Edward I and the Jews

England's King Edward I, also known as Edward Longshanks - because he stood tall at 6'2 and had very long arms and legs - lived between the years of 1239 and 1307. He was the first born son of Henry III.  

King Edward I is generally well regarded by historians, since he  fought and won many wars.  Edward I gained control of Wales in 1277 and 1283.  After conquering Wales, Edward built many strong, fortified castles surrounding the area.  He also fought many wars with Scotland and France.  These wars were very costly, and historians laud Edward I for his efficient methods of raising taxes and reforming the law.

Indeed, Edward I was successful in raising taxes.  Yet, his method for doing so was far from noble.  After Edward I conquered Wales in 1283, he was severely in debt.  Thus, he turned to the Jews.  But not in a good way.

As mentioned in my earlier post, Jews were not protected by any particular lord.  Neither were they protected under the Magna Carta of 1215, which protected England's citizens from the whims of its kings, in regards to taxation and legislation.  Additionally, Jews were forbidden from joining guilds, or to make a living by farming.  Their main source of income came through money lending.

In order to fill his coffers with the gold he needed to finance his wars, Edward I commanded that all Jews be expelled from England in 1287.  The Jews were not actually expelled, yet all Jewish property was taken by the crown.  All debts owed to the Jews were transferred to the crown, as well.  In 1289, Edward I issued a steep tax on all of his citizens.  To make the heavy taxation more palatable to the English citizens, Edward I offered to expel all of the Jews from England.  The fact that the English were pleased with the removal of an entire people from their midsts sheds light on the way that Jews were viewed by their fellow citizens in the middle ages. The Edict of Expulsion was carried out on July 18, 1290.  Over 300 Jews were taken to the Tower of London and killed there.  Other Jews were murdered in their homes.  The rest of England's 3,000 Jewish citizens, all wearing yellow badges on their garments, were gathered up and led from English soil.

Although most Jews were said to have made it out of England in one piece, there are some horrific stories, including that of one captain who insisted the Jews take a walk during low tide.  The Jews dutifully followed their captain who then made it back to his ship, leaving the Jews to drown when the high tide came in.  

Many of England's Jews escaped and joined the Jewish communities in Christian Spain.  Jews from England were not alone, as just years later, they were joined by their Jewish counterparts from Germany, France, and Provence, who were expelled during this time, as well.  All this, 200 years before the Spanish Inquisition of 1492.

Current Topic of Interest

It was dark and stormy every night.  Drunken men in kirdles and torn, muddied boots stumbled over each others feet, axes in hand, shouting, "Kill them! Death to the Jews!"  Screams, shrieks, sacks, shocks, no socks.

It sucked to be a Jew in the Middle Ages in Europe.  It sucked in so many ways.

What was the deal with the Jews back then? 

Some background on the years 500-1500. Serfs were peasants, owned by their lords.  Serfs did their thing day in and day out.  They farmed the land, milked the cows, polished armor, cleaned the dung out of the castle privy.  One tier about the serfs were knights who were basically a bunch of tough guys looking for a good fight.  They seem chivalrous in the movies, but I don't think you would really like to meet one in real life.  For one thing, they smelled.  Everyone did.  There were no showers back then.   The class above the knights were the lords who took all the money and produce made from the serfs who tilled and tended to the land.  Lords lived in large, cold, castles and ate huge meals.  Delicious foods like a peacocks head stuffed with beef and cranberries, sewn to the back half of a calf and then baked at 350 degrees faranheit.  Yum. Jello for dessert.  Sometimes, lords and their ladies fasted in order to cleanse their souls.  This meant meals of five different courses of various fish.

The king was on top of all of these guys.  He was: the king.  But he is not of much interest to me, because you can read about kings everywhere. 

Ok, so where do the Jews fit in?  Were they farmers?  Nope.  Knights?  Please.  Lords?  Don't make me laugh.  

Jews were not allowed to own land.  They were not allowed into guilds.  They were not allowed to work in castles, own shops, carry weapons, name it, they weren't allowed to do it.  Why?  Because they were different. Xenophobia, anyone?  But, there was one thing Jews were allowed to do.  They were allowed to lend money at an interest.  This was important because Christians were not allowed to charge interest to their fellow Christians.  So Jews made their money by lending money and charging interest.  This sounds nice, especially when the interest charged was sometimes 50%.

But lending money came at a price.  The Jews were at the level of the serf, even lower, really, because they were outsiders.  They were subjects of the King, which meant they were not protected by any lord.  People didn't like the Jews the same way people don't like their credit card companies for charging interest.  It was nice for lords and peasants to have someone who lent them money, but it sucked in the long run when they realized they had to pay the money back, plus interest.  The Jews thus came to be a hated people.  The Middle Ages saw many altercations, the spreading of falsehoods, ugly tortures and deaths.

The topic of Jews in the Middle Ages is one which I plan on conducting further research.  I will share my findings with you so that we can become more knowledgeable on it, together. 

Hear.