the said city, that they undertook a certain legal process
(a) Duchy of Milan, 1479 against you concerning usury [ Los logros] before Dr Pedro Sanchez de
[From Simonsohn, Jews in the duchy of Milan, vol. 12, pp. 778-9; in Latin] Frfas of our [ Royal] Council and our corregidor of that city, in which
Given at Milan on S April 1479 he gave a sentence which was appealed against by the said councils and
the good men of the said district. And they had sent the record of this
The dukes of Milan [etc.]. ... The spokesmen [oratores] of the
appeal to be presented in our Council, and the said appeal was refused
venerable provost of our territory of Pizzighettone, and Antonio Lissa
to them. And in accordance with the said appeal, or in the best form
of the commune of the said territory, have been before us, as well as
that they could, and which was required by law, they had it sent to be
Calamano, a Jew and inhabitant of that same land: and the above
presented before us in our Council, and they said that the aforemen-
spokesmen urged that, in order to avoid ecclesiastical censures, the
tioned sentence and everything done by the said judge was null and
said Calamano wished to renounce certain things concerning which
void, and declared their grievance against the said judge, who did not
undertakings [capitulz] with him had been entered into by that same
see fit to grant the said appeal, and against Juan de Arevalo, public
commune. Calamano himself is at one with the aforesaid men. He
scribe in the said city, who refused to give them [the records ot] the
stated and promised that he wished to renounce these said agreements
case. And they asked of us a favour, that we should provide for them
[and respond] to every request of these aforesaid men. Since, however,
in this matter with justice, ordering that our letter of summons should
this same Calamano doubts whether he may not be required at some
be given to them against you about this, and [one] ofrestraint, so that
time [in the future], through the malice of individuals, to be removed
while the said case is pending you should not carry out any act or
and expelled from the said land, he asked if any other Jew would be
move in this matter until the said process has been examined in our
judged sufficient in his place. Since he affirmed that he would thus be
Council and justice has been done concerning it. And to the said scribe,
greatly inconvenienced, ifhe did these things, we should take counsel
that he should hand over the said process at once, in the due form.
at once and give dispensation, so that he might be able to live in the
said land and carry on his business. We therefore, judging their And because you ought to be summoned and heard concerning [this
petition not to be dishonest [ah honestate non aliena], given that our matter] , we order this letter to be issued in that meaning, whereby we
Holy Mother Church tolerates Jews living in all its lands, by these our command you that, with your aforesaid community having assembled,
letters acknowledge it to be proper that the said Calamano should as is your use and custom, if this can be achieved, or, if not, with the
renounce these said agreements. We concede and grant dispensation knowledge of three or four of the principal Jews in that city, from the
so that he may be allowed to live in the said land of Pizighettone and day on which this letter is notified to you in the above form, [after
80 JEWS IN WESTERN EUROPE JEWS AND THE ECONOMY 81

twenty days] you should appear in our High Court [audiencia] before Therefore we order that, as soon as you have investigated the above,
our judges [oidores], in accordance with the above, to speak and allege and if you find it to be thus, you should provide [ in this matter] as you
from your Law whatever you wish to say and allege concerning this ought according to justice, and henceforth you should not allow or
and to conclude and complete the arguments, and to hear a sentence give occasion to the said Don Mayr to practise the said office of
or sentences, including even the definitive sentence and allocation of advocacy, or to enter the council meetings of that town, or collect any
costs, and the other acts at which by [Castilian] law you should be fee or salary for it. And that henceforth, in the documents and
present and specially called, by this present we summon and cite you. memoranda that we have presented before you, you should keep to the
And if it should appear that we must order you to listen to and keep tenor and form of the law made by us in the Cortes of Toledo, which'
your [own] Law, or else if you are rebellious, we shall order justice to discusses this case. And neither you nor any other officials should
be done in the matter without summoning you or awaiting you accept the aforesaid documents, unless they are signed by an advocate
further. And we order the scribe before whom passed the process who produces them in accordance with what the aforesaid law
concerning the above to hand it over at once to the legal representa- disposes.
tives of the said se.xtn.() of Santiago in due form, closed and sealed,
paying him his just salary which he ought to have for this .... 28. The Jew as royal treasurer: Spain, 1488

27. The Jew as lawyer: Spain, 1484 Abraham Seneor is appointed by the Catholic Monarchs as treasurer of the
Santa Hermandad (Holy Brotherhood), a royal agency for law and order in
The corregidor of Trujillo is told by the Crown not to allow a Jewish lawyer Castile.
to continue practising. [From Suarez Fernandez, Documentos, pp. 297-9 . Valencia, 18 March 1488: in
[From Suarez Fernandez, Documentos, pp. 240-1, given at C6rdoba, 24 Spanish]
September 1484; in Spanish] Don Ferdinand and Dona Isabella [ etc.] .... For certain reasons which
Don Ferdinand and Dona Isabella [etc.], to you, Licentiate Lope are to our service, recognising the good and loyal services that we
Sanchez del Castillo, our corregidor in the town of Trujillo, salutation have received from you, Don Abraham Seneor, citizen of the city of
and grace. Know that we have been told that although we have Segovia, and for your good diligence and fidelity, by this present we
forbidden and banned Don Mayr, a Jew, citizen of this town, to provide you to the office of the treasury-general of the Holy Brother-
practise the office of advocate or lawyer [letrado] under certain hood of all our kingdoms and lordships, so that you, or whoever has
disabilities, in accordance with the laws of our kingdoms which forbid your authority, signed with your name and sealed by a public scribe
and ban such a thing, because at the time when this order and ban was and by no other person at all, may receive and collect all the maravedis
issued against him, the queen was in that town and the said Don Mayr from the [public] contribution to the said Brotherhood of our said
stopped practising, but since then, disregarding the penalties which kingdoms and lord ships, from fifteen days into the coming April of the
were established there and what was commanded by us, he has current year, after the issue of this letter.. .so that you should pay out
resumed the practice of the said office of advocacy and is [now] of [these maravedis] the salary that the [Hermandad] people have and
practising it, and the town gives him a salary for it, and he goes into ought to have, who are paid and should be paid by the said
council meetings in the said town, which is against the laws of our Brotherhood, and all the other expenses and costs which we may order
kingdoms. And that the aforesaid Jew, so that the documents and to be paid from the said fund. And that you should possess and levy
memoranda that he produces should not appear to be his, does not sign this and have it paid to you with all the rights and salaries attached
them. And yet the town's magistrates admit them, and because of this and belonging to the said office, in the same way as the former
many people suffer great fraud and detriment in their processes and treasurers of the said Brotherhood levied them and were entitled to
cases. As a result, appeal was made to us, that we should provide in this levy them, in such a way that you should not lack for anything as a
[matter] as we may understand to be in compliance with our service, result . ...
or as our will may be. And we found this good.
82 JEWS IN WESTERN EUROPE JEWS AND THE ECONOMY 8S

For, by this present, we provide the said office to you, the said Don and that the said Agostino, if he is freed [ of his condition] in the
Abraham Seneor, and we command the reverend father in Christ, the aforesaid interval of time, so that the aforesaid joint and knee can be
bishop of Palencia, our chief chaplain and confessor and our president extended and walked on uprightly, is held and obliged to give and
in the said Hermandad, and the vicar-general [provisor] of Villafranca release to the same Master Bonomo, for his labour and of his
our chief sacristan, and Alfonso de Quintanilla, our chief accountant of [ Agostino's] mercy, twelve full gold ducats; and, if the aforesaid
the said Brotherhood, and the Licentiate of Illescas, all in our [Royal] Agostino is not freed within the said interval of six months, that each
Council, who are present in our name in the said Brotherhood, that as one of them should be freed and absolved of the things contained in
soon as they see this our letter they should give and issue to you our this present instrument [document]. '
letter of [revenue] collection for all the provinces of our aforesaid
kingdoms and lordships, that you, and any persons you may name and (b) Florence, 1474: Pope Sixtus IV grants a licence to Moses Pess to trea\
who may have your authorisation, may collect and receive all that is Christian patients in Florence, provided that he ensures that his Christian
owed in the said contribution to the said Hermandad in the said our patients receive the last rites of the Catholic Church before treatment.
kingdoms and lordships, from the said fifteenth day of the month of [ From Shlomo Simonsohn, The Apostolic See and the Jews: Documents: /"'6-f.-
August coming, in so far as is our favour and will, so that you may 1521, Toronto, 1990, pp. 1216-17, document dated at Rome, S November
1474; in Latin]
have and levy it, and have it paid to you, with all the said rights and
salaries attached and belonging to the said office of the said treasury, Sixtus, bishop, servant of the servants of God. To Moses Pess,
just as was ordered to be paid and was paid to the said treasurers that Hebrew, doctor and knight of Spain [militi lspano] , inhabitant of the
there have been up to now of the said Hermandad.. .. city of Florence, [ being] uncertain of the way of truth and with the
intention that you may come to hold to what you do not [yet] know.
29. The Jew as physician: Italy, 1462,1474 Since you, and other Jews, whom the most holy Church tolerates in
various parts of the world as a witness to Jesus Christ, and allows to
(a) Pisa, 1462: an agreement made between a Jewish doctor and his Christian remain in your great hardness of heart and blindness, rather than
patient in Pisa in 1462. know [ and understand] the secrets of the words of the prophets and
[From Michele Luzzati, 'II medico ebreo e ii contadino: un documento pisano of the ho!y scriptures, and come to the news and the grace of salvation
del 1462', in La casa dell'Ebreo. Saggi sugli Ebrei a Pisa e in Toscana nel in the Christian faith, because at length you appeal to us for our
Medioevo e nel Rinascimento, Pisa, 1985, pp. 56-7; in Italian] protection and favours, out of the gentleness of Christian piety, above
Master Bonomo, son of the late Samuel, Jew, doctor, on the one part, all in those things for which Christians hope in the future, we have no
and Agostino Olivi of the commune of Sant' Andrea in Pescaiola on the wish to deny to you, so that, attracted by such mercy, you may
other, wishing to hold to and be effectively obliged by all and every recognize your errors and, enlightened by heavenly grace, you may
thing written below, have arrived at this pact and agreement, that is manage to come at length to the true light of clarity, which is Christ.
to say that the said Master Bonomo should be obliged to and must heal Indeed, the petition which has been displayed before us on your behalf
[ or cure = medere] the aforesaid Agostino and deliver the same of the said that you, who have long dedicated yourself to the work of
infirmity which he has in his right knee-joint, which joint the aforesaid medicine, and who are now a great master and expert in that
Agostino cannot extend or stretch out, and this without iron and fire [ subject], also wish to be able to minister without penalty to believers
and the breaking of bones [? roctoro], . . . that is to say with hot in Christ who come to you in their infirmities, and to receive front you
compresses [st,giis], ... and ointments, so that the same aforesaid medicines to cure them, as you know how to proceed, according to the
Agostino may extend the aforesaid knee and joint in the same way as reason of the body [phisice rationem] and the canons of medicine.
he can [ use] his left knee, and so that he can walk well and uprightly,, We therefore, having been informed by reliable account of your
and this in a time and period of less than six months. And that the excellence, knowledge and learning in the aforesaid art, being favour-
same Master Bonomo should be obliged to acquire with his own able to your supplications in this matter, of our special gift favour you,
money the medicines and ointments necessary for the aforesaid cure, so that all Christian believers should obtain medicine for their
8+ JEWS IN WESTERN EUROPE JEWS AND THE ECONOMY 85

infirmities from you, and so that you may receive medicines with [There follows a list of places with Jewish inhabitants, giving some
which to cure them, and that you may administer medicines and names, details of the number of households in each place, and the
healthy antidotes to these same Christians, according to the reason of amounts to be paid, in ducats.]
physic and medicine, every time it happens that you are called out to Ducats
these same sick Christians, [order] that before you minister to these
Velletri: four houses 12
same Christian believers, they should receive the sacraments of the
Church, and [thus] receive spiritual medicine for themselves and for Sermoneta
the salvation of their souls, according to the statutes of the general Master Angelo, doctor 60
-
[Fourth Lateran] council. [In this way] you may freely and licitly
provide [such services], when alerted and requested, and not any
other matters or any other kind [of medicine], notwithstanding any
other provisions to the contrary
Master Manuele
Leone de Cresci
Abraham
Sezze
so
20
s '
Mosce [Moses] de Mosecto 60
so. Papal taxation of Jews: Italy, 1472 Mosce de Angelo so
A commission and mandate to Jacopo di Aquasparta, to collect the tax of the Terracina: six houses
twentieth [vigesima] from Jews in the provinces ofCampania and Maritima. Cresci 20
[From Simonsohn, Documents: 146i-JS21, pp. 1197-200. Dated at Rome, 25 Begnamine 20
June 1472; in Latin] Dattilo s
To our beloved son Jacopo di Aquasparta, greetings in the Lord. lacobbe s
Moyse s
Seeing that your faithfulness, sincerity and diligence and experience in (HisJ children s
getting things done have been proved in many matters, we have thus
been persuaded to commit and trust the business of the Apostolic Piperno: seven houses
Chamber to you. Since, then, the twentieth, imposed by our most holy Angelo de Mele 60
lord the pope for the needs of the Catholic faith, has to be demanded from Bonaventura 25
all the Jews living throughout the provinces, cities, territories and villages Bonaventura 16
The other four houses 12
which are indirectly or directly subject to the Holy Roman Church,
and, because of the distance of the provinces, it is necessary to depute Castro - Salomone 5
various agents to carry out this business, we, having, in the Lord, Fresolone - Moscie s
complete trust in your abovementioned faithfulness and diligence, ...
commit to you and order you that, going to the provinces of Campagna Alatro - Ventura
and Maritima, and every single place within them where Jews live, Eliuccio s
according to the list given below, should demand and raise the sums Two widowed women s
set out below for the aforesaid twentieth, as instructed. We give you Veroli: four houses 12
full and free faculty and power to summon those Jews, each and every Fiorentino
one of them, to you, with the effect of employing all ways and means Mele and his brother 70
which may occur to you to coerce and compel them. Also, we order The heir of Salomone 20
each and every official in the aforesaid provinces and places here named, Consiglio de Gagio s
that, if they should be summoned before you to carry out the Abraham s
abovementioned business, they should grant you all possible favours, Salomone s
if they wish to retain our most holy lord the pope's favour and our own ....

l
86 JEWS IN WESTERN EUROPE

Pontecorvo: Vitale 25
Salomone 20
Diotaiuti and Mele 6
IV: Jews in European society
Mosce s
Anagni
In various respects, tire division of material between this chapter and tire
Aliuccio de Vitale so previous one is somewhat arbitrary, as it is hardly possible to make an
Abraham de Sabbatuccio 20
effective separation between social and economic matters. Nonetlreles~
Master Angelo Hebreo [the Jew] 6
whereas chapter III is pn·marily concerned with Jewish economic ach·vztiel
Elia 4
for their own sake, and Jews' financial relations with Chn·stian rulers, this
Manuele s chapter concentrates on other aspects of tire dealings which went on between
Segne: three houses European Jews and their Christian neighbours. As in chapter III, extracts are
Abraham 8 included.from Castilian laws of 1412 and 1482, which even though they are
The other two 6 legal prescriptions, give a vivid picture ofday-to-day relations between Jews
Patrica and Christians, in Spain and elsewhere. They go well beyond tire general
David and his brother 10 injunctions oftire Church, and also demonstrate tire importance ofclotlres, jobs
Elia 10 and sexual activity in determining tire nature and extent of relations between
tire two communities. However, as in tire 'economic' documents included
Pelestrina: four houses
earlier, tire Castilian records oftire last years of legal Jewish existence in tire
Sabbatuccio 10
kingdom indicate that practice fairly rarely corresponded to theory. Thus it
The other three houses 9
was still necessary, m 1491,for Ferdinand and Isabella's government to try
Paliano: two houses 6 to enforce tire wearing of badges by Jews. A Castilian document of 1482
Genezano: four houses indicates that Jews were subject to violence on tire roads, even before tire build-
Menunzolo 4 up to tire expulsion.
The other three houses 9 While tire programTTIL of tire Fourth Lateran Counal continued to be
Cavi: three houses implemented, with varying degrees ofefficiency and commitment, in Spain as
Elia 8 in other countries, Italy was still able to produce vzvid indications oftire real
Sabbatuccio 6 nature of Jewish-Christian relations in tire period. Thus, before accounts of
The other house s social separation involving Jews in Spain and Italy, including even
starvation tactics in tire case ofSpain, a document is presented in which Jews
Collepardo: one house 5
and Christians appear to have been involved in a kidnapping in Perugia
Maenza: one house 2 Meanwhile in Castile, and later in tire rest of Spain, tire opinion grew in
Piglio: one house 3 certain circles that baptism could never turn a Jew into a Chn'stian. Tire.first
known example oftire public proclamation ofsuch a view took place in Toledo
Vallemontone: seven houses
in 1449, and tire vital section ofthe relevant text is included here. Later, such
Master Salomone 50
notions transferred tlremselves to Portuga~ though, as an early sixteenth-
The other six houses 18
century example indicates, it was still possible there, as in Spain in tire saTTIL
Tibuli: fourteen houses 42 pen'od, to buy or, as in this case, receive exemption from tire penalties attached
Subbiaco: one house so to Jewish, as to Muslim or heretical Chn·stian ancestry.
[The above list was sealed and dated at Rome on 25 June 1472.J Tire last, fairly lengthy, section of this chapter concerns a false accusation
88 JEWS IN WESTERN EUROPE JEWS IN SOCIETY 89

against Jews which went back to twelfth-century England. This was the [jaropes], nor should Jewish or Moorish men bathe in a [public] bath
charge that Jews habitually, and .from time to time, kidnapped Chn'stian with the said Christian men, nor should they send them presents of
children (almost always boys) and subjected them to torments which puff pastries (fojaldres) or spices, or baked bread, or dead birds or any
were intended to repeat those supposedly suffered by Christ at Jewish hands. • other dead meats or dead fish, or fruits or other dead things to eat. And
Two such cases are referred to in the documents. The first is an Italian anyone who goes against this and does the contrary, whether Jew or
example, which involved the death of an Italian child called Simon, in Trent Moor, shall pay 500 maravedis for each offence.
in 1475, while the second, which is described here at greater length, concerns
( 11) Also that no Christian woman, whether married or single, or ,a
the so called 'Holy Child' of La Guardia, who supposedly died in I 490.
Altlwugh the pope tn"ed to put an end to the Italian case, it is clear that no girlfriend [amigada] or a prostitute, should dare to enter into tllf
such effort was made to prevent the deaths, in Spain, of several Jews and enclosure [cercado] in which the said Jews and Moors live, by night di-
Jewz'sh converts to Chn'stianity, who were accused of murdering a child by day. And any Christian woman who does enter inside, if she is
who was never reported kJst and whose body was never found, but whose married, shall pay, for each offence of entering the enclosure, 100
supposed guilt greatly assisted the Inquisition in its campaign to secure the maravedis, and if she is single, or [someone's] girlfriend, she should
lose the clothes she was wearing [!], and, if she is a prostitute, she
expulsion ofSpain's Jews by the Catholic Monarchs, Ferdinand and Isabella.
Some of the remaining trial documents are translated here, as well as an should be given a hundred lashes by the justices and thrown out of the
city, town or village in which she lives.
elaborate account of the resulting myth, published in 1533 by Sebastian de
Horozco. ( l S) Also that no male Jews of my kingdoms and lordships, after ten
days from now, should wear hoods with straps [chfas] hanging down
SI. Social laws in Spain: 1412, 1452 [a sign of nobility and authority at the time], unless they are strips no
longer than a few inches [un palmo] made like a cone [ symbol of a
(a) Laws of Valladolid, 1412
trickster, or embudo] or horn, sewn all round up to the point [ of the
[From: Baer, Die Juden, 2, pp. 266-9: in Spanish] hood]; also that that they should wear over their [ other] clothes
(4) Also that no male or female Jew or Moor, whether inside their tabards with flaps [aletas], and that they should not wear capes
houses or outside them, shall eat or drink among Christians ... or [mantones, like canons· or academics' capes], and that they should wear
Christians ... among Jews ... or Moors .... Also that Jews ... or Moors their customary red badges as they do now, on pain of losing all the
. . . should not have Christian squires or household servants, serving clothes they have on .
lads or lasses, to do them service or [be at] their command, or do any (14) Also that all the Jewish and Moorish women ofmy kingdoms and
domestic task in their houses or cook food for them or do any domestic lordships, after the said ten days have passed, should wear large cloaks
task for them on the Sabbath day, such as lighting the fires and [mantones] down to their feet, without fine silk decoration and without
fetching wine for them, and similar services, nor should they have feathers, and [should wear] headgear without gold [ decoration], and
Christian nursemaids to look after their children, nor should they have should cover their heads with the folds of the aforesaid cloaks. And
[Christian] livestock-drivers or gardeners or shepherds, nor should anyone who does the contrary shall thereby lose the clothes she is
they approach or attend the celebrations or weddings or burials of wearing, down to her undershirt [camisa], for each offence.
Christians, nor should they become the godmothers or godfathers of ( 18) Also that from now on none of the Jews and Moors of my
Christians, nor should Christians be godparents to them, nor should kingdoms and lordships, should cut their beards or have them cut with
they go to their weddings or burials or have any dealings with them a razor or scissors, but instead should wear them long, as they grow;
concerning the above, on pain of 2,000 maravedis. neither should they trim or cut their hair; and that they should go
( 10) Also that no male or female Jew or Moor should dare to visit a about as they used to do in former times. And anyone who does the
Christian in his or her illnesses or give them medicines or potions contrary should be given a hundred lashes and in addition should pay
a hundred maravedis each time he does it.
• See introduction to chapter I.
90 JEWS IN WESTERN EUROPE JEWS IN SOCIETY 91

(b) The Laws (takkanot) of Valladolid, 14.'12

born to him [sic], as in other celebrations of that kind, they spend
[From Fontes, 5, pp. 9.'1-7. See document 24 (ii)] excessively, we agree that [local] communities should rule on the
[Concerning DressJ matter in the way that seems fitting to them, and in conformity with
necessity and the situation.
Inasmuch as in many communities [kehillot], may their Rock and
Saviour guard them, there are dishonest and harmful rules and 82. Jewish dress and badges: Spain, 1491
customs concerning the manner and dress of women, and their jewels,
which are excessive and beyond what is proper: They wear very costly Contained in a letter from Burgos city council to Ferdinand and lsabel1'a,
and flashy clothes, [including] both rich materials and rich objects, dated 2 December 1491, to Juan de Ribera, captain general of the frontier ~f
such as trains and gold and silver jewels and pearls, and rich Navarre, and the chief royal magistrates (corregidores) of Calahorra, LogrotPo
and Alfaro, ordering them to implement earlier laws on dress and badges for
adornments offur, and many other things, which are the cause of much Jews (Valladolid, 1412 and 1432)
ill, [because] heads of families spend money and get into debt, so that
in this way envy and hatred grow once more between the [Christian [From Suihez Fernandez, Docummtos, pp. .'177-9; in Spanish]
and Jewish] peoples, and they even think that they may rise to great Also, most excellent lords, your highnesses know well how, according
wealth, in place of their poverty and misery, and abandon [the Jewish to the laws of your kingdoms, Jews and Moors have to wear on their
community]; yet, from time to time decrees are made for this reason clothes customary badges, by which they may be distinguished from
against us, and, furthermore, we have never been considered entirely Christians, and despite this we see that the Jews and Moors who are
innocent, and it is right that we should make strong laws [takkanot] living in your kingdoms, or the majority of them, do not wear the said
concerning this and should be strict in this matter. badges, but rather, some or others of them go about wearing such
Therefore we announce that no woman who is not a marriageable girl clothes and fine cloth and silks, and of such quality of manufacture
or a fiancee in the year of her marriage, should wear a saucy dress [lit. ['hechura', or 'couture'] that it is impossible to know if the Jews are
de salsa] of gold cloth or Chinese silk [azeitunz] or taffeta, or silk, or [ indeed:; Jews, or if they are clerics or lawyers of great estate and
fine leather [chamelote], nor should she wear decoration of fine authority, and if the Moors are [indeed] Moors, or gentlemen of the
[woollen] cloth, or Chinese silk, nor should she wear jewellery made palace, and they have gold and silver on their saddles and on their
of gold or pearls, or a band of pearls on the top of her forehead, or a spurs and stirrups, and on their belts and swords. And how many
train measuring more than a foot in length from any of her clothing. injuries result and follow from this, apart from the offence that God
receives from it. Wherefore we appeal to your highness [sic] to
And this statement is not to be understood to apply to the clothes command and ordain that [neither] the Jews nor the Moors of your
which may be worn during festivals, or the reception of a lord or lady, kingdoms should have gold or silver on their saddles and in their
or for dances or similar occasions things - things that everyone [la stirrups and spurs and swords, or wear silk or scarlet in their over or
generalidad'J is involved in. And inasmuch that there is great diversity undergarments. And also that Jews and Moors should each wear their
amongst [Jewish] communities in matters of dress [so] that it would badge, the Moorish man his green hood covering his clothing, and the
not be possible to make general laws, let it be sufficient to declare all Jew or Jewess their round red badge on the right shoulder on the
the details which ought to be included in [such a law]. Therefore, we outside of their clothing, and Moorish women a blue patch on the right
order that communities should make an ordinance among themselves shoulder on the outside of their clothing, which should be four inches
on the aforementioned subject for the period of this law [of wide in the place where it appears. And your highnesses should revoke
Valladolid], so that [Jewish] people may show restraint and realise any letters which any Jews and Moors may have so that they do not
that we are in the diaspora [ expelled from the Land of Israel] because have to wear badges. And either if they fail to wear them, or [else if]
of our sins: and if they have the wish to be strict [with these women] they hide them so that they do not appear publicly, or they have gold
beyond what is ordained here, they may do so. or silver on their saddles or on their stirrups or spurs or swords and
Also, if, when anyone gets married or has a wedding, or has a child belts or in any other such thing, for not wearing the said badge or
92 JEWS IN WESTERN EUROPE JEWS IN SOCIETY 9S

wearing it concealed, or wearing silk or scarlet as has been said, they claiming, it is said, that [ this money] was the penalty you required for
should lose their overgarments and that any person may strip them of this. In all this it is said that, if it happened thus, they would receive
it without penalty. [Also] for using harness [jahaes e amos] with gold great aggravation and harm, and other dangers and evils and injuries
and silver they should lose [the harness], and anyone who can catch and inconveniences might arise for them in the future. And [the Jews]
them with such things should take anything of this kind that he may made supplication to us and asked for favour to be granted to them so
find before the judge or magistrate of the place where this happens, so that, since they have to work and seek their necessities even on
that he may award half to [the finder] and the other half to the judge who Sundays and [ Christian] festivals, and have to travel on the roads
gives the sentence. But if the one who takes this clothing or harness outside population centres [poblados] , we should order provision to tie
from the Jew and Moor does not bring it immediately before the said made in this matter, and in each aspect of it, with remedy and wi~
judge or magistrate, he should be punished like one who commits justice, giving an order and prohibition, with the effect that you may
violence, and the clothing and harness should be for the judge. not take, or have taken or levied any maravedis from the said Jews or
To this we respond that it pleases us and we grant and command that from any one of them, for travelling on Sundays and festivals, or
this should be implemented and kept henceforward in accordance with, because any of them were not carrying the aforementioned ten-foot
and in the manner and under the penalties that by this petition you long lances, with the intention] that they may travel safely and look
have asked of us. after their businesses and property, or else we shall provide in all this
with justice, whatever our favour may be.
88. Sunday travel by Jews: Spain, 1482 This ( matter) having been examined in our council, it was agreed that
we should order this our letter to be given for you in this sense, whereby
A letter on the subject from the Catholic Monarchs to their local authorities we order each and every one of you, in your places and jurisdictions,
in Castile, dated at Valladolid on so April 1482, and containing an earlier
document, issued in the same city on 28 April 1482. to examine the above and everything in it, and [ we order] that you
should not, now or henceforward, force or constrain any Jews to carry
[From Suarez Fernandez, Documentos, pp. 26HI; in Spanish] the said lances if they do not wish to do so, and you should not take
Don Ferdinand and Dofla Isabella [etc.], to our chief justice and the or levy from them any maravedisor other things for not carrying them,
corregidores and magistrates and judges and merinos and any other and you should allow and consent that they should travel freely on all
justices in the merindades of Carri6n and Monz6n and Saldana and the days on which they may wish to travel the roads, wherever they
Campos, and the other cities and towns and villages of our kingdoms wish and understand it to be in their interest, and you should not
and lordships, and to each one of you to whom this letter may be molest them or allow or give occasion that because of [ the above] or
shown, or else a copy of it sealed by a public scribe, salutation and grace. any part of it they should suffer extortion or be ill-treated, nor should
Know that Moses Maf\an, Jew, in the name of and as proctor of the any other evil or harm or injustice be done to them in their persons or
Jewish communities of these our kingdoms of Castile and Le6n, in their goods or in anything of theirs, against reason and law, under
reported to us that you, or some of you, in order to annoy them and those penalties and cases into which fall those who break a safeguard
commit evils and damage, when they are travelling and going about given by letter of their king and queen and natural law.
their business, and doing so on Sundays and on festivals which the
Church orders to be kept, and go along the roads, it is said that you, 84. A Jewish kidnapping: Italy, 1484
or some of you, have arrested them or had them arrested for travelling A Christian is sentenced to death for murdering a Jewish banker's son, after
on the aforesaid Sundays and festivals, and have taken large quantities kidnapping him and asking for a ransom. A Jew and two Christians were
of maravedis from them. [Apparently you have told] them that they involved too. The sentence was carried out in the presence of the potksta of
are not carrying lances seven 'elbows' in length [8 metres or 10 feet, Perugia on 7 June l4S4-.
approx.] on the roads, and because they were not carrying them, you [From Ariel Toaff, Tire Jews in Umbria, vol. i, l!i45-1435, Leiden, 199S, pp.
extorted and took, and had taken, from them certain maravedis, 449-54; in ltalian]
94 JEWS IN WESTERN EUROPE JEWS IN SOCIETY 95

In the name of God, amen. malevolent and suspect persons, but rather from honest, truthful and
This is the condemnation of the body and the corporal sentence trustworthy men and persons [sic], which came to the ears and notice
published, given and in this document pronounced by way of a of, and were heard by the aforesaid lord podestiz and judges, not just
s~ntence_ and promulgated by the magnificent man [per magnificum occasionally but all the time. [That is to say that], in the present year
virumJ Simone, formerly ofBondeimonti and now ofMonteboni in the and in the month of February of the aforesaid year, and in the month
territory of Florence, count of Grippefrancole, [who is] the honour- of February of that year, when this same Bartolomeo, together with
able magistrate [podestaJ of the city of Perugia and of its territory Abraham Venture, a Jew from Rome, both inhabitants of Perugia,
~conta1oJ, empowered by the Holy Roman Church and our most holy being in Castro Sant'Urbano, in the county ofNarni, [we heard] froi,n
m Christ and lord pope Eugenius, by divine providence the fourth of Pietro di Como, who was living in the aforesaid Castro, and stated thllt
that name and also by the magnificent and exalted people of Perugia. the aforementioned Abraham had succeeded in abducting Guglielmo
After th~ examination, council, deliberation and will of the highly Salamoni, a Jew of Arezzo, a boy aged about eleven, and that in such
learned m the law, Master Benedetto di Magnani of Arezzo and a way he brought it about that this same Pietro should kidnap the
Master Batista_ di Riccobaldi of Volterra, [who are] among the aforesaid Guglielmo, and having captured him, should bring him to
honourable advisers of the aforesaid lord podesta, of all and each of the whatever place was desired by this same Pietro. Also that the said
judges and assessors of the aforesaid lord podesta, [this sentence] was Guglielmo would be released from the above in return for two
written, read, published and made known to the public [in Italian: thousand ducats from his father, the aforesaid Salomone, and these two
vulgarizata] by me, Antonio Michele di Tignoselli of Volterra, public thousand ducats should be stolen from him by force and violence, and
nota~y, and ~ow especially_deputed, among other things, as notary and that the same Guglielmo should be placed in the hands of the same
official of crimes [mallefitzorum] of the aforesaid lord podestiz. Pietro, with this same Abraham receiving his share of the aforesaid
two thousand ducats. Having heard these words from the aforesaid
In the year of Our Lord Jesus Christ 1434, in the twelfth year of the Pietro, the same Bartolomeo immediately, compelled by a diabolical
reign of the most holy in Christ, and father and lord on behalf of the spirit, from that time kept thinking about the above [plot], and made
Lord, Eugenius the fourth, by the divine providence pope, on the days frequent efforts to put it into effect.
and in the months written below.
In this way, in the aforementioned year and in the month of April in
We, Simon, formerly of Bondeimonti and now of Monteboni in the said year, this same Bartolomeo, living in the city of Perugia and
Florentine lands, the aforesaid count and podesta, sitting in tribunal on seeing the abovementioned Abraham in the aforesaid city, so that he
our accustomed bench of criminal justice, as is usual, ... where such might better undertake his evil and iniquitous project, went, at the
corporal condemnations are accustomed to be given, read and an- prompting of a diabolical spirit, to one Paghanino Giovanni di Milano,
nounced, hereby make the bodily condemnation and give sentence of a citizen of the said city of Perugia, then living in that same city, and
condemnation in person written below, against Bartolomeo for the thus spoke to the same Paghanino about the above matters, since this
misdeeds, offences, excesses and crimes detailed below, which were same Paghanino agreed with the said Bartolomeo in everything
done, said, committed and perpetrated by him, and in these writings concerning the committing, doing and perpetrating of the above
and by sentence, we condemn, publish and announce in the form which [crime]. And at once, this same Bartolomeo and Paghanino went to
follows. the aforesaid Abraham, who was then living in the aforesaid city of
Bartolomeo Pieri di Bononia, a treacherous man and vagabond, of bad Perugia, who, after many words which have already been mentioned,
condition, conversation, life and fame, and a public and manifest waster spoke with the aforesaid Bartolomeo and Paghanino concerning the
and kidnapper, was physically present to hear this, our corporal aforementioned Guglielmo Salamoni.
sentence, we having proceeded against him in proper form by the And since the said Paghanino was afraid to go to the aforesaid city of
means and method of an enquiry, in, of and concerning that which Arezzo, the abovementioned Abraham, Bartolomeo and Paghanino,
referred to earlier public rumour and clamorous insinuation, not from desiring to carry out their wicked project, decided to go to the city of
96 JEWS IN WESTERN EUROPE JEWS IN SOCIETY 97

Siena to make contact with a certain Moses Isaac de Tibure, who was gentis armorum] , in order the more easily to carry out their bad, evil
living there, and having thus discussed the matter with him, by and iniquitous project, in addition to the abovementioned seventeen
thought and dealing, which were inspired by a diabolical spirit, not hours, they kept him imprisoned and captured for twelve hours and
having God before their eyes but rather the enemy of the human race more in that house in which the aforesaid Bartolomeo was and is
[the devil], craftily and with predetermined will and intention to caught in flagrant crime. And all the above was said, done, committed
commit and perpetrate the aforesaid crime, offence and excess, left the and perpetrated by the abovementioned Bartolomeo, Paghanino and
aforesaid city of Perugia and went to the aforesaid city of Siena. And Abraham, in the manner and form described above, in the year an9
when they were unable to fulfil their evil and iniquitous plan months outlined above, and against the will of the aforesaid Guglielm4
immediately in the aforesaid city of Siena, they decided to stay there, and Salamone and to their great harm, danger, prejudice and loss, ancl
and did so, until the said Guglielmo, who had gone to the sea to bathe against the form of the law and statutes of the city of Perugia.
[ qui iverit ad balneas], returned to that same city of Siena. [There follows the sentence of death against the Christian, Bartolomeo
And when the said Abraham saw the abovementioned Guglielmo, he Pieri.J
went to the said Bartolomeo and Paghanino and, having spoken with
them, with thought and dealings, left them with the aforesaid and S5. Separation of Jews from Christians: Spain, 1477,1492; Italy, 152S
undermentioned mind and intention, and went to the said Guglielmo
(a) A royal order to the local authorities in Soria, given in Seville, 28
and persuaded him in such a way that he led him to the aforesaid
December 1477
Bartolomeo and Paghanino, who were standing and waiting with such
a thought and intention for the said Abraham and Guglielmo, outside [From Suarez Fernandez, Documentos, pp. I SS-4; in Spanish]
the gate of the aforesaid city of Siena. And in this way he handed over Don Ferdinand and Dol'la Isabella [ etc.]. To the corregidor and
this same Guglielmo as a prisoner to the aforesaid Bartolomeo and magistrates and any other justices in the town of Soria, and to each one
Paghanino, who received him in the aforesaid way as a captive, with to whom this letter may be shown, or else a copy of it, sealed by a
the mind and intention of having that same Guglielmo ransomed for public scribe, salutation and grace. Know that I the king, with the
the abovementioned two thousand ducats from the said Salamone his agreement of those in my Council and of certain grandees and prelates
father, and that this same Salamone should be robbed by force and of our kingdoms, acting in conformity with their laws and ordinances,
violence of the aforesaid two thousand ducats, and that the said and believing it to be in accordance with the service of God and the
Guglielmo, son of the same Salamone, should not be released until the progress of our holy faith, and to avoid the injuries which followed
said Salamone had been robbed and effectively despoiled of the because Jews used to live and dwell among Christians, we ordain and
aforementioned two thousand ducats. And as soon as the aforesaid command that from now on Jews should not live or dwell among
Abraham brought the said Guglielmo, in the manner and form already Christians, as is stated more fully in certain of our letters which we
described, to the abovementioned Bartolomeo and Paghanino, these order on this matter. And because it is our favour that [ those letters]
same Bartolomeo and Paghanino put this same Guglielmo on the back should be acted on and adhered to, we order each and every one of you
of the horse that was being ridden by the aforesaid Paghanino, and at that you immediately separate the said Jews from the said Christians
once, secretly, craftily and fraudulently, fled from there and headed for and that they should move to the Jewry, and the designated place that
the abovementioned city of Arezzo, and in these circumstances came is kept for them. And if in this aforesaid town [ the Jews] do not have
and brought the aforementioned Guglielmo to the aforesaid city of a separate place ( of residence] from the Christians, you should
Perugia, to the place commonly known as 'Lo Scaffaio' .... immediately designate a suitable place for them to be in, and once
They detained this same Guglielmo .. . for seventeen hours and more, houses and space have been made for them ( thereJ , from then on you
in the county and jurisdiction of the aforesaid city of Perugia, and in order should not allow them to exist and dwell among Christians any more.
that they might in these circumstances better and more effectively And so that the foregoing may be put into effect immediately, we are
bring the said Guglielmo to the field of military exercises [ad campum sending there [ to you] our servant Velasco de Castroverde, to whom
98 JEWS IN WESTERN EUROPE JEWS IN SOCIETY 99

we give sufficient power so that he may immediately make [the Jews] [From Simonsohn, Docummts:1522-1538, pp. 1629-SO; in Latin]
separate from and abandon the Christians and live in their Jewry and Pope Adrian VI.
separated place, and so that he may force them, and do this quickly,
Venerable brother, greetings and apostolic blessing. We have recently
and in order to carry out the penalties that have been placed on them
heard from our beloved sons, the [papal] officials, council and
by us if they do not act thus and comply in this.
commune of our city of Cesena, who are concerned with the safety of
(b) A Royal letter to the corregidor ofGuipuzcoa, Juan de Ribera, continuing the inhabitants and citizens of the aforesaid towns, and to avoid
earlier policy towards Jews, but given on 17 March 1492, only a fortnight scandals, which will result if provision is not made [by us] concerning
before the expulsion edict was framed. this matter, that it is expedient that the Jews, a large number of who~
[From: Suarez Fernandez, Documentos, pp. 889-91; in Spanish] at present live among those citizens, should be taken away to another
part of the city, where they may live separately, as is proper, and that
Don Ferdinand and Dona Isabella [etc.]. Know that on the part of
they should be forbidden to acquire immovable property. The afore-
Yusef del Corral, citizen in the town of Logrono, it was reported to us
mentioned officials, council and commune have appealed to us to deign
in our Council that in the town of Laguardia, two leagues from the said
to provide appropriately in this matter, out of our apostolic good will.
city [of Logrono], there was an argument in the said t~wn over the
We therefore, being inclined towards this petition, by these presents
separation [apartamientoJ of Christians from Jews, and 1t was stated
commit to you, our brother, and command that you should immedi-
that in the end, to avoid expense and labours, the said debate was put
ately consign these Jews to whatever part of that town may be
into the hands and power of certain persons, who gave a sentence in
convenient and suitable for them, and that, if they wish to remain in
which they ordered that the said Jews should live on th~ main street,
the aforesaid town, you should, if necessary, coerce and compel them
on either side of some houses which belonged at the time to Pedro to live within the boundaries in which you arrange and agree that they
Martinez de Berunda, with the said passageway from one side to the
should live. Also, you should prevent them from acquiring any houses
other, so as to be joined to the said Jewry, in order to live and dwell
or vineyards or fields, or any immovable goods elsewhere .... Given at
in the said houses, since between the said houses which he had bought
Rome in St Peter's, under the Fisherman's ring, on the last day of
in the aforesaid way from the said Pedro Martinez, there was no
July, 152S, in the first year of our pontificate.
Christian house or property. It is said that in these houses, a son of the
said Yusef lived for the space of ten years and more, without any S6. Attempted starvation of Jews: Spain, 1+8+
dispute, and it is said that now some people _in the af~resaid tow_n,
through anger and ill-will which they have against the said Yusef, ~111 Ferdinand and Isabella order their officials in Soria to assure provisions to the
not consent or allow that the said Yusef or any other Jew should hve town's Jews who were living, on royal orders, in the castle (2 I August 1484).
or dwell in the said houses, because these houses were not involved in [From Suarez Fernandez, Documentos, pp. 228-SO; in Spanish]
the separation [apartamiento] which was made by virtue of the said Don Ferdinand and Dona Isabella [etc.], to you, the knights and town
sentence of arbitration. Also, in the case that he were given leave to council, justices, councillors [regidoresJ, squires, officials and good
live in the aforesaid houses, they would not allow him to be in the men of the noble city of Soria, salutation and grace.
aforesaid passage, as he always was [before].
Know that Jorge de Beteta, our vassal, and governor of the fortress
[Yusef petitioned the monarchs to pu~ the h~uses concern~ into the
separated Jewish quarter of the apartamztnto, which they duly did, a mere and castle of this said city made report to us by means of his petition
fortnight before issuing their edict of expulsion] which he presented, saying that, recently and in fact ['nuevamnite de
ftcho'], and against all reason and law, you have ordered and [issued]
(c) Commission and mandate from Pope Adrian VI to Cristofero Spiriti, a prohibition in the said city, so that none or any persons may take up,
bishop of Cesena, to force the Jews of that town to move to quarters separate or have taken up, provisions to the Jews ... [ both] citizens [vecinos]
from those of the Christians and forbid them to acquire any further property. and dwellers [ moradoresJ [of or in Soria], who live and dwelt [sic] in
Dated at Rome, s I July 152S. the said fortress and castle. [ Also] that you have made a certain
100 JEWS IN WESTERN EUROPE JEWS IN SOCIETY 101

ordinance concerning this, which is said to be to our disservice and was to be the prototype of many more measures of the kind, in Spain and
greatly harmful to the said Jews, because the said Jew~ who live and elsewhere.
dwell thus in the said fortress and castle are there for its defence and [From Eloy Benito Ruano, Los origenes del problnna convtrso, Barcelona, 1976,
guard, and do a great deal of good in the guarding of the _said fortre~s · pp. 89-90; in Spanish]
and castle. And it is said that, if the above were to come mto effect, 1t We must and do declare, must pronounce and do pronounce and
would perforce happen that the said fortress an? c~stle wo_uld. be constitute and ordain and command that all the said converts,
depopulated and the said Jews would go down to hve m the said c1t~, descendants of the perverse lineage of the ~e~s, in what~ver guise ~heYi,
or would go to live in the kingdoms of Aragon or Navarre to seek t~e1r may be, both by virtue of canon and c1V1l law, which determmesl
subsistence. Therefore, for the sake of what concerned our service, against them in the matter declared above [ exclusion from public
[Jorge de Beteta] notified us of the above and, for himself and in the office], and by virtue of the privilege given to this city by the said lord
name of the said Jews, made supplication to us and asked for our favour king of blessed memory, Don Alfonso, king of Castile and Le6n,
so that we should order provision to be made for them concerning the progenitor of the king our lord, and by other lords and kings their
remedy of this matter with justice, commanding that the said ordin- progenitors, and by his highness [ the present king], sworn and
ance thus made by you concerning the above be declared null [and confirmed as follows:
void], and also ordering the lifting of any penalties t~a_t you may ha~e
placed on any persons who carried and took up prov1S1ons to t~e said Since by reason of the heresies and other offences, insults, seditions
castle, and also ordering you that, from now on, you should not impose and crimes committed and perpetrated by them up to this day . .. they
the said prohibition, or make the said ordinance [again], or make use should be had and held, as the law has and holds them, as infamous,
of it, under great penalties, or whatever our royal favour may be. And unable, incapable and unworthy to hold any office and public or private
we found this to be good. benefice in the said city of Toledo and in its land, territory and
jurisdiction, through which they might have lordship over Christians
Therefore we order you that you should hold the said ordinance to be who are old believers [sic] in the holy Catholic faith of Our Lord Jesus
null, which you thus made concerning the above, and now and Christ, to do them harm and injury, and thus be infamous, unable and
henceforward you should not employ it again, and thus you should not incapable to give testimony on oath as public scribes or as witnesses,
[issue] orders [against] or forbid any person ~r pe~sons to ~ake up or and particularly in this city; and by this, our sentence and declaration,
carry the said provisions to the said Jews who inhabit the said fortress following the tenor and form of the said privilege, liberties, franchises
and castle of this said city, and you should give back to them, and have and immunities of the said city, we deprive them, and declare them to
lifted all and any penalties which you have imposed concerning this be and order that they be deprived of whatever offices and benefices
matter on these said persons, and you should allow them to go up and they have had and held in this said city, in whatever manner.
carry to the said fortress and castle the said provisions, accordingly
and in the manner in which they took and carried them up before you (b) A letter certifying the 'cleanliness of birth' of Jorge de Oliveira, esquire of
made the said ordinance and put on the said ban. And you should not the royal household and receiver of monies in the royal Chancellery. Undated,
go against this [order] in any way on pain of our favour and of 10,000 but early sixteenth century
maravedis each for our Chamber and Exchequer. [From Maria Jose Pimento Ferro Tavares, Judalsmo t lnquisifiJo. Estudos
(Lisbon, 1987), pp. 192-S; in Portuguese]
S7. Racial laws against Jewish Christians: Spain, 1449; Portugal Dom Manuel [etc.] .. .. To whomsoever may see this our letter, we
[undated] make it known that we, having respect for the upbringing that the
princess, my lady mother, has given to Jorge de Oliveira, esquire of our
(a) The 'Sentence-Statute' (Sentencia-Estatuto) of Pero Sarmiento, Toledo 5 household and receiver [of monies] in the chancellery of our Court,
June 1449. During a rebellion in Toledo, against the Castilian government of and therefore, as he is one who deserves it, we hold it good and it
John II, a law was passed by those who had briefly usurped power in the city. pleases us that no criminal or civil ordinances, policies, public
Although rapidly repealed, once the Crown regained control, this legislation
 JEWS IN WESTERN EUROPE JEWS IN SOCIETY
102

pronouncements and customs, that have been made by us and by our required and was demanded of his office, undertook an investigation
officials or that we may make in the future, are to be understood [as into certain Jews residing in that same city, who had inhumanly killed
going] against the said Jorge de Oliveira and his wife and children. a Christian child. He sentenced those found guilty to the ultimate
And, as we said [previously], we remove and annul all these [acts] on penalty [ death] , and on this account many serious men began to
their behalf. And it pleases us, and we hold it good, that he and his murmur, and the matter [ began] to be viewed in various places with
aforesaid children may be called 'New Christians', and we remove from hostile suspicion. We, in order that every occasion of such suspicion
them and annul all and every stain that, because of their birth, may be should be removed, will both carry out the duty [imposed by] oUJ;
alleged against them, because we discovered there was [no such pastoral office, and also, so that the truth of the deed should be knowj
stain]. Therefore it pleases us and is our wish that he should be able to all the faithful, ended the magistrate's [ legal] process against the
to do and say everything, as because of his birth it is not forbidden to aforesaid Jews, and thereafter [ the case] was sent [to us] by our
him under any laws and ordinances which have been or may be made venerable brother John, bishop ofTrent, provided with his [episcopal]
to the contrary, because we wish that none of them should have force seal and that of our nuncio.
against this our letter, and it pleases us that the said Jorge de Oliveira, We had [ the case] carefully inspected and examined by some of our
being our servant and an official in our chancellery, should have and venerable brothers, cardinals and archbishops of the Holy Roman
enjoy all the honours, privileges and liberties that all our other Church, referrers and auditors of causes in the Apostolic palace. After
receivers in the said chancellery possess, which we desire should be frequent meetings, having examined every part of this process, and
completely kept for him; and thus we order the head of our house of having proceeded in this case in due and correct form, they faithfully
[ criminal] appeals and the governor of our civil court, and all our referred it back to our Consistory. We, then, being at one with these
corregedores and justices, that they should, in everything and for our brothers, and feeling in the same way as them about the above
every purpose, comply with and keep this our letter, as is contained account, and commanding, in the Lord, the study and diligence [ in this
within it, because this is our favour. matter] of the said John, bishop of Trent, wish, and have attached [ to
this document] some other letters, so that he should not permit his
SS. Ritual murder accusations: the story of Simon of Trent, Italy, 1475 pious and irregular devotion of the faithful. This accords with [ the
terms.J of the decretal of Pope Innocent III, of blessed memory issued
Papal intervention in the case of the accusation of ritual murder made against
the Jews of Trent, in northern Italy, in 1475. A letter from Sixtus IV to two in general council [Lateran IVJ, that anything that is illicitly
bishops, dated in Rome, on so December 1480 attempted, which may bring injury to God and contempt to the
Apostolic See, or any other things which are done without possibility
[From Simonsohn, 1464-IS~I, pp. 1276-78; in Latin]
of excuse against canonical sanctions, are to be stopped. Concerning
Sixtus, [etc.] .... To our venerable brothers, Angelo of Feltre, pres- this : matter], our conscience has been burdened, in what has been
ently living in the city of Vicenza, and Pietro of Cattaro, bishops, entrusted to us by the Lord. Since, however, it is asserted by some that
greeting .... Since the greatest matters are known to require the a great gathering of people from different areas has begun to assemble
greatest scrutiny and investigation, and also the great intelligen~e and in the church in which the body of the said child is kept, and, according
instruction of prudent men, in such a matter [as the murder of Simon] to the evidence of public rumour, many miracles have been shown
it is necessary that the Roman pontiff, who, because of the resistance forth there, we, having waited for some time to see whether these
of human nature, cannot carry out his duty by himself, according to miracles are true and undoubted, and to discern their reasons and
the exigency of matters, employs his fellow bishops, whom the Most causes and find out all about them, and [also] so that this business
High has called to a share of [his] pastoral care, particularly in might be dealt with most seriously and maturely, and trusting greatly
difficult and serious matters, with equal strength and diligence. in your prudence, integrity and doctrine, and having also taken the
Some while ago, when our beloved son the magistrate of the city of advice of our brothers [ the investigators], already referred to, we
Trent, responding to public rumour, as the seriousness of the matter commit to you and order you, by virtue of holy obedience and by
104 JEWS IN WESTERN EUROPE JEWS IN SOCIETY 105

apostolic letters, laying aside every affection, but pursuing the pure themselves to live and have dealings with faithful and Catholic
and naked truth, and having God alone before your eyes, by our Christians, induced and attracted some Christians to his accursed law,
authority, jointly to inform us with diligence, about this public fame with false and deceptive sermons and suggestions, just like an abettor
and devotion of the faithful, whether they have their origin in the of heretics, telling them and demonstrating to them that the law of
weighty opinions of the wise, or in the simplicity of the people, or in Moses was the true one and the one by which they would be saved, and
other numerous and diverse causes, by which the omnipotent God that [the law] ofJesus Christ was a made up and pretend law, and that
makes miracles occur. Having examined suitable witnesses, the most no such law was imposed or enacted by God. ,
serious and trustworthy men, individually and secretly, a burden Item. He contracted and made a contract and agreement, as principa\,
which we place on your consciences, after they have sworn an oath in jointly with others, to secure a consecrated host to commit outrage\
your hands, you should have their statements and depositions col- against it and abuse it, in vituperation of and contempt for our holy
lected in writing by a public and reliable notary, and you should ensure Catholic Faith, and because among the said Jews, accomplices in the
that the process carried out by you concerning them should be sent to aforesaid offence and conspiracy, there were certain sorcerers
us in public, collected and complete form, and sealed with your [hechizeros] and, on a day during their Passover, he had to receive the
[episcopal] seals, by a trustworthy and faithful messenger, and we aforesaid host in communion [sic], and also the heart of a Christian
rely on you to provide in these matters with your [full] diligence, fully child: and when these acts had been done in the aforesaid form and
informed, correctly and properly. And, so that you may accomplish the manner, all the Christians were to die of rabies. And the intention
above with greater ease, by these presents [i.e. this document] we which moved Yui;e Franco and his followers and co-conspirators in the
grant a full and free faculty to you and to any [other] Christian aforesaid agreement, was that the law of Moses should be better
believers, whether they be secular or ecclesiastical persons, with the honoured and kept, and that its rites and precepts and ceremonies be
remedies of ecclesiastical and other laws, so that you may constrain more freely kept by them, and because the entire Christian religion
and compel witnesses to testify concerning the above. would perish and be subverted, and they [the Jews] would possess all
the goods that the Catholic and faithful Christians have and possess,
S9. Ritual murder accusations: the story of the 'Holy Child' of La and no-one would come to contradict their evils and perverse errors,
Guardia, Spain, 1491 and their generation would grow and multiply on the earth, the
Documents of the Inquisition trial held in Avila in 1490--1491
faithful Christians having been completely eliminated.
[ From Fidel Fita, 'La verdad sobre el martirio del Santo Nii\o de la Guardia, Item. He committed other offences and cases concerning the Holy
o sea el proceso y quema ( 16 noviembre 1491 ) deljud{o Ju~e Franco en Avila', Office of the Holy Inquisition [unspeciUed].
Boletfn de la Real Academia de la Historia, XI (1887), pp. 7-160; in Spanish]
(b) From the reply by Martin Vazquez, the legal representative [procuradar]
(a) From the statement of charges [demanda] presented against Ju~e Franco of Yu~e Franco, who delivered his objections to the prosecution case in Avila
by the procurator fiscal of the Avila tribunal of the Inquisition, Alonso de on 22 December 1490
Guevara, on 17 December 1490. The trial took place in the home town of the [Fita, 'La verdad', pp. 17-18]
inquisitor-general, Tomas de Torquemada.
The first [objection] is inasmuch as [the prosecution statement] is
[Fita, 'La verdad', pp. 12-14] vague and obscure; because, in his denunciation [the prosecutor] does
Most virtuous and reverend lords. I, bachelor Alonso de Guevara, not state, express or clarify the places, or the years, or the months, or
procurator fiscal of the Holy Inquisition in this city of Avila and its the days, or the times or the persons, in which and with whom he says
diocese, appear before you, reverend fathers, in the best way that I can, that the aforesaid, my part [i.e. client] committed the offences of
and I denounce and charge Yui;e Franco, Jew, citizen of Tembleque, which he accuses him, nor those who surrounded [los linckros de] the
who is present. Who, not content that, through humanity alone, he said places .. . But it is not right that, in the case of my client, who,
with all the other Jews are allowed, according to our faith, and allow being a Jew, cannot properly or truly be said to have committed a
106 JEWS IN WESTERN EUROPE JEWS IN SOCIETY 107

crime of heresy or apostasy, the expression of what accusations are in Avila, under the same imprisonment in which this witness is placed.
made against him personally should cease or not be made clear, since And, once they were [both] imprisoned, they began to talk. And the
my client is favoured in this matter by the great equity and goodwill aforesaid Benito Garcia would say, 'Jew, do you have a needle you
of the Church, and hence [that] of you, reverend fathers. Since it is a could give me?' And this witness said to him that he did not have a
most certain and often proved thing that without that [equity and needle but he was on the shoemaker's last [ fapatera] . And this witness
goodwill], my aforesaid client cannot defend himself properly, or said to him, 'Where is he?' And the aforesaid Benito replied, 'In this
know anything about what he is accused of, because of the generality pressure from below [J>resi6n de abaxoJ And you know that your father,
and obscurity of the said booklet [libello] of charges. And it is a thing Don Isaac Franco, is there·. And this witness said that [his fathert
very much against law that the aforesaid prosecutor, in so great could not be there. And the aforesaid Benito answered that he had see!
prejudice of my client, should not give details of his accusations him, because the fathers [ of the Inquisition] had him brought up so
against him. And from the generalized nature of [his accusations] that he [Benito] could go and see ifhe knew who he was. And that this
there could result some prejudice to your consciences, reverend witness [Yu,;e] asked him who this Benito was, and [ his father, Don
fathers, ifmy client should suffer and die undefended, and your justice, Isaac] replied that he was Garcia the woolcarder, who was 'bad news'
in the aforesaid 'solid' [fimditus] cause should perish. Since, if some [en ora mala], and that the devil had brought him here; and dog of a
laws dispose that in a case of heresy, if it is committed secretly, an doctor [Pedro de Villada], who had given him two hundred lashes in
inquisition or book of accusations is valid [even] without details of Astorga, and also water torture, and on another night two partial
time and place, they are understood [to apply] and restricted to cases stranglings [garrotes], so that they might discover the other people
in which the crime of heresy has truly been committed, which is not with whom they would burn him. And while this witness was playing
the case with my client. This is because, being a Jew, without a truly a guitar [vihuela], the aforesaid Garcia would say to him, in an
and properly baptized soul, he could not commit the aforesaid offence, undertone, 'Don't play that [instrument] , have pity on your father, as
or be denounced for heresy, nor did he do or commit anything, the inquisitors have said that they must burn him, little by little'. And
whereby the aforesaid crime [the 'ritual murder'] was committed. For this witness [Yuc;:e Franco] asked him if he was a converso. And the
which reasons I ask you, reverend fathers, in the name of the aforesaid aforesaid Benito Garcfa replied that he was a converso, and had even
Jew, to reject the aforesaid accusation, or at least to order the aforesaid been a Jew, in a bad time [en ora mala]; and that he commended
prosecutor to clarify and give details of his charges, and in particular himself to the prayers of this Jewish witness, so that the Creator might
to clarify and give details of his charges, so that they may be properly deliver them from that oppression; although he had only a bad cure to
understood, and my client may defend himself properly, and put offer, because 'under torture he had said more than he knew'.
forward his righteousness, and prove the contrary ifhe should so wish.
Otherwise, I ask your graces to reject the aforesaid accusation; if you (d) The sentence announced against Yu~e Franco at an auto deft in Avila on
16 November 1491
do not, I protest about my complaint [quexa] to whomever the law
requires, and above all I place the responsibility on the consciences of [ Fita, 'La verdad', pp. 100-1, 105-6]
your graces. And they [ the inquisitors] pronounced and had read [publicly] a
[fhe rest of this statement is a straightforward denial of the charges] sentence, written on paper, the tenor of which from word to word [de
verbo ad verbum, i.e. literally] is as follows:
(c) Revealing evidence concerning the converso Benito Garcfa, from the
testimony ofYu~e Franco, given in Avila on 9 April 1491. <;apatera and presion t Jesus. There having been seen and diligently examined by us, Dr
de aba.xo are euphemisms for tortures. Pedro de Villada, abbot of San Millan and San Marcial in the churches
[Fita, La verdad', pp. 34-5] of Burgos and Le6n, and Brother Fernando de Santo Domingo, a
professor of the Order of Preachers [Dominicans],judge inquisitors of
Yu~e Franco, Jew, a sworn witness, under oath, said that he had begun heretical depravity and apostasy in the city of Avila and in its entire
to talk to Benito Garcia, who is a prisoner in the Inquisition's prison diocese, and in the same way especially deputed in the present case by
108 JEWS IN WESTERN EUROPE JEWS IN SOCIETY 109

apostolic authority [i.e. the papacy], and also being, as we are, [pro tribunali sedendo] , we thus pronounce and sentence.
ordinary judges in the aforesaid case for the most reverend lord Don [After this, Yu~e Franco admitted, in front of witnesses, that he was
Pedro Gonzalez de Mendoza, Cardinal of Spain, Archbishop ofToledo, guilty as charged. He then made a further confession at the stake, but
primate of the Spains, a process and case which remains pending and this was not to be the end of the story. It was not long before a burial
undecided before us between parties, that is to say, the one prosecut- place was found for the non-existent 'holy child'. Firstly, on 18
ing, the honourable bachelor Alonso de Guevara, procurator fiscal November 1491, the sacristan of the church in La Guardia, Juan, son
[promotor fiscalJ of this Holy Inquisition, and on the other side, the ofG6mez del Alcazar, was interrogated by the inquisitors in Avila, anc)
prisoner being prosecuted, Yu~ Franco, Jew, citizen and inhabitant of stated that, in November 1489, he had been asked for consecrat~
Tembleque, in the archdiocese of Toledo, and which concerns a hosts eucharistic bread] by Alfonso Franco, the sacristan's uncle,
petition that the aforesaid prosecutor initiated and lodged before us who was prepared to offer clothing and cash in return. According to
against the aforesaid Yu~ Franco, Jew, and certain additions to the this account, the sacristan gave a single host to Alfonso Franco, who
said petition, also provided by the aforementioned prosecutor, handed it on to the wool-carder Benito Garda. On the day before, 17
whereby he said that the aforesaid Yu~e Franco, Jew, had induced November 1491, Gabriel Sanchez, a citizen of Avila who was also in
some Christians and attracted them to his Law, and similarly was an the Inquisition's prison there, gave a statement to the tribunal that had
abettor of heretics, giving them to understand that the Law of Christ just had Yu~e Franco burned.]
was made up and simulated, and that the Law of Moses was the true
one [the sentence then repeats all the earlier charges]. ... (e) Gabriel Sanchez's statement
Christ's name having been invoked, we find that we must pronounce ( Fita, La verdad', pp. 111-12]
sentence and declare, and do pronounce, sentence and declare, that the And Gabriel Sanchez, citizen of Avila, who is a prisoner in the
intention of the aforesaid prosecutor is well and sufficiently proved and aforesaid gaol, sworn in as a witness in the form oflaw [etc.] , in Avila,
verified; and that the aforesaid Yu~e Franco, Jew, did not prove on Thursday 17 November 1491 , said that one night, about an hour
anything which could relieve or help him. With the result that we after midnight, this witness saw and heard how Juan de Ocafla and
must and do declare him to be an active abettor and participant in the Juan Franco were talking to each other in the aforesaid gaol. And that
crime and offence of heresy and apostasy, and an obstructor of the the aforesaid Juan Franco asked the aforesaid Juan de Ocafla what he
Holy Office of the Inquisition, and subverter of the Christian faith and had said [ to the inquisitors::;, and that the said Juan de Ocana replied
Law, and inducer of Christians to deny the aforesaid law of Jesus to him and said that he had said [to the inquisitors] that the child was
Christ our Redeemer and receive that of Moses; being a participant in from Toledo and that he had white baby-clothes [mantillas], and that
the aforesaid crimes and offences together with Christians; and for this the aforesaid Juan Franco had carried him off, and that they crucified
[we declare him] to have fallen into and incurred all the temporal him in some caves in Carre-Ocana, and that they had buried him in
penalties and confiscation and loss of all his goods, established and some gullies [sic], and that he named the place in which they buried
imposed against such [offences] by the canon and civil law. And as him, but this witness does not remember it. [ He also stated that] the
such we must relax and do relax him to justice and the secular arm, to aforesaid Juan Franco said, 'I said pretty much the same, but if they try
that honourable and noble man, the licentiate Alvaro de Santisteban, to find out where the lad is buried, one will go here and the other will
corregidor in this city of Avila and its lands for the most serene king go there'. And this witness further says that the abovementioned had
and queen, our lords, and to his magistrates, constables and officials, said that [various other named Jews and converts] had been with
so that they may do to the aforesaid Yu~e Franco, Jew, what they those who crucified the aforesaid lad.
ought to do by law, applying the aforesaid his goods, which we declare [Thus it was that post-trial documents, rather than the Inquisition's
to be confiscated and applied by law, to the chamber and exchequer trial of Yu~e Franco, provided some basis for the lurid sixteenth-
[camara efisco] of the aforesaid most serene king and queen, our lords. century account of the affair which follows.]
And by this our definitive sentence, [given] by a tribunal in session
110 JEWS IN WESTERN EUROPE JEWS IN SOCIETY 111

(f) A later account: Spain, 1555 worthy, I'll tell you how we can fool these Jews, without your killing
[From: Sebastiiin de Horozco, La historia <kl niflo inocente <k La Guardia your son and without their realizing it' .... We have this sow, which is
[1555], ed. Jack Weiner, in Relaciones hist6ricas toledanas(Toledo, 1981), pp. small. Take it and kill it, and we'll take out its heart, and we'll say it
29-58; in Spanish] comes from our son, and we'll have to hide our son, so that he won't
Very true memorial of the passion and martyrdom which was suffered be found. [After speaking to the Jews], this man went home and, as
by the glorious martyr and innocent child called Christopher, in the the woman had advised him, killed his sow, took its heart out and gave
rooms or caves known as the lnnocent's [caves], which are in [the it to the Jews. They, when they saw the heart, really believing that it
territory of] this town of La Guardia, outside the walls, as will be was the child's, took it with great delight, and they paid the noblema,[
stated below at greater length in the account or substance of the trial a lot of money, with which he escaped easily from his misery. I
of Benito Garcia, the great wool-carder, or De las Mesuras [meas- Having already got the heart, it remained for them to find a way of
ures], a heretical Jew and condemned, and of the rest which was and getting hold of the most Holy Sacrament, and as they could not find
truly happened, and of eleven Jews who were present. It was this it [for themselves], they agreed to secure their goal as follows. They
Benito who placed the crown [of thorns] on the head of, and took the wanted to have [the Eucharistic host] complete, just as it was in the
heart from, the holy innocent child, in hatred and vengeance of Our tabernacle .... They thought up this ruse. Near them, there lived an old
Lord Jesus Christ, and in His place, not being able to attack Him, and woman who was very poor, much poorer than the nobleman, and they
the beginning of [Benito's] damned intention, known and established went to her and said, 'Sister, it will be well worth your while to do
by true information, was as follows. what we are going to ask you. [They offered her the bribe of a piece
Certain Jews, some of those who were involved in the crucifixion of of cloth]. The poor old thing said that, if she could, she would
this blessed child and others who were not to be present at it, being in willingly do it. They said to her, 'You must go to communion, and
the kingdom of France, these Jews, it being believed that they were when they give you the host, find a way of not eating it, don't swallow
among those who fled from Castile when the king, Don Ferdinand, and it, but get it to stick to the roof of your mouth, or else pretend to clean
the queen, Dorl.a Isabella, Catholic Monarchs of blessed memory, yourself with your hand and take it out of your mouth and keep it.
constituted and ordained the Holy Inquisition, announcing that all the Bring it to us, and we'll give you the cloth, and even more if you want
Jews who were in their kingdoms should be baptized and become it' .... So when the accursed old woman went on another day to receive
Christians, or else leave them within a certain period. Many Jews, [holy] communion, she found a way to bring the most holy sacrament
damned with evil hearts, gathered in France, looking for a way in to the Jews, who took it and kept it to do spells with it .... And they
which they could revenge themselves on the Christians .... It was paid the diabolical old woman what they had promised, and much
revealed to them by diabolical revelation, or by the advice of some more, so that she would keep all this secret.
Jewish sage, or rather sorcerer ... that, taking the heart of an innocent Having now searched for what they wanted to make their spell, the
boy, without sin, and the most Holy Sacrament of the altar, all burnt heretics [Jews or conversos] burnt to dust both the pig's heart, which
and reduced to dust, and thrown into the water which the Christians they thought was a boy's, and the most Holy Sacrament, and went and
would drink, as soon as they drank it they would go mad and die. And threw [the result] into the passing river, to infect or bewitch all the
in this way they would be revenged. water or waters which the Christian people used for drinking, so that
[To obtain the heart, the Jews supposedly suborned a poor French nobleman, when they drank it they would all die .... These Jews, or some of them,
with many children and little with which to support them, promising him or some of their descendants, having returned to Castile, and being
great wealth if he would give them the heart of one of his sons. The now Christians at least in name, sought to return to and finish their
nobleman's wife persuaded him to counter with a trick.] evil deed .. . They looked through Castile for a suitable place, one
The woman, being astute, and also because women, as may be seen by which in location and appearance resembled Jerusalem, and it seems
experience, or by their nature, are accustomed to giving very clear and that they found no place more suited to their purpose than this town
useful advice, replied, almost without need for thought, 'Sir, do not of La Guardia. And for this purpose there was, it seems, in Avila or in
I 12 JEWS IN WESTERN EUROPE JEWS IN SOCIETY llS

the area of Avila, a Jewish rabbi, a great scholar, or rather a great holy sacrament. He found an opportunity to do so because the priest
sorcerer, to whom went these bad Christians and heretics, called the happened to leave [ the consecrated hosts] on the altar, or else give
Francos [Franks], who were four brothers or relatives and other them to the sacristan to keep, and thus he must have taken the keys of
companions, eleven in all, and with them an accountant [contadorJ of the tabernacle in order to steal it. And having stolen it, he took it home
the Order of Saint John of Jerusalem, a citizen ofTembleque, a person and gave it to the aforesaid Jews. And [ in return] they gave him a
of great style and authority, who was to be the Pilate who gave the Courtrai hood, suborned, which had cost thirty [ silver] reales, the
sentence like a robber .... same as the thirty pieces for which Christ was sold by Judas.
These Francos were citizens and dwellers in this town of La Guardia, Havmg. now got all that they wanted, that is, the most holy sacrament-
with their wives and children and property, and their businesses: they and the heart of an innocent boy, sinless like Christ and called1
were carters. And, going to Toledo and back, they succeeded in finding Christopher, representing Our Lord also in his name, they sent one of
or hearing of a blind woman who had a little son aged about seven or their number, believed to be the aforesaid Benito Garcfa de las
eight, called Christopher [Christovalico: 'little Christopher']. And Mesuras, or one of the Francos, with all this to Avila or thereabouts
they found a trick and way to get hold of the child with gifts, giving to take counsel as to how they were ·to do and achieve [ their aim]:
him some red booties. And the child, in his innocence, went off with because, as has already been said, there was a learned Jew [ there] to
them, because he liked what they gave him. And in this way they stole do it and give advice about it .... This Jew, who was carrying the two
the son from the poor blind woman, his mother .. . For certain, it is an relics, that is to say, the most holy sacrament and the heart of the holy
amazing thing and it moves hearts to tears of compassion to see how child, staying as he did in the lodging-house or inn, the first thing he
far they took the child, giving him blows with the cross on his back, did was to go and pray in the Cathedral, and he carried the most holy
and [this cross] so thick and solid as it must have been, and such a sacrament between the pages of a book of hours, and the heart he left
bitter thing when it is known that he received, on account of the in safe-keeping in the lodging-house, wrapped in some cloths and
accursed Jews, 6200 strokes .... And they gave him a thousand strokes locked in a knapsack. Once there, and saying his prayers as he was, this
more than they gave Christ, as was discovered from the confession of bad Christian opened his book of hours and, kneeling low on his knees,
the aforesaid Jews. with his hands together, and beating his breast like the most devoted
The poor blind woman, mother of this holy child martyr ... had never and Catholic man in the world, he noticed a man come in and kneel
seen light. And at the moment when her son died, at that very point, behind him. And while [ the Jew was praying, this [ other] man saw,
she received her sight ... The aforesaid Jews, after they had crucified coming out of the book of hours with which this Jew was pretending
the child and extracted his heart, went to bury him deeply, almost a to pray, things like flames, now green, now yellow, now various
quarter of a league from the spot, close by a hermitage called Our Lady colours. The man, seeing that this was not natural, thought and
of Pera, doing all this very secretly at night, so as not to be noticed. believed with certainty that the Jew was in fact a very holy man. And
After they had buried and laid to rest the body of the holy child, the [ the Christian] kept his eye on [ the Jew], so that he did not let him
aforesaid heretics decided to look for a way of getting hold of the most out of his sight, following him to his lodgings, where he entered,
holy sacrament, as they did for the first time in France. And for this though the Jew was unaware of his presence. Having seen that [ the
they dared to speak to one Juan de G6mez, who was a citizen of the Jew] was safely back in his lodgings, [the Christian] could do no
aforesaid town of La Guardia [and] who today has a brother in the other than run and tell the fathers of the Holy Inquisition, not with the
aforesaid town. This Juan de G6mez was, at the time, the sacristan of thought that any harm would come to [the Jew] from it, but believing
the church in the aforesaid town, and they asked him if he would give with certainty that he must be some holy man. And the Lord permitted
them the most holy sacrament of the altar, [saying that] they would it to be thus, that those accursed ones should not carry out their plan,
give him a hood [in return]. This sacristan, looking to his own but rather should pay for their evil magic.
interest and [behaving] like a bad Christian, and no less a heretic and When [ the Christian] told the fathers of the Holy Inquisition, they
Jew than the others, found a way, with all cunning, to steal the most asked the man whether what he told them was true. He replied, 'Yes,

I
114 JEWS rN WESTERN EUROPE JEWS IN SOCIETY 115

without any mistake, I saw a thousand splendours coming from him, not a bone, nor the shoes or hose with which he was buried. Neither
and now he is staying in such and such a place'. The reverend fathers was anything found except the empty tomb of the size in which they
of the Holy Inquisition said to him, 'Well, take us there'. And the had made it, and no more. This was a mysterious thing, that nothing
aforesaid man took them: and having been taken there they went in. of that holy child has ever appeared up to today, not even the heart
And when they went in, the Jew's tongue was loosened straight away which the Jew took to Avila, which went wrapped in some very
and when they began asking him questions, he began to give way, and bloodstained cloths. Only the cloths were found, but without any
confess the whole business from beginning to end, without their blood. And thus it may be piously believed that Our Lord mysteriousI,Y
needing to torture him at all [sic]. Having confessed [himself] he said wished that nothing of ( the child] should remain or appear, but th\t
who all the others were who entered into this monopoly and business, he should go in bone and flesh to enjoy His holy glory in paradise. Iii
and when [the inquisitors] knew of their evil and heresy, they put him addition to the above, it happened that, at this time, many sows which
under strict guard. And they then came to La Guardia and gave orders entered those caves or chambers [near La Guardia] died.
that, when [the conspirators] were at mass on a festival (since, When the identity of the holy, innocent child had been discovered,
pretending to be very holy and good Christians, they never missed they went to Toledo to look for his mother, and they found her, able
mass or vespers, and did everything required of good Christians, to see. And she described how she had lost her son at that time and on
although it was all false), the justices should come in, shut the doors that day, and how she was blind from birth, and on that day she had
[of the church] and arrest the others. In the end, none of them escaped been able to see, and she did not know how it had happened. And [the
arrest, either there or in their houses. And they were taken under close inquisitors] found it to be true that, at the same day and hour that the
guard to Avila. And they were all kept separately, as is the custom ~f holy child had expired, she had recovered her sight. And in this she
the Holy Inquisition, in order to know the truth and take their represented Longinus, who lived with the blood and water from the
statements and confessions. side of Our Lord [ having pierced it with a lance], in the same way this
And it is certain that for seven or eight months, they did not know that woman with the martyrdom and death of her son.
the one who had taken the heart and the most holy sacrament was in When, as has been said, the aforementioned Jews were imprisoned by
prison. And during all this time, [the inquisitors] never discovered the Holy Inquisition, a trial was undertaken against each one of them.
anything from the questions they asked them or the tortures they gave And they were given their sentences, according to the penalty that
them. And so that none of them would confess the truth, one of them they deserved for having done and committed so great an offence and
sang very loudly a song for the others to hear, which went, 'Hold on cruelty, for which reason the trials were later moved and split, because
to the branch, little girl, you'll see, hold on to the branch and you won't the Avila Inquisition moved to Toledo, and the scribes and secretaries
die', and another song which went, 'Little castle, be strong for me, and moved too, some to Valladolid and others to Granada. For this reason,
I'll not be afraid of death'. Being all this time in the state of not having it is believed that the [records of] the trials are split up, but not lost.
confessed, it happened [sic] that they found out about the one who had And because it was right and just that the gentlemen [setlores] who
been arrested first, whom they had not known or believed to be there, rule the council of the aforementioned town of La Guardia should have
and when they saw him they thought it was impossible that he had not a document or memorial of how it all happened, because there was
confessed the truth. And when they confessed they were sentenced to good reason that those living, and their sons, grandsons and descend-
the fire. Four of them, because they did not believe [in Christ], were ants, should know of this most certain cruelty, they decided to appeal
tortured and burnt alive. The others, who asked for mercy, were to the very reverend lord, Don Alonso de Fonseca, formerly arch-
suffocated and then burnt. bishop ofToledo, to whom the aforesaid town of La Guardia belonged,
And, before they were judged, one of them (it was said to be Juan in the year I 533, that he should have a copy made for them in public
Franco) was taken to show [the inquisitors] the place where they had form. He attempted to do so in Granada, and was told that it could not
buried the innocent child, and they dug in the place where he was be done, because it would cause confusion and passion among the
buried. And until today his body has never been found, nothing of his, inhabitants of the aforesaid town of La Guardia, and to avoid passions
116 JEWS IN WESTERN EUROPE

[sic] with some descendants of Jews, of whom there are many today,
I
in the aforesaid town. Thus, as he was unable to obtain the aforemen-
tioned trials, of which there were eleven, one for each individual, a
certain Rodrigo de Campuzano, citizen and native of this aforesaid
V: Jews in the Reformation
town of La Guardia, made a search for the said trials, and he was told
that he would find what he was looking for in the house of a certain This may well appear to· many to be the most conventional and least
scribe in Valladolid. And when he went there and searched diligently, unexpected section of the present work, in that there is generally an
he found the trial which was undertaken against Benito Garcia unconsci~us or else admi~ted as~u"!ptio~ that, as the Reformati(!n changed fl
Cardador, or De las Mesuras. And, as I said, he was the one who put many things for Europe s Chnstzans, zt must therefore have had a simiui-
the crown of thorns on the holy innocent child. When the aforesaid ejfect on Jews. As a prelude to the all too familiar works of Martin Luther
Rodrigo de Campuzano, who was present, saw this trial, he urgently on the sub.feet ofthe Jews, which, like those ofJean Calvin, were all based on
requested the scribe to give him a copy of it, [for which] he would be the assumption that the only proper and logical thingfor a Jew to do was to
well paid. And thus the scribe, seeing the good desire of the said convert to Christianity, some documents are included which refer to the career
Rodrigo de Campuzano, had a copy made. He gave it to him and and work of the German Hebraist Johann Reuchlin. Erasmus' defence of
[Rodrigo] brought it back to this town. Reuchlin as a scholar is counterbalanced by the latter's own assessment efhis
work and its purpose, which seem to be firmly rooted in the Christian
teachings and attitudes of previous centuries. It is clear that, even in the
Christian Renaissance, the accurate study of the Hebrew scriptures was still
regarded with suspicion, even by apparently 'enlightened' scholars. More
interesting, perhaps, are Reuchlin's comments on the mystical Jewish
Kabba/ah, which turn late medieval Christian approaches to rabbinical
Judaism in another direction, towards works which had previously hardly
been considered by Christian scholars. Reuchlin 's work was condemned by
Christian intellectuals at the time, but the notion of Christian Hebraism was
to survive through the period of the Reformation and beyond. As was
indicated in chapter I [for example in document 7] the Counter-Reformation
brought no positive change in Catholic attitudes towards Jews.

40. A Christian Hebraist: Johann Reuchlin

(a) Praise of the German scholar's work of Biblical translation in a prayer by

the humanist Desiderius Erasmus of Rotterdam
[From 'Apotheosis of that incomparable worthy, John Reuchlin', in The
Collcquies of Erasmus; in Latin, trans. C. R. Thompson, Chicago, 1965, p. 86]
0 God, thou lover of mankind, who through thy chosen servant John
Reuchlin has renewed to the world the gift of tongues, by which thou
didst once from heaven, through thy Holy Spirit, instruct the apostles
for the preaching of the gospel, grant that all men everywhere may
preach in every tongue the glory of thy son Jesus. Confound the
tongues of false apostles who band themselves [together] to build an
impious tower for Babel, attempting to obscure thy glory whilst
118 JEWS IN WESTERN EUROPE JEWS AND THE REFORMATION 119

minded to exalt their own; since to thee alone, with Jesus thy Son our of a supposed conversation in Frankfurt-am-Main, between a Jew named
Lord, and the Holy Spirit, belongs all glory for ever and ever. Amen. Simon, with knowledge of the science of the Kabbalah, and two visitors, one
a representative of Greek philosophy, a 'Pythagorean' called Philolaus, and
(b) Erasmus urges Reuchlin's scholarly cause in a letter, written in 1515 to
Cardinal Riario at the Papal Curia in Rome. the other a Muslim called Marranus (ironically, perhaps, the name used in
Spain for supposedly false converts from Judaism to Christianity, which was
[From Collected works of Erasmus, vol. s, Toronto, 1976, letter SSS, pp. 90-1; marrano); in this extract Simon expounds the nature and importance of the
in Latin] Kabbalah.
One thing I had almost forgotten. I beg and beseech you earnestly, in
the name of those humane studies of which your Eminence has always
[ in Latin,_trans. Mar~in and Sarah Goodman, New York, 1983, p. 61]
lnfo~mat1on transmitted from the senses to the intellect is acquired by
i
been an outstanding patron, that that excellent man Doctor Johann
Reuchlin should find you fair-minded and friendly in his business. At persistent study and careful reasoning, but what is transferred from
one stroke you will render a great service to literature and all literary the intellect to the mind, to the light of the mind, takes on the
men, for the greater their learning the greater their enthusiasm for character of the divine; there is no human form with which to clothe
him. He has all Germany in his debt, where he was the first to awake it. No thoughts are more profound than these . .. my friends, in regard
the study of Greek and Hebrew. He is a man with an exceptional !or ~o_u, I ha~e, t~rough our studies together, imposed on you an awe-
knowledge of the languages, accomplished in many subjects, eminent mspmng obhgat1on. From remarks I have made in passing, you will
and well-known throughout Christendom for his public works ... The see that Kabbalah is a study heaven-bestowed and of the utmost
time had come when for his part he deserved to enjoy at his time oflife imp~rtance to man. Without it none can achieve something as elusive,
a pleasant harvest from his honourable exertions, and we on our part as d1fficu_lt, as the apprehension of the divine. For it is certainly not
looked to see him bring out the results of so many years' work for the matter given to the proofs of mere mortal reasoning, empty-worded
common good. And so it seems outrageous to all men of good feeling, t~orny arguments, man's syllogisms: the subject matter is divine; so
not Germans only but English and French as well, to whom he is well big, so great, so infinite is it that in one generation even the tireless
known through his letters, that a man of such distinction and such work of one man could not master it - even if our lifespan stretched
outstanding gifts should be persecuted with such unpleasant litiga- to many generations - since we are obviously living in this mud and
tion ... Believe me, whoever restores Johann Reuchlin to the arts and clay of_the thick lump that is a living body, and we use the bodily
letters will win countless men's grateful devotion. sen~es m all we take on. The Hebrew sages say: 'Explain the power
behmd ~he work of Creation - impossible' . . . Metaphysics makes use of
(c) Reuchlin's own purpose towards the Jews and in his study of Hebrew and the conJectures of the natural sciences. Every higher science rightly
the Kabbalah takes for granted the conclusions of the more basic forms of knowledge
[From Johann Reuchlins Briefwechse~ ed. L. Geiger, Stuttgart, 1875, letter 215, and ~akes no attempt to demonstrate what is already proved.
p. 245; in Latin, translated in Lloyd Jones' introduction to Reuchlin's On the Assertions are unreservedly trusted, otherwise no man could in one
art of the Kabbalah, p. 15] li~et!m~ fully i~v~stigate the smallest chain of reasoning in any one
I have suffered innocently for many years because of my very great d1sc1phne. lfth1s 1s what happens in human sciences, where men accept
wish to strengthen the orthodox [Catholic] faith and my most ardent cheap, mechanical tradesmen's stuff by word of mouth, and trust those
desire to enlarge the Catholic Church, because I felt that those who they think are good on one subject alone, then are we to despise the
were outside the faith, the Jews, [Orthodox] Greeks and Saracens tradition ['handing down' - hence 'Kabbalah' in the Hebrew] of these
would not be attracted to us by insults. For I considered it unbecoming holy men, in accepting this knowledge of the divine, where none of us
of the Church to drive them to holy baptism by tyranny or severity. is really able to approach the subject?
(d) From Reuchlin's De arte cabalistica [On the art of the Kabba/ah] dedicated Kabbalah is a matter of divine revelation handed down to further the
to Pope Leo X and licensed for printing by Thomas Anselm, in a command of co~te?1plation _of the distinct Forms and of God, contemplation
the Emperor Maximilian, issued on 21 August 1516. The book takes the form brmgmg salvation; Kabbalah is the receiving of this through symbols.
120 JEWS IN WESTERN EUROPE JEWS AND THE REFORMATION 121

(e) Reuchlin's own defence of his Hebrew grammar and dictionary, De believe that Christ was a Jew born of a virgin, that I might perhaps
rudimmtis hebraicis, Pforzheim, 1506, reprinted 1974 also win some Jews to the Christian faith. Our fools, the popes,
[Reproduced in the introduction by Gareth Lloyd Jones to Johann Reuchlin, bishops, sophists [scholastic theologians], and monks - the crude
On the art ofthe Kabba/ah, trans. Martin and Sarah Goodman, New York, J 98S, asses' heads - have hitherto so treated the Jews that anyone who
p. IS] wished to become a good Christian would almost have had to become
I believe that [Christian] enemies will oppose our dictionary, in which a Jew. If I had been a Jew and had seen such dolts and blockheads
the interpretations of many are frequently criticized. What a crime!', govern and teach the Christian faith, I would sooner have become a
they will exclaim. 'Nothing is more unworthy of the memory of the hog than a Christian. '
[Church] fathers, no crime more cruel, than the attempt made by that They have dealt with the Jews as if they were dogs rather than human\
most audacious man to overthrow so many and such saintly men who beings; they have done little else but deride them and seize their
were imbued with the Holy Spirit. The Bible of the most blessed property. When they baptize them they show them nothing of
Jerome [the Vulgate] was accepted in the Church, as Pope Gelasius Christian doctrine or life, but only subject them to popishness and
testifies. The venerable father Nicholas ofLyra, the common expositor monkery. When the Jews then see that Judaism has such strong
of the Bible, is considered by all who are faithful to Christ to be the support in Scripture, and that Christianity has become a mere babble
soundest of men. Now a certain puff of smoke has appeared who claims without reliance on Scripture, how can they possibly compose them-
that these have translated erroneously in a great many places.' To such selves and become right good Christians? I have myself heard from
threatening shouts I reply with these few words: 'Allow me what was pious baptized Jews that if they had not in our day heard the gospel
allowed to those famous luminaries'. they would have remained Jews under the cloak of Christianity for the
rest of their days. For they acknowledge that they have never yet
41. Martin Luther on the Jews heard anything about Christ from those who baptized and taught
them.
(a) That Jesus Christ was born a Jew. Luther attempts to refute the accusation,
I hope that if one deals in a kindly way with the Jews and instructs
debated in the Diet of Nuremberg in 1522 and elsewhere in Germany, that he
them carefully from Holy Scripture, many of them will become
rejected the 'virgin birth' of Jesus and regarded Joseph as the Christian
genuine Christians and turn again to the faith of their fathers, the
saviour's natural father. When this text was composed in 152S, Martin Luther
prophets and patriarchs. They will only be frightened further away
was primarily interested in the reform of the Catholic Church and regarded
from it if their Judaism is so utterly rejected that nothing is allowed to
the Papacy as his main enemy.
remain, and they are treated with arrogance and scorn. If the apostles,
[From Luther's works, vol. 45, ed. Walther I. Brandt, Philadelphia, 1962, pp. who were also Jews, had dealt with us Gentiles as we Gentiles deal
199-229; in German]
with the Jews, there would never have been a Christian among the
A new lie about me is being circulated. I am supposed to have preached Gentiles. Since they dealt with us Gentiles in such brotherly fashion,
and written that Mary, the mother of God, was not a virgin either we in turn ought to treat the Jews in a brotherly manner, in order that
before or after the birth of Christ, but that she conceived Christ we might convert some of them. For even we ourselves are not yet all
through Joseph, and had more children after that. Above and beyond very far along [the Christian way], not to speak of having arrived.
all this, I am supposed to have preached a new heresy, namely, that
When we are inclined to boast of our position we should remember
Christ was [through Joseph] the seed of Abraham. How these lies
that we are but Gentiles, while the Jews are of the lineage of Christ.
tickle my good friends the papists!. .. We are aliens and in-laws; they are blood-relatives, cousins and
Since for the sake of others, however, I am compelled to answer these brothers of Our Lord. Therefore, if one is to boast of flesh and blood,
lies, I thought I would also write something useful in addition, so that the Jews are actually nearer to Christ than we are, as St Paul says in
I do not vainly steal the reader's time with such dirty rotten business. Romans 9 [ :5]. God has also demonstrated this by his acts, for to no
Therefore I will cite from Scripture the reasons that move me to nation among the Gentiles has he granted so high an honour as he has
122 JEWS IN WESTERN EUROPE JEWS AND THE REFORMATION

to the Jews. For from among the Gentiles there have been raised up no not have believed that a Christian could be duped by the Jews into
patriarchs, no apostles, no prophets, indeed very few Christians either. taking their exile and wretchedness upon himself. However, the devil
And although the gospel has been proclaimed to all the world, yet He is the god of the world, and wherever God's word is absent he has an
committed the Holy Scriptures, that is the Law and the prophets, to no easy task, not only with the weak but also with the strong. May God
nation except the Jews .... help us. Amen ....
If the Jews should take offence because we confess our Jesus to be a [pp. 137, 139] It is not my purpose to quarrel with the Jews, nor to
man, and yet true God, we will deal forcefully with that from Scripture learn from them how they interpret or understand Scripture; I know,
in due time. But this is too harsh for a beginning. Let them first be all of that very well already. Much less do I propose to convert th
suckled with milk and begin by recognizing this man Jesus as the true Jews, for that is impossible ... In short, .. . do not engage much in
Messiah; after that they may drink wine, and learn also that he is true debate with Jews about the articles of our faith. From their youth they
God. For they have been led astray so long and so far that one must have been so nurtured with venom and rancour against our Lord that
deal gently with them, as people who have been all too strongly there is no hope until they reach the point where their misery finally
indoctrinated to believe that God cannot be man. makes them pliable and they are forced to confess that the Messiah has
Therefore, I would request and advise that one deal gently with them come, and that he is our Jesus.
and instruct them from Scripture; then some of them may come along. (p. 14-0] ... In comparison with them, and in their eyes, we Gentiles
Instead of this we are trying only to drive them by force, slandering [Goyim] are not human; in fact we hardly deserve to be considered
them, accusing them of having Christian blood if they don't stink [sic], poor worms by them. For we are not of that high and noble blood,
and l know not what other foolishness. So long as we treat them thus lineage, birth and descent. This is their argument, and indeed I think
like dogs, how can we expect to work any good among them? Again, it is the greatest and strongest reason for their pride and boasting.
when we forbid them to labour and do business and have any human Therefore God has to endure that in their synagogues, their prayers,
fellowship with us, thereby forcing them into usury, how is that songs, doctrines and their whole life, they come and stand before him
supposed to do them any good? and plague him grievously (if l may speak of God in such a human
lfwe really want to help them, we must be guided in our dealings with fashion).
them not by papal law but by the law of Christian love. We must [p. 290] Neither Jew nor devil will in any way be able to prove that
receive them cordially, and permit them to trade and work with us, our belief that the one eternal Godhead is composed of three persons
that they may have occasion and opportunity to associate with us, hear implies that we believe in more than one God. If the Jews maintain
our Christian teaching, and witness our Christian life. If some of them that they cannot understand how three persons can be one god, why
should prove stiff-necked, what of it? After all, we ourselves are not all then must their blasphemous, accursed, lying mouth deny, condemn
good Christians either. and curse what it does not understand? ....
(b) On tlu Jews and tluir lies-. Luther's later view of the Jews, from the year [p. 292] I wish and I ask that our rulers who have Jewish subjects
1545 exercise a sharp mercy towards these wretched people, as suggested
[From: Lutlur's worlcs, vol. 47, ed. Franklin Sherman, Philadelphia, 1971, pp. above, to see whether this might not help (though this is doubtful).
1S7-S06; in German] They must act like a good physician who, when gangrene has set in,
[p. 137] l had made up my mind to write no more either about the proceeds without mercy to cut, saw and burn flesh, veins, bone and
Jews or against them. But since I learned that these miserable and marrow. Such a procedure must also be followed in this instance. Burn
accursed people do not cease to lure to themselves even us, that is the down their synagogues, forbid all that I enumerated earlier, force them
Christians, l have published this little book, so that l might be found to work and deal harshly with them, as Moses did in the wilderness,
among those who opposed such poisonous activities of the Jews and slaying three thousand lest the whole people perish. They surely do
who warned the Christians to be on their guard against them. I would not know what they are doing; moreover, as people possessed, they do

L
12+ JEWS IN WESTERN EUROPE JEWS AND THE REFORMATION 125

not wish to know it, hear it or learn it. Therefore it would be wrong emphasise how far we [ Christians] surpass the Jews; for, when
to be merciful and confirm them in their conduct. If this does not help speaking to his disciples, 'Blessed', he said, 'are the eyes which see what
we must drive them out like mad dogs, so that we do not become you see, and the ears which hear what you hear. Many kings and
partakers of their abominable blasphemy and all the other vices and prophets desired this and did not obtain it' [ Matthew lS:16-17; Luke
thus merit God's wrath and be damned with them. I have done my 10: 2S-24J.
duty. Now let everyone see to his. I am exonerated.
(b) God's promise to the Jews
42. Jean Calvin on the Jews [ Chapter 6, pp. I I 2-1 S] ,

Text on the Jews composed in 1560 Now God has willed that the Jews should be filled with sue~
prophecies in order to accustom them to direct their eyes to Jesus
[From: Jean Calvin, Institution de la Religion Chrestienne, ed. Jean-Daniel
Benoit, Paris, 1957, book 2; in French] Christ, provided and inasmuch as they had to ask to be saved. And in
fact, however much they have been wickedly bastardized, it has not
(a) The Law and the prophets superseded by Christianity been possible for the memory of this principle to be abolished: that is,
[Chapter 9, pp. 189-90] that God, according to his promise to [ King] David, would be the
Since God did not institute in former times the sacrifices and redeemer of his church by the hand of Jesus Christ. And that by this
purgations [of the Jewish Law] in order to give a frustrating witness means, the free covenant, by which God had adopted his chosen ones,
to the Jews, since he was their Father, [and] seeing that he did not would be firm. It was because of this that it came about that, at Christ's
dedicate them to Himself in vain as a Chosen people, there is no doubt entry into Jerusalem shortly before his death, this song rang out as a
that He made Himself known to them in the same image in which He commonplace in the mouths of the little children: 'Hosannah to the
appears to us today with full clarity. Because [the prophet] Malachi, Son of David!' [ Matthew 21:9] . For there is no doubt at all that this
after having urged the Jews to pay attention to the Law of Moses, and chant] was not taken from what was generally received among the
to follow it constantly (because straight after [Malachi's] death there whole peop~e, and that they did not sing it every day. That is to say,
was to be an interruption in the course of the prophecies), he says that ther~ remamed to them no other pledge of God's mercy than the
if they do not fail at all in this, the Sun of Righteousness will be sent commg of the Redeemer. For this reason, Christ commands his
to them, and will rise soon [Malachi 4:2]. By this he indicates that the disciples to believe in him, so that they may believe distinctly and
usage o_f the [Mosaic] Law was intended to support them in waiting perfectly in God [ John 14:I .. .. Now, however much the Scribes of
for Christ, whose coming was imminent. However, greater clarity was the Jewish Law] may have, by their false commentaries, blurred and
to be expected from Him. For this reason, Saint Peter says that the obscured everything that the Prophets had taught concerning the
prophets searched carefully for and made enquiry after the salvation Red~emer, Jesus Christ took this article of faith_: to be agreed and
which is today shown to us in the Gospel; and that it was revealed to received by common consent: that is, that there was no other remedy
them that they were not working so much for themselves and their age for the confusion into which the Jews had fallen, nor any other means
as for us, when they administered the secrets which are today of delivering the Church, than that the promised redeemer should
announced to us by the Gospel [l Peter 1:10-12]. Not that their come first. What Saint Paul teaches has not been as well understood
teaching was without use to the ancient people [of the Jews], nor did among the people as it was required to be, that is to say that Jesus
they fail to profit from it themselves, but they heard nothing of the Christ is the completion of the [Jewish] Law [Romans 10:4].
treasure [Christ], whom God sent us by their hand. For in our day, (c) That the Law was given, not to restrict the Ancient People [ the Jews] to
the grace of which they were [once] witnesses has been sent specially themselves, but to nourish the hope of salvation that it was to have in Jesus
to us, before their very eyes, and whereas they had a small taste of it, Christ, until he came
we have it in much greater abundance. Even though Christ says that [ title of Chapter 7, p. 115]
he was witnessed to by Moses [John 5 :46] , he does not cease to
From all the discourse that we have made, it is easy to gather that the
126 JEWS rN WESTERN EUROPE

Law was not given, about four hundred years after the death of
Abraham, in order to distance the chosen people from Jesus Christ, but
rather to keep their spirits in suspense until his advent, and to incite
them to an ardent desire for that coming, also to confirm them during
VI: Jews in European culture
the wait, so that they should not weaken because of the length of time.
Now, by this term 'the Law', I do not only understand the ten If earlier sections of this book appear to have been put together at random
commandments, which show us the rule of living justly and in a holy (even though they have not), this must particularly seem to be the case when
manner, but the [ whole] form of religion as God announced it by the it comes to the matter ofJewish culture. In some circles, it is still a matter I,(
hand of Moses. For Moses was not given as a Law-maker in order to dispute whether there is such a thing as Jewish culture at all. The question iJ
abolish the blessing promised to Abraham's race; rather, we see that in whether Jewish intellectual and cultural activity in a non-Jewish context may
various places [ ~a et la] he recalls the Israelites to this free covenant, be included under such a heading.
that God had established with their fathers and of which they were This chapter has been compiled on the basis that it can. Thus extracts from
heirs, as if he had been sent to renew it. Which has been amply the authentic Jewish preaching of the pen·od, in Spain and Italy, are set
demonstrated by the ceremonies [ of the Law]. For there would be afungside papal attempts to protect,for reasons described in the relevant texts,
nothing more stupid and frivolous than to offer the fat and stinking the continuance of rabbinical scholarship in early sixteenth-century Italy.
smoke of the entrails of animals in order to be reconciled with God, or Apart from one case of a Jewish alchemist in Germany, the rest of the
to have as one's refuge some pouring out of blood or water in order to documents in this chapter originated in Italy. They show everyday interaction
clean the stains of the soul. In short, if all the service which there has between Jews and Christians (and, in the case of document 48, Spanish
been under the Law is considered for its own sake, as ifit contained no converts from Judaism as wellj, in such disparate areas as the disposal of
shadows or figures which had their corresponding [Christian] truths, Christian art-works in a house newly owned by Jews, and Jewish contribu-
it will seem that it is a game for little children. tions to the famous Roman Carnival. The chapter concludes with extracts
from the autobiography of Leon Modena, one of the greatest of all Italian
Jewish scholars, who, though hardly, in one sense, a 'typical' individual
himself, nonetheless succeeds in conveying an extraordinary number of vivid
impressions ofthe good and badfeatures ofJewish lift in Italy at the end of
the sixteenth century.
In view of the history of Jewish residence in a van·ety of western European
countries, it was inevitable that Jews would acquire a wide range oflinguistic
skills. Nonetheless, it is undeniable that there was a tendency far Jewish
communities to take on the cultural characteristics of the countries in which
they lived. This was particularly true ofthe Iberian [Spanish and Portuguese,
or 'Sephardic] Jews who took their languages into exile after 1492 and
149 7 respectively, thus creating what is today known as Ladino, and northern
European ['Ashkenazi] Jews who gave the world the Yiddish language,
based on medieval German. The scene was thus set for the development of
Jewish lift in western, as well as central and eastern Europe in the years efter
1600.
128 JEWS IN WESTERN EUROPE JEWS AND CULTURE 129

48. Jewish preaching: Spain and Italy commandments. They have not attempted to fill our need or to exalt
the image of our Torah to our own people by regaling them with gems
[From Marc Saperstein, Jewish preaching, 1200-1800. An anthology, New
Haven and London, 1989, English translation from Hebrew]
from its narratives and laws.

(a) A late-fifteenth century comparison of Jewish and Christian preaching in (b) A sermon by Joseph ibn Shem Tob, preached in Segovia on the third
Spain, by Isaac Arama, in his introduction to Agudat Yitzha/c, in Saperstein, pp. sabbath after Passover 1452.
392-8. [ From Saperstein, pp. 169-71, t 79; in Hebrew]
These Jews among whom I lived [in Tarragona] loved God's Torah In the year 5212 [1452] of the world's creation, when Prince Henr.}\
deeply. They desired nothing so much as to listen to its words with [later Henry IV of Castile], may God bless him, had come to the cities';
exegetical and homiletical commentary, to understand interpretations of Andalusia, the community of Segovia sent to him two distinguished
both ancient and new, to search for reasonable explanations of Jews. Their mission concerned those who had risen against them and
problematic passages. This is what they looked forward to day and spread evil libels on the day of the hanging of their messiah [ Good
night, on each festival and Sabbath. Friday] in order to plunder and despoil. He commanded me to go to
the people giving me letters to the governor [ of the castle] and the
I set myself to satisfy this desire from the works of the great masters
of the past, who have illumined our path with their interpretations. But I leaders of the city and a document of good faith for the Jewish
community, bringing them solace and reassurance.
was unable to fill the needs of the people as expressed to me by their
questions. For our Jews are an intellectual people [am binot], and they I arrived in [ Segovia] on Friday, exhausted from the long journey. I
dwell in the midst ofanother people with profound and articulate speakers was also emotionally wrought up. I stood trembling and berated the
everywhere: the refined people of Edom. In every city, their scholars nobles and city notables for not having intervened against their
master all branches ofknowledge, their priests and princes stand at the enemies [and ours]. Early the next morning, the entire [ Jewish
fore in philosophy, integrating it with their theological doctrine. They community] gathered in the Great Synagogue. After the reading of
have written many books, on the basis of which biblical texts are the Torah, I stood up and began to speak. This is what I said: 'All is
expounded before large congregations. Each day their preachers give foreseen, and free will is given· [Abot S: 15, a Talmudic text]. ..
important insights into their religion and faith, thereby sustaining it. [ Rabbi Aqiba] compares the status of rebels and sinners, or indeed of
For some time now, calls have gone out far and wide, summoning the society as a whole, to a pharmacy and its owner. There in his
people to hear their learned discourses. They have fulfilled their pharmacy, he mixes from various kinds of powder the simple and
promise. Among those who came were Jews. They heard the preachers complex drugs, including poisons and antidotes. All can be cured
and found them impressive; their appetites were whetted for similar through his work. The pharmacist is a good and gentle man,
fare. This is what they say: The Christian scholars and sages raise concerned about the welfare of his city. When people want something,
questions and seek answers in their academies and churches, thereby he gives them what they request, whether it be food or medicines or
adding to the glory of the Torah and the prophets, as do the sages of drugs, but it goes on their account, and they must pay him the true
every people. Why should the divine Torah, with all its narratives and value.
pronouncements, be as a veiled maiden beside the flocks of her friends This pharmacist has considerable power in the city. His net is spread
and her students?' over its inhabitants so that no-one can flee owing him money for what
The Gentiles search enthusiastically for religious and ethical content, has been taken. The store is open day and night, and the inhabitants
using all appropriate hermeneutical techniques, even the thirteen rules of the city can easily obtain whatever they need from it, but the
for interpreting the Torah, including the argument a fortiori and the pharmacist watches carefully to see what everyone decides to take. As
verbal analogy. But our Torah commentators do not employ this a wise man who tries to ensure that he will be paid what is owed him,
method that everyone admires. Their purpose is only to explain the he writes down in his record book all that he gives out. 'The account
grammatical forms of words and the simple meaning of the stories and book is open, and the hand of the scribe is writing' . ...
ISO JEWS IN WESTERN EUROPE JEWS AND CULTURE lSl

Now although this shop contains some dangerous things - including Now making requests of kings and entreating the great nobles, all of
poisons - the drugs are actually extremely beneficial. However, an whom are direct and immediate causes of events, is an appropriate human
ignorant person who does not know their beneficial properties may be endeavour. But it is not a fundamental remedy. The essential, underlying
harmed by them. For example, syrup of anacardium [ oriental cashewJ cause is our transgressions. This will lead to the cure of the disease
can be fatal, yet if properly prepared and administered it can help with itself. Once this is remedied, all else will be, for 'The mind of the king
weakness of mind or forgetfulness. Someone who takes it for pleasure is in the hand of God' [ Proverbs 21 : 1]. In particular, what must be
may hallucinate, but there is no problem when it is used properly. 'All remedied is the abuse of bans of excommunication, acts of informing to
is prepared for the banquet'. the authorities, the eating of forbidden foods and the drinking cf
This marvellous image refers to important issues concerning the Gentile wine, in which matters very many have stumbled. 'Great is thl
equity of God's actions. The 'Judge of the entire world' [ Genesis Lord and full of power' [Psalm 147:5]. He has already seen that our
18:25] has given human beings free will and empowered them to eat people have done evil, and he has permitted them [ the Christians] to
'from all the trees in the garden' [Genesis 2: 16], to make use of all chastise us for our sins. 'All is foreseen, and free will is given.'
things placed in this world as they choose. These things are good
(c) Sermon on the relationship between Jewish and non-Jewish scholarship,
when used in the proper place and in proper measure. One might say
preached by Judah Moscato, Mantua, c. 15 85: Sermon for the second day of
that even the impulse towards evil is good, for without it we would not
the feast of Weeks.
be able to have children. This is what Rabbi Meir said in Genesis
Rabbah, 'Dying is good'. [From Saperstein, pp. 255-7, 268-9, in Hebrew]
This passage explains that things thought to be fundamentally evil are Yesterday we began to reveal the great and powerful benefit attainable
actually fundamentally good when properly used. Some are good in no other way than through devotion to the Torah. Let us now pass
because of their effect. An example would be punishments that cleanse to a theoretical investigation of this matter, to be taken as far as the
the soul and turn it in the proper direction. That is what is meant in subject allows, and then supplement it with hidden content of mighty
the statement, 'This is Hell'. And some are good because of what statements from the rabbis and the Bible.
necessarily follows them. An example would be death, which is Reason and logic make it clear to all that nourishment must befit the
necessarily followed by a different mode of being .... nature of that which is to be nourished. Now just as this is true for the
[Finally, Joseph directly refers to the anti-Jewish attacks in Segovia which body and its physical nourishment, so it is true for the rational soul: it
had caused him to go to Andalusia to see the lord of the town, Prince Henry.] is nourished and sustained by that which characteristically pertains to
He is a fool who says that had it not been for that incident [the the intellect alone. But the rational soul is derived from the realm of
crucifixion of Jesus], those murders and conflagrations and forced supernal and eternal beings. Just as they are nourished and sustained
apostasies would never have befallen our sacred communities. Nothing in life with nourishment befitting their nature by the rational apprehen-
prevents God from fabricating new causes and different libels to be sion of their creator, so the rational soul must receive its nourishment
directed against us as justification for the collection of His debt. 'He and life-giving sustenance from this same source. None other will do.
has a basis of support.' Look at the Jewish communities in Islamic As we now search through the various philosophical disciplines, the
lands. Murders and forced apostasies have befallen them without any correctness of my premise will be established. Do you not see that the
libels relating to the death of that man [Jesus]. propaedeutic disciplines cannot possibly serve as nourishment befit-
Instead, we should look into our behaviour, as individuals and as a ting the vital sustenance of the rational soul? Their subject matter
community. This is why these tragedies occur. They are brought by depends entirely on things conceived by the intellect that have no
the collectors who make their rounds each day to collect the debts. reality outside the mind, things that are intellectually abstracted from
The situation can be remedied only by removing the cause. It is a matter, both ontologically and categorically. In this sense they do not
foolish physician who concentrates exclusively on treating the illness really exist. Nor can the natural sciences [ nourish the rational soul],
and its symptoms without removing the underlying cause .... for their subject matter is constantly changing.
182 JEWS IN WESTERN EUROPE JEWS AND CULTURE 188
Nor can that which is called in philosophy 'the divine science', that is,
Proof of this is to be found in children. What is highly esteemed will
metaphysics, for theoretical investigation in this realm is merely wild
always be remembered. Furthermore, the effort itself causes the
speculation and surmise fraught with doubt, as its practitioners
subject to be remembered, as the sages have said, The wisdom I
themselves concede. Further proof of this is the variety of incompat-
acquired in anger [ has remained with me]'.
ible views on basic questions. And even that which they are able to
apprehend through their rational investigation is but 'base silver laid This is why the sages decided to incorporate these precious teachings,
over earthenware' [Proverbs 26:23], for although they acknowledge so beneficial to others, in statements that are obscure in their
the existence of a 'First Cause', they have 'ardent lips with an evil language, knowing that these teachings would remain in the shadow~
mind' [ibid.] in associating the Name of God with something totally until the true wisdom of their words was discovered by the wis1
different, from which, as they assert, everything results by necessity. luminaries among the people. As they plumb the full depth of the
In short, all of the disciplines of human learning are inadequate as sages' teachings, after the effort and toil of their investigation, they
sources of vital sustenance for the rational soul. will love and esteem what they have discovered. These doctrines will
be fully impressed upon their thought, and they will benefit, even if
This is not true of the divine Torah. Its subject matter is the creation this was not their original intent. Others, too, who hear these
of the world, the wondrous works of the One who is perfect in
statements explained by those who have uncovered their true mean-
knowledge: pure intelligible ideas, capable of fully satisfying the
ing, will derive benefit from the joy and pleasure which they feel in
rational soul with appropriate nourishment. Thus the benefit to be
finally understanding after they have been entangled in the realm of
derived from the Torah, great and powerful, is unattainable from any
allegory and enigma.
other source. This is the meaning of the verse, 'For man does not live
by bread alone, but by all that issues from the mouth of the Lord' In summary, we have found that disciplines other than the divine
[Deuteronomy 8:3]. As the human being is composed of body and Torah cannot adequately measure or define that which pertains either
soul, there must be a special kind of nourishment for each part. Bread, to the intellect or to the realm of action. God's Torah, which is perfect,
composed of the [physical] elements, befits the body, which is also can do both. These are the wings which enable us to ascend to the
composed of them. But 'that which issues from the mouth of the Lord' heights of heaven and find shelter under the wings of the One who is
befits the rational part, for God has made one correspond to the other to be blessed, praised and glorified for his bounteous love and goodness.
for our perpetual good .... Let us sing to him in joy, 'How precious is your loving kindness, God!
Human beings take refuge in the shadow of your wings'.
Now you may ask, why did the sages [falmudic rabbis] speak of
ethical and philosophical matters by way of allegories and enigmas ... ? 44. Rabbinical scholarship protected by the pope: Italy, 1519, 1530
After all, the contents of their teachings are not one of the secret
doctrines of the Torah, which we are commanded to conceal. On the (a) Bologna, 1519: the bishop of Ostia, chamberlain to Pope Leo X, grants
contrary, the aggadah includes important principles that should be various privileges to Abraham Cohen, rabbi of the Bologna community, for
engraved on the tablets of our hearts. Why then did they not teach ten years, including a licence to travel without paying duty on his books, and
them explicitly? not having to wear the Jewish badge. Dated at Rome, JO August 1519.
I will answer after noting that the rabbis themselves addressed this [From Simonsohn, Documents: 1464-15~1, no. 1272, pp. 1598-5; in Latin]
issue in several ways. One was, 'When they became weary of technical
Raphael, by the divine mercy bishop of Ostia, cardinal of St George,
legal study, they engaged in words of jest'; another explanation was
chamberlain of our most holy lord the pope and of the Holy Roman
that this was a way of sharpening their minds. However, I will also say
Church, to Master Abraham, formerly Moses, a Spanish Jew, priest
my own piece in answer to this question. The sages, recognising the
[sic] and doctor of the Jewish Law, inhabitant of the city of Bologna,
value and importance of the matters to which they alluded, wanted to
[who is] ignorant of the way of truth and how to keep it.
make a powerful impression. Now it is clear that people hold in
greatest esteem that which they must expend their effort to obtain. Desiring to reduce you to the cult of the Catholic faith, a thing which
 JEWS IN WESTERN EUROPE JEWS AND CULTURE 185

we are sure you will do even more willingly when you have found us have recently made known to us, you unwillingly underwent the
to be so much more well-intentioned towards you and your family's sacrament of baptism while still a boy, and have never believed in the
good, we have heard from you that you have great familiarity and Catholic faith, and have never lived under any other than the Jewish
conversation with great Christian men, scholars of ecclesiastical Law, nor intend to do so, We, being aware that it is fitting for the
matters and of the Christian faith and the law of the Gospel, who Apostolic See, out of its wish to bring the Jews to its bosom by
receive not inconsiderable help in their studies from your learning. As kindness, as they are specially preserved as a witness to the orthodox
a result of this, it happens that you accept their summons, whether in faith, and wishing, in so far as is appropriate for us, to respond
due course or immediately, to various places [under the jurisdiction] favourably to your requests, and being in this way inclined toward<!
of the Holy Roman Church. They make you carry and transport your your supplications, so that you should be troubled as little as possibt\
Hebrew and also your Latin books, not without great expense, above on account of the above by whatever authority, in the terms of these
all in customs dues [gabel/a>J, so that you have acted to appeal to us presents grant you indulgence, by our special command and apostolic
humbly that we may deign to make provision for you in this matter as authority.
is appropriate.
And moreover, since, as we have accepted, you are having printed
We, accepting your supplications in these matters, by order of our certain books concerning the subject of Holy Scripture, we, for the
most holy lord the pope, given to us orally in this matter, and by the common utility of the faithful, give you full and free licence to have
authority of our office as chamberlain, authorise you to go to whatever them printed by those who print books and practise the art of books.
place in the Papal states you are required to visit, in whatever way, And [also decree] that nothing should be inserted by the printers who
with all your books, and especially the Hebrew ones, whether print these same books which goes against the truth of the Catholic
manuscript or printed, for your use, study and exercise, without any faith, under the penalties of a general sentence of excommunication
payment of taxes or duties. Also, by these presents we concede and and the confiscation of the books printed. In particular, we thus forbid
graciously grant, for as long as this our concession may last, that you these books [to be printed] unless they have first been carefully
and your wife, and your children, whether already born or yet to be examined by whatever beloved son of ours may currently be appointed
born, with all your family and household, may, go, be present, dwell, by the master of our sacred palace in Rome.
act and converse, go away or return, absolutely as you please and as
is appropriate for you, without the note and sign of the letter ·o· [the 45. The Jew as alchemist: Germany, 1472
Jewish badge], and without a [Jewish] hat or veils, respectively, for
your wife and household, whether in yellow or any other colour, and Sixtus IV, in an order dated in Rome on 9 June 1472, permits the provost of
St Mary, Flonheim, in the diocese of Mainz, to reconcile, after penance,
similarly with any other badge for male or female Jews which may be
Heinrich Foxe, a priest in the diocese ofTrier, for allowing a Jewish alchemist
ordered in any other place in the apostolic decrees, laws or statutes. to reside in his house. The accusation seems to be concerned more with the
[It is made clear in the rest of the document that such concessions were not supposed circulation of forged coinage than with the alchemy itself
to be extended to other rabbis in the Papal states.] [Simonsohn, The Apostolic See and the Jews: Documents, 1464-1521, pp. 1195-6;
(b) Rome, 1580: Pope Clement VII grants an indulgence to Rabbi Salamon in Latin]
Molcho, a Portuguese Jew who had been forcibly baptised in his youth, to Sixtus, etc. To our beloved son, the provost of the church of Blessed
publish some books concerning Holy Scripture, provided that they were first Mary in Flanheim, in the diocese of Mainz, greetings, etc. The
examined by the master of the papal palace and found to contain nothing Apostolic See, like a merciful mother, readily shows itself to be
contrary to Catholic teaching. Dated at Rome, 20 May J 580. gracious and full of good will towards its sons who, after [having
[From Simonsohn, Documents: I 5'1'1-1598, pp. I 792-S; in Latin] committed] excess, return to it in humility. Thus, there has recently
been made known to us, on behalf of Heinrich Foxe, priest of the
To Rabbi Salamon, a Portuguese Jew, ignorant of the way of truth, [in
diocese of Trier a petition which said that, when he previously moved
the hope] that you will be brought to salvation. Seeing that, as you
to the town of Bornich, in the aforementioned diocese, and had his
186 JEWS IN WESTERN EUROPE JEWS AND CULTURE 187

house and dwelling there, and was conducting himself decently .and because it was and is almost in ruins, in order to repair it and for the
honourably, serving the (ecclesiastical] benefices which he had greater convenience, utility and necessity of himself and of his family,
obtained there, he received into his aforesaid house a Jewish person began to carry out and have carried out certain works and building in
commonly known as the master of the alchemists of Nuremberg, the aforesaid house which is his customary dwelling, situated in Pisa
believing him to be of good life, conversation and fame. And [the Jew] by the chapel of St Margaret, in order to repair the aforesaid ruinous
stayed with him for some time. [The priest] supplied him with house and in order to live in it better and more conveniently.
material goods and other things, but when the said alchemist, who was
Also, the aforesaid Isaac describes and states how, in a certain part 1f
a Jew, was recognised by some other people, this same Heinrich
the aforesaid house, namely in a most vile, rough and abject placf
expelled him from his house. Also, [the petition states] that it is
where people hardly go any more, and which is not used by anyone,
alleged in some quarters that the aforesaid Jew forged false coins in the
there is a painting, or rather an image or picture, of St Christopher,
house of the aforesaid Heinrich, with which he paid this same Heinrich
and in another place in the aforesaid house, that is to say on a pillar in
for the latter's expenses on his behalf and for his lodging. The said
the hall of the first floor of the aforesaid house, another picture and
Heinrich, believing this money to be good and not forged, spent it in
image, also of St Christopher. According to the judgement and advice
the acquisition of necessary goods, though not more than two or three
of the master masons, in order that they may restore and repair the
Rhineland florins [in total].
said building and works, there is need and necessity that these pictures
And since the aforesaid Heinrich, who was ignorant of all the above, and images of St Christopher should be destroyed and removed from
was informed about it, and it was said that this money was forged by that place.
him, together with the aforesaid Jew, and since the aforesaid Heinrich
And in order that, by the removal and destruction of the said pictures,
never offered help, advice, or favour or support to this same Jew, as is
the aforesaid Isaac, because he is a Jew, should not or for a moment
contained in his petition, the aforesaid Heinrich deeply regrets having
come to any harm, danger or injury, and also in order that it should
kept the aforesaid Jew in his house and having lived with him, and
not appear for a moment that the aforesaid Isaac or any of his family
having supplied him with necessaries, and having circulated the
had removed or destroyed the said pictures in abuse and contempt of
aforesaid monies, which he believed to be good.
the Christian faith or of the aforesaid saint, but only by force, need and
[fhe priest asked, in the circumstances, to be absolved of all ecclesiastical necessity, for this reason the aforesaid Isaac requests you, Master
sanctions, and Pope Sixtus granted the petition.]
Vicar, to be pleased to grant and concede to the aforesaid Isaac and to
any master mason he may call upon, that they may be able to remove
46. The Jew, religion and art: Italy, 1491
and destroy the said pictures of Saint Christopher, properly and with
The bishop of Pisa's deputy has to deal with a case in which one of the city's impunity and without any harm, trouble, danger or expense to
Jews, Isaac di Vitale, found pictures of St Christopher in his house. themselves. And the aforesaid Isaac outlines and demands the above in
[From 'Ebrei, Chiesa locale, "Principe" e Popolo: due episodi di distruzione di the best way that he possibly can, always recommending himself to
immagini sacre alla fine de! Quattrocento', in Michele Luzzati, La casa your Reverence.
dell'Ebrto. Saggi sugli Ebrei a Pisa t in Toscana nel Medioevo e nel Rinascimento, The above petition was displayed and produced before the said Lord Vicar by
Cultura t Storia Pisana, 7, Pisa, 1985, pp. 228-S4; in Italian] the said Isaac on 24 November 1492, in his tenth year ofoffice [indictiont X],
(a) Isaac asks permission to remove the pictures: Pisa, 24 November 1491 in the Pisan style.
Isaac di Vitale, a Jew of Pisa, appears before you, Reverend Father (b) The pictures of the saint are to be inspected
Master Roberto Strozzi, vicar of the Most Reverend lord archbishop Which same lord Roberto, Vicar, having seen and heard the above, and
[sic] of Pisa and your office and court, and reverently describes and wishing to proceed in the matter properly, correctly and legitimately,
states how, some months ago, the said Isaac, having his house, in which committed to, imposed on and commanded the venerable lord
he normally lived, in great disorder and need of major restoration, Bartolomeo de Morrona, canon of Pisa, that he should go in person to
1S8 JEWS IN WESTERN EUROPE JEWS AND CULTURE 1S9

the house of the aforesaid Isaac, and see the place or places where the Isaac, which was shown and produced before him, and having
said pictures and images of the aforesaid Saint Christopher are said to examined the commission which he gave to the said Bartolomeo de
be, and ascertain whether what the aforesaid Isaac described and Morrona, also having examined [the canon's] report, and having seen
narrated was and is true, and whether it is necessary for the said Isaac and considered whatever had to be seen and considered in and
to destroy, obliterate and remove the said pictures in order to carry concerning the above, gave and conceded to the aforesaid Isaac, who
out his [building] works, and that he should report to the aforesaid was present, petitioning and accepting, licence, authority and power to
Vicar and his court, what his own conscience told him should best be destroy and take away and remove the said pictures and images fr9m
done in the above case. the said places, and to do with them whatever he regarded t;is
appropriate for the completion, functioning, repair and perfection fof
(c) A report follows the inspection, both of them on the day the petition was
his aforesaid house, legally and without penalty and without any harm,
presented
danger, prejudice, interest or expense. The aforesaid lord Vicar also
This same Lord Bartolomeo, having been there and come back, declared and affirmed that the said Isaac did not make his petition out
reported in person to the aforesaid lord Vicar and his court, and to me of calumny or in contempt of the Christian faith, but only and for no
Carlo, the notary mentioned below, on the aforesaid 24th day of other reason than his own convenience and the needs of himself and
November, that he went to the said house of the said Isaac and saw the his family, and not for any other cause, and accepted the above and
said house, which was and is in the greatest need of repair, because of granted the petition, as best he could and can do under the law, in the
its age and antiquity. He also reported that he saw the place or places presence of the aforesaid Isaac.
where the images and pictures of St Christopher are, and having
considered the nature of the site of one of the aforesaid images, which 46. Jews and the Roman carnival, 1472
is wretched, and in a vile and wretched state, where no-one ever, or
only rarely, passes or goes, and having seen the other place, that is, the Mandate from Pope Sixtus IV to his officials in the Papal states, requiring
pillar and hall in which is the other image, and having seen the Jews in their jurisdiction to contribute to the cost of the Roman carnival: this
at the request of the Jewish community of Rome.
building and works which the aforesaid Isaac intends to carry out and
have done, he considers it necessary to destroy and remove the said [From Simonsohn, The Apostolic See and the Jews. Documents, 1464-1 521 , no.
948, pp. I ISS-4, dated at Rome, 24 January 1472, in Latin]
images and pictures, otherwise the aforesaid Isaac will not be able to
carry out his said buildings and works, or make improvements. And, To Latino, by the divine mercy bishop of Tusculum, etc. Since the
having also seen that the aforesaid Isaac does not bear in his soul any Jewish community [universitas Hebreorum] in Rome [alma urbe], by
calumny of or contempt for the Christian faith, but rather his own ancient custom and for a number of years has been required to
need, and having seen and considered all the other things which were contribute a certain sum of money towards the expenses of the public
to be seen and considered concerning the above, [Canon Bartolomeo] and competitive games [ the Carnival] which are celebrated every year
reported to the aforesaid lord Vicar and to me, Carlo, the notary in that same city, and since some while ago the lord pope Martin V, of
mentioned below, his opinion concerning the above, which is that it blessed memory, concerned about their poverty, conceded to them by
would be better and more practical to grant a licence to the said Isaac apostolic letter, that they might scatter and distribute that burden
to destroy the said pictures and images of Saint Christopher ... among all the Jews living anywhere in the towns and territories of the
because it is not proper that such figures and images should stand, be Holy Roman Church, according to those letters which were indeed
and remain in the house of Jews, and for that reason, it is better and later confirmed and agreed by the lord pope Paul II, of happy memory,
more practical to give the said Isaac the aforementioned licence than after certain additions had been made to them, which will be more fully
not to do so. detailed below. And, seeing that it has recently been suggested to us
on [these Jews'] behalf that this [ Roman] community should send its
(d) The holy pictures can be effaced in the course of repairs to the Jew's house representatives to the aforementioned provinces, cities and towns, to
This same lord Robert, Vicar, having seen the petition of the aforesaid publish these things, and that they should demand and raise this
14-0 JEWS IN WESTERN EUROPE JEWS AND CULTURE

money from the [Jewish community] in each place, and that you one is over there, and that other one is for the French, and that one is
should distribute and assign [it] in order to cover their [general] for the Romans and the Italians, who are more useless as Jews than the
contributions for the coming year and also the [carnival] games, ones from any other nation. They try to make out they're Gentiles and
which will shortly be held, as well as the rest [of that owed] from don't know their Law. Our Spaniards know more than any of them,
previous years, by those who did not fully pay their apportionments because there are university graduates and rich people among them,
for those years. Also, we understand that, if the other communities and they're really learned. Look at them, they're over there. How does
ceased to pay the aforesaid contributions, this same Roman community it look to you? That woman takes the biscuit. Those two men are grpt
would be unable, by any [new arrangement], to meet the aforesaid friends of ours and I know their wives. They go round Rome sayipg
expense, with [consequent] damage to the people of Rome. prayers for people who are getting married, and fasting [in intercls-
sion] for girls, so that they'll have babies in the first year.
48. Life in the Roman Jewry, c. 1520 Lozana. I could do that better than them, any time, with melted lead.
They're not going to beat me there. The Moors in the Levant taught
A description of the life and activities of the Jewish community in Rome, just
after Martin Luther had pinned up his ninety-five theses and shortly before me how to fool stupid women. I'll make them see wonders, with the
the sack of the city by Imperial troops in I 527. The writer is a Spanish priest, white of an egg, in a glass thing like a clean urinal [used for taking
who recounts a fictional conversation between the Lozana [a name variously medical samples], so that they can get money from other people's
translated as 'lively', 'haughty' or 'lusty'], a Spanish conversa from C6rdoba purses by denouncing robbers.
and the 'heroine' of the work, and her young companion Rampfn, with whom
she had slept the previous night and who was henceforth to be her servant. Rampfn. If only I'd known that when some gloves were stolen from me,
There follows a dialogue between both these characters and a Roman Jew which I had taken from my master as my salary, they'd be yours now,
called Trigo [lit. 'wheat', the most prized form of grain at the time]. He because they were beautiful. His girlfriend dropped a jewel and I found
agrees to try to sell a diamond ring, which Rampln had stolen from his it. You can see it here. He's already spent two ducats on Jews to guess
previous master. In masterly fashion, the Jew beats them down in the matter where it is, and I couldn't bring myself to tell him that I had it.
of profit. The novel is written in dialogue form, like a stage-play.
Lozana. Show it to me. This is a diamond! Let's sell it. I'll say I
[From Francisco Delicado, La Lozana andaluza, ed. Bruno Damiani, Madrid, brought it back from the Middle East.
1982, pp. 83-5; in Spanish]
Chapter Sixteen Rampln. All right. Let's go to that Jew there, who's called Trigo. Can
you see him? He's coming out from there. Let's follow him. He won't
How [the Lozana and Rampfn] go into the Jewish quarter and see the utter a word unless he's heard the word 'gold' first, because [the Jews]
synagogues. regard it as a good omen.
Lozana. It smells good here, they must be getting ready for a party. By Lozana. 'All that glistens is not gold.'
my life, it smells of roast piglet!
Trigo. What are you saying, Genoese lady [ this was the false identity
Rampfn. Can't you see that all these people are Jews? Tomorrow is the adopted at the time by the Spanish woman]? 'The good Jew makes
Sabbath and they're cooking adafina. Look at those braziers with the gold out of straw.' So God can't fail me, because he spoke about gold
cooking-pots above them. too [ e.g. Isaiah 60: I 7: 'Instead of bronze I will bring gold'].
Lozana. Yes, by your life! They're experts at cooking with charcoal. - And you, relative [ addressed to Rampfn], what are you after? Are
There's nothing like food that's been cooked on a charcoal fire in an you coming here with this lady? What does she want? Well, you know
earthenware pot. Tell me, what's that house which all those people are already that everything will be sorted out, because I can see from her
going into? face that she's a bit of all right. Let's go to my house. Come in.
Rampin. Let's go over there and you'll see. This is the synagogue of the - Tina! Tina! Come downstairs and bring a cushion here for this lady
Catalans, and that one down there is for the women. The Germans' - and get something nice ready for her to eat!
1+2 JEWS IN WESTERN EUROPE JEWS AND CULTURE

Lozana. Don't prepare anything, we've already eaten. Lozana. How do you make it five?
Tn"go. Do her some good, as she did to Jacob [apparently a scurrilous Trigo. If you pay me one, you'll only be left with five. That's a J~w·s
reference to the patriarch oflsrael, Jacob son oflsaac; Genesis 25-S5J. profit.
Lozana. Brother [Rampfn], what shall we say to him first? Ramptn. Go on, give it to him. We won't get anywhere with these Jews
Ramptn. Tell him about the stone. if they change their minds.
Lozana. Look here, I'd like to sell this jewel. - Go on, Trigo, take it, and see if you can get any more for it.
'
'
Trigo. The one in your hand? It looks like a good, well-cut diamond. Trigo. I'll do that, for love of you.
Lozana. What might it be worth?
49. The Jew and the Renaissance: Italy, 1571-1600
Tn"go. I'll tell you. If any great Venetian lord was here to take it, we'd
soon do a deal. And you, what price did you pay for it? Leon Modena describes his early years, and reveals many aspects ofJewish life
in Italy during the Renaissance and the Christian Counter-Reformation,
Lozana. Twenty ducats.
[From The autobiography ofa seventeenth-century Venetian rabbi. Leon Modena 's
Trigo. You won't get that much for it, I can tell you. Stay here until 'Lift ofJudah', translated and edited by Mark R. Cohen, Princeton, 1988, pp.
tomorrow and we'll see what we can do for you. It'll be amazing if we 76-8, 79, 80-1, 82, 84-6; in Hebrew]
can find anyone who'll pay ten for it. I received the tradition from my father, my teacher of blessed memory,
Rampfn. Look here, if you can find anyone, let them have it. that our ancestors came from France. In his house there was a family
Trigo. Wait for me here. Have you got anything else in the way of
tree going back more than five hundred years, which had been found
jewellery? among the writings of my grandfather, the teacher [gaon] of blessed
memory ....
Lozana. Not at the moment. [To Rampfn] You see what a conscien-
tious Jew he is? This family has always combined Torah with stature, riches with
honour, and great wealth with charitableness ... He [ Rabbi Aaron, a
Rampfn. Can you see him? He's coming back. relative of Leon] told me that, after they left France, they dwelled for
Trigo. Madam, it's already been looked at and examined. The a long time in Viterbo, and then came to Modena, where they acquired
silversmith will only give six [ducats] for it, and if not, you'll see it property and became fruitful and multiplied. Because they were the
back here, safe and sound, and he won't give any more. Also, he says first to establish a pawnshop there and become wealthy, they took
that you ought to pay me for my trouble and for brokerage. In their name from that city .... The first house they acquired in Modena
addition, he said I should go straight back; if I don't, he won't give a is still in the possession of Moses [ Leon's father], and I have seen it.
farthing for it afterwards. In some places therein is found our crest in marble, the figure of a
Lozana. Let him give seven, and you can pay yourself from that. For leopard standing on its own two hind legs with a palm branch in its
my part, I'll see you all right [in the context, this probably means paw. Moses told me that [the crest] has been in our family for more
sexual services]. than five hundred years. He also has in his possession, in writing, the
privileges of all those who ruled Modena - popes, emperors, dukes and
Tn"go. That way, it'll cost eight. the like - who confirmed [ the crest].
Lozana. How's that? Apparently, in the days of Isaac, the grandfather of my revered father
Trigo. Seven for the stone, and one for me for brokerage. That would of blessed memory, they moved to Bologna, though they continued to
be a good price, and you shouldn't let the first offer go. Five ducats go keep their house and pawnshop in Modena. As for me, because I was
a long way in Rome. born and grew up in Venice, and have lived in its environs, and have
been in Modena only in the last ten years and but two or three times,
 JEWS IN WESTERN EUROPE JEWS AND CULTURE 14-5

I sign my name in Italian, 'Leon Modena da Venezia', and not 'da decreed by Pope Pius V in 5327 [1567], my revered father journeyed
Modena'. For that city has become our byname instead of our from Bologna, leaving behind his possessions - a house, a mansion and
toponym, and as such you will find it in my printed Italian writings. notes of credit worth thousands of gold pieces. He took what he had
For that reason my grandfather, the gaon Rabbi Mordecai of blessed in hand and came to live in Ferrara.
memory, who was also a great Torah scholar, also lived in Bologna. He My mother experienced great difficulty in childbirth. I was born in the
had been ordained by the gaons of his city, and I now possess his breech position, my buttocks turned round facing outwards, so that
certificates of ordination. Several years earlier, he had begun a work calamities turned upon me even at the beginning.... My family
similar to the Beit Tosef of the gaon Caro of blessed memory. He also remained in Venice [where Leon was born] for about eight mont~s
composed many rabbinic explanations, legal rulings and other trea- and then set out to return to Ferrara. While they were on the way to
tises, most of which are in the possession of Rabbi Aaron of Modena. Francolin, near Ferrara, as they disembarked from the boat, I was
He was also a great, distinguished physician, having been awarded the handed over to a Gentile porter, who ran off, clasping me to his chest.
medical diploma while Emperor Charles V was still in Bologna. At When they realised that I was missing, Samson Meshullam, of blessed
that time he was made a Cavalier di Speron d'Oro - Knight of the memory, my revered father's manager [in his pawnshop], chased after
Golden Spur - by him, for thus did the Emperor do to all those who him for about two miles; he caught him and took me, giving him many
received the medical diploma while he was there, whether Christian or fisticuffs, and brought me back to my parents .. ..
Jew. He was honoured by all the people of his city and was known In the year 5339 [1578-1579] the constellations began to war against us
throughout Italy. with a strong hand and an outstretched arm. In the month of Nisan
[ My grandfather] passed away at the age of fifty in the year [5]290 [March-April 1579], at the request of Cardinal Alvise d'Este, my
[ 1529-1530] , when the mule he was riding kicked up its leg [threw revered father of blessed memory was thrown into prison because of a
him] , and the other doctors in the city, out of jealousy, bribed the debt of fifteen hundred scudi [silver coins of a similar value to ducats]
expert physician treating him to put poison on the bandages and kill that had already been repaid. He sat there for about six months, and
him .... He left four male children. The eldest was my revered father even after his release they distrained all our money for three years at
Isaac of blessed memory; the second, Rabbi Solomon of blessed the request of Alvise Mocenigo, who was supposed to have collected
memory; the third, Shemaiah of blessed memory; and the fourth, Rabbi it from the aforesaid cardinal. The expenditure for claims and counter-
Abtalion of blessed memory, eighteen months old at this time .... claims was great, and no-one gained, but rather everyone lost and
Shemaiah lived in Modena and managed the pawnshop there. But he squandered money. My mother, of blessed memory, girded her loins
became attracted to alchemy. A certain Gentile deceived him by like a man and rode to Ferrara and to Venice in order to speak with
showing him a deceptive increase [ of value]. He enticed him to take noblemen and judges of the land. From that time on we became
all the silver and gold from the pawnshop and brought him to a certain impoverished, for in three years that false accusation caused us damage
room, claiming that they would melt it down and and increase its value amounting to more than eight thousand ducats, as well as much anxiety.
many times over. But there he thrust a sword into Shemaiah's belly, In the month of Nisan 5340 [March-April 1580] my revered father
killing him, and stole all the silver and gold and ran off. This happened sent me to Ferrara, to the home of his nephew Mordecai Modena, so
the night of the burning of leaven [before Passover]. The next day, that I could be taught books and wisdom, and I was there for one
people sensed that something had happened and found him and buried year .... I also had a little instruction in playing an instrument, in
him. Three days later the murderer was seized with all the silver and singing, in dancing, in writing and in Latin. But on account of two of
gold nothing was missing - and he was quartered. Mordecai's maidservants who hated me and embittered my life by
My revered father of blessed memory grew up to be wise in Torah and their wickedness - may their Master forgive them - I returned home
practical matters. At the age of seventeen he began to work in the at the end of a year.
pawnshop and in commerce .... Because of the oppressive expulsion [This was only the beginning of the distinguished religious and scholarly
career of Leon Modena.]
 GLOSSARY
11,7

benefice From the Latin beneficium, a benefit or favour. In medieval

society, the term was normally used to refer either to a grant
made by a lord to an individual in return for personal service, or
Glossary else to describe an established post in the Church.
blasphemy An insult to God.
[Words printed in bold at first mention in the text] Blessed Sacrament Customary Catholic term used to describe the commun-
ion service or Mass and, more particularly, the bread and wine
consecrated by the priest during that service.
adafina Spanish word for the cooking-pot which Jews would place in a
small oven, on Friday evening, the eve of the Sabbath [see booths Temporary houses made by Jews for the Autumn festival of the
below] to provide food for the next day, when cooking was ingathering of the harvest, known as Succot [ Leviticus 2S:42]:
forbidden. Jews would live in these 'booths', or 'tabernacles', for the seven
days of the festival.
affinity Here, a technical term for a social group with ties of feudal
obligation, or financial or other contract, to a leader or lord [ see brokers Dealers in money or goods.
·vassal' below]. bull A papal ~ict, ~rom the medieval Latin bulla, a seal, referring to
aids Direct taxation in substitution for military service, normally the way m which such documents were authenticated.
voted to medieval rulers by assemblies of leading subjects. Cabala See ' Kabbalah', below.
aljama Spanish word for a community of Jews or Muslims, under Canaan Land to the west of the Jordan, promised in the Jewish
Christian rule. Scriptures to the Israelites [Exodus 2S:S 1].
apostasy, apostates The denial of a previously-held religious faith, and those canons Here, decrees or laws of the Catholic Church.
responsible for such an action.
·ceremony' Here, a term used by the Inquisition [ see below] to describe the
apostolic Actions and attributes associated with the apostles, who were rules and practices of the Torah, or Jewish Law [see below]. It
the first disciples of Jesus and preachers of his message; and so, was also used in Spain to refer to Islamic practices.
from St Peter being regarded as the first pope, used of the
Chamber Here, a royal household.
Papacy.
Babel Babylon, in the Akkadian language, 'the gate of God'. Refers to circumcision The removal of the foreskin of a male, representing his
the tower described in Genesis 11:1-9, which, according to this becoming a Jew [Genesis 17: 10]. Also a Muslim practice.
account, displeased God, because of the human ambition and college In late medieval and early modern usage, refers not only to
pride expressed in its construction, and led to the variety of university foundations, but also to other professional bodies,
languages upon earth. [See introduction] including, in certain cases, groups of priests.
Bachelor Bachiller. Spanish term for a university graduate (as in 'Bachelor commune Originally a voluntary sworn association of individuals, to-
of Arts'). gether for a common purpose. In Italy in this period, the term
baptism Cleansing or washing by the application of water. It was a was commonly used to refer to a city-state and its government.
Jewish rite [Numbers 19:7], but was only applied to converts conversion A radical change of religious belief and practice, in this case
by Christians. Initially involving immersion of adults, by the generally from Judaism to Christianity.
fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, the ceremony normally in- convn-so Spanish word for a convert, used to refer to Jews who became
volved the sprinkling of babies with water. Christians.
Beelzebub A name for the prince of devils [Lit. 'the lord of the flies'], the cordovaMs Leather goods, generally of goat-skin. The name comes from
title of a Philistine god, that is, of the non-Jewish population of C6rdoba, a city noted for leather crafts.
the land of Israel (see 'Canaan' below). In the New Testament,
Jesus is accused of doing miracles in Beelzebub's name [e.g. co"egidor [Portuguese: co"egedor] The chief royal magistrate in a Castilian
Matthew 9:S4, I 0:25]. or Portuguese town, with wide-ranging legal and governmental
powers.
 GLOSSARY
1+8 GLOSSARY 1+9

Cortes The parliamentary assemblies of various Iberian kingdoms. Hebrew In the usage of Portugal, Italy and some other European
coscoja A red dye made from the bodies of berry-shaped insects found countries, a term generally used to mean Jewish.
on the evergreen kennes oak, common in southern Europe and heretic From the Greek haeresis, a choice. Used in this period to denote
North Africa. those who rejected some or all of Catholic teaching.
Creed Documentary statement of the beliefs of the Christian Church. Holofemes See 'Judith', below.
diocese The territory under the pastoral care of a bishop. Holy Office See 'Inquisition', below.
doctors Teachers, either of Christianity or of medicine (hence the Hussites A group of heretics in Bohemia, followers ofJan Hus, who brok~
conventional modern use of the word). away from the Catholic Church during the fifteenth century and
A gold coin minted in Venice, and imitated _elsewhere, for survive to this day as a separate Church.
ducat
example in fifteenth- and sixteenth-century Spam. immunities Exemptions from taxes or the activities of a superior judicial
Conventional Jewish term for a Christian. From Edom, the authority. Such grants might be made either to groups or to
Edomite
Biblical kingdom of the supposed descendants of Esau, the so_n individuals.
of Isaac who, through trickery, lost his inheritance to his Inquisition A specialised tribunal of the Catholic Church, with the duty of
brother Jacob, the founder of Israel [Genesis 25, 27, S6J. investigating the religious beliefs and practices of members of
Jewish prophet who was believed by Jews and Christians. to the Church.
Elijah
have an important part to play in the coming of the Messiah Ishmaelite Biblical term for the sons of Ishmael, himself a son of Abraham.
[see below]. [l Kings 17-19; Malachi 4:5; Matthew 11:14.] ( Genesis 16: 15 and I Chronicles 1:29-S I.] The term was used
Christian service involving the consecration of bread and wine, by Jews in this period to refer to Muslims.
Eucharist
as instituted by Jesus on the night in which he was betrayed and Israelites Biblical term for Jews.
arrested [Matthew 26: 26-28] .Jewry The Jewish quarter of a medieval town or city, whether chosen
Exchequer The financial department of a government, named after the voluntarily by them or imposed upon them by Christian
chequered cloth, as in a chessboard, which was used to keep authorities.
royal accounts in medieval England. Judah One of the tribes of Israel.
Exodus A mass departure of people, in this case of the people of lsra~I Judaise· Adherence by baptised Christians to Jewish faith and practice.
from Egypt, which is described in the book of the same name, m
the Bible. Judith A Jewish woman who, according to the account in the book of
that name, which seems to have been composed in about 100
feast Here a religious celebration. B.C., saved her people from conquest by the Assyrian ruler
Fisherman Here referring to St Peter, one of Jesus's disciples and first Nebuchadnezzar by seducing and murdering his chief com-
bishop of Rome. mander, Holofernes. This book, written in Greek, is included in
the collection of writings which was produced between the 'Old'
Ghemarot Talmut See 'Talmud' below.
and 'New' Testaments of the Christian Bible, which is known as
ghetto A walled quarter of a city, to which Jews might be confined by the Apocrypha. As the 'apocryphal' books were included in the
law. The term originated in the site of the 'new foundry: [ghetto Latin Bible, the Vulgate, they were familiar to Catholics in the
nuovo] in Venice, in which Jews were first thus confined m 1516. fifteenth and sixteenth centuries.
goy [plural goyim] Hebrew word for a non-Jew, or Gentile. Kabbalah [Cabala] A form of mystical Judaism practised in the late
Grace Here a Christian theological term, to describe God's mercy. medieval and early modem periods.
grandee From the Spanish grande, a term for a leading member of the 'Law' See 'Torah', below.
nobility. Levi [Levites] Jewish tribe which in Biblical times had priestly duties in the
Hail Mary From the angel Gabriel's greeting to the Virgin Mary, an- Temple at Jerusalem.
nouncing to her that she would bear Jesus ~s her so~ [Luke _1 levirate Jewish marriage custom in which, if a woman's husband died, and
26:SSJ. Jn the fifteenth and sixteenth centur1~s, a ver~1on of this his brother was still alive, the latter was required to marry her.
account formed an important part of Catholic devotion. [Deuteronomy 25:5-10.]
 GLOSSARY GLOSSARY 161
150

liberties Legal and economic exemptions or privileges, granted by rulers penance The act of making amends for wrongdoing. Such acts were
to individuals or groups. demanded by the medieval Church after sins had been confessed
to a priest.
Licentiate Term used to describe a university graduate who had a licence
phylacteries Passages of Jewish scripture which were to be worn by males in
to teach. leather containers on their foreheads, as a reminder of the
Magnificent From the Italian magnifico, an honorific title meaning 'honour- prescriptions of the Torah [see below].
able' or 'mighty'. places Lugar. Spanish term for a small centre of population.
maravtdi A unit of currency in Spain (Castile), based on an earlier coin of pogrom An organised massacre of Jews, originally in late nineteenda-
that name, but, by the fifteenth century, no more than a unit of century Russia. The term does not originate in medieval
account. Europe.
March Here, a term to describe a frontier region between two states. Pontiff From the Latin pontiftx, a pagan priest. A title used by medieval
martyrology A collection of names and details of Christians who died for and early modern popes, whose reigns were therefore known as
their faith. 'pontificates·.
Mass See 'Eucharist', above. prayer-shawl A white shawl, with black decoration, worn by male Jews
during their religious devotions.
11U!rinol 11U!rindad A royal official with territorial responsibilities in Old
Castile. His area of jurisdiction was known as a TIU!rindad. procurator fiscal Prosecuting lawyer of the Spanish Inquisition.
Messiah Lit. 'the anointed one'. Originally the title of a king, it came to purgatory The place in which, according to Catholic teaching, the souls of
be applied to a future ruler who would restore Jewish power. righteous Christians were purged vf their lesser (venial) sins
The title was applied to Jesus in John's gospel [1:41; 4:25]. before admission to heaven.
Messianism The belief, commonly held among Jews, that a king would Pythagorean A supposed or actual follower of the Greek philosopher Pytha-
ultimately come to free them from oppression and bring them to goras [ c. 540 B.C.J.
a new kingdom in the land of Israel. Christians believe Jesus to rabbi A Jewish religious teacher.
fulfil such a role. rtgidor A member of a town council in Castile.
military orders Religious orders of knights, who formed a military force but requests A direct tax in Castile, voted at the request of the monarch
were also under monastic vows. They originated in the Holy [pedidos] .
Land in the twelfth century, and still had considerable wealth,
and some power, in fifteenth-century Spain. Rock A term commonly used in the Jewish scriptures to refer to God.
Sabbath The Jewish day of rest, a focus of religious devotion [Genesis
missal Book containing texts for use in the Mass [see above].
2:2-SJ.
Moors Spanish term for Muslims, especially those of the Iberian
saints Lit. 'holy ones': those Christians recognised by the Catholic
peninsula and North Africa. Church as particularly virtuous in their lives and as having the
New Christian Spanish term for a convert, or, by extension, a descendant of ability to use their prayers, after death, to help other Christians.
a convert from Judaism to Christianity. Santa Htrmandad The 'Holy Brotherhood'. An organisation set up in Castile
Old Christian A Spaniard who at least claimed not to be descended from by Ferdinand and Isabella to keep order in the countryside and
Jews, Muslims or Christian heretics. raise money for their war against the Muslim kingdom of
ordinary Here, a churchman with general legal authority in a particular Granada (1481-1492].
area or institution. Saracen Medieval Christian term for a Muslim.
Our Lady Conventional title of Mary, the mother of Jesus. scribes The writers of manuscript copies of the Jewish Law [see Torah,
below].
pagan Term used in this period by the Catholic Church to denote
someone who was not a Christian, a Jew or a Muslim sect Lit. a 'division': normally used to refer to a minority group, for
example in Judaism or Christianity, which becomes separated
Passover Jewish festival to commemorate the escape of the people of from the main body.
Israel from Egypt. [Exodus 84:25.]
 GLOSSARY
152

secular ann Term used by the Inquisition [see above] to describe ~he non-
Church authorities to whom condemned relapsed heretics were
handed over for burning. Bibliography of printed works cited
seigneurial jurisdiction The legal powers over people and resources which
might, in medieval Europe, be delegated by a ruler to a
Robert Alter, Frank Kermode, eds, The literary guide to tJu Bibk, London, 1987.
nobleman or to the Church.
Augustine, Saint, The City ofGod, trans. John Healey, ed. R. V. G. Tasker, 2 vo~.
synagogue A Jewish meeting-house for worship and study. London, 1945.
Talmud Post-biblical Jewish texts which formed the basis of the reli- Fritz (Yitzhak) Baer, Die Juden im christlichm Spanien, Berlin, 1929, 1936,
gious life of late medieval and early modern European Jews. reprinted 1970.
Torah The Biblicai 'Law' given to Moses on Mount Sinai [Exodus 19- Malcolm Barber, The two cities. Medieval Europe, lOS<H3fl0, London, 1992.
20]. Haim Beinart, Trujilw. A Jewish community in Extremadura on tJu tvt oftJu expulsion
The Christian concept of God as three Persons: God the Father, from Spain, Hispania Judaica, II, Jerusalem, 1980.
Trinity
Jesus the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Eloy Benito Ruano, Los orfgmes del problema converse, Barcelona, 1976.
A direct tax on wealth, in Italy known as the vigesima. Andres Bernaldez, Mmwrias de 1-0s Reyes CaMlicos, ed. M. G6mez-Moreno and J. de
twentieth M. Carriazo, Madrid, 1962.
university Used in this period to refer not only to academic institutions but
Biblia sacra iu.xta vulgatam clmimtinam, ed. Alberto Colunga, O.P. and Laurentio
to a wide range of other professional associations. Turrado, Madrid, 1977.
vassal A person subjected to the lordship of another, in medieval P.R. L. Brown, Augustine of Hippo, London, 1967.
Europe. Jean Calvin, Institution de la religion Chrestimne, ed. Jean-Daniel Benoit, Paris, 1957.
vicar Lit. a 'deputy' or 'substitute': in medieval Europe norma!ly us~ Dwayne E. Carpenter, Alfanso X and the Jews: an edition ofand commentary on 'Sitte
of a subordinate official in the Church or, on occasions, m Partidas' 7: fl4, 'Dt ws judfos', Modern Philology, CXY, Berkeley, Los Angeles,
secular government. London, 1986.
The Latin translation of the Bible, attributed to Jerome [ c. 341- Carlos Carrete Parrondo, El tribunal de '4 Inquisici6n en el obispado de Soria (1+86-
Vulgate 1502), Fontes Iudtt!orum Regni Castelkz, II, Salamanca, 1985.
420], which was in common use in Catholic Europe in the
Middle Ages. Carlos Carrete Parrondo and Carolina Fraile Conde, Losjudeoconversos de Alma%an,
1501-1505. Origen familiar de los Laine,:, Fontes Iudaorum Regni Castell,r, IV,
Salamanca, 1987.
William A. Christian, Jr, Local religion in sixteenth-century Spain, Princeton, 1981.
Jeremy Cohen, The.friars and the Jews. The evolution ofmedieval anti-Judaism, Ithaca
and London, 1982.
Roger Collins, Early medieval Spain. Unity in diversity, 400-1000, London, 1983.
Rafael Conde and Delgado de Molina, La expulsion de Los Judfos de la Corona de
Aragon. Docummros para su estudio, Zaragoza, 199 I.
Elvira Cunha de Azevedo Mea, 'Ora4,iones judaicas na Inquisi4,lio Portuguesa-
seculo XVI', in Yosef Kaplan, ed., Jews and Conversos. Studies in society and tJu
Inquisition, Jerusalem, 1985, pp. 1+9-78.
Francisco Delicado, La Lo,:ana andalU%0, ed. Bruno Damiani, Madrid, 1982.
Lt dictionnaire des inquisiteurs, ed. Luis Sala-Molins, Paris and the Hague, 1978.
Eamon Duffy, The stripping oftJu altars. Traditional religion in Eng'4nd, 14()()-1580,
New Haven and London, 1992.
John Edwards, 'The conversos. a theological approach', Bulletin of Hispanic Studies,
LXII, 1985, pp. 39-49.
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155
John Edwards, 'Conversos, Judaism and t~e language of monarchy ii:i fift~nth- Y osef Kaplan, ed., Jews and conversos. Studies in socztty and tlu Inquisition, Jerusalem,
century Castile', in Circa /49'J. Proceedmgs f!rtlu Jerusalem Colloquium: LzttertZ 1985.
Jud,num in Terra Hispanica, ed. Isaac Benabu, Jerusalem, 1992, pp. 207-2S.
Leszek Kolakowski, Religion: if there is no God, Glasgow, 1982.
John Edwards, 'Debate. Religious faith, doubt and atheism', Past and Present, 128,
1990, pp. 158-60. Gavin I. Langmuir, History, religion and Antistmitism, Berkeley, Los Angeles and
Oxford, 1990.
John Edwards, The Jews in Christian Europe, 14-00-1700, London, 1988, rev edn
1991. . Gavin I. Langmuir, Toward a definition of Antistmitism, Berkeley, Los Angeles,
Oxford, 1990.
John Edwards, 'Male and female religiou_s experience among Spanish "New
Christians" 1+50-1500', in The apulszon of tlu Jews: 149'i and after, ed. Nicholas Lash, Easter in ordinary. Rtjkctions on human experience and tlu knowledge
B.
Raymond Waddington and Arthur Williamson, New York and London, pp. of God, London, 1988.
41-51. Renee Levine [Melamed], 'Women in Spanish crypto-Judaism, 1492-1520',
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1500', Past and Present, 120, 1988, pp. S-25. Jerzy Lukowski, Liberty'sfolly. The Polish Lithuanian Commonwealth in tlu eighteenth
John Edwards, 'Why the Spanish Inquisition?', Studies in Church History, XXIX, century, London, 1991.
Christianity and Judaism, 1992, pp. 22 I-S6. Martin Luther, Luther's works, vol. XLV, ed. and trans. Walther I. Brandt,
Erasmus, Collecud works of, various editors, Toronto, 1974-. Philadelphia, 1962, and vol. XLVII, ed. and trans., Franklin Sherman,
Philadelphia, 1971.
Nicolau Eymerich, Lt manuel de l'Inquisiteur, with additions by Luis Pefta, ed. Luis
Sala-Molins, Paris and The Hague, 1977. Michele Luzzati, La casa dell'Ebreo. Saggi sugli Ebrei a Pisa e in Toscana ne/
Medioevo e nel Rinascimento, Cultura t Storia Pisana, 7, Pisa, 1985, pp. 49-57, and
Fidel Fita, 'La verdad sobre e1 martirio del S~nto Nifto de La Guard~a, ,o sea el 20S-S4.
proceso y quema (16 noviembre 1491) del Judfo Ju~e Franco de Avila, Boletfn
de la Real Academia de la Historia, Xl, 1887, pp. 7-160. Hyam Maccoby, Judaism on trial. Jewish-Christian disputations in tlu Middle Ages,
London and Toronto, 1982.
John Gager, The ongins of anti-Semitism, New York, 198S.
Eleanor McLaughlin, 'Women, power and the pursuit of holiness in medieval
L. Geiger, ed., Johann Reuchlins Brie.fwechstl, Stuttgart, 1875. Christianity', in Feminist tluology. A reader, ed. Ann Loades, London, 1990, pp.
Damillo de Gois, Cronica do felicissimo Rei Don Manuel, in Damido de Gois, ed. 99-125.
Antonio Alvaro Doria, Lisbon, 1944. J. D. Mansi, Sacrorum conciliorum nova et amplissima collectio, Florence, 1759-1798,
Damillo de Gois, Cronica de Don Manuel, ed. Rodrigues Lapa, in Historiadores reprinted 1962.
quinhtntistas, Lisbon, 1972. Therese and Mendel Metzger, Jewish life in the Middle Ages. Illuminated Hebrew
Rafael Gracia Boix, Colecci6n de documentos para la histona de la Inquisicion de manuscripts of the thirnenth to sixteenth centuries, New York 1982.
Cordoba, C6rdoba, 1981. Leon Modena, The autobiography of a sevenuenth-century Venetian rabbi. Leon
Solomon Grayzel, The Church and tlu Jews in tlu thirnenth century, Philadelphia, Modena's 'Life ef Judah', trans. and ed. Mark R. Cohen, Princeton, 1988.
19SS. Yolanda Moreno Koch, ed., De iure hispano-hebraico. Las taqqanot de Valladolid de
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Bernard Hamilton, The medieval Inquisition, London, 1981.
Colin Morris, The Papal monarchy: the Western Church, 1050-1250, Oxford, 1988.
Sebastilin de Horozco, La historia de/ niiw inocenu de La Guardia, in Jack Weiner,
ed., Relaciones historicas toledanas, Toledo, 1981, pp. 29-S8. Moises Orfali Levi, Los conversos tspafloles en la literatura rabfnica. Problemas
juridicos y opiniones legates duranu los siglos XII-XVI, Salamanca, 1982.
Pier Cesare Joly Zorattini, Processi de/ S. UjJfaio di Venc:ia contro Ebrti e
Giudainanti (1548-1560~ 3 vols, Florenc_e, 1980-1984. Otto of Freising, The two cities. A chronicle ofuniversal history to the year l I 46 A.D.,
trans. C. C. Mierow, New York, 1966.
Jonathan Israel, European Jewry in tlu age ofmercantilism, 1550-1750, Oxford, 1987.
Amilcar Paulo, 'O ritual dos criptojudeus portugueses (algumas reflex0es sobre os
William James, The varieties of religious aperience, Cambridge, Mass., 1985.
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Ann Jefferson and David Robey, Modern literary tluory. A comparative introduction, Inquisition, Jerusalem, 1985, pp. 1S9-48.
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Maria Jose Pimenta Ferro Tavares, Judaismo e InquisifiJo. Estudos, Lisbon, 1987.
Jerusalem Bible, The, ed. Alexander Jones, London, 1968. Brian Pullan, The Jews of Europe and the Inquisition of Venice, 1550-1670, Oxford,
W. C. Jordan, The French monarchy and tlu Jews. From Philip Augustus to tlu last 198S.
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Martin and Sarah Goodman, New York, 198S.
Ellis Rivkin, 'How Jewish were the New Christians?', in Josep M. Sola, Samuel G.
Armistead and Joseph H. Silverman, eds, Hispania Judaica: studies on the history,
language and literature of the Jews in the Hispanic world, I, History, Barcelona, Index
1980, pp. 105-15.
Ellis Rivkin, 'The utilisation of non-Jewish sources for the reconstruction of
Jewish history", Jewish Quarterly Review, XLVIII, 1957-8, pp. 18S-20S. Abelard, Peter, IS Curia, or papal court, 16
Adrian VI, pope, 98-9
Mark Saperstein, Jewish preaching, Jf/00-1800, New Haven and London, 1989. Alfonso X, king of Castile, 26, ss-5 disputations, Jewish-Christian, 26
Shlomo Simonsohn, The Apostolic See and the Jews, 8 vols, Toronto, 1988-1991. AlmazAn, 6S Dominican order, see under friars
Shlomo Simonsohn, The Jews of the duchy of Milan, 4 vols, Jerusalem, 1982-1986. Anselm of Canterbury, IS
C. John Sommerville, 'Debate. Religious faith, doubt and atheism. Comment', Past Antioch, 8 Ecija, 47
and Present, 128, 1990, pp. 152-5. Apulia, 70 Edward I, king of England, 4
Arezzo, 94-7 England, +, 2s
George Steiner, After Babel. Aspects oflanguage and translation, Oxford, 1975, 199S.
Arta, Greece, 70 Erasmus, Desiderius, 19, 117-8
Luis SuArez FemAndez, Documentos aurca de la expulsion de los Judlos, Valladolid, Augsburg, 4
1964. Estremoz, 6 I
Augustine, bishop of Hippo, 10-lS Eugenius IV, pope, 94
R. N. Swanson, Catholic England. Faith, religion and observance before the Reforma- Avita, Jews of, 79-80 Evora, 61
tion, Manchester, 1998. Avignon, 16 Extremadura, 27
R. N. Swanson, 'Medieval liturgy as theatre: the props', Studies in Church History, Eymerich, Nicolau, inquisitor, 17,
XXIX 1992, pp. 2S9-5S. Babel, Babylon, xii, 10, 117 26~7, S2-S
Carsten Peter Thiede, Heritage of the first Christians. Tracing early Christianity in Badajoz, 55
Europe, trans. Knut Hein, Oxford, I992. Barcelona, 26, 46 Ferrara, 145
C. R. Thompson, trans., The Colloquies of Erasmus, Chicago, 1965. Benedict XIII, pope, 46, 48-9 Florence, 5, 8S-4
B. Tierney, The crisis ofChurch and state, 1050-1300, Englewood Cliffs, NJ., 1964. Black Death, 4 France, S-5, 15, SO-!
Bohemia, 46, 71 Franciscan order, see under friars
Ariel Toatf, The Jews in Umhn'a, I, JfJ45-1435, Leiden, t99S.
Bologna, I S5, 144 friars, 22-S
Joshua Trachtenberg, The Devil and the Jews, New Haven, 194S. Brandenburg, 4
Walter Ullmann, A short history of the Papacy in the Middle Ages, London, 1972. Burgos, 46-8 Gascony, 4
W. A. Wakefield, Heresy, Crusade and Inquisition in southern France, 1100-1250, Gaul, s
London, 1974. Calvin, Jean, 19, 117, 124-6 Germany, S-5, 15; see also Holy
Benedicta Ward. 'Saints and sybils: Hildegard of Bingen to Teresa of Avila', in Capetian kings of France, 4 Roman Empire
After Eve. Womm, theology and the Christian tradition, ed. Janet Martin Soskice, Carinthia, 4 Granada, 39
London, 1990, pp. I0S-18. Carpentras, 16 Gregory IX, pope, 16, 25-6, SO-I
Castile, IS, 27, .'19, 87-9S; see also Gui, Bernard, inquisitor, 17, 26-7,
Spain Sl-2
Cesena, 99
Charles V, emperor, 144 Halle, 4
Ciudad Real, 55 Hammond, Gerald, xiii
Ciudad Rodrigo, 55 Henry III, king of Castile, 46-8
Claudius, Roman emperor, 8 Henry IV, king of Castile, 129-S0
Clement VII, pope, IS+ Herrera, 58
Cologne, 4 Hobsbawm, E J, 1, 2s
Constantine, Roman emperor, 6-7 Holy Roman Empire, S; see also
C6rdoba, 47, 58-60, 140 Germany
Cortes, a Spanish parliament, 81 Hussites, in Bohemia, 71
Counter-Reformation, 2, 44-5
158 INDEX INDEX
159
Innocent 111, pope, 26 Odo of Cambrai, Is Sylvester, pope, 7 Valladolid, 20
Inquisition, 16-18, 26, S 1-S, 85-9, Otto 111, emperor, 7
Valois kings of France, 4-5, 72
49, 52-S Otto of Freising, 10 Talmud, 20, 22-S, 25-6, SO-I, 44-5 Venice, 27, 4S-4, 148-5
Italy, S, 5, IS, 15, 16, 2S, 46, 72-S Tarragona, 128 Vicenza, 5
Papal states, 5, 16, 2S, 84-6 Toledo, 57, 87, 100-1 Vienna, 4
James, William, 21 Paris, 26 Torah, 9, 20, SO- l, S9-4S, IS 1-5 Vienne, 16
'j udaising', 17, SS Parma, 5 Toro, 48-9 Visigothic monarchy (Spain), s
Julius 111, pope, 27 Perugia, 5, 87, 9S-7 Torquemada, Tomas de, inquisitor, Viterbo, 148
Piacenza, 72-S 52-S Vulgate Bible, xiv, 7-8, 15, 25-S0
Kabbalah, 1 18-20 Pisa, 82-S, I S6-9 Trent, 88, 102-4
Keates, Jonathan, xii Pius V, pope, 145 Trier, IS5
Kolakowski, Leszek, 22 Plasencia, 42
William of Champeaux, 1 s
Trujillo, 27, S9-4S, 80-1 Wittenberg, 4
Poland, 1-2, 5, 2S Tyndale, William, xiii, xiv WUrttemberg, 4
La Guardia, 88, 104-16 Pomerania, 4
Langmuir, Gavin, 21-2 Popes, see Adrian VI; Benedict XIII; Ulm, 4 Zamora, 55
Lateran Council, Fourth, IS, 2S, 26, Clement VII; Eugenius IV; Gregory
87 IX; Innocent III; Julius III; Martin Valla, Lorenzo, 7
Law, Jewish, or of Moses; see V; Nicholas IV; Nicholas V; Pius V;
Talmud and Torah Sixtus IV; Sylvester
Leo X, pope, I SS Portugal, 4, 46-7, 55-6, 64-9
Lisbon, 62, 64-7 Provence, 5, 16
Lithuania, 2, 5 Pullan, Brian, I 8
Logroflo, 98
Low countries, or Netherlands, S, 2S rabbis, rabbinical teaching, 20
Lucca, 5 Reformation, 9, 19, 2S, 117-26
Luther, Martin, 4, 19, 117, 120-4 Renaissance, 2
Reuchlin, Johannes, 117-20
Magdeburg, 4 'ritual murder' accusation, 17
Mainz, IS5 Romancarnival, I S9-40
Manichaeism, 10 Roman empire, s, 6-7
Mantua, 19
Martin V, pope, 71 Salzburg, 4
Mecklenburg, 4 Sardinia, 5
Milan, city and duchy, 5, 20 Scandinavia, S
Modena, 14S-5 Segovia, 129-S0
Moravia, 4 Seville, 47, 75
More, Thomas, xiii-xiv Sicily, 5, S9
Muslims, 'Moors' or 'Saracens', xii, Siena, 96-7
SS, 62-S, 76, 88-9 Siete Partidas, Castilian law code,
26, SS-5
Naples, kingdom of, 5 Sixtus IV, SS-4, 102, 185, IS9
'New Christians', or converts from Soria, 42-S, 97-9
Judaism, 2s, 47, 64-7, 140 Spain, S, 4, 15, 2S; see also Castile
Nicholas IV, pope, SS Steiner, George, xii, xv
Nicholas V, pope, 7 Styria, 4
Nuremberg, 4, I S6 Swanson, Robert, 14
Swiss Confederation, 4