History of the Jews, Vol. 3 (of 6)

A new crusade had to be preached; the dying embers of fanaticism once more had to be rekindled, and naturally the Jews again were the first to suffer. Pope Innocent III, the most thoughtless and arbitrary of all princes of the Church, took the cause in hand with frantic energy. He commissioned a preacher, Fulko de Neuilly, who had till then lived a reckless, sinful life, to preach the crusade in towns and villages; and this agent, a second Rudolph, used the unpopularity of the Jews and the prospect of plundering them as convenient means for enlisting soldiers for the armies of the Cross. He preached that Christian debtors, having taken the Cross, were absolved from their debts to their Jewish creditors. Many barons of northern France inspired, or pretending to be inspired by Fulko's fanatical harangues, enrolled themselves as crusaders. Now that their hatred of the Jews was once more inflamed, they drove them out of their provinces; for, having been impoverished by the canceling of their debts, the Jews had nothing left which the barons could extort from them.

Contrary to all expectations, Philip Augustus, the arch-enemy of the Jews, received the exiles in his own territory, and allowed those who had formerly been expelled by him to return again to their hearths (July, 1198). This inconsistent and tolerant action of the king, who had been hitherto invariably severe, occasioned much surprise. It seems that Philip Augustus had taken this step for the purpose of mortifying the clergy and Pope Innocent III, because they had declared against his second marriage, he having divorced his first wife without the sanction of the Pope.

At first glance it appears as if the French king and the barons were filled with solicitude for the Jews, as if the latter were so dear to them that they could not exist without them. They looked jealously at one another if Jews emigrated from one province to another; they reclaimed them, and entered into compacts whereby any Jews who had changed their places of abode were to be delivered over to their original lord; and they went so far as to place the Jews under oath not to pass beyond their borders. But behind this apparent solicitude there lurked the most contemptible greed for money. The Jews of northern France were considered by the kings and barons as convenient sources whence to obtain gold. As early as the year 1198, Philip Augustus entered into an agreement with Thibaut of Champagne, that neither should detain any Jews who had emigrated from the territory of the one, and settled in that of the other, but that the Jews should be sent back to the province whence they had come. Philip Augustus, however, like most of the kings of France, was not a man of his word; he refused to give up the Jews who had, on account of excessive oppression, moved to Francia from Champagne, which was thickly populated with Jews.

Thus, from the time of Philip Augustus, the Jews of northern France lost one of the most precious privileges of mankind, freedom of motion. Whilst formerly they were able to move about at will from place to place, they were now compelled to remain in their native place like serfs. If they ventured to move from it, the lord of the land seized their real property, and confiscated it. At first the Jews did not know what to make of this state of affairs, and the rabbinical authority of the time, Isaac of Dampierre, decided that no Jew should buy property that had been confiscated; and if he did buy such property, he was to return it to its original owner. Gradually this robbery became law. Not only freedom of motion, but even the right to possess property was denied them. "The property of the Jews belongs to the baron" was the leading principle of the legislation of northern France concerning the Jews. The king and the barons, indeed, allowed the Jews to take a high rate of interest (two deniers a week on a livre), because it served their purposes. The bonds had to be drawn up by a notary, sealed with the public seal, and witnessed by two notables. In this manner the lord of the province could obtain information of all money transactions. On every settled account the lord levied a large tax (cens). The Jews of northern France were valued only for their possessions; they were treated as revenue-producing bondmen. A nobleman sold to the Duchess of Champagne all his "chattels and Jews." The Jews were thus secure from expulsion and persecution, because they were needed, but they suffered from innumerable annoyances, and their moral sense was thereby blunted. They were restricted to the business of money getting, and they acquired as much as possible in order to be able to satisfy their tormentors. The clergy did not fail to add fuel to the fire of hatred against the Jews, and shut them out of the Christian world like lepers. Bishop Odo, of Paris, who issued canonical constitutions (1197), forbade Christians to buy meat of Jews, to hold discussions with them, and generally to have any intercourse with them. Those who disobeyed were subject to the sentence of excommunication. If the Jews of northern France had not then been possessed of a burning passion for the study of the Talmud, they would certainly have become as degenerate as their enemies pictured, and wished them to be. The Talmud alone saved them from brutalized selfishness and moral decay.

After the death of Isaac, the compiler of the Tossafoth (about 1200), the study of the Talmud in northern France was furthered by three men of his school: Judah Sir Leon ben Isaac, the Pious (ha-Chasid), in Paris (born 1166, died 1224), Samson ben Abraham in Sens (died before 1226), and the latter's brother, Isaac the Younger (Rizba), in Dampierre. All three expounded the Talmud in their schools in the usual manner, decided religious questions that were submitted to them, and wrote Tossafoth, those of Samson existing in a separate form under the name of Sens Tossafoth.

These three rabbis of northern France did not lead the way to new developments in any branch of learning. They had no taste for science or poetry, and they studied Holy Writ, only in the light of the Agadic method of exposition. They were not destitute of acuteness, but they wanted breadth of view. Samson was so incapable of doing justice to the sincerity of religious feeling in the Karaites, who, if possible, were over-scrupulous in the discharge of their religious duties, that he not only held it illegal to intermarry with them, but wished them to be regarded as idolaters, whose wine a Rabbanite might not drink. Judah Sir Leon wrote a book in which he endeavors to hold up the higher ideals towards which the truly pious should strive. This work is, indeed, instinct with religious feeling, and of singularly pure morality; but it is also full of perverted ideas of the world, and of crass superstition. It mirrors faithfully the spirit of that time: that religious scrupulousness which fearfully considers at every step whether it does not commit or occasion a sin; that gloomy disposition which detects in every natural impulse the incitement of Satan; that paltry spirit which treats every trifling occurrence as full of significance. Side by side with sentences of which philosophers need not be ashamed, in this "Book of the Pious," there occur absurdities which could have been produced only by the decline in all conditions of life, which the Jews had experienced since the reign of Philip Augustus.

Judah Sir Leon, the Pious, became the master of many pupils, who afterwards acquired renown: Solomon of Montpellier, Moses of Coucy, Isaac of Vienna, and others became rabbis, and promoters of the study of the Talmud in Spain, France, and Germany. All were guided by his spirit, beheld Judaism only as through a thick layer of fog, and were opponents of free investigation. The disciples of his school later on arrayed themselves against the Spanish exponents of a higher conception of Judaism.

In England, and in those French provinces which at that time belonged to England (Normandy, Bretagne, Anjou, Touraine, Maine, Guienne, Poitou and Gascony), the Jews lived under Henry II, for a long time, in undisturbed and happy quiet. They inhabited the large towns, and in London many of them attained to such wealth that their houses had the appearance of royal palaces. The summons to the first and second crusades found no response among the stolid islanders, and in consequence no martyrs were found among the Jews of England at that time. Many Englishmen had conceived such a predilection for Judaism that they entered into the covenant. There existed a congregation which consisted entirely of proselytes. Their communal and intellectual life was like that of France, which at that time stood in close connection with England. In London, Jacob of Orleans, a pupil of Tam, a famous Tossafist, founded his school. Benjamin of Canterbury was likewise a disciple of the teacher of Rameru. The knightly son of Henry, Richard the Lion-hearted, was equally averse to persecution, and the Jewish community of England might have developed peacefully under him, had not the fanaticism kindled by Thomas à Becket included them among its victims. At Richard's coronation (3d September, 1189), the first persecution broke out against the Jews, culminating a century later in their general expulsion. Richard's coronation ceremony was the first scene of a bloody drama for the Jews.

When Richard had returned to his palace from his coronation in the church, there entered, among others who came to do homage to the king, a deputation of the richest and most prominent members of the congregations of England to hand in their presents. On their appearance, Baldwin, Archbishop of Canterbury, a fanatical church dignitary, remarked fiercely, that no presents ought to be accepted from Jews, and that they ought to be dismissed from the palace, for on account of their religion they had forfeited the privilege to rank among other nations. Richard, who did not think of the evil consequences that might follow, innocently obeyed the instruction of the archbishop. The palace menials, who showed the Jews out of the palace, thought themselves privileged to abuse them. The gaping crowd likewise fell to, and pursued the Jewish deputies with blows of the fist, with stones and clubs. Soon there spread about in all parts of London the false report that the king desired the humiliation and destruction of the Jews, and immediately the mob and the crusading rabble banded together to enrich themselves with the possessions of the Jews. The pillagers made an attack upon the houses in which the Jews had sought refuge, and set fire to them. Meanwhile night had come, and covered with her shadows the ghastly butchery of the Jews. It was in vain that the newly-crowned king sent one of his courtiers, Ranulph de Granville, to make inquiries about the uproar, and put a stop to it. At first he could not make himself heard, and was moreover assailed with jeers by the raging mob. Many Jews were murdered; others killed themselves, because they were called upon to submit to baptism, among them Jacob of Orleans. Most of the Jewish houses were burnt, and the synagogues destroyed. The fire, which had been applied in order to destroy the records of the debts of Christians to Jews, spread, and consumed a part of the city. Only one Jew apostatized to Christianity, the wealthy Benedict of York, who with his fellow-deputy had been ejected from the palace, and dragged into a church, where he had pretended to submit to baptism. When Richard, however, learnt the real circumstances of the affair, he ordered those implicated to be executed. Richard was so careful of the welfare of the Jews of his realm that, fearing that the persecution in London might spread through England and his French dominions, he promulgated edicts that the Jews were to be inviolate, and even sent deputies to Normandy and Poitou to suppress any outbreaks against the Jews that might occur. He, moreover, allowed Benedict of York to return to Judaism, when he learnt that he had been baptized under compulsion, and heard from him the confession that he had remained a Jew at heart, and wanted to die as such. The fanatical Archbishop of Canterbury, who was present at the interview, being asked his opinion, answered, "If he will not remain a son of God, let him be a son of the devil." As long as Richard remained in London, the Jews were at peace; but as soon as he crossed the Channel, in order to inaugurate a new crusade together with Philip Augustus, the scenes of London were repeated all over England. It was not only religious zeal which incited the Christians against the Jews of England, but rather envy of their prosperity, and, above all, desire for their property. The first to suffer was the wealthy and notable congregation in the flourishing commercial city of Lynn. If we may believe Christian writers, it would appear that the Jews first provoked the fury of the Christians against themselves. They are said to have attacked a baptized Jew, and when he fled for refuge into a church, they captured it by storm. Thereupon the Christians are said to have been called to arms. At the time there happened to be crusaders in the city. The Jews, being defeated by the latter, took refuge in their houses, and there were assaulted with fire and sword, but few escaping with their lives. It is impossible, however, that the Jews should have been the first to attack, for the citizens themselves, when called upon by royal commissioners to explain these disturbances, fixed the blame on the crusaders, who, in the meantime, had decamped with the booty of the Jews. A Jewish physician, who, by his modesty and skill, had won popularity even among the Christians, was murdered by these ruffians for mourning too much for his people, and invoking the justice of heaven upon their murderers.

Soon after the Lynn massacre, the Jews of Norwich were surprised in their houses, and butchered (6th February, 1190). A month later (7th March), the Jews of Stamford were severely maltreated, because on the market day many crusaders and strangers happened to be in the city, who were sure to be in stronger force than their opponents, in case the Jews, assisted by the citizens, should offer them resistance. They believed that they were performing a godly act if they treated as enemies those whose property they were lusting after, and they hoped to extort from the Jews their traveling expenses for the crusade. Without the least provocation, they fell upon the Jews, murdered some, forcing others to flee to the royal castle, broke into the houses, and carried away everything valuable. The robber crusaders absconded from the town with their booty, so that none of it might fall into the hands of the royal judges. One of these brigands was all but declared a saint; he deposited his plunder at the house of a friend, who murdered him to get possession of his ill-gotten gains. The Jews of Lincoln nearly shared the fate of their brethren of Lynn, Norwich, and Stamford; but on getting wind of the danger threatening them, they betook themselves with their property to the royal castle for protection.

But most tragic of all was the lot of the Jews of York, because among them were two men, who enjoyed princely fortunes, had built magnificent palaces, and had accordingly aroused the envy of the Christian inhabitants. One of these was Joceus, the other was Benedict, who had been so brutally ill-treated at Richard's coronation. The latter, who had reverted to Judaism after his compulsory baptism, died from the wounds which had been inflicted on him in London. Crusaders who wanted to obtain wealth, citizens who were chagrined at the prosperity of the Jews, noblemen who owed money to them, and priests who were animated by a bloodthirsty fanaticism, all entered into a conspiracy to destroy the Jews of York. In the dead of night, during a conflagration which had either broken out by accident or been kindled by design, the conspirators broke into the house of Benedict, which was inhabited only by his wife and daughters, carried away all the valuables, and set the house on fire. Joceus, who had foreseen the danger threatening him, repaired with his family and most of the members of the congregation to the citadel, and demanded protection. But few Jews remained in the town, and these were attacked by the conspirators, who appeared openly on the day following their successful experiment, and offered the Jews the choice between baptism and death. The Jews in the tower, however, were besieged, by an immense multitude of people of all classes, and were called upon to embrace Christianity. One day the governor of the citadel sauntered out of the fortress, and as the Jews feared that he would betray them, and hand them over to their enemies, they refused him re-admittance into the fortress. The latter made complaint before a high royal official, the lord-lieutenant of the province, who happened to be present at the time, that the Jews had had the audacity to shut him out of the fortress which had been entrusted to him. Infuriated in the highest degree, the lord-lieutenant gave orders to the besieging multitude to demolish the fortress, and take vengeance on the Jews. He even brought up re-inforcements in order to ensure victory. The siege lasted six days; the Jews repulsed all attacks bravely. The governor was beginning to repent of having given orders to storm the place, and many noblemen and prudent citizens were withdrawing from an enterprise which promised so many evil consequences to them, if it became known to the king, when up rose a monk in a white robe, who exhorted the besiegers by voice and example to continue their work. He held a special, solemn service, read mass, and took the Host to assure himself that divine assistance would be rendered them in conquering the weak little troop of Jews in the castle. He was nevertheless struck to the ground by a stone hurled by a Jewish hand, and yielded up his fanatical spirit.

The Jews had, in the meantime, exhausted their provisions, and death stared them in the face. When the men were deliberating what to do, one learned in the Law, who had come over from France, Yom Tob, of Joigny, counseled them to slay one another, saying, "God, whose decisions are inscrutable, desires that we should die for our holy religion. Death is at hand, unless you prefer, for a short span of life, to be unfaithful to your religion. As we must prefer a glorious death to a shameful life, it is advisable that we take our choice of the most honorable and the noblest mode of death. The life which our Creator has given us we will render back to Him with our own hands. This example many pious men and congregations have given us in ancient and modern times." Many were of the same way of thinking; the timid, however, would not abandon the hope of being able to save their lives. In the meantime, the heroic rabbi made preparations for the sacrifice. All valuables were burnt, fire was applied to the doors, and the men with the courage of zealots passed the knife across the throats of those dearest to them. Joceus, the leader of the congregation, first slew his beloved wife Anna, and to him was allotted the honor of being sacrificed by the rabbi. Thus most of them perished at one another's hands, on the day before that great Sabbath which forms the introductory festival in celebration of the redemption from Egyptian bondage, at about the same time when the last Zealots had put themselves to death in a similar manner after the destruction of the Temple, to avoid falling into the hands of the Romans. The few survivors had to contend during the night with the spreading fire, and secure for themselves some sheltered places. On the Sabbath (17 March, 1190), when the enemy advanced to the attack, the survivors declared their willingness to open the gate, and receive baptism; and to convince their foes of the shocking sacrifice that had been made, they threw the corpses of the suicides from the wall. Scarcely were the gates opened, when the leader of the Christian conspirators, together with his guardsmen, cut down the Jews, who were begging with tears in their eyes to be baptized; thus not a single member of the Jewish congregation of York survived; altogether about 500 Jews perished. On the following day, Palm Sunday (18th March), 750 Jews were butchered by crusaders in Bury St. Edmunds. Throughout England, wherever Jews were to be found, unless protected by the citizens, they met with the death of martyrs. A congregation of twenty families, consisting only of Jewish proselytes, likewise suffered martyrdom. King Richard was greatly enraged at these cruelties, and commissioned his chancellor to institute inquiries, and punish the guilty. But the crusaders had decamped, the guilty citizens and noblemen fled to Scotland, and the rest escaped punishment. Only the governor of York was deposed from his office.

But on the accession of Richard's brother, King John, who by his unprincipled conduct degraded England into a vassalage of the papal chair, the Jews were robbed even of the help of generous citizens. If John behaved ruthlessly towards all the world, the Jews certainly could not expect to be well treated by him.

Somewhat more fortunately placed than their co-religionists in France and England were the Jews of the German empire, which at that time was very extensive. The German nations, by nature more religious, and therefore more fanatical than the French and the other Romance nations, often indeed made existence for the Jews a veritable hell upon earth; but as emperors and princes protected them, the hatred against them could not produce any material effect. As Henry IV, during the first, and Conrad III, during the second crusade, protected the Jews, the notion arose that the German emperors had constituted themselves the guardians of the Jews, that any one who harmed them committed high treason, and that in return for his protection they became his "servi cameræ," the serfs of the imperial chamber. Frederick Barbarossa, the most powerful German emperor, who took Charlemagne for a model, was the first to begin the conversion of free Jews into "servi cameræ." The legend is interesting which characterizes the connection of the German emperor with the Jews in history. After the destruction of Jerusalem by Titus, a third of the Jews is said to have been sold as slaves at the rate of thirty for a bad penny. These, scattered throughout the Roman empire, were the property of the Roman emperor, and became his "servi cameræ." The emperor, however, had taken upon himself the duty of protecting them, as a reward for Josephus' service to Titus, whom he had cured of gout. The rights and obligations of the Roman emperors towards the Jews passed over, through Charlemagne, to the German emperors, and hence the latter were similarly constituted the protectors of the Jews, and the Jews became their "servi cameræ." The Jews had, in all essentials, been "servi cameræ" before, in France and England; that is, they were half-and-half the property of the king or the barons, and under one or another title they constantly had to hold their purses in readiness to replenish the empty coffers of their lords. In Germany, however, they had in return the protection of the emperor. It was certainly not to be expected that the successors of Vespasian, of the house of Teut, should fulfil this office of champion of the Jews quite disinterestedly. On the contrary, they needed more revenue than other princes, as they had no land, and received but little money from their vassals. It seemed, therefore, only right that the Jews should, in return for his imperial support, supply the emperor with pocket-money.

Although the Jews of Germany were "servi cameræ," they were not robbed wholly of their personal rights in the twelfth century. They were allowed to carry weapons, and even to fight single combats. During the siege of Worms, Jews fought side by side with Christians, and the rabbi even permitted them to use weapons on the Sabbath for the purpose of defense. They had their own jurisdiction, and were not compelled to appear before an alien judge. Now and again some of them attained a higher position. The brave Duke Leopold of Austria, renowned in history for his capture of King Richard of England, had a Jewish treasurer, who, in spite of the canonical resolution of the Lateran council, was allowed to keep Christian servants. In Silesia, in the neighborhood of Breslau, Jews owned several villages with the bondmen appertaining to them. But as the prohibition to keep Christian domestics gained ground, the Jews were obliged to sell their landed estates, to remove to the towns, and there to engage in business and money-lending. In spite of the imperial protection, they were often exposed to ill-treatment. The infamous invention that the Jews used Christian blood found credence also in Germany, and here more than in any other place, and wherever the dead body of a Christian was found, princes and people immediately laid the murder at the door of the Jews. A ship containing Jews was proceeding from Cologne to Boppard, and after it there sailed another with Christian passengers. The latter found the dead body of a Christian woman in Boppard, and forthwith they jumped to the conclusion that the Jews of the first ship had slain her; the Christians immediately pursued and overtook them, and called upon them to submit to baptism, and on their refusal hurled them into the Rhine. In the general peace which the emperor decreed before his expedition to the Orient, the Jews were also included. He warned priest and monk not to stir up the people against them; but they had to supply funds for the crusade.