When they came before the king, and related the whole affair to him, the king said: ‘Bring that Jew before me.’ The Jew was immediately brought before him, and when questioned by the king, he replied: ‘Far be it from me! for no Christian entered my house for some time.’ The king then said to the accusers: ‘Ye deserve death. When ye heard the Christian exclaim, saying: “Save me!”, and ye recognized his voice, why did ye not break the doors of the Jew’s house, and enter there to save the oppressed from the hand of the oppressor?’ They replied that they were afraid of the judges, lest they should fine them for breaking another man’s door. Whereupon the Jew remarked: ‘But how is it that ten days ago, when a slave ran away, and entered my house, where he locked himself up, ye broke my doors, which have not been repaired yet?’ So they withdrew in silence, without answering a word. Whereupon the king said to the lords: ‘Have you seen the Jew the Christian-killer? He is very old and decrepit, has not the strength to kill a fly. It is all on account of the wickedness of the hearts of these men who deserve to be punished.’ He then turned his face to them, and said: ‘Ye are falsifiers and liars. Take heed unto yourselves that ye come not again with such a thing before me.’
On the second day they assembled, and came again to the king, saying that there were many witnesses and strong evidence. Whereupon the king said: ‘Since it is so, it is necessary to make an investigation.’ He commanded that the king’s scribe should come. The latter came, and wrote down the name of the Jew and the sign of his house. He also inquired of that Christian’s acquaintances, who claimed to have known him, what his name was. They said it was Pedro Guzman. He asked about his wife, and they said that she was Beatrice the attendant of the bishop and that she lived in such and such a street. The king then asked: ‘What is the description of the Christian?’, and they replied: ‘A young man of short stature, ruddy, with parted beard, and blind of one eye.’ The king sent for the woman, and asked her concerning her husband. She said: ‘He went to the house of a Jew to collect money which the Jew owed him, but has not yet returned to my house.’ After that the king asked for the testimony of the young men, and they said: ‘That Christian, whose descriptions were such and such, was our acquaintance. We met him at the door of the Jew, and he told us that he was waiting for the Jew on account of a debt which the Jew owed him. While we were still talking, the Jew came, and the Christian entered the house with him. A little while later we heard the Christian’s voice, crying: “Save me.” Whereupon we entered the Jew’s house through the window, and searched all over, but did not find the Christian. We, however, found a large quantity of blood upon the ground.’ The king then said: ‘According to this evidence he deserves to be tortured.’ So they beat the Jew, until he confessed that he had killed the Christian and thrown him into the river at night. Whereupon he was condemned to be burned.
During the reading of the sentence the archbishop came before the king. Having listened to the reading of the sentence, the bishop asked: ‘Is this Pedro de Guzman the husband of Beatrice, or another man?’ They replied: ‘The husband of Beatrice.’ The bishop then said: ‘I observe astonishing things here. The sentence says that the Jew killed him on the first of January, but I met him alive last night in a village near the city; he will return to-day or to-morrow.’ Whereupon the king said: ‘In this case, either the Jew was mad, or has just lost his senses, for he has confessed to a crime which he did not commit.’ But the bishop said: ‘No trust, nor reliance is to be placed in torture or in the acts of the lords.’ The Jew said: ‘Our lord the king! I am not mad, nor have I ever been mad; but they made me lose my senses through torture; for mercy has perished from the Christians, and they executed on me such judgments as are not executed on those who rebel against the king’s crown. Seeing that after inflicting many kinds of torture, they kept on devising new ones, I preferred one death to several deaths.’
The king then sent two of his servants to bring the Christian, and he also sent a Jew with them, in order that they should not bribe him and hide him. When the Christian came before the king, the king stood up on his feet, and said: ‘Praised be He who sheds light upon obscure things! Praised be He to whom belongeth justice and judgment! Why did He charge fools like us to sit upon the throne of justice, while we are like the beasts of the field that know not at what they stumble? Moreover, I heard that in ancient times it had been the custom of the Greeks to weep when an infant was born, and to rejoice and laugh when an old man died. Their reason was because it is fitting to weep for the new-born babe, since he is come to the valley of weeping; but when he dies, it is fitting to rejoice, since he has gone to a place of rejoicing and rest. Now the Jews ought to weep when they are born and when they die, as well as during the days that intervene; for it is not enough that they suffer evils inherent in exile, but their enemies seek occasions against them to overthrow them. I grieve very much for them, not because they are Jews, but because they are poor and lowly. We have no other kingdom, but that which the King of the universe gave us; and He said by His prophet: “But on this man will I look, even on him that is poor and of a contrite spirit.”[[254]] Now thou, O bishop, deservest my favor, for thou hast kept me back from shedding innocent blood. The Lord sent thee, in order that perverted justice should not go forth from our hand.’
Whereupon the bishop said: ‘There is yet another favor which the King, the Lord of the universe, has shown thee. For thou hast seen with thine own eyes that no trust nor reliance is to be placed in that which a man says while being beaten or tortured; for this poor Jew said that he had killed that Christian who is here standing alive before our lord. Praised be He who gives light to upright and righteous rulers like thee. May He make His face shine upon thee for ever. Amen.’
XLII. ABRAHAM B. MORDECAI FERIZOL
[Scholar and geographer. He was born at Avignon in 1451, and died in the first half of the sixteenth century. Early in life he settled in Italy, and is said to have been cantor in a Ferrara synagogue. He is the first geographical writer in Hebrew. Although he wrote a number of other treatises, he is best known by his Iggeret Orehot ‘Olam (Treatise on the Paths of the World), which is a cosmographic and geographic work.]
A Jew Who Claims to Belong to the Ten Tribes Visits Italy[[255]]
For the sake of the usefulness of this treatise, which I, Abraham Ferizol, have composed in order to make plain the paths of the world unto them that know not, I chose to write this chapter, the pivot of which turns upon the ways of the Jew of the ten tribes (who may possibly have been of the tribe of Judah), whose name is David the son of Solomon, a captain of the host of Israel. He came here, and we saw him in this our province, the province of Italy. I shall relate how he came from the wilderness of Habor, according to his words. In this narrative the readers will find repose for their souls, and those who are weary of desire shall rest here. For in the narrative set forth in my words I shall not deviate from what I know from the mouth of trustworthy people, and from what I saw in the writing of truthful men. And God knows the truth, because He alone is the truth; though I am one of those who put little faith in vanities.
This is the narrative: In the year 283 of the sixth millennium we heard tidings from the Land of Glory in a Hebrew letter which came by the way of the boats from Venice, declaring that a Jew of the ten tribes had arrived there and announced new things in the midst of the land. There is no need of these narratives, since he crossed the sea in the year 284, arrived in Venice, and went up to Rome, where he was declared as truthful by those who knew the manner and conduct of his life. As was understood from the words which he spoke, this Jew belongs to the sect of the two tribes. For he said that he was one of those who dwell in tents in the deserts, like the sons of the Rechabites, and that his dwelling-place is in the wilderness of Habor which is in Asia Major, and that lower down, on the other side, are the rest of the ten tribes. They live close to the deserts which are traversed on the way to Mecca and Jedda, which are by the Red Sea. They all have kings and princes and vast populations like the sand which is on the sea-shore. There is the origin of spices, pepper, and simple medicines, and other good products which are found in their hands, as I shall describe in its proper place. Between these two sects of Jews there is indeed a strong and mighty nation of Ishmaelites who have many kings, and do harm to the sect of these Jews, by not allowing them to go across and join their fellow-Jews. For many years they spread forth, and attempted to come near to each other, but did not succeed. But when the arrival of the strong and mighty boats of the Christians became known in these regions many years ago, and they perceived, heard of, and saw the instruments of war which are in the hands of the Christians (the hollowed metals for throwing stones by the force of fire, wherewith one can destroy all habitations and fortifications), the Jews who live in the wilderness of Habor chose to send this Jew, according to his words, to the great king of all the Christians. In order that his words may be believed, he had in his hands credentials which were verified and established by the king of Portugal who travels by means of a boat across the ocean to these Hoddian, that is Indian, regions, and knows of the existence of a Jewish kingdom there. He wrote to the pope, may his glory be exalted, that this Jew, mentioned above, was faithful, and that his words were trustworthy. At all events, it matters not whether his words are trustworthy or not, it is sufficient for us to-day in this our exile, and in our provinces, that it has been verified by kings and princes and made known in public and in the streets of Rome that the very numerous tribes of Israel still exist, and that they have many kings. As for this Jew who came here, it matters not who he is.