The following law is derived from others of great severity, which have been enacted to punish the perfidy of the Jews; and it is hereby decreed that whoever attempts to commit any of the crimes prohibited by former laws, or contained in any amendments to the same, or presumes to act in defiance of said laws, shall be either stoned to death, or burned by such of his own countrymen as may have entered into an agreement to do so. However, if the king, in his mercy, should decide to spare the life of such a criminal, he shall be delivered up as a slave to whomever the king may select, and all his property shall be given to others; and this shall be done in such a way that the culprit can never come into possession of his property again, or recover his liberty in the future.
XIII. Concerning Christian Slaves who are Known to have been Sold or Liberated by Jews.
To the most holy and blessed Agapius and Cecilius, bishops, and to the judges of their districts, as well as to other ecclesiastics and magistrates, of the provinces of Barbia, Ausgia, Sturgia, Viatula, Tutigia, Gabrus, and Epagrus, greeting: The authority of the law promulgated by our lord and predecessor, Recaredus, declaring that Christian slaves shall under no circumstances remain in the power of Jews, would be sufficient, if the depravity of the Jews had not afterwards corrupted the minds of princes, and they had not demanded and obtained benefits for themselves contrary to the principles of justice. And that we may, with the assistance of God, promulgate a law by which these frauds may hereafter be abolished, and for the reason that, in past times, the edict of said king has been nullified, we hereby decree: that if any Christian slave should be in the possession of a Jew after this law is published, whether said slave should have been set free or not, he shall have the same right as a Roman citizen. And if said slave, through any unlawful act, should have been transferred to the possession of any other person by an instrument in writing, when he should have been liberated according to law, he shall be given his liberty; the contract shall be cancelled; the price paid for him shall be returned to the vendor; and said slave shall have a right to pass his life in freedom, supported by his own labor, have his name inscribed upon the public records, and be taxed according to an equitable estimate of his property.
If any slaves should have been acquired by any just title, after the time in which the law of said king was promulgated, their masters shall have the right, until the Kalends of July, to sell, or liberate said slaves, as they choose. Any Christian slaves who have been circumcised by the Jews, at any time, or have joined their sect, shall be punished as prescribed by law. Where such slaves as we have declared to be free, are again reduced to slavery by the Jews, or are retained by them, without being emancipated; the Jews, guilty of such offences, shall be punished as in the case of freemen, where the latter are restrained of their liberty. All Jews who have been converted to the Holy Faith, shall be entitled to their share in the inheritance of their fathers.
Where sales have been made of slaves at a certain time, in the division of the same there shall be no separation of parents and children, but all shall be transferred together to the purchaser. Where a Jew has been proved to have obtained property by fraud, from the ancestors of any person, he shall be deprived of it, and it shall be forfeited to the royal treasury. Any slaves belonging to the Jews, who have been baptized, shall, with their children, be returned to their masters, and be liberated by them; and any property they may have acquired shall be given them along with their freedom. Those who have no property shall be aided by the person who sets them free, as far as he is able to do so; and said emancipated slaves shall be classed as other freedmen, and shall be taxed in proportion to the property they own.
XIV. Under no Circumstances shall Christian Slaves Attach themselves to Jews, or be Admitted into their Sect.
We provide for the health and safety of our subjects, and of all other persons within the provinces of our kingdom, when we rescue the adherents of our religion from the hands of infidels. For, by this means, the orthodox faith will be greatly exalted, when the execrable perfidy of the Jews shall no longer have power over Christians. The fatal control of Jews over Christians should therefore be abominated, and the people consecrated by the favor of God brought under the influence of Divine Love. Therefore, we promulgate the following law, to be forever obeyed, and admonish every royal officer, in all future times: that, from the first year of our reign no Jew shall be permitted to have a freeborn Christian, or a Christian slave, under his patronage, or in his service. Nor shall a Jew be allowed to employ any such person for hire, or avail himself of his services, under any pretext whatsoever. A Jew shall, however, be permitted to sell his slave, for a just price, to a Christian, under proper circumstances, anywhere he resides within the limits of our kingdom. It shall not be lawful to sell such slaves in foreign countries, unless it should be proved that said slaves reside there. Where slaves sold by Jews into foreign countries, as aforesaid, have no property of their own, the vendor shall give to said slaves such sums as, in the opinion of the purchaser, will be sufficient for supporting and clothing them; and this is provided in order that a transaction concluded under the name of purchase, may not appear to be exile.
Where a Jew wishes to free a Christian slave, he must do so in such a way that the latter may attain the rank of a Roman citizen, to wit: that, by the act of emancipation, no services shall be reserved for the benefit of any Hebrew, or of anyone else; and that said liberated slave may have the power to pass his life wherever he chooses, free from all obligation to, or association with, the Jews. If, however, any Hebrew should fraudulently sell or liberate a slave, and evidence of said illegal act should be proved at any future time, and any damage to the slave should result; where a freeborn person exposes such a fraudulent transaction, he shall be entitled to all the property of the parties, both vendor and purchaser, who perpetrated the fraud. Should a Christian be concerned in such a proceeding, he shall be given as a slave to whomever the king may direct; and where he has property, half of it shall be confiscated for the benefit of the public treasury, and the offender shall be branded with eternal infamy. Should a slave detect a fraud of this kind, he shall be given his freedom, and shall remain under the patronage of him in whose service he was until that time; and in order that exact justice may be done, the master of said slave shall receive another from the Crown in his stead, and, in addition, shall be entitled to a pound of gold from him whose deceit was exposed by the slave.
Where a Hebrew circumcises a Christian, or induces one to join his sect, or perform any of his rites, he shall be beheaded; the informer shall receive a proper reward; and the property of said Jew shall be forfeited to the royal treasury. All slaves who are known to be the issue of marriages between Christians and Jews, we hereby declare shall be made Christians. And if such slaves as have been converted to the Jewish religion should desire to remain in that perfidious belief, and and should refuse to return to the true faith, they shall be scourged, and scalped, in the presence of the assembled people, and delivered up to whomever we may select, to remain in perpetual servitude. Where the unlawful marital unions hereinbefore mentioned have already taken place, we hereby decree that the infidel party to the same shall have a right to embrace the true faith, should he or she desire to do so. Should, however, said party refuse, the marriage shall be dissolved, and the recalcitrant person shall be driven into perpetual exile. To the other provisions of this law we add the following: that whenever any Jew desires sincerely to embrace the Catholic faith, and has been purified by the holy water of baptism, he shall be entitled to retain, without molestation, all the property which he possessed at that time.
This edict we declare shall be in force, and shall be observed by all our subjects throughout our dominions, after the Kalends of July of the present year. If, after said date, a Christian slave should be found in the possession of a Jew, half the property of said Jew shall be forfeited for the benefit of the royal treasury, and said slave shall be set at liberty; nor shall any Jew have any claim to the person or property of said slave thereafter.