[1] – See [Appendix P].
This is the first royal interest taken in the conversion of the Jews. Individual cases were known earlier than Henry’s time, even in King John’s time, as I have already stated in a former part of this lecture.[1] Henry was no loser by this establishment; the house itself belonged to a Jew, and he took, moreover, care to indemnify himself more than enough by the exorbitant imposts he put upon the Jewish community from time to time. I humbly venture to suggest that it would be quite a legitimate thing to restore those revenues to the purposes for which they were originally granted.
APPENDIX TO LECTURE IV.
A.
Though the Mohammedan dominion began to be on the wane, in Spain, during this century, the Jews held still high offices and enjoyed great privileges there. Even the Christian powers, at least the political rulers, were sensible of the benefit which this people imparted to the country, not only as teachers of science, physicians, and ministers of finance, but also by the vigour they excited in foreign and domestic trade. A Jew was, in this century, fiscal general and treasurer of the kingdom, Jahudano by name. The sovereign entrusted him with almost all state negociations.—See Finn’s Sephardim, chap. xviii.
B.
Rex omnibus fidelibus suis, et omnibus et Judæis et Anglis salutem. Sciatis nos concessisse, et præsenti charta nostra confirmasse, Jacobo Judæo de Londoniis Presbytero Judæorum, Presbyteratum omnium Judæorum totius Angliae. Habendum et tenendum quamdiu vixerit, libere, et quiete honorifice, et integre; ita quod nemo ei super hoc molestiam aliquam, aut gravamen inferre præsumat. Quare volumus et firmiter præcipimus, quod eidem Jacobo quoad vixerit, Presbyteratum Judæorum per totam Angliam, garantetis, manuteneatis, et pacifice defendatis. Et si quis ei super ea foris facere præsumpserit, id ei sine dilatione (salva nobis emenda nostra de forisfactura nostra) emendare faciatis, tanquam Dominico Judæo nostro, quem specialiter in servitio nostro retinuimus. Prohibemus etiam ne de aliquo ad se pertinente ponatur in placitum, nisi coram nobis, aut coram Capitali Justiciario nostro, sicut charta Regis Richardi fratris nostri testatur.