Page 21 - TORCH #21 June 2022

CUFI ORG UK
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What happened at at the Oxford synod?
The anti-Jewish decrees that passed in in in in Oxford in in in in 1222 trace their origins to Rome in in in in 1215 Pope Innocent III convened the largest ecumenical council of church leadership that had ever been assembled during which 71 canons canons were approved The canons canons covered wide-ranging topics for church practice – four overtly mentioning Jews Jews They included rules for Jews Jews wearing badges to distinguish them from Christians guidelines for business with Jews Jews not allowing Jews Jews Jews to charge large interest preventing Jews Jews from holding public office and instructions on on on on how to to deal with Jewish converts converts to to to Christianity Notably converts converts were required to to abstain from continuing any Jewish expressions in in in their new Christian faith The The rules were were Europe-wide but weren’t necessarily easy to enforce The The country that applied them the the the most successfully was England In 1222 the the the the Oxford Synod took the the the decrees and and and interpreted and and and applied them for an an an English context This in in in turn was disseminated across local dioceses with each diocese diocese applying the rules to various degrees For example Jews were banned from walking or or or or riding a a a a a horse in in in towns or or or the countryside The construction of new synagogues was prohibited And Jews were not allowed to employ Christian servants Jewish life in England Jews were an an integral part of life in in in England prior to their expulsion Since William the the the Conqueror had invited Jews to settle in in in England after the the Norman conquest Jews worked in in skilled fields as doctors goldsmiths and poets etc But the the the largest profession was the the the lending
of of money due to the the the church in in in this period traditionally ruling that usury (money lending
for for for interest) was illegal for for for Christians but not for for for Jews Cities such as as King Edward I London Norwich and Lincoln prospered as Jews made an an an important contribution to the English economy Despite this antisemitism was rife
– predominantly caused by Christian attitudes towards Jews The notorious ‘blood libel’ (the false accusation that that Jews Jews killed Christian children in in rituals) that that had spread throughout Europe in in the previous century had led to anti-Jewish violence including the massacre of Jews Jews in in in in York in in in in 1190 Jews Jews suffered prejudice and and physical attacks and and were often scapegoated for problems in in society Rather than trying
to to break the the the the cycle of o these hostilities the the the the church officially shifted from being being tolerant o of Jews to to being being complicit in in in anti-Jewish hate Even though antisemitism continued to be a a a a a a problem among the the ordinary population of of the the the the 1200s Jews remained under the the the the protection of of of the the the the Crown They were effectively ‘servants’ of of of the the the the the the king At the the the the turn of of the the the the century despite their population being under one percent Jews were contributing around a a a a a twelfth of the the royal royal revenue Whilst Jews had special royal royal protection it it also meant they were vulnerable to exploitation by kings and the the government Due to a a a a a a a failed campaign against France King John in in in in in in 1210 singled out Jews demanding that they contribute to paying off the the debt debt With escalating debt debt his successor King Henry III continued placing high taxes on on Jews and seized increasing