1.2 Jews in the Middle Ages: A hatred created

Question 1

Who came and why?

Answer 1

Jews from parts of Europe, mainly France, were invited by the King to organise his finances and lend him money

Question 2

What were their experiences?

Answer 2

• A few became wealthy moneylenders, many others were poorer and worked in a range of occupations
• While they were useful to the authorities, they were protected
• However, when the rulers stopped having any use for them, Jews were persecuted and discriminated against
• They were finally expelled from England after a wave of anti-Semitism stirred up by the Church and the Crown

Question 3

What was their impact?

Answer 3

• It was thanks to the Jews’ skills and investment that many Norman castles and cathedrals were built
• The way they were treated had an impact on the lives of Jews all over Europe: the ‘Blood libel’ started in England and spread across the continent, leading to many Jews being murdered

Question 4

How did Britain’s relationship with the wider world affect Jewish immigration?

Answer 4

European Jews migrated to England as a result of the Norman Conquest, invited by King William

Question 5

Treatment of Jews in the Middle Ages

Answer 5

• At first Jews were allowed to trade and mix freely + King Henry I gave them a charter of liberties
• They had to pay higher taxes in return and charged high rates of interest, causing many people to resent them
• Many Christians felt they were on the side of the hated Norman rulers
• Ill-feeling grew + all jews, not just the wealthy moneylenders, were starting to be seen as ‘the other’ because they were the only people living in England who were not Christian
• In 1095, instigated by the Pope, Christians began to fight what became known as the Crusades, with the aim of expelling Jerusalem’s Muslim inhabitants
• Muslims and Jews were now labelled as non-believers

Question 6

How were Jewish settlers useful to the monarchy?

Answer 6

• Most Jews in England around this time were invited from Normandy by William because they could read, write and do accounts at a time when not even the King was literate
• He needed them to help him control the land he had seized
• Christians were told by the pope that it was a sin to lend money and gain interest
• Therefore, jews were pressed to become moneylenders as kings and bishops wanted to borrow money to build castles and cathedrals, to assert control over England

Question 7

How were Jews encouraged to become moneylenders?

Answer 7

Laws were introduced that banned them from many other occupations

Question 8

How were Jewish settlers useful to the Church?

Answer 8

The Church also borrowed from Jewish moneylenders to build churches and cathedrals, to establish Christianity and drive out paganism

Question 9

Explain the economic reasons why Jews were attacked

Answer 9

• At first Jews were offered special protection by the Crown as King Henry I gave them a Charter of Liberties, but they had to pay higher taxes in return
• As they were heavily taxed, they had to charge high interest rates, this made many people resent them

Question 10

What was the Blood Libel?

Answer 10

The false accusation from 1144, that Jews celebrated the death of Jesus by killing Christian children

Question 11

Why didn’t the Church or the King crush the rumour of the Blood libel?

Answer 11

• Hatred of Jews was being encouraged and organised by people in government and by priests and bishops in the Church
• This may often have been because they did not want to pay back (with interest) the money they had borrowed

Question 12

Explain what happened at the York Pogrom of 1190

Answer 12

• Barons who did not want to pay back debts to Jews stirred people up against them, so their families fled to the castle
• They were surrounded by a mob holding swords and torches, calling on them to convert to Christianity or be burnt alive
• Those who surrendered were murdered, the rest committed mass suicide

Question 13

Example of the persecution of Jews in 1189

Answer 13

• On 3 September 1189, when Jewish leaders arrived at Westminster Hall for the coronation of King Richard they were stripped, beaten, chased and killed
• The next day, vicious mobs ran through the Jewish quarter
• Jews fought back bravely for hours, but 30 Jews and some of their Christian servants were murdered

Question 14

Examples of the persecution of Jews from 1210

Answer 14

• In 1210, King John seized Jewish property, killing or torturing those who resisted
• In 1218, Jews were made to wear a distinctive yellow cloth
• In 1275, Edward I made a law that Jews were not allowed to collect interest, most became so poor that they were forced to ‘clip’ the edges of coins and melt down the metal to sell
• In 1290, all Jews were expelled from England