“Sciant omnes legentes et audientes Litteras has, quod ego Aaron Judæus de Lincolnia, attestatione hujus meæ Cartæ quietum clamavi Willielmum Fossard de toto debito quod ipse vel pater ejus mihi debuerunt; et testificor, quod ipse est quietus de debito quod debuit vel mihi vel Josceo de Eboraco, vel cæteris Judæis subscriptis, viz., Kersun Elyae, Samsoni, Isaac, Judæo Pulcelle, vel ipsi Pulcelle vel Deuecresse de Danemarchia, usque ad festum S. Michaëlis anni Incarnationis Domini millesimi centesimi LXXVI. Hanc quietam clamantiam feci ei pro mille et CC. et LX. marcis unde Monachi de Mealse adquietaverunt eum versus me. Et sciendum quod quasdam Cartas hujus debiti jam reddidi, et eas si quas adhuc penes me habeo quamcitius potero reddam.—Mag. Rot. 9. R. I., Rot. 4. b. Everwichseira.”
Maddox, in his “Formula Anglicana,” gives the following as a specimen of a Jewish shtar, or starr, in the French language. It is a general release from a certain Jew, Fitz-Hagyn by name, who acted as attorney for his father, to a certain John de Say.
“Jeo ke suy ensele de suz, reconnuse verreye reconusaunce et testimoine pur mon pere Hagyn le fiz mestre Moss, ke Sire Johan de Say et ses auncestres et ses Heyres quites sunt de mun Pere avaunt dit, et de ses heyrs, et de tuz ses enfaunz, et de moy, et de mes heirs, et de mes assignes, de totes dettes, demaundes, chalendes, et plegages, ke eus a nus esteint tenuz, par Chartre u par nule Cirographe, u autre estrument; fetes avaunt ke cest Estar, del commencement du Secle dek a la fyn. Et si seit trove Chartre, u taille, u autre estrument, sur le nun le avaunt dit Sire Johan, u akeun de ces auncestres, u akeun de ses heires, e en le nun mun pere avaunt dit, u akeun de ses heires, u akeun de sez enfaunz, u en mun nun, u akeun di mes auncestres, u de mes heires, en la Huche nostre Seynur le Rey, u de hors, fetes avaunt ke cest Estar fu feyt; Je reconus et tesmoyne pur mun pere avaunt dit, et pur tuz ses heirs, et pur ses enfaunz, et pur moy, et pur mes heires, et pur mes enfaunz et assignes, ke quites seent a tuz jurz, et ren ne vaylet. E Jo et mes heires warrantirum aquiterum et defenderum le avaunt dit Sire Johan de Say, et ses heires, enver mun pere avaunt dit, et envers tuz ses heires, et ses assignes de tuttes dettes ke la avaunt dit Sire Johan a eus esteynt tenuz avaunt cest Estar fu fet, du comencement du secle dek a la fin. Act le Venderdi prochein apres la Seinte Lucy, lan du Regne le Re Edeward le fiz le Rey Henry, secund. E ceo ke jeo ay reconu, ai ensele cum aturne mun pere avaunt dit en ceste chose.
“Jacob le fiz Hagin.”
G.
“Court of Star-Chamber (camera stellata), a famous, or rather infamous English tribunal, said to have been so called, either from a Saxon word, signifying to steer or govern; or for its punishing the crimen stellionatus, or cosenage; or because the room wherein it sat—the old council-chamber of the palace of Westminster (Lamb. 148), which is now converted into the lottery-office, and forms the eastern side of the new palace-yard—was full of windows; or (to which Sir Edward Coke, 4 Inst. 66, accedes), because haply the roof thereof was at the first garnished with gilded stars. As all these are merely conjectures (for no stars are now in the roof, nor are any said to have remained there so late as the reign of Queen Elizabeth), it may be allowable to propose another conjectural etymology, as plausible, perhaps, as any of them. It is well known that, before the banishment of the Jews under Edward I., their contracts and obligations were denominated in our ancient records starra, or starrs, from a corruption of the Hebrew word shetar, a covenant. These starrs, by an ordinance of Richard the First, preserved by Hoveden, were commanded to be enrolled and deposited in chests, under three keys, in certain places; one, and the most considerable, of which was in the king’s exchequer at Westminster; and no starr was allowed to be valid, unless it were found in some of the said repositories. The room at the exchequer, where the chests containing these starrs were kept, was probably called the star-chamber, and when the Jews were expelled the kingdom, was applied to the use of the king’s council, sitting in their judicial capacity. To confirm this, the first time the star-chamber is mentioned in any record, it is said to have been situated near the receipt of the exchequer at Westminster (the king’s council, his chancellor, treasurer, justices, and other sages, were assembled en la chaumber des esteilles presta resceipt at Westminster, Clause 41, Edw. III. m. 13). For in process of time, when the meaning of the Jewish starrs were forgotten, the word star-chamber was naturally rendered in law French, la chaumbre des esteilles, and in law Latin, camera stellata, which continued to be the style in Latin till the dissolution of that court.”—Encyclopædia Britannica.
LECTURE IV.
My lecture this evening commences with the history of the Jews in this country, during the reign of King John—the reign of one who has acquired an unenviable notoriety in the political history of this country—one who is well known as a disobedient son, an unnatural brother, and a savage monarch—one who disregarded the rights of all men—one, in short, who trampled under foot all laws, both Divine and human.