- 
 
 L I B R A. II Y 
 
 OF THE 
 
 . Theological Seminary. 
 
 PRINCETON, N. J, 
 
 Case 
 
 . Division . 31 ) S. 1 . 3 . 5 .- 
 
 Shelf 
 
 Section . 
 
 Book 
 
 
 
 No,. 
 
v iii-Taoiy Ji> 9 
 
 l Holbom 
 
THE HISTORY 
 
 OF 
 
 THE JEWS OF SPAIN AND 
 
 PORTUGAL, 
 
 FROM THE EARLIEST TIMES TO TIIEIR FINAL 
 EXPULSION FROM THOSE KINGDOMS, AND 
 THEIR SUBSEQUENT DISPERSION; 
 
 WITH COMPLETE TRANSLATIONS OF ALL THE LAWS 
 MADE RESPECTING THEM DURING THEIR 
 LONG ESTABLISHMENT IN THE 
 IBERIAN PENINSULA. 
 
 / 
 
 By E. H. LIN DO, 
 
 AUTHOR. OF “THE JEWISH CALENDAR,” AND TRANSLATOR OF “THE CONCILIATOR” 
 
 OF R. MANASSEH BEN ISRAEL. 
 
 LONDON: 
 
 LONGMAN, BROWN, GREEN & LONGMANS, 
 
 PATERNOSTER ROW, 
 
 M.DCCC.XLVIII. 
 
LONDON: 
 
 PRINTED BY J. WERTHEIMER AND CO. 
 CIRCES PLACE, FINSBURY. 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 An impartial history of the Jews of Spain and Portu¬ 
 gal has long been a desideratum. It is a link uniting 
 the Hebrews of the present day with the Israelites of 
 antiquity; for, during the many centuries they resided 
 in the Iberian Peninsula, they continued to pursue 
 their studies and cultivate the arts and sciences. 
 
 The writings of the learned Rabbins of Spain, 
 served to preserve the works of the ancient philoso¬ 
 phers, while Europe in the Gothic ages was exclu- 
 * sively occupied in the art of war. Seeking only to 
 live in tranquillity, “ every man under his vine, and 
 under his fig-tree,” from their peaceable habits they 
 could dedicate themselves to study, in which their 
 powerful intellects and cultivated minds gave them 
 greater facilities than the other inhabitants of Europe, 
 and in proportion to their population, even in the 
 present enlightened age, they can boast a much larger 
 number of men of genius and learning than any single 
 country in the world can produce. 
 
 The Jesuit, Huarte, in his “ Examination of 
 Genius,” in the 16 th century, considered that the 
 Jewish mind was better fitted for learning than that 
 of others; and the author of “ Coningsby” would 
 lead to the supposition that it yet remains unchanged. 
 
IV 
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 In the present volume by arranging those Hebrew 
 authors, in the respective ages in which they flourished, 
 their learning can be better appreciated by a compar¬ 
 ison with other writers of the same periods, than in 
 a modern work 1 where that order has not been ob¬ 
 served. 
 
 The digressive chapters in that work have no con¬ 
 nection with the history of the Jews of Spain and 
 Portugal, but appear solely as a tirade against the 
 Talmud and Cabala, subjects not understood by 
 the author; but, from the influence he mentions in 
 his preface, it is not surprising that the work is writ¬ 
 ten more in the style of a conversionist than in that 
 of an impartial historian. Nor does he seem to 
 have been better acquainted with the idiom of the * 
 Spanish language, or he could not have committed so 
 gross an error as to state, in Law VI., of the “ Fuero 
 Real,’ 7 that the legal interest was three per cent., 
 where the original says, tres por quatro , “ three for 
 four,” that is thirty-three and a third per cent. 
 
 Basnage, Maynard, and Jost, in their general his¬ 
 tories of the Jews; and Milman, in his excellent 
 abridgement, give tolerably correct accounts of the 
 Spanish and Portuguese Hebrews; but the author, 
 during a visit to Spain, having had access to many 
 ancient Spanish manuscripts, has obtained information 
 from sources with which those able historians were 
 probably unacquainted. 
 
 1 “ Sephardim,” by James Finn. 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 V 
 
 The petitions to the various Cortes and the answers 
 of the sovereigns, are all from manuscripts which, 
 until now, have never been printed, even in the origi¬ 
 nal Spanish, and therefore are for the most part un¬ 
 known. In a work of this description many events 
 recorded by other historians must be found; but the 
 author has derived his information from many origi¬ 
 nal and most authentic Spanish, Portuguese, and 
 Hebrew sources; he has only to regret that some 
 more able pen has not undertaken the task of giving 
 to the world a detailed account of the persecutions the 
 descendants of Israel suffered in the Peninsula; the 
 causes that led to them, and an exact translation of 
 the edicts of the Catholic sovereigns that affected 
 them. 
 
 Their history, from the high position they held in 
 those countries, is so connected with the histories of 
 Spain and Portugal, that many events in the histories 
 of those kingdoms are necessary for its elucidation; 
 therefore, there will be found, in the following pages, 
 circumstances recorded that apparently do not belong 
 to Jewish history. 
 
 This work being confined to the Hebrews of the 
 Peninsula, is the reason the names of numerous cele¬ 
 brated writers in France, Germany, and Italy, are not 
 mentioned; as R. Solomon ben Isaac (Rashi), 
 R. Levi ben Gershon, and others, although terming 
 themselves Spaniards from following the Spanish 
 ritual, which differs in some minor points from the 
 
VI 
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 German. But that Germany, at those periods, gave 
 birth to men of first-rate talents and learning, is 
 evident from the enlightened Spanish Jews appointing 
 Babenu Asher, of Rottenburg, Chief Rabbi of the 
 Jews of all Spain. 
 
 Hoping for the same indulgent consideration, the 
 author has received for his u Jewish Calendar,” and 
 his translation of the “ Conciliator of Rabbi Manasseh 
 Ben Israel,” he ventures to submit this work to the 
 British public. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 Chapter I. 
 
 Early settlement of the Jews in Spain and Portugal 
 
 Chapter II. 
 
 Page 
 
 1 
 
 Edict of Augustus.—Philosophy taught by Jews at Cordova, 
 Toledo, and Oxford. — Proficiency in Astronomy. — Causes of 
 their Medical knowledge. — Council of Elvira in 304. — Gothic 
 Invasion. — Persecution at Minorca —Third Council of Toledo. 
 
 —Persecution by Sizebut. — Fourth Council of Toledo. . . 8 
 
 Chapter III. 
 
 Sixth, Eighth, Ninth, Tenth, Twelfth, and Sixteenth Councils 
 of Toledo. — Settlements in Africa. — Seventeenth Council of 
 Toledo.18 
 
 Chapter IY. 
 
 The Fuero Juzgo, or “ Yisigothic Code.”.28 
 
 Chapter V. 
 
 The Jews recalled by Witiza.—Invasion of the Moors.—Jews 
 protected by them. — Capitulation of Toledo. — Pelage forms a 
 Christian Monarchy.—Manuscripts of Granada burnt.— Muley 
 Hassan’s Library at Tunis destroyed.—Change of Moorish 
 Dynasty.— The Persian Schools closed.—R. Moses clad in 
 Sackcloth. — Heroic Conduct of his Wife. — Talmud translated 
 into Arabic 
 
 37 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 Vlll 
 
 Chapter VI. 
 
 Page 
 
 Abderachman III. bis remarkable Opinion. — Saracens form 
 petty States.—The Kingdoms of Navarre, Aragon, and Portugal 
 commence. — Rabbinical establishments in Spain. — R. Samuel 
 a Levi, the Prince. — R. Joseph his son succeeds him. — Assas¬ 
 sinated.—Sufferings at Granada.—Council at Coyaca.—Learned 
 Men. — R. Solomon ben Gabriol, comparison of his writings 
 with Rousseau. —Five Isaacs. —Anecdote of Alfez. ... 48 
 
 Chapter VII. 
 
 Ferdinand I. — Persecutions prevented.— Jews protected by 
 Alphonso VI.—Capitulation of Toledo. — Claim of Exemption 
 from Capitation Tax.—Peter of Aragon.—Nicholas de Valencia, 
 Physician of Alphonso, interferes with the Marriage of the 
 Princess Urraca.— Assist in the Attack on Burgos. — Learned 
 Men.— R. Judah a Levi—his Opinions of the Deity compared 
 with Voltaire’s.—Maimonides, his Opinion of Aben Ezra.— 
 Extracts from some of his Writings.—Anecdote of Saladin. . 56 
 
 Chapter VIII. 
 
 Learned Men.—Nachmanides,his Conference with Fr. Paul.— 
 
 Riot at Toledo. — Synagogue at Estella taken from them. — 
 Privileges in Aragon.—Alphonso II. of Aragon has two Chris¬ 
 tians executed for the murder of a Jew.—Letter of Innocent III. 
 
 — Fuero Viejo. — Caraites. — Alphonso IX. opposed to their 
 innovations. — Fuero Real.. . . 66 
 
 Chapter IX. 
 
 Learned Men. —Poignard of Faith. — Christian Conquest.— 
 Moorish Dissensions. — Cortes of Barcelona — of Saragossa. — 
 Capitulation of Cordova.—'Valencia surrendered.—Rescript at 
 Gerona.—Ordinance of Lerida.—Seville reduced.—Kindness of 
 Ferdinand. — College of Cordova transferred to Toledo. — Re¬ 
 ported Crucifixion of a Chorister. —Alphonso X. the Wise, 
 succeeds his Father.—Astronomers employed by him.—Jealousy 
 of the Catalans.—A Duty levied on Foreign Jews and Moors.— 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 IX 
 
 Protected by Alplionso — his ordinance respecting Pledges. — 
 Charter of Alcala — of Salamanca — of Sahagun. — Bull of 
 Alexander IY.. 
 
 Chapter X. 
 
 Las Siete Partidas, or “ Seven Codes.”.92 
 
 Chapter XI. 
 
 Jews accused of Murder at Ossuna. — Discovery of the Plot. 
 Sahudano, Minister to James II. — Clement IV. wishes James 
 to expel the Jews and Moors.—An additional Tax laid on them. 
 
 — Join the Authorities to preserve Estella for Donna Johanna. 
 
 — Orders respecting Debts due to them in Navarre. — Their 
 Petition to the Cortes of Barcelona.—Alphonso’s conduct to Don 
 Zag de la Malea. — Cortes of Palencia. — Hebrew Population in 
 Castile and Murcia.—Assessment.—Physician to Don Sancho.— 
 
 His Treatment of Fever.—Learned Men.—Cortes of Valladolid. 103 
 
 Chapter XII. 
 
 Privileges enjoyed in Castile.—State of Society.—Ordinance 
 respecting the Capitation Tax at Segovia. — Cortes of Medina 
 del Campo. — Ferdinand’s attachment to them. — Council at 
 Zamora.— Cortes of Carrion.—The Shepherds — the Infante 
 Alplionso and the Jews repulse them. —Riot at Barcelona. — 
 Council of Salamanca. — Relative Population of the towns of 
 Aragon.]1 7 
 
 Chapter XIII. 
 
 Alphonso XI. — Their Petitions to him. — Amount of their 
 Debts reduced. — Protection afforded them. — Revolt at Valla¬ 
 dolid against Don Joseph of Ecija. — Murders at Estella, the 
 instigator punished, and the City fined.—Cortes of Valladolid.— 
 Ordinance respecting Bonds at Vittoria.—Council of Salamanca. 
 
 —Martinez’s plan to destroy them—his end.— Cortes of Alcala. 
 
 — The* Plague. — Massacre of the Jews. — Rabenu Asher.— 
 Suicide of his Son. — Ordinance respecting Usury. — Riot at 
 Barcelona.—Physicians and Men of note.. , .131 
 
X 
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 Chapter XIV. 
 
 Peter the Cruel.—Samuel Levi.—New Synagogue at Toledo. 
 
 — Murderers executed at Miranda del Ebro.— Sentences of the 
 Jew Magistrates in Navarre, to be executed by the Bailiff. — 
 
 Abu Said beheaded. — Henry, Count of Trastemar, crowned at 
 Burgos. — Cortes of Burgos. — Gallant Defence of Briviesca, 
 Toledo, and Burgos. —Protection offered to Jews of Castile on 
 settling in Navarre. — Cortes of Toro. — Massacre at Granada. 
 
 —Cortes of Burgos.—-Learned Men. .147 
 
 Chapter XV. 
 
 John I.—Joseph Pico.—Prevented leaving Navarre.—Cortes 
 of Soria. — John of Castile claims the Crown of Portugal.— 
 David Negro saves the King by his timely notice. — Cortes of 
 Segovia.—Cortes of Saragossa.—Laws at Briviesca. — Council 
 of Salamanca.—Cortes of Palencia. — Representation of Seville 
 against the Archdeacon of Niebla.160 
 
 Chapter XVI. 
 
 Henry III.—Riot at Seville —Massacre at Palma. —Jewries 
 of Cordova, Toledo, Burgos, Valencia, Barcelona, etc. attacked 
 and plundered. — The consequences. — Anecdote of Queen 
 Leonora, of Henry. — His Physicians. — State of the Jews in 
 Spain at the end of the 15tli century.171 
 
 Chapter XVII. 
 
 e 
 
 Cortes of Madrid.— Regency of John II. — Ordinance of the 
 Regent.—Vincent Ferrer. — The ancient Synagogue of Toledo 
 converted into a Church.—False Accusation against Don Meir 
 Algudes. — Another False Accusation at Segovia. — Learned 
 Men and celebrated Physicians.181 
 
 Chapter XVIII. 
 
 Ordinance of the Queen Regent at Valladolid — of Don Fer¬ 
 dinand, the other Regent, at Cifuentes.—Memorial of the Jews.— 
 Continued in Public Offices.196 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 XI 
 
 Chapter XIX. 
 
 Jerome of Santa Fe.— Disputation at Tortosa. — Benedict’s 
 Address to the Kabbins.—Termination of the Conference.— 
 
 Bull of Benedict. — Riot at Toledo.—Council of Tortosa.— 
 Cortes of Burgos. — Comparative Population in Aragon.— 
 Alphonso de Spina. — Fortress of Faith. — Jews and Converts 
 of Toledo plundered by Don Henry.• 209 
 
 Chapter XX. 
 
 Ordinance of John for the Protection of Jews and Moors.— 
 Henry IV. succeeds his Father. — Abraham Benevista, negotia¬ 
 tor between Castile and Aragon. — Cortes of Toledo. — Gaon 
 sent to Biscay to raise the Pedido. — Murdered. — Answer of 
 the Basques to the King’s Demand.221 
 
 Chapter XXI. 
 
 Laws made at Medina del Campo. — Accused of crucifying a 
 Child.—Persecution of Converts, the Causes. — John II. of 
 Aragon operated on for Cataract. — The Jewry of Pampluna 
 ordered to be repaired.— Cortes of Ocana. — Mock Deposition 
 of Henry. — Persecution in Andalusia. — Riot at Segovia.— 
 Outrages in Sicily.— Assessment in Castile. — Isabella becomes 
 Queen.—The Crowns of Castile and Aragon united. — Cortes 
 of Toledo. — The Inquisition founded. ........ 235 
 
 Chapter XXII. 
 
 The Inquisition.— Opposition to its establishment. — Usque’s 
 picture of it. — Torquemada. — Llorente’s observation on it.— 
 
 Its Power. — Number of Victims. — Indications of Judaism of 
 the New Christians. — Inscriptions on the Offices at Seville.— 
 Inquisitors of Toledo. — Extracts of Llorente’s History of it. . 248 
 
 Chapter XXIII. 
 
 Employed in Public Offices. — Town Council of Vittoria.— 
 Appeal of the Jews. — Cortes of Tafalla.—Learned men. — Don 
 Isaac Abarbanel and his Sons.— Donna Leonora of Toledo, 
 
 Wife of Cosmo de Medici, educated by Benvenida Abarbanel. . 259 
 
Xll 
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 Chapter XXIV. 
 
 Page 
 
 War of Granada. — Assistance rendered by the Jews.—Four 
 Hundred and Fifty Captives redeemed by Abraham Senior.— 
 Improbable Accusations. —Overcharge of Taxes refunded. — 
 
 Fall of Granada.— The Edict of Banishment.270 
 
 Chapter XXV. 
 
 The offer of Abarbanel. — Conduct of Torquemada. — Jews 
 of Vittoria save their Cemetery from Desecration.— Abarbanel’s 
 Account of their Departure. — Bernaldez’s.— Jews of Segovia. 
 
 — Sufferings.— Some are baptised.— Number that go to Por¬ 
 tugal— to Navarre.— Orders of the King to assist the Refugees. 
 
 — Embark.— Cruelties and Misery experienced in their Voy¬ 
 ages.— The Synagogues converted into Churches.281 
 
 Chapter XXVI. 
 
 Review of the Consequences of Ferdinand’s Conduct.—Con¬ 
 demned by Mariana. — Surprise of Bajazet. — Declarations of 
 the Grandees.—Forgeries to impose on the People.—Ten ages of 
 Rabbanim.— Opinions thereon of Spaniards of the present Day. 
 •—The Consequences of the Expulsion.—Extracts from Morejon 
 on the Act.—Assistance. — The second Inquisitor-general, 
 Deza. — Additional Decree obtained by him.—A private Syna¬ 
 gogue discovered at Valencia.293 
 
 Chapter XXVII. 
 
 Jews of Portugal. — Don Solomon Jachia holds the highest 
 Offices of State. — Order of Gregory IX. —Favoured by all 
 the Sovereigns. — Their Civil and Religious Government. — 
 Privileges. — Laws respecting Converts. — Bull of Clement 
 "V I* — Cortes of Lisbon — of Evora. — Paid a Property Tax of 
 Two per Cent. — Ordinance of Duarte — of Alphonso V.— 
 Cortes of Santarem — of Lisbon.303 
 
 Chapter XXVIII. 
 
 John II. — Cortes of Evora. — The Exiles from Spain 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 Xlll 
 
 admitted.— Forced to quit.-—Cruelties they suffered.—Emanuel 
 succeeds to the Throne. — Banishes them.—Deliberations of 
 the Council. — Their Children taken from them. — Bishop 
 Osorio’s Account. — Usque’s Relation of their Sufferings. . . 317 
 
 Chapter XXIX. 
 
 The Exiles protected by the Papal See. — The Senate of 
 Venice welcomes them. — Privileges granted them at Leghorn, 
 and other Italian States. — Heroism of Esther Cohen. — Solo¬ 
 mon Rophe— in the Barbary States, raised to the Highest 
 Offices. — Egypt. — Morocco. —Heroism of Alvarensi. —Noble 
 Conduct of the Jews to the Portuguese Prisoners.—Parliament 
 of Paris.— Settle at Bourdeaux and Bayonne. — Deputation to 
 Charles V. — Independence of ^Holland. — The Jews protected 
 there — at Hamburgh — in South America and the West Indies 
 — the North of Europe — England.— Sir Moses Montefiore, 
 Baronet of the United Kingdom — Employed and ennobled by 
 Spain and Portugal. —An Article of the Treaty of Utrecht. . 332 
 
 Chapter XXX. 
 
 New Christians. — Massacres at Lisbon. — John III. — Inqui¬ 
 sition established in Portugal. — Jew Physicians. — Anecdote 
 of Francis I. — Learned Men. — Amatus Lusitanus — Solomon 
 
 Malcho, etc.. 351 
 
 Chapter XXXI. 
 
 New Christians who escape from Spain and Portugal — R. 
 
 Manasseh ben Israel. — Learned Men. — R. Isaac Cardozo_ 
 
 Specimen of his Writings. — Isaac Orobio, his sufferings in 
 
 the Inquisition. — R. David Nieto — Prevented from quitting 
 Portugal.—Sugar introduced by them into South America and 
 
 the West Indies. — Jews permitted to trade in Portugal._ 
 
 Anecdote of the Marquis of Pombal. — Re-admitted into Por¬ 
 tugal.— Sir I. L. Goldsmid created a Portuguese Baron.— 
 Laws of Spain unrepealed. — Some established and trade with 
 it unmolested.— Opinions of the enlightened Spaniards of the 
 present day. . . 3 G 4 
 
XIV 
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 Page 
 
 No. I.— Extract from Power’s History of the Empire of the 
 
 Mussulmans. .379 
 
 II.— Extract from Epitaph of R. Joseph Ben Shoshan. . . 380 
 
 III. — Extract from Epitaph of R. Joseph Ben Daoud. . . 381 
 
 IV. — Extract from Epitaph of R. Joseph Levi Abulaphia. . ib. 
 
 V.— Extract from a Poetical Satire on Sancho the Brave for 
 
 his Protection of the Jews. * .. . . ib. 
 
 YI.— Extract from Epitaph of R. Abraham Alnakova. . ib. 
 VII.— Privileges granted by the British Government to the 
 
 Jews of Surinam.ib. 
 
 VIII.— Fac-simile of the Inscription in the Synagogue of 
 Toledo, taken in 1752 
 
 383 
 
THE JEWS IN SP 
 PORTUGAL. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 Early Settlement of the Jews in Spain and Portugal. 
 
 The first settlement of the Jews in the Iberian 
 Peninsula is lost in the obscurity of ages; but no doubt 
 can exist of its having been at a very early period; 
 for if Tarshish was, as is supposed by many learned 
 writers, the ancient Tartessus, a city of the Peninsula, 
 some may have established themselves in this part of 
 Europe in the time of Solomon, upwards of seven 
 centuries before the Christian Era, or even earlier. 
 
 The Bible leads us to this conclusion; and the 
 inference may fairly be drawn from the following 
 passages. 
 
 “For the king had at sea a fleet of Tarshish: with 
 the fleet of Hiram, triennially came the fleet of Tar¬ 
 shish bringing gold, and silver, ivory, and apes, and 
 peacocks.” 1 
 
 “ And King Solomon constructed a fleet of ships at 
 Ezion-geber, which is close to Eloth, on the shore of 
 the Red Sea in Idumea. 
 
 “ And Hiram sent in the fleet his servants, navi- 
 
 1 1 Kings, x. 22. 
 
 B 
 
2 
 
 FLEET OF SOLOMON. 
 
 gators who had a knowledge of the sea, with the 
 servants of Solomon. 
 
 u And they came to Ophir, and took from thence 
 four hundred and twenty talents of gold, and brought 
 it to King Solomon.” 2 
 
 This shews that Solomon had two fleets; one that 
 took its departure from Ezion-geber for Ophir, in the 
 East Indies ; and one for the Mediterranean that 
 sailed from Joppa, which we learn from Jonah, was the 
 port of embarkation for Tarshish. 3 
 
 Therefore, there is no reason to suppose, although 
 the fleet arrived triennially, that they took the same 
 route as that of Pharaoh Necho, who, it is recorded, 
 employed skilful Phoenician mariners, who having 
 sailed out of the Eed Sea, to discover the coasts of 
 Africa, went successfully round them, and the third 
 year after their setting out returned to Egypt, 
 through the straits of Gibraltar. 4 
 
 The closest friendship and connection existed not 
 only between the two kings, but likewise between 
 their subjects, the Hebrews and Phoenicians. The 
 immediate vicinity of the kingdoms, their similarity 
 of language, habits and dress, contributed to render 
 them, as it were, one people. Jews appear to have 
 resided at Tyre, even before the reign of Solomon, 
 for it is said:— 
 
 “ And Kino; Solomon sent and took Hiram from 
 Sor [Tyre]. The son of a widow woman, he was 5 of the 
 tribe of Napthali, and his father was a man of Tyre. 0 
 
 2 I Kings, ix. 26. 3 Jonah, i. 3. 4 Rollin’s Anc. Hist. vol. i. 
 
 5 2 Chro. ii. 14. This is the exact translation from the Hebrew. 
 From the words he was being misplaced in the English version, the widow 
 might be supposed to h:ive been of the tribe of Napthali instead of the 
 
 6 1 Kings, vii. 13. 
 
 son. 
 
THE PHOENICIAN FLEET. 
 
 3 
 
 “ The son of a widow woman of the daughters of 
 Dan, and his father was a man of Tyre.” 
 
 He being a Naphthalite proves that his father, who 
 was married to a daughter of the tribe of Dan, be¬ 
 longed to that tribe; and from being termed a man 
 of Tyre, it must be supposed he enjoyed the same 
 rights of citizenship as the inhabitants of that city, 
 nnd that the Hebrews settled in foreign countries at 
 that early period. 
 
 Fiom ancient history we learn, that the Phoenicians 
 were among the earliest navigators. They founded 
 Carthage five centuries before the foundation of Rome, 
 and made voyages to Spain, from which country they 
 drew incredible quantities of silver; for Aristotle 
 assures us that when the Phoenicians first arrived in 
 Spain, they exchanged their naval commodities for 
 such immense quantities of silver, that their ships 
 could neither contain nor sustain its weight, although 
 they used it for ballast, and made their anchors, and 
 other implements of silver. And Jeremiah informs us 
 that “plates of silver were brought from Tarshish.” 7 
 
 The Hebrew and Phoenician fleets sailing together 
 for Tarshish, accounts for the incalculable quantity 
 and superabundance of silver at that time in Jeru¬ 
 salem, as stated in Scripture. 
 
 “ Silver was accounted as nought in the time of 
 Solomon.” 8 
 
 “ And the king made silver to be in Jerusalem as 
 stones for abundance.” 9 
 
 When the Carthaginians first went to Spain, they 
 found the quantity of silver undiminished, as the 
 inhabitants at that time made all their utensils, and 
 even their mangers, of that precious metal. 
 
 7 Jer. x. 9. 8 1 Kingf-', x. 21. 9 Ibid. x. 27. 
 
4 
 
 LOCALITY OF TARSHISH. 
 
 After the Romans gained possession of Spain, this 
 immense quantity was greatly reduced; but yet in 
 the space of nine years they carried away 111,542 
 pounds of silver, and 4,095 of gold, besides a large 
 quantity of coin, and other articles of value. Making 
 allowance for the exaggerations of fabulous historians, 
 there is no doubt Spain at this time was exceedingly 
 rich, for if we may believe Strabo, there was a mine 
 near Carthagena, that yielded daily 25,000 drams of 
 silver, or about £300,000 per annum. 
 
 According to the Targum of Onkelos, he considers 
 Tarshish to have been in Africa. That he may have 
 been led into that opinion is easily accounted for. The 
 Phoenicians are known to have been very jealous of 
 strangers knowing from whence they drew their 
 riches. It is even said, that if at any time they 
 observed a strange sail keeping them company, or 
 following in their track, they were sure to get rid of 
 him if they could, or deceive him if possible; in 
 which policy they went so far as to venture the loss 
 of their vessels and even their lives, so jealous were 
 they of foreigners and so tenaciously bent on keeping 
 the whole trade to themselves. 10 
 
 This being the case, and Carthage being a colony 
 of theirs, it is probable that, in later times, to deceive 
 other nations and particularly the Romans when 
 Rome became their powerful rival, the Tarshish fleet 
 touched there in their voyages, which led Onkelos 
 and the Romans to suppose that they drew their 
 wealth from Africa. 
 
 This early settlement of the Jews in Spain is 
 further corroborated by an ancient history of Toledo, 11 
 wherein it is stated that 500 years before the Chris- 
 
 10 Ency. Brit. 11 Rojas. 
 
CHRONICLE OF TOLEDO. 
 
 5 
 
 tian Era, their population had so increased in that 
 city (which could not have been the case unless they 
 had been long settled there), that they spread and 
 built the towns of Escalona, Magueda, Cadaholsa, 
 Guardia, Romeria, Alrnoroz, Noves, Noiubleca, and 
 the present Lembleque, which they had named Beth¬ 
 lehem. Toledo is also said to have been built by 
 them on their first establishment in that country, to 
 which they gave the name of Toledoth; although the 
 Hebrew writers of the middle ages call it Tolitola, 
 probably the name given to it by the Moors, who 
 held possession of it for four centuries, or a corruption 
 of its Latin name Toletanum. 
 
 Some authors of high authority, and to whom 
 the greatest erudition cannot be denied, entertain the 
 
 opinion that Jews existed in Spain from the earliest 
 times. 
 
 Mariana, and some other Spanish historians, date 
 the establishment of the Jews after the destruction 
 of Jerusalem and the temple by Nebuchadnezzar; 
 and that many came to Hispania with Hispan, who 
 had accompanied him as an auxiliary in his expedition 
 against Judea; as this event only took place 550 
 years before the Christian Era, they could not then 
 have built the above-named towns at the period stated, 
 yet Father Mariana, who was no friend to the Jews, 
 and acquainted with the assertion, says, he will 
 neither affirm nor attempt to disprove it; which he 
 would readily have done if he could. 
 
 Some assert it to have been seventy years later, on 
 the restoration to freedom by Cyrus; at which period 
 they say, one of his captains named Pyrrhus came to 
 Spain, and brought many Hebrews with him. 
 
6 
 
 EARLY EMIGRATION OF JEWS. 
 
 Whether at the former or latter periods, their early 
 settlement is confirmed by Don Isaac Abarbanel; for 
 in his commentary on Zechariah,he states that his and 
 another family resided at Seville during the time of 
 the Second Temple. 
 
 Many probably emigrated from the Holy Land 
 during the troubles in the time of the Judges, as we 
 learn Elimelech did 12 ; and also during the wars 
 between the kings of Judah and Israel. 
 
 Later writers assume the great influx to have taken 
 place after the destruction of the Second Temple. One 
 says, “ After Titus the son of Vespasian subjected 
 Judea, many of those that could escape from the 
 swords of the Roman legions, or the flames that 
 reduced the beautiful Jerusalem to ashes, fled, seeking 
 an asylum, some in the East, some in Babylon, some 
 in Egypt; and the families of the greatest considera¬ 
 tion were brought to Spain, among whom were the 
 remnants of Benjamin and Judah, descendants of the 
 house of David.” 13 
 
 At this period many went to Merida; for the 
 historian of that city states, “that they always made 
 their residence in the best towns of a state, and from 
 their general endeavours to assist each other, those 
 expatriated from Jerusalem after the second destruc¬ 
 tion being destitute, came to seek their brethren, who 
 had long resided in that city. 14 
 
 The anonymous author of the Memorias of Majorca, 
 considers their settling in the Balearic Islands to have 
 been sixty-five years before the Christian Era. 
 
 After the conquest of Bither, and the suppression 
 of the revolt against the Roman power caused by 
 Barchochab, the last effort of the Jewish nation to 
 
 12 Ruth i. 1, 2. 
 
 13 Morejon. 
 
 14 Vargas. 
 
ETYMOLOGY OF “ DON.” 
 
 7 
 
 regain their independence, Adrian, who was a native 
 of Spain, transported to it a large number of prisoners 
 from Judea; some authors say as many as 50,000 
 families, thus greatly increasing the Hebrew popula¬ 
 tion of those Horn an provinces. 
 
 Although the Spanish title of Don is generally 
 supposed to be derived from an abbreviation of 
 the Latin Dominus , and for which, seeing its univer¬ 
 sal application, there might be good grounds were 
 the word Dom , yet, when the ancient establishment 
 of the Jews in that country is considered, it 
 is by far more probable that it originated from the 
 Hebrew word JHtf Adon (Lord, Master), which is 
 used by Jews, as commonly as Sir in English con¬ 
 versation. 
 
 This opinion has also been entertained by some 
 ancient learned lexicographers. 15 
 
 15 Minsheu, Guichard, and others. 
 
8 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 Edict of Augustus—Philosophy taught by Jews at Cor¬ 
 dova , Toledo , and Oxford — Proficiency in Astro¬ 
 nomy — Causes of their Medical knowledge — Council 
 of Elvira in 804 — Gothic Invasion — Persecution 
 at Minorca — Third Council of Toledo — Persecution 
 by Sizebut—Fourth Council of Toledo. 
 
 The edict of Augustus in the year 15 b. c., upwards 
 of half a century before the destruction by Titus, 
 addressed to all the Governors of the Roman provinces 
 even to Britain, 1 in favour of the Jews, proves, that 
 while Spain was under the dominion of the Romans, 
 they enjoyed security and tranquillity ; yet we have 
 no accounts of the Hebrew Philosophers, Mathemati¬ 
 cians, Astronomers, Historians, Grammarians, Physi¬ 
 cians, Theologians, Jurists and Poets of that period; 
 their names are unknown, but the germs must have 
 existed, that produced so many who in after ages 
 illustrated the Peninsula, and rendered it so famed 
 for learning. At the time that the rest of Europe was 
 veiled in superstition and ignorance, and when it 
 could boast of no other literature than Monkish 
 legends that were unknown beyond the cloisters 
 where they were penned, Jewish Rabbins occupied the 
 highest chairs of Philosophy and Mathematics in the 
 renowned Moorish Schools of Cordova and Toledo. 
 Even in England the first school where experimental 
 Philosophy, Geometry, Algebra and Logic were taught, 
 was that of the Jews at Oxford, in the reign of Henry I. 
 
 1 Semach David. 
 
9 
 
 LEARNING OF THE JEWS. 
 
 It has yet the record of its ancient teachers in the 
 Hebrew names of Moses’ Hall, and Jacob’s Hall. 
 
 By them was the philosophy of the ancients made 
 known to Europe. Accustomed from the earliest 
 times, in the clear unclouded Oriental sky, to watch 
 and observe the courses of the planetary system, their 
 attention was incessantly directed to all the secret 
 mysteries of nature; and they may be classed amongst 
 the earliest astronomers. 
 
 In medicine they excelled. Various causes combined 
 to give them this pre-eminence, their industry had 
 rendered them masters of commerce. They travelled 
 more than other people; and their knowledge of 
 foreign languages led them to seek in Greece and the 
 ruins of the Roman Empire for ancient manuscripts. 
 They knew where the choicest drugs were to be found, 
 and how best to preserve them. Their close connection 
 with the East (for every doubtful legal question was 
 sent to the famous Oriental schools for solution), and 
 with Spain, which had become the centre of Arabian 
 medicine, made them the chosen physicians of kings, 
 princes, popes, and nobles, in preference to others. 
 The Arabian medicine was the offspring of the Jewish; 
 yet some historians have unjustly confounded them, 
 giving to the former the honor that belongs to the 
 latter. The Spanish Hebrews educated at Cordova, 
 Toledo, and Zara, furnished masters to the celebrated 
 schools of Montpelier and Salerno. 
 
 Europe has scarcely acknowledged, much less repaid, 
 the debt she owes to the illustrious Hebrew schools of 
 Spain. 
 
 They appear, in that country, not only to have been 
 cultivators and possessors of the soil; but numerous, 
 
10 
 
 COUNCIL OF ELVIRA. 
 
 [ 304 . 
 
 wealthy, respected and honored by its other inhabit¬ 
 ants. Unimpeded, they observed their religion as 
 when in the Holy Land ; but as early as in 304, we 
 find the Catholic Clergy, fearing the connection of the 
 inhabitants with the Jews might prove obstructive to 
 the propagation of Christianity, enacted at the Council 
 of Elvira the following Canons against the descendants 
 of Israel. 2 
 
 “Canon 16.—The daughters of Catholics shall not be given in 
 marriage to heretics, unless they submit themselves to the Catholic 
 Church; the same is also ordained for Jews and schismatics. Parents 
 who transgress this order shall be excommunicated for five years.” 
 
 Jews were not then, as in later periods, considered 
 heretics, or they would not have been particularly 
 named. 
 
 “ Canon 49.—Landholders are to be admonished not to permit 
 the produce they thankfully receive from God to be blessed by the 
 Jews, lest our benediction be rendered invalid and unprofitable. 
 Should any person presume to do so after this interdiction, let him 
 be entirely ejected from the church.” 
 
 This shews that the bishops of that synod feared 
 that the Hebrew benediction would be held in higher 
 estimation than that of the Catholic Church; and that 
 the inhabitants, from the example of the Jews, had 
 learnt to praise and thank the Omnipotent Creator, 
 
 who had bountifully supplied their wants. 
 
 « Canon 50.—If any person, whether clerical or one of the 
 faithful, shall take food with Jews, he is to abstain from our com¬ 
 munion, that he may learn to amend.” 
 
 This proves the happy social state that existed 
 before intolerance and bigotry broke the fraternal 
 bond. The clergy as well as others partook of the hos¬ 
 pitable meal, and joined the festive board of their 
 Jewish neighbours. 
 
 2 Aguirre, Col. Max. 
 
589 .] 
 
 THIRD COUNCIL OF TOLEDO. 
 
 11 
 
 Canon 78. If one of the faithful, having a wife, commit adultery 
 with a Jewess or Pagan, he is to be ejected from our communion.” 
 
 ihis would almost lead to the supposition, that 
 the Church permitted other adulteries. The Talmud, 
 which has since been considered as inducing the Jews 
 to be hostile to Christianity, was not then written. 
 
 Years elapsed without the annals of Spain re¬ 
 cording any event that affected the Hebrew race. 
 
 In 410, the hordes of barbarians from the North, 
 like a desolating torrent, inundated the Peninsula, 
 and drove the Roman Eagles from the Northern 
 provinces. While its conquerors professed Arianism, 
 the Jews lived undisturbed under the new rulers of 
 the land. Kings assumed the regal power only to 
 be assassinated by their more fortunate rivals. 
 
 In 418, the Catholic bishop of Minorca persecuted 
 them, and took away one of their two synagogues at 
 Mahon, where the Jewish population was three hun¬ 
 dred families. They were also numerous at Palma. 
 Five hundred and forty are said voluntarily to have 
 become converts; which is not probable, as we learn 
 
 they returned to Judaism on the Moors conquering 
 the islands. 
 
 Euric, the ninth sovereign, laid the foundation of 
 the Euero Juzgo, the Visigothic code, which was 
 subsequently enlarged. His son Recared abjured 
 Arianism, and was the first Catholic Visigoth king of 
 Spain. Zeal for his new faith induced him, in the 
 fourth year of his reign, anno 589, to convene the 
 Third Council of Toledo. Amongst its canons the two 
 following respecting the Jews were enacted. 3 
 
 “ Canon 14. — In conformity with the opinion of the Council, our 
 glorious king has ordered to be inserted among the canons, that 
 Jews shall not be permitted to have Christian wives or concubines. 
 
 Aguirre. 
 
12 
 
 SIZEBUT. 
 
 [ 612 . 
 
 All children born from such union are to be brought to baptism; 
 nor shall they be permitted to purchase Christian slaves to serve 
 them. If Christian slaves are circumcised, they shall be liberated 
 without ' ransom, and they shall revert to the Christian religion. 
 Nor shall they hold any public office whereby they can inflict any 
 punishment on Christians.” 
 
 Although they might not buy slaves to serve them, 
 they were not prohibited a commerce which then was 
 carried on to a great extent in Spain. From the latter 
 enactment, it appears Jews previously held judicial 
 offices. 
 
 “ Canon 24.—It is decreed, that Jews, in carrying their dead, 
 shall not be permitted to sing Psalms; but they are to observe their 
 ancient custom of bearing and interring their dead. The penalty for 
 transgressing this decree is six ounces of gold to be paid to the 
 count of the city.” 
 
 This seems to be an infringement on a custom then 
 prevalent, and probably considered a religious duty. 
 
 Sizebut, the twenty-fourth sovereign in two cen¬ 
 turies, being raised to the Gothic throne in 612 after 
 the assassination of his three predecessors, took from 
 the Romans many cities they yet possessed in An¬ 
 dalusia and the South. Seeking to secure his conquests, 
 he sent an ambassador to the Emperor Heraclius at 
 Constantinople to negociate a peace. The emperor, 
 who had been foretold by an astrologer that Christ¬ 
 endom would be in great danger from a circumcised 
 people, considered it was the Jews, whose bravery he 
 had experienced in his Eastern expedition, and whom 
 he knew to be numerous in Spain, made it an article 
 of the treaty, that Sizebut should compel them to re¬ 
 nounce Judaism and be baptised, or quit the kingdom. 
 That monarch made no difficulty to accept it, not¬ 
 withstanding the remonstrances of some bishops who 
 represented it as being contrary to Christianity; for 
 
<>33.] FOURTH COUNCIL OF TOLEDO. 13 
 
 Gregory I. who then filled the papal see, desired that 
 the concessions that had been granted to the Jews 
 should be faithfully observed. ]N evertheless Sizebut 
 imprisoned many of the most wealthy, and sanctioned 
 the murder of those who would not embrace Christ¬ 
 ianity. Numbers abandoned all they possessed to 
 preserve their faith, and emigrated to that part of 
 Gaul occupied by the Franks. Others passed over to 
 Africa; yet a Spanish historian asserts that 90,000 
 received baptism, more to escape the horrors that 
 awaited the refusal of those who were steadfast to the 
 religion of their ancestors, than with sincerity. The 
 severity of this barbarous chieftain, who is otherwise 
 represented as governing mildly, can only be ac¬ 
 counted for by the supposition, that he feared the 
 immense number of the Jewish population in his 
 dominions might fulfil the prediction made to He- 
 raclius. On his death in 621, many of the converts, 
 who had dissembled to accommodate themselves to 
 the times, returned and openly professed Judaism. 
 
 The Jews seem to have had some respite from 
 persecution, during the short reigns of Recared II. 
 and Suintila, whom Sisenand, with the assistance of 
 Dagobert, king of the Franks, deposed. He immediate¬ 
 ly convoked the Fourth Toledan Council, to secure 
 himself the usurped Crown; for although Councils 
 were originally established to regulate ecclesiastical 
 matters, to suppress the scandalous irregularity and 
 misconduct of the clergy, and to reform Church 
 discipline, those of Spain, a few days after assembling, 
 invited some nobles to join in their deliberations, 
 thus constituting themselves a legislative assembly, and 
 enacting canons that were to be the law of the land. 
 
14 
 
 FOURTH COUNCIL. 
 
 [ 633 . 
 
 At tliis council held in 633, St. Isidor, the bishop 
 of Seville, presided; and the following canons were 
 
 enacted regarding the Jews. 4 
 
 “ Canon 57.—In respect to Jews, this holy synod has resolved, 
 that in future no one shall be compelled to receive our faith; for 
 God hath mercy on whom he will have mercy, and whom he will 
 he hardeneth; as such persons are not saved unwillingly, but by 
 consent, that the attribute of justice be preserved entire. For as 
 man perished by his own free will in submitting to the serpent, so 
 when the grace of God calleth, every man is saved by believing, by 
 the conversion of his own mind. Therefore they are not to be 
 constrained, but persuaded into conversion, by the free agency of 
 the will. As to those already forced into Christianity, as was done 
 in the time of the most devout prince Sizebut, since it is evident 
 they have partaken of the holy sacrament, have received the grace 
 of baptism, have been anointed with the chrism, and received the 
 body and blood of our Lord; it is right they should be obliged to 
 retain the faith they have undertaken, although under compulsion 
 and necessity, lest the name of God be blasphemed, and the faith 
 they have assumed be considered worthless and despicable.” 
 
 Jews were no longer to be forced against their 
 will to adopt the Catholic faith; but the cruelty of 
 the other enactments of this Council were such, as a 
 bigoted clergy would, in their thirst for domination in 
 those dark ages of Gothic ignorance and superstition, 
 devise against those who would not submit to their 
 religious creed; and, as might be expected, would be 
 sanctioned by Sovereigns, who raised to the throne in 
 general, on the blood of their predecessors, required 
 the powerful aid of the clergy to maintain on their 
 
 heads the crown they had usurped. 
 
 u Canon 58.—The avarice of some persons is so great, that, as 
 the Apostle saith, through covetousness they have erred from the 
 faith. Many ecclesiastics and laymen have, by accepting presents 
 from the Jews, bestowed their protection on infidelity; such persons 
 are deservedly to be held as belonging to Antichrist, who thus act 
 contrary to Christ. Therefore, whoever henceforth, whether bishop 
 
 4 Aguirre. 
 
633 .] 
 
 OF TOLEDO. 
 
 15 
 
 ecclesiastic, or layman, shall afford them his protection for reward 
 or favor, to the disparagement of the Christian faith, let hlpi become 
 an alien from the Catholic Church and the kingdom of God, as a 
 truly profane and sacrilegious person; for it is right that he should 
 be severed from the body of Christ, who makes himself a patron 
 of Christ ’s enemies.’’ 
 
 This shews that even the highest clergy could not 
 resist a tempting bribe; and, notwithstanding their 
 pretended zeal for the Catholic faith, Jewish money 
 could purchase their protection. 
 
 “ C an on 59.—Many who have formerly been elevated to the 
 Christian faith, are now known, in contempt of Christ, not only to 
 practise Jewish ceremonies, but have even dared to practise the 
 abomination of circumcision. By the advice of our most pious and 
 religious prince, Sisenand the king, this holy Synod hath decreed 
 that such transgressors, being apprehended on the authority of the 
 prelates, shall be recalled to the true worship, according to Chris¬ 
 tian doctrine, so that those who will not amend of their own accord, 
 may be compelled by sacerdotal correction. Should such persons as 
 they may have circumcised, be children of the above, they shall 
 be taken from the society of their parents; and if slaves, they 
 shall be liberated in compensation for the injury.” 
 
 This proves that the forced converts returned as soon 
 as possible to the religion of their fathers, and practised 
 its earliest sacred rite. The sacerdotal correction of 
 .those who would not again be persuaded to follow 
 Catholicism is not stated. Whatever it might have 
 been, this is certain, priests became executioners. 
 
 “ Canon 60. — We decree, that the sons and daughters of Jews 
 are to be separated from their parents, lest they be involved in their 
 errors. They are to be placed in monasteries, or with Christian 
 men and women who fear God, that by their society they may learn 
 the worship of the true faith, that, being thus better instructed, they 
 may improve in morals and belief.” 
 
 In the present age, it is hardly possible to believe 
 that men, considered as ministers of God, could have 
 enacted so barbarous and unnatural a decree, as to 
 
FOURTH COUNCIL OF TOLEDO. 
 
 16 
 
 [633. 
 
 separate children from their parents. How discordant 
 
 to the religion they preached! 
 
 “Canon 61.— If Jews that have been baptised, afterwards re¬ 
 nounce Christianity, and thus become liable to any penalty, their 
 believing children shall not be excluded inheriting their property; 
 for it is written, The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father.” 
 
 Policy may have dictated this, as fear of losing 
 their portion of their father’s property might have 
 operated on children who had been converted, and 
 induced them to renounce their newly-adopted creed, 
 
 for the religion of their forefathers. 
 
 “ Canon 62.—The company of the wicked frequently corrupteth 
 the good, how much more that of the viciously inclined. Therefore, 
 there is to be no communion between Jews that have been con¬ 
 verted to the Christian faith, and those who adhere to their ancient 
 rites, lest by associating with them they be perverted. Therefore, 
 any that have been baptized, that do not avoid the society of un ¬ 
 believers, shall be given over to Christians, and the former be 
 publicly scourged.” 
 
 By another barbarous enactment worthy of that 
 age, a convert speaking to a Jew became a slave, and 
 the Jew he spoke to was to be publicly scourged. On 
 what a fragile reed must that faith then have rested, 
 when two individuals conversing together became dan¬ 
 gerous to it. The severity of this law is a proof how 
 easily the newly made converts returned to their duty 
 to their God. 
 
 “ Canon 63.— Jews who have Christian wives are to be advised 
 by the bishop of their diocese, that if they wish to live with them 
 they must become Christians; and if, after being so admonished, 
 they refuse to obey, they are to be separated, as an unbeliever 
 cannot remain in wedlock with a woman who has become a Christian. 
 The children are to brought up in the faith of their mother; and 
 those born of unbelieving mothers and believing fathers, are to 
 follow the Christian religion, and not the Jewish superstitions.” 
 
 Separating husband and wife never was Christian 
 
633] FOURTH COUNCIL OF TOLEDO. 17 
 
 doctrine, this law enabled a faithless wife, by the act 
 of embracing Christianity, to divorce herself without 
 further ceremony from her injured husband; if such 
 there were, could the Christian faith gain by the ac¬ 
 quisition of such proselytes? 
 
 Canon. 64. He who is faithless to God cannot be true to man. 
 Therefore Jews who were formerly Christians, but now deny the 
 faith in Christ, are not to be admitted as witnesses, although they 
 declare themselves to be Christians. For if suspected in respect to 
 their faith in Christ, their testimony on human affairs is unsafe. 
 IN o confidence can be placed in the testimony of those brought up in 
 falsehood; nor is credit due to those that reject the true faith.” 
 
 Persons suspected of having no religion might justly 
 be excluded from giving evidence; but hereby Jews 
 who continued faithful to their religion are not pre¬ 
 vented being witnesses. 
 
 “ Canon - 65.—By command of the most excellent Lord and King 
 Sisenand, this holy council has decreed that Jews and their de¬ 
 scendants are not to hold public employments, as scandal would 
 thereby be given to Christians ; therefore, provincial judges, to¬ 
 gether with ecclesiastics, are to prevent their fraudulently obtaining 
 such employments, and their succeeding therein. Should any judge 
 tolerate such proceedings, he is to be excommunicated the same as 
 
 for sacrilege, and the person that obtains the office shall be publicly 
 scourged.” 
 
 This interdict shews that Jews at that period held 
 public offices, and is opposed to their conversion; for 
 no benefit could accrue therefrom, since even their 
 descendants were precluded from holding public em¬ 
 ployments ; yet the severity of the enactment against 
 the judge who clandestinely permitted it, indicates 
 they were in the habit of conniving at it. 
 
 “Canon.-66. —By the decree of the most glorious prince, this 
 council has resolved, that no Jew shall have Christian servants, nor 
 purchase Christian slaves, nor retain such by gift of any person. 
 
 As it is shameful that the members of Christ should serve the 
 
 C 
 
18 
 
 SIXTH COUNCIL 
 
 [ 638 . 
 
 ministers of Antichrist. Henceforward, should any Jew dare to 
 keep Christian slaves of either sex, they shall be liberated, and re¬ 
 stored to their freedom.” 
 
 This was an infringement on their trade, which 
 former Councils had not interfered with, the Third 
 Toledan Council had only prohibited their keeping 
 Christian slaves as servants, which it would appear 
 had not been attended to, or they would not have 
 found it necessary to repeat the injunction. 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 Sixth , Eighth , Ninth , Tenth , Twelfth , and Sixteenth 
 Councils of Toledo.—Settlements in Africa . — 
 Seventeenth Council of Toledo . 
 
 Chintilla having been raised to the throne on the 
 demise of Sisenand, who had in 635, the last year of 
 his reign, convoked the Fifth Council of Toledo, which 
 probably, considering the preceding one had done 
 sufficient against the Jews, makes no mention of them. 
 But the Sixth, assembled by Chintilla, in 638, con¬ 
 firmed all former enactments against that innocent 
 people; for we find no crime on record imputed to 
 them individually or collectively, except their ad¬ 
 herence to the law their forefathers had received at 
 Mount Sinai, could be so deemed. 
 
 This Council less liberal than that St. Isidor had 
 
 presided over, enacted by. 1 
 
 “ Canon. 3. —The inflexible treachery of the Jews has by piety 
 and divine grace been overcome; for inspired by the Most High 
 God, our most excellent and Christian prince, inflamed with ardour 
 for the faith, together with the clergy of his kingdom, has resolved 
 
 1 Aguirre, Coll. Max. 
 
638 .] 
 
 OF TOLEDO. 
 
 19 
 
 to destroy their prevarication and superstition to the utmost, by not 
 permitting the residence of any person in the land who is not a 
 Catholic. For which zeal we give thanks to the Almighty King 
 of Heaven, that He has created so illustrious a soul, and endued it 
 with His wisdom. May he grant him a long life in this world, and 
 everlasting glory in the future. 
 
 “ We therefore now decree, and confirm what has hitherto been 
 enacted in general synod respecting the Jews, seeing that all re¬ 
 quisite for their salvation has been done with circumspection. We 
 now declare all such edicts to be valid.” In addition to which they 
 added: “We hereby deliberately resolve, that whoever in future 
 shall obtain the sovereignty, shall not ascend the throne before he 
 has sworn not to permit the Jews to infringe this holy faith, and in 
 no wise to be seduced, either through neglect or cupidity to favor 
 their perfidy.” 
 
 The latter part of this Canon shews, that the Clergy 
 suspected that even these intolerant Visigothic kings, 
 might be bribed not to enforce the execution of the 
 conciliary decrees; and is the first instance of their 
 assuming in Spain to dictate laws to their Sove¬ 
 reign. 
 
 It might be supposed this rigorous decree would 
 have struck a mortal blow to the Hebrew nation in 
 the Peninsula; but the frequent revolutions of the 
 throne, the instability of the royal authority, and the 
 troubles that accompanied each election and accession 
 to the crown, added to the ignorance of the admin¬ 
 istrators of the law and the clergy, who in general 
 could neither read or write, were causes that prevented 
 the strict execution of the decrees of the Councils, 
 and rendered them ineffective. An extraordinary 
 fact is, that these laws neither effected the conversion, 
 nor extirpation of the Jews; but there were Christians 
 who embraced Judaism. Attached to their domes¬ 
 tic hearths, the productive returns of the soil they 
 
20 
 
 NINTH COUNCIL OF TOLEDO. 
 
 [651 
 
 industriously cultivated, their extensive commerce, 
 and the graves of their dearest ties, they yet remained; 
 aware that their wealth and the venality even of the 
 Clergy could secure them protection in time of need. 
 
 They do not appear to have been molested during 
 the short reign of his son Tulga, nor in the succeeding 
 one of Chindasvinto who had deposed him; although, 
 to legalise his usurpation and obtain the support of 
 the clergy, he took the prescribed oath. Contrary 
 to the fundamental laws of the kingdom and the 
 rights of the nobles, the crown being elective, he as¬ 
 sociated with him in the regal power his son Reces- 
 vinthus, who ascended the throne on the death of his 
 father in 649. 
 
 At the Eighth Council of Toledo, he presented a 
 memorial recorded by Aguirre, and embodied in the 
 Fuero Juzgo, 2 said to be from the newly converted 
 Jews of Toledo, who feared a threatened enquiry into 
 their conduct as good Catholics. This seems to be a 
 spurious document, and probably was some forgery 
 imposed upon him; for it can scarcely be believed to 
 have emanated from persons who had professed Ju¬ 
 daism ; that they would abrogate its most sacred 
 rites, and break off all connection with their Jewish 
 relatives, solely under condition that they should not 
 be forced to eat pork. 
 
 We find no further mention made of them during 
 his reign; if we except the twentieth canon of the Ninth 
 Toledan Council held two years after, which enjoined 
 all baptised Jews strictly to observe all the festivals 
 of the New Testament, and to attend all solemnities 
 of the Church, under pain of being sentenced to fast, 
 or to be scourged. 
 
 2 Vide infra, Chap. IV. law xvi 
 
681 ] 
 
 TWELFTH COUNCIL OF TOLEDO. 
 
 21 
 
 Notwithstanding the decrees of Councils, the Clergy 
 sold their slaves to Jews; and the trade was so openly 
 carried on, that the Tenth Council of Toledo, held in 
 656, found it necessary to enact a Canon against 
 such traffic. On the death of Recesvinthus in 672, 
 Wamba, against his will, was forced by the Nobles and 
 Clergy to accept the Crown. He found his Jewish 
 subjects numerous; for during the tranquillity they 
 had enjoyed for some years, they had greatly in¬ 
 creased, to which their early marriages and active life 
 mainly contributed. As the new king was obliged 
 to take the prescribed oath, and to order all uncon¬ 
 verted Jews to be expelled from the kingdom, the 
 decree was rigidly executed. Some went to Africa; 
 and numbers who would not submit to baptism, passed 
 the Pyrenees, and sought an asylum in Narbonne 
 and Gascony, where they were kindly received. Dur¬ 
 ing his reign, the Saracens made their first attempt 
 against Spain, but this attack his bravery defeated. 
 Recovering from the effects of poison administered at 
 the instigation of Ervig who, dazzled by the brilliancy 
 of a diadem, sought his death, he retired to a mon¬ 
 astery in 680, abdicating with pleasure to his am¬ 
 bitious rival a throne he had been forced to occupy. 
 
 To secure his ill-acquired dignity, Ervig, in 681, 
 assembled the Twelfth Council of Toledo, when the 
 following was enacted : 3 
 
 “ Canon 9.— .We have read with careful attention the laws lately 
 promulgated by our most glorious prince, in various divisions, upon 
 the execrable perfidy of the Jews. With due consideration, we 
 likewise have approved all those regulations; and, as they have been 
 justly ordained and approved by synodal examination, they shall 
 henceforward be held as an irrevocable course in judicial pro¬ 
 ceedings against the transgressors of them.” 
 
 3 Aguirre. 
 
22 TWELFTH COUNCIL OF TOLEDO. [681. 
 
 “ The laws' in repetition of former laws against Jewish trans¬ 
 gressions, and the late ratification of the same.” 
 
 “That Jews shall not abstain themselves, nor withhold their 
 children or slaves from baptism.” 
 
 u That Jews shall not celebrate the Passover as accustomed, nor 
 practise circumcision, nor dissuade any one from the Christian faith.” 
 
 “That Jews shall not presume to observe the Sabbath, or any 
 festival of their religion.” 
 
 “ That Jews shall not work on the Lord’s day nor on other speci¬ 
 fied days.” 
 
 “ That Jews shall make no distinction in food.” 
 
 “ That Jews shall no longer marry near relations.” 
 
 u That Jews shall not dare to defend their religion to the dis¬ 
 paragement of ours, nor flee anywhere to avoid the faith; nor shall 
 any person harbour such.” 
 
 “ That no Chiistian accept any gift whatever to the prejudice of 
 the Christian faith.” 
 
 11 That Jews shall not read books abhorred by the Christian faith.” 
 
 “ That no Christian slave shall belong to Jews.” 
 
 “ If a Jew declares himself to be a Christian, and on that account 
 refuses to give up a slave.” 
 
 “ Every Jew on embracing the faith to deliver his profession in 
 writing.” 
 
 “ The conditions Jews are to swear to, on renouncing Judaism 
 for the faith.” % 
 
 “ Concerning Christian slaves of Jews not declared to be Christians, 
 and respecting those who shall denounce them.” 
 
 “ No Jew shall dare to govern, strike, or arrest any Christian in 
 virtue of any authority, except by royal ordinance.” 
 
 “ That unconverted slaves of Jews receiving the Christian faith, 
 shall receive their freedom.” 
 
 “ That Jews shall not presume on the authority of land proprietors 
 or others, to govern a Christian family, and the penalties to be in¬ 
 flicted on those that give them such authority.” 
 
 “ That a Jew arriving from any other province or territory of 
 our dominions, shall without delay present himself before the bishop 
 or priest of the place, and what is proper he should observe.” 
 
 “ The manner in which bishops are to muster Jews at stated times.” 
 
 “Any person having a Jew in his service, shall deliver him up 
 on the demand of any priest.” 
 
693 .] SIXTEENTH COUNCIL OF TOLEDO. 23 
 
 tl That the duty of distinguishing Jews belongs solely to priests ” 
 
 11 On the penalties priests and magistrates incur for delay in 
 executing the laws against the Jews.” 
 
 11 That magistrates shall not presume without the sanction of the 
 priest, to decide any matter of Jewish transgression.” 
 
 “ That bishops are exempt from penalties when their presbyters 
 have not sent for their abjudication, what they have failed to correct.” 
 
 “ The prerogative of mercy towards those who are truly converted 
 to the Christian faith is reserved to princes.” 
 
 11 Every bishop shall furnish the Jews of his diocese with a book 
 written against their errors, and shall store in the archives of his 
 cathedral, their professions and conditions.” 
 
 11 The promulgation of all these laws as approved by synodal 
 decision, by our unanimous consent, shall be enforced against those 
 that transgress them.” 
 
 These elaborate laws as will be seen could not be 
 carried into effect. Probably the severity and prolixity 
 of their enactments, rendered them as fruitless, as all 
 other anterior decrees of councils had proved. 
 
 Ervig having named as his successor Egica, the 
 nephew of Wamba, he was succeeded by him on his 
 death in 687. The year after his accession, Egica 
 convoked the Fifteenth Council, but nothing was said 
 or done respecting the Jews. At the Sixteenth, held 
 in 693, as he found the oppressive laws of his prede¬ 
 cessors had proved ineffective, he sought by rewards 
 to keep the converts to their newly assumed faith. 
 
 His patent for its convocation contains the follow¬ 
 ing; 4 “In conformity to our late proclamation, none 
 of those Jews who persevere in their obstinacy, shall 
 approach the tribunal of justice on any subject what¬ 
 ever, nor shall presume to transact any business with 
 Christians. Nevertheless, if any of the said Hebrews, 
 their wives or children, shall hereafter sincerely em¬ 
 brace the Catholic faith, renouncing all prevaricating 
 
 4 Aguirre. 
 
24 
 
 SIXTEENTH COUNCIL OF TOLEDO. 
 
 [693 
 
 errors and the ceremonies of their former religion, let 
 him be free from every subjection he was under while 
 in his state of error, and was accustomed to contribute 
 to the public service.” The council enacted :— 
 
 u Canon 1 . — Notwithstanding many writers of the ancient fathers, 
 and promulgated laws extant, condemning the false belief of the 
 Jews, yet, as the prophetic record declares, ‘ the sin of Judah 
 is written with a pen of iron, and with the point of a diamond,’ 
 they still persevere in the blindness of their obstinacy on a yet 
 harder rock. It is too plain that the walls of the Catholic Church 
 are often attacked by the engines of their infidelity. Therefore 
 they must be unwillingly corrected, or awfully crushed while per¬ 
 ishing for ever under the judgment of God. 
 
 “ It is the laudable practice of skilful physicians to press the 
 art of healing on those who suffer various diseases, until they accept 
 the wholesome remedy. Then, as the earnest desire and ready 
 devotion of our glorious and Christ-loving king, Egica, are willing 
 to provide the virtue of this admirable medicine for them, that 
 either they be converted to the faith, or if adhering to their infidelity 
 be more severely treated, by his command and exhortation our 
 council has unanimously resolved:— 
 
 “ That all provisions contained in the decrees and laws of our 
 predecessors in the Catholic faith, for the destruction of their per¬ 
 fidy, shall be more strictly enforced by all ecclesiastics and ma¬ 
 gistrates; and what we now ordain shall be equally zealously 
 observed. Namely, 
 
 “ That all those who shall be sincerely converted, and without 
 subterfuge faithfully keep the Catholic faith, shall remain secure 
 in their possessions and property, and exempt from every tax they 
 have been accustomed to pay to our sacred treasury; but such as 
 continue in their infidelity shall pay the full amount of their cus¬ 
 tomary taxation for the public benefit. 
 
 “ Those who have abandoned their errors, shall onty pay to the 
 revenue the same as other freemen, and be at full liberty to carry 
 on business, and equally with Christians, shall discharge any public 
 duty they may be appointed to by the king; for the rule of faith 
 requires that every one adorned with the faith of Christ, should be 
 held as noble and honorable among men. 
 
 “We fully confirm the said law, which, as above stated, has been 
 
693 ] 
 
 SETTLEMENTS IN AFRICA. 
 
 25 
 
 promulgated by our lord the king, Egica, for the suppresssion of 
 contumacy, and by this decree of our constitution, declare it to be 
 of immoveable stability.” 
 
 But Egica did not succeed in his purpose; for 
 although some few, allured by becoming nobles and 
 being relieved from heavy imposts, may have abjured 
 the religion of their fathers, they remained firm in 
 their faith; and they appear to have been numerous. 
 In the early part of his reign, instead of prosecuting, 
 he was favorable to his Hebrew subjects. He annulled 
 the capital punishments they were liable to, and sub¬ 
 stituted banishment or scourging, which was not even 
 inflicted. They were at first tolerated, and then owned 
 lands, houses, and slaves; for we find a colony of Jews 
 at this period existed in the Pyrenees. Repeated 
 emigrations had led them to form settlements on the 
 opposite coasts of Africa, and naturally a mutual 
 sympathy for absent friends and mercantile enterprise 
 led to a constant correspondence and communication 
 between the opposite shores of the Mediterranean, as 
 Jews were located in most of the seaports, for the 
 benefit of their commerce. 
 
 Although history is silent as to the Saracens making 
 any attempt against Spain since their defeat by 
 Wainba; it may yet be supposed the design was not 
 abandoned. Egica suspected the Hebrews of the two 
 shores had combined to assist them in the conquest of 
 the Peninsula, a suspicion founded on the idea that 
 they would gladly embrace the opportunity of aveng¬ 
 ing the wrongs and persecutions they had suffered 
 since Catholic Visigoth sovereigns had wielded the 
 Iberian sceptre. Proofs he had none, or he would 
 have laid them before the Seventeenth Council of 
 
26 
 
 SEVENTEENTH COUNCIL 
 
 [ 694 . 
 
 Toledo, held the following year, 694, instead of the 
 vague accusation, “that he had recently learnt by open 
 avowal, that the Hebrews had plotted with others 
 beyond the sea to effect the ruin of Christendom/’ 
 That Council enacted;— 
 
 “ Canon 8 . —By command of our most pious king, Egica, who, 
 inflamed with zeal for the Lord, and impelled by ardour for the 
 holy faith, not only wishes to avenge the insult offered to Christ’s 
 cross, but to prevent by severity the ruin they had savagely en¬ 
 gaged to bring on his country and people, that the perjurers them¬ 
 selves and their posterity be deprived of all their property and 
 possessions, the same being confiscated to the national treasury, 
 that they be deprived of their homes in all the provinces of Spain, 
 and be subjected to perpetual slavery under those he may assign 
 them to; and so remain for ever. Nor shall any opportunity by 
 connivance be afforded them of recovering their liberty, while they 
 continue obstinate in their unbelief, for they are branded with 
 numberless transgressions. 
 
 “ We likewise ordain, that certain Christian slaves that belong * 
 to such Jews, as shall be selected at the king’s will, shall either 
 receive from their owner’s property as much as the king by his 
 authority shall grant, or Avritten, letters of manumission; and the 
 duties hitherto performed for the public by those Jews, are to be 
 performed to the full extent, Avithout diminution by the said slaves 
 whom our said prince may have selected. 
 
 “Finally, the persons to Avhom the said Jews shall have been 
 appropriated by our said Lord the king, shall sign a bond on their 
 honor, not to permit them to perform their worship, or celebrate 
 their rites, or in any way to follow the perfidy of their ancestors. 
 
 “We further decree that their children of both sexes of seven 
 years old and upwards, are not to reside or associate with their parents, 
 but their owners shall give them to be brought up by faithful Chris¬ 
 tians, keeping in view that the males are to be united in marriage 
 Avith Christian women, and the females married to Christian men. 
 
 “ And as before said, permission shall not be given either to the 
 parents or children, to observe the ceremonies of Jewish super¬ 
 stition, nor opportunity be afforded them of again walking in the 
 paths of their unbelief.” 
 
694 .] 
 
 OF TOLEDO. 
 
 27 
 
 The foregoing demonstrates how inefficient all for¬ 
 mer decrees had been to eradicate Judaism from the 
 Hebrew breast. Taught from their earliest infancy to 
 acknowledge the unity of God, the Creator of heaven 
 and earth, by u Hear, 0 Israel, the Lord is our God, 
 the Lord is One!” 5 it remains indelibly imprinted on 
 their souls, and with their last expiring breath, they 
 repeat the sacred verse. Nor could anterior enact¬ 
 ments be carried into effect, from causes before stated; 
 to which probably may be added, the reluctance of 
 the inhabitants to oppress a people with whom they 
 had lived in friendly intercourse for centuries before 
 the Gothic conquest. 
 
 Notwithstanding former interdicts, they yet were 
 possessed of slaves, and served the State; and the 
 latter part of the Canon corroborates the assertion of 
 Llorente, that many of the present grandees and 
 nobles of Spain are descended from Jewish ances¬ 
 tors. 
 
 This, like preceding con'ciliary decrees tended only 
 to the involuntary apostasy of a few, and the emigra¬ 
 tion of many; for as Aguirre says, “Many edicts were 
 in vain made by the Gothic kings against the Jews.” 
 The Fuero Juzgo was first compiled in 634; but by 
 the following translation it will be seen that many later 
 laws are added to it, and that those regarding Jews 
 were more specially directed against converts. 
 
 5 Deut. vi, 4. 
 
28 
 
 # 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 ®f)t dPutvo Sujgo or u Visigothic Code” 
 
 BOOK xii. TITLE 2. 
 
 Laws on Heretics and Jews. 
 
 IV.—No Jew is in any manner to revile or abandon the 
 holy Christian faith which the saints received by baptism. 
 No person shall impugn it by word or deed, nor attack it either 
 secretly or overtly. No one shall hide himself to avoid re¬ 
 ceiving it, nor shall any person secrete one that he may escape. 
 No Jew shall in future think to return to his errors and ex¬ 
 communicated religion; no one shall imagine, utter, or by any 
 act publish the deceitful religion of the Jews, which is con¬ 
 trary to that of Christians. No one shall attempt by force to 
 infringe or to murmur against the Christian establishments. 
 No person shall harbour any one acquainted with • the said 
 prohibitions, nor delay giving information against the person 
 who hides one, and the place where he is secreted. Whoever 
 transgresses what we here ordain, shall receive the punishment 
 the law enacts.— The King Don Recesvinthus. 
 
 V-—No Jew shall celebrate his passover on the fourteenth 
 day of any month, nor make holidays on the days they have 
 been accustomed to, nor observe any of the great or minor 
 festivals conformable to their former error. No one shall in 
 future observe the festivals, sabbaths, or other feasts, nor 
 
 1 Madrid Edit. 1600. 
 
VISIGOTHIC CODE 
 
 29 
 
 shall any one presume to respect or keep them hereafter. If 
 any person is found to do it he shall receive the punishment 
 specially established.— Ibid. 
 
 VI-—No Jew shall presume to marry or commit adultery, 
 or incest with a relative within the sixth degree, nor make 
 marriage feasts unless according to Christian custom: any 
 person that does so shall be punished and fined.— Ibid. 
 
 VII. —No Jew shall circumcise himself, nor permit another 
 person to do it to a freeman, slave, or one who has been 
 liberated, whether a native or foreigner; he is neither thus to 
 mutilate his flesh, nor that of any other person; and any one 
 who does, or permits another to do it, shall receive the punish¬ 
 ment established by law.— Ibid. 
 
 VIII. —The apostle St. Paul saith, that all things are pure 
 to men who are pure in faith, but that nothing is pure to 
 those that are defiled by not being of the faithful; therefore it 
 is right that the impurity which is the greatest of impurities 
 ought to be removed and rejected from among Christians; 
 therefore we establish that no Jew shall make a distinction 
 between one meat and another, according to their custom and 
 the usages of their religion. No one shall abstain from eating 
 such things as he ought, and that from their nature seem good. 
 No person is to eat one food and refuse another, except such 
 as Christian custom ordains, and should it be proved that 
 any person transgresses this law he shall be punished accor¬ 
 dingly.— Ibid. 
 
 IX. —We specially command by this decree, that no Jew 
 in any cause can be a witness against a Christian, although 
 the Christian be a slave; nor can he in any trial have a Chris¬ 
 tian put to the torture, nor can he be received as the accuser; 
 that the faith of an infidel may not be more valued than that 
 of the faithful, and the members of Christ be rendered sub¬ 
 servient to their enemies; but Jews may give testimony in 
 causes between each other or against thqjr slaves. According 
 to law they may plead, and bring them to judgment before 
 Christian judges.— Ibid. 
 
30 
 
 FUERO JUZGO, OR 
 
 X. —A liar to man is disgraced, and ought to be punished, 
 how much more so should those who are proved to act de¬ 
 ceitfully against the law of God, such persons ought not to be 
 admitted as witnesses against Christians; we therefore forbid 
 Jews whether baptised or not, being received as witnesses 
 against Christians; but their descendants may give testimony 
 together with Christians, provided their good conduct and 
 sincere faith is proved to the priest, king, or judge.— Ibid. 
 
 XI. —This law is made to punish the perfidy of the Jews, 
 more severely than enacted by former laws, therefore we ordain, 
 that every Jew who transgresses the enactments and prohibitions 
 contained in the aforesaid laws, and refuses to observe and 
 maintain them as they have engaged, is to be put to death by 
 their hands, and to be stoned or burnt. If the prince desires 
 to spare the life of any person convicted of such crime, he 
 shall make him a slave to whomever he chooses, and his property 
 shall be given to other Jews, in such manner that it never 
 again come into his possession, nor shall he ever be released 
 from slavery.— Ibid . 
 
 XII. —We order that no Jew shall purchase or accept as a 
 gift a Christian slave; and if he buy or receive one as a gift, 
 (and circumcise him, he is to lose the sum he paid, and the 
 slave is to be manumitted) whether male or female. All the 
 property of a Jew who circumcises a Christian slave shall be 
 confiscated to the king.— Sizebut. 
 
 XIII. Wheieas the law made long since by our ancestor 
 King Recared, that Christian slaves should not be m the pos¬ 
 session of a Jew, would have sufficed had the Jews not sub¬ 
 sequently beguiled the hearts of princes to benefit them con¬ 
 trary to justice; and whereas we have made laws against them 
 and in various ways opposed their deceit; as in former times 
 they have transgressed the law made by the said prince, our 
 ancestor, we therefore by this law ordain, that any Christian 
 slaves that were in the possession of Jews when the said law 
 was made, whether liberated or not, are to have the rights of 
 Roman citizens, and according to law are to be free. And if 
 
VISIGOTHIC CODE. 
 
 31 
 
 any of the slaves liberated in consequence of that ordinance of 
 the king have been sold, or by deed or otherwise placed in 
 the hands of another person, such bond is invalid, and such 
 sale annulled. The slave is to be free, the seller receiving the 
 value established by law, and he is to live in freedom by his 
 labour, the same as other working people; and in proportion 
 to the wages he earns, he shall be bound to pay a part to his 
 former master. And if they have obtained any slaves since the 
 law of the said prince was made, we command that they sell 
 or liberate them by the calends of July. Christians who have 
 been circumcised by Jews, and observe their customs, shall be 
 punished according to law. Those who again become slaves 
 to Jews, or that according to law ought to be free, and are 
 yet held by them in slavery, shall receive amends for it ac¬ 
 cording to law, the same as a free man would. Jews that are 
 converted to the holy Christian faith, shall have their portion 
 of their father’s slaves, but neither the father or son shall make 
 the apportionment in the sale of slaves; it shall be done by 
 the purchaser solely. And Jews who have craftily obtained 
 any concessions from our predecessors, the same are cancelled 
 and devolve again to the king. Slaves of Jews that have had 
 themselves baptised, or are found desirous to do so, and are in 
 the possession of their masters, are to be immediately liberated; 
 they are to pay the amount on receiving their freedom, and 
 not having the means, and being unable to do it, they are to 
 serve him at the same wages as a freeman, until the amount 
 is paid..— Ibid. 
 
 XIV.—We give health to the poor of our kingdom when 
 we relieve the faithful to God from the power of infidels; for 
 the faith of Christians is much exalted when the craft of the 
 Jews exercises no power over them: then the power of God 
 can walk in the love of Christ. Therefore by this law which 
 is to be valid hereafter for ever, in presence of all the barons 
 of our court, we enact, that from the first year of our reign, no 
 Jew shall have under him any Christian freeman, slave, or 
 youth, nor have them to serve him gratuitously; nor do we 
 permit him in any manner to exercise authority over such, 
 
32 
 
 FUERO JUZGO. 
 
 but we permit him to sell his slave with his earnings and 
 property to a Christian in our dominions. And we order 
 that no person shall have the power to sell his slave out of 
 the kingdom, but only in the places where they reside. And 
 we order that if the slave has no property of his own, the 
 vendor shall give the purchaser sufficient to clothe and main¬ 
 tain him; this we order, that it may not appear that the 
 seller throws him on the wide world. And if a Jew wishes 
 to liberate his slave, and he turn Christian, he is to do it 
 according to the usage of Roman citizens, in such manner 
 that he shall not be bound to serve any Jew, but may if he 
 chooses, live away from them and their society. And if a Jew 
 fraudulently liberate or sell a slave, and such sale or release 
 cause injury to the person he had previously sold him to, if a 
 freeman discovers the fraud, the Jew shall make good the 
 loss, and if the Christian who assisted in committing the fraud 
 have no property, he shall be given as a slave to whom¬ 
 soever the king pleases; and should it be a person of rank 
 half his property is to be confiscated, and he is to be de¬ 
 graded for ever. And if a slave discover it, he shall be 
 liberated and released by his owner, which freedom is valid 
 for his whole life, and he is to receive a pound of gold 
 from those who committed the fraud, and the king shall give 
 another slave to the owner in lieu of the one liberated. And 
 if a Jew circumcises a Christian, or converts a Christian 
 woman to his religion, he is to be beheaded, and his property 
 is to be confiscated to the king, and the informer is to be 
 rewarded. 
 
 Slaves born from the connection of Christians with Jews 
 are by our order to be Christians. If they will not consent, 
 they are to be publicly scourged and branded, and by order 
 of the king shall be given to some Christian as slaves. If such 
 connections are clandestinely carried on in our kingdom, the 
 Jew may, if he chooses, become a Christian; but if he will 
 not, the connection is to be broken off, and he is to be 
 banished from our kingdom for ever. To the above we add, 
 that if a Jew wishes to turn to the Christian faith, and receive 
 
OR VISIGOTHIC CODE. 
 
 33 
 
 the holy baptism, he shall retain unmolested all the property 
 he then possesses. And we command that this law, and all 
 we have ordered herein, is to be carried into full effect by 
 the calends of July, and if after the said time until the 
 calends of July next following, any Jew should be found pos¬ 
 sessing a Christian slave, half his property shall be confiscated 
 to the king, and the slave will be free; nor may the Jew 
 demand any payment for his person, nor anything from his 
 future earnings. And this law, which we make from the love 
 of mercy and religion, for the preservation of our people, we 
 order with God’s help is to be for ever in force. 
 
 Jesus Christ who conquers, will make all the kings our suc¬ 
 cessors, who observe the enactments of this law, conquerors; 
 and prolong the reign of those who shall be inclined to keep 
 it; and although we do not believe, that the enactments of this 
 law will ever be violated, yet should any one infringe or not 
 obsei ve it, let him in that age be degraded more than other men, 
 and his life be destroyed at the time he thinks of acting con¬ 
 trary thereto; may the load of his sins for transgressing this law 
 and its enactments be so heavy, that, on the awful day on 
 which he is to come for judgment and our Lord is to appear, 
 he be separated from the faithful flock of Christ, and placed 
 with Jews on the left hand, and burnt in flames of fire with 
 the devil for his companion. And we declare this, that the 
 punishment of those who violate this law may be severe, and 
 that those who enforce its provisions be well rewarded. 
 
 XV.—In the execution of the foregoing laws, which we and 
 our ancestors have made to eradicate the perfidy of the Jews, 
 we have been pleased, in confirmation and to enforce the same, 
 to add the following: for where we have given shelter to the 
 enemies of the faith, and established guards against ail the de¬ 
 ceptions of infidels, it is right that we should confirm what has 
 been done, and that we respect those that have been confirmed; 
 for inasmuch as the architect only demonstrates the inge¬ 
 nuity of art, while the work remains firm and is most re¬ 
 spected, then, that the deceit of the Jews, which we have 
 
 D 
 
34 THE FUERO JUZGO, 
 
 always in every way endeavoured to suppress, and to prevent 
 the formation of their communicated establishments, we there¬ 
 fore by this law enact: — 
 
 That no person of any religion, or of any rank or quality, 
 or attached to our court, either great or small, or any per¬ 
 son of any people, or of any note, or of princes or grandees, 
 shall endeavour or devise to assist Jews who will not be 
 baptised, to remain in their faith and customs ; nor those that 
 have been baptized to return to their perfidy and bad customs. 
 No person, from being powerful, shall presume to defend 
 them to remain in their wickedness; no one shall endeavour 
 by word or deed to aid them therein, as it is opposed to 
 the holy Christian faith. Nor shall any one attempt to prove, 
 say, or do, either privately or publicly, any thing against it, 
 should any one dare to do it, whether he is a bishop, eccle¬ 
 siastic, or layman, of whom it be proved, he shall be sepa¬ 
 rated from the society of Christians, and excommunicated by 
 the Church. A fourth part of his property shall be confiscated 
 to the king ; as it is just, that those who go in opposition to 
 the love of Christ and the truth, in favour of its enemies, 
 should be separated from the society of the faithful, and lose 
 their property. 
 
 Whoever transgresses this law, shall receive the sentence 
 promulgated in the preceding of King Sizebut. 
 
 XVI.—The abjuration and protest made by the Jews 
 against their religion in the time of king Rescesvinthus : — 
 
 To our Lord the most merciful and much honored king, 
 Rescesvinthus. 
 
 We, all the Jews of Toledo who have signed, and put our 
 usual signatures hereto, salute you. 
 
 We remember that in former times by command of king 
 Chintila, that we truly and justly promised and engaged by 
 writings, that we all would receive and observe the Christian 
 faith; but as the errors of our fathers prevent our sincerely 
 believing in our Lord Jesus Christ, and firmly to practise 
 the Christian faith ; we therefore now of our free will and 
 
OR VISIGOTHIC CODE. 
 
 35 
 
 accord, answer to your highness for ourselves, our wives and 
 
 children, that henceforward we will not practise any Jewish 
 custom. 
 
 We will in no way associate with Jews that will not be 
 baptised. 
 
 T\ e will not marry with any relative within the sixth 
 degiee, nor commit incest with any female of our family; 
 and hereafter, we, our sons, and descendants both male and 
 female, will marry Christians. 
 
 We will not have our flesh circumcised, nor keep the pass- 
 ovei, sabbaths, or the other festivals ; nor refrain from meats 
 according to Jewish custom; nor live or perform anything 
 as they do: but we all will with sincere faith, great devotion, 
 and willing accord, believe in-Christ, the son of the living God, 
 as is ordained by the evangelists and apostles whom we acknow¬ 
 ledge and reverence. All will sincerely profess the holy 
 Christian faith, in the observance of the festivals, marriages, 
 food, and every other custom, without hesitation, reservation, 
 or any reason on our part against fulfilling all we here pro¬ 
 mise. In regard to swine’s flesh, we promise, that although 
 from not being accustomed to it we cannot eat it, yet, 
 without objection or scruple, we will eat anything seasoned 
 or cooked with it. 
 
 And should any of us be accused of transgressing the 
 least of the aforesaid, or do anything contrary to the Chris¬ 
 tian faith, either by word or deed, or delay performing what 
 we have promised, we swear by the said Father, Son and 
 Holy Ghost, which are one God in Trinity, that we will 
 stone and burn any of those who are reported to have 
 transgressed anything of the above. 
 
 And should you in your mercy wish to preserve his life, 
 he shall immediately become a slave ; and you may give 
 him with all his property to whomsoever you please, and do 
 with his person and property whatever you think fit, not 
 only from the power you possess as king, but by this our 
 act and deed we willingly sanction, under date of the 12th 
 of the calends of March, in the sixth year of your reign (655). 
 
THE FUERO JUZGO. 
 
 XYII.—As Christians necessarily complain of the evil that 
 arises from those opposed to the Christian faith, on that ac¬ 
 count they are not to pardon those that abandon the best 
 promise and turn to the worst ; and, in proportion as the 
 presumption is more cruel and surprising, so ought the punish¬ 
 ment to be more severe and cruel. 
 
 We therefore by this law enact, that any Christian, parti¬ 
 cularly those so born, whether man or woman, that should 
 hereafter be found to be circumcised, or that practise 
 Jewish customs, which, God forbid, shall suffer the severest 
 punishment, and be put to death by us and Christians, 
 to know how detestable and excommunicated is the crime 
 he has committed, and all his property shall be confiscated 
 to the king, that neither his heirs nor relations derive bene¬ 
 fit from such error. 
 
37 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 The Jews recalled by Witiza—Invasion of the Moors — 
 Jews protected by them — Capitulation of Toledo — 
 Pelage forms a Christian Monarchy—Manuscripts 
 of Granada burnt — Midey Hassan's Library at 
 Tunis destroyed — Change of Moorish dynasty —- 
 I he Persian Schools closed — R. Moses clad in Sack¬ 
 cloth—Heroic Conduct of his Wife—Talmud translated 
 into Arabic . 
 
 On \\ itiza, who had for some years previously 
 shared with his father Egica the regal power, becoming, 
 in 701, sole sovereign of Spain, brighter prospects 
 opened for the Peninsula. He sought to heal the 
 wounds tyranny and persecution had inflicted on it 
 during nearly three centuries. He reduced the taxes; 
 he recalled those whom his father had banished; he 
 reinstated them in their honors and offices and re¬ 
 stored their property. That no remembrance of the 
 accusations against them might remain, he ordered 
 the proceedings to be burnt; and permitted the Jews 
 who had forcibly been baptised, to return to the reli¬ 
 gion they had involuntarily abjured. Thousands 
 returned to their abandoned homes and a country 
 endeared to them by long residence, so that when a 
 few years after, Granada was taken by the Moors, they 
 found it a Jewish town. But so sudden a transition 
 from the warlike habits of his people, to the enjoyment 
 of peace, raised many enemies against him, the intole¬ 
 rant clergy was not among the most backward. 
 
38 
 
 INVASION OF THE MOORS. 
 
 [ 711 . 
 
 The monkish chroniclers of the time assert, that he 
 assassinated the duke of Cantabria, and had the eyes 
 of Theodofred, the brother of Rescesvinthus, pulled 
 out. A rebellion broke out in Andalusia; Roderic, the 
 son of Theodofred, was elected king in 709. By the 
 assistance of the Romans, he defeated the army of 
 Witiza, whom he took prisoner, and after depriving 
 him of sight, sent him to Cordova, where he died in 
 confinement. 
 
 Three centuries in a delicious southern climate had 
 enervated the Northern warriors. They had degene¬ 
 rated into an effeminate, licentious, and dissolute 
 people. The court became a scene of debauchery; the 
 newly elected king, Roderic, gave the rein to his 
 passions and violated the beautiful Florinda, daughter 
 of Count Julian, governor of the Gothic possessions 
 in Mauritania. On learning the insult and dishonor 
 offered to his noble family, the enraged father con¬ 
 spired to deliver the southern promontory of Spain, 
 where he commanded, to the Moors, who were anxious 
 to avenge the defeat they had experienced from 
 Wamba. 
 
 Muza, the lieutenant of the Caliph Walid the First, 
 who then ruled over the immense Arabian empire, and 
 resided at Damascus, dispatched his freedman Tarik 
 with a small force for the coast of Spain. He landed at 
 the foot of the rock Calpe, the present Gibraltar, in 
 April 711, and was shortly after joined by Muza. 
 Roderic had wielded the sceptre but two years, when 
 the Mahometan arms came to arouse him from his 
 stupor and licentious pleasures. He hastily assembled 
 an army to check the victorious African chieftains. 
 The forces met at Xeres de la Frontere: a bloody 
 
714 .] 
 
 SURRENDER OF TOLEDO. 
 
 39 
 
 battle, which furiously raged for eight days, ensued. 
 The combatants on both sides performed most valorous 
 and chivalrous deeds; but the crescent was triumphant. 
 The Yisigothic empire was annihilated; and the ban¬ 
 ners of Muza and Sarik flew from one extremity of 
 the Iberian peninsula to the other. Town after town 
 surrendered to their indomitable arms; they garisoned 
 the principal cities of Seville, Cordova, Granada, etc., 
 with Mahometans and Jews, secure in their fidelity. 
 They had been quiet spectators of the dreadful con¬ 
 flicts; but the injuries they had suffered under their 
 persecutors must have induced them inwardly to 
 pray for the success of the invaders, and to hail 
 them as their deliverers from worse than Egyptian 
 bondage. 
 
 Notwithstanding the assertion of some historians, 
 that the Jews opened the gates of Toledo to the 
 Mahometan forces, the capitulation proves it to be 
 groundless. The Saracens had for some time besieged 
 the capital of the Yisigothic empire, and had been 
 repulsed in various assaults, when bigotry caused its 
 fall. On Palm Sunday a grand procession, attended 
 by the major part of the inhabitants and the principal 
 officers, proceeded to Sta. Leocadia without the walls. 
 The Moors were watching an opportunity to render 
 themselves masters of the city, and seized that ^moment 
 to attack it. The commanders, finding their remaining 
 forces inadequate for its defence, surrendered on the fol¬ 
 lowing terms, which, in mildness and tolerance, were not 
 less honorable to the conquered than to the conquerors. 
 
 All who wished to quit were at liberty to do so 
 in perfect safety, with their property; those who 
 preferred to remain, were to have the free exercise of 
 
40 SCHOOLS OF CORDOVA.—PELAGE. [718. 
 
 their religion. Seven churches were appropriated to 
 the Christians; the remainder were converted into 
 mosques. No new churches were to be erected. 
 Taxation to continue the same as under the Gothic 
 sovereigns. Christians and Jews were to have justice 
 administered by their own magistrates, according to 
 their own laws. 
 
 At Cordova and Seville, they had been equally 
 tolerant, and the Jew in his synagogue, the Christian 
 in his church, and the Moslem in his mosque, might 
 be seen at the same time worshipping the Creator of 
 all. Can it be supposed if the Jews had acted as 
 traitoriouslv as archbishop Rodrig f o asserts, that the 
 Christian governors would have provided for them in 
 the capitulation. What a contrast between the con¬ 
 duct of Mahometans and Christians towards non- 
 conformists to their faith. 
 
 As soon as the Moors were settled in their con¬ 
 quests, the conformity of manners, opinions, sentiment, 
 and even similarity of language, brought numbers of 
 Jews to the Peninsula to partake of their prosperity 
 and science ; they were freely allowed to practise that 
 worship, their Christian rulers had imputed to them 
 as a crime. Attached to their new governors, their 
 only rivalry was in learning ; both united in the dis¬ 
 semination of knowledge. Foreigners flocked from 
 all parts to receive instruction at the renowned Hebrew 
 and Arabian schools of Cordova; for both flourished 
 greatly under the protection of the Moors. 
 
 A few of the A isigoths had escaped the carnage of 
 the bloody field of Xeres, they fled to the mountainous 
 fastnesses of the Asturias, where, under Pelage, a 
 scion of the royal race, they formed a small Christian 
 
845.] SERVICES OF THE JEWS TO PELAGE, 41 
 
 sovereignty, the capital of which was Oviedo; and 
 their successors, after seven centuries of constant 
 warfare, regained inch by inch the land the Saracens 
 had taken from them. The Gothic prince and his 
 handful of adherents, compelled to devote their whole 
 attention and study to the war against the Moors, 
 were ignorant of commerce, and unaccustomed to 
 industrial pursuits. They required the enterprising 
 nenius of the Jews to furnish them the means of 
 
 cD 
 
 existence; they therefore left them unmolested; and, 
 though less fortunate than their brethren in the 
 South, they lived in tranquillity, and ultimately be¬ 
 came valuable assistants to the Castilian crown. 
 The followers of Pelage required the aid of the He¬ 
 brew people; for they could not maintain themselves. 
 War was their noblest occupation, their supreme 
 necessity. They regarded with the utmost contempt, 
 and considered unworthy their valour every art un¬ 
 connected with warfare. The husbandman scarcely 
 cultivated the land, the cavalier only knew to unsheath 
 the sword, or brandish the lance. The gains of war 
 and the field were in the end insufficient to supply the 
 wants of life. The elements of cultivation were in the 
 hands of the Jews, and they became indispensable to the 
 Christians. The odium, although never extinguished, 
 was diminished. The services they rendered were paid 
 with contempt and regarded with mistrust; but at 
 least their industry served to satisfy the caprices of 
 some young magnates. The secret of the sciences 
 they cultivated, from not being understood, were 
 believed to be necromancy and witchcraft, for which 
 many in 845 were burnt alive in various towns, for 
 they had been admitted in all the cities retaken from 
 
42 
 
 LIBRARIES OF GRANADA AND TUNIS. 
 
 the Moors. The descendants of the Goths, with few 
 exceptions, regarded with contempt any literature but 
 Catholic scholastic theology and legends of saints they 
 themselves had canonized. 
 
 This continued in after-ages; for the destruction 
 carried by Ferdinand and Isabella to Granada, ex¬ 
 tended to its valuable library of five thousand ma¬ 
 nuscripts. Cardinal Ximenes issued the barbarous 
 decree, that deprived the lovers of the sciences of those 
 precious volumes. He ordered all to be burnt except 
 about three hundred on philosophy and medicine, 
 which he sent to his college at Alcala, u without per¬ 
 mitting (as his historian states) that the gold and 
 pearl clasps and bindings should be taken from them, 
 although they intreated, and would have paid the 
 10,000 ducats at which they had been valued ; he did 
 not permit it, because they had been instruments of 
 that accursed race.” 1 
 
 Even when Tunis was sacked and pillaged by the 
 troops of Charles V. in 1535, an immense number of 
 valuable Oriental and Arabic books, that were in the 
 library of the Bey, Muley Hassan, and where it is 
 supposed the remains of the famous Alexandrian 
 library of the Ptolemies existed, were destroyed and 
 reduced to ashes. There were works on the human 
 sciences and liberal arts, many on the Alcoran and on 
 the history of the sovereigns of his family. The his¬ 
 torian of the emperor, not being endowed with 
 sufficient feeling to regret properly such a loss, although 
 accustomed to unrol the mouldy parchments of bar- 
 barious ages in his Benedictine monastery, says, 
 
 “ Wlmt Muley Hassan felt most, as I have read, was 
 the loss of his large and valuable library; the bindings 
 
 1 Quintanilla y Mendoza. 
 
750.] FIRST MOORISH CALIPHATE IN SPAIN. 43 
 
 and illuminations in blue and gold were worth an 
 immense sum.” 2 The historian, Jovius, who was pre¬ 
 sent on that horrible day, heard Muley Hassan say, 
 “ that for the whole city of Tunis, he would not have 
 lost such a library.” Where such fanatic fury raged 
 in those more enlightened times, it is matter of sur¬ 
 prise that so many learned Hebrew and Arabic works 
 have been preserved ; numbers must have been 
 destroyed in the continual warfare between the Chris¬ 
 tians and Moors; for under their reigns, Cordova, 
 Seville, Toledo, Valencia, and other cities, were proud 
 of their rich and valuable libraries. 
 
 The revolution that took place at Damascus in 750 
 to which nearly the whole of the Omeyade dynasty 
 fell victims, and which raised Abul Abbas to the Cali¬ 
 phate, could not fail being felt in the West. Yusef 
 Alphezi, then emir of Spain, declared himself in 
 favor of the usurper, while the Moorish chiefs, desirous 
 of independence, espoused the cause of the deposed 
 family. They resolved to revolt against the Abbasides, 
 and erect a Moorish Caliphate in Spain. But there 
 was a difficulty as to whom they could place for 
 sovereign of the new kingdom; this was obviated by 
 the discovery that Abderachman ben Moaviah, a 
 branch of the Omeyade family who had escaped the 
 slaughter that had extirpated most of his relatives in 
 Syria, was living concealed on the coast of Barbary. 
 The discontented chiefs invited him to Spain. He 
 crossed with a few followers; but soon found himself 
 at the head of a numerous army, with which he 
 defeated Yusef and the partizans of the Abbasides, 
 and seated himself on the throne, assuming the title 
 of Caliph of Cordova, in gratitude for the zeal which 
 
 2 Sandoval. 
 
44 R. HASDAI PRIME MINISTER TO ABDERACHMAN II. 
 
 that city had displayed in his cause; and to declare 
 the independence of himself and his kingdom of the 
 Eastern Caliphate. 
 
 Under the wise government of Abderachman, Spain 
 became a place of refuge for the persecuted friends of 
 the Omeyades. Civil dissensions had materially re¬ 
 duced the population; but the immigration of numer¬ 
 ous agricultural and industrious Moors and Jews, 
 soon, under his mild and jiaternal sway, restored it 
 to its former prosperous state. The Omeyade Emirs 
 had founded schools for their own people, and encour¬ 
 aged those of the Jews, which had been established at 
 Cordova, Toledo, Granada, Barcelona, etc., and they 
 could proudly boast there was not a Jew in Spain 
 that could not read the Bible. The appreciation in 
 which the talents of the Hebrews was held, by their 
 enlightened and liberal Moorish sovereigns, cannot be 
 better exemplified than by the fact, that Abderachman 
 II., the third Caliph of Cordova, appointed B. Hasdai 
 ben Isaac, who was his physician, and an able astro¬ 
 nomer, to be his prime minister. He placed the utmost 
 confidence in him; and, on the arrival of ambassadors 
 from Germany, desired him to receive and give them 
 the requisite information, before their presentation at 
 Court. 
 
 In the East, they had long been known as useful 
 subjects. Omar the second Caliph, and his successor 
 Abdul Meleck, confided the important duty of the 
 coinage to a Jew. 
 
 While the famed Oriental academies of Persia and 
 Pumbedita existed, the Jews of Spain respected them 
 as the head of the Hebrew nation, and referred every 
 weighty point, or legal difference to their decision. 
 
PERSECUTION IN PERSIA. 
 
 45 
 
 Notwithstanding the distance and the dangers of the 
 voyage, they sent their sons to them for the study of 
 the law and education. This may account for the 
 paucity of Spanish Jewish writers in Spain, before 
 the Eastern colleges were closed by the Persian Sove¬ 
 reigns. The only work that has been handed down 
 to us, is the biblical dictionary of R. Menahem ben 
 Saruch, written in 836, he therein arranges in alpha¬ 
 betical order all the Hebrew words in the Bible, with 
 their meanings and derivations. Cordova, under the 
 Moors, became the centre of civilisation, literature, and 
 the arts and sciences. The Jews enjoying equal rights 
 and privileges, rivalled their masters in wealth, splen¬ 
 dour, and cultivation. Their superior intelligence gave 
 them a large share in the high ministerial and confi¬ 
 dential offices of the court; and they industriously 
 pursued their commerce with success 
 
 After the Persian dynasty had gained the Caliphate, 
 it commenced persecuting the Israelites. AYithout 
 regard to the flourishing state literature had attained 
 in those Oriental Academies, they expelled the Jews 
 from Babylon, closed their renowned Colleges, and 
 dispersed their illustrious teachers. Four of these 
 learned men were captured by a corsair, despatched 
 by Abderachman from Cordova to cruise in the sea 
 of the Grecian Archipelago. He sold R. Shemaria at 
 Alexandria, who became head of the Jews in Egypt. 
 R. Hoshiel he sold on the coast of Africa, whence he 
 went to Alkirohan, at that time the most powerful of 
 the Mahometan Western provinces, where he became 
 Chief Rabbi. The other two, R. Moses, and his son 
 R. Hanoch, he carried to Cordova. During the voyage 
 he became enamoured of the handsome wife of 
 R. Moses, and endeavoured to Force her to his wishes. 
 
46 
 
 R. MOSES, RABBI OE CORDOVA. 
 
 [ 980 . 
 
 She asked her husband in Hebrew, if those drowned 
 at sea would be resuscitated at the resurrection; he 
 answered her with the verse, “ The Lord said, I will 
 bring again from Bashan, I will bring again from the 
 depths of the sea,” 3 on hearing which, to save her 
 honor, she plunged into the sea and perished. On 
 the vessel’s arrival, the Jews of Cordova redeemed the 
 two captives, although their abilities were not at the 
 time known. One day, R. Moses, habited in sackcloth, 
 with his son entered the college over which R. Nathan 
 . presided. The discussion was on a difficult passage of 
 the treatise Joma : 4 after listening for some time, he 
 explained it so satisfactorily to all the students pre¬ 
 sent, that E. Nathan rose from his seat and said, “ The 
 stranger in sackcloth is my master, and I am his 
 scholar,” and turning to those learned in the law, 
 continued, “ Do you make him judge of the congrega¬ 
 tion of Cordova,” which they immediately did, 
 paying him great honor, and giving him sumptuous 
 apparel and a carriage: this occurred in 980. 5 On the 
 captain discovering the worth of his late captives, he 
 wanted to cancel the sale; but the Caliph would not 
 permit it. R. Moses allied himself to the highest 
 family of the congregation of Cordova, by the marriage 
 of his son R. Hanoch, with a daughter of the house of 
 Peliag, which was so wealthy, that when they went to 
 Zahara, the pleasure seat of the Caliph, they had a 
 retinue of seven hundred Israelites, in carriages, richly 
 drest in the Moorish style. Although this may be con¬ 
 sidered an exaggeration of the Hebrew historian, 6 
 still, when the immense wealth of the Cordovese at this 
 period is considered, it may be perfectly correct. 7 
 
 3 Ps. lxviii. 22. 
 
 6 Ibid. 
 
 4 Day of Atonement. 
 
 7 Appendix, No. 1. 
 
 Juchasin 
 
997 .] 
 
 THE TALMUD TRANSLATED. 
 
 47 
 
 The fame of R. Moses’ learning spread through all 
 Spain and the West. Numbers flocked from all parts 
 to receive instruction from him. Among his disciples 
 was R. Joseph ben Isaac Shatnesh, who by desire of 
 the Caliph Hakim, translated the Talmud into Arabic. 
 R. Moses wished in his latter days to return to his 
 native land; but was dissuaded by the Caliph, who 
 was pleased at the opportunity afforded to his Jewish 
 subjects, of being able to receive instruction in their 
 law, without having recourse to the East, then in the 
 possession of his enemies, the Abbasides. 
 
 R. Hanoch, on the death of his father, succeeded to 
 the post he had held with so much honor, and in which 
 he had raised the academy of Cordova to the greatest 
 renown. R. Joseph, who felt sorely aggrieved that 
 R. Hanoch should have been chosen president in pre¬ 
 ference to himself, caused a great disturbance in the 
 congregation, and was so violent, that they excom¬ 
 municated Rim. He complained to the Caliph, in the 
 hope that the monarch would have protected him; but 
 the Caliph gave his support to the community, and 
 said to him, u Had the Mahometans spurned me as 
 the Jews have you, I would flee from them, and 
 advise you to do the same;” upon which he quitted 
 Spain, and, after wandering about, died at Damascus. 8 
 
 A heavy tribute having been imposed on the people 
 in 997, the authorities sent Amram ben Isaac to 
 remonstrate against it. He was a philosopher, physi¬ 
 cian and astronomer of Toledo. The Governor of 
 Seville, offended at the boldness of his representations, 
 put him to death. 
 
 8 Juehasin. 
 
CHAPTER VI. 
 
 Abderachman III. his remarkable Opinion — Saracens 
 form petty States — The Kingdoms of Navarre 
 Aragon , and Portugal commence — Rabbinical estab¬ 
 lishments in Spain — R. Samuel a Levi , the Prince 
 — R. Joseph lus son succeeds him — Assassinated 
 — Sufferings at Granada — Council at Coyaca — 
 Learned Men — R. Solomon ben Gabriol , compari¬ 
 son of his writings with Rousseau — Five Isaacs 
 —Anecdote of Alfez . 
 
 The Jews settled in every part of Spain. Under 
 the counts of Barcelona they were numerous Pope 
 Silvester II., in 1002, assigned those of Gerona to the 
 bishop; for the Pontiffs had assumed the power of 
 disposing of them as they pleased. 
 
 Moorish Spain, under the wise government of the 
 Omeyade Caliphs, had arrived at the highest degree 
 of civilisation, through their toleration and the pro¬ 
 tection afforded to the arts and sciences, agriculture, 
 and commerce; the Eastern magnificence of their 
 alcazars and mosques was beyond conception. Their 
 description, and that of Cordova their capital, can only 
 be equalled by those of the Arabian nights. 1 
 
 Israel was at its zenith in the time of Solomon; so 
 were the Mahometans of Spain under Abderachman, 
 III. Like the wise king of Israel, he knew the 
 vanity of mundane glory; for at his death, among his 
 papers, was found this remarkable memorandum 
 
 1 Appendix No. 1. 
 
1015.] R. SAMUEL A LEVI THE PRINCE. 49 
 
 written by himself. u I have reigned fifty years in 
 victory and peace, beloved by my subjects, feared by 
 my enemies, and esteemed by my allies. Riches, 
 honor and pleasure await my call, nor does any 
 earthly blessing appear wanting to complete my feli- 
 city. In this situation, I have carefully reckoned the 
 days of perfect happiness that have fallen to my lot: 
 they amount to fourteen ! Man, appreciate hence 
 the value of splendour, worldly enjoyments, and even 
 of life itself: place not thy dependence on this world.” 
 
 Dissensions that daily increased among the Sa- 
 lacens, led to the dissolution and final overthrow of 
 their empire. Almeria, Saragossa, Valencia, Toledo, 
 Seville, and many other cities, became independent 
 and separate sovereignties. The smaller were soon 
 overpowered by their more powerful neighbours, or 
 conquered by the Christian monarchs. 
 
 ^Navane had been erected by Don Garcia .Ximenes, 
 a Spanish noble, into an independent kingdom 
 separate from Leon in 850. Ramirez in 1035 placed 
 the crown, of Aragon on his head. Castille first 
 became united to Asturias and Leon, in 1037. Por¬ 
 tugal declared its independence in 1139. 
 
 The Jews took no part in the unceasing struggle 
 for power between the Christian monarchs and the 
 Saracen chieftains. Their utility as peaceable subjects, 
 their talents and industry were acknowledged by all, 
 
 and made useful to both Christian and Mahometan 
 Governments. 
 
 On the death of R. Hanoch in 1015, one of the most 
 distinguished of his disciples, R. Samuel a Levi, suc¬ 
 ceeded to the Chief Rabbinate of Spain, with the title 
 of prince (Nagid), from which it may be reckoned 
 
 E 
 
50 
 
 R. JOSEPH A LEVI. 
 
 [ 1068 . 
 
 that the government of the Jews was transferred from 
 the banks of the Euphrates to the Iberian soil. 
 Owing to the intestine wars between the two rival 
 Moorish chiefs for supremacy, many of the inhabitants 
 quitted Cordova. Some went to Saragossa, others to 
 Toledo, and E. Samuel a Levi to Malaga, where he 
 kept a druggist’s shop. His profound knowledge of 
 Arabian literature, and his beautiful writing, brought 
 him to the notice of Algnarif, prime minister of Habuz 
 of Granada, who made him his secretary, and on his 
 death-bed recommmended his sovereign to be guided 
 by him. In 1020, he was raised to that high 
 post, and in 1027, secured the crown to Baarim, 
 the eldest son of the deceased king, although the 
 grandees, had sought to place Balkin, the younger son 
 on the throne of his father. R. Samuel a Levi, con¬ 
 ferred great benefits on the Hebrew nation: his 
 charity was not confined to Spain, but extended to 
 his brethren in Africa, Egypt, and the Holy Land. 
 Being exceedingly wealthy, he purchased many copies 
 of the Talmud, Mishna, and other religious works, 
 which, to disseminate learning, he distributed gratui¬ 
 tously. His fame and renown attracted many Jews 
 to Granada from all parts of Spain. His son, E. 
 Joseph succeeded to all his titles and posts of honor; 
 but, unlike his father, whose mildness of disposition 
 and humility had gained him universal esteem, 
 E. Joseph was haughty and proud, and although he 
 was very charitable, he raised himself many enemies 
 among the grandees, who were jealous of his wealth, 
 power, and ostentation. A conspiracy was formed 
 against him, and at the same time a fanatical zealot 
 sought to convert the Mahometans. This assisted the 
 
1079 .] 
 
 COUNCIL OF COYACA. 
 
 51 
 
 conspirators; lor, although the madman was hanged 
 and R. Joseph assassinated, the enraged population, in 
 December 1068, murdered 1,500 families, who, by 
 en Pying tranquillity under the Saracens for upwards 
 of three centuries and a-half, had become immensely 
 wealthy. Plunder probably had, in the Moorish 
 breast, as much influence as religion, in the barbarous 
 act of immolating men, women, and children. The 
 Jews feared it might have extended to all the Moorish 
 dominions; but it went not beyond Granada. Although 
 at this time, by the laws of Spain, it was death for a 
 Jew to commit adultery with a Christian woman, it 
 was only punished by confiscation or scourging. The 
 charter of Barcelona of 1024 records the confisca¬ 
 tion of an estate at the foot of Mont Juich, belonging 
 to a Jew named Isaac, convicted of adultery with a 
 Christian woman. 
 
 I he various Christian states were torn by civil 
 wars. Disputed successions were constant causes for 
 bloodshed; and the nobles had become so powerful, as 
 in many instances to dictate to their sovereigns. The 
 wealth and industry of the Jews became necessary to 
 all; they were intendants of their households and do¬ 
 mains, and were protected by all. The power of the 
 bigoted clergy had lost much of its influence; but it yet 
 exercised some authority with mildness. At a council 
 held at Coyaca in the Asturias, it was enacted 2 _ 
 
 “Canon. 6. — That no Christian shall reside in the same 
 house with Jews, nor partake of their food; whoever trans¬ 
 gresses this decree shall perform penance for seven days, or 
 refusing to do it, if a person of rank, he shall be excommuni¬ 
 cated for a year; if of an inferior degree, he shall receive 
 100 lashes.” 
 
 2 Aguirre. 
 
52 
 
 [ 1070 . 
 
 R. SOLOMON BEN GABRIOL. 
 
 Don Suncho Ramirez having, in 1070, peopled 
 Estella, many Jews settled there, and had their Syna¬ 
 gogue and separate quarter. 
 
 Although Cordova was the focus of Hebrew learn¬ 
 ing, it was not confined to that city of the arts and 
 sciences. Many distinguished men were to be found 
 in various cities of the Peninsula, who flourished at 
 nearly the same period; among whom may be enu¬ 
 merated :— 
 
 R. Samuel Cophni a Cohen— a renowned philosopher 
 and jurist of Cordova, where he died in 1034. He wrote 
 “ Expositions on the Law,” and a treatise on buying and 
 selling according to the Talmudical Canons. 
 
 R. Solomon ben Gabphol— a native of Malaga, and re¬ 
 sident at Saragossa; a poet of great repute, an excellent 
 philosopher, astronomer, musician, and linguist. He wrote the 
 “ Azaroth,” the 613 precepts in verse; a “Collection of 
 Rubies,” a moral work containing!: the sentences of the ancient 
 
 7 O 
 
 Greek and Arabian philosophers, and some other moral works. 
 He died in 1070. His beautiful (and probably the first) as¬ 
 tronomical epic poem, entitled “The Royal Crown,” based on 
 the Ptolemaic system, was closely imitated by a celebrated 
 French author seven centuries after, as the following extracts 
 will shew. That of R. Solomon loses much of its beauty by 
 being rendered in prose. 
 
 R. SOLOMON BEN GABRIOL. 
 
 Man, from his existence, is distres¬ 
 sed, needy, mortified, and afflicted; 
 from his beginning he is chaff that 
 the wind blows away. From the time 
 lie came from his mother’s womb, his 
 night is sorrow, his day sadness. To 
 day he is elevated, to morrow lie 
 breeds worms; a straw makes him 
 draw back, a thorn wounds him. If 
 in abundance he becomes wicked; if 
 hungry, a loaf of bread renders him 
 criminal. He comes into the world, 
 but knows not whence; he rejoices, 
 but knows not why; he lives, but 
 
 J. J. ROUSSEAU. 
 
 Que 1’homme est durant la vie 
 Un parfait mirroir de douleurs, 
 Des qu’il respire, il pleure, il crie, 
 Et semble prevoir ses malheurs. 
 
 Dans l’enfance toujours des pleurs, 
 Un pedant porteur de tristesse, 
 Des livres de toutes couleurs, 
 
 Des chatimens de toute espece. 
 
 L’ardente et joyeuse jeunesse 
 Se met encore en pire etat, 
 
 Des creanciers, une maitressc 
 
 Le tourmentent, comme un foi^at. 
 
THE FIVE ISAACS. 
 
 53 
 
 1103 .] 
 
 knows not how long. In his youth 
 he walks in his depravity. When 
 reason begins to give strength to his 
 mind, he diligently seeks to accumu¬ 
 late wealth. He is constantly liable 
 to trouble and the endless changes of 
 events, subject to evil occurrences 
 that happen every moment, until his 
 life becomes a burden to him; in his 
 honey he finds the venom of vipers. 
 As the infirmities of age increase, his 
 intellectual powers diminish; youths 
 mock him, they rule him; he becomes 
 a burden to those who sprung from 
 his loins, and all his acquaintance are 
 estranged from him. 
 
 Oxford possesses a MS. 
 works. 
 
 Dans l’age mur, autre combat, 
 L’ambition le solicite; 
 
 llichesses, dignites, eclat, 
 
 Soins de famille, tout l’agite. 
 
 Vieux, on le meprise, ou l’evite, 
 Mauvaise humeur, infirmities, 
 
 Toux, gravelle, goutte, pituite 
 Assiegent sa caducite. 
 
 Pour comble de calamite, 
 
 On directeur se rend le maitre; 
 
 II meurt enfin peu regrette, 
 C’etoit bien la peine de naitre. 
 
 copy of Gabriol’s poetical 
 
 R. Abraham ben Hiya — surnamed the Prince, born in 
 1070, was much esteemed for his proficiency in astronomy. His 
 works are held in high estimation: they are,—1. A description 
 of the form of the earth, the arrangement of the firmament, 
 and revolutions of the planets. — 2. A highly moral work 
 entitled, “ Meditations of a Penitent Soul, on reaching the 
 Gates of Repentance.” — 3. A work on arithmetic, and the 
 intercalation.—4. Another on the planets, the two spheres, 
 and the Greek, Roman, and Mahometan kalendars. — 5. A work 
 on geometry, with an explanation of spherical triangles, and 
 the conversion of angles and circles. — 6. A Treatise on Music. 
 
 Aben Zoar — born at Penaflor in 1070, was a great ob¬ 
 server of nature, profoundly versed in the Hebrew, Arabic, 
 and Syriac languages; his talents were equal for either poetry 
 or prose. Youseph, the Almovaride chief of Morocco, made 
 him his physician, and was so attached to him, that the prince 
 one day having entered his study, and found among his papers 
 some verses regretting his separation from his family, which 
 had remained in Spain, he secretly had them brought to 
 Morocco, settled them in a fine house, and then enjoyed the 
 agreeable surprise of his physician. Zoar died in 1161, 
 
 At this period, Cordova boasted of five sages, all 
 having the name of Isaac. 
 
54 
 
 LEARNED MEN—R. ISAAC AL FEZ. 
 
 [ 1103 . 
 
 R. ISAAC BEN Giath — a famous Greek scholar, and an 
 excellent poet. He was the instructor ofR. Azariah, son of the 
 unfortunate R. Joseph a Levi, and gave him a home, in grati¬ 
 tude for the kindness he had received fromhis father and 
 grandfather. 
 
 R. Isaac ben Jacob ben Baruch Alcalia —of a noble 
 Jewish family that settled at Merida after the destruction by 
 Titus. His father removed to Cordova, where he was born; his 
 profound knowledge of Hebrew, Latin and Greek, caused 
 him, at the age of thirty-four, to be appointed head of the 
 famous college of his native city. From his proficiency in 
 mathematics, he was invited by Abdallah, King of Granada, a 
 great admirer of that science, to instruct him; and he made 
 him chief of his household. He died there in 1094, aged 
 fifty-nine. 
 
 R. Isaac ben Moses —who, to his knowledge of the law 
 and learning, added the talents of a first-rate poet. He was 
 complete master of all the Greek authors. 
 
 R. Isaac ben Reuben — of Barcelona, where he was born 
 in 1073, was also a poet, and wrote in verse the 613 precepts; 
 a commentary on the Talmudical treatise, “ On Marriage 
 Contracts;” and translated from the Arabic into Hebrew, a 
 work of R. Hay Aaron, “ On Buying and Selling.” 
 
 R. Isaac al Fez — so denominated from being a native of 
 that kingdom. Persecution and jealousy induced him, at the ad¬ 
 vanced age of seventy-five, to quit his native country for Cordova. 
 Joining its academy, he taught and lectured on the Talmud. 
 He formed an abridgment of it, omitting those laws that were 
 only obligatory in the Holy Land. It is much esteemed, and 
 termed the Little Talmud; it is frequently consulted at the pre¬ 
 sent day. After being chief of the Synagogue for some years, he 
 retired to Lucena, where he died at the age of ninety in 1103. 
 A severe quarrel had taken place between him and R. Isaac 
 ben Giath, who died in 1089. The latter on his death-bed, 
 when his voice was scarcely audible, called his son R. Baruch' 
 
1106.] 
 
 LEARNED MEN. 
 
 55 
 
 and said to him, “ Go to R. Isaac al Fez, and tell him, I am 
 leaving this world for the next, and sincerely forgive him all 
 the harsh expressions, whether by writing or verbally, that he 
 has made use of against me, and beg he will also pardon me. 
 He will instruct thee. Remain with him; for I know he will do 
 thee much good, and teach thee with all his heart. After my 
 funeral, go to Lucena, and tell him all I have desired thee.” 
 When R. Isaac al Fez heard this, he rent his garments and 
 wept. After being consoled, he said to him, “As thy father 
 (blessed he his memory), is dead, I will be a father to thee, and 
 thou shalt be my son; remain in my house until I have taught 
 thee the whole Talmud.” 3 
 
 R. Joseph ben Meir a Levi ben Megas — a native of 
 Seville, born in 1077, received his instructions from R. al Fez, 
 whom he succeeded in the Presidency of the College of 
 Cordova, which post he held for thirty-eight years, and was the 
 instructor of Maimonides. He is highly eulogised by Aboab. 4 
 
 R. Moses aben Ezra —of Granada, celebrated for his great 
 ability in poetry and music. He composed a ritual for the 
 Spanish Jews, by whom many of his poems are recited on the 
 New Year and Day of Atonement. He also wrote some excellent 
 moral works, and died in 1100. 
 
 Moses Cohen — a native of Huesca, physician to Alphonso 
 VI., became a convert to Christianity. At the age of forty-four 
 he was baptized in the Cathedral of his native city in 1106, on 
 St. Peter’s day; and, in honour of the saint, and his godfather 
 the king, he took the name of Peter Alphonso. 
 
 3 Juchasin. 
 
 4 Nomologia, Par. 2, Ch. 23. 
 
56 
 
 CHAPTEE VIL 
 
 Ferdinand I.—Persecutions prevented .— Jews protected 
 by Alphonso VI.—Capitulation of Toledo—Claim of 
 Exemption from Capitation Tax.—Peter of Aragon — 
 Nicholas de Valencia. Physician of Alphonso 
 interferes with the Marriage of the Princess Urraca 
 
 — assists in the Attack on Burgos.—Learned Men _ 
 
 P. Judah a Levi , extracts from some of his Writ¬ 
 ings. — Maimonides , his Opinions of Aben Ezra. _ 
 
 Anecdote of Saladin—His Opinion of the Deity 
 compared with Voltaire's. 
 
 The religious chivalry of the age led many Chris* 
 tian warriors to join the banner raised by Ferdinand 
 I. to humble the Saracenic power. His bigoted 
 Queen, Donna Sancha, thinking to sanctify his war 
 against the Moorish sovereigns, instigated him to ex¬ 
 tirpate the Jews; the bishops arrested his zeal; and 
 their conduct was highly commended by Gregory, 
 who then tilled the papal chair. The revolution of 
 the Moors in Africa in 1080 so distressed his succes¬ 
 sor, Alphonso VI., that he found himself obliged to 
 befriend and favor the Jews. In order to make their 
 purses and assistance serviceable to him, they were 
 promoted to considerable posts, and obtained such 
 privileges that Pope Gregory VII. disapproved of 
 his conduct; but his censures were disregarded. Al¬ 
 phonso would not retract what he had done, nor 
 withdraw his protection from them. Alphonso sought 
 
 s. 
 
1096.] 
 
 PETER OF ARAGON. 
 
 57 
 
 refuge from his brothers at Toledo. The reigning mon¬ 
 arch Almamen kindly received and hospitably enter¬ 
 tained him. In return he promised him his friendship 
 and assistance against a meditated attack of the 
 Caliph at Cordova. But after the death of Almamen 
 and his son Hussein, Alphonso, considering himself 
 relieved from his promise, laid siege to the ancient 
 Visigothic capital, which resisted his forces during 
 three years. At length, in 1085, Toledo capitulated. 
 A large number of Israelites resided in the city and 
 the surrounding country, and they suffered Severely 
 from the desolating warfare. The capitulation secured 
 both to Moors and Jews undisturbed residence, the 
 free exercise of their religious rites, and permission to 
 be judged by their own laws; but, although respected 
 by the monarch in their religious ceremonies, the He¬ 
 brews were not treated with that consideration the 
 laws of nations demanded—a right ill-defined and 
 worse understood at that period. After the surrender 
 they demanded exemption from the capitation tax of 
 thirty deniers, levied on all Jews in Castile, above 
 sixteen years of age, on the plea, that their ancestors 
 resided there at the time of the crucifixion, and there¬ 
 fore were not accessories to it. 
 
 Peter, king of Aragon, was preparing, in 1096, to 
 join the crusade. Nicholas de Valencia endeavoured 
 to dissuade him from it, representing that he need 
 not go so far in search of foes, for he had too many 
 dangerous enemies in his kingdom, alluding to the 
 Jews, who he falsely asserted hated the Christians so 
 much, that they never met them without ejaculating 
 curses on their heads ; thus pretending that the 
 bigotry and intolerance of the Jews, was equal to 
 
58 
 
 ALPHONSO. 
 
 those qualities inherent in the breasts of Dominican 
 friars. But the king, averse to persecution, turned a 
 deaf ear to his advice, and protected them from the 
 massacres they suffered in other Christian states. 
 
 In Castile under Alphonso the Jews exercised great 
 influence at Court; for, notwithstanding the ancient 
 prohibitions of Christians holding intercourse with or 
 consulting them in case of illness, his physician was a 
 Jew named Isaac, the author of a learned work on 
 fevers, which a modern medical writer of note, says, 
 u is worthy of being printed at the present clay.” 1 He 
 was requested by the Castilian nobles, who were 
 averse to the marriage of the princess Urraca with a 
 foreign prince, and wished her to be married to the 
 Count de Candespina, the most powerful and wealthy 
 grandee of Spain, to represent to the king the wishes 
 of the nation, and to dissuade him from giving his 
 daughter to the king of Aragon, fearing, from his im¬ 
 petuous temper, to address him themselves. Alphonso, 
 irritated at the assumption of so much authority on 
 their part, as to wish to control the marriage of the 
 princess, dismissed his physician for conveying to him 
 their representations, and hastened the nuptials, which 
 took place at Toledo in 1106 with extraordinary pomp. 
 His treasurer, a Jew, was sent with a guard of cavalry 
 to demand the payment of tribute from Abenabed, king 
 of Seville, and the restoration of some towns said to 
 belong to the kingdom of Toledo. The envoy had his 
 eyes put out, and his escort was cut to pieces. 
 
 In 1123, the castle of Burgos, which had been seized 
 by the king of Navarre, was invested. The Jews of the 
 city and the neighbouring Castilian towns, desirous 
 of signalizing themselves in the service of their 
 
 1 Morejon. 
 
LEARNED MEN. 
 
 59 
 
 legitimate sovereign, raised a large force to assist in the 
 siege. Their division attacked the place so vigorously, 
 that the G overnor, Don Sancho Azna, fearing an 
 assault in that quarter, hastened to the spot with his 
 troops, and was shot by an arrow of the besiegers. On 
 his death the castle immediately surrendered. 2 
 
 Spain, about this time, gave birth to many eminent 
 men among the Jews; they were the ornaments of 
 their age, and cast an imperishable lustre on Hebrew 
 literature. 
 
 . R. Joseph aben Sachal — raised in 1113, to be judge 
 of Cordova, possessed a refined taste for poetry, and was a 
 profound philosopher. He wrote an “ Exposition of the Pre¬ 
 cepts of the Decalogue;” and a philosophic work under the 
 title of “ The Small World.” 
 
 R. Baruch ben Isaac — also of Cordova, died in 1123, 
 his great erudition obtained him the title of frOfc* “ father”; he 
 finished, “ The Merchant’s Chest, or Hebrew Jurispru¬ 
 dence,” begun by his father R. Isaac. 
 
 R. Abraham aben Ezra —born at Toledo in 1119, em¬ 
 phatically termed the Sage. He was an excellent philosopher, 
 astronomer, physician, grammarian, arithmetician, poet, and 
 cabalist; to which he added a complete knowledge of Greek 
 and Arabic. To him the world is indebted for the Equator 
 to the celestial globe. His thirst for knowledge induced 
 him to travel into Italy, England, and Greece; during 
 his travels, he wrote his numerous works, as his “ Epistle 
 on the Sabbath,” written in London, testifies. He wrote 
 commentaries on the whole Scripture, which adhere strictly 
 to the literality of the text, They are highly esteemed, 
 and were recommended by Maimonides to his son as the 
 best. The following is an enumeration of most of his works:-— 
 1. “ The Secrets of the Law,” written at Rome.—*2. “ On the 
 Tetragrammaton.”—3. “ On the Mysterious Form of the Letters.” 
 — 4. “An Enigma,” on the four quiescent letters — 
 
 3 Sandoval, Hist, de los Reyes de Castilla. 
 
60 
 
 R. JUDAH A LEVI. 
 
 5. “The Pure Speech,” on the servile letters.—6. “The 
 Garden of Wisdom.”—7. “ The Elegance of the Language.” 
 — 8. “ Acuteness of Thought,” on Pronunciation. — 9. “ The 
 House of Customs,” on Moral Philosophy.—10. “ The Book 
 of Logic.” —11. “The Book of Lights.” — “The Book of 
 Tractions,” on Geometry and Algebra.—13. “ The Value of 
 Numbers.”—14. “The Gate of Heaven,” on Astronomy. — 
 15. “ The Book of Chance,” on Astrology; with various other 
 works, and a number of poems, among which is one on 
 “ Chess.” His knowledge of Arabic enabled him to throw 
 considerable light on the book of Job ; he died at the age of 
 seventy-five, at Rhodes. 
 
 R. Abraham a Leyi ben Daor — born at Toledo, in 
 1120, one of the most renowned Talmudists of his time, highly 
 esteemed for his historical knowledge. His work, “ The Order 
 of the World,” shews the uninterrupted transmission of the 
 Oral Law. He wrote “ Chronicles of Rome,” from its founda¬ 
 tion, until the Mahometan Empire; “Chronicles of the Kings of 
 Israel during the Second Temple.” In Arabic an answer to 
 Abu Alpharage, and under the title of “ Exalted Faith,” on 
 the elements of nature, and how faith is attainable through 
 them; and on medicine for the soul. 
 
 R. Jonah ben Ganach — of Cordova, born in 1121, a 
 celebrated physician and grammarian; the learned Aben Ezra 
 styled him the most perfect master of language, and every 
 ingenious argument. Pococke terms him the Prince of 
 Grammarians; he wrote a Hebrew Dictionary, Lexicon, and 
 Grammar in Arabic. 
 
 R. Judah a Leyi ben Saul —a celebrated poet and 
 philosopher; many of his sublime poems are in the Synagogue 
 service of the New Year and the day of Atonement. Although 
 much of the beauty and elegance of poetry is lost by a trans¬ 
 lation in prose; yet, centuries later, his stands the test, and 
 is not surpassed, as is shewn by the following extracts: — 
 
 “ Reflect and consider the secret of thy soul, what thou art, and 
 whence thy existence; who hath framed thee, and endued thee with 
 understanding, and by whose power thou hast self-motion. Atten- 
 
1131 .] 
 
 MAIMONIDES. 
 
 61 
 
 tively consider the mighty powers of God; awake thy soul; scrutinize 
 his works, but beware that thou attempt not to investigate the 
 nature of his Divine Essence, where thou art contemplating the be¬ 
 ginning and end of things, and into the wonderful and occult causes 
 thereof.”— R. Judah a Levi. 
 
 A ta faible raison gardes-toi de te rendre; 
 
 Dieu t’a fait pour l’aimer, and non pas pour le comprendre, 
 Invisible a tes yeux, qu’il regne dans ton cceur: 
 
 II confond l’injustice, il pardonne a ferreur.- 
 Mais il punit aussi toute erreur volontaire. 
 
 Mortel, ouvre les yeux quand son soleil t’eclaire. 
 
 La Henriade , Chant 7. 
 
 Some that were inedited have lately been given to the admirers 
 of Hebrew poetry, by the learned Dr. Sam D. Luzato, of Padua, 
 under the title of the “ Maid of Judah.” His philosophical, 
 theological, philological, and cabalistical work, “The Cuzari,” 
 translated from the Arabic into Hebrew, by the celebrated 
 linguist and scholar, R. Judah aben Sibon, has since appeared 
 in most modern languages. In his latter days he went to the 
 Holy Land, and was trampled to death by a troop of lawless Arabs. 
 
 R. Behaye (the elder) ben R. Joseph Pekuda —The 
 exact time of his birth is not known; but from his famed work 
 u The Duties of the Heart,” having been translated into 
 Hebrew from the Arabic (in which it was written), by 
 R. Judah aben Tibon, is supposed to be about this time; 
 he was a native of Barcelona, and judge of the Jews of that 
 city. It proves the existence of a God to the most obstinate 
 atheist, arid by illustrations carries conviction to the most 
 ignorant. 
 
 R. Moses ben Maimon — more generally known by the 
 name of Maimonides, was born at Cordova, in 1131, where his 
 father R. Maimon was judge. His talents far eclipse the long- 
 line of sages he descended from. In his boyhood he was indo¬ 
 lent, and so disinclined to study that his father sent him at an 
 early age from his paternal roof. During his absence from 
 home he was unremitting in his studies. An elegant oration 
 made by him at the age of fourteen, reconciled father and son. 
 Acquainted with all the writings of the ancient philosophers, 
 
62 
 
 MATMONIDES. 
 
 lie became the most eminent of bis age. He was an able 
 mathematician and metaphysician. AYhen only twenty-three 
 years of age, he began his imperishable work, “ The Powerful 
 Hand,” which is a complete digest of Hebrew jurisprudence, 
 customs, and religion; he completed it in the short space of 
 seven years. About this period, he pretended to embrace 
 Islamism, the Ahmohad monarch, Abdulmumen, having de¬ 
 creed that all Jews and Christians should become Mahometans. 
 The Jews were particularly persecuted, in consequence of the 
 rich coffin that contained the embalmed body of Mahomet at 
 Mecca, having been robbed of many diamonds and valuable 
 jewels, by a band of Arabs, aided by some accomplices in the 
 town. The guards, to screen their negligence, accused the Jews 
 that had come from Toledo of the act, saying, they had been 
 sent by the other Jews of Spain to commit it. The report being 
 believed, many were put to death, forty Synagogues were 
 burnt, and this decree issued . 5 Maimonides escaped from Spain, 
 and settled in Egypt (from which he is frequently called 
 If. Moses, of Egypt), where he maintained his family at Cairo, 
 by the sale of precious stones and goods he had brought with 
 him. He declared himself to be a Jew, and opened an academy 
 of philosophy and Hebrew, to which many scholars repaired; 
 he joined the Medical School of that city. His talents brought 
 him to the notice of Alphadel Abdelrahim ben Ali Abaisan, 
 who greatly befriended him, and on becoming minister, ap¬ 
 pointed him physician to the court with a yearly salary. 
 The estimation of his medical abilities is shewn, by the fol¬ 
 lowing letter to his friend, R. Samuel aben Tibon (son of 
 R. Judah, and like him a profound scholar in the Arabic and 
 Hebrew language), who wished to visit him. 
 
 “Come and welcome,” says he, “when you like; for I 
 shall have the greatest pleasure in seeing and talking with 
 you; but I regret you should take the trouble of crossing the 
 sea; and I advise .you not to expose yourself to any danger, 
 under the idea of deriving any benefit in literature from me, 
 for, from my constant occupation, not a single hour will you 
 enjoy of being alone with me. I reside at Cairo, the capital 
 
 5 Usque Conso!c>9aos as Tribulaeoens de Ysrael, 
 
WHITINGS OF MAIMONIDES. 
 
 63 
 
 °f Egypt, and enjoy the greatest intimacy with the Sultan. In 
 fulfilment of my duty, I visit him every morning and evening. 
 When he or any of his wives or children are indisposed, I do 
 not leave the palace the whole day. I am also engaged to 
 attend the governors in their illnesses. Every morning I go to 
 court; and, if nothing'new occurs, at noon I return to my 
 house, which I find full of Jews and Gentiles, nobles and plebeians, 
 magistrates and merchants, friends and those who are not, 
 waiting for me. As soon as I get home I salute them civilly, 
 and beg them to permit me to take some food. Immediately on 
 leaving table I go to learn their complaints, and prescribe what 
 I consider requisite. Numbers have to wait until night; for so 
 many apply, that they occupy me through the whole afternoon; 
 and sometimes, being exhausted, sleep so overpowers me that I 
 remain transfixed in the conversation, unable to utter a word.” 
 
 His medical aphorisms are considered not inferior to those of 
 Hippocrates. He made an abridgment of Galen, which a 
 modern physician of note writes, “ is a most useful work, and 
 merits the highest eulogium, by forming a methodical and 
 learned extract and compendium of the clinical and hygeian 
 spirit of the Greek, Hebrew, and Arabic works. It w T as a 
 beneficial and glorious undertaking.” 6 He had perfected him¬ 
 self in the JEsculapian art under the celebrated Averroes; and, 
 while physician to the famous Saladin, was invited to attend 
 lfi chard Cceur de Lion during his illness, an honour he de¬ 
 clined. He instructed the first-named sovereign in philosophy 
 and humility, and he proved a worthy disciple of so great a 
 master; for, at his death, he ordered his corpse to be interred 
 without pomp, and that the banner carried before it should be 
 a piece of linen the size of his shroud; the bearer loudly pro¬ 
 claiming, “ Behold the trophies of Saladin, Sultan of Egypt, 
 Caliph of Cairo, King of Damascus, and the conqueror of 
 Jerusalem.” 
 
 His “ Sanctification of the Months,” proves his proficiency 
 in astronomy. As a philosopher, the following extract from his 
 preface to the Mishna may not prove unacceptable. “ Know,” 
 says Maimonedes,” that every thing under the Lunar sphere is 
 
 6 Morejon. 
 
64 
 
 WRITINGS OF MA1MONIDES. 
 
 created for tlie use of man. If there are animals and plants, 
 the utility of which is not apparent, it is because our ignorance 
 has not been able to discover it. The proof is that every age 
 makes discoveries of the utility of certain animals and plants; 
 objects that to us seem poisonous possess their salutary qualities: 
 we have an evident proof in vipers, which, although noxious 
 reptiles, have been rendered useful to man. Then since man 
 is the end of all the creation, we must examine for what pur¬ 
 pose he exists, for what end he is created. We see every object 
 of the creation produce the effect for which it is created; the 
 palm yields its dates, the spider weaves its cobwebs. All their 
 qualities render the animal or plant proper to attain their pur¬ 
 pose. Then what is that of man ? It cannot be to eat, drink, 
 propagate, build walls, or to command; for these occupations 
 are separate from him and add not to his essence, and he pos¬ 
 sesses nearly the whole of them in common with other animals. 
 It is then intelligence only that augments his being, and ele¬ 
 vates him from a lowly condition to a sublime state. It is but 
 by reason that man distinguishes himself from the other ani¬ 
 mals; he himself is but a rational animal. By reason, I 
 mean the understanding of comprehensible subjects, and above 
 all of the unity of God, all other knowledge tends to conduct 
 him to that; but to arrive at it he must avoid luxury, for too 
 much care bestowed on the body destroys the soul. The man 
 who abandons himself to his passions, who renders his under¬ 
 standing subservient to his corporal desires, does not demon¬ 
 strate the divine power that lies within him, that is to say 
 reason, which is a matter floating in the ocean of space. 
 
 “It results from what has been said, that the purpose of our 
 world, and the objects contained therein, is man endowed, with 
 knowledge and goodness. For a man to be perfect, he must 
 combine in himself science and actions, that is, the knowledge 
 of truth with the practice of virtue. This is what not only 
 our prophets, but the ancient philosophers taught us, and it will 
 be found more detailed in my exposition of the “Ethics of the 
 Fathers.” Throughout the law you find this precept “Learn 
 and then practise.” It inculcates that knowledge precedes 
 
WRITINGS OF MAIMONIDES. 
 
 65 
 
 action, for knowledge leads to actions, while they do not lead 
 to knowledge. This is the reason why our sages have said 
 that ‘ learning begets practice.’ But, probably, some persons 
 will say, if the purpose of man is to acquire knowledge and 
 perform good actions, why do we see the major part of man¬ 
 kind deficient in knowledge and even despising it; giving reins 
 to their passions, and devoting themselves to mundane occupa¬ 
 tions? To this I answer: Man has many material wants; it 
 requires the labour of a multitude to satisfy them. The length 
 of Methusalem’s life would not suffice were every one obliged 
 to exercise all the arts necessary to supply his physical wants. 
 The study of philosophy can only be the portion of a small 
 number. Were every one to apply himself to that study, in a 
 short time the human race would become extinct.” 
 
 Maimonides had advanced in knowledge far beyond his 
 time; and he who was and still is considered the greatest man, 
 not only of his nation but of his age, came to be treated as a 
 heretic by the bigoted French Talmudists, and some few of 
 the Spanish Rabbins, for his invaluable work “ The Guide to 
 the Doubtful,” written in Arabic, and translated into Hebrew 
 by his friend, R. Samuel ben Tibon. They excommunicated 
 him and caused the work to be burnt; but the more enlightened 
 Spanish schools not only supported it, but placed under 
 anathema his French antagonists. R. David Kimchi endea¬ 
 voured in vain to reconcile this schism. At length the deter¬ 
 mined conduct of the Spanish Rabbins effected it after his 
 death; and a deputation was sent in 1232, to his grave at 
 Saphet, to ask pardon of his ashes. He is now acknowledged 
 by all Jews to have been the greatest man among them since 
 Moses; for they say, “From Moses until Moses there was not a 
 Moses.” His death, which took place in 1204, was considered a 
 national misfortune by the Egyptians as well as the Jews; they 
 observed a general mourning for three days, and called it the 
 lamentable year. 7 At Jerusalem a fast was observed, and the 
 section of the law read on the occasion was: “ If ye walk in 
 my statutes, and keep my commandments, and do them,” 
 
 7 Juchasin. 
 
 F 
 
( 5(5 
 
 WORKS OF MAIMONIDES. 
 
 etc . 8 And from the prophets, “ And the word of Samuel 
 came to all Israel,” etc . 9 
 
 In addition to the above mentioned works lie wrote 
 
 “ The Book of the Precepts.” “ The Book of Logic.” “ On 
 the Resurrection, an Epistle against the prevalent opinion of 
 Astrology.” Another to the Jews of the South, exhorting 
 them to remain firm to their religion. “ On the Preservation 
 of Health.” “ The Garden of Health.” “ On Natural His¬ 
 tory.” “ The Knowledge of God through his Creatures.” “ On 
 Dreams.” “ On the Soul—solutions to various questions on 
 religious points.” “ A Commentary on Avicenna.” “ Another 
 on a part of the Guemara.” “ Sermons.” “ The Thirteen 
 Articles of Faith,” and various other treatises too numerous to 
 detail. Many of his writings are in Arabic; those in Hebrew 
 are in the purest style. His works are universally admired. An 
 eminent English divine says—“ The memory of Maimonides 
 has flourished, and will flourish for ever .” 10 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 Learned Men. — Nachmanides , his Conference with 
 Fr. Paul.—Iliot at Toledo.—Synagogue at Estella 
 taken from them.—Privileges in Aragon .— Al- 
 phonso II. of Aragon has two Christians executed 
 
 for the murder of a Jew - Letter of Innocent III. 
 
 —Fuero Viejo. — Caraites.—Alphonso IX. opposed 
 to their Innovations.—Fuero Peal. 
 
 This may be considered the brightest period, the 
 golden age of Hebrew Literature; for many other 
 
 8 Lev. xxvi. 3. 9 i Sam. iv. 1—11. 
 
 10 Hr. Clavering, Bishop of Peterborough. 
 
LEARNED MEN. 
 
 67 
 
 learned men flourished cotemporaneously with those 
 noticed in the preceding chapter, among whom may 
 be reckoned:— 
 
 It- Moses ben Tibon Marimon — a native of Granada, born 
 in 1134, who even excelled his talented relatives, It. Judah 
 and It. Samuel. His proficiency in the Hebrew and Arabic 
 languages enabled him to translate from the latter into the 
 former, the most classical works on Jurisprudence, Philosophy, 
 Astronomy and Medicine; and those of Maimonides, Averroes, 
 Aristotle, Alphagran, and Euclid’s Elements. He obtained for 
 his abilities the title of “ The Father of Translators.” He 
 wrote in Hebiew a philosophical work, solving the problem 
 why the sea and waters do not inundate the earth. 
 
 R. Benjamin ben Jonah —of Tudela, in Navarre, cele- 
 biated for his travels in the East, which he commenced in 
 1160, and continued for fifteen years. His itinerary has been 
 translated into various languages. M. Asher, of Berlin, has 
 
 lately made it familiar to the English reader with valuable 
 notes. 
 
 R. Moses Giguatilla —born at Cordova in 1148, was a 
 poet of great repute; he translated Job and various Hebrew 
 writings into Arabic, and composed a Hebrew vocabulary. 
 
 R. Joseph Kimchi — was born at Narbonne, in 1160, but 
 styled himself a Spaniard; much esteemed for his knowledge of 
 sacred and profane literature, and particularly grammar and 
 poetry. He wrote various controversial works against Chris¬ 
 tianity; “ A Commentary on Jeremiah;” “ The Holy Shekels;” 
 a collection of poems; and “ The Book of Memory,” a gram¬ 
 matical work. His son— 
 
 R. Moses Kimchi —born in 1190, was also an excellent 
 grammarian. Exclusive of his grammar, he wrote various 
 works on it, having the titles of “ The Entrance to the Road of 
 Knowledge;” “ The Paths of the Holy Tongue;” “The 
 Gate of my Words;” “Good Understanding;” “The Book 
 that heals.” He also commented on Proverbs and Ezra, and 
 
68 
 
 LEARNED MEN. 
 
 wrote a moral philosophical work, entitled “ The Delight of 
 the Soul.” But the greatest of this talented family which had 
 furnished Rabbins to various congregations of Spain was his 
 brother — 
 
 R. Dayid Kimchi —born in 1192, denominated, from his 
 excellent Hebrew dictionary and Grammar, u The Prince of 
 Grammarians.” His u Commentaries on Scripture” are highly 
 esteemed; and considered necessary for the perfect understand¬ 
 ing of the holy writings. He endeavoured, in vain, to effect 
 a reconciliation between the French and Spanish schools on 
 the subject of Maimonides’ Guide. 
 
 R. Abraham ben Hasdai — Chief Rabbi of Barcelona, 
 contemporary with R. David Kimchi, was a moral philosopher 
 of note and a profound scholar. Under the title of “ The 
 Apple,” he translated from the Arabic into Hebrew, a work 
 containing numerous moral sayings and sentences of philoso¬ 
 phers; “ The Just Balances,” a moral work of Algazali; 
 and wrote a moral work entitled, “ Directions for the Soul,” 
 and “ The King’s Son and the Nazarene;” also “ Arguments on 
 the Fear of God.” 
 
 R. Moses ben Nachman — more commonly known by the 
 name of Nachmanides, was a native of Gerona, from which he 
 is sometimes called R. Moses of Gerona, born in 1198. From 
 his great erudition, he obtained the title of “ The Father of 
 Knowledge.” He was a profound philosopher, cabalist, and 
 physician; and particularly famed for his abilities in the 
 obstetric art. His reputation as a learned doctor in the law, 
 led to his being nominated on the part of the Jews, to the 
 public disputation with Fr. Paul Christiani, by the decree of 
 James I., king of Aragon (to which kingdom Catalonia be¬ 
 longed), to put a stop to the daily disputes that took place 
 between the Jews and Dominican friars who had studied 
 Hebrew and Arabic. This decree induced the adverse parties 
 to select their ablest advocates, and the above named were 
 chosen. The conference took place in the presence of the 
 king and court; the two orators defended their respective 
 
1108 .] 
 
 RIOT AT TOLEDO. 
 
 69 
 
 causes with great erudition and eloquence. As usual in similar 
 cases, each party claimed the victory. R. Moses drew up an 
 account of the proceedings, and proved that his arguments 
 were answered only by sophisms. The king was so pleased 
 with his conduct and talents, that he presented him with 300 
 crowns. In his latter days he quitted Spain, and retired to 
 the Holy Land, where he buiJt a handsome college, and died 
 in 1260. He left a number of learned scholars, and the fol¬ 
 lowing learned works:— 
 
 “ The Garden of Desire,” and a dozen other Cabalistic 
 works. Epistles on the “ Sanctity of Marriage;” on moral 
 subjects, addressed to his son; and one in defence of Mai- 
 monides; “An Exposition of the Law;” “A Commentary 
 on Job;” another on some “ Treatises of the Talmud;” 
 “ On the Works of Maimonides;” “The Law of Man”— 
 directions how to conduct himself in Sickness, Trouble, 
 Death, and the Hope of a Future Life; “ On the Coming of 
 the Messiah;” his sermon on the Excellence of the Law, 
 preached before the king of Castile; “On the Redemption 
 from Captivity;” a lament on the “ Destruction of the 
 Temple;” and his “ Conference with Friar Paul.” 
 
 Toledo had offered hospitality to the learned Hebrew 
 strangers, who, emulating the thirst of glory and sci¬ 
 ence which the sectarians of Mahomet had cultivated, 
 contributed on their part to inoculate the Spanish 
 people with it; but they, exclusively attached to the 
 art of war, little heeded such pursuits. The favour 
 shewn by the king to the Jews incensed the people 
 against them. In 1108, a riot took place at Toledo, 
 probably instigated by the fanatics then about joining 
 the crusade, the archbishop, Bernard, having taken 
 the cross. The populace, under pretence of the hatred 
 they bore towards their religion, murdered numbers; 
 the streets of Toledo streamed with Jewish blood. Fire 
 consumed immense wealth; plunder and violence left 
 
70 
 
 SANCHO THE WISE. 
 
 [ 1170 . 
 
 every where the trace of desolation. This fatal ex¬ 
 ample was a precedent for the many massacres that 
 are indelible stains on the history of the Spanish 
 nation. In vain did King Alphonso, animated by 
 humanity, attempt to punish the perpetrators of the 
 horrid attack. The mob, irritated at the privileges 
 granted to the Jews, plundered the synagogues, and 
 immolated the Rabbins at the foot of their altars; 
 nothing had been respected. The laws were disre¬ 
 garded, or were too impotent; and the people carried 
 their thirst for blood to the utmost excess. The 
 Hebrew people, amidst the troubles of which they 
 were the victims, sought protection from the king and 
 church, by large contributions, exclusive of their 
 ordinary taxation and capitation. The latter was 
 frequently assigned to grandees for some signal action, 
 or in exchange for some privilege, in lieu of a pension 
 on the royal revenues. 
 
 The king of Navarre, Don Garcia the Monk, so 
 called from having been bishop of Burgos and Pamp¬ 
 lona, in 1135 assigned them to the citizens of Estella, 
 tor the services rendered him; and with the Catholic 
 feeling of the time, deprived them of their principal 
 synagogue, and gave it to his successor in the latter 
 see, who dedicated it to the mother of God and all 
 saints. 1 
 
 1 he Jews had, in 1170, obtained many privileges at 
 Nagera. King Sancho,. the Wise, extended them to 
 those of Tudela, to induce them to settle in Castile, and 
 for their protection; they are thus detailed in the 
 archives of Navarre (Dr. Asso y Rodrigues, the 
 compiler of the ancient Spanish Laws, could not dis¬ 
 cover them complete)- 
 
 1 Lczaun, MS. Mem. of Estella. 
 
1171 .] 
 
 ALPIIONSO VIII. 
 
 71 
 
 “ The power of selling the houses they quitted within their 
 barrier. 
 
 “ To pay no tax, under condition that, with the exception of 
 the principal tower, they should keep the castle in repair. 
 
 “ That should they be attacked in Castile, and kill any 
 person, they should not be punished for murder. 
 
 “ That in taking oath on the demand of Christians, they 
 should answer: 4 1 swear’ ten times; and ‘Amen,’ ten times. 
 
 “ The king will appoint a Christian judge to whom Chris¬ 
 tians are to apply in complaints against Jews. 
 
 “ In trials between Moors and Jews, they are to be proved by 
 Jews and Moors only; the same as is done between Christians, 
 Jews, and Moors. 
 
 “ Finally, he granted them land for a Cemetery.” 
 
 Charles II. confirmed all the above in 1355. 2 
 
 In the following year he granted the same to the Jews 
 of Fumes. 3 Jews were not to pay tithes on what they 
 inherited from their progenitors, but only on what 
 they acquired from Christians. 4 
 
 During the constant warfare carried on in Castile, 
 Navarre, and Aragon, from disputed successions and 
 the differences among the Moorish sovereigns, the 
 services of the Jews were required by all the belli¬ 
 gerents, and they were employed in the highest offices 
 of state, both by Christians and Moors. 
 
 Alphonso VIII., who at an early age had been 
 married to Eleanor, daughter of Henry II. of Eng¬ 
 land, proved a second Marc Anthony. In 1171, he 
 became enamoured of a beautiful Jewess, named 
 Fermosa; neglected his queen, abandoned public 
 affairs, and for seven years confined himself to his 
 capital with his inamorata; although after his defeat 
 at Alarcos, his states were menaced by the kings of 
 
 2 Arch. Nav. Case 1, No. 34-53. 3 Ibid. No. 36. 
 
 4 Fuero de Sobarbe, No. 220. 
 
72 
 
 LETTER OF INNOCENT III. 
 
 [ 1205 . 
 
 Aragon, Leon, and Seville. The superstitious people 
 attributed the disasters that befell the kingdom, to the 
 impious love of the prince. They did not hesitate to 
 sacrifice the mistress of the king to what they con¬ 
 sidered the welfare of the nation. A riot broke out 
 at the residence of the king; the rebels entered his 
 palace, and under his eyes assassinated the handsome 
 Jewess, to whose influence they attributed all the 
 public calamities. Alphonso, seeing the fury of the 
 people, dared not punish any of the assassins, from fear 
 of experiencing the fate of his favourite; but, aroused 
 from his lethargy on the plains of Tolosa, he repaired 
 the disgrace of Alarcos. 
 
 Alphonso II. of Aragon had two Christians exe¬ 
 cuted for the murder of a Jew. As he owed 100 
 marabotins to one of the assassins, he is accused of 
 having done it, not as an act of justice, but to rid 
 himself of an importunate creditor. 
 
 Through the mediation of Henry II. of England, 
 peace was concluded between Castile and Aragon; 
 by which the revenues from the Jews of Estella and 
 Euvenes were ceded to the former. 6 
 
 Alphonso IX., whose reign began 1188, was parti¬ 
 cularly favourable to Jews and Moors. The favour 
 shewn them by this liberal monarch, induced Pope 
 Innocent III. to address him on the subject in 1205. 
 He accused him of elevating the synagogue and 
 mosque at the expense of the church; that he exon¬ 
 erated Jews and Moors from paying tithes, and per¬ 
 mitted them to acquire landed property as they 
 liked. That the slave of a Jew becoming a Christian, 
 by that conversion became free, and instead of paying 
 the owner the amount fixed by ecclesiastical canons, 
 
 MS. Mem. of Estella. 
 
1212 .] 
 
 FUERO VIEJO. 
 
 73 
 
 the Jew was permitted to claim what indemnity he 
 chose; that, latterly, the bishop of Burgos was com¬ 
 pelled to pay 200 pieces of gold for a girl not worth 
 ten sous, as the pope says. This latter part shews 
 that the letter had been written through the influence 
 of the Spanish clergy at the court of Rome. R. Hay, 
 a native of Granada, was physician to the king. 
 Finding the laws so inoperative, Alphonso, in 1212, 
 revised the Fuero Viejo of Castile, a code formed by 
 Sancho Garcia, count of Castile, between 995 and 
 1000, but which Dr. Asso y Rodrigues, who has pre¬ 
 served the revised code, could not discover. The 
 following are the only ones wherein Jews are men¬ 
 tioned, and which place them on an equality with his 
 other subjects: — 
 
 Fuero Viejo of Castile.—Book III. Title 2. 
 
 On Proofs. 
 
 If a Christian or Jew demand a debt from another Christian, 
 which the latter denies, and the creditor asserts he can prove 
 it, arbitrators shall be named in presence of the Alcalde 
 (magistiate), whose decision after the examination of witnesses 
 shall be binding; but if arbitrators are not appointed, the case 
 remains undecided, and the parties may commence the suit de 
 novo. 
 
 Title IV. — On Debts. 
 
 § 1-—If a knight is indebted to a Jew or Christian, and 
 the debt is recognised and acknowledged, the debtor, if he 
 possesses moveables, must deliver them to his creditor, and 
 they are to be sold to pay him within nine days; but if im¬ 
 moveable property is deposited for the payment, the debtor is 
 to keep possession, and enjoy it until the debt is paid; and 
 should he incur any expense on it, he is to reimburse himself 
 before the debtor receives anything from it; but if he will not 
 
FUERO VIEJO. 
 
 74 
 
 [ 1212 . 
 
 uphold the property, he is to retain it in its depreciated state; 
 hut he may not sell it to another person. 
 
 § 3.—If any person is indebted to a Jew, and has given a 
 bond engaging all his property for the payment, he may dis¬ 
 pose or mortgage a part of it before the Jew is in possession; 
 but if he, or the sheriff in his behalf, is in possession of it, he 
 may neither sell nor mortgage it to any other person until the 
 Jew is paid. 
 
 § 18.—If a Jew sues a man of the town, and he appears 
 before the Alcalde, if he wishes to make terms with the Jew, 
 the Alcalde shall fix the time at ten days. 
 
 § 19.—If a Jew demands a bond debt, and the debtor denies 
 it, the Alcalde is to take the bond; if the Jew proves it accord¬ 
 ing to law, he must have his debt, and the person who denied 
 it must pay a fine of sixty sous to the judge; if the Jew cannot 
 prove it according to law, the bond is to be cancelled, and the 
 Jew is to be fined sixty sous. If a Jew demands a bond which 
 is proved to have been paid, the Alcalde shall tear the bond, 
 and fine the Jew sixty sous; but the Christian who gave the 
 bond must prove the payment by another Christian or a Jew, 
 as his testimony alone is not sufficient. 
 
 Title V.— On Pledges. 
 
 § 3.—If a person pledges wearing apparel, bedding, plate, 
 or other articles to Jews or Christians, and the holder claims a 
 sum that the other disputes, and the holder declares the amount 
 he advanced, and offers to prove they were pledged for that 
 amount; if he cannot prove it, the other is to pay no more 
 than he acknowledges, and is to receive his pledge. If the 
 pledges are deposited with a Jew, as the Jew is to be secured 
 for the sum he claims, the Christian must pay it, and fifty per 
 cent, per annum for profit, unless he can prove he has not 
 received as much. 
 
 § 4.—If a Jew takes pledges of apparel, bedding, furniture, 
 or plate, from a Christian, on interest, and another person 
 claims them as having been lost or stolen from him, and de¬ 
 mands their restitution: if the Jew declares that he took the 
 
1216 .] 
 
 THE CARAITES. 
 
 75 
 
 articles in pledge, but does not know the person that pledged 
 them, the Jew must swear in the synagogue that he does not 
 know the person, nor has any understanding with him to re¬ 
 turn them, and also the amount he advanced,'if the Christian 
 wishes to redeem them. If they do not in right belong to the 
 Jew, he must pay the amount advanced, and the Jew is to 
 give them up without interest. 
 
 Many foreigners, for such they termed the Navar- 
 rese and Aragonese that had joined Alphonso 
 against the Moors, being encamped in the vicinity 
 of Toledo, with pretended zeal ill-treated the Jews 
 and killed some. The nobles and Toledans took arms 
 in their defence against the strangers; but it required 
 all the authority and prudence of the king to quell 
 the riot and secure the Jews from injury; and many 
 quitted Spain at the time and settled in Barbary. 
 During this reign, the Caraites made their appearance 
 in Spain, and caused so much disturbance from their 
 difference with the tenets of the Spanish Jews that 
 the king was obliged to interpose his authority. At 
 Burgos, they attempted to overthrow the customs and 
 usages that had been practised for ages. The king sided 
 with the majority; he prohibited the Caraites from 
 practising their rites, and enjoined them to conform 
 to the religion of the mass of the Hebrew people ; 
 which they either did or quitted the country, for no 
 further mention is made of them in Spanish history. 
 He protected the Jews in the free exercise of their 
 religion, and prevented apostasy, as is seen by the 
 subjoined extract from the code of laws which he added 
 to his revision of the Fuero Viejo, for the government 
 of his kingdom. 
 
76 
 
 FUERO REAL. 
 
 Fuero Real (Royal Statute) of Alphonso IX. 
 Book IV. Title 2—On Jews. 
 
 I. —We forbid any Jew reading or keeping concealed books 
 opposed to bis religion, or that would invalidate it; any one 
 possessing or finding such is to burn them publicly at the 
 synagogue gates. We further prohibit their reading, or know¬ 
 ingly possessing any books that speak against our religion, or 
 in disparagement of it. But we permit them to read and pos¬ 
 sess all books on their religion, as those given by Moses and 
 the other prophets; and should a person read or keep any 
 book contrary to this our prohibition, his person and property 
 shall be at the mercy of the king. 
 
 II. —We strictly forbid any Jew to induce any Christian to 
 turn from his religion, or circumcise him. Whoever does, shall 
 die for it, and his property be confiscated to the king. 
 
 III. —If a Jew utters anything reviling against God, the 
 holy Maria or other saints, he shall be fined ten maravedis for 
 each offence, and the king shall order one hundred lashes to 
 be given to him. 
 
 IV. —No Jew or Jewess shall presume to rear the child of a 
 Christian, iior give his or her child to be brought up by a 
 Christian. Any person so doing shall pay a fine of one hun¬ 
 dred maravedis to the king. 
 
 Y.—No Jew is to advance money at interest, or otherwise, 
 on the person of a Christian. Whoever does shall lose whatever 
 he may have lent, and the Christian can go free whenever he 
 chooses. No law-suit or sentence to prevent him is valid. 
 
 VI.—No Jew shall lend at a higher rate of interest than thirty- 
 three and a third per cent per annum. If he lends at a higher 
 rate, it is void; and if he receives more, he shall pay double the 
 amount he received to the person who paid it; and any law-suit 
 instituted contrary hereto shall be of no avail. Furthermore 
 we order, that no one shall presume to use any pledge he may 
 have taken, or lend it to any other person: whoever does 
 shall be fined half its value for the owner; nor shall any suit he 
 
FUERO REAL. 
 
 77 
 
 may enter to use it be admissible, unless the pledge be free of 
 interest during the time. We further forbid any further in¬ 
 terest to be charged after the interest amounts to as much as 
 the capital; nor is the bond to be renewed until the year is 
 completed. Should any suit be craftily instituted to obtain 
 more, it shall be void. And if in any way he receives more 
 than the law permits, he shall refund it as said before. This 
 law is for Jews, Moors, and Christians, or any one who lends 
 on interest. 
 
 VII.—We do not prevent Jews observing their sabbaths, 
 and the holidays enjoined by their religion. They may practise 
 whatever the holy church and kings have permitted; and no 
 person shall oppose or obstruct them. No one shall compel 
 them to appear before a tribunal, nor condemn them, nor seize 
 nor arrest their persons on those days, that they may not do 
 anything contrary to their religion. Neither may they sum¬ 
 mon any other person to justice on those days. 
 
78 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 Learned Men.—Poignard of Faith. —Christian Con¬ 
 quest.—Moorish Dissensions.—Cortes of Barcelona 
 —of Saragossa .— Capitulation of Cordova .— Va¬ 
 lencia surrendered.—Rescript at Gerona. — Ordinance 
 of Lerida.—Seville reduced. —Kindness of Ferdinand. 
 —College of Cordova transferred to Toledo. — Re¬ 
 ported Crucifixion of a Chorister.—Alphonso X. the 
 Wise , succeeds his Father.—Astronomers employed by 
 him.—Jealousy of the Catalans.—A Duty levied on 
 Foreign Jews and Moors.—Protected by Alphonso — 
 his ordinance respecting Pledges. — Charter of 
 
 Alcala — of Salamanca — of Sahagun. — Bull of 
 Alexander IV. 
 
 Perhaps there are none in the present century whose 
 fame is so great as that of those of the preceding one; 
 but Spain yet could boast of many learned Hebrew 
 writers, who do honour to its literature. Barcelona in 
 1200 gave birth to— 
 
 R. Joseph Caspi— a renowned philologist and grammarian. 
 On the latter subject, his works yet extant are, “ The Treasure 
 of the Holy Tongue,” explaining all the words in scripture. 
 His dictionary, entitled “ Silver Chains,” contains the roots of 
 all Hebrew words. He wrote an exposition of the precepts, 
 with the title of, “ The Book of Mystery.” He also com¬ 
 mented on Lamentations; the Guide of Maimonides; the Ten 
 Predicaments of Aristotle; Plato’s Government of State; and 
 the Commentary of Aben Ezra. 
 
JAMES I. OF ARAGON. 
 
 ,79 
 
 K. Jonah of Gerona — was born about this period. He 
 wrote on the “ Ordinances of Women;” “ The Gates of Re¬ 
 pentance, shewing its necessity; another work on lawful 
 and piohibited things. I he fame of his great piety and mo¬ 
 rality brought him to the notice of James I., of Aragon, who 
 commanded him to write a work to instruct man in the duties 
 of religion and piety; which he did, under the title of, “ On 
 
 the bear of God. He died and was buried at Seville in 
 1264. 
 
 It is affirmed of this prince that he so highly re¬ 
 spected the learned rabbins, that he claimed their 
 assistance for instruction on moral subjects, and 
 also borrowed their prayer-books for his private de¬ 
 votions; so that, although hated by the populace and 
 the ignorant among the clergy, the great and learned 
 not only protected, but admired and encouraged them. 
 Although this prince persecuted the Albigenses, he 
 treated the Jews kindly; his confessor, Raymond de 
 Pennaforte, having recommended mild measures as 
 the most effectual means of converting them. Penna¬ 
 forte is by some supposed to be the author of “ The 
 Poignard of Faith,” a violent attack on the Jews; but 
 from its not appearing until three centuries later, it 
 is far more probably the production of the envenomed 
 pen of another less humane Dominican friar, named 
 Raymond. This monarch would not permit a Spanish 
 translation of the Bible in his dominions, probably from 
 that of R. David Ivimchi (from which the Ferara 
 edition is supposed to have been printed) being the 
 only one then known. 
 
 R. Jacob Antoli — a native of Granada, born in 1210, was 
 a profound mathematician, linguist, and expositor. He trans¬ 
 lated into Hebrew Maimonides’ Compendium of Logic; the 
 
80 
 
 LEARNED MEN. 
 
 Isagoge of Porphyrus; the Book of Aristotle.on the Inter¬ 
 pretation; the First and Second Book on Syllogisms, with the 
 Commentary of Averroes, and the Arabic of Alphragan on the 
 Celestial Revolutions. He wrote a philosophical exposition of 
 the Pentateuch in Hebrew, bearing the title of “ The In¬ 
 structor of Scholars.” 
 
 R. Jacob ben Machir Tibon —born at Cordova in 1215, 
 resident at Seville, was a mathematician, astronomer and philo¬ 
 sopher of high repute. He wrote on the Astrolabe, under the 
 title of “ The Quadrant of Israel;” another astronomical work; 
 a commentary on the Pentateuch; and translated Averroes’ 
 Arabic comment on Aristotle, and Euclid’s Elements, into 
 Hebrew. 
 
 R. Isaac aben Latiph — was also highly esteemed as a 
 philosopher, astronomer, geographer, and physician. He wrote 
 a theological philosophical work, entitled, “ The Gate of 
 Heaven;” “ The King’s Treasury,” or questions on philoso¬ 
 phical subjects; “ The Form of the Universe,” on the ter¬ 
 restrial and celestial globes, and some theological works. 
 
 R. Moses Micozzi, of an Italian family, but a native of 
 Toledo, was a famed preacher of great repute and eloquence. 
 He severely reprobated a custom, then prevalent, of marrying 
 strange women; he travelled much in Spain, and taught the 
 law in his native city. His learned commentary on the pre¬ 
 cepts is highly esteemed. 
 
 R. Joseph Ben Shoshan —must have held an important 
 office under the Moorish king of Seville, for, among some 
 tombstones found at Seville, where he died in 1233, his epi¬ 
 taph expresses, that “ he was mighty in the law, a prince in 
 government, and that all the nobles of the king bowed their 
 heads to him.” 1 
 
 R. Joseph ben Daoud —is another proof of the high con¬ 
 sideration the Moorish sovereigns entertained for their able 
 Jewish subjects. Although no mention is made of him in 
 history, his epitaph states, that “ the Arabian kings conferred 
 honour and power on him.” He died at Seville in 1240. 2 
 
 1 Appendix, No. 2. 2 Appendix, No. 3. 
 
81 
 
 
 DISSENSIONS OF tHE MOORS. 
 
 R. Meir ben Todros — a native of Burgos, taught the 
 law at Toledo, where he died in 1244; he wrote various cabalis- 
 tical works; a letter against Maimonides; and a treatise on the 
 Masorah, entitled “ The Fence of the Law.” 
 
 R. Abraham ben Judah —of Barcelona, born in 1230, 
 was a superior Theologian and Jurist; he wrote, under the title 
 of, “ The Four Orders,” an excellent work on the existence of 
 God, Divine Providence, the final cause of the law of Moses, 
 and the purport of its precepts. 
 
 R. Perez a Cohen —a Jurist of high repute, a great 
 cabalist, and celebrated physician, was born about 1241, at 
 Gerona; his work, “ The Dispositions of the Divinity,” is 
 much esteemed. 
 
 R. Gershon ben Solomon —also a native of Catalonia; 
 his work, u The Gate of Heaven,” treats on natural objects, 
 astronomy according to the systems of Ptolemy, Alphragan, 
 and Averroes, and on theological subjects. 
 
 The victorious arms of the Christian princes 
 achieved conquests from the Moors, notwithstanding 
 they bravely defended the possessions which the in¬ 
 domitable courage of their ancestors had wrested from 
 the Visigothic monarchs five centuries before. By 
 their subdivision into numerous petty states, for 
 almost every town of note had declared its independ¬ 
 ence, the extensive Cordovese empire had become 
 eight separate kingdoms; Toledo, Seville, Cordova, 
 Jaen, Granada, Murcia, Valencia, and Badajoz, each 
 had its sovereign. Their mutual jealousies, and the 
 hope of retaining their small dominions, often led 
 them to join their forces to those of the Christian 
 princes; and the banner of the crescent might fre¬ 
 quently be seen, with that of the cross, unfurled on 
 the field of battle against their more powerful Moorish 
 neighbour. 
 
 G 
 
82 
 
 ORDINANCE OF TARRAGONA. 
 
 [1234. 
 
 The six catholic kingdoms of Castile, Leon, Astu¬ 
 rias, Aragon, Navarre, and Portugal, had by inter¬ 
 marriages, notwithstanding their frequent quarrels, 
 become more united against the Saracens. These 
 causes led to the gradual waning of the crescent, 
 destined no longer to cast its refulgent light over the 
 fertile fields of Andalusia; and a few years later it set 
 for ever on the most fruitful portion of Europe. 
 
 In 1224, Ferdinand III. commenced the conquest of 
 Andalusia, by taking Baeza; upon which all the 
 neighbouring towns of that small state surrendered. 
 
 The cortes held in 1228 at Barcelona, deprived the 
 Jews of a privilege they had long enjoyed in Catalonia; 
 it decreed, if there was no document proving a debt, 
 that the oath of a Jew was not alone sufficient for 
 the recovery of it. 
 
 James I., in 1230, added Majorca to the crown of 
 Aragon, and held a cortes at Tarragona in 1233; 
 among other laws are found 3 : — 
 
 § 15.—We also enact, that Jews are not to lend at a higher 
 rate than twenty per cent, either in Aragon or Catalonia, nor 
 is the interest to exceed the capital. 
 
 § 20.—Jews are not to become Mahometans, nor are Moors 
 to embrace Judaism. 
 
 In the following year, he issued another, entitled 4 — 
 
 “ Regulations against the Avarice of the Jews, and the 
 Cruelty of Usury.” The preamble states, that Christians had 
 almost renounced usury; but that the insatiable avarice of 
 Israelite usurers had reached the point of overthrowing fortunes, 
 and knew no bounds, particularly by the accumulations on the 
 capital. The intention of government is not to prevent Jews 
 lending money; for those transactions are useful to Christians. 
 But to stop abuses, it is ordained that all Jews in town or 
 
 s Marca Hispanica, App. 515. 4 Idem, 51. 
 
1236.] 
 
 SURRENDER OF CORDOVA. 
 
 83 
 
 3^^ ^ would loud on interest, are to swear in presence 
 
 of a notary, that they conform to the law. The oath is not 
 to be taken in the synagogue or a private place, but in a 
 court of justice, or the place where oaths are administered to 
 Christians. They shall swear on the law of Moses and the 
 Decalogue, and add all the ceremonies and curses as practised 
 by the Jews of Barcelona. The notaries shall register their 
 oath, and draw up no acts for Jews that are not registered and 
 sworn to. The interest, whatever may be the term of the 
 loan or quality of the security, in no case shall exceed four 
 deniers on a livre per month. No Jew is permitted to add 
 the interest to the capital, and charge compound interest; nor 
 may he demand a larger amount of interest than the capital. 
 All contracts and demands that are not conformable to these 
 statutes shall be void; and the Jew who lends on illegal terms 
 shall lose the amount of the loan, half to be for the informer, 
 and half for the king’s lieutenant. Notaries who draw up 
 such contracts are to be deprived of office for ever. Christian 
 borrowers shall make oath before the notary, that the capital 
 and interest are really the amounts expressed in the bond. 
 
 In Navarre, it appears no distinction was made be¬ 
 tween Christians and Jews; for, in 1234, Pope 
 Gregory IX. ordered the king, Thibaut I., to compel 
 the Jews to dress differently to Christians, as estab¬ 
 lished by a general council, which he was informed was 
 not enforced in Navarre. 5 By the Fuero of Sobarbe, 
 Jews were permitted to marry as many wives as they 
 could ( gobernar ) 6 maintain, but might not leave one 
 without divorcing all. If a Jew cohabited with a 
 Christian woman both were to be burnt. 7 
 
 After an obstinate resistance, Cordova, the capital 
 and seat of the Spanish caliphs, surrendered to the 
 victorious forces of Ferdinand in 1236; the inhabit - 
 
 5 Arch. Nav. Case 2, No. 12. 6 Query—To govern ? 
 
 ' Arch. Nav. Case 2. Fuero de Sobarbe, 76. 
 
84 
 
 ORDINANCE OF LERIDA. 
 
 [ 1242 . 
 
 ants, by capitulation, were allowed to retire with their 
 property. Many Jews, with regret, quitted a city 
 that had become dear to them, from the tranquillity 
 they had for centuries enjoyed under the Moslem 
 sovereigns, and the reminiscence of the glory shed by 
 their schools on the literary character of the Hebrew 
 nation. 
 
 Two years after, a similar fate attended the city of 
 Valencia. It surrendered, after a prolonged siege, to 
 the army of James, who, by his many conquests 
 during a long successful reign, had greatly enlarged 
 the kingdom of Aragon. Upwards of 50,000 Moors 
 are said to have quitted those (to them) Elysian fields, 
 among whom were many Jews; the inhabitants being 
 permitted to carry away their gold, silver, and other 
 property. 
 
 In 1240, James issued a rescript at Gerona, 8 ordain¬ 
 ing that on doubts arising in a court of law between 
 a Christian borrower and a Jew lender, they were to 
 be decided in favour of the former; and that a Chris¬ 
 tian might prove a debt against a Jew by Christian 
 witnesses only; thus abrogating the privilege that no 
 debt could be proved against them without a Jew 
 witness. In Valencia, it was necessary that all debts 
 above five sous should be proved by Christian wit¬ 
 nesses or writing. Although kindly disposed towards 
 the Jews, he wished for their conversion; and to en¬ 
 courage those who became Catholics, he issued an 
 ordinance in 1242 from Lerida, authorising it uncon¬ 
 ditionally, and securing to them their property of 
 whatever nature it might be, and that the children or 
 relatives of the convert should claim no part of it 
 during his life-time, but on his death might inherit such 
 
 8 Mar. Ilis. 513. 
 
1249.] COLLEGE OF CORDOVA REMOVED. 
 
 85 
 
 portion as though he apostatised to Judaism or Pa¬ 
 ganism. This decree also included Moors. 
 
 In 1244, Ferdinand compelled Granada to become 
 tributary; and, after an obstinate resistance, his son 
 Alphonso, in 1248, forced Seville to capitulate: 
 400,000 persons of all ages and sexes, fearing new 
 persecutions, are said to have quitted the Andalusian 
 capital, among whom were a number of Jews. Many 
 retired to Africa; others, to various parts of Spain; 
 from whence many afterwards returned, which may 
 be attributed to the conduct of the prince, who, desir¬ 
 ous of the Jews remaining in the conquered city, 
 shewed them particular favour. In dividing Seville, 
 he appropriated the three parishes of Santa Maria 
 la Blanca, St. Bartholomew and Santa Cruz, to them 
 for a Jewry. He also gave them three mosques, situ¬ 
 ated within those parishes, for synagogues; and for 
 their protection surrounded it with a wall, extending 
 from the Alcazar to the gate of Carmona, of which 
 vestiges are yet remaining, as well as some mutilated 
 Hebrew inscriptions in a synagogue they built in the 
 parish of St. Bartholomew. Within the Jewry they 
 had their exchanges, markets, courts of justice, and 
 slaughter-houses; and in an adjacent field their 
 cemetery. The liberality of Alphonso, his son, the 
 Infante who headed the army, went farther; he 
 granted the rights of inheritance to those who had 
 dwelt there under the Moorish sovereigns, as well as 
 to all those that might be attracted to it by its im¬ 
 mense population. Ferdinand, who was afterwards 
 canonised, protected learning, and with it the Hebrew 
 scholars; for under his auspices the famous college of 
 Cordova was in 1249 transferred to Toledo, which 
 
86 
 
 ST. FERDINAND. 
 
 [ 1248 . 
 
 became the principal seat of Jewish literature, 
 although Seville, Barcelona, and other cities possessed 
 schools of high repute and many learned men. His 
 physician was Solomon ben David, and he had many 
 Israelites in his service as receivers and auditors, who 
 administered the royal revenues. In the general divi¬ 
 sion, on the conquest of Seville, he rewarded those Jews 
 who had accompanied him, by giving them lands in 
 the Loza, afterwards called the Paternilla of the Jews. 
 In seeking to ameliorate their condition, he not only 
 attended to the voice of humanity, but likewise to the 
 progress and diffusion of the elements of civilisation; 
 and established professorships of Hebrew at Toledo, 
 Seville, and other important cities of his dominions. 
 In gratitude for these favours, on his public entry into 
 Seville, the Jews presented him a key of most curious 
 and elaborate workmanship, bearing in Hebrew and 
 Spanish the inscription, “ God will open, the king shall 
 enter.” It is yet preserved in the cathedral. To the 
 protection of St. Ferdinand may be attributed, that 
 the Jews were not persecuted from the false report 
 that they had stolen and crucified a young chorister 
 of the cathedral of Saragossa, named Dominic, whose 
 murder it is said was discovered by a miraculous light 
 appearing over his grave, from which he was disin¬ 
 terred and sainted. This attempt of the clergy by 
 whom it was concocted, only exposed the Jews to the 
 
 insults and hatred of the populace; but they suffered 
 no violence from it. 
 
 The tolerant spirit of this prince is demonstrated 
 by the liberal code of laws under the title of “ Las 
 Siete Partidas,” which he left nearly completed at his 
 death, for in those superstitious times, it was no easy 
 
1252.] 
 
 ALPHONSO X. 
 
 ASTRONOMERS. 
 
 87 
 
 task to protect the Jews and conciliate the clergy. 
 The laws that appear severe against them, are only 
 conformable to papal and conciliary decrees, which 
 could not, from the influence of the clergy, be abro¬ 
 gated, either with safety to the sovereign or those they 
 wished to protect. He was succeeded in 1252 by his 
 son Alphonso X., surnamed the Wise. This illustrious 
 prince was much attached to astronomy and mathe¬ 
 matics. At an early age he sought the aid of the many 
 Jewish proficients in those sciences, and in the Arabic 
 language. At his desire, before his ascension to the 
 throne, his physician R. Judah Mosca, translated a 
 curious ancient Arabic manuscript into Spanish, which 
 had originally been written in Chaldee. It treats on 
 360 stones, their colour, virtues, where found, and the 
 figure of the celestial sign from which each derives 
 its strength; thus combining mineralogy with the 
 superstition of the day—astrology: the work, yet in 'the 
 library of the Escurial, is elaborately illuminated. He 
 also translated, by the king’s desire, the astronomical 
 work of Ali ben Ragil, of which another translation was 
 made by R. Judah a Cohen, who, by order of his sove¬ 
 reign, translated the astronomical treatise of Avicenna 
 on 1022 stars; and wrote a work on the forty-eight 
 constellations formed by the 1252 stars which he 
 reckoned in the firmament, contrary to the general 
 opinion of Avicenna and cotemporary astronomers. 
 
 R. Zag, of Sujurmenza, by command of this learned 
 prince, wrote on the various astrolabes then in use, 
 and gave rules for making dials. 
 
 R. Isaac ben Said, the reader of the Synagogue of 
 Toledo, where he was born in 1242, was also employed 
 by him to assist in forming the famed Alphonsine 
 
88 
 
 ARAGON AND BARCELONA. 
 
 tables; he was one of the profoundest mathematicians 
 of the age. 
 
 The protection afforded by this learned monarch, 
 greatly increased the Hebrew population of Castile. 
 As many as 12,000 students are said to have resided 
 then at 1 oledo. Although astronomy was his favourite 
 study, the learned and scientific were equally pro¬ 
 tected and patronised by him; but, notwithstanding 
 his liberality, he could not attract all the Hebrew 
 scholars Spain then could boast of. Exclusive of these 
 Castilian subjects, Aragon and the principality of 
 Catalonia possessed many learned Jews; although the 
 Hebrew population was not as numerous as in Cas¬ 
 tile, owing to the jealousy of the Catalans, who had 
 sought to place their commerce on the same system as 
 Genoa and Pisa. The privileges Barcelona had ob¬ 
 tained from the kings of Aragon, had rendered it a 
 vast emporium. They no longer required the aid of 
 foreigners, and obtained permission from the king to 
 expel the Lombards, Pisans, and Florentines; nor 
 were foreigners permitted to establish banks at Barce¬ 
 lona. The native Jews were tolerated; but Moors 
 and Jews coming from foreign parts were subject to 
 an import duty, and figured in the tariff among silks, 
 saffron, soap, and other merchandise. 
 
 The Jews had claim to the benevolence of the 
 Castilian monarch; their doctors of the law pos¬ 
 sessed the arts and sciences in the highest perfection; 
 and it was impossible for a king who devoted to their 
 study the moments of leisure that state affairs left 
 him, not to feel a lively sympathy towards their most 
 renowned cultivators. Alphonso used all the means 
 within his power that did not place him in direct 
 
1258 .] 
 
 ORDINANCE OF ALPHONSO. 
 
 89 
 
 opposition to his vassals, to protect the Jews; as 
 thereby he protected the advancement of human 
 knowledge: giving thus an impulse to Spanish civili¬ 
 sation. 
 
 The removal of the Cordovese schools to the ancient 
 capital of the Visigoths was of the utmost importance 
 at the time. The learned Rabbins who had competed 
 with the Arabian Ulemas, made their voices heard in 
 the Jewry of Toledo; and when the star of Arabian 
 civilisation became eclipsed in the capital of the Wes¬ 
 tern Caliphs, the learning of the descendants of Judah 
 seemed to shine with more brilliancy in the first me¬ 
 tropolis of Christian Spain. 
 
 The reason is not given; but some cause must have 
 induced Alphonso to issue the following ordinance 
 respecting pledges to the Jews. 
 
 “We ordain that Jews may lend to the amount of eight 
 maravedison pledges, without being bound to swear or requiring 
 disinterested witnesses; and should an article, pledged without 
 witnesses for a sum not exceeding eight maravedis, be afterwards 
 claimed from the Jew as having been lost or stolen, the Jew 
 shall be bound to disclose who was the person that pledged it; 
 but if he does not know him, or the person is not known, 
 he shall swear in the prescribed form on the book of the law 
 in the synagogue, that he does not know the person; that it 
 was deposited with him by a respectable person, and that it is 
 not done as a cover. If then the claimant wishes to redeem 
 it, he shall pay the amount to the Jew, who shall not be liable 
 to any penalty. We further ordain, that if a Jew lend more 
 than eight maravedis on a pledge, he must receive it in presence 
 of witnesses, and take the prescribed oath before the notary 
 who draws up the agreement, that he is not to receive more 
 than thirty-three and a third per cent, and that he lends it on 
 those terms. And should an article pledged for more than 
 eight maravedis be claimed, as having been robbed or stolen, 
 
90 CHARTER OF SAHAGUN. [1255. 
 
 and the person who pledged it is known, but denies it, if the 
 Jew cannot prove or will not denounce the person, he shall 
 deliver up the pledge to the claimant without being paid, but 
 shall incur no further penalty.” 
 
 Almost- every city of Spain enjoyed its particular 
 Fuero or Charter, which charters were granted by differ¬ 
 ent sovereigns. In most, certain privileges were given 
 to the Jews. In that of Alcala we find the following— 
 
 “ Any Christian inhabitant that wounds or kills a Jew, 
 shall pay the same fine as a Christian would for a similar act 
 to another. 
 
 A Jew that wounds or kills a Christian, shall he fined the 
 same as if it were committed by a Christian. 
 
 “Jews that wish to reside and settle in Alcala, may do so 
 in full security.” 
 
 In that of Salamanca,— 
 
 “Jews have the same rights as Christians, and any person 
 that kills or wounds them is to suffer for such crime, the 
 same as if it were committed on a Christian, or on an inhabitant 
 of Salamanca. 
 
 “ Jews and their heirs are to be treated the same as if they 
 were inhabitants of Salamanca; and their sentences are to be 
 signed by two Jews and a Christian, or two Christians and 
 a Jew.” 
 
 In the charter given by Alphonso to the town of 
 Sahagun, is the following :•— 
 
 “We order that the Jews of San Fagund shall enjoy the 
 same privileges as the Jews of Carion. They shall be judged by 
 the chiefs appointed by the Rabbins of Burgos; and the chiefs 
 so nominated, shall, in presence of the abbot, swear to act 
 justly and impartially; and should they object to the decisions 
 of the said chiefs on points of their law, they are to appeal 
 to the said Rabbins. 
 
 “In disputes between Christian and Jew, or Jew and Chris- 
 
LAS SIETE PARTIDAS COMPLETED. 
 
 91 
 
 1261 .] 
 
 tian, they shall be tried by the Alcalde of San Fagund, and 
 they may appeal, in conformity to the charter of the town. 
 
 “ All claims between Christians and Jews must be proved by 
 two witnesses, a Christian and a Jew, or two Christians if 
 there is no Jew, or two Jews if there is no Christian. 
 
 “ A person who kills a Jew shall pay 500 sous to the abbot*, 
 this and all other fines shall be given to the town, or according 
 to their law, in conformity to the charter.” 
 
 Don Moses Levi Abulaphia practised medicine at 
 Seville with great celebrity. He died 1255; he had 
 been physician to the last Moorish king. 
 
 By letters patent, dated Segovia, 16th September 
 1256, addressed to the High Alcaldes, Rodrigo Estevan 
 and Gonzales Vincente, the king granted to the metro¬ 
 politan church of Seville, a tax of thirty deniers, 
 which all other bishoprics received from every Jew 
 above ten years of age within their diocese. 
 
 A bull of Alexander IV., in this year, empowered 
 the king of Navarre not only to prevent the usury of 
 Jews, but to deprive them of the property they had 
 so acquired, and to return it to its owners, or appro¬ 
 priate it to charitable purposes. 
 
 In 1261, Alphonso completed the Code of Las 
 Siete Partidas. They exhibit the protection afforded 
 by these enlightened monarchs to the persons and 
 property of the Jews, and the free exercise of their 
 religion. The laws made under the influence of the 
 clergy do not appear to have been enforced. 
 
92 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 JHetC i&trttiias, or “ Seven Codes”' 
 
 On the Sacraments of the Church. 2 
 
 Law 63.— What Jews and Moors are to do on meeting the 
 Host .—It sometimes happens that Jews and Moors meet the 
 Host, when being carried to administer the sacrament to some 
 sick person, as stated in the preceding law. We therefore 
 say, that if any person not of our faith, and who does not 
 believe it, should meet the Host, he will do right to kneel 
 the same as Christians, that being nothing more than true 
 religion. But if he does not wish to kneel, we order that he 
 withdraw from the street, that the clergyman may pass without 
 interruption; if it should be proved of any person that he 
 would not, the judge of the place where it occurs shall 
 commit him to prison for three days. And should he act 
 thus again, we order the punishment to be double, and that 
 he be imprisoned six days. If thereby he is not warned, but 
 a third time should act contrary hereto, we order that he be 
 arrested and taken before the king, who shall inflict the punish¬ 
 ment he may think proper for such act. Should the king be 
 far from the place, the person so acting shall be properly secured 
 until he be informed thereof, that he may order the punish¬ 
 ment such person deserves. We order this for two reasons:— 
 First,—That Jews and Moors may not say that we injure or 
 wrong them in our dominions. Secondly,—That the judges 
 and those charged with the execution hereof, perform it without 
 being induced to condemn them from envy of their property, 
 nor the pleasure of personally injuring them from any ill-will 
 they may bear against them. The aforesaid punishment is to 
 be understood only for those Moors and Jews who are in¬ 
 habitants of places within our dominions; but if they are 
 
 1 Mad. Edit. 1711. 2 Code i. Title 4. 
 
LAS SIETE PARTIDAS. 
 
 93 
 
 strangers that come from foreign parts and are unacquainted 
 herewith, we consider it just that they should not be liable 
 thereto, as such persons do not deserve punishment, unless 
 knowingly and maliciously they act contrarily. 
 
 On Lawyers. 3 
 
 Law 5. —Furthermore, we say that no Jew or Moor may 
 act as advocate for a Christian; nevertheless he may act as such 
 for himself, or any person of his religion. 
 
 On Oaths. 4 
 
 Law 11 . —Jews having to make oath, must do it in the fol¬ 
 lowing form:—The person who demands that a Jew be sworn, 
 must accompany him to the synagogue, to witness his swearing 
 in presence of Christians and Jews. The Jew that is to be 
 sworn must place his hand on the book of the law from which 
 they read; and the person who administers the oath shall con¬ 
 jure him as follows:—You A. B., a Jew, swear by that God 
 who is Omnipotent, who created heaven, earth, and all other 
 things, and who said, Swear not falsely by my name: by 
 that God, who made Adam, the first man, placed him in 
 Paradise, and commanded him not to eat the fruit which he 
 forbade him; and because he ate thereof, drove him from 
 Paradise: by that God who accepted the offering of Abel 
 and refused that of Cain; who at the time of the Flood saved 
 Noah, his wife, his sons, their wives and all living things in 
 the ark, that they might afterwards people the earth: by that 
 God who saved Lot and his daughters from the destruction 
 of Sodom and Gomorrah: by that God who said unto Abraham, 
 that in his seed all the nations of the earth should be blessed, 
 and commanded that all people proceeding from him should 
 be circumcised, and chose for himself his son Isaac and Jacob 
 as patriarchs: who saved Joseph from the hands of his 
 brethren, that they did not kill him, and gave him favour with 
 Pharaoh, that his family might not perish during the famine: 
 who preserved Moses from perishing when cast into the 
 
 * Code iii. Title 6. 
 
 4 Code iii. Title 11, extract. 
 
94 
 
 LAS SIETE 
 
 river, and afterwards appeared to him in the similitude of fire: 
 who inflicted ten plagues on Egypt, because Pharaoh would 
 not let the children of Israel go to sacrifice in the desert; and 
 made a path in the sea that they might pass on dry land, and 
 drowned Pharaoh and his host that pursued them therein: 
 who gave the law to Moses at Mount Sinai, and wrote it with 
 His finger on tables of stone: who made Aaron his priest, 
 and destroyed his sons for sacrificing with strange fire, and 
 caused the earth to swallow Dathan, Abiram, and their com¬ 
 panions alive: who gave the Jews manna to eat in the 
 wilderness, and made the water that came from the rock sweet 
 that they might drink, and sustained them during forty years 
 in the desert, that their clothes neither became old nor broken; 
 and when the children of Israel fought with the people of 
 Amalek, made Moses to raise his hand so that they conquered; 
 and commanded Moses to ascend the mount, and he was not 
 afterwards seen; and, except Joshua and Caleb, would not 
 peimit any of those that came out of Egypt, for their dis¬ 
 obedience, to enter the promised land; and turning the waters 
 upwards, made them cross the Jordan dry: who cast down 
 the walls of Jericho, that Joshua might take it the sooner; 
 and further, made the sun stand still at noon, until Joshua had 
 conquered his enemies: who chose Saul for the first king of 
 His people Israel, and after him made David reign, and put 
 the spirit of prophecy upon him and the other prophets; 
 guarded him from many dangers, and said he should be called 
 a man after his own heart: who took Elijah up to heaven 
 in a chariot of fire, and performed many wonders and miracles 
 among the Jewish people: and you further swear by the 
 Ten Commandments that God gave to Moses: to all which he 
 must answer “ I swear.” The person who receives the oath 
 must then tell him that as he has sworn, if he knows the 
 truth and denies or conceals, and does not avow it, may all 
 the plagues that came on the Egyptians, and all the curses 
 denounced in the law upon those who despise the command¬ 
 ments of God, come upon him. This being said to him, he 
 must answer, u Amen.” 
 
PARTED AS. 
 
 95 
 
 On Relationship in Marriages. 5 
 
 Law 6.—A Moor or Jew, being married according to their 
 religion to a relative or sister-in-law, and afterwards becoming 
 a Christian, the marriage of such as have been so married, is 
 not on that account to be annulled, notwithstanding they are 
 related within the fourth degree. 
 
 On Divorce. 6 
 
 Law 7. —A person who becomes a Heretic, Moor, or Jew, 
 cannot accuse his wife of adultery, because he has committed 
 spiritual adultery. And whereas, the person who carnally 
 commits adultery, may, on its being proved, be ejected; much 
 more may it be done to those who commit it spiritually, by 
 changing their belief, and persisting in their wickedness. In 
 another case, a wife may not be accused of adultery; which is, 
 if a Jew, having been married and separated from his wife, by 
 giving her a bill of divorce according to the Jewish law, 
 should afterwards become a Christian, and she should marry 
 another Jew. And if it so happen, that after being mar¬ 
 ried to the second husband, she becomes a Christian, and 
 claims for her husband, the man who had turned Christian, to 
 whom she was formerly married, before he has married another, 
 she may do it; he must receive her, and cannot accuse her of 
 adultery, nor may he, on account of her second marriage, eject 
 or refuse to receive her again. 
 
 On Slaves. 7 
 
 L aw 8.—No Jew, Moor, Heretic, or other person, not of 
 our religion, can possess any Christian slave. Persons acting 
 contrary hereto, and knowingly possessing a Christian as a 
 slave, shall suffer death, and their property be confiscated to 
 the king. We furthermore declare, if any of the aforesaid per¬ 
 sons possess a slave who is not of our religion; if the said 
 slave becomes a Christian, as soon as he has been baptised, and 
 
 6 Code iii. tit. 6, extract. 
 
 7 Code iv. tit. 21. 
 
 5 Code iv. tit 6, extract. 
 
96 
 
 LAS SIETE 
 
 received our faith, he must be liberated, and is not bound to 
 pay anything to the master he belonged to before his conver¬ 
 sion. And, even if his former master subsequently should be¬ 
 come a Christian, he has no right or claim on the slave that 
 became a Christian before him. 
 
 This is to be understood, when the Jew, or Moor, has 
 bought the slave, who has thus turned Christian, for the pur¬ 
 pose of serving him, and not as merchandise for sale: but if 
 he purchase him for sale, he must dispose of him within three 
 months. And if, before the expiration of three months, while 
 the owner is endeavouring to dispose of him, he should turn 
 Christian; the Jew, or Moor, ought not to lose the entire sum 
 they may have paid for him. On the contrary, we ordain, that 
 the slave himself, or the person who induced him to turn 
 Christian, shall be bound to pay the sum of twelve maravedis, 
 current money of the place, to the owner. Should he not have 
 the means of paying that amount, he must serve, not as a slave 
 but as a free man, until he has earned it. And if the slave has 
 not been sold within the term of the three months, although 
 the master afterwards turns Christian, he has no right to, or 
 claim upon him. 
 
 On Moors. 8 
 
 Law 10.— The Punishments to be inflicted on Moors and 
 Christians that cohabit together.— If a Moor cohabit with a 
 Christian woman, he shall be stoned for it; and for the first 
 time she shall lose half her property, and her father, mother, 
 or grandfather, shall have it, and, in default of such relatives, it 
 shall go to the king. And for the second time, she is to lose 
 the whole, and the aforenamed are to have it, or, in default, 
 the king; and she shall suffer death. We further command, 
 that the same shall be done with a widow. And if he should 
 be connected with a married woman, she shall be delivered 
 into the hands of her husband, that he may burn, acquit, or do 
 what he chooses with her. And if he cohabit with a prostitute, 
 for the first time both shall be scourged together through the 
 town; and for the second offence they shall suffer death. 
 
 8 Code vii. Tit. 21. 
 
PARTI DAS. 
 
 97 
 
 On Jews. 9 
 
 Jews are a description of people that will not believe in the 
 faith of our Lord Jesus Christ; but Christian potentates have 
 always permitted them to reside among them. Whereas, in 
 the pieceding title, we treated on diviners, and other persons 
 who assert that they are acquainted with events that are to 
 happen, which in a measure is a contempt of God, pretending 
 to render themselves equal to him, by knowing his acts and 
 secrets, we shall here treat of the Jews, who contradict and 
 deny Ins name, and the miraculous and holy deed he perform¬ 
 ed when he sent His Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, into the world 
 to save sinners. We shall shew:— 
 
 The meaning of Jew, and whence the name is derived;— 
 the reason why the Church and Potentates allowed their 
 residing among them; the mode of life they must lead among 
 Christians; what they may not practise or do according to 
 our religion ; the Judges who are to pass sentence on them 
 for any crime they commit, or for debts they may owe ; that 
 Jews who become Christians are not to be molested ; the ad¬ 
 vantages Jews who become Christians have over those who 
 are not converted ; the punishment to be inflicted on those 
 who injure and insult converts ; the punishment Christians 
 are to receive who become Jews ; and, on Jews who make 
 Moorish slaves belonging to them turn to their religion. 
 
 Law 1. The meaning of Jand whence the name is devived. 
 —Those are termed Jews who believe the Law of Moses, fol¬ 
 lowing it to the letter, who practise circumcision, and perform 
 other ceremonies enjoined by their religion. The name 
 is derived from the tribe of Judah, which was the noblest, and 
 braver than the other tribes; it also had another pre-eminence, 
 the king of the Jews was to be elected from it; besides, in 
 battle that tribe was the foremost. The reason the Church, 
 emperors, kings and princes, permitted Jews to live by them¬ 
 selves among Christians, is, that they might always live as in 
 captivity, and that they may ever be a memorial to mankind, 
 
 9 Code vii. Tit. 24. 
 
 H 
 
98 
 
 LAS SIETE 
 
 that they are from the genealogy of those who crucified our 
 Lord Jesus Christ. 
 
 Law 2. —The way Jews must live among Christians, what they 
 may not practise nor do according to our religion , and the 
 punishment of those who act contrary. —Jews residing among 
 Christians must live humbly, and without evil intention, 
 observing their religion, and not speak ill of the faith of our 
 Lord Jesus Christ, which Christians observe. They must be 
 careful not to preach, praising their religion, and disparaging 
 ours, nor to convert any Christian that he turn Jew, any per¬ 
 son so doing shall suffer death, and all his property be confis¬ 
 cated. And whereas, we are informed, that some Jews, by 
 way of derision on Good Friday, in commemoration of the 
 passion of our Lord Jesus Christ, steal children and crucify 
 them, or make images which they crucify, when they cannot 
 procure children. We order, that if it can be proved that 
 such act is committed in any place of our dominions, all per¬ 
 sons concerned therein are to be arrested, imprisoned, and 
 taken before the king; and, when the king has ascertained the 
 fact to be true, he must order all the parties concerned therein 
 to be executed immediately. Furthermore, we forbid any Jew 
 leaving his house, or going without their barrier on Good 
 Friday, they shall be confined to the Jewry until Saturday 
 morning; should they act contrary, no reparation is to be 
 made for any insult or ill-treatment they may receive from 
 Christians. 
 
 Law 3. —No Jew to hold any public office or post , enabling 
 him to pass sentence on Christians. —The Jews were formerly 
 highly honored, and possessed greater privileges than all other 
 nations. They only, were called the people of God. But as 
 they would not recognise him who had honored and bene- 
 fitted them; and instead of rendering him honor, they disgraced 
 and put him to death on the cross, it was just and proper that 
 for such an enormous crime and wickedness as they committed, 
 they should be deprived of the honor and privileges they 
 enjoyed; and ever since the day they crucified our Lord Jesus 
 
PARTIDAS. 
 
 99 
 
 Christ, they have not had a king or priest of their own, as 
 they had before. The emperors, who were formerly masters 
 of the whole world, considered it just and right, that for the 
 treason committed in putting their Lord to death, they should 
 lose the honors and prerogatives they formerly enjoyed, so 
 that no Jew should ever hold a post of honor, or public 
 office, by virtue of which he would have to pass sentence 
 on Christians. 
 
 Law 4. —How Jews may have Synagogues among Christians. 
 —A Synagogue is a place where Jews perform their devotions. 
 In no part of our dominions without our permission, may 
 any new one be erected ; but should those they have fall 
 into decay, they may rebuild and repair them on the same site, 
 and in the same manner as before; but they may not enlarge, 
 elevate, or beautify them. The Synagogue that is otherwise 
 constructed is to be taken from them, and to be given to the 
 principal church of the place where it is erected. As a Syna¬ 
 gogue is a building where the name of God is praised, we 
 forbid any Christian presuming to destroy or to take anything 
 from it, except a criminal who has sought refuge therein. 
 Such may be lawfully seized by force and brought to justice. 
 We further forbid Christians putting animals in or near them, 
 or causing any molestation to Jews, while engaged at their 
 prayers, according to their religion. 
 
 Law 5. —Jews not to have sentence passed on them on Satur¬ 
 days; and what Judges are to pass sentence on them. — Saturday 
 is a day whereon Jews observe their Sabbath, and are tranquil 
 in their homes; they neither work, trade, nor carry on lawsuits 
 thereon. And as they are bound by their religion to observe 
 this day, no person may summon them, or bring them to judg¬ 
 ment thereon. We therefore order, that no judge shall 
 condemn or arrest Jews on Saturdays, or bring them to 
 judgment for debt, or seize, or do them any hurt on that 
 day. There are other days of the week sufficient to arrest and 
 demand what may justly be demanded from them ; and Jews 
 shall not be compelled to answer any summons made them on 
 
100 
 
 LAS SIETE 
 
 that day; and we further command, that any sentence passed 
 on them on that day shall he null and void. But should Jews 
 wound, kill, rob, steal, or commit any similar crime, for which 
 they ought to receive corporal punishment, in such cases 
 Judges may have guilty persons arrested on Saturday. We 
 further command, that all demands Christians may have 
 against Jews, or Jews against Christians, shall be heard and 
 determined by our Judges and not by their elders. And as 
 we forbid Christians punishing Jews or bringing them to judg¬ 
 ment on Saturday, we also declare, that Jews neither personally 
 nor by their representatives may have Christians tried or 
 punished on that day. Furthermore, we forbid any Christian 
 to dare to seize or do any injury to the person or property of a 
 Jew; but if he has any demand against him, he is.to bring it 
 before our Judges; and should any person presume to steal, or 
 
 forcibly take anything from a Jew, he shall be compelled to 
 return double the value. 
 
 Law. 6 . Jews not to be compelled to turn Christians ; the 
 advantage granted to Converts , and the punishment of Jews that 
 injure them. —No force or compulsion is to be used to make 
 Jews turn Christians, but by good example, kindness, and the 
 maxims of the Holy Scriptures, should they be converted to 
 the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, for he neither requires nor 
 desires compulsory service. Furthermore, should any Jew or 
 Jewess hereafter wish to become a Christian, other Jews are in 
 no manner whatever to prevent them, and should any of them 
 stone, wound, or kill those that wish to become Christians, or 
 that have been baptized, if proved, we order, that the murder¬ 
 ers and advisers of such outrage are to be burned. And if they 
 should not kill, but should strike or illtreat them, we command 
 the Judges of the place where it occurs to have reparation made, 
 and inflict such punishment, as they consider the persons who 
 committed the offence deserve. We furthermore order, that all 
 persons in our kingdom are to respect Jews that become 
 Christians, and no one insultingly shall reproach them or their 
 descendants with having been Jews. And they shall keep 
 possession of their property and all belonging to them, sharing 
 
PARTIDAS. 
 
 101 
 
 with their brothers, and inheriting from their fathers, mothers, 
 and other relations, the same as if they were Jews ; and they 
 are to be eligible to every honour, post, and employment held 
 by other Christians. 
 
 Law 7. — The punishment of a Christian turning Jew. —Such 
 evil results from Christians turning Jews, that we order, that 
 any Christian who does shall suffer death, the same as if he 
 had become a heretic. We furthermore ordain, that his pro¬ 
 perty is to be treated in the same manner as we have ordained 
 that of heretics to be treated. 
 
 Law 8.— Christians not to live with Jews. —We forbid Jews 
 presuming to have Christian slaves in their houses; but they 
 may employ them as labourers and cultivators of their outdoor 
 possessions, and to guard them when travelling on a road con¬ 
 sidered unsafe. We furthermore forbid Christians to invite any 
 Jew or Jewess, or to accept an invitation to eat and drink wine 
 with them, or to drink wine made by Jews. Further, we 
 order, that no Jew is to presume to bathe in the same bath 
 with Christians. We also prohibit Christians receiving any 
 medicine or purges made up by Jews, nevertheless they may 
 take it on the advice of an experienced person, provided it be 
 compounded by Christians, who know and understand the 
 ingredients of which it is composed. 
 
 Law 9. —The punishment of a Jew cohabiting with a Chris¬ 
 tian Woman. —It is highly disrespectful and insolent for Jews 
 to cohabit with Christian women. We therefore order, that if 
 it be proved of any Jew, that he has committed such an offence 
 he shall suffer death for it. For where a Christian deserves 
 death who commits adultery with a married woman, Jews 
 that cohabit with Christian women deserve it much more; as 
 spiritually, by reason of faith, and the baptism received in his 
 name, they are spouses of our Lord Jesus Christ; and we con¬ 
 sider it right that a Christian woman guilty of such a crime 
 should not go unpunished; we therefore order, whether she be 
 a virgin, married woman, widow, or prostitute, she shall suffer 
 the same punishment, as enacted for a Christian woman who 
 cohabits with a Moor. 10 
 
 10 Vide page 96. 
 
102 
 
 LAS SIETE PARTIDAS. 
 
 Law 10. — The punishment Jews incur for possessing Christian 
 slaves. —Jews may not purchase or possess Christian slaves, 
 either male or female. And if any one should act contrary, 
 the Christian shall be restored to freedom -without repaying any 
 part of the cost price; unless when the Jew made the pur¬ 
 chase he did not know he was a Christian. But, if the Jew 
 knew it when he bought him, and afterwards treats him as a 
 slave, the Jew ought to suffer death for it. Furthermore, we 
 forbid any Jew presuming to make his slave a Jew or Jewess, 
 although they are Moors or other Barbarians. 11 Should any one 
 act contrary hereto, we order that the slave who has become a 
 Jew or Jewess, shall in consequence be free, and released from 
 the power of the person he or she belonged to. And if, per¬ 
 chance, a Moor who was a slave to a Jew should turn Christian, 
 he must immediately be liberated. 
 
 Law 11 .— Jews to wear a distinctive mark or sign. —Many 
 mistakes and injurious occurrences take place between Chris¬ 
 tians and Jews and Jewesses, and Christian women, from their 
 living and residing together in towns and dressing alike. 
 Therefore, to avoid the errors and evils that may thereby hap¬ 
 pen, we order that every Jew and Jewess residing in our do¬ 
 minions shall wear a particular sign on their heads, that people 
 may publicly know who are Jews and Jewesses. And we 
 order that any Jew who appears in public without it, shall be 
 fined, for each time, ten maravedis of gold; and if he has not 
 the means to pay the fine, he shall publicly receive ten lashes. 
 
 11 Natives of Barbaiy. 
 
103 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 Jews accused of Murder at Ossuna. — Discovery of 
 the Plot. — Sahudano , Minister to James II. — 
 ClementIV. wishes James to expel the Jews and Moors. 
 —An additional Tax laid on them.—Join the Autho¬ 
 rities to preserve Estella for Donna Johanna.—Orders 
 respecting Debts due to them in Navarre. — Their 
 Petition to the Cortes of Barcelona. — Alphonse?s 
 conduct to Don Zag de la Malea.—Cortes of Palencia . 
 — Hebrew Population in Castile and Murcia. — 
 Assessment. — Physician to Don Sancho. — His 
 Treatment of Fever.—Learned Men. — Cortes of 
 Valladolid. 
 
 The protection afforded by tbe laws and this monarch 
 to the Hebrew people, inflamed the zeal of the bigots 
 against them; for about this period many were mas¬ 
 sacred at Ossuna, in Andalusia, from the following 
 circumstance. Three villains threw a corpse into the 
 house of a Jew and accused him of the murder; the 
 calumny spreading through the town, the populace 
 massacred every Jew they met. Many sought refuge 
 in the houses of their Christian friends, who readily 
 granted them an asylum; but they suffered great pri¬ 
 vation, for, being the week of passover, they would not 
 eat the leavened bread of their hospitable protectors. 
 Many from the same cause were killed at Palma. 
 The Jews, to prevent the extension of the massacres, 
 found it necessary to send a deputation to claim the 
 
104 
 
 DEPUTATION TO ALPHONSO X. 
 
 [ 1262 . 
 
 protection of the king. The envoys, R. Joseph, the 
 Chief Rabbi, R. Samuel ben Shoshan, and R. Abraham 
 Benevista, travelled through bye-roads to avoid their 
 persecutors, who, thereby, were enabled to make 
 their accusation before the Jewish deputies arrived. 
 R. Joseph pleaded his cause so powerfully and elo¬ 
 quently, that he was admired by the whole court, and 
 the Jews were acquitted of the crime. Their innocence 
 was subsequently proved. Owing to a reward offered 
 by the king, it was discovered that one Juan de la 
 Vera, to avoid payment of a debt he owed to the Jew 
 into whose house it had been thrown, had with the 
 assistance of some friends exhumed the corpse, and 
 the empty grave was found. The accusers wanted 
 the Jew to be put to the torture; but the king refused, 
 as a few years previously two brothers, Judah and 
 Samuel Ankoah, had, while on the rack, confessed 
 having stolen two of the royal golden goblets. Three 
 days after their execution, the goblets were found in 
 the possession of one of his servants. The horrid 
 sufferings of the torture frequently induced the inno¬ 
 cent victims of this barbarous punishment to ac¬ 
 knowledge themselves guilty of the crimes they were 
 accused of, seeking in death relief from their cruel 
 persecutors. 
 
 The king recommended the deputation, at their 
 departure, to advise their people to suppress their 
 usury, the costliness of their dress, and their public 
 display of state and grandeur, as those things tended 
 to excite the rage and hatred of Christians. 
 
 On the marriage of the Infanta Constance with 
 Don Pedro, the Infante of Navarre, in 1262, the 
 town of Gerona, and the Jews residing in it, were 
 
1265.] CENSORSHIP OF HEBREW BOOKS. 105 
 
 assigned for her dowry. James of Aragon in 1263, 
 sent out a fleet to protect the coasts of his kingdom 
 against the Moors of Barbary, who had come to assist 
 the Castilian revolters. His minister and treasurer, 
 a Jew named Sahudano, to whom he entrusted the 
 chief business of state, furnished him the means for 
 its equipment, as well as to garrison the city of 
 Valencia; he was a man of such probity and honor, 
 that the writer of the “ Annales de Aragon” only 
 regrets that he was a Jew. 1 
 
 Alphonso being at Seville in 1263, the Alcalde of 
 Burgos applied to him for instruction on various 
 doubtful points. The following is found among the 
 answers:—* 4 When a Christian has borrowed monev 
 from a Jew, and a time is fixed for the payment, if 
 the Christian wants to acquit his bond and pay the 
 amount, with the interest for the time he had the 
 money, and the Jew will not receive it, then I order 
 what you are to do. I say that when such a case 
 happens, act rightly and justly towards the borrower. 
 On the Christian paying the capital and the interest 
 then due, the Jew must receive it.” 
 
 After the disputation between Fr. Christiani and 
 Nachmanides, Pope Clement IV. wished James to 
 punish the Babbins, and drive the Jews and Moors 
 from his states as dangerous to the faithful; but the 
 only thing he did was to levy an additional tax on 
 them, to defray the expenses of Christiani, who went 
 in 1265 to the principal cities, with power to assemble 
 the Jews to hold conferences wherever he chose, and 
 to make them exhibit their books. Aided by a 
 number of monks, he willingly undertook the mission; 
 the censorship was so inconsiderately executed, that 
 
 1 Zurita. 
 
106 
 
 ALPHONSO’S VISIT TO PHILIP III. [1280. 
 
 the Jews complained to the court of the inquisitorial 
 proceeding; upon which they were ordered to take 
 them to Barcelona to he examined. Foreseeing that 
 they would not be treated better by the clergy of that 
 city, than they had been by the missionaries, they 
 only took a few, and secreted a large number. 
 
 The Jews were not only numerous in Navarre, but 
 so wealthy and powerful, that on the death of Henry 
 in 1274, they were invited by Don Juan Sanchez de 
 Montagueda, governor of the castle of Estella, to join 
 the civil and military authorities in an oath to 
 maintain and defend the castle, city and Jewry, for his 
 infant daughter and successor Donna Johanna (which 
 they did on the book of the law), until she was 
 twelve years of age. The document, dated 14th No¬ 
 vember, is yet preserved in the archives of Estella. 
 In consequence of many pretenders for her hand, this 
 oath was again confirmed by the same parties three 
 years after, when Philip III. of France, as guardian 
 of the infant queen, ordered that the Jews should 
 wait eight years for the payment of debts due to 
 them, receiving an eighth part annually. 2 
 
 In 1276, Don Meir and Don Joseph, sons of the 
 high treasurer, Don Zag, farmed the royal taxes of 
 Castile, for 500,000 maravedis, of the coinage of the 
 Algerine war. 3 Alphonso in 1280, being in want of 
 money for his expenses, in paying a visit to the king 
 of France at Bayonne, taking example from the sove¬ 
 reigns of England and France, issued an order from 
 Valladolid, to seize all the Jews on one Saturday, and 
 thus extorted from them 2,000 maravedis a day until 
 his return. 4 
 
 2 Arch. Esteila. 
 
 3 Arch. Aguilar del Campo. 
 
 4 Chron. Alph. 10. 
 
1283.] ARREST OF DON ZAG DE LA MALEA. 107 
 
 In consequence of the delay granted by Philip, 
 for the payment of debts due to Jews, the inhabitants 
 of other towns in Navarre applied to him; in 1280 
 he ordered the Viceroy to attend to the remonstrances 
 of the inhabitants of Ribaforada, who were indebted 
 to the Jews of Tudela, and not permit them to molest 
 Christians for usury due to them on loans; and 
 that the Hebrews of Bunuel should only be repaid 
 the capital without interest. 5 
 
 From the conflicting claims to jurisdiction over 
 them in Catalonia, at the cortes of Barcelona, in 
 1283, they petitioned that the laws which attached 
 them to the lord of the soil, or the fortified places 
 where they had their domiciles, might be observed. 
 The cortes confirmed those ancient laws subject to the 
 privileges and special agreements that may have been 
 stipulated. They yet possessed in Aragon the right 
 to own slaves; but that right became almost illusory 
 by the ordinance of Peter II., which liberated the 
 slaves of Moors and Jews when they embraced Chris¬ 
 tianity; thus they had only to be baptised to become 
 free. 
 
 Alphonso could not forget the unfortunate result of 
 the siege of Algesiras in 1281. He knew that the 
 Infante, Don Sancho, had been the cause of the ir¬ 
 reparable injury; but not daring to vent his anger 
 on his son, he had the receiver-general, a powerful 
 Hebrew, Don Zag de la Malea arrested, for having 
 delivered to Don Sancho the money destined for the 
 expedition (who, by its misappropriation in giving 
 it to the Queen Violante, had caused the disaster), 
 which he could not resist; and for not informing him 
 in time to enable him to remedy the mischief. 
 
 s Arch. Nav. Let. ii. 170. 
 
108 
 
 CORTES OF PALENCIA. 
 
 [1286- 
 
 However specious the charge, the sole object of the 
 king was to sacrifice a victim to his resentment; and 
 what was at most an inconsiderate act, became an 
 enormous crime; and he condemned him to death. 
 The king, desirous of shewing his anger towards the 
 most guilty party, ordered that Don Zag should be 
 dragged to the place of execution, in front of the 
 Infante’s residence. Don Sancho wished to descend 
 to rescue him, but was prevented by his brothers; 
 he swore to avenge a death so insulting to himself, 
 and rebelled against his father. Another cause of 
 his rebellion was, that Alphonso had named his 
 grandson, the son of his eldest son Don Ferdinand, 
 deceased, to be his successor. Sancho, his second son, 
 considered himself more entitled to the crown; the 
 discontented grandees joined him, and in a cortes held 
 at Valladolid, they declared him king. He continued 
 in arms against his father until a short time before 
 his death, when, by nominating him for his successor, 
 they were reconciled, and he succeeded to the throne 
 in 1284. To regulate the administration of justice 
 in the kingdom of Leon, a cortes was held at Palencia 
 in 1286, when, at the request of the representatives, 
 the first infringement of their ancient privileges took 
 place. The sixteenth ordinance runs thus:_ 
 
 I consider it right that the Jews should not have separate 
 and particular Alcaldes, as hitherto; but that one of the judges 
 to whom the justice of the city is entrusted shall be appointed 
 to try their causes. That both Christians and Jews may have 
 their rights, and no delay is to take place, through the neglect 
 of the proper authorities, in passing sentence that my taxes be 
 not withheld. 
 
 This applied only to the Jewish inhabitants of that 
 
ASSESSMENT IN 1290. 
 
 109 
 
 kingdom, in which, by the following assessment, there 
 appears to have been upwards of 70,000 above six¬ 
 teen years of age, as they paid a tax of three maravedis 
 a head; and in Castile and Murcia 630,000; together, 
 upwards of 700,000 in the three kingdoms of Don 
 Sancho. A satire written against the king, for the 
 protection of the Hebrew population, states it to be 
 upwards of a million and a-half. 6 
 
 The following is the division made at Huete (that 
 is the city of Huete), among the Jewries of the Jews, 
 by command of Don Sancho the brave, in the month 
 of September, 1290 (era 1328). 7 
 
 La Frontera. 
 
 At the meeting of the deputies they agreed that the appoint¬ 
 ment should be made by Don Jacob Hayon, Don Zag Abena- 
 sor of Niebla and Xeres, and. Don Abraham Abenfar, from 
 Cordova, and the person chosen by the representatives of the 
 bishopric. They are to apportion it in such manner that no 
 right of the king be injured; and if these do not agree, they 
 shall apply to Don David Abudarham the elder, and the Jewry 
 of the Jews of Toledo, to divide among themselves 191,898 
 maravedis. 
 
 The Kingdom of Leon. 
 
 By agreement made with the other Jewries, that in the 
 kingdom of Leon among themselves, in such manner as not to 
 reduce any of the king’s rights in that amount. 218,500 
 
 The kingdom of Murcia - 22,414 
 
 Tierra Rasa. 
 
 Maravedis. ] Maravedis. 
 
 Villareal- - - - - 2,468 j Madrid ----- 10,605 
 
 Toledo, together with 1 j Alcala ----- 6,800 
 
 the places hitherto j> 216,505 j Azeda - - - 2,841 
 
 taxed with it - -J 'Salamanca - - - - 1,014 
 
 6 Appendix 5. 
 
 7 Asso y Rodrigues’ Discurso sobre los Judios de Espana. 
 
110 ASSESSMENT IN 1290. 
 
 Maravedis* 
 
 Buytrago - - - - - 6,044 
 
 Guadalajara - - - - 16,986 
 
 Almoquera - 400,588 
 
 Fita ------ 13,588 
 
 Dorita - - - - 6,833 
 
 Briviega ----- 24,471 
 
 Baguer ----- 11,162 
 
 Alcaraz ----- 12,771 
 
 Montiel ----- 1,522 
 
 758,216 
 
 Bishopric of Calahorci. 
 
 Calahora - - 11,697 
 
 Vitoria ----- 8,521 
 
 Villabrea - - - - 12,850 
 
 the king allowed half to*' 
 
 be paid as they had I ,-orv 
 been robbed, and | 7 
 
 hereafter - J 
 
 Miranda ----- 3,312 
 
 Alfaro ----- 3,256 
 
 Najara ----- - 19,318 
 
 Logrono ----- 15,008 
 
 Alueda and Alfacel - - 15,110 
 
 Azuedo ----- 3,617 
 
 114,469 
 
 Bishopric of Cuenqa. 
 
 Cuenca ----- 70,882 
 
 Ucles ------ 28,514 
 
 -con Alcouz - - 46,680 
 
 146,076 
 
 Bishopric of Palencia. 
 
 Palencia ----- 33,280 
 
 Valladolid 8 - - - - 69,520 
 
 San Fagund - 23,203 
 
 Carion,and the villages 1 rQ 
 
 taxed with it- - J 0f3 ’ 480 
 Paredes de Nava and 4 ^ ggj. 
 
 Cisneros - - - J 
 
 
 Maravedis. 
 
 Sariega - 
 
 - 
 
 2,030 
 
 Duenas - 
 
 - 
 
 1,827 
 
 Penafiel - - - 
 
 - - 
 
 6,597 
 
 Cia - - 
 
 - 
 
 4,923 
 
 
 
 236,845 
 
 Bishopric of 
 
 Burgos. 
 
 Burgos - - - 
 
 - 
 
 87,560 
 
 Castiella - - - 
 
 - 
 
 4,002 
 
 23,850 
 
 Pancorvo - - - 
 
 - 
 
 Muno and Lerma 
 
 de 1 
 
 7,850 
 
 Pezuelo 
 
 - \ 
 
 Buesca 9 - 
 
 
 11,700 
 
 Villadiego 
 
 - 
 
 13,770 
 
 Aguilar - 
 
 - 
 
 8,060 
 
 Bilforado - 
 
 - 
 
 8,500 
 
 Medina de Guzman 1 
 
 12,042 
 
 Ona and Frias 
 
 - j 
 
 
 
 177,334 
 
 Bishopric of Begov 
 
 ia. 
 
 Segovia - - - 
 
 - 
 
 40,806 
 
 Peclraza - - - 
 
 - 
 
 3,653 
 
 Coa - - - - 
 
 - 
 
 892 
 
 Sepulveda 
 
 - 
 
 18,912 
 
 Fuente Buena 
 
 - 
 
 3,413 
 
 Cuellar - - - 
 
 - 
 
 933 
 
 
 
 68,609 
 
 Bishopric of Siguenqa. 
 
 Siguenija and Medina) 
 Celi - - - - j 
 
 25,835 
 
 Atienza - - - 
 
 - 
 
 42,434 
 
 Almaran - - - 
 
 _ 
 
 25,083 
 
 Berlanga - 
 
 - 
 
 3,347 
 
 2,029 
 
 Cifuentes - - - 
 
 - 
 
 Aillon - - - 
 
 - 
 
 6,564 
 
 
 
 105,292 
 
 8 The bishop granted a deduction to it, and the villages taxed with it. 
 
 9 The king issued an order for them to contribute to the tax of Castile 
 which together was 12,050. 
 
1293.] 
 
 PHYSICIAN TO DON SANCHO. 
 
 Ill 
 
 Maravedis. 
 
 Bishopric of Avila. 
 
 Avila ----- 59,592 
 
 Pieclratita, BongiliU, "1 ns)^ 
 and Valle de Corneja J ’ 
 Medina del Campo - - 44,064 
 
 Olmedo ----- 31,659 
 
 Azevalo ----- 12,327 
 
 168,718 
 
 Bishopric of Plasencia. 
 
 Plasencia- - - - - 16,244 
 
 Bejar ----- 3,430 
 
 Grand Total - - 
 
 Maravedis. 
 
 Trugillo - - - - - 3,763 
 
 Medellin - 3,348 
 
 26,785 
 
 Bishopric of Osina. 
 
 Osma ----- 14,510 
 
 Sant Estevan - 16,841 
 
 Aza ------ 2,529 
 
 Soria ------ 31,351 
 
 Roa ------ 6,085 
 
 Agreda and Cervera - 3,549 
 
 74,865 
 
 2,310,021 maravedis. 
 
 The above amount is what we have assessed this year, and have 
 set our names to this act, and signed the same in a meeting of 220 
 persons appointed by the bishop. 
 
 In the reign of Don Sancho, an eminent physician 
 practised at Toledo. His reputation must have stood 
 very high; by being called to attend the infant prince 
 Ferdinand, whose life he saved, as is collected from 
 his valuable manuscript in the Escurial, which Morejon 
 says, is the first work in Europe on local medicine 
 and medical topography. Piquer regrets it has not 
 been translated from the Hebrew into Spanish. In 
 treating on fevers, he says, “ I witnessed this in my 
 time, in the case of the young Don Ferdinand, son 
 of the king, Don Sancho, who had been attacked 
 with a violent fever. I was sent for at midnight, and 
 found him with a burning fever, accompanied with 
 headache, delirium, want of sleep, restlessness and 
 pains. From the combination of these symptoms, there 
 could not be a doubt but that the fever had a tendency 
 to inflammation of the brain. I learnt they had given 
 him all that day old Orihuela white wine to drink. 
 
112 
 
 LEARNED MEN. 
 
 Considering his heated temperament, I resolved he 
 should drink large quantities of very cold snow-water. 
 After having drank it, the restlessness and pains 
 subsided. He had a sound sleep, and in the morning 
 had scarcely any fever. I continued this regimen, 
 and on the third day he was completely cured.” The 
 name of this physician is unknown, as it is not affixed 
 to the manuscript. Another Hebrew of great celebrity 
 also flourished at Toledo at this time. 
 
 R. Isaac Israeli —born at Toledo in 1262, was considered 
 the most able mathematician and astronomer of his age; his 
 astronomical works and tables are highly esteemed. “ The 
 Gate of Heaven is on the planetary system, according to 
 Ptolemy. “ The Foundation of the Wbrld,” is considered a 
 first-rate work. 
 
 Among the many learned Jews in Spain at this 
 period may be mentioned:— 
 
 R. Solomon ben Aderet —a native of Barcelona, deeply 
 versed in philosophy and jurisprudence; he was in 1280 ac¬ 
 knowledged Chief Rabbi of all the Jews in Spain. He wrote 
 a cabalistical treatise on “ The Service of the Passover Eve;” 
 “ A Commentary on the Allegories of the Talmud;” a work 
 entitled “ The Law of the House;” on Domestic Duties; 
 “The Holy Service,” on Various Ceremonies, and a num¬ 
 ber of Answers to Judicial Inquiries. In conjunction with 
 R. Asher, he prohibited the study of Grecian philosophy until 
 after twenty-five years of age. 
 
 R. Jacob Sahola — a celebrated orator and poet, died in 
 1268; under the title of ‘‘Ancient Proverbs,” he has left us 
 a pleasing volume of moral fables and apologues. 
 
 R. Jedidiah Hapenini ben Abraham Badrasi —born 
 at Barcelona in 1250, more generally known by the de¬ 
 signation of Anbonet Abram. His celebrated work, “ An 
 Examination of the World,” on its vanities, is translated into 
 every European language; he addressed a letter to Aderet, on 
 
LEARNED MEN. 
 
 113 
 
 “Hie Prohibition of Philosophical Studies.” He wrote a 
 Commentary on Psalms, notes on various treatises of the Talmud. 
 A Comment on Aben Ezra’s “ Exposition of the Pentateuch;” 
 a hymn, each line beginning with a S, and another with a ft; 
 answers to some philosophical questions; a collection from 
 the Grecian and Arabic sages, and a work on the game of 
 chess; which he says he did to arrest the pernicious vice of 
 gambling with cards and dice then prevalent; thus proving 
 that they were invented long previously to what is generally 
 supposed. From his eloquence, his co-religionists called him 
 the Orator; and Christians, the Hebrew Cicero. 
 
 R. Don Joseph ben Jachia — of a noble Portuguese 
 family, born at Barcelona, where he succeeded Aderet as head 
 of its Hebrew college, he ranked high as a poet, grammarian, 
 and theologian. All his learned works were burnt by Fr. 
 Vincent Ferrer, except some Talmudic decisions, an elegy on 
 Aderet, and some poetry. 
 
 R. Moses ben Shemtob —a philosopher, poet and theo¬ 
 logian of repute, was born at Leon; his “ Weight of Wisdom” 
 contains the sayings of various philosophers, which he ably 
 criticises. He also wrote “The Soul of Wisdom” and some 
 cabalistical works. 
 
 Abner —a convert from Judaism, was born at Burgos, and 
 practised medicine at Saragossa with great repute. Before his 
 apostasy he wrote m favour of the Jewish religion; after being 
 sacristan of the cathedral of Saragossa, he wrote under his 
 baptismal name of Alphonso of Burgos, in favour of Christi¬ 
 anity. 
 
 R. Behaye ben Moses —a native of Saragossa and prefect 
 of the synagogue of that city. His defence of Maimonides’ 
 
 “ Guide” against the French Schools, exhibits his great literary 
 abilities. 
 
 R. Haim ben Samuel —a cabalist philosopher and poet 
 of Tudela, where he was born. He wrote a work entitled, 
 
 “ The Bundle of Life;” “ A Commentary on Part of the Doc- 
 
 I 
 
CORTES OF VALLADOLID. 
 
 114 
 
 trine of Cabala,” and “ The Bundle of Silver;” a work in verse 
 on moral philosophy. 
 
 At a Cortes held at Valladolid, in 1293, complaint 
 was made that the Jews and Moors received interest 
 at a higher rate than thirty-three and a third per 
 cent. 10 
 
 Don Sancho confirmed that to he the legal interest, 
 adding, as the Jews Avere suspected of recehdng more 
 (for no proof Avas adduced),—• 
 
 That the notary should insert in the bond the names and 
 residences of the debtor and security. That the debtor should 
 only be responsible to the person who lends the money, or who 
 presents the bond, as no Jew can recover a bond debt in the 
 name of another. No bond debt to be exacted after six years; 
 and if payment is not demanded within thirty days of the bond 
 becoming due, the interest to cease. 
 
 On the subject of pledges, the king ordered that the 
 ordinance of his father should be observed:— 
 
 We order that Jews and Moors who lend on pledges up¬ 
 wards of eight maravedis, are to receive them in presence of 
 witnesses, and the parties are to swear before the notary: the 
 Christian, that he is to pay but four for three (or thirty-three 
 and a third per cent.); and the Jew, that he does not lend 
 at a higher rate. 
 
 Representations Avere made to this cortes against 
 the JeAVS being permitted to purchase landed property 
 at Avill, as it would appear their lands Avere not as 
 heavily taxed as those of Christians. The king had no 
 hesitation in ordaining:— 11 
 
 That, hereafter, they should not acquire, either by purchase 
 or grant, any landed property from Christians; as those acqui¬ 
 sitions were injurious to the royal revenue. That within the 
 term of a year they should sell the properties so acquired, and 
 
 10 Petition 21. 11 Ibid. 22. 
 
1293.] 
 
 JAMES II. OF ARAGON. 
 
 115 
 
 only keep possession of estates mortgaged to them, from the 
 
 debtor not being able otherwise to pay for want of a purchaser, 
 
 under condition that they dispose of them within the said term 
 of one year. 
 
 Ihis law neither affected their hereditary property 
 nor such as they might acquire from Moors; but 
 seems to have been enacted to prevent their accumu¬ 
 lating extensive landed property from Christian land- 
 owners, and hereby injuring the royal revenue. This 
 cortes established in Castile the law respecting par¬ 
 ticular magistrates, that had been enacted in 1286 by 
 
 the cortes of Palencia for the Jews of the kingdom of 
 Leon. 12 
 
 James II., who had succeeded in 1291 to the throne 
 of Aragon, equally desirous as James I. for the con¬ 
 version of the Jews and Moors, confirmed the ordi¬ 
 nance of 1242, and threatened severe punishment to 
 persons who should insult a convert by calling him 
 renegade, turncoat, apostate, etc. He at the same 
 time ordered the Dominican friars to preach, argue, 
 and explain the Christian faith to Jews and Moors, 
 who should be compelled to attend their summonses, 
 and listen attentively to their discourses; and to avoid 
 their suppressing the conviction of the truth they 
 should answer the questions and objections of the 
 said brethren. They were also to be compelled, when 
 ordered, to give free access to their books for the in¬ 
 vestigation of any subject. And if any new convert % 
 s ou . refuse, or fail to attend the summons and 
 a monitions of the said brethren, the magistrates, or 
 ot ei officers present, were to inflict corporal or any 
 
 other punishment the said brethren sentence the of¬ 
 fending party to. 
 
 12 Petition 23. 
 
116 
 
 CORTES OF VALLADOLID. 
 
 [1299. 
 
 Ferdinand was only nine years of age on the death 
 of Don Sancho in 1295. By his will, Donna Maria de 
 Padilla, mother of the infant king, was appointed 
 regent. To her wise administration in conciliating the 
 turbulent grandees he was indebted for the preserva¬ 
 tion of the crown. 
 
 A Cortes was held at Valladolid in 1299. The 
 answers given to petitions against the Jews, shew 
 that the regent, acting in the name of the king, re¬ 
 spected and adhered to existing laws, and would not 
 infringe on the privileges the Hebrews enjoyed. A 
 petition 13 was presented against their having separate 
 magistrates. The ordinance of 1293 was continued; 
 and if there were no magistrates, the judge was to 
 act instead. Another 14 required that Jews might not 
 be permitted to receive from the royal chancery let¬ 
 ters of appeal against Christians, as they were not 
 granted to Christians against them. The answer 
 was: “I order the same to be done, as was customary 
 in the time of my grandfather, Don Alphonso, and 
 my great grandfather, Don Ferdinand.” A petition 15 to 
 reduce the period for the recovery of bonds due by 
 Christians to Jews to three years, was refused, and 
 the law of Don Sancho limiting it to six was con¬ 
 firmed. In 1299, Philip le Bel, as regent of Navarre, 
 ordered, that the ordinance of St. Louis, king of 
 France, respecting the usury of the Jews, should be 
 observed in Navarre, and that only the sum lent 
 should be repaid. lf> 
 
 13 Petition 11. 14 Ibid. 12. 15 Ibid. 13. 16 Arch. Nav. Let. ii. p. 170. 
 
117 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 Privileges enjoyed in Castile. — State of Society _ 
 
 Ordinance respecting the Capitation Tax at Se¬ 
 govia. — Cortes of Medina del Campo. — Ferdinand's 
 attachment to them. — Council at Zamora .— Cortes of 
 Carrion. — The Shepherds — the Infante Alphonso , 
 and the Jews repulse them. — Riot at Barcelona .— 
 Council of Salamanca. — Relative Population of the 
 towns of Aragon. 
 
 Befoke entering on the gradual deprivation of the 
 rights and privileges the Jews enjoyed under the 
 Spanish sovereigns, which commenced about this 
 period, it may be necessary to take a review of the 
 state of society in Spain. 
 
 While persecuted in every other part of Christen¬ 
 dom, their worth had been learnt from the Moorish 
 conquerors of the western parts of Europe; and for 
 many succeeding ages they were protected by the 
 monarchs of Spain, who, although strictly adhering 
 to Catholicism, acted towards the descendants of Israel 
 more in accordance with the tenets of Christianity 
 than the sovereigns who wielded the sceptres of Ger¬ 
 many, France, and England. 
 
 The Yisigothic code, too barbarous ever to be en¬ 
 forced, was by the victorious arms of the sectarians of 
 Mahomet driven, with the last of the Goths, from the 
 
118 
 
 PRIVILEGES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 [1300. 
 
 Iberian soil. This epoch was the commencement of 
 the great influence the Jews subsequently attained. 
 
 The Spaniards, conquered by the Moors, for many 
 years had no other object in view than to regain their 
 independence. Occupied solely in military expeditions, 
 they could not apply themselves to the cultivation of 
 letters; nor were they able to carry on and extend 
 their commerce, even had they known its benefits. 
 
 The Jews were the only people acquainted with 
 trade, for the Lombards only learned it from them 
 after their expulsion from France by Philip Augustus; 
 they were, consequently, quick calculators, able and 
 dexterous in conducting a mercantile enterprise, and 
 above all excellent in the administration of the royal 
 finances. These circumstances gave them great ad¬ 
 vantages ; for, although the clergy instilled into the 
 people a hatred against them on account of their re¬ 
 ligion, their services became indispensably necessary for 
 many branches of the civil government. They were 
 the intendants, major-domos, stewards, physicians, 
 and apothecaries of the court and grandees. These 
 employments acquired for them the highest favour and 
 confidence of the king. The direction and adminis¬ 
 tration of the royal revenues were constantly under 
 the management of Jews, who either administered 
 them for the state, or farmed them according to the 
 value, * with the titles of almoxarifs, treasurers, 
 farmers-general, receivers-general, etc. 
 
 They not only enjoyed the same rights as other citi¬ 
 zens, but particular privileges were conceded to them; 
 some placing them on an equality with the highest 
 of the land. Their religion was not simply tolerated, 
 but they were protected by the laws of the country; 
 
1300.] 
 
 PRIVILEGES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 119 
 
 their sabbaths were inviolably respected, their cere¬ 
 monies and observances performed without molest¬ 
 ation ; every thing held sacred in the Hebrew’s breast 
 freely practised. This endeared Spain to the descen¬ 
 dants of Israel. Whilst driven as culprits from 
 breathing even the same air inhaled by bigoted 
 benighted Europeans; or, from dread of polluting 
 by their tread the Christian soil, and ignominiously 
 exiled from Germany, France, and England, Spain not 
 only offered them an asylum and a resting-place u for 
 the sole of their feetf but granted them extraordinary 
 immunities. They formed an imperium in imperio. 
 
 The trial of all causes, whether civil or criminal, 
 was by their own chiefs, from whose sentence an ap¬ 
 peal might be made to the Rabbi, and from his de¬ 
 cision to the king; but in criminal cases, the king had 
 the power to order an enquiry, and that his Alcaldes 
 should assist at the trial. 
 
 Like nobles, except for king’s dues, they could not 
 be arrested for debt. 
 
 They could acquire and hold landed property. 
 
 For recovering loans made to Christians, the oath 
 of the Jew was sufficient, unless the debtor and 
 creditor disagreed on the nature of the debt, and the 
 Jew sought to prove it was not usurious; then the 
 proof was to be remitted to the oath of the Christian 
 also, or disinterested witnesses. 
 
 They were not bound to divulge the names of per¬ 
 sons who deposited pledges with them for as much 
 as eight maravedis; but above that sum they were. 
 And on swearing that he did not know the person who 
 pledged it, the Jew was to receive his money, although 
 the article had been stolen. 
 
120 
 
 STATE OF SOCIETY. 
 
 [1300 
 
 But they paid a capitation tax of thirty deniers or 
 three maravedis, as before stated. And when the 
 kings of Castile entered a town that had its Jewry, 
 it paid for every book of the law it possessed twelve 
 maravedis to the king’s body guards, to protect them 
 from insult and injury, requiring the safeguard of the 
 king to defend them from a lawless soldiery. 
 
 Such was the state of the Jews when those dark- 
 clouds began to eclipse their glory, and disturb the 
 prosperity and tranquillity by storms they had been un¬ 
 accustomed to for centuries in the Iberian Peninsula. 
 
 The Moors enjoyed similar privileges to those of 
 the Hebrew people. 
 
 The Christian vassals of the Castilian crown may 
 be divided into the following classes. 
 
 1. —The high nobility which exercised an un¬ 
 bounded authority over their vassals, and frequently 
 were in arms against their sovereign. Jealous of the 
 influence the Jews had acquired at court, they were 
 constantly endeavouring to supplant them, although 
 they protected them on their immense estates; and as 
 a means of ensuring their revenues, employed them as 
 intendants, collectors, and in every other confidential 
 post. 
 
 2. — The inferior nobility, proud of their noble 
 descent, but too indolent to attend to their affairs, 
 were always in want of money to supply their ex¬ 
 travagant expenditure. They had recourse to the 
 Jews, who by industry and frugality had become 
 wealthy, and were able to lend to the necessitous 
 Hidalgo. The legal interest was thirty-three and 
 a third per cent, per annum. In three years the 
 debt became doubled; it daily was more incon- 
 
STATE OE SOCIETY. 
 
 121 
 
 1300.] 
 
 venient, and often impossible to pay. Then a cry 
 was raised against the usury of the Jews, and the 
 murder of the too eon tiding dependant on Castilian 
 honour, was found to be an easy mode of cancelling 
 the obligation. 
 
 3. — The priesthood, with some exceptions, proved 
 to be their most determined enemies, and their most 
 inveterate foes. An infatuated bigotry was sometimes 
 the apparent cause, but without reason. The Jews of 
 Spain had never acted hostilely against Christianity; 
 it was only at its commencement in the East that 
 religious fanaticism led to those horrid scenes, alike 
 repugnant to the Mosaic and Christian religion, that 
 soil with bloody stains-the pages of history, when 
 the followers of each respective creed, inflamed by an 
 intemperate zeal, sought to crush the other. Under 
 the pretext that Judaism was inimical to Christi¬ 
 anity, thousands were immolated. Priests whose 
 duty it was to preach the peaceable doctrines of the 
 gospel, by their harangues from the pulpit, instigated 
 and then led on an infuriated populace to murder the 
 harmless unarmed descendants of Israel. They ac¬ 
 cused the Jews of making converts- -an accusation 
 never proved or made against them in the many 
 persecutions suffered by the Hebrew people in every 
 part of Europe. Their religion is opposed to it; but 
 many who had forcibly been compelled to abjure the 
 faith of their fathers, probably returned to that which, 
 only for the moment, they had apparently abandoned; 
 this may have led to the fallacious assertion, fhey 
 forbade the people employing Jews as physicians, 
 apothecaries, and surgeons, under pretence that from 
 the hatred they bore to Christians, they would seek to 
 
122 
 
 STATE OF SOCIETY. 
 
 [1300. 
 
 kill them; but it was in reality to monopolise the 
 practice to themselves. Except the Jews, monks only 
 practised the healing art; they gleaned from the bar¬ 
 barous Latin of their scholastic theology an insight 
 into the works on medicine; yet the Castilian mon- 
 archs preferred confiding the health of their bodies to 
 Jewish practitioners, rather than to cloistered quacks. 
 Their chief object was to increase the wealth of their 
 convents; by constant attendance on the sick, when 
 in extremis , they worked on their fears, and deprived 
 many an heir of his rightful property to enrich their 
 various monastic orders. Endeavouring to remove 
 the Jewish physician from the death-bed of the dying 
 Christian, suited their interested purpose; for chiefly 
 thus was acquired the immense property the cortes 
 have within the last few years taken from the clergy 
 for the benefit of the state. Another cause also 
 aroused the jealousy and envy of the clergy: they, 
 likewise, were borrowers; and, although they at 
 times accused the Jews of desecrating the Host, yet 
 they pledged the church plate to them to raise money 
 for unholy purposes. 
 
 4. — The small landholders, whose scanty means 
 and improvidence prevented them from cultivating their 
 land without borrowing from their more wealthy 
 neighbours. Their loans were not confined to money; 
 for the law established that if they borrowed three 
 fanegcts of corn, four was the most that was to be re¬ 
 turned. They were equally glad to be relieved from 
 importunate creditors. 
 
 5. The people who, through a bigoted veneration 
 for the priesthood, were led to believe the Jews 
 the authors of every public calamity, were always 
 
1304.] CAPITATION TAX AT SEGOVIA. 123 
 
 ready to wreak their vengeance by attacking the 
 Jewries, plundering the houses, butchering the in¬ 
 mates, and enriching themselves at the expense of 
 the wealth and lives of the Hebrew people. 
 
 With such inflammable materials as the Spanish 
 population thus consisted of, the smallest spark readily 
 ignited a flame not easily extinguished. The law was 
 often too powerless to afford protection to the objects 
 of popular fury, and the assailants too numerous to be 
 punished; nevertheless, on many occasions, the insti¬ 
 gators and ringleaders met from the sovereign the 
 punishment due to their crime; but the injury was 
 irreparable—life could not be restored to the murdered 
 victims of fanaticism and envy. 
 
 But to resume; shortly after Ferdinand assumed 
 the reins of government, the bishop and chapter of 
 Segovia complained to him that the Jews defrauded 
 them, by not paying the capitation-tax of thirty de- 
 niers, whereupon he issued the following: 1 — 
 
 We, Ferdinand, by the grace of God, king of Castile, 
 etc., etc. To the Jews of the Jewry of Segovia, and all other 
 Jewries of the towns and places within the said diocese, to 
 whom this my order or a copy of it signed by the Notary 
 Public, cometh, health and grace. Know ye, that the bishop 
 and dean have complained to me, and say, that you will not 
 pay nor account with them, nor to their order, the thirty 
 deniers each of you have to give in memorial of the death of 
 our Lord Jesus Christ, when the Jews crucified him, and 
 intreat me to order what I deem right. You are bound to 
 pay the same in gold, and 1 consider it just that you pay the 
 amount in the current coin. 
 
 Therefore I command that you give and pay the same, and 
 annually make payment thereof to the bishop, dean, and 
 chapter, aforesaid, or any of them, or the persons that receive 
 
 1 Colmenares, Hist. Segovia. 
 
124 
 
 FERDINAND IV. OF CASTILE. 
 
 [ L 306. 
 
 for them, thirty deniers of the current coin, each of you well 
 and truly, in such manner that there be no deduction therefrom. 
 And should they require assistance for the fulfilment hereof, 
 I command the councillors, magistrates, alcaldes, judges, and 
 all other officers, or any of them, to whom this my order, 
 or a copy of it duly authenticated, cometh, to accompany and 
 assist them in such manner that what 1 command be fulfilled. 
 
 Given at Palencia, 29th August, 1304. 
 
 Ferdinand was particularly attached to the master 
 of his household, Don Samuel, who is represented to 
 have been a man of great talents and trust; possessing 
 great power, he is said to have used it despotically. 
 "Whether from that cause or jealousy, an assassin, who 
 was not discovered, entered his house at Seville, after 
 the king had left for Badajoz in 1305, and stabbed 
 him. 2 Ferdinand had acted very ungratefully to his 
 mother; and as the enemies of Don Samuel repre¬ 
 sented that he had been the cause, she was not after¬ 
 wards kindly disposed towards the Jews. 
 
 Although the name of the Hebrew who succeeded 
 Don Samuel is not mentioned, there can be little 
 doubt but the new treasurer was an Israelite; for a 
 league was formed by the grandees, clergy, and peo¬ 
 ple, against these wealthy and powerful financiers. 
 Jealousy, from their rigid administration of the royal 
 finances, was the cause (and to which, probably, a 
 haughtiness in their high office contributed) that led 
 to a petition against them, 3 in the cortes of Medina del 
 Campo in that same year; whereupon it was ordered 
 that they should not be collectors nor sub-collectors 
 of taxes. 
 
 Ferdinand’s attachment to the Jews led him to 
 invite Don Gucdalia Jachia, who was physician to 
 
 J Chron. Ferd. IV., eh. 18-19. 
 
 3 Pet. 8. 
 
1313.] 
 
 COUNCIL OF ZAMORA. 
 
 125 
 
 Dennis, king of Portugal, to come and reside in 
 Castile, and appointed him to be his physician. 
 
 In the following year, a petition was presented to 
 the cortes of Valladolid, to deprive the Jews of separ¬ 
 ate judges in Castile; but the king ordered that what 
 had been done in the reigns of his grandfather and 
 father, should be followed. 
 
 On the sudden death of Ferdinand in 1312, his son, 
 Alphonso, a child of a few months old, was acknow¬ 
 ledged as king; different parties claimed the re¬ 
 gency, and intestine quarrels caused the renewal of 
 those scenes that had taken place during the minority 
 of his father. To calm dissensions, and guard the 
 crown for her grandson, Donna Maria de Padilla came 
 from her retreat; and in conjunction with Don Pedro, 
 uncle of the infant monarch, took the helm of state; 
 but the civil wars of the regency belong to Spanish 
 history more than to that of the Jews. 
 
 Pope Clement V., who had removed the papal see 
 from Rome to Avignon, in 1311, summoned the coun¬ 
 cil of Vienne. The intolerant spirit that pervaded 
 that assembly communicated itself to Don Rodrigo, 
 archbishop of Saint Iago, who, taking advantage of 
 the disturbed state of the kingdom, held a provincial 
 council at Zamora in 1313, which exercised so much 
 influence, that public opinion and ideas became 
 changed; the people openly declared against the Jews, 
 and began to regard them with a species of horror. 
 At almost every cortes after, petitions poured in, either 
 against them, or demanding that some privilege they 
 enjoyed should be taken from them. But the legisla¬ 
 tors of Castile had far different views; successive mon¬ 
 arch s continued their protection, and the effect of the 
 
126 
 
 COUNCIL OF. ZAMORA. 
 
 [1313. 
 
 following constitutions of that council was only to 
 awaken the ill-will and hatred of the populace to their 
 Israelite fellow-subjects and citizens; for, it will be 
 seen, the sovereigns heeded neither its imprecations 
 nor enactments. 
 
 Constitution 1 . Thirty days are allowed to all Jews 4 
 that now do oi hereafter may reside m our province, for the 
 execution hereof. 
 
 That in criminal, civil, and all other causes, they shall not 
 oppose nor defend themselves by the privilege they have; 
 saying, that as no Jew was summoned against them in the 
 cause, they cannot be condemned ; nor may they claim that 
 or any other privilege to the prejudice of the Christian faith, 
 nor piesume to obtain such or similar privileges. 
 
 Therefore we ordain, that in criminal, and all other causes, 
 the testimony of Jews against Jews shall be valid as heretofore 
 but not of a Jew against a Christian, nor, as is proper or just, 
 shall his testimony be received. Those persons that desire 
 to place Jews above Christians, and do not observe these and 
 all other constitutions made against the Jews, whether they be 
 ecclesiastic, layman, or secularised clergy; may the curse of 
 Almighty God, of St. Peter and St. Paul, whose constitutions 
 they are inclined to break, and the curse of St. Iago come upon 
 them. The ordinary prelates shall compel and oblige them to 
 observe this. Those persons who act contrary shall receive 
 from the holy church the punishment the sin deserves. 
 
 . Henceforth Jews shall hold no post or dignity from 
 kings, or any secular prince; and within the aforesaid time 
 they shall resign those they now hold. 
 
 . 3 -- Th 7 aren0tt0 be admitted into frequent association, 
 with Christians, lest from the intimacy, they adopt their errors 
 which they do not understand. 
 
 4.—That they do not serve as witnesses against Christians, 
 nor claim as hitherto the benefit of the laws. 
 
 _ 5—That no Christian women, either temporarily or other¬ 
 wise, act as wet nurses, or rear their children. 
 
 4 Aguirre. 
 
CORTES OF BURGOS. 
 
 127 
 
 1315.] 
 
 6. — They are not to appear in public, from the Wednesday 
 of Passion Week until Saturday; and on Good Friday are to 
 close their doors and windows the whole day, not to mock 
 the sorrow of Christians for the passion. 
 
 7. — That Jews ana Jewesses wear an ostensible sign, that 
 they may be distinguished and separate among Christians, 
 which is right, and practised in other states. 
 
 8. — Notwithstanding their learning and reputation, they 
 arc not to practise medicine with Christians. 
 
 9. — They are not to invite Christians to their feasts, that 
 Christians do not eat with Jews; m particular they aie not to 
 
 eat their meat or drink their wine. 
 
 10. —They are annually to pay tithes on their landed 
 property, and the houses they occupy, the same as Christians 
 
 did before they belonged to Jews. 
 
 11. — Synagogues that have been newly erected or en¬ 
 larged, shall be restored to their former state betw een this date, 
 and the next great festival of the resurrection; this teim is 
 peremptorily fixed, and if at its expiration the Jew s have not 
 executed it, the judges, alcaldes, communities, and universities 
 of the cities, towns, and places where synagogues have been 
 recently erected and elevated, are to fulfil and have this 
 ordinance executed, in virtue of holy obedience under the 
 penalty of Constitution 1. 
 
 12 . — They are not to practise usury, nor exact, nor take 
 any interest from Christians, as is prohibited by the con¬ 
 stitutions of Pope Clement V., enacted at the council of 
 Vienne; and any person who acts contrary, or attempts to hide 
 it, incurs the penalties ordained by the said council. 
 
 ’ 13 ._On Sundays and other Christian holidays, they are 
 
 not to work publicly for themselves or other peisons. 
 
 In 1315, a cortes to regulate the affairs of the 
 kingdom, was held at Burgos; among its ordinances 
 
 are the following:— 
 
 _Henceforward no Jew or Moor shall be called by 
 
 Christian names; any that may be, are to be tried as heretics. 
 
128 
 
 DONNA MARIA DE PADILLA. 
 
 [1316. 
 
 5. — Christians are not to live with Jews or Moors, or 
 rear their children; the judges of towns and places where it 
 occurs, are to make examples of those persons that do it, the 
 same as on those who break their religion. 
 
 26. We consider it just, and order, that Christians in¬ 
 debted to Jews from past times, shall pay them as heretofore. 
 
 27. We order that no debtor shall avail himself of any 
 bull, papal decree, or any other reason; not to pay according 
 to this ordinance. 
 
 28. — We consider it right, that henceforward no Jew 
 shall presume to lend on usury, or at a higher rate than thirty- 
 three and a third per cent, according to the ordinances King 
 Alphonso and King Sancho enacted on that subject; and if it 
 be proved and verified that any Jew has lent at a higher rate, 
 his person and property shall be confiscated to the king. 
 
 30—In places where Jews have an officer who recovers 
 their debts, if the Christian debtor possesses moveables, he 
 must secure the property until the cause is determined by law; 
 if landed property it may not be sold during the suit; nor may 
 it be ill-used, nor any injury be done to it, that no wrong may 
 be suffered by the Jew. 
 
 However prejudiced Donna Maria might have been 
 against the Jews, the foregoing shews that she pro¬ 
 tected their property from injury, and acted towards 
 them with justice. It is also proved that she employed 
 them in posts of high trust, for a petition was pre¬ 
 sented to the cortes held at Carrion, u That those 
 persons who had not rendered their accounts to the 
 receivers-general, Don Juan Garcia and Rabbi Don 
 Moses, might not be punished for it; and that all pro¬ 
 ceedings in consequence might be staid,” 5 which she 
 granted; as also, “ That noblemen, ecclesiastics, or 
 Jews, should not farm any king’s dues or taxes; and 
 that no punishment should be inflicted on those per¬ 
 sons who had not attended to the summonses issued 
 
 5 Petition, 7. 
 
1321.] 
 
 RIOT AT BARCELONA. 
 
 129 
 
 by them in the king’s name.” 6 In 1321, a rabble band 
 of fanatics, who assumed the denomination of u the 
 Shepherds,” sprang up in Languedoc. Friends and 
 foes were alike the objects for pillage and plunder; 
 the Jews, in particular, from their wealth, were in¬ 
 humanly butchered. One hundred and twenty syna¬ 
 gogues are said to have been destroyed by them. 
 The Pope issued bulls and excommunications against 
 them, but they were disregarded. By order of the 
 king ot Franee, the nobles armed against them; the 
 count of Toulouse made some prisoners, but they 
 were released by the monks. Driven from France, 
 they entered Navarre and Aragon. At Montreal 
 the Jews themselves repulsed them. James II. sent 
 an army under his son, the Infante Alphonso, against 
 them; a number of Jews joined it. His master of 
 horse killed the ringleader, and completely routed the 
 remainder, which saved the Jews of Spain from the 
 horrors their brethren had experienced in the south of 
 France 7 . 
 
 Donna Maria, queen of James II., being at Barce¬ 
 lona for the benefit of her health, a violent tumult 
 took place on Easter Sunday between the Jews and 
 her attendants, some of whom were severely handled, 
 although no lives were lost. The queen was highly 
 incensed that the civil authorities and the royal officers 
 had not protected her servants. On the arrival of the 
 king, he ordered the guilty parties to be severely 
 punished. From Zurita not stating that it was the 
 Jews that were punished, it may be presumed justice 
 was impartially executed 8 . 
 
 Councils respecting ecclesiastical discipline were 
 
 6 Petition, 8. Seder Adoroth. a Zurita. 
 
 K 
 
130 
 
 COUNCIL OF SALAMANCA. 
 
 [1322. 
 
 held in various parts of Europe, but less frequently 
 in Spain, although no clergy required it more; and 
 until that of Zamora, the Jews had been unmolested; 
 but that seems to have aroused the dormant hatred of 
 the Spanish clergy towards the descendants of Israel; 
 for although but a brutum fulmen , as they were dis¬ 
 regarded even by monarchs, which history testifies, 
 the Council of Salamanca, held in 1322, enacted the 
 following canons 9 :— 
 
 1st. That infidels (Jews and Moors) be not permitted to 
 be in churches during divine service, particularly while mass 
 is performed. At its commencement, they were to be expelled, 
 or locked up by the sacristan in some private place, until it 
 was ended. 
 
 2nd. Christians who were present at the marriages or fune¬ 
 rals of Jews or Moors, were to be excommunicated. 
 
 3rd. Prohibited the appointment of Jews or Moors to public 
 offices. 
 
 4th. Christians were not to employ Jews as physicians, 
 surgeons, or apothecaries, nor take their medicines, from the 
 danger of death they incurred by so doing. 
 
 5th. Converts were to be provided for, by being admitted 
 into monasteries, or other religious establishments. Those who 
 were not of handicraft trades were to be taught them, and fur¬ 
 nished with tools; but no relief was to be afforded to those 
 who could gain their livelihood, or had sufficient personal 
 property for their maintenance. Such as were desirous, and 
 by their learning competent for the priesthood, were to be 
 instructed for it, and the bishops were exhorted to provide 
 them with churches; but caution was recommended in per¬ 
 mitting them to preach to their former co-religionists. The 
 customary laws of inheritance were to be observed. 
 
 When the kings of Castile or Aragon visited a 
 town, a tax was imposed on the inhabitants to defray 
 the expense and maintenance of their retinues, exclu- 
 
 9 Aguirre. 
 
1325.] 
 
 COllTES OF VALLADOLID. 
 
 131 
 
 sive of the ordinary taxes. The Jewries and Moorish 
 Aljamas also had to contribute. By an account yet 
 preserved, it appears, that from 1282 until 1336, the 
 Jews and Moors of Aragon, including Catalonia, paid 
 the following: 10 — 
 
 
 Sous. 
 
 
 Sous. 
 
 
 Sous. 
 
 Tortosa, 
 
 4000 
 
 Saragossa, 
 
 400 
 
 Villafranca, 
 
 200 
 
 Barcelona, 
 
 500 
 
 Teruel, 
 
 300 
 
 Tarrazon, 
 
 145 
 
 Gerona, 
 
 500 
 
 Besalu, 
 
 250 
 
 and 
 
 
 Valencia, 
 
 500 
 
 Daroca, 
 
 200 
 
 Calatayud 
 
 50 
 
 which shews 
 
 the relative population of the various 
 
 towns. 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 Alp lions o XI. — Their Petitions to him.—-Amount of 
 their Debts reduced. — Protection afforded them .— 
 Revolt at Valladolid against Don Joseph of Ecija. — 
 Murders at Estella , the Instigator punished , and the 
 City fined.—Cortes of Valladolid.—Ordinance res¬ 
 pecting bonds at Vittoria .— Council of Salamanca .— 
 Martinez's plan to destroy them—his end.—Cortes of 
 Alcala.—The Plague.—Massacre of the Jews _ Pa¬ 
 
 li enu Asher.—Suicide of his son.— Ordinance respect¬ 
 ing Usury.—Riot at Barcelona . — Physicians and 
 men of note. 
 
 The Cortes of Valladolid, in 1325, declared Alphonso 
 of age. He had, on the representation of his uncle, 
 the Infante Don Philip, 1 learned that, in Castile, Jews 
 
 10 Capmany, Com. de Barcelona. 1 Chron. Alph. XL 
 
132 
 
 CORTES OF VALLADOLID. 
 
 [ 1325 . 
 
 had long held the post of Almoxarif in the king’s house¬ 
 hold. At his recommendation, he appointed Don 
 Joseph of Ecija to the office, being a man of great 
 talents; from the favour he received from the court, 
 he exercised great authority over the kingdom. One 
 of the first acts of Alphonso, on assuming the regal 
 power, was to do justice to the Jews. Christians had 
 sought to defraud them of the debts they owed to 
 them. His attention was called to it by their peti¬ 
 tion, 2 and he issued the following ordinance: — 
 
 . Whereas the Jews have complained to me, that many per¬ 
 sons of my dominions, as well clergy as laymen, have asked 
 and obtained bulls and prelates’ letters, excommunicating those 
 persons that enforce debts due to Jews: I consider it just, 
 and command that my officers of cities and towns arrest all 
 persons who exhibit such bulls and letters, wdro are not to be 
 released even under security, until they give them up, and they 
 are immediately to be forwarded to me. 
 
 At the same cortes, petitions 3 were presented against 
 the Jews. Complaints were made of their usuries; and 
 the king was requested to cancel a third of the debts 
 due by Christians, and to make the balance payable 
 one-half in eight months, and the other ten months 
 after. But the king, probably under the advice of 
 Don Joseph, who knew that the Jews would willingly 
 make some sacrifice to get their money, ordered — 
 
 That debts due by Christians to Jews on bonds or pledges, 
 shall have the interest at the rate of thirty-three and a third per 
 cent, added to the capital, and from the total amount, one 
 quarter should be deducted, and the three-fourths should be 
 payable in equal payments without further interest, in four, 
 eight, and twelve months, so that the whole be paid within a 
 year. And those persons who did not pay at the specified 
 terms, were to lose the benefit of this ordinance. 
 
 2 Pet. 16. 3 Pet. 14. 
 
1326 .] 
 
 DON JOSEPH OF ECIJA. 
 
 133 
 
 The Jews having represented to him that since the 
 death of his father, Don Ferdinand, many obstructions 
 and delays had been caused them in the recovery of 
 their debts, he ordered — 
 
 That all delays, general or special, that had been granted 
 during his minority, whether instituted by councils, prelates, 
 knights, or otherwise, to prevent the recovery of their debts, 
 should be examined into; and that the six years and thirty days, 
 formerly allowed them, should not be reckoned in such delays. 
 
 Furthermore, Jews who may have gone to reside in other 
 kingdoms, and come to live in mine, where they become tax¬ 
 payers, I command that the councils, and persons in office, are 
 to assist and protect them from injury. 
 
 In answer to a petition that they might be permit¬ 
 ted to acquire landed property, the king limited it 
 to the value of twenty thousand maravedis north of 
 the Douro, and thirty thousand south of it—a right 
 they retained until the expulsion. The king placed 
 the utmost confidence in his councillors, Garcilaso de 
 la Vega, Count Alvar Nunes Osorio, and Don Joseph. 4 
 The latter had a large retinue of knights and squires 
 for his guard. From the trust the king placed in him, 
 he sent him to Valladolid to bring his sister, Donna 
 Leonora, to Toledo; and ordered her chancellor, the 
 bishop of Burgos, to accompany her. Her duenna, 
 Donna Sancha, told the chiefs of the city, in secresy, 
 that they wanted to take away the Infanta to marry 
 her to Count Alvar Nunes, who, being powerful, and 
 possessor of many fortresses and castles, would after¬ 
 wards do what he chose with the king’s person; but 
 she was not generally believed. The Infanta, ignorant 
 of the report, prepared for her journey; when on her 
 mule, a mob, instigated by those in the plot, riotously 
 
 4 Chro, Alph. XL 
 
134 DISTURBANCE AT VALLADOLID. [1326. 
 
 wanted to kill Don Joseph and his attendants; upon 
 which she returned with him into the house, which 
 was immediately surrounded. Donna Sancha pre¬ 
 tended to be much grieved at the occurrence; but 
 privately encouraged them to enter the house and kill 
 Don Joseph. The mob procured ladders to scale the 
 walls. When the Infanta learnt this, she requested 
 that four of the principal men should come to speak 
 with her. She asked them to permit her to go to 
 the Alcazar of the city, and to protect Don Joseph in 
 accompanying her, when she would give him up. The 
 mob, on learning this, withdrew and dispersed. When 
 the Infanta perceived this, she mounted her mule, and 
 the Jew walked by her side holding her skirt. Some 
 attempts were made on his life. On their arrival at 
 the Alcazar, the princess ordered the gates to be shut, 
 and would not deliver him up to the rioters. 
 
 As soon as the king learned this, he summoned a 
 council, and would have proceeded to Valladolid to 
 take summary steps against them; but was dissuaded 
 by Alvar Nunes, who advised him to continue the 
 siege of Escalona, and to notify his displeasure to 
 them. 
 
 The Jews, finding the king, from his friendship to 
 Don Joseph, so well-disposed towards the Hebrew 
 people, made many complaints of the excesses com¬ 
 mitted against them, which he carefully looked into, 
 and redressed, as the following shews. 
 
 In 1327, the Jewries of Seville begged that the 
 dean and chapter should not exact more from them 
 than the thirty deniers imposed by Alphonso X. at 
 the conquest of the city. The king, desirous of doing 
 justice, entrusted the investigation of the facts to 
 
1326.] TAX COLLECTOR OF ESTELLA REMOVED. 135 
 
 Ferran Martinez of Valladolid, chief notary of Castile, 
 who, on the 10th of November, pronounced a final 
 sentence in the cause, ordering all Jews, without ex¬ 
 ception, from sixteen years of age, to pay three mara- 
 vedis of ten cleniers each, making the thirty to which 
 only they were liable. 
 
 The many complaints made to the cortes of Val¬ 
 ladolid against Don Joseph, induced the king to order 
 an examination of his accounts, which was a prelude 
 to depriving him of office. He dismissed him from 
 the council and the post of Almoxarif; and ordered, 
 that none but Christians should in future hold that 
 office, with the title of Treasurer instead of Almoxarif. 
 Although Spanish historians attribute his dismissal 
 to a deficiency in his accounts, it is far more likely 
 the king did it to quiet his rebellious subjects, who 
 were daily in arms against him. At Soria, while at 
 his devotions, they assassinated Garcilaso de la Vega, 
 another of his particular friends; for Don Joseph, as 
 will be seen, notwithstanding his dismissal from office, 
 retained the friendship of his sovereign. The Jews 
 of Estella complained (to Juan Pasta, dean of Char¬ 
 tres, Hugo de Visac, and Ferri de Piqueni, knights, 
 who had been ordered by Charles le Bel, to remedy 
 abuses in Navarre) against Juan Garcia, the collector, 
 for exacting, during some time, fifty sous a day from 
 them for collecting the king’s taxes, and placing 
 double guards at their expense, almost ruining them. 
 The knights, desirous of preserving the property of 
 the king, and of the Jews who belonged to him as his 
 own, ordered, that Juan Garcia should no longer be 
 the collector of taxes from them, but that their bailiff 
 should receive them as formerly customary. 5 
 
 5 Arch. Nav. Case 6, No. 45. 
 
136 
 
 CORTES OF VALLADOLID. 
 
 [ 1329 . 
 
 The Christians of Estella, irritated at the protection 
 afforded to the Jews, who were generally envied and 
 hated for their wealth and usuries, prepared to take 
 vengeance on them. The same spirit pervaded the 
 other towns of Navarre. 6 Those of Tudela held their 
 meetings at Codreita in 1328. 7 In the royal dis¬ 
 bursements of that year, is a charge of three sous, 
 given to Juan de Leet, for the letters he took respect¬ 
 ing the acts of the populace in murdering the Jews. 
 On the death of Charles le Bel, the people gave vent 
 to their fuiy. Ten thousand are said to have been 
 massacred at Estella on the first of March. 8 Many 
 sought refuge in the fortresses of St. Adrian, Funis, 
 and Viana. Fr. Pedro Olligoyen was imprisoned, 
 and prosecuted the following year, for having advised 
 and favoured the pillage of the Jews in those places ; 9 
 and King Philip imposed a fine of ten thousand livres 
 on the Council of Estella, for not having prevented it. 10 
 
 From having obtained a deduction of one-fourth at 
 the cortes of Valladolid, the Christians became embold¬ 
 ened, and petitioned the cortes of Madrid in 1329, 
 that debts due by Christians to Jews should be reduced 
 to one-half, and made payable in one, two, and three 
 years 11 . 
 
 The king confirmed his former decree, and fixed the time 
 of the payments to be Christmas, Midsummer, and Michaelmas. 
 
 That in bonds notaries draw up between Christians and 
 Jews, from the frauds and tricks practised in doubling the 
 amount of the debt, in future the notary and witnesses to the 
 bond shall see the Jew pay the full amount to the Christian, 
 and conformably to the ordinances, at the rate of thirty-three 
 and a third per cent.; and that any notary who acts otherwise, 
 shall pay a fine of one hundred maravedis for the inclosure of 
 
 6 Arch. Nav. Case 6, No. 88. 7 ibid. s MS. Mem. of Estell. 
 
 9 Arch. Nav. Case 6, No. 95. 10 Case 7, No. 29-38. 11 Pet. 11. 
 
1330 .] 
 
 DON SAMUEL ABENHUACAR. 
 
 137 
 
 the town where it takes place, the bond to be of no value, and 
 the Jew to lose his debt. 12 
 
 To which the king replied, 
 
 I consider it just, and grant it. 
 
 Jews and Moors having privileges, that a Christian witness, 
 without the testimony of a Jew or Moor, is not sufficient to 
 obtain sentence against them, either on bonds or contracts of 
 debts, or in civil or ciminal cases, we ask that sentence be 
 passed on proof against them, of two respectable persons of 
 good repute, and that it extend to trials now pending and 
 undetermined, as well as to all in future 13 . 
 
 The king answered, 
 
 The same is to be observed as in the time of the kings, my 
 predecessors. 
 
 That except their dwellings, Jews be not permitted to 
 acquire landed property, as in times of the kings, Alphonso, 
 Sancho, and Ferdinand. 14 
 
 The answer was— 
 
 What has hitherto been done is to be observed. 
 
 The term within which Jews should claim their 
 bonds was again limited to six years, but to those of 
 Valladolid to ten, in consequence of the delay they 
 had suffered; and to those of Toledo, according to their 
 charter, thirty years. 
 
 Don Samuel Abenhuacar, who was an excellent 
 astronomer, physician to the king, and one of his 
 councillors, obtained in 1330 for a certain sum the 
 coinage of the mint, with license to pay 125 maravedis 
 for the mark of silver; but depending on the friend¬ 
 ship of the king he paid dearer for it, the Jews who 
 collected it for him bought produce in all parts of 
 the kingdom above its value, to export and bring 
 back silver, whereby the price of every thing was 
 raised 150 per cent., which lasted for some time. 15 
 
 12 Pet. 52. 13 Pet. 53. 14 Pet. 56. 
 
 15 Chron. Alph. XI. 
 
138 
 
 ORDINANCE OF YITTORIA. 
 
 [ 1332 . 
 
 Through the friendship and favor of the king, Don 
 Samuel also farmed, at a low value, the frontier duties. 
 The. following curious document is yet preserved in 
 the archives of Yittoria. 
 
 Don Alplionso, by the grace of God, king of Castile, &c. 
 &c. to the Alcaldes and Magistrates of Yittoria, health and 
 grace. — Know ye, that the Council of Yittoria has sent to 
 complain to me, and say, that from a long time they have had 
 the usage and custom, which has been preserved until now, 
 that Jews residing in the city or elsewhere did not make 
 bonds for debts on the Christian inhabitants; but latterly, that 
 the Jews, or some of them, do make Christians give bond for 
 debts; and if it be permitted, great injury will result herefrom; 
 that the said city would become depopulated, and that it would 
 tend to my disservice; they send to beg the favor of me to order 
 what I consider right. — Therefore I command you, at sight 
 of this my order, that if they have had the usage and custom 
 for a long time, and have retained it until now, as is asserted, 
 that henceforward you do not permit the said Jews, or any of 
 them, to make bonds for debts on any of the Christian 
 inhabitants of the said city; and if they do, they shall be null 
 and void. Therefore you are not to do it under the penalty of 
 100 maravedis of the annual new coinage. And that you fulfil 
 this my order on its being shewn to you, I command every 
 Notary Public who may be called for the purpose, to give a 
 certificate, under his hand, to the person who exhibits it to 
 you, that I may know how you execute this my order. 16 — 
 Given at Burgos, 28th April, 1332, (era 1370). 
 
 Don Joseph, who had formerly been of the king’s 
 council, and his friend, seeing the great profit Don 
 Samuel made by his contracts, particularly from the 
 export duty paid by the Moors, from jealousy and 
 thinking to regain the king’s favor, outbid Don 
 Samuel for the frontier custom duties, by which he 
 obtained them. Don Samuel, out of revenge to injure 
 
 16 Arch. Vit Case B. No. 17. 
 
1339 .] 
 
 GONSALEZ MARTINEZ. 
 
 139 
 
 him, privately advised the king to stop the exportation 
 by the Moors, so that he might not derive benefit. 
 The king considering the advice given him to be for 
 his interest, regardless of his treaties with the Moors, 
 adopted it. In 1335, the Council of Salamanca 17 en¬ 
 deavoured to destroy the medical practice of the Jews 
 among Christians, asserting— 
 
 That -under the pretext of surgery and medicine, they 
 craftily insinuated themselves with the people, to the injury 
 of the faithful.— It prohibited Christian women giving suck 
 or nursing the children of unbelievers. All correspondence, 
 in writing, with them was interdicted to the faithful. The 
 penalty for any of these acts was excommunication. The Jews 
 in every town were to reside in a separate quarter, to be called 
 the Jewry; they were not to live in the vicinity of a church 
 or cemetery; Christians who leased houses to them in such 
 situations, incurred excommunication. 
 
 A war with the Moors soon followed the infringe¬ 
 ment of treaties. Gonsalez Martinez, a brave man, 
 who had served under Don Joseph, and had by him 
 been appointed to some command, became master of 
 Calatrava; envious of the favor his former benefactor 
 enjoyed from his sovereign, and jealous that the Jews 
 should enjoy so much power, he proposed to buy from 
 the king ten of the principal Jews, for which he would 
 pay into his exhausted treasury 8001bs. of silver. As 
 the king needed money to repel the Saracen invaders, 
 he consented; upon which Gonsalez seized Don Joseph, 
 the physician, who died under torture ; Don Samuel, 
 whom he put in irons, and who died of grief; and eight 
 others of the wealthiest Jews with their families; by 
 which he got a large sum in gold, silver, and money. 
 The king, distressed for means to oppose the forces 
 
 17 Aguirre. 
 
140 
 
 GONSALEZ MARTINEZ. 
 
 [ 1340 . 
 
 from Morocco under Abomelique, which Gonsalez 
 (plotting against Don Samuel Benayes and R. Moses 
 Abudiel) perceiving, advised the king to expel the 
 Jews from his kingdom; for while the king was 
 engaged in fighting, they were eating and drinking 
 peaceably; and he would give 400,000 ducats, and 
 the people as much more towards the expenses of the 
 war. The king listened and was silent; the grandees 
 reproved Gonsalez, and said the advice he had given 
 was not good. Don Gil de Albornoz, archbishop of 
 Toledo, said to him, “ Who has made you an enemy to 
 the king, by giving advice that is degrading to his 
 house, for the Jews are the king’s treasure, and you 
 want to destroy them, and for him to do what his 
 ancestors never did?” so his purpose was not effected. 
 The Moors collected a large force; the king joined his 
 army, and made Gonsalez general of it; and he gained 
 a complete victory. Becoming haughtier than before, 
 he thought the king would fulfil his wish of destroy¬ 
 ing the Jews; but some accusations being made to the 
 king against him, he sent an officer to arrest him. 
 Gonsalez retired to a fortress, and from the tower 
 sent an insolent answer, whereupon his brothers were 
 arrested, thrown into prison, and their property con¬ 
 fiscated to the royal treasury. The king sent to 
 seize him; but he had fortified himself in the castle, 
 from which he shot the envoy. The king ordered 
 fire to be set to it: Gonsalez was taken, tried, found 
 guilty of the crimes imputed to him, beheaded, and his 
 corpse burnt. 18 Christian writers say he was accused 
 of many crimes, and summoned to Madrid to exculpate 
 himself before the king. He would not appear, and 
 went over to the Moorish king of Granada. At length, 
 
 18 Shebet Jehudah. 
 
1347 .] 
 
 CORTES OE SEGOVIA. 
 
 141 
 
 being taken as a traitor, he was beheaded and burnt. 19 
 This happened about 1340. 
 
 Salhadin of Angleura, being governor of Navarre 
 in 1336, ordered the land which had been appropriated 
 for the Jewry of Pamplona by King Charles, to be re¬ 
 built. It had been destroyed by the French army that 
 devastated the whole of Navarre in 1277. The new 
 Jewry was to be enclosed and secured from injury; 
 the Jews were to be obliged to build their houses 
 within, and not to be permitted to reside in other parts 
 of the city among Christians. 20 
 
 In 1344, the Jews were so numerous and wealthy 
 at Palma, that the Bishop Yillanova fined them 
 150,000 florins for sheltering two German Christians 
 who had embraced Judaism. 21 
 
 At the Cortes of Alcala de Herrures, in 1345, a 
 petition was presented to grant time, and to cancel the 
 interest on debts due to Jews. The king answered, 
 
 I consider it right to grant the delay of one year, for the 
 payment of debts due to Jews, during which no interest is to 
 be charged, but if any delay has been previously granted, 
 it is to be included in the said year . 22 
 
 The Jews and Moors having complained of being 
 arrested for debts due to Christians, the following 
 ordinance was issued in 1347, by the Cortes of Segovia. 
 
 Many complaints having been made to me that Jews and 
 Moors, indebted to Christians on bonds and otherwise, have 
 been arrested, where the debt is not for our taxes and dues, 
 contrary to the privileges granted by the Kings from whom we 
 descend, and ourselves; whereby the Jewries of the Jews and 
 Aljamas of the Moors are wronged and injured; and as the Jews 
 and Moors residing in our dominions are separately ours, we order 
 
 19 Chron. Alph. XI. 20 Arch. Nav. Case 7, No. 67. 
 
 21 Anonym. Hist, of Mallorca. 22 Pet. 4. 
 
142 
 
 THE PLAGUE. 
 
 [ 1348 . 
 
 that in future no Jew, Jewess, Moor, or Morisca, shall be 
 arrested for any debt or obligation they may have given, to 
 any person of whatever rank or condition they may be, except 
 the debt is for our taxes and dues; nor shall any Christian be 
 arrested for bonds due to Jews or Moors. 
 
 Notwithstanding the protection afforded by the 
 king to the Jews, he had been compelled to sign an 
 order for their banishment, on account of an indignity 
 pretended to have been offered to the Host by a Jewish 
 boy, as it was carried through the streets. A council 
 was immediately summoned to deliberate, whether 
 they should be massacred or banished; the latter advice 
 was adopted. But the edict was not issued, owing 
 to the prince having obtained a revision of the pro¬ 
 ceeding, when it was discovered that curiosity to see 
 the procession, had brought a young Christian to the 
 window, who accidentally overturned a vessel of 
 water over the chalice. The king upon this revoked 
 the order, to the mortification of the zealots, who 
 reported that the Christian had been bribed to depose 
 in favor of their enemies; nor did it prevent the 
 populace murdering the Jews in another city on the 
 same excuse; and the persecution would have extended 
 much farther, had the King not have had ten of the 
 ringleaders hanged. 
 
 R. Joseph Levi Abulaphia, who died in 1351, 
 appears to have been a great favourite with Alphonso, 
 as his tombstone testifies, in saying, “ The man whom 
 the king delighteth to honour; and he put a chain of 
 gold on his neck.” 23 
 
 The Jews had scarcely escaped the danger just 
 recorded, when in 1348-49 a devastating plague spread 
 from Germany to the Peninsula; and they were accused 
 
 23 Appendix 4. 
 
1349 .] 
 
 ORDINANCE AGAINST USURY. 
 
 143 
 
 of having caused it by poisoning the waters of the 
 Tagus. The infuriated populace massacred them 
 without mercy, particularly at Toledo, where the York 
 tragedy was repeated. One of the sons of the famed 
 Rabenu Asher (who, owing to the persecution in 
 Germany, had in 1303, quitted his native land with 
 his eight sons for Spain, where his great learning 
 obtained for him the high post of Chief Rabbi of all 
 the Jews in Spain, which he held until his death), 
 perceiving the murderers breaking his doors, with the 
 intention of massacreing them, became so frantic and 
 desperate, that he stabbed his wife and all the family 
 that had taken shelter under his roof, and then him¬ 
 self, to avoid the barbarous cruelties practised by the 
 populace, under whose murderous weapons 15,000 
 innocent victims are said to have been immolated, for 
 a crime which reason demonstrates to be impracticable 
 and impossible. 
 
 Alphonso, who was then besieging Gibraltar, was 
 unable to suppress the outrages that were being com¬ 
 mitted. The plague was making dreadful ravage among 
 his troops; to arrest which his whole care was directed. 
 
 Whereas, usury is said to be a great sin, forbidden both by 
 the laws of nature and by scripture and grace—a thing that 
 weighs heavy with God, which brings trouble and misfortunes 
 on the country where it is practised; and to permit, order, 
 adjudge to pay or receive the same is a great sin ; and, besides, 
 it brings destruction and ruin on the properties of some per¬ 
 sons, and the inhabitants of the country where it is allowed. 
 And, whereas, it has hitherto been permitted, and not con¬ 
 demned as it should have been; we, to follow God and preserve 
 our souls as we ought, to prevent the injuries that thereby ac¬ 
 crue to our people and country, consider it right to order and 
 prohibit all persons, Jews or Moors, henceforward, for them- 
 
144 
 
 PETER IV. OF ARAGON. 
 
 [ 1349 . 
 
 selves or others, to lend usuriously. And all charters, privi¬ 
 leges, and immunities, that have hitherto been granted, autho¬ 
 rising the same in certain modes; and to have magistrates and 
 receivers thereof, we cancel, revoke, and by the council of our 
 court declare to be null and void. And -we hold it right that 
 hereafter they shall be of no value, the same as those that may 
 not be granted, nor are they to be maintained, being, as be¬ 
 fore said, contrary to religion. We command all judges, 
 magistrates, and officers, of whatsoever rank they may be, in 
 all our kingdoms and dominions, that, hereafter, they do not 
 concede or grant any charter or license for usury. And fur¬ 
 ther, we request and desire all prelates of our dominions, to ex¬ 
 communicate all persons who act contrary, and to denounce 
 them as transgressors. And it is our will that Jews be main¬ 
 tained in our dominions and to purchase landed property as en¬ 
 acted; for, as Holy Church declares, they are to turn to our 
 faith and be saved, according to the prophets. 
 
 Whether religious motives were the sole cause of 
 the decree or not, the king manifests the desire that 
 the Jews should continue to reside in Spain. 
 
 Peter IV. of Aragon, in that year, held a cortes at 
 Barcelona, while there at the dedication of St. Maria 
 de las Nieves. A large mob assembled, and notwith¬ 
 standing the royal presence, with great daring and 
 insolence attacked the Jews; and it was not without 
 difficulty that the riot was suppressed. 24 
 
 It will be seen, that in this reign many Jews 
 held high offices; besides whom the following may 
 be named as conferring honour on the Hebrew name. 
 
 Don Abraham ben Machir —had been physician to 
 Alphonso before Don Samuel; he died in 1322 at Seville. 
 
 Don Samuel Benvenaste —taught medicine with great 
 repute at Saragossa; he was a profound grammarian. He 
 translated the “ Consolation of Boetius, ” and Maimonides’ 
 
 Zurita, Ann. Aragon. 
 
LEARNED MEN AND PHYSICIANS, 
 
 145 
 
 Treatise and Cure of the Asthma” into Hebrew, in 1323, at 
 Taragon. 
 
 Don David Jachia —son of Don Guedaliah, the physi¬ 
 cian of Ferdinand IV., wrote two works on “ Customs and 
 Ceremonies.” He probably held some post at court, for on his 
 tombstone, dated Seville, 1325, we read “ Fie stood in the 
 presence of kings.” 5 
 
 R. Solomon ben David —about this time wrote a gene¬ 
 ral treatise on “ Theoretical and Practical Medicine,” according 
 to Avicenna and Averroes. 
 
 R. David Abudariiam —born at Seville in 1300, was 
 one of the most learned Rabbis of that city, and an excellent 
 astronomer; he wrote on the Intercalation, the Solstices, the 
 Equinoxes, and a most valuable commentary on the “ Ritual of 
 the Year.” 
 
 R. Joseph Ben Abraham ben Siioshan —an eminent 
 physician and astronomer of Seville, died in 1336. This 
 family appears to have made medicine their study; for Don 
 Meir, who was one of the royal physicians, died in the plague 
 of 1348, together with his son Don Isaac, at the age of twenty- 
 five. 
 
 R. Elhazar a Cohen ben Ardot —a native of Majorca, 
 was famed as a professor of logic and medicine in 1330. 
 
 R. Abraham ben David Caslari —of Besalu, wrote 
 four medical works, among which is an unedited treatise on 
 “ Contagious and Pestilential Fevers.” In the preface he says, 
 he wrote it on witnessing the dreadful plague that ravaged 
 Spain in 1349. 
 
 R. Baruch a Rophe — was another famed practitioner 
 at Besalu. 
 
 R. Kreskas Vtdal ben Keslad. —in 1327 translated 
 into Hebrew the Latin medical work of Bernabe de Villa¬ 
 nueva, under the title of “ The Regimen of Health.” His 
 
 5 nrrv d'dVd od 1 ? 
 
 L 
 
146 
 
 LEARNED MEN. 
 
 family produced many learned men, who were Rabbis at Bar¬ 
 celona and Saragossa. 
 
 R. Solomon aben Zarsal —was a celebrated physician 
 at Seville, where his tombstone is yet to be seen; it bears date 
 1345. His father, R. Abraham, had also practised medicine 
 with gieat repute. 4 he number and fame of the Spanish 
 Hebrew practitioners, led foreign princes to seek their aid. The 
 count of Poitou, brother of the king of France, sent to Aragon 
 for an oculist who cured him. 
 
 R. Judah ben Asher— died at Toledo in 1349, and did 
 not commit suicide, as asserted by Rodrigues de Castro, as his 
 tombstone proves. He was author of “ The Ordinances of the 
 Law, and the “ Ordinances of Heaven.” His brother, 
 R. Jacob, compiled the whole of the Jewish laws, under the 
 title of “ The Four Orders.” 
 
 R. Joseph of Toledo —where he was born about 1304, 
 wrote under the title of the “ Ruler of the World,” the origin 
 and reason of all the Judaical rites. 
 
147 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 Peter the Cruel.—Samuel Levi.—New Synagogue at 
 Toledo. —Murderers executed at Miranda del Ebro. 
 —Sentences .of the Jew Magistrates in Navarre , to 
 be executed by the Bailiff. — Abu Said beheaded .— 
 Henry , Count of Trastemar , crowned at Burgos .— 
 Cortes of Burgos. — Gallant Defence of Briviesca , 
 Toledo, and Burgos. — Protection offered to Jews of 
 Castile on settling in Navarre. — Cortes of Toro .— 
 Massacre at Granada .— Cortes of Burgos.—Learned 
 Men. 
 
 Peter, surnamed the Cruel, was only sixteen years 
 of age when he succeeded his father in 1350. At 
 the recommendation of Don Juan Alphonso de 
 Albuquerque, he appointed Don Samuel Levi to be 
 his high treasurer. He became a great favourite with 
 the king, who particularly favoured the Jews. The 
 Christians, not satisfied with having deprived them of 
 their particular judges, attempted to deprive them of 
 a privilege they had long enjoyed, of having in every 
 city, town, and place, where they had Jewries, a se¬ 
 parate Alcalde appointed to try their causes. A peti¬ 
 tion 1 was presented to the cortes of Valladolid in 
 1351, requesting the sovereign to order— 
 
 That the Jews should not have a separate Alcalde, hut that 
 suits between them and Christians should be remitted to the 
 ordinary Alcaldes. (The king answered), That as the Jews 
 
 1 Pet. 7. 
 
148 
 
 DON SAMUEL. [ 1355 . 
 
 PETER THE CRUEL. 
 
 were a weak people that required protection, by appearing 
 before all the Alcaldes their causes would be greatly prejudiced 
 and attended with heavy expense, because Christians would 
 injure them by the delays they would cause, and the demands 
 they would make against them; therefore I consider it right 
 that the Jews should appoint one of the ordinary Alcaldes of 
 each city or town, as they have been accustomed to try and 
 decide their civil causes. Besides, not generally being persons 
 acquainted with the laws and charters, and not being powerful, 
 Christians frequently presume to bring vexatious and frivolous 
 defences against their claims, putting in malicious pleadings 
 which they ought not. 
 
 The object of the sovereign, by this reply, was to 
 prevent the injustice so frequently committed against 
 them, for he acknowledges them to be a weak and 
 injured people, who at times could not recover their 
 debts, as the officers did not render them strict and 
 impartial justice. 
 
 In 1355, the king being at play at Morales, said all 
 the money he possessed was twenty thousand doblas. 
 In the evening, Don Samuel observed to the king, that 
 he considered the remark he had made was a reflection 
 on his conduct as high treasurer; but if he would ap¬ 
 point two fortresses where he might put the money in 
 safety, he should soon have much more. Whereupon the 
 king gave him the Alcazar of Trugillo, and the castle 
 of Hita; and appointed Don Juan Alphonso de 
 Albuquerque, governor of the former, and Don Juan 
 de Illescas, of the latter, both noblemen on whom he 
 could depend. lie then demanded from all the re- 
 ceivers-general their accounts, and drew bills for their 
 balances. When the persons who had the bills re¬ 
 turned, he put them on oath to declare what they had 
 received. Some out of forty thousand maravedis 
 

 ■ 
 
 J?«l iM-SopS; A • 4 '; 
 
 ;V. \ 
 
 •liU; 
 
 i|pf 
 
 £&*# 5 v 
 
 p 
 
 Ms 
 
 SaVSs 
 
 WM5& 
 
 
 
 mmgmz 
 
 Togo 14*9. 
 
 AGOGUE of TOLEDO, 
 in 1357. 
 
 built 
 
1357 .] 
 
 SYNAGOGUE OF TOLEDO. 
 
 149 
 
 received only twenty thousand, the remainder being 
 given in bribes, etc. If the receiver could not prove 
 he had paid the full amount in cash, Don Samuel 
 made him pay the amount he had paid short; one 
 half of which he gave to the holder of the bill, who 
 considering the whole to be lost gladly accepted it. 
 The other half he put into the king’s treasury; by 
 these means, in the course of a year, a large sum was 
 deposited in the fortifications of Trugillo and Hita, 
 and was the commencement of the treasure Don 
 Pedro amassed. 2 
 
 About this time, Don Samuel obtained permission 
 to build another synagogue at Toledo, which he erected 
 at his private expense, and furnished it with many 
 gold and silver ornaments. It was completed in 1357. 
 It is unrivalled in the world, and is considered one of 
 the finest architectural monuments of that age in 
 Spain. The Hebrew, Gothic, and Moorish art com¬ 
 bine to render it matchless. The beams of the roof 
 are of cedar from Lebanon. Immediately under it 
 is a green band, having the eighty-fourth psalm in 
 large Hebrew characters, in white cement, running 
 round it. Beneath that is a wide band of beautiful 
 arabesque work, interspersed with flowers and fruit, 
 the vine predominating; its broad foliage and tendrils 
 being here and there lost, then again appearing, run¬ 
 ning through the whole, excites admiration at the 
 fine taste and infinite labour of the artist. Below 
 this again are Hebrew inscriptions in relief. 3 Pieces 
 have fallen off some of the letters, otherwise it is in 
 tolerable good preservation. On each side of a recess 
 at the east end, where the books of the law were kept, 
 
 2 Chron. Don Pedro. 
 
 3 Appendix, No.8.* 
 
150 JEWS OF TUDELA. [1360. 
 
 are six lines of Hebrew, surmounted with a beautiful 
 arabesque. 
 
 The conduct of Don Samuel towards the receivers- 
 general, and the power he had from the favour of the 
 king, raised him many enemies. In 1360, they 
 succeeded in persuading the king to arrest him for 
 malversation, and to seize his property, which he 
 confiscated, and obtained 170,000 doblas, 4000 marcs 
 of silver, 125 boxes of gold and silver stuffs, a large 
 amount in jewels, and 80 Moorish slaves, besides 
 700,000 doblas from his relations, all of whom he 
 arrested, and confiscated their property. Don Samuel 
 was sent to prison at Seville. To discover if he had 
 more property, he was put to the torture, and he died 
 under it 4 . 
 
 In this year, the king went to Miranda del Ebro, 
 where the Jews had been' pillaged and murdered. 
 He had eight of the ringleaders executed, and savagely 
 had one roasted alive, and another boiled in a cauldron. 
 While he was thus cruelly punishing the murderers 
 at Miranda, the Infantes, his brothers, put all the 
 Jews they found on taking Najera to death 5 . 
 
 The Jews of Tudela entreated the Infante Luis, the 
 viceroy of Navarre, u That he would be pleased to 
 order, and that we practise the Jewish law as our 
 ancestors have hitherto; that is, when a Jew or Jewess 
 commits a sin, on our magistrates applying to the 
 bailiff and notifying to him the sin committed, and 
 the punishment it deserves according to Jewish law, 
 the bailiff shall execute it, and enforce the sentence of 
 our said magistrates, whether of condemnation or 
 acquittal; or of any demand from one Jew to another, 
 as we have been accustomed, not affecting the rights of 
 
 4 Chron. Don Pedro. 5 Ibid. 
 
1367 .] 
 
 CORTES OF BURGOS. 
 
 151 
 
 our lord the king.” The prince finding this to be 
 correct, ordered Don Marce de Soterel, abbot of Tiebar, 
 and bailiff of Tudela, to execute it 6 . 
 
 When Abu Said, the usurper of Granada, came in 
 1362, with valuable presents, to seek the protection of 
 Don Pedro, he and his attendants were lodged in the 
 Jewry at Seville. During a banquet on the third 
 day the Castilians seized them, and all were beheaded 
 the next morning; but the Jews were not molested. 
 Alphonso XL, besides his legitimate son, Don Pedro, 
 had nine children by Donna Leonora, the beautiful 
 young widow of Don Juan de Yelasco. Some died 
 young, others fell victims to the suspicious fears and 
 cruelty of the king. Llenry, count of Trastemar, the 
 eldest of those that escaped the fury of his brother, 
 Don Pedro, became a rallying point for the numerous 
 discontented nobles. One of the most sanguinary 
 civil wars that ever devastated a country ensued. 
 Henry had, in 1366, been declared king by his parti¬ 
 sans ; but the principal cities preserved their loyalty 
 to their legitimate sovereign. Thus Castile had two 
 kings, for Henry had been crowned at Burgos. When 
 Don Pedro found he could not defend it, he relieved 
 the inhabitants from their allegiance,.and Henry was 
 acknowledged; on which occasion the Jews made him 
 considerable presents, for which he was not ungrate¬ 
 ful. At a cortes he held in that city in 1367, the 
 following petitions were presented against them: — 
 
 That all cities, towns, and places of the kingdom, consider 
 that all the evils, misfortunes, murders, and banishments, that 
 have happened in past times, were from the advice of Jews, 
 who until now have been favourites and officers of former 
 kings, because they wished harm and injury to Christians, they 
 
 6 Arch. Nav. Case 13, No. 144. 
 
152 GALLANT DEFENCE OF BKIVIESCA. [1367. 
 
 therefore beg that we may be pleased to order, that no Jew be 
 physician, officer, or hold any post in our household, nor in the 
 queen’s my wife, nor in the Infantes’, my children 8 . 
 
 The king would not grant it, but answered,— 
 
 We consider it right to grant what is asked in reason, but 
 such a request was never made to any other king of Castile. 
 And although there are some Jews employed in our court, 
 we shall not appoint them to our council, nor give such power 
 to them, as that any injury can result to the country. 
 
 The Jews had farmed the arrears of taxes, against 
 which a petition 9 was presented; and the answer 
 returned was— 
 
 I would have farmed them for less to Christians, but none 
 wanted or applied for them. 
 
 It was also sought to deprive them of the privilege 
 of not being arrested for debt; but the king replied— 
 
 The same is to be done as in the time of my father. 
 
 A petition from the Jews 10 , for permission to re¬ 
 build the walls of Jaen, Lorca, and Medina Celi, 
 which had been much injured, and liable to attack 
 from being frontier towns, was granted. 
 
 The rival brothers continued the war with alternate 
 success. Henry was first driven from Spain. He 
 sought and obtained assistance from France and 
 Aragon, by which he compelled Pedro to quit Castile. 
 He went to Portugal, but not being well received, 
 repaired to Bayonne, and formed an alliance with 
 the English, who sent an army under the Black 
 Prince to assist him. On recovering nearly the whole 
 of the kingdom, his conduct made his allies abandon 
 him, and leave him to fight his own battles. 
 
 The Jews, who by duty and gratitude owed allegi- 
 8 Pet. 10. 9 Pet. 12. 
 
 10 Pet. 18. 
 
1369.] 
 
 SURRENDER OE BURGOS. 
 
 153 
 
 ance to Don Pedro, fought bravely in his cause, and 
 in defence of the cities that remained faithful to him. 
 At Briviesca, jointly with the Moorsf, they had pos¬ 
 session of the castle, and repulsed the French assailants 
 led by Du Guesclin, by throwing boiling water on 
 them. It was ultimately taken by storm, and every 
 soul put to the sword. Two hundred Jewish families 
 are said to have perished. 
 
 Later, streams of Jewish blood flowed in the streets 
 of Toledo. It sustained a long siege. When taken 
 by assault, twelve thousand Jews are said to have 
 perished by lire and sword. In the ancient capital of 
 the Visigoths, their shops were plundered, and the 
 Jewries horribly sacked by the allies and partisans of 
 Don Henry. The descendants of Israel, as loyal 
 subjects, rallied round the banners of their legitimate 
 sovereign, and great numbers fell fighting in defence 
 of their king and country. One-third of his army, in 
 his last battle near Toledo, consisted of Jews and 
 Moors. Pedro, in 1369, at Montreal, fell under the 
 fratricidal dagger of Don Henry, who proceeded to 
 Burgos. The Jews offered an obstinate resistance, 
 saying, they would only deliver up the city to their 
 lawful sovereign. On being informed of the death of 
 Don Pedro, they obtained favourable terms from 
 Don Henry, contrary to the opinion of his allies, who 
 would have put all to the sword; but he observed, 
 that such devoted loyal subjects ought to be cherished 
 and protected. I he people had hoped the Jews 
 would have been severely treated by the new sove¬ 
 reign, as their fidelity to Don Pedro had been highly 
 prejudicial to his success; but Henry knew the value 
 of such subjects, and sought to conciliate them by 
 
154 
 
 CORTES OF TORO. 
 
 [ 1371 . 
 
 kind treatment, and by acting justly, cause them to 
 be as faithful to him, as they had been to his brother 11 . 
 
 The queen of Navarre, Donna Juana, in 1370, 
 ordered that all Jews coming from Calahora, or 
 Castile, should be protected. Eich and poor were to 
 pay two florins per annum; and, except the excise on 
 meat and wine, were not to be compelled to contribute, 
 with the Jewries of the kingdom, the same as other 
 Jews; and were not to be subject to excommunica¬ 
 tion or outrage 12 . 
 
 The representations made against the Jews by the 
 deputies to the cortes of Toro, held in 1371, is a proof 
 of the ill-will of the people towards the Hebrew 
 people: — 
 
 As to the favour they intreat, that from the insolence and 
 authority of the enemies of the faith, particularly the Jews, 
 in all our kingdoms, as well in our household as in those of 
 noblemen, estateholders, knights and squires, from the high 
 offices and honours they hold, all Christians have to obey, fear, 
 and show them the greatest respect; so that all the councils of 
 cities, towns, and places of our kingdoms, and every individual, 
 are slaves, afraid and subjected to the Jews: first, from the 
 high offices they see them hold in our household and in the 
 houses of the grandees of our kingdoms, besides, from the 
 incomes and posts they have, the said Jews, as a wicked and 
 daring people, the enemies of God and all Christendom, with 
 great insolence commit many wrongs and extortions in such 
 manner that every one in our kingdoms, or the greater part 
 of them are ruined and driven to despair by the said Jews, 
 which they do in contempt of Christians and our Catholic 
 faith. And since it is our will that this evil company may 
 live in our kingdoms, and our pleasure was, that they, as well 
 as Moors, should wear a distinguishing badge, that they may 
 live marked and apart from Christians, as God commands, 
 and justice and the laws ordain ; besides, that they should 
 
 2U Arch. Nav. Case 36, No. 12. 
 
 11 Nomologia. 
 
CORTES OF TORO. 
 
 155 
 
 1371 .] 
 
 not hold any post in our household, nor in those of the gran¬ 
 dees, knights and squires of our kingdoms., nor wear as good 
 and respectable apparel as they, nor ride on mules, that they 
 may be known among Christians, nor presume to use Christian 
 names. 
 
 The king answered— 
 
 We consider it right that they should continue the same, 
 as in the time of the kings our predecessors, and our father 
 Don Alphonso . 13 
 
 This proves that the government considered the 
 Jews as useful subjects, and wished to preserve them 
 in the kingdom, and to defend and protect them from 
 violence, and that the demands of the people were 
 unjust; yet he was the first Castilian monarch that 
 obliged them to wear a badge, although Popes had 
 ordered it long before. 
 
 On a petition 14 to admit Christian evidence against 
 them, he answered, 
 
 That the evidence of Christians shall in no manner be 
 received against them without the testimony of a Jew, in regard 
 to debts Christians may owe them; but in all other civil or 
 criminal cases that happen between Christians and Jews, the 
 evidence of Christians, if persons of good repute is to be valid. 
 
 In answer to a petition respecting pledges, 15 the 
 king replied,— 
 
 As to what you say, that some Jews in our kingdoms, 
 when they were favourites in the royal household, obtained 
 from former sovereigns the privilege that if they held any 
 thing in pledge or as security, they were not bound to tell 
 the name of the person they received it from to the owner, 
 who was bound to pay the Jew the amount he swore he had 
 advanced on it, which gives rise to many robberies and thefts, 
 as property pledged could not be recovered until what the 
 Jew swore he had advanced was paid; we order, that the 
 
 13 Pet. 2. 
 
 14 Pet. 18. 
 
 15 Pet. 19. 
 
MASSACRE AT GRANADA. 
 
 156 
 
 [ 1375 . 
 
 Jew shall be put on his oath, and give up the name of the 
 person he had received it from. 
 
 The Jews by their commerce and industry had 
 become possessors of almost all the wealth of the 
 kingdom. The Castilians had pride and a bigoted 
 devotion; the Hebrews, talents and money. The 
 Christians, in their necessities, were compelled to have 
 recourse to them; although by their offers they had 
 induced the Jews to transgress the laws, they applied 
 to these Cortes 10 to reduce the amount of their debts, 
 on which the following order was issued. 
 
 Within three days after the return of the representatives 
 to the cities, towns, and places, it shall he published in the 
 principal places of the archbishoprics, bishoprics, etc., that 
 all persons indebted to Jews, shall, within fifteen days, pay 
 two-thirds of the amount; and those persons who do not, shall 
 have no deduction, but shall pay the full amount. 
 
 The debts of Christians had so accumulated in the 
 reign of Alphonso, that probably the Jews were glad 
 to lose a third on receiving the balance immediately, 
 without further trouble. Where the legal interest was 
 thirty-three and a third per cent, it maybe supposed com¬ 
 merce was in a miserable state, and that the Castilians 
 possessed neither capital, speculative energy, nor finan¬ 
 cial resources. 
 
 The Jews had lived unmolested, as will have 
 been seen, under the Moorish sovereigns of Spain. 
 From a chance event, many were killed at Granada 
 in 1375. Two men quarrelling obstructed the 
 street; and a bystander, in the name of Mahomet, 
 begged them to desist, but they continued their noise. 
 Isaac Amoni, the king’s physician, passing just then 
 in his carriage, again requested them to cease, and 
 
 16 Pet. 30. 
 
LEARNED MEN. 
 
 157 
 
 the tumult was immediately hushed. - The Moors, con¬ 
 sidering their religion insulted by more respect being 
 shown to Amoni than the name of the prophet, fell 
 upon the Jews, and. murdered a number. Many 
 sought an asylum in the Alhambra, where they were 
 protected. 17 
 
 The Jewry of Pamplona paid monthly to the king 
 of Navarre, fls. 261: 4:11; that ofEstella,fls. 119:1:9; 
 and that of Tudela fls. 521: 7 : 2, in the year 1375. 18 
 
 A petition 19 against the usury of the Jews was 
 again presented to the Cortes of Burgos in 1377, it 
 was ordered,— 
 
 That the ordinance of Alphonso should be observed; but to 
 prevent their usury, no bonds were to be given by Christians 
 to Jews, except for the royal taxes and duties. 
 
 The latter part shews, that although their names 
 are not recorded, they administered the royal revenues. 
 
 Complaint being made that some knights, squires, 
 and men of rank, bring Jews to live with them, who, 
 by their authority, collect the crops, to the great injury 
 of the people, and requesting that it might not be 
 permitted. 20 It was ordained, — 
 
 That in future no Jew could be their almoxarifs, major- 
 domos, or hold any offices under them; but we consider it right 
 that they may live with them. 
 
 In these reigns many Jews of note were either born, 
 or flourished:—• 
 
 Bon Joseph ben Machir —was physican to Bon Pedro. 
 He died in 1362. 
 
 R. Menahen ben Zarach — of Estella, where all his 
 family were massacred in 1328; severely wounded, he was 
 left for dead. At night a soldier, in passing, heard his groans, 
 bound up his wounds, and had him cured. R. Menahen then 
 
 7 Shebct Judah. 18 Arch, Nav. Case 33, No. 8. 19 Pet. 2. 20 Pet. 10 
 
158 
 
 LEARNED MEN. 
 
 went to Toledo, and from thence to Alcala, where, on the 
 death of R. Jacob Abalesh, he became Chief Rabbi. Having 
 lost all his property during the civil war, Don Samuel 
 Abarbanel of Seville, liberally supplied him during the re- 
 mainder of his life, which he spent at Toledo, where he died 
 in 1374. He dedicated his work “ Provisions for the Way,” 
 on Jewish rites and ceremonies, to his benefactor. 
 
 R. David —of Estella, born about 1306, was an eminent 
 teacher and expounder of the law, and an eloquent preacher. 
 His sermons are published under the title of “ The Tower of 
 David.” He also wrote “ The House of God,” an exposition 
 of the precepts; and “ The City Book,” an explanation of the 
 Jewish ritual institutions. 
 
 R. Abraham ben Alnakova — who died at Seville in 
 1360, was a person of great wealth and consequence; for by 
 his epitaph, we learn “ he associated with kings and the coun¬ 
 cillors of the land, and gave lodging and board to all travellers 
 that would accept his hospitality” 21 . 
 
 Don Santo de Carrion —a moral philosopher, and one 
 of the most celebrated troubadours in the reign of Don Pedro. 
 In his old age he abjured Judaism. 
 
 R. Meir Aldabi — of Toledo, flourished in 1360. He 
 wrote an esteemed work, entitled “ The Paths of Faith,” 
 treating on the creation, the formation of man, his faculties, 
 faith in the law, future rewards and punishments, the resurrec¬ 
 tion, and the redemption of Israel. He is supposed by some 
 writers to be the R. Meir alluded to in the inscription of the 
 famed synagogue of Toledo; but, judging from his epitaph, it 
 is more probable it alluded to R. Meir, the father of Don 
 Samuel. 
 
 R. David Cohen —of Seville, born in 1356, much esteemed 
 for his knowledge of Hebrew, Latin, Greek, and Arabic. He 
 composed an Arabic Dictionary in Hebrew characters, arranging 
 it in the Hebrew alphabetical order, and translated from the 
 
 21 Appendix, No. 6. 
 
LEARNED MEN. 159 
 
 Hebrew into Spanish, “ The Book of Fear” of R. Jonah of 
 Gerona. 
 
 R. Nisim ben Reuben —of Gerona, and chief rabbi of 
 Barcelona, wrote on the Talmud, and the works of A1 Fez. 
 His rabbinical decisions are dated 1349 to 1374; he also prac¬ 
 tised medicine. 
 
 R- Vidal — of Tolosa, wrote a work impugning some pas¬ 
 sages of A1 Fez and Maimonides, a commentary on Job, and 
 remarks on the book of logic of Abu Achmet Alguzali. He 
 died in 1375. 
 
 R. Moses a Cohen— of Tordesillas, flourished in 1375. 
 He wrote a famed controversial work against Christianity, 
 under the title of “ The Help of Faith.” 
 
 R. Mathias Haizari — born at Saragossa about 1370, 
 was chief of the Jews in Aragon. He wrote an esteemed 
 commentary on the 119th psalm. 
 
 R. Shem Tob ben Isaac Sprot —born at Tudela in 1374, 
 was a celebrated philosopher, physician, and talmudist; under 
 the title of the Touchstone, he wrote a polemical work against 
 Christianity; “ The Garden of Pomegranates,” explaining the 
 allegories of the Talmud; and translated the book of medicine 
 of Almanzor. 
 
160 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 John I.—Joseph Pico.—Prevented leaving Navarre .— 
 Cortes of Soria.—John of Castile claims the Crown 
 of Portugal. — David Negro saves the King by his 
 timely notice. — Cortes of Segovia. — Cortes of Sara¬ 
 gossa. —Laws atBriviesca. — Council of Salamanca. 
 — Cortes of Palencia.—Representation of Seville 
 against the Archdeacon of Niebla. 
 
 In 1379, John succeeded his father. He held a cortes 
 at Burgos; and in the regulations he there made for the 
 royal officers and attendants, he raised the tax of 
 twelve maravedis, paid by the Jews on each book of 
 the law to the life-guards, on the first visit of the 
 king to a town, as established by Alphonso X., of four 
 reals of plate. 
 
 Petitions 1 similar to No. 18 and 19, presented to 
 the cortes of Toro in 1371, were again presented to 
 this, to which the king returned the same answer as 
 his father. While the king was at Burgos, the Jews 
 artfully obtained from him an order for the execution 
 of Joseph Pico, who was receiver-general of the Al- 
 cavales, and high treasurer of the kingdom. Pie was 
 opulent, and a person of consideration among his 
 people. From the posts he held, he exercised great 
 authority and influence. Historians record no crime 
 of him, but attribute it to the envy and jealousy of the 
 chief men of his nation. Joseph was tranquilly at 
 
 1 Pet. 23, 24. 
 
1380 .] 
 
 ORDINANCES OF SORIA. 
 
 161 
 
 home, secure from such an event, when he was seized, 
 led to execution, and his house destroyed. From the 
 haste with which the royal executioner performed his 
 office, he is supposed to have been (Received or bribed. 
 The king discovering that he had been imposed on, 
 had the guilty parties punished, and deprived the 
 Jews of the privilege they enjoyed of taking cogni¬ 
 sance of criminal causes where they might inflict the 
 punishment of death. 
 
 Charles II., of Navarre, imposed a tax of five sous 
 per livre, on all landed property that had been sold 
 or mortgaged to Christians by Jews, within the last 
 fifty years, according to the ordinance. 
 
 Inasmuch as, long since, it was ordained, prohibited, and 
 forbidden, for any Christian or Moor to presume to purchase, 
 or accept as a gift or alienation, any landed property whatever 
 from Jews without license of the king. 2 
 
 The king gave as a reason for it, that many Jews 
 had quitted his kingdom, by which the revenue had 
 fallen off, and the taxes diminished daily. 3 It is to 
 be inferred from this, that the reason for prohibiting 
 the purchase of landed property from them, was to 
 prevent their quitting the country. 
 
 Pedro Alphonso a convert from Judaism had falsely 
 asserted that the Jews, in their prayers, daily invoked 
 maledictions on Christians; which induced the king— 
 although he always calls them “ ours and belonging 
 to us,” and ordered that they should be guarded and 
 protected, as in time of his predecessor—to issue the 
 following decree, at the cortes of Soria, in 1380. 
 
 1. — Whereas we have been informed, that the Jews are 
 commanded by their books and other writings of the Talmud, 
 
 3 Arch. Nav. Case 37, No. 27. 4 Ibid., No. 28. 
 
 M 
 
162 
 
 ORDINANCES OF SORIA. 
 
 [ 1380 . 
 
 daily to say the prayer against heretics, which is said standing, 
 wherein they curse Christians and churches, we stiictly 
 command and forbid any of them, hereafter, to say it, or have 
 it written in their rituals or any other books; and those that 
 have it written in the said books, are to erase and cancel it in 
 such manner as not to be legible, which is to be done within 
 two months after the publication hereof; and any one who 
 says or responds to it, shall publicly receive one hundred 
 lashes. And if it be found in his breviary or other book, he 
 is to be fined one thousand maravedis; and if he cannot pay 
 the fine, one hundred lashes are to be given to him. And 
 furthermore, be it known, we shall proceed severely against 
 them, the same as against persons that curse the Christian 
 religion. 
 
 2. — Furthermore, as the Jews have been accustomed to 
 choose their Rabbis and other judges among themselves, em¬ 
 powering them to decide all causes that come before them, 
 whether civil or criminal, which it is a great sin to authorise 
 and permit; for according to the words of the prophets they 
 were deprived of all power and liberty on the coming of our 
 Lord Jesus Christ. And as many injuries and much harm 
 accrue to our kingdoms, and to all Christians of our do¬ 
 minions and the commonalty therefrom, by their Jewries gene¬ 
 rally and in particular. For this reason we ordain and com¬ 
 mand that henceforward it shall not be permitted for any Jews 
 of our kingdoms, whether rabbis, elders, chiefs, or any other 
 persons that now are, or shall be hereafter, to interfere to judge 
 any criminal cause to which death, loss of limb, or banishment 
 is attached; but they may decide all civil causes that appertain 
 to them according to their religion. Criminal cases shall be 
 tried by one of the Alcaldes, chosen by the Jews in the towns 
 and places of their respective jurisdictions. But, whereas the 
 said Jews are ours, it is our pleasure that the appeals of said 
 criminals, whether belonging to the Seigniories or any other 
 places whatever, shall be brought before our court. This is to 
 be understood for those criminal cases that have hitherto been 
 tried by the said Jews. And if any cause has been decided 
 
1380 .] 
 
 ORDINANCES OF SORIA. 
 
 163 
 
 contrary hereto, we order that the sentence be null, and that 
 no alcalde, judge, or other person, undertake to execute it, 
 under the penalty of six thousand maravedis each. And if any 
 act or ordinance contain anything contrary hereto, we com¬ 
 mand that it be not executed, nor is it to be valid. And if, 
 thereby, any penalty or fine is inflicted, we order that it be 
 annulled. 
 
 3. — Furthermore, whereas we are informed, that the Jews 
 make some persons as well as Moors, Tartars, and other sects 
 converts to Judaism, by circumcising them, and by other cere¬ 
 monies; all of which is a disparagement and contempt of our 
 religion. Therefore we ordain, command, and forbid that it 
 be done hereafter, in any manner. And should any Jew or 
 Jewess do it, they shall become our slaves; and those persons 
 who are converted from any other religion to theirs, shall be 
 treated as we may be pleased to order. 
 
 On a petition 4 that Christians might not be per¬ 
 mitted to nurse the children of Jews or Moors, nor 
 reside with them; the King decreed:— 
 
 That any Christian nursing the child of a Jew or Moor 
 should be fined six hundred maravedis to the Exchequer; but 
 they may live with them, that they may have people to culti¬ 
 vate their land, and to accompany them from one place to 
 another; otherwise they might be ill treated or murdered. 
 
 After the assassination of Peter the Cruel, by Henry 
 of Trastemar, Ferdinand of Portugal, as a legitimate 
 descendant of Sancho IV., laid claim to the crown of 
 Castile, in preference to the bastard of Alphonso XI. 
 A coalition of the Spanish sovereigns was formed, but 
 broken by the politic Henry, and Ferdinand was left 
 alone to assert his right; through the mediation of 
 Pope Urban VI., a peace was ultimately concluded. 
 By the treaty, Donna Beatrice, daughter of Ferdinand, 
 was engaged to the second son of Henry. John, losing 
 
 4 Pet. 11. 
 
164 JOHN I. OF PORTUGAL.— DON DAVID NEGRO. [1384. 
 
 his queen, offered his hand to Donna Beatrice, as the 
 tender asre of Ferdinand would have delayed her 
 marriage for many years. By this treaty, if the king of 
 Portugal died without male issue, his eldest daughter, 
 Donna Beatrice, was to succeed him, and her husband, 
 the king of Castile, might style himself king of 
 Portugal; but the government was to be vested in the 
 Dowager Queen Donna Leonora, during her lifetime; 
 or until Donna Beatrice and her husband had a child 
 fourteen years of age, who should then leave his par¬ 
 ents and assume the government and title of king of 
 Portugal. On the death of Ferdinand shortly after, 
 in 1383, John laid claim to it in right of his wife, and 
 his views were favoured by the widowed Donna 
 Leonora. He marched an army into Portugal to en¬ 
 force it, for the Portuguese always bore a hatred to 
 Castilian dominion, and had raised John, master of 
 the order of Avis, a bastard brother of their deceased 
 sovereign, to the vacant throne: he was John I. of 
 Portugal. This digression was necessary, from the 
 two kings having the same names and designations. 
 
 John of Castile was with his army at Santarem, 
 when the chief rabbi of Portugal died. Donna 
 Leonora hastened to meet him, to ask for the place, 
 which was a post of the highest honour and gave 
 unbounded power over the Jews, for her friend 
 l^on Judah, a wealthy and highly respected man, who 
 had been high treasurer to her husband Don Ferdi¬ 
 nand. The king excused himself and gave it to his 
 queen Donna Beatrice for Don David Negro, also a 
 friend to the late king. Donna Leonora, a proud im¬ 
 perious woman, considered herself insulted at being 
 refused the first favour she asked from the king, for 
 
1384 .] 
 
 LAWS MADE AT SEGOVIA. 
 
 165 
 
 whom she had clone so much; and to her subsequent 
 conduct in a great measure may be attributed his loss 
 of the crown of Portugal. 5 
 
 A monk in the city of Coimbra, where the king 
 then was, who was a great friend of Don David and 
 who carried messages between the disaffected and the 
 insurgents, wrote confidentially to him to retire within 
 the city with his family, and he would find a mode to 
 place him out of danger. The monk afterwards called 
 on him, when he enquired the meaning of the note. He 
 told him some disturbance might take place when the 
 city was given up; and he learnt from him that on a cer¬ 
 tain night when Count Gonsalez sent to say they were 
 ready, a trumpet was to be blown in the city, as a 
 signal that the count was without with the people. 
 Don David informed the king of the whole plan: he 
 could scarcely believe it, but the Queen did; by 
 this timedy notice it was frustrated and rendered 
 abortive. 6 
 
 The produce of the tax of five sous per livre, on 
 landed property, sold by Jews and Moors to Christians, 
 or by Jews to Moors, after the great mortality by the 
 plague, in the towns of Tudela, Cortes, Brunei, Mon- 
 teagudo, Cascante, Corella, Cinteonigo, Fustinani, and 
 Cabanillas, amounted in 1384 to fls.2221:0:4. 
 
 In that year, John framed some new laws at Segovia. 
 The three following concerned the Jews and Moors:— 
 
 Jews and Moors shall not be permitted publicly to work? 
 or sell anything, or cultivate their lands, on Sundays and 
 Christian holidays; but in their houses they may, provided it 
 is done without noise, and not exposed to view. 7 
 
 That Jews and Moors are not to live or associate with 
 Christians. 8 
 
 5 Chron. Joao 1. 6 Idem. 7 Law 2. 8 Law 5. 
 
166 
 
 CORTES OF SARAGOSSA. 
 
 [ 1385 . 
 
 That one-third is to be deducted from debts due to Jews 
 and Moors, and the balance is to be paid half at Midsummer, 
 and half at Christmas, 1385: those overdue are to be paid half 
 in nine months, and half six months after. Persons not paying 
 at the periods fixed, are not to have the benefit of this law. 9 
 
 The next cortes met at Saragossa in 1385. A num¬ 
 ber of petitions were presented against them. The 
 following will shew their tenor: — 
 
 We answer, that Christians do right not to live with Jews 
 or Moors, either for hire or otherwise; nor shall Christians 
 nurse their children. Persons that transgress this ordinance, 
 shall be publicly whipped in the place where it happens. Any 
 person may give information. And we order our justices to 
 make enquiry, should no one inform, and inflict the punish¬ 
 ment. 10 
 
 We answer that, it is our pleasure, that the ordinances 
 made at Soria, by which no Jew or Moor should be Almoxarif 
 to us, our queen, the infantas, our brothers, or to any person 
 holding office in our household. Now to please our subjects, 
 we consider it just to observe and fulfil the same, as they re¬ 
 quest. And should any Jew or Moor act contrary, their pro¬ 
 perty shall be confiscated, and they shall receive such corporal 
 punishment as we may think fit. 11 
 
 That, as we cancelled one-third of debts due to Jews and 
 Moors in the cortes of Segovia, and granted time for the pay¬ 
 ment of the two-thirds, which will be highly prejudicial to 
 them, it would be against our interest and receipts to go fur¬ 
 ther; but where usury can be proved against them, they shall 
 refund it to the owner. 12 
 
 That Jews and Moors lend on pledges; and when the 
 owner wishes to redeem them they demand more than the 
 amount lent, with the interest due, and refuse to restore the 
 pledge. To our great injury, they are believed on their oath; 
 for, although there is no truth in them, they get what they 
 demand. VVe therefore ask, that two or three Christian wit¬ 
 nesses shall be believed on their oaths. 13 
 
 9 Law 19. 10 Pet. 3. 11 Pet. 9. 12 Pet. 10. 13 Pet. 11. 
 
CORTES OF SARAGOSSA. 
 
 167 
 
 1385 .] 
 
 That Jews have privileges on bonds drawn up between 
 Christians and Jews by notaries; but if there should not be 
 the testimony of a Jew against the Jew, the contract is void. 
 We therefore beg, that, should there be no Jew witness, the 
 testimony of three Christian witnesses shall be sufficient. 14 
 
 To these two petitions, we answer, that, as the kings, our 
 predecessors, suspected, that, from the enmity Christians bore 
 against Jews and Moors, they would not give true testimony 
 against them for debts, or in civil cases, they granted them 
 the privilege, that oaths of Christians should not be believed 
 against them, without the corroborative testimony of a Jew or 
 Moor. We intend to continue to observe the same. 
 
 That Jews and Moors have the privilege, that if an article, 
 stolen from a Christian, be found in their possession, they are 
 not bound to give up the person they received it from. We 
 beg, that in such cases, they shall be subject to the same penal¬ 
 ties as receivers of stolen goods. 15 
 
 It is our pleasure, that the said privilege be rescinded; and 
 that Jews and Moors be liable to the same as Christians. 
 
 As Jews and Moors claim payment from Christians of 
 bonds from ten to twelve years’ date, which are cancelled from 
 the length of time, and the chiefs of places order them to be 
 paid, we beg that they be declared null and void. 16 
 
 The ordinance made at Alcala by our grandfather, Don 
 Alphonso, is to be observed. 
 
 That Jews and Moors be not permitted to have separate 
 collectors for the recovery of their debts, as they charge ten 
 per cent.; but that the collection be remitted to the ordinary 
 tribunals. 17 
 
 There is no harm in Jews and Moors having separate col¬ 
 lectors; but they shall not charge more than six per cent., as 
 was usual and customary; and in places where the charge lias 
 
 been less, that only is to be paid. 
 
 That Jews and Moors be not permitted to have separate 
 
 Alcaldes. 18 
 
 It is our pleasure that the same be practised as hitherto. 
 
 14 Pet. 12. 
 
 15 Pet. 13. 
 
 16 Pet. 14. 
 
 17 Pet. 15. 
 
 18 Pet. 17. 
 
168 
 
 COUNCIL OF PALENCIA. 
 
 [ 1388 . 
 
 The number of taxpayers at Tudela in 1386, being 
 reduced from five hundred to less than two hundred, 
 from their general poverty, Charles II. of Navarre 
 remitted the sum of four hundred and eighty-one 
 livres they owed for taxes. 19 
 
 At Briviesca, in 1387, some laws were established. 
 The two following were the only ones that concerned 
 the Jews and Moors. 
 
 No work is to be performed on Sundays, under the penalty 
 of thirty maravedis: one-third to the informer, and one-third 
 to the church, and-one-third to the king; but Jews and Moors 
 may quietly work in their houses. 20 
 
 None of our subjects shall presume to keep Jews or Moors 
 that are not slaves in their houses; for they are not to have 
 authority over Christians; nor is association with them per¬ 
 mitted, according to law, except medical men, when required. 
 Persons of whatever rank or condition who act contrary, shall 
 be fined six thousand maravedis to the Exchequer, a third of 
 which shall be given to the informer. And we forbid Jews 
 and Moors to have Christian servants to live with them, under 
 the penalty that their persons and property be at our disposal; 
 a third of the latter to be for the informer. 21 
 
 The large fine shews they were generally employed 
 by the nobles and grandees, in high posts in their 
 households. 
 
 The council that assembled at Palencia in 1388, 
 confirmed the act of the council of Salamanca —* 
 
 Eespecting the Jews living in Jewries; but permitted Jews 
 and Moors, who were merchants, traders, or mechanics, to 
 have shops, warehouses, booths, stalls, and workshops in the 
 streets and public places of the cities and towns where they 
 resided; provided the domiciles for their wives and families were 
 within the Jewry, to which they were to retire at night. 
 Christians were not to dwell within the quarters assigned to 
 
 ]9 Arch. Nav. Case52, No. 10. 
 
 20 Law 7. 
 
 21 Law 17. 
 
1389 .] 
 
 THE ARCHDEACON OF NIEBLA. 
 
 169 
 
 Jews and Moors; and those that resided within them, were to 
 remove therefrom within two months after the publication of 
 this decree in the cathedral; and if they did not, were to be 
 compelled by ecclesiastical censure. 22 
 
 The reason the council assigns for it is — 
 
 Because we know many injuries to the bodies, and dangers 
 to the souls of Christians, have resulted from their intercourse 
 with Jews. 
 
 A cortes was also held the same year at Falencia, 
 to which a petition 23 Avas again presented against their 
 usuries, to which the folloAving ansAver Avas returned— 
 
 They inform us, that they have suffered such great injury 
 from being heavily taxed, that they have daily borrowed 
 money from the Jews, and given bonds for twice and thrice 
 the amount, and beg to repay the principal only. 
 
 The answer of the king Avas— 
 
 When it can be proved to have been usurious, the capital 
 only is to be repaid as requested; but if the Jew can prove the 
 correctness of the transaction, the full amount is to be paid; 
 but if no proof can be adduced, it is our will that one third be 
 deducted, and time be given for the payment of the balance, 
 until Midsummer, 1389. If not then paid, the benefit of this 
 law is forfeited; which is only for debts, contracts, and bonds 
 made with Jews from 1387 to the present date. 
 
 To the honour of the toAvn council of Seville, it 
 complained to the king of the conduct of Fernandez 
 Martinez, the archdeacon of Niebla, who, Avith more 
 zeal than prudence, by his sermons incited the people 
 against the JeAvs. The laAvs made for their protection 
 had not provided against such attacks; probably 
 imagining that, however great the rancour church¬ 
 men bore toAvards the descendants of Israel, the pul¬ 
 pit was not the place Avhence their hatred should be 
 
 32 Aguirre. 
 
 23 Fet. 6. 
 
170 
 
 PAUL OF BURGOS. 
 
 [ 1390 . 
 
 preached to the tumultuous and sanguinary populace. 
 The king had not sufficient courage to repress it. His 
 answer to the judicious representation of the council 
 was, a that he would send to see; for, although the 
 archdeacon’s zeal was holy and good, he should he 
 careful not to excite the people by his sermons and 
 discourses.” 
 
 Deeds afterwards proved the “ sanctity ancl good¬ 
 ness ” of the archdeacon’s intemperate zeal. Want 
 of energy on the part of the king, and his remaining 
 passive in the prospect of the horrors and butcheries 
 about to be perpetrated, emboldened the unchristianlike 
 churchman in a short time, by his sermons, to raise the 
 populace to dye their hands in the blood of the un¬ 
 fortunate Jews. The king did not live to see the dire 
 effects of his pusillanimity; he was thrown from his 
 horse, and killed in October, 1390. In this year, 
 R. Solomon Levi, a native of Burgos, at the age of forty 
 abjured Judaism. After being archdeacon of Triveno, 
 and bishop of Carthagena, he became bishop of 
 Burgos, and is commonly known by the name of 
 Paul of Burgos. He proved an inveterate enemy 
 to the Hebrew people. He states, that the Jews held 
 the principal posts in the palaces of kings, and the 
 households of grandees; that in consequence vassals, 
 however Christian they might be, shewed them the 
 greatest respect and veneration, which was injurious 
 to simple souls, as they readily adopted the errors of 
 their superiors and persons in power. 24 
 
 24 Scrut. Scrip, par. 2, ch. 26. 
 
171 
 
 N 
 
 CHAPTER XYI. 
 
 Henry III.—Riot at Seville. — Massacre at Palma. — 
 Jewries of Cordova , Toledo , Burgos , Valencia , Bar¬ 
 celona, etc. attached and plundered. — The conse¬ 
 quences .— Anecdote of Queen Leonora , of Henry .— 
 777s Physicians. — /State 0 / the Jews in Spain at the 
 end of the Ihth Century. 
 
 Henry III. was only eleven years of age at the death 
 of his father; six noblemen had been named by him 
 as guardians of his son and regents of the kingdom; 
 they summoned a cortes to Madrid. The Jews who 
 had repaired to that capital to farm the royal revenues, 
 of which the laws were unable to deprive them, com¬ 
 plained to it of the sufferings of their brethren at 
 Seville. 
 
 The archdeacon, encouraged by the conduct of the 
 late king, and the dissensions among the regents, who 
 were attending solely to their private interests, des¬ 
 cended from the pulpit of the cathedral to preach his 
 inflammatory sermons in the streets of the Andalusian 
 capital. Plis themes were the obstinate adherence of 
 the descendants of Israel to the religion of their fore¬ 
 fathers, and the injury done to the state by their 
 usuries and commerce; he harangued with so much 
 force, that the enraged populace, giving vent first to 
 invectives, then carried their hatred against them to 
 the utmost excess. The cause of this attack had been 
 
MASSACRE AT SEVILLE. 
 
 [1391. 
 
 172 
 
 / 
 
 previously arranged, the combustible matter only 
 required the lighted torch to be applied to raise an 
 unquenchable flame. The town council, which had 
 complained of the archdeacon’s intemperate conduct, 
 had not taken a single precautionary measure to pre¬ 
 vent the horrible scenes of carnage that ensued. The 
 opposition of the ecclesiastical chapter served to raise 
 more and more the indiscreet zeal of the fanatic priest. 
 At the commencement, the people had listened to his 
 sermons with indifference; but finding it was sought 
 to favour the Jews, they took part in the question: 
 they applauded the intolerant preacher; they assembled 
 in the public squares, and then spread themselves 
 through the city, heaping insults and menaces on the 
 Jews, who were soon obliged to shut themselves within 
 their Jewries; but neither there were they respected. 
 Justice in the meanwhile sought to quell the riot. 
 The Count.de Niebla and Don Alvar Perez de Guzman, 
 the high constable of the city, hastened to where the 
 greatest tumult prevailed. They seized two of the 
 most furious, and had them publicly whipped as a 
 warning and example to the rest. Far from appeasing, 
 the punishment irritated more the ungovernable mob; 
 the arms tinged with Jewish blood were turned against 
 the count and his assistants; their lives were exposed 
 to the greatest danger; they saved themselves only 
 by releasing the prisoners, and abandoning the unequal 
 contest. This happened on Ash Wednesday, 1391. 
 The rioters, having rescued their friends, seemed paci¬ 
 fied; and for a time the city enjoyed that calm which 
 is the presage of a storm. 
 
 The 6th June dawned, crowds were seen hastening 
 
 • • O 
 
 m a continual torrent towards the Jewries, which 
 
1391.] MASSACRE AT SEVILLE. 173 
 
 were attacked in all quarters; the exterminating steel 
 spared neither age nor sex; those that implored mercy, 
 or that sought to escape, were alike murdered; 4,000 
 Israelites perished in that dreadful slaughter. Amidst 
 the yells of the savage mob and the groans of the 
 dying, was heard the voice of the archdeacon, encou¬ 
 raging them in those horrible scenes of carnage and 
 extermination. 
 
 These were the complaints made by the farmers of 
 the royal revenues to the national representatives, in 
 the name of the violated laws, the outrages the council 
 of government was called on to suppress, created by 
 a king whose indifference had been the principal cause 
 of them. The Cortes of Castile, less prejudiced than 
 the multitude, and more desirous of justice than the 
 late kin or had been, heard with horror the relation of 
 such sanguinary deeds. Duty to the world and their 
 own consciences, imposed on them the obligation to 
 apply promptly the desired remedy to so many evils. 
 They despatched judges with the titles of Priors , a 
 title then having great authority, to proceed to Seville 
 and the other towns of that kingdom, where the flame 
 of insurrection had spread, to punish severely the 
 seditious and abettors of those- crimes. But, notwith¬ 
 standing the researches made, the integrity and recti¬ 
 tude of the judges, and the strict orders of govern¬ 
 ment, they gained no information, but imprisoned and 
 punished the archdeacon, as an example and warning 
 to others not to cause riots under the colour of piety. 
 
 Two of the synagogues within the Jewry of Seville 
 were converted into parochial churches, under the 
 names of Santa Cruz and Santa Maria la Blanca. The 
 Jews were now reduced to a single Jewry, known at 
 
174 PLUNDERED AT CORDOVA, TOLEDO, ETC. [1392. 
 
 present by the name of St. Bartholomew’s. It required 
 great perseverance and resignation in those that escaped 
 with life, and all the energy and industry they were 
 susceptible of, to replace in some measure the severe 
 losses they had sustained. The Christians, on the 
 contrary, rich with plunder, and flushed with their 
 double victory, considering they had performed a 
 meritorious act, increased their wealth. 
 
 At Palma, the civil authorities and nobles endea¬ 
 voured in vain to repress the violence of the bigoted 
 infuriated mob. Many were murdered by the island¬ 
 ers, who vied with their continental brethren in 
 enriching themselves by the plunder of the unfor¬ 
 tunate Israelites 1 . 
 
 This fatal impunity had, and necessarily would 
 have, the most deplorable consequences. Little more 
 than a year had elapsed. On the 5th August, the 
 Jewries of Cordova, Toledo, Burgos, and Valencia 
 were attacked by the populace, plundering and sack¬ 
 ing the numerous houses and shops, and killing all 
 who offered the least resistance. It is thus described 
 by Dr. Lozano: — 
 
 The people went so riotously and resolutely to each of these 
 places, so eager for plunder, so prepossessed by the voice of 
 the archdeacon, that they might conscientiously rob and kill 
 that people, without respect to the laws, or fear of judges or 
 ministers, plundering, robbing, and murdering, that it was 
 horrifying. Every city was that day a Troy. The shrieks, 
 lamentations, and groans of those who saw themselves ruined 
 and destroyed without a crime being much pitied by those 
 not concerned in the deed, the rage and cruelty increased. 
 They only acted mercifully, and spared the lives and properties 
 of those who desired to become Christians, and cried out for 
 baptism, a wrong determination, under the cloak of religion. 
 
 1 Hist, de Malorca. 
 
1392.] EFFECTS OF THE PERSECUTION. 
 
 175 
 
 It was the cause of innumerable errors; formally Jews, seeing 
 that they could escape by being baptised, asked for it, while 
 their predilection was always for their sect, so that apparently 
 Christians they daily Judaised. Finally, notwithstanding the 
 judges proceeded to institute inquiries, and punish, it was use¬ 
 less, for it seemed highly improper to chastise or destroy a city, 
 or a whole towm, to restore and save a Jewry, and the more so, 
 where the riot was caused under the pretext of religion, and 
 maintained by the archdeacon as being rightly done 2 . 
 
 In their mad rage, they wanted, in like manner, 
 to attack the Moors, hut were restrained, by the fear 
 of the Christians in their hands meeting a similar fate 
 from their Saracen masters. 
 
 At Barcelona, and in many towns of Aragon, they 
 experienced the same fate. The duke of Montblanc 
 was at V alencia, preparing the expedition for Sicily, 
 but was unable to prevent the riot. Eleven thousand 
 Jews are said to have received baptism in that city, 
 and as many as two hundred thousand in the kingdoms 
 of Castile and Aragon. This dreadful persecution led 
 a number of the Hebrew people to quit Spain. As no 
 part of Europe offered a secure asylum for them, many 
 emigrated to Africa. At this period, the first settle¬ 
 ment of the Jews at Algiers took place. The Jewries 
 were completely ruined. Justice had been defied, and 
 all rights had been trampled on. The Christian people, 
 who had been goaded to unmerciful rage against the 
 Jews, perceived not, that in destroying their industry 
 and overturning the means of fully developing it, they 
 brought on themselves the charges that had previously 
 been divided between them, and suffocated in blood 
 the germs of prosperity and success. What became of 
 the numerous looms of Toledo and Seville? Where 
 were the extensive and rich markets in which the 
 
 2 Reyes Nuevos de Toledo. 
 
176 EFFECTS OF THE PERSECUTION. [1392. 
 
 Hebrews warehoused all the valuable productions of 
 the East and West; where the silks of Persia and 
 Damascus, the skins of Morocco, and the Arabian 
 jewellery competed? They burnt their well-stocked 
 shops in the bazaars of Valencia, Toledo, Burgos, and 
 Seville. Their streets became desolate and deserted. 
 The revenues of the king and church suffered greatly, 
 as is shewn by the history of the celebrated chapel of 
 the Reyes Nuevos of the ancient Gothic capital. When 
 Henry II. raised that sumptuous mausoleum for him¬ 
 self and family, he had endowed the chaplains with 
 part of the contributions paid by the Hebrews of 
 Toledo. The almost total ruin of that Jewry had caused 
 the hopes of its founder to vanish. His perfect reliance 
 on the exactitude of the Jews, and the security of the 
 payments, had induced him to provide its revenue out 
 of the Jewry; but by this destruction, Henry III. was 
 deprived of the means of supporting the royal chapel. 
 
 The Jews, nevertheless, collected the remains of the 
 dreadful wreck. Resigning themselves to their mis¬ 
 fortune, they thought only of reconstructing the shat¬ 
 tered vessel, ever exposed to destruction, and to be 
 agitated by furious storms. In the great and con¬ 
 tinual wants of the Spanish monarchs, when the 
 Moorish wars drained their treasuries, and the taxes 
 and contributions were inadequate to the exj^ense, the 
 coffers of the Jews were ever open to them; yet 
 among the means they considered advisable to remedy 
 the sad catastrophe, was to appeal to the generosity 
 and clemency of the grandees, promising further taxes 
 and tribute to secure their protection. 
 
 The Queen Donna Leonora, the first wife of Henry 
 III., was much praised for her charitable acts; with 
 
ANECDOTE OF HENRY III. 
 
 177 
 
 her own hands she distributed a large portion of her 
 income to the needy. From the protecting hand she 
 extended to the Christian poor, she inspired so much 
 respect and confidence in the Jews, that to enable her 
 to continue her benevolence and to gain her protec¬ 
 tion, they offered her a sum from the Jewries, which 
 she refused, saying, she never would ask a supply 
 from them, lest they might privately curse her.” 
 
 The guardians and regents, by dilapidation and 
 rapacity, had so impoverished the treasury, that the 
 following anecdote is related of the king. 
 
 Henry, not to burden his vassals, practised the 
 utmost frugality and most rigid economy. Returning 
 home one evening without having any thing to eat, 
 nor money, jewels, or credit to purchase the meanest 
 food, while the grandees were prodigally spending 
 their ill-acquired wealth in sumptuous entertainments, 
 he had to dispose of his cloak to procure a miserable 
 meal. On that same night a supper was prepared at 
 the archbishop of loledo’s, where every delicacy and 
 luxury was in the greatest profusion. Henry being 
 informed of it, but not believing all he heard, resolved 
 to witness it. In disguise he went to the festive hall, 
 and mixing with the numerous attendants, he noticed 
 there had been no exaggeration, and he was struck with 
 the audacity of the guests, boasting of the wealth they 
 had amassed by their peculation. The next day he 
 summoned them to appear before him. On their being 
 assembled, he entered completely armed, with his 
 drawn sword. Addressing himself to the archbishop, 
 he asked him how many kings he had raised in Spain. 
 “Sire,” answered the prelate, “your grandfather, your 
 father, and yourself.” “ Although so young,” replied 
 
 N 
 
178 
 
 R. MEIR ALGUDES. 
 
 the king, “ I have known twenty where there should 
 only be one; it is time that I should be sole, and all 
 the others perish.” He then made a signal, on which 
 the soldiers he had prepared appeared, together with 
 the executioners, block, axe, and ropes. The gran¬ 
 dees alarmed, threw themselves at his feet, imploring 
 his clemency, and placing their persons and property 
 at his disposal. Henry generously granted them their 
 lives, but exacted a strict account of their admmis 
 tration of the public treasury during his minority, 
 forcing them to refund the sums they had appi opi iated 
 to themselves; to give up for the benefit of the royal 
 patrimony the enormous pensions they had 1 eceived, 
 and to surrender the castles and fortresses they had 
 taken possession of . 1 
 
 It is not surprising after this, that, notwithstanding 
 the laws and the decrees of councils, the kings of 
 Castile employed Jews in offices of trust in preference 
 to Christians. They found the former possessed, from 
 their commercial habits, of more talent for the adminis¬ 
 tration of finance; and although they might enrich 
 themselves by the lucrative posts they held, they had 
 not the ambition of the latter, who sought to aggran¬ 
 dize themselves at the expence of the people and of 
 the crown, against which they were frequently in 
 open rebellion. 
 
 Henry farmed the royal revenues to Jews. His chief 
 physician was the unfortunate R. Heir Algudes, who 
 was chief rabbi of the Jews of Castile, a man of great 
 learning and experience, and a great favourite with 
 the king: he translated the ethics and maxiins into 
 Hebrew. R. Meir Benshushan, an eminent physician 
 of Toledo, also attended him, as well as R. Moses 
 
 1 Anquetils, His Universal. 
 
STATE OF THE .TEWS. 
 
 179 
 
 Zarzal, a fragment of whose tombstone was discovered 
 a few years back, at Carmona. Henry is termed u The 
 Sickly ” in Spanish history, for, from his infancy he 
 never enjoyed good health, which accounts for the num¬ 
 ber of his physicians. The clergy incited the people 
 against the Jews; and, in consequence of a sermon 
 preached in the cathedral of Seville on the subject of 
 the new synagogues they were permitted to build to 
 replace some of those destroyed or taken from them 
 of late years, there were riots in various parts of Spain. 
 Many Jews fell victims to the popular fury; others, 
 to avoid this persecution, were baptized. 
 
 Previous to detailing the persecutions the descend¬ 
 ants of Israel experienced in the fifteenth century in 
 Spain, to which the horrid scenes perpetrated at the 
 instigation of the archdeacon of Ecija had been the pre¬ 
 lude, it may be necessary to review the state of the 
 Hebrew people and their adversaries at this period. 
 Constant complaints were made of the usury of the 
 Jews; but the Castilians were so accustomed to apply 
 to them when they wanted money, that they were 
 the first to infringe the laws and ordinances. They 
 could neither equip themselves for war, nor sow or 
 cultivate their land without pecuniary advances. 
 Government, continually occupied with wars, was in¬ 
 capable of providing for agriculture. It shewed itself 
 indulgent while that class ruined itself by borrowing. 
 The Jews became rich and wealthy, while the people 
 became impoverished. In revenge, they incessantly 
 sought to excite the king against the Hebrews, and 
 under the most false pretexts to draw persecution on 
 them. 
 
 When the judges coolly examined the case, the 
 
180 
 
 ENEMIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 [ 1400 . 
 
 imposture of their accusers was sometimes discovered, 
 and the innocence of the Jews clearly established; but 
 they were not always fortunate in meeting with 
 magistrates free from popular prejudices; and judges 
 frequently allowed themselves to be influenced by the 
 clamours of an infuriated mob. What tended also to 
 exasperate the people against them was, the ostentation 
 of their wealth, in their rich dresses, and the jewels 
 and gold their wives and daughters displayed, while 
 their Christian neighbours could only clothe them¬ 
 selves in the coarsest materials. This naturally created 
 jealousy and envy. This odium was increased by the 
 fanaticism, bigotry, and intemperate zeal of some of 
 the clergy, but more particularly of the Dominican 
 friars, an institution that from its origin seemed to 
 have been formed for the destruction of the Hebrew 
 j>eople, for its monks demonstrated on every occasion 
 their hatred against the descendants of Israel. 
 
 There was another class of men that did them the 
 greatest injury and were their bitterest foes. These 
 were the Jews ivho having apostatised from the religion 
 of their fathers, and having obtained power by ecclesias¬ 
 tical dignities, were despised by their former brethren. 
 They repaid this contempt by the grossest falsehoods, 
 representing their ancient rites (although instituted 
 centuries previous) as inimical to Christianity, and 
 their observers as the avowed enemies of Christians. 
 It is not then surprising that an ignorant populace, 
 accustomed to warfare, should be found ever ready to 
 imbrue their hands in Jewisli blood, where plunder was 
 the reward, and the hard-earned wealth of their mur¬ 
 dered victims was indiscriminately appropriated to 
 themselves, under the sanction of those whose duty 
 
1401 .] 
 
 Ii. JOSEPH OKA BUENA. 
 
 181 
 
 it was, to preach a peace and. goodwill to all man¬ 
 kind.” 
 
 But the sovereigns of Spain found their talents so 
 useful and indispensable, that, notwithstanding the 
 decrees of councils and the laws they themselves 
 enacted to meet the demands of the people, they em¬ 
 ployed them as collectors and receivers of the revenues 
 and taxes, as physicians, and in every important 
 office of trust and responsibility. 
 
 The monarchs, from their continual wars with 
 their neighbours and the Moors, were ever in want of 
 means for prosecuting them. The Jews alone, of 
 all their subjects, could assist their wants by farming 
 certain portions of the taxes and revenue. 
 
 Such was the state of the Jews at the commence¬ 
 ment of the last century, in which they were per¬ 
 mitted to reside within the Spanish dominions. 
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 Cortes of Madrid. — Regency of John II .— Ordinance 
 of the Regent. — Vincent Ferrer.—The ancient Syna¬ 
 gogue of Toledo converted into a Church. — False 
 Accusation against Don Meir Algudes. — Another 
 False Accusation at Segovia.—Learned Men and cele¬ 
 brated Physicians. 
 
 In 1401, R. Joseph Ora Buena, chief Rabbi of the Jews 
 of Navarre, was appointed physician to Charles III. 
 
182 
 
 CORTES OF MADRID. 
 
 [ 1405 . 
 
 The synagogue of Tudela requiring repair, the king contri¬ 
 buted towards it 120 livres, which sum the Jewry was indebted 
 for taxes. 1 
 
 Henry III., as before stated, had been obliged to 
 make use of their services; but he was not inclined to 
 be friendly towards the Jews, as is demonstrated by 
 the laws enacted at the Cortes of Madrid in 1405, in 
 answer to petitions. 
 
 I rom the representations made to us, that Jews, availing 
 themselves of privileges formerly granted them, lend on usury, 
 contrary to the laws of Don Alphonso, my great-grandfather, 
 and Don Henry, my grandfather, by the advice of our council, 
 from this day we hereby annul and revoke the same; and 
 order that no judge or other officer in all our kingdoms and 
 dominions, permit any contract or bond to be given or granted 
 that bears interest, as it is represented to us as being contrary to 
 die law of God; and prelates are to excomnjunicate all persons 
 giving them. 
 
 But that Jews may be enabled to maintain themselves in 
 our dominions, and have the means of living comfortably as 
 holy church orders, — for, according to the prophets, they are 
 to turn to our holy faith and be saved, — they may possess and 
 purchase for themselves and their heirs, landed property within 
 the boundaries of all the cities, towns, and places in our royal 
 domains, to the value of 30,000 maravedis to the northward, 
 or 20,000 to the southward of the Douro; and they may 
 have houses of their own, in addition to those they may now 
 possess; they may also purchase to the same amount within the 
 jurisdiction of the abbacies, lordships, and seigniories, with the 
 permission of the proprietors of the same. 
 
 And whereas Jews and Moors charge more than they lend, 
 they are not to draw bills, or take bonds from Christians, coun¬ 
 cils, or corporations, for money, bread, wine, or oil, either as a 
 loan, purchase, sale, or deposit; but in all sales and purchases, 
 the price of the article sold or bought, for which the contract 
 or bond would be made, is to be paid for immediately; and if, 
 
 1 Arch. Nav. p. 6, No. 24, 30. 
 
1405 .] 
 
 CORTES OF MADRID. 
 
 183 
 
 in contravention hereof, any bond or obligation is given, it is 
 of itself void; and no judge, magistrate, archer, or other digni¬ 
 tary, shall recognise the same or have them paid or enforced. 
 
 And any notary of our kingdoms who shall presume to draw 
 up, or order such contract or boi}d to be drawn up, by the act 
 forfeits his office; and such documents, bonds, etc., are null and 
 void. 
 
 But if a Jew or Moor sell any moveable or immoveable pro¬ 
 perty to a Christian, and the same is to be received and paid for 
 as before said, should the Jew or Moor require a document in 
 testimony thereof, to secure the contract, and in proof of said 
 sale or purchase, it may be made, provided it contains no obli¬ 
 gation to pay at any future fixed period. 
 
 We order and command this ordinance to be fully observed, 
 except towards those Jews and Moors who farm our revenues. 
 They may make and receive bonds and obligations as hitherto 
 in respect to our revenues, and may receive and give receipts 
 for whatever they may so receive or pay. 
 
 As regards this ordinance, no Jew or Moor shall presume to 
 make, either for himself or other persons, any obligatory bond 
 or bill on any Christian, council, or corporation, for any debt, 
 whether for money, bread, wine, oil, wax, or any other article, 
 although the same be executed in the presence of witnesses. 
 
 And whereas the Jews and Moors, fraudulently and in viola¬ 
 tion of the laws, seek in various modes to lend at usury, and 
 not only obtain bonds from Christians made in the presence of 
 a notary-public and witnesses, but even induce them to assume 
 and acknowledge sums they never received; and then, on such 
 acknowledgment being made, they demand sentences from 
 judges, for which no provision is made by the laws; it is my 
 will, and I order, that should any Christian acknowledge before 
 an authorised magistrate what is due to the said Jew or Moor, 
 in gold, silver, money, or any other article, in whatever way it 
 may be, except for any revenues or taxes as aforesaid, and the 
 said Jew or Moor pray the judge or magistrate to condemn the 
 Christian in the amount he acknowledges, such acknowledg¬ 
 mentis to be considered null and void; magistrates, judges, and 
 
184 
 
 COKTES OF MADRID. 
 
 — - —— [1405. 
 
 other officers are not to pass sentence thereon; and should they 
 act in violation of this law, I order from henceforth that the 
 same be invalid, and considered null and void. 
 
 Jews and Moors are bound to give the names of persons who 
 have deposited or pledged anything with them, on the same 
 being claimed by any Christian, notwithstanding any law or 
 privilege to the contrary. 
 
 Only one-half of unpaid debts is to be paid, on the presump¬ 
 tion that,the other half is interest, as Jews and Moors generally 
 take bonds for double the amount they lend to Christians; 
 unless the Jew proves by credible Christian witnesses, or it is a 
 lecently made bond, that the whole he demands is for prin¬ 
 cipal only, then the Christian shall pay the full amount acknow¬ 
 ledged, or which the Jew or Moor proves; but if the Christian 
 pioduce a receipt, or a sufficient reason for not paying the 
 whole, or any part of the bond, and if the person should persist, 
 but cannot produce a receipt, or adduce a valid reason, he must 
 pay one-half the amount of the bond as before said. 
 
 And it is my pleasure to release Christians from all penalties 
 they may have incurred for the non-payment of their Jewish or 
 Moorish creditors at the time agreed; and they shall pay half the 
 amount as aforesaid, in two payments, half at Midsummer, 
 1406, and half at Christmas, 1407; and those who do not pay 
 at the said dates, are to lose the benefit of this act. 
 
 And it is my pleasure, that no person shall condemn or 
 exact from any Jew or Moor, such penalties as they may have 
 incurred for having lent on usury to the present date. 2 
 
 It is my will and pleasure, that in all civil and criminal 
 cases, Christians may and can be witnesses against Jews and 
 Moors, the same as against Christians, without the testimony 
 
 of a Jew or Moor being required, provided the Christians are 
 reputable persons. 3 
 
 Jews and Moors are to wear an ostensible sign or badge, and 
 if found without it, or placed out of sight, they are to forfeit the 
 clothes; but, to avoid being hurt by Christians, they need not 
 wear it while travelling, but on their arrival at their destina¬ 
 tion they die, as well as within ten days after the publication 
 
 2 Fet. 1. 3 Pet. 2. 
 
1406 .] 
 
 JOHN II. REGENCY. 
 
 185 
 
 of this ordinance in the capital, and within thirty days after it 
 is published in the capital of each diocese; nor are they to wear 
 slashed hose, or flowing robes. All privileges and laws to the 
 contrary I hereby revoke and annul. 4 
 
 Shortly after the death of Henry, their implacable 
 enemies, the Dominican friars, obtained from his queen 
 an order for expelling them the kingdom; but it being 
 represented to her that it would be highly impolitic to 
 root up so productive a vine, she is said to have relin¬ 
 quished it by receiving 50,000 crowns. 
 
 Henry was succeeded, in 1406, by his infant son, 
 John II., a child only twenty-two months old. He 
 had nominated the queen and his brother, Don Fer¬ 
 dinand, to be regents. Some disaffected nobles offered 
 to the infante the crown of Castile, which his disin- 
 
 * t 
 
 terested zeal for the benefit of his innocent nephew 
 and ward made him refuse. Yet his conduct could 
 not conciliate the queen-mother. The intrigues of the 
 clergy and courtiers that surrounded her, and by 
 whom she was completely guided, led to such disunion, 
 that each guardian acted independently and despoti¬ 
 cally in the portions of the kingdoms each held. The 
 country could not do otherwise than feel the sad effects 
 of this divided authority. The Jews naturally suffered 
 • most. The queen, encouraged by the clergy (who 
 swayed her councils), in her hatred of the descendants 
 of Israel, hastened to oppress them by the most unjust 
 and cruel ordinances. 
 
 Don Ferdinand found himself obliged to follow her 
 persecuting system, in order to please and gratify the 
 popular jealousy and hatred against the Jews. Being 
 shortly after raised to the throne of Aragon, he left 
 them unmolested in his new kingdom; it may there- 
 
 4 Pet. 3. 
 
186 
 
 ORDINANCE OF VALLADOLID. 
 
 [ 1408 . 
 
 fore be supposed, that his conduct towards the Israelites 
 
 of Castile was more the effect of circumstance than 
 inclination. 
 
 The regents were not slow in their aggressions 
 against the Hebrew people, for in 1408, from Valladolid, 
 they issued jointly, in the name of the infant monarch’ 
 the following decree:_ 
 
 Don John, by the grace of God, king of Castile, etc. etc. to 
 all officers (here detailed), health and grace. 
 
 Know ye, that whereas by the laws of the Partidas, it is a 
 privilege that authority be not given to Jews to decide over 
 Christians, to receive the tolls, and constitute them collectors 
 and receivers of other dues Christians have to pay to the lords 
 of the soil, and to farm them to them, whereby they assume 
 great authority over Christians; and it affords them the oppor- 
 tunity, in various modes, of doing many wrongs and grievances, 
 from which accrue great dis-service to God and me, and great 
 injury to the inhabitants of my kingdoms. Therefore, desirous 
 to provide a remedy thereof, and understanding that for my 
 service and the welfare of my kingdoms, the said laws of the 
 Partidas, and others ordained on this matter, be observed; and 
 as it is notorious, manifest, and appears by experience daily, 
 that great, injury results therefrom to those of our kingdom 
 and to their public welfare; — 
 
 Theiefore it is my pleasure, that henceforward no Jew, of 
 whatever rank or condition he may be, shall presume in any 
 manner to farm any toll, tax, or duty, which the subjects of 
 my kingdoms have to pay, within a year from the date hereof, 
 or hereafter annually, either the revenue of excise, coinage’ 
 tithes, tolls, or any other tax; nor be collectors nor receivers 
 of the same; nor openly or privately be security for any per¬ 
 sons concerned therein; nor farm themselves any tithes, or 
 other temporal or spiritual dues, belonging to archbishops, 
 bishops, or masters of the military orders, or any other lords, 
 that now are, or may hereafter become due from their vassals 
 or subjects. And if they farm, collect, receive, or publicly or 
 
1408 .] 
 
 ORDINANCE OF VALLADOLID. 
 
 187 
 
 privately in any manner bid, either at public sale, or otherwise, 
 to farm, collect, or receive the same; or become security for 
 any other persons therein, on the same being proved, they shall 
 pay twice the amount of that revenue; and if their property is 
 not worth that amount, the whole shall be confiscated; and, 
 besides, they shall publicly receive fifty lashes. And it is my 
 pleasure, that the proof against such Jew shall be on the testi¬ 
 mony of two Jews, a Jew and a Christian, two Christians, or 
 the confession of the Jew himself. 
 
 Furthermore, it is my pleasure, that should any Christian 
 give a share in the said receipts to any Jew, or make him 
 receiver of them, or should treat, or advise, or in any way con¬ 
 sent that the said Jews farm, receive, or collect the same by 
 sale or otherwise, or become security for the said Jews therein, 
 it being proved against such Christian by two Christians, or 
 on his own confession, he shall pay twice the value of the said 
 receipts; and should his property not be worth as much, the 
 whole shall be confiscated, and he shall be condemned to serve 
 for a year in such of the frontier fortresses as the court that 
 condemns him may appoint. 
 
 And the aforesaid penalties shall be, one-third for the accuser 
 of the said Jews or Christians, who transgress this my ordi¬ 
 nance ; one-third for the court that condemns them; and one- 
 third for my treasury. 
 
 And for the better and immediate performance and execu¬ 
 tion hereof, I command the queen, Donna Catalina, my mother, 
 and my uncle, the Infante Don Ferdinand, my guardians and 
 regents of my kingdoms, that they have this ordinance observed 
 and fulfilled, in all their cities, towns, and places. 
 
 And I order you, the said magistrates, councils, officers, and 
 all other persons above-mentioned, and each of you, in your 
 places and jurisdictions, that you observe and fulfil, and have 
 all, and every part hereof, observed and executed; and that 
 you do not farm to, nor permit any Jews, either by sale or 
 otherwise, to farm any receipts, taxes, dues, tolls, or any other 
 imposts, dues, or taxes, that the persons of my kingdoms have 
 to pay, or that in any manner belong to me, under the afore- 
 
188 
 
 FRIAR VINCENT FERRER. 
 
 [ 1408 . 
 
 said penalties herein contained; and that immediately you have 
 the whole hereof publicly proclaimed in the customary squares 
 and market-places of each of the said cities, towns, and places, 
 that every one may know it, and no person be able to plead 
 ignorance. 
 
 But it is my pleasure, that as in the present year the said 
 Jews have farmed some revenues, and are the collectors and 
 receivers thereof, were this my order and all contained therein 
 observed and executed, it might cause a diminution in my 
 revenue, in respect to them, you are to have it observed and 
 executed from the day the contract of the receipts and reve¬ 
 nues the said Jews now have expires. 
 
 And in no manner are either of you to act or do otherwise, 
 under pain of my displeasure, a fine of ten thousand maravedis 
 to my treasury, and the afore-mentioned penalties. 
 
 Given at Valladolid, 25tli October, 1408. 
 
 This ordinance, like all similar ones, proved in¬ 
 effectual. The constant quarrels between the four 
 Christian kingdoms of Castile, Aragon, Navarre, and 
 Portugal, — the continual warfare with the Moorish 
 state of Granada, — and the turbulence of the power¬ 
 ful grandees,—rendered the wealth of the Hebrews 
 absolutely necessary to the Spanish sovereigns, to 
 meet the exigencies of the state. Whatever policy 
 might have dictated such laws, the Jews were aware 
 of their futility, and continued to act in all the inter¬ 
 dicted offices, knowing they had nothing to fear 
 where the sovereigns themselves were the first to 
 violate their own ordinances. 
 
 A greater misfortune for the Hebrew people com¬ 
 menced at this period and continued for some years, 
 during which time 100,000 families are said to have re¬ 
 sided in Castile. It was the appearance of Fr. Vincent 
 Ferrer, a Dominican friar, as an itinerant preacher, 
 
1408.] THE ANCIENT SYNAGOGUE OF TOLEDO. 189 
 
 for which he possessed all the qualifications, — a per¬ 
 suasive eloquence, indefatigable ardour, an unbounded 
 devotedness to the church, and extraordinary energy; 
 his austerity of manners caused him to be considered 
 as a saint by the populace, who were pleased with his 
 presence: even kings consulted and employed him in 
 state affairs. This missionary, revered as a saint by 
 Christians, was dreaded by the Jews as an inveterate 
 enemy. The exaggerated picture he drew of the 
 passion, exasperated the people against the descendants 
 of Israel; and each sermon of the preacher acted as a 
 goad to the ignorant multitude. Many Jews became 
 converts when they saw their synagogues destroyed. 
 Many were abandoned and converted into churches; 
 among the latter was the ancient one of Toledo, which 
 was dedicated to Sta. Maria la Blanca. The French, 
 in 1808, turned it into a military depot; since which 
 it has remained in the dilapidated state shown in the 
 frontispiece. The beams are cedar from Lebanon, 
 which harbours no insects, so that not a cobweb is to be 
 seen; and it is said the ground was earth brought from 
 Mount Zion. But this, as well as the assertion that 
 it was built on the arrival of the Jews in Spain, may 
 be doubted; for, from its being in the Moorish style of 
 architecture of the eighth century, it is more likely* 
 to have been built about that period, when the Moors 
 were in quiet possession of Castile. But Ferrer’s success 
 was most in Aragon, owing to the protection and 
 favour he received from Ferdinand, in return for being 
 one of the twelve that voted for his being elected king, 
 and his activity in securing the crown for him. He 
 went from town to town with a crucifix in one hand 
 and a book of the law in the other, loudly calling on 
 
190 
 
 FRIAR VINCENT FERRER. 
 
 [ 1408 . 
 
 the Jews to rally under the cross. He was followed 
 by an armed multitude, who attacked and killed those 
 that refused; many abandoned every thing, and to 
 save their lives emigrated to Barbary. The largest 
 number of converts that he made (if pretending to 
 embrace Christianity, in order to save their lives, can 
 be considered conversion), was of the Jews of Aragon, 
 Valencia, Majorca, Barcelona, andLerida, and a lesser 
 number in Castile. Desirous of extending his mis¬ 
 sionary labours, he wished to enter Portugal, where 
 there was a large population of Jews; but he first 
 sent to ask the king’s permission, which was imme¬ 
 diately granted, under condition that he should pre¬ 
 viously put on a crown of red hot iron. Not liking 
 so warm a reception, he retired to a cooler field for 
 action. Many of the converts, who were now desig¬ 
 nated New Christians, from fear of the persecutions 
 and death that awaited them, quitted Spain; some 
 went to Portugal and other Christian states where 
 Jews resided, but the greater part retired to the 
 Saracen kingdoms of Africa, and returned to the 
 religion of their forefathers. Those whom neither 
 force nor threats could induce even apparently to 
 abjure their faith, who remained in Spain, became 
 subject to many vexatious laws and restrictions, as 
 will be seen hereafter. 
 
 When Ferrer was at Perpignan with the Emperor 
 Sigisinund, the kings of France and Aragon, and the 
 antipope Benedict XIII., the Jews were compelled to 
 attend his public sermons; but notwithstanding the 
 presence of the sovereigns, they could not suppress 
 their indignation at his false quotations and mis¬ 
 representations, and exclaimed, that he quoted falsely 
 
1409 .] 
 
 DON HEIR ALGUDES. 
 
 191 
 
 and misinterpreted; but probably considering the 
 imprudence and danger of opposing a monk who 
 was supported by the whole town and the crowned 
 heads there assembled, many afterwards submitted to 
 baptism. 
 
 Wherever the monk appeared, many Jews appa¬ 
 rently embraced Christianity. Many abandoned every 
 thing, and retired to Portugal and to the Moors of 
 Andalusia and Africa. He is said to have converted 
 35,000 Jews and 8,000 Moors: a Hebrew writer 4 
 states the number to have been 200,000; but that 
 must have included those who became converts after 
 the conference ordered by Benedict XIII. What 
 tended to increase the number, was their exemption 
 from taxes, and every civil honourable post and 
 ecclesiastical dignity being opened to them. The 
 number of Jews that became converts at Palencia was 
 so great, that being large landholders, and thus re¬ 
 lieved from tithes and other taxes, the revenue of the 
 bishop, Don Sancho de Roxas, was so reduced, that 
 he was forced to apply to the king, saying, “that the 
 triumph of the church had been a temporal misfortune 
 for himand he obtained compensation from the royal 
 treasury. But the major part of these converts dis¬ 
 sembled only as long as they saw a necessity, and to 
 avoid severe treatment. They conformed in outward 
 appearance, but secretly lived like Jews, circumcised 
 their children, observed the passover, and every other 
 Jewish rite. 
 
 Don Meir, the physician of Henry III., had, from 
 the favour he received from his sovereign and his 
 abilities, raised many enemies against him, who im¬ 
 plicated him in the following improbable accusation:— 
 
 4 Juchasin. 
 
192 
 
 FALSE ACCUSATIONS. 
 
 [ 1409 . 
 
 Some Jews are stated to have bought a Host from 
 the sacristan of the cathedral of Segovia, and having 
 thrown it into a cauldron of boiling water, it rose to 
 the surface. The Jews at sight of the miracle became 
 alarmed, wrapt it in a cloth and secretly gave it to the 
 prior of the Dominican convent, relating the circum¬ 
 stance to him. He told it to the bishop, who had Don 
 Meir and the other Jews arrested and put to the tor¬ 
 ture. To terminate their cruel sufferings, they ac¬ 
 knowledged themselves guilty, and a confession was 
 extorted from Don Meir that he had poisoned the king, 
 his friend and benefactor. They were drawn and 
 quartered at Segovia, in 1406; but the injustice com¬ 
 mitted being soon after discovered, the only sufferers 
 were the innocent accused. 
 
 From another false accusation made about the same 
 time, the Jewish people were not so fortunate as to 
 escape. Many were plundered and massacred; many 
 abandoned all they possessed and quitted Segovia. 
 This persecution arose from the inveterate hatred a no¬ 
 bleman bore to the bishop. Fearing to assassinate him, 
 yet resolved on his death, he sought to satiate his 
 revenge in a way not to be suspected. To effect 
 which he bribed the bishop’s cook to poison him. 
 Every thing was prepared, when it was discovered. 
 The cook was arrested, and thrown into prison, and 
 put to the rack, but no confession could be got from 
 him, as to who was the person that had instigated him 
 to so atrocious an act. Notwithstanding the torture he 
 suffered, he would not discover the name of the cow¬ 
 ardly assassin, although his life was offered as the 
 reward for the discovery. The nobleman, fearing his 
 resolution might fail, advised him to inculpate the 
 
1411.] ORDER AT ALCALA DE HENARES. 193 
 
 Jews, by saying that from the hatred they bore the 
 bishop, as being a Christian prelate, they had given 
 him a large sum to commit the deed, his life was 
 spared; but as he did not accuse any particular indi¬ 
 vidual, numbers fell a sacrifice to his false confession. 
 
 The following proclamation was made at Alcala de 
 Henares, 30th November, 1411, by order of Don 
 Alphonso Fernandez de Cascalles, chief alcalde, and 
 some of the king’s council. 
 
 1. — Our lord the king orders and considers it right, that no 
 Jew or Moor should be physician, surgeon, apothecary, ac¬ 
 coucheur, or sick nurse, to great or small, or sell any eatables. 
 
 2. — That no Jews or Moors shall have Christians to serve 
 them in their houses. 
 
 3. —That no Christian is to invite Jews or Moors, or accept 
 invitations to eat or drink with them, or drink wine made by 
 them; or eat any victuals or meat they may give or send 
 them. 
 
 4. — That no Jew or Moor shall presume to bathe in the 
 same bath with Christians. 
 
 5. — That no Christian eat their unleavened bread, or the 
 meat they kill, or live in the same house with the said Jews 
 or Moors. 
 
 6. — That Jews and Moors shall not be bakers, millers, 
 or grinders of meal. 
 
 7. — It is further commanded and considered just, that any 
 person who opposes, or acts contrary hereto, shall lose whatever 
 property he may possess, half of which shall be to redeem 
 captives, and half for the informer. 
 
 Notwithstanding these persecutions, the Jews were 
 not regardless of study, and some men of superior 
 talents shewed themselves amidst these troubles; viz._ 
 
 R. Isaac Campanton — born in 1360, was chief rabbi of 
 all Spain, he lived to the extraordinary age of 103; his only 
 
 O 
 
194 
 
 LEARNED MEN. 
 
 work is “ The Paths of the Talmud,” in which he lays down 
 general rules for understanding its style. 
 
 K. Yom tob Ascivili —born at Seville in 1380, was a 
 celebrated Jurist and Talmudist; he wrote “ The Tower of 
 Strength,” a defence of Maimomdes; u The Law of Judges, 
 on the administration of justice , and some expositions. 
 
 R. Joseph Albo — a native of Soria and inhabitant of 
 Saragossa, one of the disputants in the conference with Jerome 
 de Santa Fe. After which he wrote u The Book of Princi¬ 
 ples,” on the existence of God, the divine origin of the law of 
 Moses, and on the future reward and punishment of human 
 actions, a work highly appreciated. 
 
 R. Vidal Benvenista —a celebrated Talmudist and orator. 
 From his proficiency in Latin, his associates appointed him to 
 open the discussion with Jerome of Santa Fe. He wrote a 
 work on the Heathen Mythology. 
 
 R. Judah Alcophni —a philosopher, physician, and poet 
 of great repute. Master of the Arabic, he translated Mai- 
 monides’ “ Guide;” his “ Introduction to the Mishna;” “ The 
 Orchard of Pomegranates;” of R. Hasdai, Galen’s work on 
 the Soul; “ The Maxims of Philosophers” of R. Hananiah; 
 “ Aristotle on Government;” and “ The Poems of Abu de 
 Berra ” into Hebrew. His poetry is universally admired. He 
 also wrote on physical health. 
 
 Don Judah ben Don David Jachia— of Lisbon, held in 
 high consideration from being deeply versed in philosophy, 
 jurisprudence and poetry. He wrote “ An Explanation of the 
 Service of 9th Ab,” and added a lamentation, which is read in 
 the service for that day. 
 
 Don Guedaliah Jachia — a brother of the preceding, 
 was chief of the Hebrew College at Lisbon, where he practised 
 medicine with great reputation. He has left in manuscript a 
 philosophical work entitled “ The Seven Eyes,” treating on the 
 seven liberal sciences. 
 
 R. Simeon Duran— of Majorca. Owing to the massacres 
 
LEARNED MEN. 
 
 195 
 
 iii 1391, he emigrated to Algiers, where, from his profound 
 learning, he obtained the title of the Great. He wrote various 
 works, some so violent against Christianity and JMoslemism 
 that they have very properly been suppressed by his co¬ 
 religionists. The horrible persecutions his people had suffered, 
 may have led to his inveteracy. He was famed for his medical 
 abilities, and had practised with great reputation in Aragon. 
 His profound erudition in rabbinical science, philosophy, and 
 medicine, procured for him the esteem of the learned Israelites 
 of his time. He died in 1444, aged 84. His learned solutions 
 of upwards of 700 points of law, are consulted at the present 
 day. 
 
 R. Joseph ben Bibas — of Lorca, in Murcia, where he 
 practised medicine with great reputation. His grandfather, of 
 the same name and place, was profoundly versed in philosophy, 
 medicine, and Arabic, from which he translated into Hebrew 
 “ The Logic of Maimonides,” and “ The Canons of Avicenna;” 
 he also wrote some learned philosophical and medical tieatises. 
 
 R. Peripot Duran —a celebrated grammarian and mathe¬ 
 matician. He commented on “ The Guide” of Maimonides, 
 and wrote “ The Work of the Breastplate,” a profound Hebrew 
 grammar; li The Band of the Breastplate, a geometrical work* 
 He was considered one of the profoundest Talmudists of his 
 age, and is supposed to have assisted at the conference, at 
 Tortosa, after which he quitted Spain and went to Egypt, 
 where he wrote his famous letter to his son. 
 
 r Don Todros ben Daoud —of Calatayud, rendered him¬ 
 self celebrated by his medical attainments. He enjoyed from 
 his cotemporaries a high consideration for his learning. 
 
 R. Shemtob ben Jacob —a distinguished physician at 
 Toledo, and a great cabalist. In 1415 he wrote a work on 
 that science, and some others subsequently. 
 
 R. Isaac ben Solyman —a physician of Guadalajara. This 
 celebrated practitioner wrote in Arabic, in 1415, a treatise on 
 the virtue of remedies. 
 
196 
 
 ORDINANCE OF VALLADOLID. 
 
 [ 1412 . 
 
 R. Moses Abdalla —of Cordova, a physician of great 
 repute. He wrote, in 1413, a medical work in Arabic, and 
 commented on the Aphorisms of Hippocrates in Hebrew, whose 
 writings he wished to render familiar to his brethren, exhibiting 
 his taste in clinical medicine. His medical works consist of an 
 anonymous treatise “ De Alimentis” a compendium of medicine 
 with the title of “ Galeni Paraphrasis Artis Medendi and some 
 other books of Galen. 
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 Ordinance of the Queen Regent at Valladolid—of Don 
 Ferdinand , the other Regent , at Cifuentes. — Memo¬ 
 rial of the Jews.—Continued in Public Offices. 
 
 The prospects of the unfortunate descendants of 
 Israel were particularly gloomy in 1412. Every 
 thing was to be feared from the hatred of the bigoted 
 queen-mother, supported by that inveterate enemy to 
 the Jewish name, Fr. Vincent Ferrer. The year had 
 scarcely commenced, when the following edict appeared 
 in the name of the innocent infant monarch, then not 
 eight years of age. 
 
 Don John, by the grace of God, king of Castile, etc. etc. etc. 
 to all officers [here detailed]:—Laws respecting the Jews and 
 Moors to be observed. 
 
 1. — That all Jews and Moors of my kingdoms and dominions, 
 do dwell and live apart from Christians, in a separate part of 
 the city, town, and place where they reside, surrounded by a 
 wall, having a single gate for ingress and egress. All Jews 
 and Moors are to reside within the said inclosure assigned to 
 them, and in no other place or house without it. They are to 
 separate themselves within eight days after places shall be 
 assigned them; and any Jews or Moors residing without the 
 
ORDINANCE OF VALLADOLID. 
 
 197 
 
 1412.] 
 
 said inclosure, after the said time, shall lose all their property, 
 and be at my mercy, to receive such corporal punishment as I 
 may please to order. 
 
 2. — Furthermore, no Jews or Moors shall be spice-dealers, 
 apothecaries, surgeons, or physicians; or sell bread, wine, 
 flour, oil, butter, or other provisions to Jews or Christians; or 
 publicly nor privately keep warehouses, shops, or tables for 
 selling. Any Jew or Moor who acts contrary hereto, shall 
 incur the penalty of two thousand maravedis for each time, 
 besides the corporal punishment my pleasure may inflict, that 
 they learn to fulfil my orders. 
 
 3. — If any Jew or Moor, inspired by the Holy Ghost, 
 wishes to be baptised, and turn to our holy Catholic faith, 
 they shall not be prevented, or impeded by force or otherwise, 
 from becoming converts, by Jews, Moors, or Christians, man 
 or woman, although they be father, mother, brother, or any 
 other person; and whoever opposes, or acts contrary hereto, 
 proceedings are to be taken against them, for the civil and 
 criminal penalties they justly incur. 
 
 4. —Jews and Moors are not to eat with Christians, nor 
 Christians with Jews or Moors, either in or without their 
 houses, in the towns where they reside, except in case of need, 
 or in travelling, or at the king’s court. If they find only 
 taverns kept by Christians, and if there are no Jewries in 
 places where fairs are held, although in such places they eat in 
 Christians’ houses, my pleasure is, that they shall incur no 
 penalty for so doing. 
 
 5. —No Jews or Moors are to have Christian lacqueys or 
 domestics, or any other persons to serve them, execute their 
 orders, perform their household work, cook their victuals, or 
 do any thing for them on Sabbaths, as lighting fires, carrying 
 wine or similar articles; nor have Christians to nurse their 
 children, nor to be their herdsmen, gardeners, or shepherds; 
 nor are they to attend marriages, funerals, or honras , under 
 the penalty of two thousand maravedis for each offence. No 
 Jews or Moors are to be farmers, attorneys, collectors, stewards, 
 or receivers of my revenues, or those of any Christian lord or 
 
ORDINANCE OF VALLADOLID. 
 
 198 
 
 [1412. 
 
 lady, or exercise any of those offices for them or themselves, 
 under the penalty of one thousand maravedis. 
 
 6. — Jews and Moors are not to have squares or markets, to 
 buy or sell any thing to Christians to eat or drink, under the 
 penalty of five hundred maravedis for each time; but they may 
 have them within their inclosures, to trade among themselves. 
 
 7. — That the communities of Jews and Moors, in my king¬ 
 doms and dominions, shall not henceforth have among them¬ 
 selves, Jews or Moors for judges, to decide civil or criminal 
 causes that may occur between Jews or Moors; and I revoke 
 any power that I, or the kings, my predecessors, have granted, 
 either as privileges or otherwise, and declare the same to be 
 void. And I order that all causes, whether civil or criminal, 
 shall he tried by the alcaldes of the cities, towns, and places 
 where they reside; but my pleasure is, that in deciding civil 
 causes, the said alcaldes shall observe the customs and regula¬ 
 tions that have been observed among the said Jews and Moors, 
 provided they appear authentic, and have long been sanctioned 
 by them. 
 
 8. —No Aljama, or community of Jews or Moors, shall pre¬ 
 sume to levy any tax or contribution on themselves, or impose 
 a duty on any article, without my permission or order, and of 
 the queen my mother, and the Infante my uncle, my guardians 
 and regents of my kingdoms; and if any authority has been 
 given to the said Jews or Moors, whereby any duty has been 
 imposed, either generally or on particular persons; or on meat, 
 merchandise, or any other object, whether by their judges, or 
 any of them, from holding privileges or charters from former 
 kings, my predecessors, or myself, to that effect; henceforward 
 they are not, nor shall they be bound to pay the said taxation, 
 for I, by my royal authority of king, revoke any privilege that 
 may have been given in respect of the same. And I order 
 Jews and Moors not to exercise such power, under pain of 
 corporal and other punishments; and I also command said 
 Jews and Moors not to pay such contributions as may be thus 
 levied, without, as before said, my licence and order being 
 expressly given for the purpose. 
 
1412 .] 
 
 ORDINANCE OF VALLADOLID. 
 
 199 
 
 9 # _No Aljama or community of Jews or Moors shall pre¬ 
 
 sume to levy or apportion any tax without my permission and 
 order; and where any tax is so levied for my service, they 
 shall divide among them the amount I order and send for and 
 no more; and if a larger sum is levied or apportioned, the 
 persons who did or advised it, for the act, are to lose all their 
 
 property and be executed by justice. 
 
 10. _No Jew or Moor shall presume to visit Christians m 
 
 their illnesses, or give them medicines or draughts, or talk 
 idly to them, or send them presents of dried herbs, spices, 
 bread, wine, fish, game, fruit, or other articles of food. Any 
 Jew or Moor acting contrary hereto, shall for each offence be 
 
 fined three hundred maravedis. 
 
 11. _That no married or single Christian woman, kept mis¬ 
 
 tress, or prostitute, may either by day or night enter within 
 the enclosure where Jews or Moors reside; and any Christian 
 married woman that does, for each time she enters, she shall 
 pay a fine of three hundred maravedis; if unmarried or kept, 
 she is to lose the clothes she has on ; and if a prostitute, to re¬ 
 ceive from justice one hundred lashes, and be driven from the 
 
 city, town or place where she resides. 
 
 12. _No Jew or Moor shall designedly be styled Don, 
 
 either by writing or verbally; and if he permits himself to be 
 so styled, he is to pay five hundred maravedis for each offence; 
 
 but otherwise he incurs no penalty. 
 
 13. —All Jews and Moors are to wear long robes over their 
 
 clothes as low as their feet, and are not to wear cloaks; and in 
 all cities, towns and places, they are to wear their distinctive 
 red badge. But it is my pleasure, that, to avoid the dangers 
 they might otherwise incur in travelling, they may wear the 
 clothes they now have, as well as in the places they may 
 
 go to. , 
 
 14. —That all Jewesses and Moriscas of our kingdoms and 
 
 dominions, shall, within ten days from this date, wear long 
 mantles, reaching to their feet, and cover their heads with the 
 same. Those who act contrary, for so doing, are to forfeit all 
 the clothes they may have on to their under garment. 
 
200 
 
 ORDINANCE OE VALLADOLID. 
 
 [ 1412 . 
 
 — That no Jew or Moor, ten days after this date, shall 
 wear cloth of which the entire suit costs upwards of thirty mara- 
 vedis; those who act contrary shall, for the first offence, forfeit 
 the apparel they have on to the shirt; for the second, lose all 
 their clothes and receive a hundred lashes; and for the third, 
 all their property shall be confiscated to my treasury. But it 
 is my pleasure that, if they choose, they may make coats and 
 cloaks of the clothes they now possess. 
 
 16. — No Jew or Moor shall remove from Valladolid, or 
 any other place where they have their domicile, to any other 
 part, under the penalty of losing all their property for the 
 act; and their persons shall be at my disposal. 
 
 17. — No nobleman, knight, or squire, shall shelter in their 
 towns or villages any Jew or Moor who resided, or be¬ 
 longed to another place; and if any person has sheltered any 
 Jews or Moors of this city of Valladolid, or of any other city, 
 town, or place, they shall send them back to the place where 
 they resided, with whatever they brought with them;-and if 
 they do not, for the first offence they incur the penalty of 
 fifty thousand maravedis; and for the second, lose the place 
 where the said Jew or Moor has been sheltered. 
 
 18. — Henceforward Jews and Moors are not to shave their 
 beards, or have them shaved with razors or scissors; nor 
 trim nor cut the hairs, but are to wear them long as they 
 grow naturally, as they were formerly accustomed. And any 
 person who acts contrary hereto, shall receive a hundred 
 lashes, besides paying a fine of a hundred maravedis for each 
 time he transgresses. 
 
 19. — No Jews or Moors shall, by the day or otherwise, hire 
 any Christian to cultivate or work on their lands, vineyards, 
 houses, or other buildings. Whoever acts to the contrary shall 
 iecei\e a hundred lashes for the first offence; for the second, 
 a hundred lashes and pay a fine of a hundred maravedis; and 
 for the third time, forfeit all his property, and again receive a 
 hundred lashes. 
 
 20* That no Jews or Moors shall be smiths, carpenters, 
 doublet-makers, tailors, clothworkers, shoemakers, butchers, 
 
1412 .] 
 
 ORDINANCE OF CIFUENTES. 
 
 201 
 
 curriers, or clothiers for Christians; or sell them shoes, 
 doublets, breeches, or any other article of clothing: whoever 
 acts contrary incurs the penalties of the preceding law. 
 
 21. — That no Jews or Moors of my kingdoms and dominions 
 shall be carriers, or bring produce to sell to Christians, as oil, 
 honey, rice, or provisions; any one acting contrary, incurs the 
 penalties of the preceding law. 
 
 22. — One third of all the aforesaid penalties shall be given 
 as a reward to the informer, whether he belong to the city, 
 town, place, or territory where it occurs, or a stranger, and 
 two-thirds to my treasury ; but it is my pleasure, that no per¬ 
 son shall arrest or take up any Jew or Moor until he has 
 been summoned before a judge, heard, and lawfully condemned. 
 
 23. —All Jews and Moors departing from my kingdoms and 
 dominions, and taken on the road or in any other place, shall 
 lose whatever they have with them, and be my slaves for ever. 
 
 24. — None of the said civil or criminal penalties are to be 
 remitted, excused, mitigated, dispensed with, reduced, or in¬ 
 creased by any alcalde, magistrate, judge, governor, or any 
 other person of the said cities, towns, and places, although 
 they are noblemen possessing sole control, or joint authority 
 therein, under pain of losing their seigniories, and all other 
 offices and posts they may hold. — Given at Valladolid, 2nd 
 January, 1412. 
 
 Although in the eighth law the name of the Infante 
 appears, he was no party to this act, which was signed 
 only by the queen; but he found himself obliged, six 
 months after, to issue the following, which, notwith¬ 
 standing its severe enactments, is rather more liberal 
 and mild than the preceding. 
 
 Don John, by the grace of God, king of Castile, etc. etc. etc. 
 Whereas I am informed, that owing to the constant association 
 and great intimacy that exists between Jews, Jewesses, and 
 Christians, some things are done contrary to the service of 
 God and the Catholic faith; and, as according to the established 
 
202 
 
 ORDINANCE OF CIFUENTES. 
 
 [ 1412 . 
 
 laws of my kingdoms, Jews and Jewesses may live among 
 Christians, observing their religion, and not doing any thing 
 against ours; but as from the aforesaid causes, tumults might 
 arise asrainst the Jews and Jewesses, which would be a con- 
 
 O 
 
 tempt of my justice, which as king it behoves me to preserve, 
 as being the chief privilege and duty of the government of the 
 people, as thereby the affairs of state are properly maintained; 
 and as it is my pleasure that the Jews and Jewesses be 
 protected in my time, as they were in the times of the kings 
 my ancestors, as they belong to me, and to avoid the dangers 
 that might arise from the aforesaid causes, I therefore ordain 
 and command— 
 
 1. — That all Jews of my kingdoms and dominions reside 
 and live apart from Christians, in an inclosure in a part of 
 the city, town or village, where they are resident ; and the 
 streets around it shall be closed with gates in such a manner, 
 that all the gates lead to the enclosure ; and that the said 
 enclosure have one principal gate, and no more; and that the 
 Jews and Jewesses reside within the said enclosure, and in no 
 other part of the said place. I command that each city, town, 
 and place nominate two discreet persons to be gate-keepers; 
 and if the said Jews and Jewesses have a separate Jewry, I 
 order that it be appropriated as a barrier, and that they com¬ 
 mence to separate within one year from the day places are 
 assigned to them, that time being allowed to build houses for 
 their residences; but by my favour, if there should be houses 
 already built within the said enclosure that they can hire to 
 the satisfaction of the owners, and that the said term be ful¬ 
 filled, then the said Jews and Jewesses are bound to reside 
 within the said enclosure, and remove from the said Chris¬ 
 tians; and any Jews or Jewesses that should reside without the 
 said limit, shall lose all their property, and their persons shall 
 be at the mercy of the king, to inflict such corporal punish¬ 
 ment as he may please to order. 
 
 2. — Furthermore, I ordain and command, that no Jews or 
 Jewesses shall be spice dealers, apothecaries, surgeons, or phy¬ 
 sicians, or sell bread, wine, flour, oil, butter, or other eatables" 
 
1412 .] 
 
 ORDINANCE OF CIFUENTES. 
 
 203 
 
 to Jews or Christians, or keep warehouses, shops, or tables 
 for selling, either publicly or secretly, except for the disposal 
 of grapes, live stock (that they have a license for), as well as 
 fruit and vegetables, the produce of their own or hired gar¬ 
 dens ; the said articles they may sell within the barriers where 
 they reside, or in the gardens and estates they own or rent, 
 either to Christians, Jews, Moors, or any other persons, and in 
 fairs, and on market days, placing the articles they have for 
 sale in the said fairs and markets, in the squares, open courts, 
 and shops, provided no Christian dwells in them; but it is my 
 pleasure and will that they neither sleep nor dwell therein, 
 except for the sale of the said goods; and it is also my pleasure, 
 that in the said cities, towns, and places they may, carrying 
 them in the hand, sell any article not prohibited herein; any 
 Jews or Jewesses whomsoever who act contrary hereto, shall 
 incur the penalty of 500 maravedis for each offence, besides 
 the corporal punishment my pleasure may choose to inflict, that 
 they may learn to perform my order. 
 
 3. — I also ordain and command, that if any Jews or Jewesses, 
 inspired by the Holy Ghost, wish to be baptised and turn to 
 the Holy Catholic faith, they shall not be impeded or prevented 
 by force or otherwise from becoming converts by Jews or 
 Christians, whether man or woman, although it be their father, 
 mother, brother, or any other person; and proceedings are to 
 be taken against those persons who oppose or act contrary 
 hereto, for the civil and criminal penalties they justly incur. 
 
 4. —I likewise ordain and command, that Jews and Jewesses 
 are not to eat with Christians, nor Christians among Jews and 
 Jewesses, either in or out of their houses in the towns where 
 they reside, except in case of need, or in travelling, or at the 
 king’s court, if they do not find taverns but in houses of Chris¬ 
 tians, and wherever fairs are held, if there is no Jewry; although 
 if in such cases they eat in the houses of Christians, they incur 
 no penalty for so doing. 
 
 5. — Furthermore I ordain and command, that no Jews or 
 Jewesses shall have lacqueys or servants, either Moors, Christians, 
 or other persons, to serve them, or execute their orders, or do 
 
204 
 
 ORDINANCE OF CIFUENTES. 
 
 [1412. 
 
 their work, or cook their victuals, or do anything for them on 
 Saturdays, as lighting their fires, or carrying wine, or any 
 similar article; nor have Christian nurses to rear their children; 
 nor attend or assist at marriages, funerals, or honras , under the 
 penalty of 2,000 maravedis for each time they act contrary 
 hereto, or any part thereof. But I consider it just, that the 
 said Jews and Jewesses may employ Christian carpenters and 
 other workmen to repair their houses, and cultivate their vine¬ 
 yards and lands, as day-labourers, engaging them, as is usual, 
 in the public squares by the day; they may also have jagers 
 and shepherds to tend their flocks, and gardeners to work in 
 their gardens; but it is my will that, agreeably to the foregoing 
 laws, they neither reside nor eat with them. 
 
 6. —Furthermore I ordain and command, and consider right, 
 that the law ordaining that no Jews or Jewesses should be 
 farmers, attorneys, bailiffs, stewards, or receivers of my reve¬ 
 nues, or those of any lord or lady, or exercise those offices, or 
 any of them for Christians or among themselves, that the said 
 law, under the pains therein contained, may be fully observed 
 as therein expressed. 
 
 7. —Furthermore I ordain and order, that no Jews or Jewesses 
 shall be brokers, or bankers, or carry swords, daggers, or 
 similar arms, in the cities, towns, and places of my kingdoms; 
 but they may carry knives to cut food. Any Jew or Jewess 
 who acts contrary hereto, or to any part hereof, shall be fined 
 for each time so offending 500 maravedis. 
 
 8. —Whereas the king, Don John, my grandfather, of illus¬ 
 trious memory, to whom God grant Paradise, was informed 
 that the Jews and Jewesses of his kingdom practise some things 
 against our religion, and as it was not right to permit it, ordained 
 certain laws, the tenor of which is as follows:— 
 
 The ordinances made at Soria in 1380 are here 
 copied. 
 
 Which laws, and each of them, as they are highly advan¬ 
 tageous and beneficial to the public welfare of our kingdoms, I 
 therefore ordain, that the same be fully observed, under the 
 penalties therein contained. 
 
1412.] ORDINANCE OF CIFUENTES. 205 
 
 9. Furthermore I ordain and command, that no Jew or 
 Jewess shall presume to visit Christians in their illnesses, or 
 give them medicines, or draughts, or talk idly to them, or 
 send them presents of dried herbs, spices, bread, wine, fish, 
 game, fruit, or other article of food: any Jew or Jewess acting 
 contraiy hereto, shall be fined 300 maravedis for each offence. 
 
 ^ 0* Furthermore I ordain and command, and consider it 
 right, that no married or single woman, kept-mistress or 
 piostitute, either by day or night, enter the enclosure where 
 Jews and Jewesses reside: any married Christian woman that 
 does, shall pay a fine of 200 maravedis; if unmarried, or kept, 
 she is to lose the clothes she has on; and if a prostitute, she is 
 to receive from justice 100 lashes, and be banished from the 
 city, town, or place where she resides. 
 
 11* Furthermore I ordain and command, that no Jew or 
 Jewess shall be styled, either in writing or verbally, Don or 
 Donna: if by their consent they are so called, for each time 
 
 they are to pay a fine of 500 maravedis, but otherwise they 
 incur no penalty. 
 
 12- Furthermore I ordain and command, that Jews shall 
 not wear hoods with long tassels, but their caps shall be 
 made a palm in length, shaped like a funnel, or horn, and 
 sewed round to the point. 
 
 13* Furthermore I ordain and command, that all Jews 
 in my kingdoms shall wear over their clothes coats with skirts, 
 and shall not wear cloaks; and in the cities, towns, and places 
 where they reside, they shall wear the customary red sign or 
 badge; but it is my pleasure, that in travelling, as well on the 
 road as in the places they go to, they may wear the clothes 
 
 they now have, to avoid the dangers they might otherwise 
 encounter. 
 
 14. Furthermore I ordain and command, that no Jew 
 shall wear cloth, the entire dress of which would exceed in 
 value sixty maravedis. Those who act contrary shall, for the 
 first time, forfeit all their clothes to their body linen; for the 
 second shall, in addition, receive one hundred lashes; and for 
 the third, all their property shall be confiscated to my exchequer. 
 
206 
 
 ORDINANCE OF CIFUENTES. 
 
 [ 1412 . 
 
 15. — Furthermore I ordain and command, that none of the 
 Jews of my kingdoms and dominions shall shave, or have their 
 beards shaved with razors; but they may cut them with scissors, 
 provided they leave some hairs round the chin; but they may 
 cut the hair of the head as they were formerly accustomed. 
 Any person who is known to act contrary shall, for each offence, 
 be fined five hundred maravedis. 
 
 16. — Furthermore I ordain and command, that no Jewesses 
 of our kingdoms shall wear mantillas or veils with lace or 
 trimmings; and the clothes they wear shall not be of a higher 
 value than those worn by Jews; nor shall their head-dresses 
 have gold ornaments. Any one who acts contrary hereto, each 
 time shall lose all the clothes she has on to her body linen. 
 
 17. — Furthermore I ordain and command, that if any Jews 
 or Jewesses wish to remove from one place to another, they 
 may do it, and no person shall presume to stop them, or the 
 persons they take with them, but they are to be allowed freely 
 to go; and we order, that any person who acts contrary, shall 
 be proceeded against as in justice and right. 
 
 18. — Furthermore I ordain and command, that all knights, 
 squires, and all other persons that have separate places, 
 seigniories, and jurisdictions of their own, shall rightly and 
 fully observe, and have observed, every thing contained in 
 these ordinances, and each of them, in their respective villages, 
 cities, and towns; and any person that does otherwise, if he 
 possesses lands or grants from me, for the first time shall lose 
 the benefit of them for one year; and if he possesses no land or 
 grant, he incurs the penalty of ten thousand maravedis to my 
 exchequer; and for the second time, those who have lands or 
 grants from me, the same shall be forfeited, and they shall 
 have no others from me; and those who have not, shall pay a 
 fine of one thousand Castilian doblas of gold to my exchequer; 
 and for the said act a third time, they shall lose their posses¬ 
 sions which shall belong to my crown. 
 
 19. — Furthermore I ordain and command, that no Jew is to 
 be a tailor, or make dresses for any Christian woman, of what¬ 
 ever rank or condition she may be. If the contrary is done, 
 
1412 .] . 
 
 ORDINANCE OF CIFUENTES. 
 
 207 
 
 one hundred lashes shall be given to the Jew for each offence; 
 and the Christian woman who gave the clothes to be made, 
 shall pay one thousand maravedis to my exchequer. 
 
 20. Furthermore I ordain and command, that all the afore¬ 
 said penalties, or any of them that may be inflicted on any 
 person, of whatever rank or condition soever, shall be one- 
 third for the informer, and two-thirds to my exchequer, which 
 it is my pleasure and will that no alcalde, judge, lord, or 
 magistrate shall remit or excuse, under pain of losing the offices 
 they hold from me. 
 
 But it is my pleasure that no individual shall arrest, or 
 inflict the said penalties upon any Jew or Jewess whatever, 
 until they shall have been taken before the judge, and duly 
 condemned. 
 
 Given in the town of Cifuentes, 17th July, 1412. 
 
 A most virulent pamphlet against the Jews, by one 
 Marcos Rodriguez, had been one of the causes that 
 induced the Councils of the two Regents to issue these 
 harsh decrees. The Jews refuted it in a memorial to 
 the king, and named a number of Jews, who in various 
 honourable posts and employments, had faithfully 
 served the crown. They stated that they were allied 
 to the principal houses of Castile, for, that from their 
 property, wealth, and the protection of the Court, 
 they were the most powerful body in the kingdom, 
 and therefore, it was not surprising that many dis¬ 
 tinguished families sought their alliance. 5 
 
 Such insensate decrees could only be the work of 
 men unacquainted with the world and the state of 
 society. They were not observed because they went 
 too far. It was absurd to attempt to prevent hun¬ 
 dreds of thousands of strangers quitting the country, 
 and yet to isolate them. What is surprising is, that 
 ordinances which extended to their dress and beards, 
 
 5 Asso and Rodrigues. 
 
208 • 
 
 REMARKS ON THE FOREGOING. [ 1412 . 
 
 contain not a word against usury, to which, could 
 these laws have been carried into effect, they must 
 have been driven, by depriving them of every other 
 means of obtaining a livelihood. Although much has 
 been said of their usury, not a single instance of it 
 is recorded in Spanish history; therefore it is to be 
 presumed the charge was only made when an im¬ 
 poverished or dishonest creditor wished to avoid pay¬ 
 ment, which the enormous legal interest rendered 
 extremely onerous. The regency of John II. added 
 to the misfortunes of the Israelites, without the least 
 benefit to society, and tended to foster the prejudices 
 of the vulgar against them. 
 
 Fortunately, the Jews had too much talent, credit, 
 and money, to heed these intemperate prohibitions; 
 they continued to practise medicine; and under the 
 titles of stewards, treasurers, intendants, and adminis¬ 
 trators, to conduct the monetary concerns of the gran¬ 
 dees and the state. It is probable that the greater 
 part of the money then in circulation passed through 
 their hands. 
 
209 
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 Jerome of Santa Fe.—disputation at Tortosa. — Bene¬ 
 dict's Address to the Rabbins. -— Termination of the 
 Conference. — Bull of Benedict. — Riot at Toledo. — 
 Council of Tortosa. — Cortes of Burgos .— Compa¬ 
 rative Population in Aragon. — Alphonso de Spina. 
 
 Fortress of Faith. —- Jews and Converts of Toledo 
 plundered by Don Henry. 
 
 * 
 
 Ekom the persecutions suffered by the descendants 
 of Israel in Castile, we must turn to the neighbouring 
 kingdom of Aragon, where they also became the 
 victims of religious fanaticism. On a vacancy occur¬ 
 ring in the Papal see, three candidates appeared for the 
 infallible post; each had his partizans — and each ex¬ 
 communicated the other. Pedro de Luna, of Tortosa, 
 on assuming the pontifical dignity, took the name of 
 Benedict XIII. At the instigation of his physician, 
 Joshua Halorqui (of Lorca), an apostate from Judaism, 
 who at his baptism had taken the name of Jerome of 
 Santa Fe, a man of abilities, not only in his profession 
 but also as an able Talmudist, the antipope convened an 
 assembly of rabbins, to argue with this inveterate foe 
 to his former coreligionists, on the following points:— 
 
 1. Those that Christians and Jews agree on respecting faith, 
 and those on which they differ. 
 
 2. On the twenty-four attributes of the Messiah. 
 
 P 
 
 
210 DISPUTATION AT TORTOSA. [1413. 
 
 3. Whether the appointed time for the coming of the Mes¬ 
 siah had not long expired. 
 
 4. Whether the Messiah had not been born, at the time of 
 the destruction of Jerusalem. 
 
 5. Whether he had not been born, or his advent announced, 
 when the destruction of the Temple was foretold. 
 
 6. That the Messiah had come in the year of the passion 
 and death of the Saviour. 
 
 7. That the prophecies that speak of the acts of the Messiah, 
 the restoration of the Temple, the reduction of Israel to one 
 people, and the felicity of Jerusalem, are to be understood 
 morally and not materially. 
 
 8. Twelve questions to be put to the Jews on the acts of the 
 Messiah while on earth. 
 
 9. That the law of Moses is neither perfect nor everlasting. 
 
 10. On the sacrament of the Eucharist. 
 
 11. When and why the treatise known by the title of the 
 Talmud was composed. 
 
 12. Whether Jews are obliged to believe the whole con¬ 
 tents of the Talmud, or if it is permitted to deny any part of it. 
 
 13. What is to be understood by the article of the law, 
 proving that it is not an article of the Jewish law, that the 
 Messiah has not come? 
 
 14. What is faith, and what is Holy Scripture? 
 
 15. On the abominations, impure heresies, and vanities of 
 the Talmud. 
 
 16. That the Jews suffer the present captivity, only for the 
 sin of their gratuitous hate towards the true Messiah. 
 
 W r ith such a programme, the Jews would willingly 
 have declined the discussion; but they had not the 
 power of refusing. Their only resource was to appoint 
 their ablest theologians to defend their cause, although 
 aware that nothing they could urge would satisfy their 
 adversary the disciple of Vincent Ferrer, the antipope, 
 or King Ferdinand, who, although raised to the throne 
 of Aragon, continued to act as guardian to his nephew, 
 
1413.] DISPUTATION AT TORTOSA. 211 
 
 John II. of Castile, in which capacity he signed the 
 decree of Cifuentes, although in his new kingdom he 
 had hitherto left them unmolested. The Jews nomi¬ 
 nated the following. From— 
 
 Saragossa. . R. Zachariah Levi; R. Don Vidal Renvenista; 
 
 R. Mathias Haizari, chief rabbi of Aragon; 
 
 R. Samuel Levi; R. Moses ben Moses. 
 
 Iluesca. . R. Todros. 
 
 Alcoy. . R. Don Meir Galigon; R. Joseph ben Aderet. 
 
 Daroca. . R. Asher a Levi. 
 
 Monreal. . R. Joseph Albo. 
 
 Monzon. . R. Joseph a Levi; R. Yom Tob Carcos. 
 
 Montalban. R. Abugarda. 
 
 Gerona. . R. Don Todros ben Jachia. 
 
 Velez. . . R. Joseph Abalegh, and R. Bongoza. 
 
 In all, sixteen profound talmudists, a proof that, 
 notwithstanding persecution, the Jews did not neglect 
 their studies. Benedict named as assistants to Jerome 
 of Santa Fe, his almoner, Andrew Beltran, bishop of 
 Barcelona, also a convert from Judaism, and Garcia 
 Alvarez, of Alargon, a profound Hebrew scholar, and 
 probably another convert. 
 
 On the arrival of the rabbins at Tortosa, where 
 Benedict held his court, they had an audience. Lie 
 received them with great affability, and the assurance 
 that nothing should be extorted from them- Lie 
 encouraged them fearlessly and freely to reply to the 
 arguments Jerome might adduce. Knowing by expe¬ 
 rience the result of similar conferences, they in treated 
 to be excused from entering into the controversy, as 
 they could not argue by sophistry and syllogisms. 
 They had lodgings and provisions consistent with their 
 rites, liberally supplied at the expense of the antipope. 
 
212 
 
 DISPUTATION AT TORTOSA. [ 1413 . 
 
 Many were gratified at their kind reception; but the 
 more experienced foresaw, that the termination of the 
 discussion would prove disastrous. 
 
 At the first meeting, held the 7th February, 1413, 
 there were seventy seats occupied by cardinals, bishops’ 
 prelates, and persons of the highest distinction. Bene¬ 
 dict thus addressed them: — 
 
 ^ e learned Hebrews, know that I have not come here to 
 discuss which religion is true, yours or ours. I am certain 
 mine is the truest. Your law was formerly the only true law; 
 but it is now abrogated. You are convoked here solely by 
 Jerome, who has engaged to prove to you that the Messiah 
 has come, by the evidence of your Talmud, which was composed 
 long since by rabbins far superior to yourselves in wisdom; 
 therefore be careful of your arguments. 
 
 Sixty-nine meetings were held. When Benedict 
 could not attend, the master of the palace presided. 
 The Jews acted with the greatest respect and defe¬ 
 rence to the pope, but did not pay much to his physi¬ 
 cian ; for at the fourth meeting, they plainly indicated 
 their opinion, by stating that they were not ambitious 
 to be made bishops. At the sixth meeting, Jerome 
 having been forced against his will to concede an 
 important point, which the Jews had contended for on 
 the prophecy of Jacob, they wished to put an end to 
 the discussion, and had gained over some of the pre¬ 
 lates to persuade the pope to terminate it; but he 
 considered Jerome was now bound to persist. The 
 arguments frequently degenerated into insults, of 
 which the Christian theologians, strong from their 
 poweiful support, were not sparing, nor in the expres¬ 
 sion of their contempt for their opponents. As in all 
 similar disputations, each party claimed the victory. 
 
1415 .] 
 
 BULL OF POPE BENEDICT XIII. 
 
 213 
 
 Christian writers admit that the Hebrew disputants 
 exhibited vast erudition in their replies to the attacks 
 of their antagonists. 
 
 The Pope, at the sixty-eighth meeting, exercising 
 his authority, abruptly announced an approaching 
 persecution, the dread of which led many Jews to 
 embrace Christianity. The historian of Aragon states, 
 that in the summer of 1413, and the first six months 
 of the following year, upwards of 200 Jews of the 
 synagogues of Saragossa, Calatayud, and Alcaniz were 
 baptised. Among those of Saragossa was Don Todros 
 Benvenista, who was deeply versed in his religion, 
 with others of his family. While the Pope was with 
 his court at Tolosa, many of the most learned Jews of 
 Calatayud, Daroca, Fraga, and Barbasto, to the 
 number of 120 families, became converts, and were 
 baptised ; and all the Jewries of Alcaniz, Caspe, and 
 Maella, were in general converted — upwards of 500 
 persons; and subsequently the Jewries of Lerida, Ta- 
 marit, and Alcolea, became converts. Altogether, in 
 the Papal residence and other places, 3,000 were then 
 converted, “apparently with sincerity.’’ Such is the 
 tale related by Zurita. Many undoubtedly did apos¬ 
 tatise to secure their lives and properties; but that 
 they were the most learned, we have only the asser¬ 
 tion of the annalist of Aragon to prove. 
 
 Another consequence of this meeting was the fol¬ 
 lowing bull, issued by Benedict from Valencia, the 
 lltli May, 1415 :— 
 
 1.— To prohibit generally all persons, without distinction, 
 publicly or privately, to hear, read, or teach the doctrines of 
 the Talmud; ordering that within one month there be collected 
 in the cathedral of every diocese, all copies that can be found 
 
214 
 
 BULL OF POPE BENEDICT XIII. 
 
 [ 1415 . 
 
 of the Talmud, its glossaries, summaries, compendiums, notes, 
 and every other writing that has directly or indirectly any 
 relation to such doctrine; and the diocesans and inquisitors are 
 to watch over the observance of this decree, visiting the Jews 
 personally or by others, within their jurisdictions every two 
 years, and punishing severely every delinquent. 
 
 2. — That no Jew be permitted to possess, read, or hear read, 
 a book entitled “ Mar Mar Jesu,” it being full of blasphemies 
 against our Redeemer Jesus Christ; nor any other book or 
 writing that may be injurious to Christians, or that speaks 
 against any of its dogmas, or the rights of the church, in any 
 language in which it may be written: the contravener of this 
 decree is to be punished as a blasphemer. 
 
 3. — That no Jew may make, repair, or under any pretence, 
 have in his possession any crucifix, chalices, or sacred vessels, 
 nor bind Christians’ books in which the name of Jesus Christ 
 or the most Holy Virgin Mary is written. Christians who give 
 any of these articles to Jews, from any cause whatever, are to 
 be excommunicated. 
 
 4. — No Jew may exercise the office of judge, even in causes 
 that may occur among his people. 
 
 5. — All synagogues recently built or repaired, are to be 
 closed. Where there is but one, it may remain, provided it is 
 not sumptuous; and should there be two or more, one of the 
 smallest only is to be left open; but should it be proved that 
 any one of the said synagogues has at any time been a church, 
 it is immediately to be closed. 
 
 6. —No Jew may be physician, surgeon, druggist, shopkeeper, 
 provision dealer, or marriage maker, or hold any other 
 office, whereby he has to interfere in Christians’ affairs; nor 
 may Jewesses be midwives, or have Christian nurses; nor 
 Jews have Christians to serve them, or sell to, or buy pro¬ 
 visions of them, or join them at any banquet, or bathe in the 
 same bath, or be stewards or agents to Christians, or learn 
 any science, art, or trade in their schools. 
 
 7. —That in every city, town, or village where there are 
 Jews, barriers shall be appointed for their residence apart from 
 Christians. 
 
1415 .] 
 
 BULL OF POPE BENEDICT XIII. 
 
 215 
 
 8. — That all Jews or Jewesses shall wear on their clothes a 
 certain red and yellow sign, of the size and shape designated in 
 the bull, — men on the breast of the outward garment, and 
 women in front. 
 
 9. — That no Jew may trade, or make any contract; thus 
 to avoid the frauds they practise, and the usuries they charge 
 to Christians. 
 
 10. — That all Jews and Jewesses converted to the Catholic 
 faith, and all Christians generally who are related by con¬ 
 sanguinity to Jews, may inherit from their unconverted parents 
 and relatives; declaring null any testament, codicil, last-will, 
 or donation inter vivo they may make to prevent any of their 
 property devolving to Christians. 
 
 1*. — That in all cities, towns, and villages, where there may 
 be the number of Jews the diocesan may deem sufficient, 
 three public sermons are to be preached annually: one on 
 the second Sunday in Advent; one on the festival of the Resur¬ 
 rection; and the other on the Sunday when the Gospel, “ And 
 Jesus approached Jerusalem,” is chaunted. All Jews above 
 twelve years of age shall be compelled to attend to hear these 
 sermons. The subjects are to be — the first to shew them that 
 the true Messiah has already come, quoting the passages of 
 the Holy Scripture and the Talmud that were argued in the 
 disputation of Jerome of Santa Fe; the second to make them 
 see that the heresies, vanities and errors of the Talmud, pre¬ 
 vent their knowing the truth; and the third, explaining to 
 them the destruction of the Temple and the city of Jerusalem, 
 and the perpetuity of their captivity, as our Lord Jesus Christ 
 and the other prophets had prophesied. And at the end of 
 these sermons this bull is to be read, that the Jews may not be 
 ignorant of any of its decrees. 1 
 
 Among those commissioned to carry the bull into 
 effect, was Alplionso, bishop of Carthagena, son of 
 Paul of Burgos, also a convert. The lucrative pre¬ 
 lacies were the places sought after by the apostates 
 
 1 Bibli EspaLola, vol. i. 
 
216 
 
 INSURRECTION AT TOLEDO. 
 
 [ 1419 . 
 
 from Judaism, as best affording them the means of 
 persecuting the descendants of Israel. Many ambi¬ 
 tious men looked to the loaves and fishes of the 
 Church for their reward; to obtain which, and prove 
 their sincerity to the Catholic faith, they became the 
 most inveterate persecutors of the Hebrew people. 
 
 The promulgation of this decree opened the cloisters 
 of St. Dominic: there sallied from them a host of 
 missionaries. Eloquent preachers, instructed contro¬ 
 versialists, spread themselves to effect conversions. 
 They laboured with unremitting fervour and extraor¬ 
 dinary talents; and they adopted the most violent mea¬ 
 sures, provided they could injure the welfare of the 
 Jews. lS T o where were they safe from the incessant 
 persecutions of these inimical monks. Fortunately 
 for the Jewish people, the authority of Benedict did 
 not extend beyond Aragon. Its short duration, and 
 the death of Ferdinand a few months after the Valen- 
 cian bull, rendered it nugatory; and the Hebrew 
 people in that kingdom remained unmolested, to fol¬ 
 low their industrious avocations, which the bull shews 
 they pursued, and of which it sought to deprive them. 
 I ranquillity enabled them to increase greatly; for, as 
 will be seen, a few years after, their indefatigable 
 industry led them to settle in almost every town of 
 consequence in Aragon and Catalonia. 
 
 The exhausted state of the finances of Castile, from 
 the quarrels and mal-administration of the regents, to 
 which the constant feuds of the grandees greatly con¬ 
 tributed, rendered fresh taxes indispensable. An 
 insurrection, in 1419, at Toledo, was the consequence: 
 the Jews, as usual, were the sufferers. The new con¬ 
 verts, who had hoped that abjuring their faith would 
 
1429 .] 
 
 COUNCIL OF TORTOSA. 
 
 217 
 
 protect them from violence, found themselves deceived : 
 they were equally plundered with those who had 
 remained firm in their religion- and the populace 
 demanded that converted Jews and all their descend¬ 
 ants should be for ever excluded from every dignity 
 and public employment. The Court, too weak to 
 resist, was obliged to grant the demand. This, for a 
 time, put a stop to conversions; for the new Christians 
 found their only gain in renouncing the religion of 
 their fathers, was the contempt of their former co¬ 
 religionists. The ambitious saw their golden dreams 
 vanish; mitres were no more to deck the brows even 
 of the children of apostate Jews, while adherents to 
 their faith were, notwithstanding the laws and decrees 
 to the contrary, employed by the Spanish sovereigns 
 as.receivers, collectors, and physicians. 
 
 On the death of his mother, in 1420, John assumed 
 the regal authority. He found Castile torn by intes¬ 
 tine broils, and his kingdom threatened by Aragon 
 and Navarre. While employed in restoring peace to 
 his distracted country, the Jews appear to have been 
 unmolested and even protected by him. The council 
 of Tortosa, in 1429, in treated, that for divine mercy’s 
 sake, the king of Aragon, the barons, knights, prelates, 
 and universities, would protect the Jews from violence, 
 from which they would otherwise have suffered, 
 although not recorded by Zurita. 
 
 The canons of former Councils against them were 
 simply renewed, which shews that Judaism did not 
 suffer from the bull of Benedict, from the number 
 of Jews that distinguished themselves in the study of 
 philosophy, medicine, poetry, and Hebrew literature. 
 Complaints were incessantly made of their fortunate 
 
218 
 
 FALSE ACCUSATION AT PALMA. [1435. 
 
 speculations and their wealth; the great profit they 
 made from the Spaniards was always regarded with 
 envy and jealousy. 
 
 At the Cortes of Burgos, in 1430, a petition was presented, 
 berro-ino- the kiim to have enforced the laws of his father, and 
 
 DO D D 
 
 the Papal decrees against Jews and Moors holding any post 
 giving them authority over Christians; so that they should 
 neither hold them, nor evade the ordinance. 
 
 To which he answered,— 
 
 I will order to be seen what has been ordained by my father, 
 and my favour, and the Papal bulls; and whatever is for the 
 service of God, his divine law, my service and the welfare of 
 my kingdoms, shall be observed, and neither be revoked nor 
 derogated in respect to giving places to infidel Jews and Moors. 
 
 At the Cortes held at Segovia in 1433, the amount 
 to be paid the lifeguards of Espinosa was reduced to 
 two blancas, which was also ordered to be paid to the 
 guards of Bavia. 
 
 o 
 
 And in the following year at those of Medina del 
 Campo, on the representation of the inhabitants of 
 Segovia against the usuries of the Jews, the ordinances 
 of 1405, made at Madrid, were confirmed, and the 
 penalty was raised to 10,000 maravedis. The Jews of 
 Tudela, in 1435, had become so reduced in number 
 and property, that the king, seeing they could not pay 
 the contribution, and to induce those who had quitted 
 to return to his kingdom, remitted during his pleasure, 
 a further sum of 342 livres of the annual taxes. 2 
 
 In 1435, the Jews of Palma were accused of crucify¬ 
 ing one of their Moorish slaves, in mockery of the 
 crucifixion. Four, under torture, acknowledged the 
 crime, and were condemned to be burnt alive; but 
 
 2 Arch. Nav. Case. 137, No. 3. 
 
219 
 
 1438.] RELATIVE POPULATION IN ARAGON. 
 
 being promised, if they would receive baptism, they 
 should be hanged first, they consented. They were 
 R. Astruc, Sibili, Farrig, and Estelada, the prin¬ 
 cipal men of the place,—for, by the bye, it was only 
 the wealthy that were accused of this crime. Their 
 lives were spared, as it was conceived their example 
 might induce many others to abjure their religion. 
 Two hundred are said to have received baptism, and 
 many of their books were burnt. 
 
 The following account of what the Jewries of Ara¬ 
 gon and Catalonia paid for the king’s table, in 1438, 
 will shew that the bull of Benedict XIII. had not had 
 the desired effect of destroying the Hebrew people, 
 which, in the course of a century, had greatly increased 
 and extended. The large number formerly at Tor- 
 tosa, the seat of the court of the antipope, had pro¬ 
 bably mostly removed, as it does not appear in the 
 following list. 
 
 Sous. 
 
 Saragossa, 300 
 
 Alagon, 130 
 
 Tarrazon, 200 
 
 Almuema, 140 
 
 Calatayud, 350 
 
 Daroea, 50 
 
 Teruel, 160 
 
 Albarracin, 150 
 
 Monzon, 
 
 Sous. 
 
 350 
 
 Sarinena, 
 
 50 
 
 Huesca, 
 
 300 
 
 Seros, 
 
 100 
 
 Exea, 
 
 250 
 
 Tauste, 
 
 250 
 
 J aca, 
 
 200 
 
 Barbastro, 
 
 400 
 
 Fraga, 
 
 Sous. 
 
 200 
 
 Ruesca, 
 
 160 
 
 Monclus, 
 
 33 
 
 Gerona, 
 
 Sous Bar. 
 
 550 
 
 Castellon, 
 
 100 
 
 Murviedro, 
 
 100 
 
 Burriana, 
 
 30 
 
 This tax was called cenes (suppers) in Aragon, and 
 in Castile, yantares (dinners). 
 
 A convert from Judaism, who had taken the name of 
 Alphonso de Spina, from being a Franciscan friar, be¬ 
 came rector of the University of Salamanca. He wrote 
 the “Fortress of tlieFaith,” against the Jews and Moors: 
 it is full of the vilest calumnies and falsehoods. He 
 
220 
 
 PILLAGED AT TOLEDO BY DON HENRY. [1441. 
 
 depicts them as bad citizens, guilty of the most horrid 
 crimes and the most detestable vices, deserving the 
 harshest treatment. He complains of the favours, 
 grants, and indulgences they obtained from the courts, 
 lie approves of all the persecutions and massacres 
 they had suffered in various countries; and, under the 
 mask of religion, this pretended zealous monk wished 
 to provoke similar acts in Spain. Hot satisfied with 
 writing against his former co-religionists, he tendered 
 his hateful services to various bishops, who employed 
 him to persecute them in their dioceses. Those who 
 fell into his merciless hands were to be pitied. 
 
 In 1441, the Infante, Don Henry, who was in arms 
 against his father, being in want of money to pay his 
 troops, was advised that the surest mode of obtaining 
 it, would be to pillage the houses of the Jews and 
 new converts of the city of Toledo. The advice pleased 
 him; and he effected it without opposition from the 
 chief alcalde, Pedro Lopes de Ayala. The populace 
 followed the example, although the clergy and the 
 respectable citizens endeavoured to prevent it; fear 
 of being punished by the king for the crime confirmed 
 that city in favour of the party of Don Henry. 
 
221 
 
 v 
 
 CHAPTER XX. 
 
 Ordinance of John for the Protection of Jews and 
 
 Moors. —Henry IV. succeeds Ids Father. — Abraham 
 
 Benevista , negotiator between Castile and Aragon. — 
 
 Cortes of Toledo. — Gaon sent to Biscay to raise the 
 
 Bedido — Murdered.—Answer of the Basques to the 
 
 « 
 
 King's Demand. 
 
 Various cities and towns, taking advantage of 
 the distracted state of the country, followed the 
 example of Alcala de Henares, and framed laws 
 against the Jews and Moors on their own authority, 
 either to gratify the ill-will of the populace, or from 
 the jealousy and envy their prosperity under all 
 their sufferings caused. At length the king, find¬ 
 ing the diminution of his revenue, and probably actu¬ 
 ated by a feeling of humanity towards such useful 
 subjects, put a stop to the usurped municipal power, 
 and secured to his Jewish and Moorish subjects the 
 means of industriously gaining their livelihood, by 
 issuing the following decree :— 
 
 Don John, by the grace of Gocl, king of Castile, etc., etc., 
 to all persons in office [detailing the various titles and offices], 
 health and grace. 
 
 Whereas, I have been informed that some persons, to the 
 injury of my service, with great presumption and insolence 
 have and do raise disturbances against the Jews and Moors of 
 our cities, towns, and villages, desirous of injuring, hurting, 
 and doing other wrongs to their persons and properties, with¬ 
 out reason, right, or any cause; saying, they must neither buy, 
 
222 
 
 ORDINANCE OF AREVALO. 
 
 [ 1443 . 
 
 sell, partake, nor communicate with them, nor tend their 
 flocks, nor till their lands. And that in some places, without 
 my license or order, they have enacted severe statutes and 
 ordinances against them; were the like permitted they would, 
 without cause or crime, he deprived and interdicted from par¬ 
 ticipation and communication with Christians; such privation 
 and interdiction not being for objects or causes established by 
 justice, for which, and for no others ought they to be inter¬ 
 dicted from such participation and communication. All which 
 has been unduly and unjustly done under color of the apos¬ 
 tolic hull of our holy father, Eugenius IV., issued on the 
 manner Jews and Moors should live in my kingdoms among 
 Christians, which was published when I was at Toledo. 
 
 I am much surprised that such presumption and insolence 
 should be practised; the truth being discovered, I intend to order 
 that the same he punished and chastised, as a punishment for 
 them and a warning to others not to do the like. And as, accord¬ 
 ing to the said apostolical bull, canon rights, imperial and royal 
 laws, Jews and Moors are to live peaceably and unmolested 
 among Christians, observing certain things that are prohibited 
 to them. But neither by the said bull, nor canon right, nor 
 the laws of my kingdoms, is it permitted, allowed, or oppor¬ 
 tunity afforded, that any harm or injury be done to them, 
 or any other wrong to their persons, or anything belonging 
 to them; but, on the contrary, it is expressly permitted and 
 tolerated, by common, canon, and civil right, and by the laws 
 of my kingdoms, that they may quietly and peaceably live 
 and reside among Christians as aforesaid; and by the said 
 rights and laws it is expressly ordered and forbidden, that any 
 person whatever shall dare to strike, wound, kill, seize or ar¬ 
 rest them, or their property, without authority; or without 
 right or reason, to do or cause to be done to them any harm or 
 injury; and whoever acts contrary is to be chastised and 
 punished. 
 
 Besides, by the said bull, the said Jews and Moors are pro¬ 
 hibited exercising certain high offices among Christians, that 
 are therein expressed and named, that is to say, they may not 
 
ORDINANCE OF AREVALO. 
 
 223 
 
 1443.] 
 
 be judges, farmers, receivers, collectors, directors, or stewards 
 of the revenues, taxes, dues, or contributions on the produce 
 of estates and affairs of Christians; nor may they be their au¬ 
 ditors, attornies, bailiffs, agents, or conductors of their business; 
 or brokers, holders of deposits, contractors of marriages, or 
 co-partners in any art or trade with Christians; nor may 
 Jewesses or Moriscas be chambermaids to Christians. 
 
 It also prohibits them generally from holding any post, dig¬ 
 nity, or public office, that may require to have honour paid to 
 them, or by which they would have authority over, or to 
 pass sentence on Christians; which is also prohibited by com¬ 
 munal rights and the laws of my kingdoms. 
 
 It likewise forbids Christians, in illness or disease, to receive 
 medicine, draughts, plasters, or any physic from Jews or 
 'Moors; or to eat with them, or accept their invitations to 
 feasts, or live in the same house, or bathe in the same bath; 
 nor may they have Christian nurses to rear their children; 
 nor have regular Christian servants or attendants in their 
 houses or on their lands. And that the said Jews and Moors 
 should every where wear a mark and different dresses, that they 
 may be known from Christians, and that Jews and Moors do 
 not reside among Christians, but within barriers and enclo¬ 
 
 sures apart. 
 
 But it does not follow therefrom, that they are prohibited to 
 contract, buy, sell, or exchange any goods and wares among, 
 and with Christians; nor are trades and useful handicrafts for¬ 
 bidden to them, as clothesmen, silversmiths, carpenters, barbers, 
 shoemakers, tailors, clothiers, milliners, braziers, bridle-makers, 
 saddlers, rope-makers,- potters, curriers, basket-makers, money¬ 
 changers, and all other similar trades, mechanical arts, and 
 useful handicrafts, in which they use manual labour and work. 
 Christians may serve them in such trades and handicrafts for 
 just w T ages and hire, as no authority is thereby derived over 
 them; nor are they in any way honoured thereby; nor can 
 they assume power from such trades ; nor can they thereby 
 injure, molest, or condemn Christians; nor would it cause too 
 much familiarity, nor constant company and association, pro- 
 
224 
 
 ORDINANCE OF AREVALO. 
 
 [ 1443 . 
 
 vicled the said Jews and Moors do not form partnerships with 
 the said Christians in the said arts and trades, or become 
 too familiar, or keep constant society with them. Nor are 
 Christians forbidden to tend their Hocks, or till their lands, 
 or guard them from injury in travelling. 
 
 And as by the laws of my kingdoms, and the said bull, 
 Christians are forbidden to receive medicines and aperients com¬ 
 pounded by Jews or Moors, yet they may take advice from any 
 learned Jew or Moor; but the said prescription is to be pre¬ 
 pared by a Christian, who understands and is acquainted with 
 the articles of which it is composed. Notwithstanding, in case 
 of need, recourse may be had to Jewish and Moorish physicians, 
 which in such cases is not prohibited or forbidden by the said 
 bull, right, or the laws and ordinances of my kingdoms. On 
 the contrary, it is permitted by them. 
 
 Therefore I command all and each of you to guard, defend, 
 and assist the said Jews and Moors, their concerns and proper¬ 
 ties; and that you neither aid, nor permit any riot, tumult, or 
 scandal against them; nor that any harm, injury, or wrong be 
 done to them, without right or reason; for the said Jews are 
 mine, and belong to my exchequer. And I take them under 
 my safeguard, security, assistance, and royal protection, and 
 which I order shall be duly observed. And that you, the said 
 magistrates, have it published in all cities, towns, and places, 
 by the public crier, in presence of a notary public, that all 
 persons may know it. And should any person, after this pub¬ 
 lication, act contrary, you are to prevent it, and arrest their 
 persons, sequestrate their property, and proceed against them 
 and their property, for the highest civil and criminal penalties, 
 which persons incur that violate the safeguard established by 
 their sovereign and natural lord. 
 
 And that you make all and every person act accordingly, 
 and fulfil and have the contents of this my order observed and 
 executed, and that you do not act otherwise, or violate it, or 
 permit it to be infringed and transgressed, or any part thereof, 
 in any manner, now or at any time hereafter, but that you per¬ 
 mit the peaceable residence, and proper association of Jews and 
 
1443 .] 
 
 ORDINANCE OF AREVALO. 
 
 225 
 
 Moors among you without further molestation, in manner 
 aforesaid, and in the exercise of the beforementioned rights that 
 are not prohibited to them; and that you neither prevent nor 
 interdict any of the aforesaid trades to them; and further, that 
 you neither forbid nor prevent them to buy, sell, contract, or 
 barter any of the aforesaid articles, since neither by right, the 
 laws of my kingdoms, nor the said bull, are they prohibited to 
 them; nor are the trades and objects aforesaid forbidden, save 
 and except depriving them of the offices mentioned in the said 
 bull, and any other public office, dignity, or post of honour 
 they may hold, whereby they would be enabled to oppress 
 Christians. 
 
 Yet that they may be known among Christians conformably 
 to communal rights, and as the said bull exacts, Jews and 
 Moors are to wear their signs agreeably to the ordinance of 
 Don Henry, my father. And furthermore, I command that in 
 all cities, towns, and places where they reside, they shall live 
 and dwell in separate enclosures and barriers. 
 
 And in case they go to markets and public places to practise 
 and exercise the said trades not prohibited to them by the said 
 bull nor by right, or to contract, buy, sell, or barter any goods 
 or merchandise as aforesaid, you shall allot them places; but 
 they shall be bound to make their habitual residence within 
 the said barriers, to which they are to return and assemble there 
 to sleep, where they have their regular dwellings, and in no 
 other house without the barrier of the city, town, and place 
 where they reside. Besides, it is my pleasure, that, in all cities, 
 towns and places where the said Jews and Moors have not 
 separate barriers and appointed enclosures, such be appro¬ 
 priated to them in populous and suitable districts, where they 
 can live and reside commodiously. And, for my information, 
 the same is to be immediately notified to me, that I may order 
 and assign a reasonable extent of ground, within which they 
 can live and dwell. And should there not be in the city, 
 town, or place, such populous district as can be conveniently, 
 and without detriment to Christians, given to them, then some 
 other suitable place shall be assigned, where they can comfort- 
 
 Q 
 
226 
 
 FALSE ACCUSATIONS* 
 
 [ 1445 . 
 
 ably build and construct their houses. And in every other 
 respect you are to treat and act kindly to them, as justice and 
 the laws of my kingdoms enact, since it is not opposed to the 
 said bull. And as regards the pecuniary penalties, and other 
 things therein contained beyond the foregoing, I intend to send 
 to the holy father shortly, that they may be explained, and 
 confined to the fulfilment of the service of God, mine, the 
 welfare of my kingdoms, and the preservation of my lights. 
 Furthermore I command, that henceforward you make no ordin¬ 
 ances or statutes against the said Jews or Moors without my 
 permission and order; and if any have been made, they are to 
 be suspended and not executed, until you shew me cause for 
 their enactment. I will and command that they be suspended, 
 and not acted on, until I examine and order what is to be done 
 as aforesaid. And you are not to act otherwise, under pain of 
 my displeasure, deprivation of office, forfeiture of lands, favois, 
 rations, grants, and every other benefit you hold from me, and 
 confiscation of all other property to my exchequer. And fur¬ 
 ther be assured, that should you act otherwise, or permit the 
 contrary to be done, I will order that you be seveiely punished 
 and chastised, so that no person presume to do the like. 
 
 Given at Arevalo, 6th April, 1443. 
 
 In 1445, a report was spread that the Jews had 
 undermined the streets of Toledo, through which, on 
 the festival of Corpus Christi, the procession of the 
 Host was to pass, with the intention of setting fire to 
 it at the time. The mob would have fallen on them, 
 had not the authorities proved the report to be false, 
 and prevented the massacre. But they were not so 
 fortunate as to escape from the many false accusations 
 propagated against them. 
 
 At the village of Tavora, a small place between 
 Zamora and Benevente, a young man was condemned 
 to death for some crime. His unhappy father, a black¬ 
 smith, on the melancholy fate of his only child, com- 
 
1454 .] 
 
 FALSE ACCUSATIONS. 
 
 227 
 
 pletely lost his senses. At night he would wander 
 about the streets, knocking at people’s doors. The 
 inhabitants became so accustomed to his wanderings, 
 that they took no notice of him, and he was known 
 by all the town as “ The Mad Jew.” A party of 
 Christian young men having been at some feast, as 
 then customary in Spain, sallied out armed; they 
 attacked and killed some Jews of the place. When 
 the king heard of it, he ordered them to be arrested; 
 but the people, to screen them from being treated as 
 murderers, in exculpation testified to the king that 
 the demented smith, in revenge for the execution of 
 his son, when at home, was making hooks and cramps 
 to fasten the doors, and caltrops to strew in the streets, 
 intending to set fire to the place, when none could 
 have escaped, which had induced them to commit the 
 act. As all agreed in their story, the king and council 
 considered they could not punish the whole population, 
 and thus the guilty escaped. 1 Espina states, that the 
 king prohibited Jews residing in Tavora, and that a 
 magical brazen head kept in the castle, would exclaim 
 when a Jew entered the town, “A Jew is in Tavora;” 
 and, when he left, “ The Jew is out of Tavora.” 
 
 After this tale, it would be loss of time to discuss 
 the credit due to Espina’s stories. Another of his 
 fabrications is, that being at Valladolid in 1454, a 
 Genoese, son of an eminent Jew physician named Don 
 Solomon, came to him to be baptised, who related to 
 him, that at Pavia one Simon de Ancona, a physician, 
 with other Jews, had killed a child for their sacrifices, 
 but they had escaped from justice. He says that he 
 also told him, that four years before, when at Savona, 
 in the Genoese territory, his father took him to a house 
 
 1 Usque. 
 
228 
 
 FALSE ACCUSATIONS. 
 
 [1454. 
 
 where he met seven or eight Jews; they fastened the 
 doors and killed a Christian child of two years old; 
 its blood was caught in a basin; they mixed apples, 
 pears, and pounded nuts with it, and all eat of it. 
 The body was thrown into a privy. 
 
 Such were the calumnies propagated by this enemy 
 of the Hebrew people, to inflame the minds of a 
 bigoted populace against the descendants of Israel. 
 While they were thus obtaining favours, distinctions, 
 and even beatification, the diffusion of these falsehoods 
 increased the misfortunes of the unfortunate Jews, 
 the laws were too powerless to afford them protec¬ 
 tion, the tribunals composed of declared enemies, and 
 their former brethren their most inveterate accusers. 
 
 Commerce and industry had perished under the 
 numerous persecutions; and to satiate the revenge of 
 the nobles, Jews had been deprived in 1453 of farm¬ 
 ing the royal revenues. 
 
 At Avila, the bishop of Cuenga, the prior of Gua- 
 daloupe, and Friar Gonzales, of Illescias, who had been 
 appointed governors, ordered the cities within their 
 jurisdictions to receive and protect them. 
 
 Henry IY. succeeded his father in 1454. From his 
 conduct to the Jews of Toledo in 1441, he was con¬ 
 sidered inimical to the HebreAV people. Advantage 
 was immediately taken of that and the disturbed state 
 of the kingdoms, to propagate the most unfounded 
 calumnies against them. The following is said to 
 have occurred in that year. In the lands of Don 
 Luis de Almanzar, near Salamanca, the child of a 
 rich merchant went out one holiday finely dressed 
 with gold bands and tassels. Two thieves planned to 
 rob him. They artfully enticed him away from the 
 
1454 .] 
 
 FALSE ACCUSATIONS. 
 
 229 
 
 town, and stripped him. The boy, crying, was 
 returning home. The thieves being natives of the 
 place, fearing discovery, ran after, caught and mur¬ 
 dered him, and buried the body in a private part of a 
 field. On the child being missed, strict search was 
 made, and rewards offered for his discovery or for in¬ 
 formation of him. A few days after, some shepherds, 
 driving their flocks near the spot where the murder 
 had been committed, their dogs scratching the 
 ground discovered an arm, which they carried and 
 laid at the feet of their masters. The shepherds, 
 alarmed, repaired to the spot and found the body. 
 The father, on learning this, went to the field with 
 some friends, and recognised it to be the corpse of his 
 child. Considering who could have committed so 
 cruel an act on a young innocent unoffending child, 
 they decided it could not be a Christian, but that 
 it must have been done by some Moor, slave, or Jew. 
 As soon as the latter was named, it was set down as 
 certain, as in Germany and other parts of Christen¬ 
 dom, they were accused of stealing children to sacrifice 
 their blood. The report spreading that they had cooked 
 the heart and eaten it, all the country was in arms, 
 and prepared to wreak vengeance on the Jews. The 
 king ordered a strict inquiry to be instituted, and 
 through the goldsmith to whom the thieves had sold 
 the stolen articles, the truth was discovered. 2 Espina 
 says, a Jew with red hair was suspected, and on the 
 rack confessed it; but that the Jews appealed against 
 this extorted confession to the king, who appointed 
 three judges to examine into the case. The Jew was 
 acquitted, which he attributes to the king and judges 
 having been bribed. 
 
 2 Usque. 
 
230 
 
 DIFFERENCES OF TWO MONKS. 
 
 [ 1461 . 
 
 Such were the inventions of Alphonso cle Espina, 
 to bring persecution on the Jews. Many others might 
 be adduced from his u Fortalitum Eidei,” but the fore¬ 
 going will be sufficient to shew in its proper light, 
 the animus and falsehood of this apostate. Henry 
 was fully occupied in endeavouring to suppress the 
 rebellions of the nobles. His favourite minister, 
 Abraham Benevista, was for two years the negotiator 
 between the crowns of Castile and Aragon; and when 
 taken prisoner at Tudela, was considered a prize of 
 great importance. It was probably jealousy towards 
 this Israelite, that led the grandees in 1460 to make 
 it an absolute condition for laying down their arms, 
 that the king should dismiss from his services Jews 
 and Moors, “ as they blemished religion and corrupted 
 good conductbut this was only an excuse to impose 
 laws on their sovereign, and to oppress the descend¬ 
 ants of Israel by flattering the passions of the people; 
 for it would be surprising that men who outraged 
 both, should appear so zealous for religion and good 
 conduct. 3 
 
 "While the king was at his favourite residence at 
 Segovia, in 1461, a violent dispute arose between two 
 friars on the treatment of the Jews. Coming from 
 the pulpit of the church of E spirito Santo, it spread 
 consternation in the court. One, with the bitterest 
 acrimony, condemned the free communication held 
 with them, prophesying innumerable evils on the 
 whole kingdom that tolerated it. The other preached 
 and proclaimed the maxims of the Gospel, and shielded 
 by the canons and the laws of Castile, defended the 
 unfortunate race. More than once had the partisans 
 of the two monks nearly come to blows; and the 
 
 3 Herrera. 
 
1462 .] 
 
 CORTES OF TOLEDO. 
 
 231 
 
 former would have succeeded in his devices, had not 
 the king espoused the side of his opponent, yet he 
 adopted no measures to restrain the fire that was 
 then spreading through all his dominions. This 
 want of precaution was the cause that, in May of that 
 year, the Jews of Medina del Campo suffered severely 
 from the intemperate preaching of a fanatic monk, 
 who, with a crucifix in hand, so inflamed his auditory, 
 that they fell on the unfortunate Israelites, burnt 
 some of them with their books, and pillaged their 
 property. When the king learnt of this riot, he 
 arrested its progress by punishing the ringleaders. 
 
 No legislation affecting the Jews is recorded until 
 1462, at the cortes of Toledo, when a petition was 
 presented, the tenor of which will be seen by the 
 king’s reply: — 
 
 To this I answer, that I have ordered inquiry to he made 
 respecting the contents of your petition, and it has been found 
 that in most of the seigniories and abbacies of my kingdoms, 
 the laws you mention regarding contracts and bonds between 
 Christians and Jews are not observed, whereby some of the 
 Jewries of the royal patrimony remove to live in the seigniories 
 to my detriment and the injury of my revenue, taxes and dues. 
 As many Jews live by buying and selling, and experience 
 shews they cannot dispose of their goods and merchandise 
 without giving credit, and that they trade and make contracts 
 with each other, and that even oaths are administered in regard 
 to their contracts, agreements, and decisions; although, were 
 the laws observed in all the cities, towns and places in my 
 kingdoms, and the seigniories, trading in goods and contracts 
 that fairly and justly might be made between Christians and 
 Jews, would in a great measure cease, whereby my revenues, 
 taxes, and dues, would be diminished: — 
 
 And as I am informed that in the time of my father, Don 
 
 J 7 
 
 John, whom I have succeeded, various grants and petitions 
 
232 
 
 CORTES OF TOLEDO. 
 
 [ 1462 . 
 
 were signed by him, and subsequently by me, and counter¬ 
 signed by some of his council and by mine, and by the auditors 
 of my audencias , on the subject of your petition, some of whom 
 order the said laws to be observed, and others direct them not 
 to be enforced. And as from the severity of the law which 
 enacts that Christians are not to burthen their consciences by 
 paying heavy charges to Jews, and as lawful and fair contracts, 
 proved to be such by public documents, witnesses, or their own 
 acknowledgment, and which have not been fraudulently made 
 to cover usury are not paid ; desirous of remedying and 
 providing for the same, as the holy fathers, Martin V., 
 Eugenius IV., and their successors have issued and granted 
 certain bulls, wherein they declare that without sin or charge 
 against the said Jews, all descriptions of contracts, treaties, 
 agreements, and arrangements, that are necessary for their legal 
 transactions, may be made. Confirming and approving the 
 penalties established by justice and the laws of our kingdoms 
 against Christians, Jews, and Moors, that lend on usury, and 
 further extending the ordinances, if necessary and requisite, it 
 is my will and pleasure, that the said Jews and Jewesses, may 
 freely receive from Christians and any other persons, without 
 incurring penalties or fines, lawful contracts that are permitted 
 by justice, and that are not usurious, nor dissembled and 
 fraudulently made for usury, but for sales, payments, barters, 
 agreements, and in any other manner. And they may receive 
 written and verbal acknowledgments and judgments in the 
 said legal and permitted cases; and such agreements, judgments 
 and acknowledgments are valid, and shall have full force and 
 efficacy in law, unless it be proved that they are usurious, or 
 simulated, and fraudulently made to cover usury. It is my 
 will and pleasure, and I will and command, that this be exe¬ 
 cuted and fulfilled, notwithstanding the laws and ordinances of 
 the said king, Don Henry my grandfather, and the kings my 
 ancestors of glorious memory, and their presumptions and 
 suppositions; which said laws, it is my will, shall have no force 
 in justice, nor be entertained, contrary to this which I now 
 make and ordain, and which henceforward shall be observed 
 
1463.] GAON SENT TO LEVY THE PEDIDO. 
 
 233 
 
 and executed. But I will, and it is my pleasure, that in con¬ 
 tracts for loans the creditor shall be bound within two years to 
 prove its contents, and if the debtor deny or object to the same 
 on oath or otherwise, as not having been actually received or 
 the amount given, this law may not in such case be renounced. 
 This law which I now make, will, ordain, and command, shall 
 be observed and fulfilled in all contracts, judgments, agree¬ 
 ments and covenants hitherto made, or that hereafter may be 
 made, provided they are not usurious, nor simulated, and 
 fraudulently made for usury, that have not been brought before 
 justice. All I desire is conformable to justice; and it is my 
 will, pleasure, and command, that it be observed and fulfilled 
 in manner aforesaid, notwithstanding the laws and ordinances 
 of the kings my predecessors, or of any charters granted by 
 them, me, my council, or the auditors of my audencias; nor 
 shall such hereafter be granted. But it is my pleasure that 
 bonds for loans that have or may be given to Jews, or other 
 persons known as public usurers, are not to be enforced; but 
 the laws and ordinances made by Don Henry my grandfather, 
 and the kings my predecessors, are to be acted on, under the 
 presumptions therein contained. Persons are to be considered 
 as public usurers who are proved thrice, or oftener, to have 
 lent on usury. 
 
 The following year Henry repaired to the frontiers 
 to have an interview with Louis XI. The extrava¬ 
 gance and splendour the Castilian monarch displayed 
 required large supplies. From Fontarabia he des¬ 
 patched his finance minister Gaon, to levy the pedido 
 (a tax so called from the king asking it of the Basque 
 provinces, which at their pleasure they granted or re¬ 
 fused). They termed themselves Hidalgos (noble¬ 
 men), and ever declared their independence of royal 
 authority, and only acknowledged the sovereign of 
 Castile as lord of Biscay. As this was an infringe¬ 
 ment on their liberties and privileges, on the arrival 
 
234 SPIRITED ANSWER OF THE BASQUES. [1463. 
 
 of the Jew at Tolosa, the populace assassinated him. 
 Henry, enraged, sent to demand the surrender of the 
 murderers, which was refused, and the following 
 answer returned by the Biscayans. 
 
 The Basques are the representatives of the Iberian nation. 
 They lavished their blood against the Carthaginians, Romans, 
 and Goths, for Spanish freedom. They restored Spain by ex¬ 
 pelling the Saracens who had conquered it from the barbarians. 
 For upwards of six centuries the Basques struggled with the 
 Caliphs of the West. The small state of Castile scarcely ex¬ 
 isted, when our nation living in the Pyrenees reckoned ages 
 of glory and enterprise. In return for the services we have 
 rendered Castile, we claim to be allowed peaceably to enjoy 
 our lives and liberties, which our ancestors preserved to us at 
 the cost of so much blood, and so many glorious deeds. If, how¬ 
 ever, the Castilians act ungratefully and unjustly towards us, 
 they shall find to their cost, who were and still are their mas¬ 
 ters in the art of war, and their mountaineer liberators. As 
 regards the pedido unjustly demanded of us, and the death of 
 the Jew, know that the brave Guipuscoan who killed him, 
 deserves well of his country. Tell this to King Henry. Re¬ 
 turn and bid him remember that one of our fundamental laws 
 is u We ordain that any person, whether a native or foreigner, 
 who shall coerce any man, woman, people, village, or town of 
 Guipuscoa, by order of our Lord, the king of Castile, which 
 has not been previously agreed to and sanctioned by the general 
 assembly; or whoever violates our rights, laws, charters, and 
 privileges, shall not be obeyed; and if he persists he shall 
 be put to death.” 
 
 The assassination of Gaon remained unpunished; 
 for Henry was too weak to attempt any severe mea¬ 
 sures against those hardy mountaineers. 
 
 Although bonds given by Christians to Jews had 
 been declared void, the law was not enforced; and that 
 justice was done to them, is proved by a document yet 
 
1465 .] 
 
 CODE OF MEDINA DEL CAMPO. 
 
 235 
 
 existing, which states that Don Lope Lopez de Ayala, 
 the ordinary Alcalde of Yittoria, sold, the 16th Au¬ 
 gust of this year, by public auction, 4 the property of 
 Don Beltran de Guevara, at the demand and suit of 
 Don Abraham Algudia, for a bond of eight thousand 
 maravedis due to him. 
 
 CHAPTER XXI. 
 
 Laws made at Medina del Campo.—Accused of cruci¬ 
 fying a Child.—Persecution of Converts , the causes .— 
 John II. of Aragon operated on for Cataract.—The 
 
 Jewry of Pampluna ordered to he repaired _ Cortes 
 
 of Ocana. — Mock Deposition of Henry. — Persecu¬ 
 tion in Andalusia. —Hot at Segovia _ Outrages in 
 
 Sicily. — Assessment in Castile. — Isabella becomes 
 Queen .— The Croions of Castile and Aragon united. 
 —Cortes of Toledo .— The Inquisition founded. 
 
 Henry, finding the laws to be ineffective, appointed 
 the count of Palencia, the marquis de Villena, and 
 some other noblemen, to revise them and form a new 
 code, which they did. They are dated Medina del 
 Campo, 16th January, 1465; but it was never carried 
 into effect. The following, confirming former laws, 
 respected only the Jews and Moors: — 
 
 Law 7.— Not to make Christians converts to their religions. 
 
 98. — Not to hold posts giving them authority over Christians. 
 
 To reside in their own Jewries and Aljamas. 
 
 99. — Christians not to live within the Jewries or Moorish 
 
 Aljamas. 
 
 4 Accurdos Vic. vol. i., p. 54. 
 
236 
 
 THE STORY OE SEPULVEDA. 
 
 [ 1468 . 
 
 100. — To wear the distinguishing badge. 
 
 101. —Not to work in public on Sundays and Christian holidays. 
 
 102. — Christians not to live in their houses. 
 
 103. — Not to be collectors or farmers of taxes; nor for noble¬ 
 
 men, church dignitaries, etc. 
 
 104. — Not to sell provisions to Christians. 
 
 105. —Not to leave their houses from Holy Thursday until 
 
 Saturday. 
 
 106. — Not to be apothecaries or compounders of medicine for 
 
 Christians. 
 
 107. — To give up the person from whom they had received 
 
 any thing claimed as having been stolen. 
 
 108. —Not to possess Christian slaves. 
 
 109. —Not to build new synagogues or mosques. 
 
 110. —May possess landed property, as granted by Henry III. 
 
 111. — Not to take crucifixes or church-plate in pledge. 
 
 112. — The law respecting bonds confirmed. 
 
 113. — Bonds made in the names of Christians for their benefit 
 
 to be null and void. 
 
 114. —Not to act as advocates for Christians. 
 
 115. — Penalties on magistrates not publishing these laws. 
 
 116. — Oaths of Christians to Jews or Moors not to be binding 
 
 by law. 
 
 117. — Christians not to be copartners with them. 
 
 118. — Not to wear silk, gold, pearl, scarlet, or cloaks. 
 
 119. —Not to be allowed to quit the country. 
 
 146.— The ordinance of 1433 respecting the guards of Espinosa 
 and Bania, confirmed. 
 
 In 1468 the Jews were again accused of murdering 
 a child. The story is thus told. The Jews of Sepul¬ 
 veda, by the advice of their rabbi, Solomon Pichon, 
 caught a child, and carried it to a retired spot, where, 
 after cruelly illtreating, they crucified it. Don Juan 
 Arias, bishop of Avila, then supreme judge of matters 
 that concerned the faith, on hearing of it, had a num¬ 
 ber of Jews arrested and put to the torture, under 
 
NEW CHRISTIANS PERSECUTED. 
 
 237 
 
 1468 .] 
 
 ■which some acknowledged the crime, whereupon he 
 sent sixteen to Segovia. Some were burnt, others 
 were hung and quartered; yet these executions did 
 not satisfy the inhabitants of Sepulveda, they swore 
 to exterminate them. Animated by a desire for 
 vengeance and a thirst for plunder, they attacked them 
 in their houses, and immolated the major part to 
 their fury; the remainder saved themselves by flight, 
 seeking an asylum in other towns, in which they 
 experienced great difficulty; for the report had spread, 
 and in every place some similar tale was renewed. 
 
 Hitherto all the shafts of rage and cruelty had been 
 directed against those who continued firm to their 
 faith and the religion of their forefathers, even amidst 
 riots and massacres; the lives and properties of those 
 who had embraced Christianity had been respected. 
 Persecution began to present another aspect; the mere 
 fact of being a descendant of Judah was sufficient. 
 Honours and favours had been heaped on those who 
 had abjured Judaism; now, their sincerity becoming 
 suspected, they were regarded with dislike and mis¬ 
 trust. This change of conduct towards the converts 
 arose from various causes. Christians did not stand 
 so much in need as formerly of the Hebrew people: 
 their conquests within and without the Peninsula, 
 and the study of ancient literature by the higher 
 classes, had contributed to render them less dependent 
 than they had hitherto been for the arts and sciences 
 on Jewish rabbis. Old Christians, particularly the 
 clergy, regarded with envy and jealousy the honours 
 conferred on apostates, to their prejudice. Catholic 
 domination could not tranquilly permit the descendants 
 of Israel to partake the ascendancy they considered 
 
238 
 
 JOHN II. OF ARAGON. 
 
 [ 1468 . 
 
 as belonging exclusively to themselves. The clergy 
 of Spain at this period is represented by Mariana u to 
 have been extremely ignorant, few understood Latin; 
 they were generally addicted to gluttony and debauch¬ 
 ery ; their avarice corrupted every thing. The pur¬ 
 chase of benefices had formerly been held to be 
 simony, now it was considered a legitimate mode of 
 amassing wealth.’ 7 Probably it was by these means 
 converts frequently obtained high ecclesiastical dig¬ 
 nities. The new Christians had not with their religion 
 abandoned their industrious habits. Their wealth and 
 prosperity were inducements that avaricious people 
 could not resist, and, instigated by many fanatic eccle¬ 
 siastics, under the cloak of religion, their plunder and 
 assassination was the consequence. 
 
 A deputation of Jews and converts from Valladolid, 
 where they had suffered, went to the king at Segovia 
 to ask his assistance and protection against the injuries 
 they experienced from the partizans of his sister, 
 Donna Isabella, to whom the disaffected nobles had 
 repeatedly offered the crown. When she learned it, 
 she hastened with her husband Don Ferdinand from 
 Duerias; but sought in vain to quiet the disturbance. 
 Blood had been shed, the laws had been trampled on; 
 but the converts obtained no satisfaction. Valladolid 
 returned to its allegiance. Henry, pleased at the city 
 returning to his authority, and the riot being quelled, 
 remained satisfied, and feared to punish the guilty. 
 
 John II. of Aragon, in 1468, was successfully ope¬ 
 rated on for cataract in both eyes by an eminent Jew, 
 surgeon and physician of Lerida, named Abiathar. 
 
 Donna Leonora, the princess of Navarre, for the 
 preservation of the Jewry of Pampluna, ordered the 
 
1469.] PETITION TO THE CORTES OE OCANA. 
 
 239 
 
 auditors of accounts to oblige the Jews that resided 
 without it to remove thereto, threatening punishment 
 for non-compliance, and to compel the Jewry to repair 
 the houses belonging to the royal patrimony. 1 
 
 Henry held a cortes at Ocana in 1469, at which the 
 following petition was presented:— 2 
 
 Besides, most high Sir, your highness knows that the kings, 
 your predecessors of glorious memory, by many laws enacted 
 in cortes, prohibited Jews and Moors being farmers and receivers 
 of your tributes and taxes, and that they should not be bailiffs 
 and stewards to Christians, nor hold other posts in the house¬ 
 hold of grandees, under certain penalties imposed by the said 
 laws, on those who should accept such offices; and we know 
 the said kings had just cause for the said prohibition. But as 
 we see that the said laws are not observed, and that the prin¬ 
 cipal offices in the customs and the collection of your revenues, 
 taxes, and duties, are held by Jews, and we believe were your 
 revenues let at reasonable prices, Christians would farm them, 
 and as the laws of the kingdoms enact, they ought to be let to 
 them lower; but even worse is done in your kingdoms, for many 
 prelates and other ecclesiastics farm to Jews and Moors the 
 revenues and tithes that belong to them; and they enter churches 
 to apportion the tithes among the contributors, to the great 
 offence and injury of the church. And as by the said laws 
 Jews and Moors are prohibited being collectors of the royal 
 taxes and revenues, with greater reason ought they to be pro¬ 
 hibited being farmers and collectors of tithes and other ecclesi¬ 
 astical revenues. Therefore we entreat your highness will be 
 pleased to order that the laws of your kingdoms thereon be 
 observed, and that your high auditors hereafter observe, and 
 do not contrary to their tenor and form. And further, to order 
 and forbid Jews and Moors henceforward to farm, collect, ask, 
 or demand tithes, or any other revenues of the church, or of 
 any other ecclesiastic, and to impose severe penalties for so 
 doing. 
 
 To this no answer appears on record. 
 
 1 Arch. Nav. Case 160, No 58. 2 Pet. 20. 
 
240 PERSECUTIONS IN ANDALUSIA. [1473, 
 
 The king found many of the disaffected grandees 
 desirous of deposing him; and a mock deposition was 
 publicly performed at Avila. At the head of these 
 rebellious nobles was the archbishop of Toledo, through 
 whose intrigues the infanta, Donna Isabella, contrary 
 to the wish of the king her brother, had been married 
 to Ferdinand, heir to the crown of Aragon. 
 
 Andalusia was deluged with Jewish blood in 1473. 
 The populace sought to exterminate the descendants 
 of Israel. Plunder was their aim. The storm fell 
 alike on those who had received baptism, and on those 
 who remained firm to the religion of their ancestors. 
 The tempest commenced at Cordova. The infuriated 
 mob, without dread of punishment, attacked these 
 miserable people. Those who kept from the tumult, 
 said it was a punishment from God, as many of the 
 converts forsook and apostatised from the Christian 
 religion, which they had previously embraced. Other 
 cities and towns followed the example of Cordova. 
 The storm fell with the greatest violence on Jaen. 
 The constable, Iranza, endeavoured to protect them 
 from injury, and with his soldiery made head against 
 their furious assailants. The mob, enraged at their 
 attempt being frustrated, conspired against him, and 
 assassinated the worthy magistrate while attending 
 mass in the cathedral. Their thirst for revenge and 
 their fury respected nothing; in the most solemn ser¬ 
 vice of Catholic worship, a church was desecrated by 
 murder. The protection afforded the Hebrews served 
 to multiply victims. The laws in their favour tended 
 only to increase conflicts. The Andalusian movement 
 was soon followed by the Castilians. The disaffected 
 and turbulent grandees seized this new pretence to 
 
•f 
 
 1474.] PERSECUTION OF THE NEW CHRISTIANS. 241 
 
 gain their incessant pretensions, as the following event, 
 in 1474, at Segovia, demonstrates. 
 
 Don Juan de Pacheco, thinking by intrigue to re¬ 
 gain his former favour with Don Henry, planned to 
 dispossess Don Andres de Cabrera (husband of Donna 
 Beatrice de Bobadilla, lady to the Infanta Isabella, and 
 who enjoyed the fullest confidence of the princess) of 
 his command, as governor of the Alcazar of Segovia. 
 To gain his purpose, he seduced many persons of dis¬ 
 tinction in the city, concerting with them that, under 
 pretence of following the example of those that perse¬ 
 cuted the converted Jews, they should shout and arm; 
 and a riot being caused, he would fall on Don Andres, 
 imprison him, and seize the Alcazar. The plan be¬ 
 came known, but shortly before it was to take place; 
 Cabrera scarcely had time to prepare himself, and 
 repair to the defence of the converts and city. The 
 rebellion broke out— Segovia was filled with armed 
 men—the houses of the converts were attacked— 
 every thing was destroyed—and every unfortunate 
 descendant of Israel they met was murdered. The 
 massacre would have been immense, had not the 
 governor hastened with a body of troops to arrest the 
 havoc and overawe the rioters. The parties met, the 
 city was strewed with corpses. For a time victory 
 appeared doubtful, but the king’s troops fought with 
 the greatest bravery and concert. The slaughter 
 was dreadful. Wherever the conspirators and rioters 
 showed themselves, they were defeated and dispersed; 
 and for once Jewish blood was in a measure avenged, 
 although Pacheco was not punished for causing the 
 riot. 
 
 What is inconceivable is, that in the middle of the 
 
 R 
 
242 
 
 THE TAX PAID BY THE JEWS. [1474. 
 
 fifteenth century, the age of the Marquis cle Santillana, 
 Juan de Mena, Jorge Manrique, and Don Henry of 
 Aragon, there should be a Castilian nobleman who, 
 by a cold calculation to suit his ambition and policy, 
 would be ready to immolate numerous families who, 
 by a solemn abjuration, had separated themselves from 
 the Jewish flock; and who, living under the safeguard 
 of the laws, never could have expected such attacks. 
 
 The storm was not confined to the Iberian con¬ 
 tinent. Sicily, which then belonged to the crown of 
 Aragon, became the scene of similar attacks on the 
 Jews. In many cities and towns without any known 
 cause the armed populace like furies committed the 
 most violent outrages; disregarding the orders of the 
 viceroy Don Lope de Urrea, and heedless of the 
 execution of some of the guilty, they murdered many 
 and plundered the houses of this unfortunate people. 
 
 Notwithstanding the laws and bulls against Jews 
 practising as physicians, or holding public offices, the 
 following document shews the king continued to em¬ 
 
 ploy them: — 
 
 To the chief auditors of our lord the king, the apportionment 
 that I, Rabbi Jacob aben Nunes, physician of our lord the king, 
 his chief judge and apportioner of the taxes which the Jewries 
 of his kingdoms and dominions are to pay annually, I make 
 that the said Jews are to pay this year, 1474, for taxes to his 
 highness, 450,000 maravedis. The Jewries of the bishopric of 
 
 Burgos .... 30,800 
 
 Calahora . . .31,100 
 
 Palencia .... 54,500 
 
 Osma.19,600 
 
 Siguenza . . . 15,500 
 
 Salamanca and Ciu¬ 
 dad Rodrigo. . 12,700 
 Leon and Astorga . 31,700 
 Zamora .... 9,600 
 
 Plasencia. . . . 56,900 
 Archbishopric of 
 
 Toledo . . . 64,400 
 The Jews of Anda¬ 
 lusia .... 59,800 
 
 Segovia .... 19,500 
 Avila .... 39,590 
 
1474 .] 
 
 CONTRIBUTION OF THE JEWS. 
 
 243 
 
 which together amount to 451,000 maravedis, 3 and which the 
 said Jewries are to pay the said lord the king for the said taxes 
 for this present year, 1474, in the manner stated, according 
 to the details written on both sides of four sheets of paper, 
 signed with my name. This appointment made in the city of 
 Segovia. Rabbi Jacob aben Nunes. 
 
 Was it that the Hebrews possessed more integrity, or 
 that they were more exact in collecting the taxes, which 
 induced Henry, in defiance of the laws, and the threats 
 of the confederate representatives, not only to have 
 Jew receivers and collectors of taxes, but likewise that 
 they should style themselves his chief judges? The 
 Jews were more attached to passive gains, more 
 accustomed to bear the insults and odium attached to 
 those offices, and they presented more satisfactory 
 results to the state than the collectors of the cities. 
 The administration of the Jews was to a certain point 
 as necessary in the fifteenth century as it had been in 
 former ages. Henry, notwithstanding his weakness 
 and natural indolence, could not be unacquainted with 
 the state of the public revenues, nor think of forming 
 a new system when he had not time to avoid the per¬ 
 secutions of the turbulent grandees. Other reasons 
 likewise existed why one of the Hebrew nation should 
 apportion the contributions of the Jewries; it was not 
 possible that Christians would have the requisite 
 impartiality to make an equitable and just division. 
 This would have been destroying them at one blow, 
 and would deprive the state of the wealth that contri¬ 
 buted to its support and aggrandizement. These two 
 circumstances must have had great weight in the 
 
 3 The figures do not agree with the amount stated, owing probably to 
 some typographical error; the difference of 1000 maravedis, Rios sup¬ 
 poses to be for the Rabbi or his secretary. 
 
244 
 
 DEATH OF HENRY IV. 
 
 [ 1479 . 
 
 minds of the sovereigns, although sometimes the riots 
 and disturbances compelled them to fail in doing 
 justice, by leaving the massacres of the Jews un¬ 
 punished. Referring to the apportionment, the great 
 reduction of this contribution will be perceived. In 
 former times it had produced large sums to the public 
 treasury, and was the most certain, from not being 
 subject to the votes of the Cortes, nor the fluctuation of 
 an absurd and frequently contradictory policy, nor the 
 eventual calamities of the country. This diminution 
 may be attributed to the repeated persecutions which 
 induced many to receive baptism, others to emigrate, 
 and the ruin many celebrated Jewries had suffered. 
 Castile at this period contained two hundred and 
 seventeen Jewries. The value of money having more 
 than doubled, the Hebrew population in that kingdom 
 may be estimated from the amount of the tax at 
 between 200,000 and 300,000 of sixteen years and 
 upwards. 
 
 On the death of Henry, the cities and fortresses 
 raised the royal standard, and declared in favour of 
 his sister, Donna Isabella, excluding the daughter of 
 his second queen, Donna Juana, Infanta of Portugal, 
 who, from her mother’s intimacy with Don Beltran 
 de la Cueva, with the privity of the king, was con¬ 
 sidered illegitimate. In Henry’s lifetime, some 
 grandees, at his desire, swore allegiance to the young 
 Donna Juana, from which they were now absolved 
 by the pontifical legate. Although the Portuguese 
 armed in support of Donna Juana’s rights, their de¬ 
 feat at the battle of Toro confirmed the crown to 
 Isabella; and, by the death of his father, Don Juan, 
 in 1479, Ferdinand succeeded to the throne of Aragon, 
 
1480 .] 
 
 CORTES OF TOLEDO. 
 
 245 
 
 by which the two kingdoms became united under 
 these sovereigns. The union of Castile and Aragon 
 could not fail to produce the most favourable effects 
 for the aggrandisement of Spain and the royal author¬ 
 ity, which had hitherto been despised and disregarded. 
 To secure her triumph, and strengthen her party, the 
 queen had been obliged, on ascending the throne, to 
 gratify the ambition of many grandees by honors and 
 presents. The united sovereigns resolved to put an 
 end to the restless feudal anarchy; and, well aware that 
 for the tranquillity of the kingdoms, attacks on the 
 Jews, like those which had taken place at Cordova, 
 Jaen, Valladolid, and other towns, should not be 
 repeated, their efforts were directed to the happiness 
 of their vassals. 
 
 They held a cortes at Toledo in 1480, when many 
 laws were enacted for the government of the joint 
 kingdoms. The following regarded the Jews and 
 Moors alone:— 
 
 Law 63. —According to the ancient laws of the kingdoms, 
 our guards of Espinosa were to charge the Jews that came to 
 receive us, twelve maravedis; but, in consideration of the dif¬ 
 ference of money, it ought to be increased. We therefore 
 ordain and command, that instead of twelve maravedis, they 
 shall have for each hook of the law, four reals of plate; and they 
 shall not demand or charge more, under the penalty for those 
 who act contrary, of ten days’ imprisonment in irons, and pay¬ 
 ing twice the amount received, which shall be given to the 
 poor; and if we enter a town twice in a year, this tax is only 
 to be paid the first time. 
 
 § 76.—As great injury and inconvenience results from the 
 constant society of Jews and Moors living intermixed with 
 Christians, we ordain and command, that all Jews and Moors 
 of every city, town, and place in these our kingdoms, whether 
 
246 
 
 CORTES OF TOLEDO. 
 
 [ 1480 . 
 
 they are in the royal domains, the seigniories, lordships, ab¬ 
 bacies, or belonging to military orders, shall have their distinct 
 and separate Jewries and Moories by themselves, and not re¬ 
 side intermixed with Christians: nor have enclosures together 
 with them; which order shall be executed and fulfilled within 
 two years next following the day these our laws shall be pub¬ 
 lished and proclaimed in our capital. To effect and fulfil which, 
 we intend immediately to appoint trustworthy persons, to make 
 the said separations, indicating the grounds, houses, and sites 
 where they ean conveniently reside, and carry on their business 
 with the people. And if in the places so appointed, the Jews 
 have not synagogues, nor the Moors mosques, we order the 
 persons so deputed to appoint as many and as extensive 
 grounds and houses within the said enclosures, whereon the 
 said Jews may erect as many synagogues, and the Moors 
 mosques, as they had in the places they quitted; and the syna¬ 
 gogues and mosques they formerly had in those places, are no 
 longer to be used as such. And we hereby give licence and 
 authority to the said Jews and Moors to dispose of, or sell to 
 whomsoever they choose, or pull down, and do what they please 
 with the synagogues and mosques they leave; and to erect and 
 build others of the same dimensions on the sites and grounds 
 that shall be appointed for the purpose, which they may erect 
 and build without hindrance or obstruction, and without incur¬ 
 ring, or being liable to any penalty for so doing. And we 
 order, that the persons appointed by our letters for the per¬ 
 formance hereof, do compel and sentence the owners of such 
 houses and grounds that may be designated for the erection 
 and building of the said synagogues, mosques, and dwellings, 
 to sell them to the said Jews and Moors at reasonable prices, 
 to be fixed by two persons, one to be named by the Christian 
 owner, and the other by the Jewries, for the grounds required 
 by Jews, and that for Moors by their aljamas; under oath, 
 that they will truly, faithfully, and impartially value them; 
 and the better to effect which, they shall receive every infor¬ 
 mation from the officers of the place if they require it; and if 
 the two do not agree, the said deputy, or deputies, shall meet 
 
1481.] ORDER OF TOWN COUNCIL OF VITTORIA. 247 
 
 the parties so sworn, and determine together the value of the 
 houses and grounds. And we order, that the aljamas of the 
 said Jews and Moors use diligence and care, that within the 
 said term of two years they have the houses in the enclosure 
 finished, and dwell therein; and that hereafter they do not 
 reside among Christians, nor any where without the enclosures 
 and places assigned for the said Jewries and Moories, under 
 pain that any Jew or Moor who resides without the said enclo¬ 
 sure or barrier, by the act loses all his property, which shall be 
 confiscated to our treasury, and their persons be at our disposal. 
 And any judges may, within their jurisdiction, have them 
 arrested, wherever found, and send them at their expense to 
 our court, that we may order to be done to their persons and 
 property what our pleasure wills. Bonds made in their favor 
 are void. And we order noblemen and commanders of cities, 
 towns, and places of the seigniories, military orders, abbacies, 
 and lordships, that each within their respective places and com- 
 manderies, immediately appoint the grounds, houses, and sites 
 for the synagogues, mosques, and dwellings that they may re¬ 
 quire, so that within the said term of two years the said sepa¬ 
 ration be effected. And that each of the said Jews and Moors 
 live and dwell within their enclosures, under the penalty of 
 such noblemen or commanders forfeiting whatever sums they 
 are in any manner entitled to on our books, or by our grants. 
 
 § 117.—When the Jews come to receive the king, none but 
 the person who carries the book of the law shall wear Taleth, 
 or the cloth, over their clothes, nor in carrying a corpse for 
 interment, are they to wear it, or chaunt in the streets. 
 
 In carrying into general effect former laws for con¬ 
 fining Jews and Moors in Jewries, their ordinance 
 was equitable and just towards those they had de¬ 
 termined should be isolated from the Christian in¬ 
 habitants. In some towns it was immediately attended 
 to, for in the records of the Town Council of Vittoria, 
 on the 21st February, 1481, mention is made of its 
 extending from the King’s bridge to the houses of 
 
248 
 
 THE INQUISITION. 
 
 [ 1481 . 
 
 Don Solomon and Don Eliezer Tacon, shopkeeper, 
 which had belonged to his father Don Gaon, and is 
 now called the New Street. 4 
 
 Shortly after, that dreaded tribunal, the Inquisition, 
 commenced its sanguinary proceedings, from which 
 may be dated the beginning of the desolation and 
 depopulation of the most fertile and productive state 
 of Europe. 
 
 CHAPTER XXII. 
 
 The -Inquisition. — Opposition to its establishment. — 
 
 Usque's picture of it - Torquemada. — Llorente's 
 
 observations on it.—Its Power _ Number of Victims. 
 
 — Indications of Judaism of the New Christians .— 
 Inscriptions on the 0flees at Seville. — Inquisitors of 
 Toledo.—Extracts of Llorente's History of it. 
 
 Although many authors date the introduction of the 
 Inquisition into Spain in the year 1481, it was first 
 founded by a brief of Gregory IX. in 1233, against 
 Heretics generally, but more particularly against the 
 Albigenses; and its administration was entrusted to 
 Dominican friars in Aragon. Jews and Moors were not 
 subject to its jurisdiction, unless verbally or by their 
 writings they induced Catholics to embrace their reli¬ 
 gion. But when the kingdom of Aragon became united 
 to Castile, by the marriage of Ferdinand with Isabella, 
 he transplanted to his new dominions what may be 
 termed the modern Inquisition; but from the severity 
 
 4 Acuerd de Vit. p. 44. 
 
1481 .] 
 
 THE INQUISITION. 
 
 249 
 
 of its statutes and laws it was generally resisted, even 
 by the Aragonese, who had patiently submitted to the 
 yoke of the former. The major part of the officers of 
 state in Aragon were descended from Israelites; they 
 had daughters, sisters, nieces, and other relatives, who 
 would become wives to the first nobles of the king¬ 
 dom ; so that actually they are the ancestors of many 
 grandees of Spain of the present day. By their pow¬ 
 erful influence, they engaged the representatives of 
 the nation to appeal to the pope and the king against 
 the introduction of the new Inquisitional code. The 
 resistance of Saragossa where the chief inquisitor, 
 Arbues, was assassinated in the cathedral, extended to 
 nearly all the provinces of Aragon. At Teruel, violent 
 popular tumults were only quelled by the extreme 
 severity of the measures taken by Ferdinand. Similar 
 riots took place at Yalencia, and the same rigorous steps 
 were adopted to put them down. In Catalonia, at 
 Barcelona, Lerida, and many other cities, the estab¬ 
 lishment of the new Inquisition was obstinately op¬ 
 posed. But Ferdinand was bent on enforcing it in 
 his states. It offered an easy mode of replenishing his 
 treasury, by the confiscation of the immense wealth 
 of the Jews, and the advantage of being assisted in 
 the execution of his plan by the Pope. The only 
 obstacle he had to overcome was the repugnance of 
 Isabella to consent to what was proposed to be done 4 
 in Castile. She would not sanction what was directly 
 opposed to the natural mildness of her disposition; but 
 he was certain of obtaining her consent by alarming 
 her conscience, and making her believe that under the 
 circumstances it was a religious duty; and by the 
 representations of her councillors she was ultimately 
 
250 
 
 THE INQUISITION. 
 
 [ 1481 . 
 
 induced to permit its introduction; and the tribunal 
 thus graphically described by Usque, became firmly 
 established in Castile and Aragon. 
 
 They introduced from Rome a ferocious monster, of so 
 strange and hideous a form, that at its name alone all Europe 
 trembled. Its body, covered with scales harder than steel, is 
 formed of rough iron and venomous matter. A thousand 
 wings of black feathers raise it from the ground; it moves on a 
 thousand distorted feet; its countenance partakes of the ferocity 
 of the lion, and the horrid likeness of the serpent of the deserts 
 of Africa. The size of its teeth is that of the strongest ele¬ 
 phant. Its breath kills more speedily than the basilisk. Its 
 mouth and eyes incessantly vomit devouring flames; it feeds 
 only on human bodies. The velocity of its flight exceeds that 
 of the eagle. However bright the sun may shine at the time, 
 wherever it passes it causes a sad and fearful obscurity, and 
 leaves in its track a darkness similar to that inflicted on the 
 Egyptians as a plague. Wherever it takes an upward flight, 
 every green thing it treads on, and every leafy tree whereon it 
 rests its feet, it blights and withers. Like a cancerous worm, 
 by its venom it destroys their roots, and leaves every thing 
 within its range desolate as the arid sands of Syria. 1 
 
 The plea for its introduction, was the pretended 
 necessity for punishing the apostasy of the newly con¬ 
 verted Spanish Jews; but Judaism was only the 
 pretext for the establishment of the Inquisition by 
 Ferdinand V. The real motive of this extraordinary 
 measure, was to put in force a system of confiscation 
 against the Jews, that would make all their wealth 
 fall into the hands of government; while Sextus IV. 
 had no other design, than to realise the project so 
 cherished by the Roman See, of extending its autho- 
 rity. 
 
 I he blood-thirsty Torquemada and his successors 
 
 1 Consolac,*a6, etc. 
 
THE INQUISITION. 
 
 251 
 
 1481 .] 
 
 rendered it a terror to all Spain. No one was safe 
 from its baneful influence; for not only Jews, Moors, 
 and converts from the Mosaic and Mahomedan creeds 
 fell under its colossal power, but even their descend¬ 
 ants were declared base and infamous. It will not 
 appear less unjust than cruel, that a family should be 
 deprived of the consideration it enjoys, merely because 
 its ancestors were Jews. Yet Llorente asserts, 
 
 That the Arias Davila, counts of Pugnorostro, are among 
 them in the male line, and nearly all the grandees of Spain 
 from the female. The Spaniards only began to boast of not 
 being of Jewish descent, when the policy of the Inquisition 
 made it to be regarded as dangerous and humiliating to have 
 such an origin. All Spaniards are descended either from 
 idolatrous Pagans, Mahometan Moors, or Israelites. The 
 least honourable of these origins is exactly that which the 
 capriciousness of our ideas makes us prefer to the others. I 
 allude to the former. Is it not known that idolators, not con¬ 
 tent with worshipping false divinities, despite of reason and 
 humanity, offered human sacrifices to them, while Mahometans 
 and Jews acknowledge an only God, the true Creator of the 
 universe, and never degraded human nature, by immolating 
 their fellow-creatures to false deities? It required an institu¬ 
 tion like the holy office, so completely to denaturalise the light 
 of natural reason, the empire and action of which are of such 
 incontestable utility for the government of human society. 2 
 
 No one was beyond its reach. Royal princes, 
 ministers of state, nobles, archbishops, bishops, and 
 even persons subsequently canonised, were persecuted 
 by it. The dead were not suffered to rest in peace. 
 The bodies of those suspected of heresy were exhumed 
 and burnt, for the purpose of robbing the heirs of the 
 property, as unless they could prove the innocence 
 of the accused, confiscation was the consequence. 
 
 2 Preface. 
 
252 
 
 THE INQUISITION. 
 
 . 11481 . 
 
 Instances have occurred where men have been forced 
 to refund the dowries received with their wives, 
 from the father-in-law having been declared guilty 
 of heresy before the marriage of the daughter; for 
 it was difficult, if not impossible, to rebut secret ac¬ 
 cusations, the accused being informed neither who 
 were the accusers, nor the act he was accused of. It 
 was sufficient for a converted Jew to die rich, for 
 them to endeavour to raise suspicions of his faith and 
 religion, so great was the ill-will towards the descend¬ 
 ants of Jews, and the wish of persecuting them, thereby 
 to enrich themselves by their spoils, as one-third of 
 the confiscated property went to the Inquisition, a 
 third to defray the expenses of the trial, and a third 
 to the king. Tortures of the most barbarous descrip¬ 
 tion often extorted the confession of crimes the inno¬ 
 cent sufferers had not committed. The Castilians, 
 although not as violent as the Aragonese, were equally 
 as averse to the establishment of the Inquisition, for 
 when the inquisitors arrived at Seville, and exhibited 
 their commission and the king’s orders, they could 
 neither procure the small number of persons, nor any 
 other assistance they required to commence their 
 operations. The council of the sovereigns issued a 
 new order from Medina del Campo to the authorities 
 of Seville and the diocese of Cadiz, to assist the 
 inquisitors to install themselves, and enter on their 
 office, yet the order of the king was interpreted as 
 only affecting the inhabitants of cities and towns 
 belonging to the royal domains, whereupon many of 
 the new Christians removed to those of the duke of 
 Medina Sidonia, the marquis of Cadiz, the count 
 d’Arcos, and other noblemen. This voluntary exile 
 
1481.] 
 
 THE INQUISITION. 
 
 258 
 
 induced the • inquisitors, ever thirsting for prey, to 
 obtain an ordinance from the king against the emi¬ 
 grants. The new tribunal declared that the fact of 
 their emigration almost convicted them of heresy, in 
 seeking by flight to avoid the surveillance and autho¬ 
 rity of the Inquisition. The first act of its jurisdic¬ 
 tion after its installation at the Dominican convent of 
 St. Paul, at Seville, was to publish an edict, stating 
 that from the information which they had received of 
 the emigration of the new Christians, they ordered the 
 marquis of Cadiz, the count d’Arcos, dukes, marquises, 
 counts, knights, grandees of Spain, and other noble¬ 
 men of the kingdom of Castile, to seize their persons 
 within the term of fifteen days, and to send them 
 under escort to Seville, and to sequestrate their pro¬ 
 perty, under pain of excommunication of those who 
 do not conform to the order, besides the other penalties 
 they would in justice incur as abettors of heresy, par¬ 
 ticularly confiscation of their property, and the loss of 
 their titles, offices, and rights as nobles; from which 
 it will be seen, that it was no sooner installed than it 
 commenced its encroachments on the civil and royal 
 power. 
 
 During the eighteen years that Torquemada was 
 inquisitor-general, the number of victims is stated by 
 cotemporary historians to have been as follows: — 
 
 10,220 burnt alive. 
 
 6,860 burnt in effigy, persons who were dead or had 
 escaped. 
 
 97,321 who were declared infamous, and excluded from 
 public honourable offices, and punished by confis¬ 
 cation of their property and perpetual imprison¬ 
 ment. 
 
 114,401 
 
254 
 
 INDICATIONS OF JUDAISM. 
 
 [ 1481 . 
 
 Thus making more than a hundred thousand mur¬ 
 dered and sacrificed under the cloak of religion. What 
 profanation of the sacred name of that which is the 
 consolation of every faith! 
 
 Exclusive of the victims, how many, from the ties of 
 relationship or friendship, participated in the misfor¬ 
 tunes of those condemned, when the following edict 
 for the supposed apostasy of the new Christians was 
 declared imperative on every Catholic, to denounce 
 them to the holy office, under pain of incurring them¬ 
 selves the liability of an inquisitorial prosecution? 
 Dread of so cruel a tribunal, and in many instances 
 private animosity (as the accuser’s name was always 
 an inviolable secret), led to the butchery of numerous 
 innocent individuals. 
 
 1. When a Jew who has been baptized, expects the Messiah, 
 or says he has not come. 
 
 2. When having been regenerated by baptism, he again 
 embraces Judaism. 
 
 3. If he says the law of Moses is as efficacious for salvation 
 as Christianity. 
 
 4. If he put on better or cleaner clothes than usual on 
 Saturdays, or a clean tablecloth on his table. 
 
 5. If he washes the blood from meat, or extracts the pro¬ 
 hibited parts from it. 
 
 6. If he examines the knife before slaying an animal, or 
 covers the blood. 
 
 7. If unnecessarily he eats meat during Lent, and believes 
 he may do it without offending God. 
 
 8. If he observes the fast of atonement, a proof of which is, 
 if he seeks and asks forgiveness of those he may have offended, 
 or puts his hands on his children’s heads to bless them, without 
 making the sign of the cross. 
 
 9. If he observe the feast of Esther. 
 
INDICATIONS OF JUDAISM. 
 
 255 
 
 1481 .] 
 
 10. If he fasts on the 9th of Ab in commemoration of the 
 destruction of the two Temples. 
 
 11. If he observes the feasts prescribed by the law of Moses. 
 
 12. If he celebrates the Passover by eating bitter herbs and 
 lettuces. 
 
 13. If he observes the feast of Tabernacles by placing green 
 boughs in his house, or sending or receiving presents of eata¬ 
 bles from Jews. 
 
 14. If he lights extra lights at the feast of Dedication. 
 
 15. If he says grace after meals like the Jews. 
 
 16. If he had drunk wine made by Jews. 
 
 17. If he says grace before meals in the same manner as Jews. 
 
 18. If he uses meat slain by Jews. 
 
 19. If he eats the same meats as Jews, or has sat at their table, 
 
 20. If he recites the Psalms of David without saying “ Gloria 
 patri ” at the end. 
 
 21. If a female fail going to church forty days after childbirth. 
 
 22. If he has had his son circumcised. 
 
 23. If he has given him a Hebrew name, such as Jews bear. 
 
 24. If, after baptising his children, the new Christian has 
 the part of the head washed that received the holy unction. 
 
 25. If in marrying he observes the rites prescribed by the 
 Mosaical law. 
 
 26. If he invites his relations and friends to a repast the day 
 before undertaking a voyage. 
 
 27. If he carries about him certain names used by the Jews. 
 
 28. If when making bread he takes a piece of the dough 
 and burns it in sign of an oblation. 
 
 29. If while dying he turns towards the wall, or any one 
 places him so. 
 
 30. If he washes, or has a corpse washed with warm water. 
 
 31. If he pronounce praises or recites lamentations over the 
 dead. 
 
 32. If in sign of mourning he eats fish and olives instead of 
 meat. 
 
 33. If he empties vessels containing water in his house, or 
 in the neighbourhood, where a death takes place. 
 
256 INSCRIPTIONS OP THE INQUISITION. [ 1481 . 
 
 34. If he has a corpse interred in virgin ground or the Jew’s 
 Cemetery. 
 
 It is no wonder, where such means were employed, 
 that the prisons were soon found to be too small for 
 the number of victims; we therefore find that in the 
 first year of its establishment it was removed to the 
 Chateau de Triana, when the following inscription in 
 barbarous Latin was shortly after engraved. 
 
 The holy office of the inquisition established against the 
 wickedness of heretics, commenced at Seville in the year 1481, 
 under the Pontificate of Sextus IV., who granted, and in the 
 reign of Ferdinand and Isabella, who had asked for it. The 
 first Inquisitor-general was Friar Thomas de Torquemada, 
 prior of the convent of Santa Cruz, of Segovia, of the order 
 of the preaching brotherhood. God grant that for the propa¬ 
 gation and maintenance of the faith it may last until the end of 
 ages. “ Arise, 0 Lord, be judge in thy cause. Catch the 
 foxes for us.” 3 
 
 Not blushing at the horrors it committed in the 
 name of a religion that preaches “ peace and good¬ 
 will to all mankind,” and to perpetuate the remembrance 
 of them, the following inscription appeared on the 
 magnificent palace of the Inquisition erected at Seville. 
 
 In the year of the Lord 1481, under the Pontificate of 
 Sextus IV., and in the reign of Ferdinand V. and Isabella, 
 sovereigns of the Spains, and the two Sicilies, the holy office 
 of the inquisition against Judaising Heretics, commenced in 
 this place for the exaltation of the faith; where, from the ex¬ 
 pulsion of the Jews and Moors until the year 1524, under the 
 reign of Charles, emperor of the Romans, successor to those 
 two sovereigns by maternal right, and the most reverend 
 Don Alphonso Manrique, archbishop of Seville, being in- 
 quisitoi-general, upwards of twenty-thousand heretics have 
 abjured their criminal errors, and more than one thousand 
 
 3 Zuniga’s Ann of Seville. 
 
1488.] CONDUCT OF THE COURT OF ROME. 
 
 257 
 
 persisting in heresy have been delivered to the flames, after 
 «. having been tried according to law with the approbation and 
 favour of Innocent VIII., Alexander VI., Pius III., Julius II., 
 Leo. X., Adrian VI. (who was raised to the Pontificate, while 
 cardinal governor of Spain, and inquisitor-general), and 
 Clement VII. The Licentiate de la Cueva has had this in¬ 
 scription (which was composed by Diego de Cartagena, 
 archdeacon of Seville) placed here by order, and at the ex¬ 
 pense of our master, the emperor, in the year of the Lord 1524. 
 
 In I486, the inquisitors of Toledo compelled the 
 rabbins of the synagogues to declare the converts that 
 had returned to Judaism. They condemned 750 to 
 walk barefoot, in their shirts, carrying a lighted taper, 
 through an immense crowd; 1,700 were condemned 
 to other penalties, and 27 were burned alive. 4 
 
 The Inquisition soon attempted to defy the royal 
 authority; for Torquemada, in 1488, issued a provi¬ 
 sional order to the treasurer of the holy office, not to 
 pay the royal orders until the salaries of its officers 
 and the expenses of the tribunal were liquidated ; 5 and 
 had the insolence to write to Ferdinand to sanction it, 
 which he refused. 
 
 The vacillating and avaricious conduct of the court 
 of Rome greatly aggravated the sufferings of the 
 converts: it sold them, at enormous prices, protection 
 against the Inquisition; but on the representations of 
 Ferdinand and Torquemada, they were no sooner given 
 than they were revoked; but the expenses they had 
 cost were not returned. 
 
 Llorente, who had been secretary to the Inquisition, 
 and has published the best history of it extant, says,— 
 
 The conduct of the holy office will be acknowledged to have 
 
 4 Llorente. 5 Ibid. 
 
 S 
 
258 
 
 EXTRACTS FROM LLORENTE. 
 
 been one of the principal causes that has reduced the popula¬ 
 tion of Spain, by the expulsion of the Jews and Moors, forcing 
 innumerable families, at all periods, to quit the kingdoms; im¬ 
 molating on its scaffolds, in the space of three centuries, upwards 
 of300,000 persons. Thus, by a blind zeal for religion, arresting 
 the progress of the arts, of industry, and of commerce, which 
 would have constituted the glory and happiness of the nation. 6 
 
 Speaking of the Jews, he writes:— 
 
 I know not what confidence the proofs alleged of the crimes 
 the Jews were accused of merit. But admitting that there was 
 a foundation for believing them to be true, it was quite un¬ 
 necessary to banish all the Jews from the kingdom. Religion 
 and policy rendered it a duty to treat them with mildness, and 
 to grant to their good conduct the esteem that was not refused 
 to Christians; at the same time they might have punished those 
 who were guilty, the same as Spaniards convicted of murder 
 or any other crime. The contempt and bad treatment with 
 which Christians loaded them, naturally would lead them to 
 vengeance, and instil in them a deep hatred against their 
 persecutors. In adopting a different policy towards the Jews, 
 they would not have been long in making them new men, and 
 like their descendants, at present established in the various 
 states of Europe, have become useful, good, and peaceable 
 citizens, by being neither debased nor persecuted. 7 
 
 Notwithstanding, it appears that until the expulsion 
 the Jews were not all molested by the Inquisition; for 
 Abarbanel, who shortly after its establishment went 
 to Castile, states, that he was astonished at the power 
 of the Castilian Hebrews, and the grandeur of the 
 law, and applied to them the verse of David; “ There 
 thrones of judgment are set, thrones for the house of 
 David .” 8 
 
 6 Llorente’s Preface. 7 Llorente, vol. i. p. 259. 8 Psa. cxxii. 5. 
 
259 
 
 CHAPTER XXIII. 
 
 Employed in Public Offices. — Town Council of Vit¬ 
 torio ,.— Appeal of the Jews. — Cortes of Tafalla.— 
 Learned men. — Don Isaac Abarbanel and his sons . 
 —Donna Leonora of Toledo , wife of Cosmo de 
 Medici , educated by Benvenida Abarbanel. 
 
 The conjoint sovereigns, like their predecessors, con¬ 
 tinued to employ Jews to collect their taxes. It is on 
 record that Ben Aroyo, the collector, asked and received 
 from the town council of Yittoria, letters to the autho¬ 
 rities for some business he had to transact at Soria, 1 the 
 9 th November, 1481. 
 
 On the 22d May, 1482, a Jew named Barzelai 
 being confined in the public prison of Yittoria, but it 
 is not stated for what crime, the attorney general, 
 Inigo Perez de Orosco, required the alcalde, Garcia 
 Martinez de Estella, to try the cause without delay, 
 to prevent any disturbance in the city. The council 
 ordered him, under a fine, to decide it before the fol¬ 
 lowing Saturday ; but neither the crime nor the sen¬ 
 tence is recorded. At the same meeting, the council 
 ordered him, under a similar fine, to publish that no 
 Christian female should enter the Jewry, fixing various 
 penalties for so doing. 2 
 
 To prevent interruption to service, on the 28th 
 August the town council ordered— 
 
 That no Jew or Jewess, during the performance of mass, 
 
 1 Acuerdos de Vit. p. 69. 2 Ibid. 81. 
 
260 
 
 MUNICIPAL ORDERS AT VITTORIA. [1482. 
 
 should presume to enter the monastery of San Francisco, its 
 porticoes, or cloisters, under the penalty of 600 maravedis for 
 each time, to be applied to the paving and repairing of the 
 walls of the city of Vittoria; and ordered it to be publicly 
 proclaimed in the said city. 3 
 
 On the 3rd September is found the following record: 
 
 Eliezer Tello, a Jew, for himself and in behalf of Don 
 Eleazer Chacon, and Moses Balid, each for their share as 
 sequestrators and depositaries, of 14,900 maravedis, received 
 by the collector of Trevino, Juan Martinez de Arratia, and 
 575 maravedis from Diego de Onateguy, which the receiver 
 and the said Jews had received, bind themselves to deliver 
 and refund to the council of the said city. 
 
 This shews that Christian receivers deposited what 
 they received with Jews. 
 
 On the 23rd October, the alcaldes, aldermen, the 
 attorney general, Juan Martinez de Alava, and the 
 members of the council, resolved and ordered, that 
 the following ordinances and proclamations should be 
 published in the city and its Jewry:— 
 
 We resolve, ordain, and command, that no Christian woman 
 or girl above ten years of age, is to enter or walk, either by 
 day or night, in the Jewry of this city, without a male com¬ 
 panion upwards of fourteen years old, under the penalty of 
 60 maravedis, half for the informer, and half for the justice 
 of the city; and the culprit shall besides be imprisoned nine 
 days. 
 
 Further, that no Christian female, whether accompanied or 
 not, shall presume to light fires, or cook for Jews in their 
 houses on Saturdays, or any other days, under pain of fifty 
 lashes; and the Jew that permits it in his house shall be fined 
 200 maravedis for each time. 4 
 
 As soon as it was published, the Jewry and indivi¬ 
 dual Jews announced that they appealed to the 
 
 3 Acuerdos de Vit. p. 87. 
 
 4 Ibid. vol. i.. p. 101. 
 
1485.] MUNICIPAL ORDERS AT V1TTORIA. 
 
 261 
 
 deputation and the proper authorities against the 
 ordinance respecting Saturdays. The result of the 
 appeal is not stated. 
 
 The Cortes held at Tafalla, in Navarre, issued an 
 ordinance in this year,— 
 
 That on holidays Jews should not quit the Jewries, nor 
 walk in the streets among Christians, until after mass, except 
 physicians and surgeons to visit the sick. 
 
 In the latter part of 1484, there appears on the 
 records of the town council of Vittoria, the following, 
 dated 5th November 5 :— 
 
 Resolved at this meeting, that whereas some persons desiring 
 the welfare of Christians, state that some Christians, acting 
 contrary to justice and the laws of these kingdoms, weary and 
 injure themselves more in expenses, by empowering and autho¬ 
 rising Jews to read the sentences of ecclesiastical courts, so 
 as to make them charges, even without incurring expense, or 
 pursuing the regular process, charging them expenses, and not 
 following up the case: we order, that no Christian empower 
 or give the said sentences to Jews to read; nor are the said 
 Jews to accept such charge, under pain of such Christian pay¬ 
 ing a fine of 1000 maravedis; and such Jew incurs the penalty 
 of 2000 maravedis for each time, and loses the costs he would 
 thereby derive, and all the expenses he may have incurred, 
 which we order to be published in the court and Jewry of 
 this city. 
 
 On the 26th November and 10th December, Don 
 Eleazar Chacon, Don Samuel Aben Nunez, and Eliezer 
 Tello, appealed to the town council to appoint judges, 
 to try the suits they had instituted against Guizon de 
 Vetonez; which, according to law, they did. 6 
 
 On the 26th June, 1485, the council ordered the 
 following to be published in the city:— 
 
 5 Arch. Nav. Case 164, No. 128. 0 Acuerdos de Vit. vol. 1, p. 162. 
 
262 MUNICIPAL ORDERS AT VITTORIA. [1485. 
 
 That no person shall presume to enter the streets of the Jewry 
 to sell fruit, vegetables, or any eatable, grass, or green barley; 
 but they may carry them to the gate of the Jewry, but are 
 not to enter within it, under pain of losing what they so carry 
 for sale, and further incur a fine of 24 maravedis, half to be 
 for the informer, and half for the paving of the city. 
 
 Furthermore, no woman or girl shall presume to enter the 
 streets of the said Jewry for anything they may require, without 
 a man accompanying her, until she leaves the street, under 
 the same penalty and three days’ imprisonment; and no Jew 
 is otherwise to admit her into his house, under the penalty of 
 five hundred maravedis, besides being imprisoned for nine 
 days. 
 
 Furthermore, no Christian women or girls are to hire them¬ 
 selves by the day, to any Jew or Jewess, under the said 
 penalty of twenty-four maravedis and three days’ imprisonment. 
 
 On the day these ordinances were published in the 
 city, David Chacon, in the name of the Jewry de¬ 
 manded a copy, that they might appeal against them 
 to the deputation: it was ordered to be furnished to 
 him. 7 
 
 From this it would appear, that the former ordinance 
 respecting females not entering the Jewry had not 
 been attended to. The appeal, in this instance, would 
 lead to the supposition that the former had been 
 successful. 
 
 These acts, probably, are those alluded to by 
 Pulgar (the private secretary of the queen), in a 
 letter to the cardinal of Spain, intimating that the 
 queen was displeased at certain municipal ordinances 
 against the Jews in Guipuscoa. 
 
 At a meeting held 20th July, there is a notice (but 
 without stating the cause), that Jacob Tello had 
 been condemned to the loss of half his property 8 and; 
 
 7 Acuerdos de Vit. vol.i., p. 2076. 8 Ibid. p. 182. 
 
1485 .] 
 
 LEARNED MEN. 
 
 263 
 
 a record of 16th September, that Dr. Abraham, the 
 physician of the city, gave notice that he abandoned 
 the law-suit he had pending with Martin Gonsalez. 9 
 
 The Jews of Spain, notwithstanding these vexations 
 and the persecutions they had suffered, continued to 
 cultivate learning, in which their brethren in Portugal 
 also joined. In that kingdom, none of the sanguinary 
 scenes that disgrace the annals of Spain had yet been 
 acted. Among the many distinguished writers of this 
 period, the major part of whom became exiles at the 
 general expulsion from those kingdoms, may be 
 enumerated: — 
 
 R. Joseph ben Shem Tob — born in 1420, a philosopher 
 and jurist; was deeply versed in the Talmud and Arabic; he 
 wrote a philosophical work under the title of “ Superior Know¬ 
 ledge,” “ The glory of God,” on the excellence of man, and the 
 law of Moses. He also wrote an Arabic commentary on 
 “ Aristotle’s Ethics.” 
 
 R. Don David ben Solomon Jachia —born at Lisbon, 
 in 1430, where he died in 1465, a grammarian, poet, and 
 Talmudist of repute; has left a grammatical work with the 
 title of u The Tongue of the Erudite.” His son Jacob finished 
 his “ Praise of David,” a philosophical Talmudical work. 
 
 R. Abraham Salom —a native of Catalonia, born 1430, 
 wrote a dogmatical work, connecting the divine with the 
 human; under the title of “ The Habitation of Peace.” 
 
 R. Isaac Aboab —born in 1432, in Castile, succeeded 
 R. Isaac Campanton, as chief of the Jews in Spain; he was a 
 jurist, philosopher, and theologian; his profound learning 
 procured him the esteem of John II. of Portugal, to which 
 kingdom he retired at the expulsion, where he died six 
 months after. He wrote a highly moral work, entitled “ The 
 Candlestick of Light;” “ The River Pish on;” sermons; and 
 a commentary on the Pentateuch. 
 
 9 Acuerdos de Vit. vol. i.. n. 187. 
 
264 
 
 DON ISAAC ABARBANEL. 
 
 R- Don Isaac Abarbanel — the greatest and most illus¬ 
 trious man of the Hebrew people of this period and age, was 
 horn at Lisbon in 1437. He states, in his commentary on 
 Zechariah, that his family settled in Spain, shortly after the 
 destruction of the first Temple, and claims to he of the royal 
 house of David. He was a great favourite and the confidant 
 of Alphonso V., who was entirely guided by his advice. To 
 avoid the fate the friends of that monarch experienced from 
 his successor, John II., by the timely notice of a friend, 
 when he was sent for to the palace he fled to Castile, aban¬ 
 doning his immense property, which the king confiscated. 
 He there established a hank, and jointly with Abraham Senior 
 farmed the royal revenues, by which he soon repaired his 
 broken fortune. In 1484, he was summoned to the court of 
 Ferdinand and Isabella, in whose service he was employed 
 until the expulsion in 1492, which he endeavoured in vain to 
 avert. On quitting Spain, he repaired to Naples, where he was 
 kindly received by Ferdinand, to whom he rendered important 
 services. Charles VIII. of France, on the death of that 
 monarch, invaded Italy. Alphonso II., who had succeeded 
 his father as king of Naples, fled to Sicily, whither Abarbanel 
 accompanied him, and remained with the unfortunate monarch 
 until his death. On the demise of that sovereign he retired to 
 Corfu, and ultimately to Venice. The senate, knowing his 
 abilities as a statesman, employed him to negotiate a treaty 
 respecting the spice trade with Portugal. He died in that city 
 in 1508, beloved and esteemed by all who knew him. Not¬ 
 withstanding his political occupations in the service of so many 
 sovereigns, and constant troubles, his inexhaustible mind en¬ 
 abled him to write many works. His language is pure and 
 elegant, and so impressive, that popes forbade his commentaries 
 on Isaiah being read by Jews. Fie was so quick a writer, that 
 in fifteen days he completed his commentary on Joshua, and 
 in seventy-two those on the books of Samuel and Kings. 
 During his residence of ten years in Castile, his intimate 
 friendship with R. Isaac Aboab, assisted him greatly in the study 
 of the law. His works are, besides his valuable commentaries 
 
LEARNED MEN. 
 
 265 
 
 on the Pentateuch, and the Early and Later Prophets, from 
 which are gathered the principal incidents of his eventful life; 
 
 The Paschal Sacrifice,” an account of Passover ceremonies; 
 
 The Works of God,” on the creation, and impugning the 
 doctrine of the world’s eternity; “ The Proclaimer of Salva¬ 
 tion, explanatory of the prophets; “ The Inheritance of the 
 Fathers,” on their ethics; “ The Crown of the Elders,” on the 
 promises to the fathers; “ The Head of Faith,” on the Jewish 
 creed; answers to questions propounded by R. Saul Cohen, 
 on some passages of Maimonides’ Guide; “The Salvation of 
 His Anointed,” an exposition of the sayings of the ancient 
 rabbis respecting the Messiah; “ Assemblage of the Prophets,” 
 on the prophets; “The Vision of the Almighty,” on the 
 different degrees of prophecy; “The Days of the World,” 
 relating all the calamities the Jews had suffered until his time; 
 “ The Justice of the Worlds,” on the creation, the new year, 
 the day of atonement, Paradise, hell, the resurrection, and 
 future lewaids and punishments; “ I he New Heavens,” on 
 the creation, and elucidating chap. xix. b. 2, of Maimonides’ 
 Guide. Some minor tracts are also attributed to him. 
 
 R. Judah ben Joseph - of Saragossa, where he was born 
 in 1440, much esteemed for his talmudical knowledge. He 
 wrote a commentary on the affirmative precepts, and two 
 treatises, one on “ Mourning,” and another on “ Unclean 
 Animals.” 
 
 R. Galab a native of Lerida, in Catalonia, born about 
 1445, was highly considered for his literary talents, medical 
 abilities, and proficiency in the Latin language, in which he 
 wrote a work entitled Antedotarium. 
 
 R. Abraham Bibas — born in Aragon, in 1447, was a 
 theologian, philosopher, physician, and jurist. He wrote a 
 philosophical work, entitled “The Book of Demonstration;” 
 “The Tree of Life,” also philosophical; a medical one, with 
 the title of “Medical Collections;” “The High Road of 
 Faith,” on faith; and some sermons. 
 
266 
 
 LEARNED MEN. 
 
 R. Jacob —His son wrote a commentary on the Talmudical 
 Tales. 
 
 R. Samuel ben Habib —also of Aragon, was a philosopher, 
 physician, and poet of repute. He studied under R. Abraham 
 Bibas, and has immortalised his name by his Hebrew poems. 
 
 R. Jacob ben Habib —born in 1450, a celebrated jurist, 
 theologian, and cabalist of Aragon, was one of the exiles at the 
 expulsion from Spain. He wrote some talmudical works under 
 the titles of “ The Fountain of Jacob,” or “ The Fountain of 
 Israel;” “ The House of Israel,” which at his death not being 
 completed, was finished by his son R. Levi, who also wrote 
 some solutions to questions. 
 
 R. Solomon ben Virga— an historian, talmudist, physi¬ 
 cian, and astronomer of great repute, born about 1450. He 
 composed some astronomical tables. His historical work, “ The 
 Sceptre of Judah,” is highly esteemed, and has been translated 
 into Latin, Spanish, Portuguese, and German. His Practice of 
 Medicine was greatly approved. 
 
 R. Abraham Sabah —born at Lisbon in 1450, which he 
 quitted at the expulsion in 1497, having returned, at the risk 
 of his life, to Portugal, to endeavour to obtain permission for 
 his brethren to return to that kingdom; he died there in 
 1509. He was a celebrated cabalistical commentator. His 
 “ Bundle of Myrrh” is on the Pentateuch, and his “ Bundle of 
 Silver” on the five rolls. 
 
 R. Isaac Caro —born at Toledo, but in what year is not 
 known, was a cotemporary of the foregoing. In 1492 he quitted 
 his native city and went to Portugal, but was obliged in 1498 
 to depart that kingdom. In his voyage from Lisbon to the 
 Holy Land he lost his wife, children, and books by shipwreck. 
 He was an able expositor, jurist, and cabalist. He wrote a 
 commentary on the Pentateuch, under the title of u The Genera¬ 
 tions of Isaac.” 
 
 R. Isaac Arama —a native of Zamora, was also a cotem- 
 poraneous philosopher, theologian, expositor, and one of 
 
LEARNED MEN. 
 
 267 
 
 the most able Talmudists of his time; he was among the 
 exiles in 1492. His “ Ligation of Isaac” is a philosophical 
 commentary on the ancient Rabbinical writers, in opposition to 
 the Grecian philosophy; a “ Commentary on the Five Rolls; ” 
 he wrote also “ The Heavy Vision,” impugning the dogmas of 
 Catholicism. 
 
 R. Isaac BEN Joseph — was likewise a cotemporary pro¬ 
 fessor of philosophy and medicine in Castile; he wrote a com¬ 
 mentary on Maimonides’ Guide. 
 
 R. Vidal Caslari —was at this period an eminent physi¬ 
 cian in Catalonia. 
 
 R. Don David ben Joseph Jachia —born at Lisbon in 
 1465, where he was highly esteemed for his learning by 
 Alphonso V. On the expulsion from Portugal, he retired to 
 Italy and settled at Imola; the fame of his abilities as a philo¬ 
 sopher, grammarian, and poet, induced the Jews of Naples to 
 invite him to become their chief, which post he occupied for 
 twenty-two years, when he returned to Imola, where he died 
 in 1541. 
 
 R. David Vidal —a celebrated talmudist, physician, musi¬ 
 cian, and poet, born at Toledo in 1467, where he successfully 
 practised medicine. He wrote an exposition of the precepts 
 under the title of “ The Crown of the Law,” and another on 
 “ The Thirteen Articles of the Creed.” 
 
 R. Abraham Zacut —born at Salamanca, and professor 
 of astronomy at Saragossa, and which he had also taught in 
 his native city and at Carthagena; on quitting Spain in 1492 
 he went to Lisbon, where he was appointed astronomer and 
 historiographer to the king, Don Emanuel. On the banishment 
 of the Jews from Portugal lie retired to Tunis. His historical 
 work, “ The Book of Genealogies,” is the best Hebrew work 
 of the kind. He also wrote an astronomical and an astrological 
 work, a perpetual almanac, and “ Sweet to the Soul,” on the 
 future state and separation of the soul from the body. 
 
 R. Joshua ben Joseph a Levi —born at Toledo in 1467, 
 
268 
 
 LEARNED MEN. 
 
 where after a persecution lie lived under the protection of Don 
 Vidal; being profoundly versed in the Guemara, he wrote rules 
 for understanding it. 
 
 R. Isaac Alhadahef — of Aragon; a mathematician and 
 Talmudist, highly esteemed for his learning and works; which 
 are —“ The Plain Koad,” a mathematical work; “ The Work of 
 the Artificer,” on arithmetic; and, “ The Golden Tongue,” an 
 explanation of scriptural measures. 
 
 R. Hasdai Kreskas —a native of Saragossa; a profound 
 moral philosopher and Arabic scholar, from which language 
 he translated into Hebrew a moral work of Abumat Algazel, 
 and a philosophical one of an unknown author; he also wrote a 
 treatise on “ The Transmigration of Souls.” 
 
 R. Moses ben Habib — a native of Lisbon, and member of 
 its academy; a talented grammarian, philosopher, and theo¬ 
 logian. He wrote three grammatical works, entitled, “ Pleasant 
 Paths;” “ Medicine of the Tongue;” and, “ The Flower of 
 the Lily;” u The Camp of God,” a philosophical and theo¬ 
 logical work; a biblical commentary, and another on Hapenini’s 
 “ Examination of the World.” 
 
 R. Joseph Guikatilla —born in Castile, which he 
 quitted at the expulsion. He was much esteemed for his 
 literary acquirements, good qualities, and profound Cabalistical 
 learning, on which subject he wrote six works, and a theo¬ 
 logical commentary on the passover service. 
 
 R. Joseph Hiyan— a native of Lisbon. His commen¬ 
 taries on Proverbs, Psalms, the Prophets, and the Ethics of the 
 Fathers, are much esteemed. 
 
 R. Don Judah Abarbanel —son of Don Isaac, was born 
 at Lisbon. He accompanied his father in all his peregrinations, 
 and ultimately settled at Genoa, where he practised medicine 
 with great repute. He was a profound philosopher, and an 
 excellent poet. His “ Philography, or Dialogues of Love,” is 
 translated into most European languages ; he also wrote some 
 poems in honour of his father; an elegy on his death; and 
 
LEARNED MEN. 
 
 269 
 
 a poem of 130 stanzas, descriptive of the vicissitudes of his 
 life, and containing exhortations to his son. He is commonly 
 styled u The Hebrew Lion.” 
 
 E. Don Joseph Abarbanel, —second son of Don Isaac, 
 after the expulsion, accompanied his father, and settled at Fer¬ 
 rara, where he practised as a physician. 
 
 Don Samuel Abarbanel, —third son of the minister, 
 whom E. Abraham Usque styles Trismegistus (thrice great), for 
 he was great in learning, great in liberality, and had great 
 means for being charitable. He established a house of com¬ 
 merce at Naples, and is said to have possessed 200,000 
 sequins of gold. His wealth was employed in assisting the 
 indigent, redeeming captives, and giving dowers to poor orphan 
 girls. His house is represented as having been a school for 
 the virtuous—a hospital for the poor—and a refuge for the 
 unfortunate. His wife, Donna Benvenida, was a pattern of 
 piety, virtue, and prudence. The viceroy, Don Pedro de Toledo, 
 placed his daughter, Donna Leonora (who was afterwards 
 married to the grand duke of Tuscany, Cosmo de Medicis) 
 under her care and tuition: the princess always styled and 
 treated her as a mother. Donna Benvenida procured the most 
 distinguished ladies of Naples to interest themselves with 
 Charles V. to obtain the recall of her exiled people. The 
 emperor was inclined to grant the request, but was dissuaded. 
 
 E. Jacob Berab — at the expulsion went from Spain to 
 Saphet, where he was appointed chief rabbi. He wrote solu¬ 
 tions to questions and rules for understanding the style of 
 the Prophets, under the title of £< A Collection of Lilies.” 
 
 E. Jacob Castile —born at Alcala la Eeal, was an emi¬ 
 nent surgeon. He translated from Latin into Hebrew a 
 surgical work of one Brunon. 
 
 E. Jacob Mantenu— born at Tortosa, in 1490, was taken 
 by his parents, at the expulsion, to Venice. Under the 
 instruction of his father, he became profoundly versed in 
 jurisprudence, medicine, philosophy, and languages. He 
 
270 
 
 LEARNED MEN. 
 
 obtained a great reputation by his translations into Latin of 
 Maimonides’ Guide, and his Preface to the Mishna, Avicen¬ 
 na’s general principles for the cure of pains in the head, and 
 other versions of Maimonides, Plato, Aristotle, and Averroes, 
 on physics, metaphysics, and jurisprudence. He practised 
 medicine with great success at Venice; from whence he went 
 
 to Rome, and was appointed first physician to Paul IIL 
 
 \ 
 
 R. Meir Arama —son of R. Isaac Arama, wrote “ Illus¬ 
 trations of Psalms,” and “ Illustrations of Job.” 
 
 R. Joseph Jachia, — son of R. Don David, born in 1494, 
 at Lisbon, which he quitted with his parents for Italy, and 
 was head of the congregation of Imola for many years. He 
 commented on the Pentateuch, and wrote three Talmudical 
 works. He died in 1539, leaving three sons, R. David, R. 
 Guedaliah, author of “ The Chain of Tradition,” a historical 
 work; and R. Judah, doctor of medicine and arts, at Padua. 
 
 Bonpos Bonfil— a native of Barcelona, was a celebrated 
 physician, philosopher, and linguist. He translated into He¬ 
 brew Boetius’ <4 Consolations Philosophic ;” from the Arabic, 
 “ Esop’s Fables;” and from the Greek, “ Pathologia et Hygienes 
 ex Galeno ,” and “ The Books of Hippocrates.” 
 
 CHAPTER XXIV. 
 
 War of Granada.—Assistance rendered by the Jews .— 
 Four Hundred and Fifty Captives redeemed by 
 Aibraham Senior. — Improbable Accusations . — Over¬ 
 charge of Taxes refunded. — Fall of Granada.—The 
 Edict of Banishment. 
 
 On peace being concluded with Portugal, Ferdinand 
 resolved to avenge the insolent answer to his demand 
 
1485.] RECAPTURE OF ZAIIARA. 271 
 
 for the arrears of tribute due by Granada to the 
 crown of Castile and Leon. The capture of Zahara 
 by Muley Hassan, afforded him the excuse for com¬ 
 mencing a war against the last Moorish kingdom of 
 Spain, and driving the crescent from the Iberian soil. 
 Yet notwithstanding the heroism and bravery dis¬ 
 played, the undertaking might have failed without the 
 assistance of the Jews. During the warlike prepara¬ 
 tions they were left quiet and unmolested in their 
 Jewries, peaceably occupied in their customary occu¬ 
 pations and trade. While this war absorbed the 
 general attention, and every one was earnestly engaged 
 in preparations for it, the Jews, although they did not 
 arm, were eminently useful. The immense permanent 
 armies required providers, whose capitals should be 
 employed in advancing money to procure provisions 
 and supplies. This kind of commerce was a species 
 of speculation the Jews had constantly entered into. 
 Their wealth was every where expended in purchasing 
 provisions, not without the hope of profiting by their 
 enormous sacrifices. Thus the co-operation of the 
 Jews was necessary and expedient for the success 
 and hopes of the Catholic sovereigns, and the whole 
 nation; and although Christians did not regard the 
 Hebrew people kindly, their rancour towards them 
 was suspended for a time. The Jews constantly 
 followed the Christian armies, supplying their wants, 
 and thus rendering most important services to the 
 cause of Christendom. Ferdinand had declared that 
 he would pick one by one the seeds from “ The Pome¬ 
 granate” (Granada). After experiencing some reverses 
 and checks, in 1485 he began to accomplish his 
 promise. Zahara was retaken by assault; Cartama, 
 
272 
 
 SIEGE OF BAZA. 
 
 [ 1487 . 
 
 Coin, Ronda, Cambil, Alhabar, and Zalea, all fortresses 
 of the greatest importance, fell under the empire of 
 the Cross. In the following years, the same fate befell 
 Loja, Higora, Morbrin, Velez Malaga, and Malaca, 
 with many other castles and fortresses, on which the 
 banners of Castile triumphantly floated over the 
 crescent. 
 
 On the taking of Malaga, some Christians were 
 found who had embraced Mahomedanism. Ferdinand 
 had them burnt; and some baptised Jews, who had re¬ 
 turned to the religion of their forefathers, with a refine¬ 
 ment of cruelty he had impaled alive. Four hundred 
 and fifty Moorish Jews, mostly women, found in the 
 city, were ransomed for 20,000 doblas of gold, by 
 the generosity of Abraham Senior, the wealthy con¬ 
 tractor of Castile. They were taken away in two 
 armed galleys. 1 
 
 During the long and obstinate siege of Baza, nothing 
 was wanting to the Castilian army. Not only were 
 the necessaries of life abundant, but even those of 
 luxury and convenience. Owing to the zeal and fore¬ 
 sight of the Catholic queen, under the protection of 
 convoys, and attracted by interest, traders and arti¬ 
 ficers from all parts repaired to this military mart, 
 where, in a short time, they established warehouses 
 for every description of goods, and workshops for 
 various manufactures. Armourers manufactured those 
 sumptuous helmets and splendid cuirasses, that were 
 the ornament and pride of the Christian knights; 
 saddlers and embroiderers made saddles glittering 
 with gold and silver; traders’ shops abounded with 
 valuable cloths, brocades, fine linen, and tapestry; in 
 
 1 Bernaldez MS. 
 
1491 .] 
 
 THE STORY OF LA- GUARDIA. 
 
 273 
 
 short, every thing that could gratify the taste of 
 youth, inclined to magnificence and grandeur. 2 
 
 Thus had the Jews served the cause of the Catholic 
 sovereigns. The camp experienced no scarcity; con¬ 
 voys arrived and departed at their stated times; the 
 price of provisions, and even of articles of luxury, 
 remained unchanged, laying the foundation for a new 
 city in the midst of the Yega, to establish more com¬ 
 modious dwellings and shops. 
 
 In 1491, the following incredible tale was pro¬ 
 pagated by the monks:—At La Guardia, a village 
 about nine leagues from Toledo, some Jews of 
 that place, Quintanar and Tembleque, agreed to 
 make a spell with a Host and the heart of a 
 young boy, for the purpose of poisoning Christians, 
 particularly the inquisitors, and to cause them 
 to die raving mad. They stole a boy three or 
 four years old and carried him to a neighbouring 
 cavern, where after severely flogging they crucified 
 him, then they took out the heart and buried the body 
 in a vineyard at a short distance. They purchased a 
 Host from the sacristan of La Guardia, which to¬ 
 gether with the heart was reduced to a powder, and 
 sent to the celebrated synagogue of Zamora. One 
 Benedict de las Mesuras had put some of the powder 
 between the leaves of a prayer-book he used; going 
 to church with it one day, a person noticed a radiance 
 proceed from the leaves of the book, and informed the 
 inquisitors; their officials discovered the plot, all the 
 accused were put to the torture, condemned, and 
 burnt at Avila. Neither the heart nor the body of 
 the child was found, but the Host being discovered was 
 
 2 Rios. 
 
 T 
 
274 
 
 SURRENDER OF GRANADA. 
 
 [ 1492 . 
 
 carried in solemn procession to the monastery of 
 St. Thomas. An old Christian of Tembleque, named 
 Fernando de Ribera, was taken up in 1521, for being 
 concerned in this affair; he denied the accusation, but 
 acknowledged that he had embraced Judaism and fol¬ 
 lowed the law of Moses. Such were the tales fabri¬ 
 cated by monks to inflame the minds of the people 
 against the descendants of Israel! The credulity of 
 the deluded populace appears astonishing in the present 
 age. In July of this year (1491), the Jews of Vit- 
 toria complained that they had been overcharged in 
 the assessment of 1489. It was ordered that the sur¬ 
 charge should be deducted from the amount to be 
 paid on the present year. 3 And on the 20th it was 
 resolved that the gates of the Jewry should be repaired, 
 the expense to be paid from the city funds; and that 
 the said Jews should close the back part of the Jewry 
 from the Calle de la Pintoreria, at the expense of the 
 owners of the houses and lands, by Michaelmas next, 
 under the penalty of five thousand maravedis. 4 
 
 The municipality condemned Moses Balid, chief of 
 the Jews at Vittoria, to pay a fine of a dobla of gold 
 for disrespect, in using insulting expressions to some 
 persons of the tower, at a meeting on the preceding 
 Friday. 5 
 
 After a protracted siege and brave defence, the city 
 of Granada capitulated, and the Catholic sovereigns 
 added to their dominions the last Moorish Kingdom 
 of Spain. The sun of the 2nd January, 1492, was 
 the last that saw the crescent float over the Iberian 
 soil, where it had shone with such splendour for nearly 
 eight centuries. The internal dissensions that reigned 
 among the Moorish princes had greatly contributed 
 
 3 Aeuerdos de Vit. vol, i., 4216. 4 Ibid. p. 4226. 5 Ibid. p. 4236. 
 
1492 .] 
 
 WEALTH OF THE JEWS. 
 
 275 
 
 to the success of the arms of Ferdinand and Isabella. 
 Elated with the conquest, and instigated by the In¬ 
 quisition, they resolved that Spain should no longer 
 afford an asylum, nor its soil be polluted by the tread 
 of any one not professing the Catholic religion. Those 
 whose ancestors had resided in it, from time imme¬ 
 morial, were doomed by a fanatic zeal and insatiable 
 avarice to be banished for ever from the happy scenes 
 of their youth, the graves of their dearest ties, the 
 land they had cultivated, and the country they had 
 enlightened by their learning and talents in ages of 
 darkness and ignorance. Regardless of every con¬ 
 sideration, their blind policy induced the sovereigns 
 to sign, in the halls of the Alhambra, the decree that 
 expatriated a hundred and sixty thousand families 
 from their peaceful homes, to wander they knew not 
 whither. Under the specious hypocritical mask of 
 zeal for religion, the crafty Ferdinand sought to 
 gratify his avarice. Large sums had come into his 
 coffers, from the confiscations of the property of the 
 converts by his diabolical tribunal, the Inquisition, 
 which increased his insatiable thirst for wealth. 
 
 The Jews were the only body of his subjects possessing 
 large fortunes whom he could plunder with impunity; among 
 them were many opulent men who had immense wealth, and 
 property worth one and two millions. Three were reported 
 to possess ten millions, one of whom was Abraham Senior, 
 who farmed the revenues of Castile, the same generous philan¬ 
 thropic individual who had from his private purse redeemed 
 the four hundred and fifty captives of Malaga; others also who 
 were merchants had large fortunes. 
 
 Notwithstanding the tribute they paid to the lord of the soil, 
 they were very charitable towards each other; none ever came 
 to great want, for the councils of the Jewries liberally supplied 
 the wants of the needy. They were landholders, and established 
 
276 
 
 CONDUCT OF THE JEWS. 
 
 [ 1492 . 
 
 in the finest cities, and settled on the most fertile and richest 
 soils, and also merchants, traders, farmers of the excise, taxes 
 and customs, stewards and bailiffs of grandees, founders, tailors, 
 shoemakers, hide-dressers, tanners, silk-mercers, spice-dealers, 
 silversmiths, weavers, pedlars, and similar trades. 6 
 
 The mass of the common people industriously gained 
 a livelihood by their dexterity in various handicrafts, 
 which rendered them far superior to similar classes of 
 the Christian population. The opulence to which 
 many had risen from their industrious pursuits, gave 
 them an interest in the land of their birth and adop¬ 
 tion ; and although personal interest might have had a 
 share, they had shewn their loyalty in the assistance 
 rendered to the catholic sovereigns in the late war 
 with Granada. It gave to the descendants of Israel a 
 claim on the gratitude of the victorious monarchs, to 
 which might be added the obligation Ferdinand was 
 under to a Jew for restoring sight to his aged father. 
 But gratitude was a virtue the royal breasts did not 
 possess, as further proved by their conduct to Colum¬ 
 bus, who gave a new world to the crown of Castile. 
 
 The bloody records of the sanguinary Inquisition 
 state not a single instance of the Hebrew people acting 
 irreverently to the catholic worship. The faithful dis¬ 
 charge of their social duties, and the protection of the 
 laws, which guaranteed to them their landed posses¬ 
 sions to a certain amount, had led them to hope for 
 further immunities. 
 
 But all their hopes were frustrated. Neither 
 humanity, gratitude, j ustice, nor the injury done to the 
 state, by banishing so many useful subjects from his 
 dominions, were powerful enough to operate against 
 the personal avaricious disposition of Ferdinand. 
 
 u MS. Bernaldez’s Reyes Cath. chap. cxii. 
 
1492.] EDICT OF FERDINAND AND ISABELLA. 
 
 277 
 
 The following decree fell like a thunderbolt on the 
 devoted heads of the Israelites:— 
 
 Edict of Ferdinand and Isabella for the Expulsion of the Jews , 
 dated Granada , 30 th March , 1492. 
 
 Whereas, having been informed that in these our kingdoms, 
 there were some bad Christians who judaized and apostatized 
 from our holy catholic faith, the chief cause of which was the 
 communication of Jews with Christians; at the Cortes we held 
 in the city of Toledo in the year 1480, we ordered the said 
 Jews in all the cities, towns, and places in our kingdoms and 
 dominions, to separate into Jewries and places apart, where 
 they should live and reside, hoping by their separation alone to 
 remedy the evil. Furthermore, we have sought and given 
 orders, that inquisition should be made in our said kingdoms, 
 which, as is known, for upwards of twelve years has been, and 
 is done, whereby many guilty persons have been discovered, as 
 is notorious. And as we are informed by the inquisitors, and 
 many other religious, ecclesiastical, and secular persons, that 
 great injury has resulted, and does result, and it is stated, and 
 appears to be, from the participation, society, and communi¬ 
 cation they held and do hold with Jews, who it appears always 
 endeavour in every way they can to subvert our holy catholic 
 faith, and to make faithful Christians withdraw and separate 
 themselves therefrom, and attract and pervert them to their 
 injurious opinions and belief, instructing them in the cere¬ 
 monies and observances of their religion, holding meetings 
 where they read and teach them what they are to believe and 
 observe according to their religion; seeking to circumcise them 
 and their children; giving them books from which they may 
 read their prayers; and explaining to them the fasts they are 
 to observe; assembling with them to read and to teach them 
 the histories of their law; notifying to them the festivals pre¬ 
 vious to their occurring, and instructing them what they are 
 to do and observe thereon; giving and carrying to them from 
 their houses unleavened bread, and meat slaughtered with 
 ceremonies; instructing them what they are to refrain from, 
 
278 
 
 EDICT OF FERDINAND AND ISABELLA. [1492. 
 
 as well in food as in other matters, for the due observance of 
 their religion, and persuading them all they can to profess and 
 keep the law of Moses; giving them to understand, that except 
 that, there is no other law or truth, which is proved by many 
 declarations and confessions, as well of Jews themselves as of 
 those who have been perverted and deceived by them, which 
 has greatly redounded to the injury, detriment, and opprobrium 
 of our holy catholic faith. 
 
 Notwithstanding we were informed of the major part of 
 this before, and we knew the certain remedy for all these 
 injuries and inconveniences was to separate the said Jews from 
 all communication with Christians, and banish them from all 
 our kingdoms, yet we were desirous to content ourselves by 
 ordering them to quit all the cities, towns, and places of Anda¬ 
 lusia, where, it appears, they had done the greatest mischief, 
 considering that would suffice, and that those of other cities, 
 towns and places would cease to do and commit the same. 
 
 But as we are informed that neither that, nor the execution 
 of some of the said Jews, who have been guilty of the said 
 crimes and offences against our holy Catholic faith, has been 
 sufficient for a complete remedy to obviate and arrest so great 
 an opprobrium and offence to the Catholic faith and religion. 
 
 And as it is found and appears, that the said Jews, wherever 
 they live and congregate, daily increase in continuing their 
 wicked and injurious purposes; to afford them no further op¬ 
 portunity for insulting our holy Catholic faith, and those whom 
 until now God has been pleased to preserve, as well as those 
 who had fallen, but have amended and are brought back to 
 our holy mother church, which, according to the weakness of 
 our human nature and the diabolical suggestion that continually 
 wages war with us, may easily occur, unless the principal cause 
 of it be removed, which is to banish the said Jews from our 
 kingdoms. 
 
 And when any serious and detestable crime is committed by 
 some persons of a college or university, it is right that such 
 college or university should be dissolved and annihilated, and 
 the lesser suffer for the greater, and one be punished for the 
 
1492 .] EDICT OF FERDINAND AND ISABELLA. 
 
 279 
 
 other; and those that disturb the welfare and proper living of 
 cities and towns, that by contagion may injure others, should 
 be expelled therefrom, and even for lighter causes that might 
 be injurious to the state, how much more then for the greatest, 
 most dangerous, and contagious of crimes like this. 
 
 Therefore we, by and with the counsel and advice of some 
 prelates and high noblemen of our kingdoms, and other learned 
 persons of our council, having maturely deliberated thereon, 
 .resolve to order all the said Jews and Jewesses to quit our king¬ 
 doms, and never to return or come back to them, or any of them. 
 Therefore we command this our edict to be issued, whereby 
 we command all Jews and Jewesses, of whatever age they may 
 be, that live, reside, and dwell in our said kingdoms and 
 dominions, as well natives as those who are not, who in any 
 manner or for any cause may have come to dwell therein, that 
 by the end of the month of July next, of the present year 
 1492, they depart from all our said kingdoms and dominions, 
 with their sons, daughters, man-servants, maid-servants, and 
 Jewish attendants, both great and small, of whatever age they 
 may be; and they shall not presume to return to, nor reside 
 therein, or in any part of them, either as residents, travellers, 
 or in any other manner whatever, under pain that if they do 
 not perforin and execute the same, and are found to reside in 
 our said kingdoms and dominions, or should in any manner 
 live therein, they incur the penalty of death, and confiscation 
 of all their property to our treasury, which penalty they 
 incur by the act itself, without further process, declaration, or 
 sentence. 
 
 And we command and forbid any person or persons of our 
 said kingdoms, of whatsoever rank, station, or condition they 
 may be, that they do not presume publicly or secretly to 
 receive, shelter, protect, or defend any Jew or Jewess, after 
 the said term of the end of July, in their lands or houses, 
 or in any other part of our said kingdoms and dominions, 
 henceforward for ever and ever, under pain of losing all their 
 property, vassals, castles, and other possessions ; and further¬ 
 more forfeit to our treasury any sums they have, or receive 
 from us. 
 
280 
 
 EDICT OF FERDINAND AND ISABELLA. [ 1492 . 
 
 And that the said Jews and Jewesses during the said time, 
 until the end of the said month of July, may be the better 
 able to dispose of themselves, their property, and estates, we 
 hereby take and receive them under our security, protection, 
 and royal safeguard; and insure to them and their properties, 
 that during the said period, until the said day, the end of the 
 said month of July, they may travel in safety, and may enter, 
 sell, barter, and alienate all their moveable and immoveable 
 property, and freely dispose thereof at their pleasure. 
 
 And that during the said time, no harm, injury, or wrong 
 whatever shall be done to their persons or properties contrary 
 to justice, under the pains those persons incur and are liable to, 
 that violate our royal safeguard. 
 
 We likewise grant permission and authority to the said Jews 
 and Jewesses, to export their wealth and property, by sea or 
 land, from our said kingdoms and dominions, provided they do 
 not take away gold, silver, money, or other articles prohibited 
 by the laws of our kingdoms, but in merchandise and goods 
 that are not prohibited. 
 
 And we command all the justices of our kingdoms, that they 
 <iause the whole of the above herein contained to be observed 
 and fulfilled, and that they do not act contrary hereto; and 
 that they afford all necessary favour, under pain of being 
 deprived of office, and the confiscation of all their property to 
 our exchequer. 
 
CHAPTER XXV. 
 
 The offer of Abarbanel .— Conduct of Torquemada .— 
 Jews of Vittoria save their Cemetery from Desecra¬ 
 tion.—AbarbaneVs Account of their Departure. — Ber- 
 naldez’s.—Jews of Segovia. — Sufferings. — Some are 
 baptised.—Number that go to Portugal—to Na¬ 
 varre .— Orders of the King to assist the Refugees .— 
 Embark.— Cruelties and Misery experienced in their 
 Voyages.—The Synagogues converted into Churches. 
 
 The tempting offer of 600,000 crowns made by Abar- 
 banel, caused the cold-hearted calculating Ferdinand 
 to hesitate about revoking the cruel decree, when 
 Torquemada rushed into the royal presence, with a 
 crucifix in his hand. Casting it on the table, the 
 proud Dominican said, “ Behold him whom Judas 
 sold for thirty pieces of silver; do you sell him for 
 more?”—The churchman succeeded; — the decree was 
 not repealed. This unmerciful persecutor of the 
 Hebrew people rendered their fate worse, by forbid¬ 
 ding Christians to supply them with food, or the 
 necessaries of life; or to receive, or even to hold com¬ 
 munication with them after the month of April; thus 
 usurping and superseding the royal authority, which 
 had guaranteed them security from the date of the 
 edict until the end of July. Yet the Catholic sove¬ 
 reigns winked at the daring insolence of the monk in 
 assuming an authority over the regal power; but 
 
282 
 
 THE JEWS’ CEMETERY OF VITTORIA. [1492. 
 
 Torquemacla was the creature of Ferdinand. In 
 Aragon, Valencia, and Catalonia (where they were 
 exceedingly wealthy), the inquisitor ordered that the 
 property of the Jewries and individuals should be 
 sequestrated, to pay any mortgages the king, the 
 chuich, and monasteries might hold, and that twice 
 the amount of the principal should be retained to 
 defray expenses; and that a further sum should be 
 taken to indemnify the land-proprietors and monas- 
 teiies, for the loss they would sustain by their invol¬ 
 untary departure. Many Jews had emigrated after 
 the establishment of the Inquisition, foreseeing that 
 its cruel power would one day turn from the converts, 
 on those who adhered to the religion of their ancestors. 
 1 en years had scarcely elapsed, when their predictions 
 were too fully and fatally accomplished. 
 
 When the Jews of Vittoria found that the edict of 
 Granada was irrevocable, they sought to protect the 
 graves of their relatives and friends from desecration, 
 and entered into the following agreement with the 
 municipality:— 
 
 Wednesday, 27th June, 1492.—In the street of the Jewry 
 of this city, present, the members of the council, together with 
 Moses Balid as judge of the Jews; their magistrate and repre¬ 
 sentative, Ismael Moratan, Samuel Benjamin, the Gaon, and his 
 cousin Abiatar Tello, Judah and Joseph Farral, and Samuel 
 de Mijancas, Jews, inhabitants of the said city, who said, that 
 whereas, as was notorious, the Jews were to quit for ever all 
 these kingdoms, by the month of July next ensuing, by order 
 of the king and our lords, in consideration of the good and 
 neighbourly treatment they had received from this city, for 
 themselves, and in the name of the whole Jewry of the said city, 
 they did present, and make, inter vivo, an irrevocable gift of the 
 field and cemetery of the said Jewry, called the Judemendi, 
 
1492.] CEMETERY OF SEVILLE DESECRATED. 283 
 
 with all its appurtenances, entrances, and outgoings; that from 
 now, and for ever hereafter, it may remain for a pasture and 
 public common of the corporation of the said city. Where¬ 
 upon the representative of the city engaged and made oath in 
 its name, as Juan Martinez de Olabe, the representative of the 
 said city, does engage and make oath to them, that it never 
 shall be broken up or ploughed, but remain for the public 
 benefit of the corporation of the said city, as aforesaid. They 
 granted a full and ample deed of gift, under legal advice, 
 renouncing all laws that might appear opposed thereto. Signed 
 by my hand. 
 
 Witnesses, Andres Martinez de Heredio, Pedro Gonsalez de 
 Tungiter, Juan de San Juan, provision-dealer, and Pedro Gala- 
 retta, tailor, inhabitants of Yittoria. 1 
 
 The field where the Jews had their cemetery is yet 
 preserved. It is at a short distance from the Calle 
 Nueva, which was the former Jewry, and is bounded 
 by the adjoining land. It is called in the Basque 
 dialect Judemendi, which means the Jews’ hill. 
 
 What probably gave them the idea of this deed, was 
 its having been reported, that Juan Lopes de Escoriaga 
 had bought, or intended to buy it, from the Jews. 
 The town council summoned him to a meeting held a 
 week before, to inform him that it was, and ought to 
 be, a public common for the benefit of the city. 2 
 
 Their precaution to secure the sepulchres of their 
 ancestors from desecration proved to be a wise step, 
 for in 1580, Spanish fanaticism led the people of Seville, 
 without respect for the ashes of the dead, to open and 
 demolish the graves and monuments in the cemetery 
 of the Jews, near the gate of Minjoar (so named fiom 
 a wealthy Israelite who resided there), and robbed the 
 corpses of everything of value. In some graves they 
 
 1 Acuerdos de Vit., vol. i., p- 456. 
 
 2 Idem 455. 
 
284 abarbanel’s account of the expulsion. [1492. 
 
 found manuscripts, which they took to the celebrated 
 Arias Montanus. 3 
 
 As before said, on the publication of the edict, 
 Abarbanel used his utmost exertions to obtain its 
 revocation, but in vain; his own words are the best 
 statement of what passed. 
 
 I was at court when the royal decree was announced. I 
 wearied myself to distraction in imploring compassion. Thrice 
 on my knees I besought the king. “ Regard us, 0 king, use 
 not thy subjects so cruelly. Why do thus to thy servants? 
 Rather exact from us our gold and silver, even all the house of 
 Israel possesses, if he may remain in his country.” I likewise 
 entreated my friends, the king’s officers, to allay his anger 
 against my people. I implored the councillors to advise the 
 king to repeal the decree. But as the adder closes its ear with 
 dust against the voice of the charmer, so the king hardened 
 his heart against the entreaties of his suppliants, and declared 
 he would not revoke the edict for all the wealth of the Jews. 
 Ihe queen at his right hand opposed it, and urged him to con¬ 
 tinue what he had begun. We exhausted all our power for 
 the repeal of the king’s sentence; but there was neither wisdom 
 nor help remaining. Wherever the evil decree was proclaimed, 
 or the report of it had spread, our nation bewailed their con¬ 
 dition with great lamentations; for there had not been such a 
 banishment since Judah had been driven from his land. They 
 exhorted and encouraged each other to keep firm to the law: 
 Let us surmount every trouble for the honour of our nation and 
 our religion; let us defend these against the hateful persecutors. 
 If they leave us with life, we will live; if they deprive us of it, 
 we will die; but never let us violate our holy law. If his heart 
 turn not, let us go, in the name of “ the Lord our portion.” 
 Let us abandon our settlements, and seek for homes elsewhere. 
 In one day, on foot and unarmed, 300,000 collected from every 
 province, young and old, aged and infirm, women and children, 
 all ready to go anywhere. Among the number was I, and, 
 with God for our leader, we set out. 4 
 
 3 Caro, Ant. of Seville. 4 p re f. to Abar. Com. on Kings. 
 
1492.] BERNALDEZ’S ACCOUNT OF THE EXPULSION. 285 
 
 Such is the recital of Abarbanel. 
 
 Another contemporary and eye-witness gives the 
 following harrowing account. 
 
 Within the term fixed by the edict the Jews sold and dis¬ 
 posed of their property for a mere nothing; they went about 
 begging Christians to buy, but found no purchasers; fine 
 houses and estates were sold for trifles; a house was exchanged 
 for an ass; and a vineyard given for a little cloth or linen. 
 Although prohibited carrying away gold and silver, they se¬ 
 cretly took large quantities in their saddles, and in the 
 halters and harness of their loaded beasts. Some swallowed as 
 many as thirty ducats to avoid the rigorous search made at the 
 frontier towns and sea-ports, by the officers appointed for the 
 purpose. The rich Jews defrayed the expenses of the depar¬ 
 ture of the poor, practising towards each other the greatest 
 charity, so that except very few of the most necessitous, they 
 would not become converts. In the first week of July they 
 took the route for quitting their native land, great and small, 
 old and young; on foot, on horses, asses, and m caits; each 
 continuing his journey to his destined port. They expeiienced 
 great trouble and suffered indescribable misfortunes on the 
 roads and country they travelled; some falling, others rising; 
 some dying, others coming into the woild; some fainting, 
 others being attacked with illness; that there was not a Chris¬ 
 tian but what felt for them, and persuaded them to be baptised. 
 Some from misery were converted; but they were very few. 
 The rabbins encouraged them, and made the young people and 
 women sing, and play on pipes and tabors to enliven them, 
 
 and keep up their spirits. 5 
 
 The unfortunate Hebrews who had peaceably resided 
 at Segovia, until the promulgation of the decree, 
 previous to abandoning their homes, were three days 
 in the cemetery, watering with their tears the ashes 
 of their fathers; their lamentations excited the pity of 
 all who heard them. 6 
 
 5 Bernaldez, MS. Chron. de los Reyes Cathol. 
 
 6 Colmenares, Hist, de Segovia. 
 
286 
 
 DEPARTURE FROM SPAIN. 
 
 [1492. 
 
 The perils and privations of their dreary pilgrimage 
 were most severely felt by many whose families had 
 been reared in all the refinements wealth and educa¬ 
 tion could procure, by which they had ennobled their 
 characters, and were ornaments to the country that 
 had given them birth. From the manner in which the 
 departure of so many thousands of families was hur¬ 
 ried, the property of the unfortunate Hebrews was 
 disposed of for trifles; the sale of their effects had 
 more the appearance of a spoliation than a fair alien¬ 
 ation. It was every where a general desolation; 
 Christians witnessed the most heart-rending scenes: 
 the inexorable Ferdinand and the odious Torquemada 
 alone remained unmoved. With the sincerest sorrow, 
 the profoundest grief, they quitted a country where 
 their nation had flourished for many ages; it had 
 become their country. Some of the proscribed, yield¬ 
 ing to imperious necessity, preferred abjuring the 
 faith of their fore-fathers to quitting the soil to which 
 all their fondest affections attached them; others to 
 retain their possessions. But many of these dissem¬ 
 blers, who were so fortunate as to escape the lynx-eyed 
 inquisitors, when opportunity offered, rejoined their 
 brethren and openly avowed their Judaism. Those 
 whom fear or attachment to their native soil had made 
 converts, remained objects of suspicion to the clergy. 
 They compelled them to prove their baptism and to 
 live among Christians, instead of together as formerly; 
 those who had been Rabbins were obliged to leave the 
 towns where they had resided, so much was their in¬ 
 fluence with their former co-religionists feared. 
 
 Fifteen hundred powerful and wealthy families that 
 had resided in the kingdom of Granada, were the 
 first that quitted the inhospitable shores of Spain. 
 
DEPARTURE FROM SPAIN. 
 
 287 
 
 1492.] 
 
 Mariana Estimates the number that emigrated at 
 800,000 souls. The major part of those from Castile, 
 yet clinging to the Iberian soil, retired to Portugal. 
 
 Bernaldez states that upwards of 3,000 souls went 
 from Benevente to Braganza; 30,000 from Zamora to 
 Miranda; 35,000 from Ciudad Rodrigo to Yillar; 
 15,000 from Miranda de Alcantara to Marbao; 10,000 
 from Badajoz to Yelves. Those from Merida also 
 went to Portugal, so that upwards of 100,000 entered 
 that kingdom, where they received the most disinter¬ 
 ested hospitality from their co-religionists. Many 
 learned men settled in various Portuguese cities, where 
 rabbinism already flourished, some of whom were 
 highly esteemed by the sovereign. 
 
 From the frontiers of Navarre, 12,000 entered that 
 kingdom, where they were kindly received in conse¬ 
 quence of a letter dated 8th June, addressed by the 
 king, John Labrit, and Donna Leonora, his queen, to 
 the magistrate, judge, and commander of Estella, 
 ordering, “that if any Jews of those expelled from 
 Castile and Aragon, by order of Ferdinand and Isa¬ 
 bella, should come to that city, they should afford 
 them a safe transit, and every possible accommodation, 
 because they are a docile people, that can easily be 
 brought to reason.” The sovereigns fearing that the 
 Jews who resided at Estella might be maltreated, as 
 their ancestors had been exactly a century before, 
 announced that their officers would incur their high 
 displeasure if they did not prevent such an occur¬ 
 rence. 7 The municipality of Tud$a, actuated by 
 feelings unlike those of their humane sovereigns, wrote 
 to that of Tafalla, that the Jews exiled from Castile 
 intended entering Navarre, but that neither city ought 
 
 7 MS. Hist, de Estella. 
 
288 
 
 SUFFERINGS OF THE EXILES. 
 
 [ 1492 . 
 
 to receive them, as it was contrary and opposed to 
 the service of God and the king. From Andalusia 
 and the commandery of St. Jago eight thousand souls, 
 and from Medina de Pumar three hundred families, 
 repaired to Cadiz. 
 
 An immense concourse assembled at Carthas-ena, 
 
 O 1 
 
 Valencia, Barcelona, and other ports of Aragon and 
 Catalonia, to embark for Italy, Morocco, Barbary, and 
 the Levant. Ferdinand had provided vessels at those 
 ports to transport them wherever they might choose 
 to go. A fleet of twenty-five sail, under the command 
 of Pedro Cabron, conveyed a large number from Port 
 Maria and Gibraltar to Oran. Bernaldez states that 
 seventeen of the vessels of Cabron’s fleet entered into 
 the port of Carthagena, where a hundred and fifty per¬ 
 sons demanded the rite of baptism, which was given to 
 them; and when the fleet was at Malaga, four hun¬ 
 dred asked to be baptised, and they returned Chris¬ 
 tians to Castile; the rest were landed at Archilla, 
 from whence they went to Fez. But owing to a long 
 drought, great scarcity prevailed there; consequently, 
 the Moors refused to admit them into the city. 
 The sufferings they experienced on the voyage 
 must have been dreadful—as is evident from the cir¬ 
 cumstance of the baptisms mentioned by Bernaldez; 
 for it can be attributed to no other reason, that five 
 hundred and fifty persons, who had so recently sacri¬ 
 ficed their property and abandoned their happy homes, 
 should so suddenly become converts to a religion, to 
 avoid which ti% had made such sacrifices and sub¬ 
 mitted so resignedly to the perils and dangers that sur¬ 
 rounded them. On their arrival at Fez, they were 
 forced to encamp in an open plain; and, to satisfy their 
 
1492 .] 
 
 SUFFERINGS OF THE EXILES. 
 
 289 
 
 hunger, these wretched beings had to subsist on the 
 dried roots and withered grass the barren parched-up 
 African soil then produced. Some sold their children 
 to procure bread, others expired in the midst of theirs, 
 who were also dying from hunger; some few, in 
 despair, returned to Spain, and were baptised. Those 
 who had been sold, the king subsequently ordered to 
 be liberated. What a contrast between the conduct 
 of a prince considered as a barbarian and that of the 
 Catholic sovereigns, misnamed Christians! 
 
 The misery suffered by the unfortunate exiles is 
 almost indescribable. Some of the vessels took fire, 
 and they either perished in the flames or were drowned, 
 others were so overloaded that they sunk. Many 
 were wrecked on barren coasts, and perished with 
 hunger and cold; those who survived were exposed 
 to further troubles and misfortunes. Some captains 
 purposely prolonged their voyage, to force them to 
 buy water and provisions, at any price they chose to 
 exact from their unfortunate victims. 
 
 No one can describe nor even imagine all the cala¬ 
 mities that befell the Hebrews in quitting Spain,_such 
 
 as the dreadful w^ant of food that some experienced at 
 sea, — the ferocity of brigands, who on land plundered 
 them of every thing they possessed,—the barbarity 
 of captains, who conveyed others to distant islands, 
 there selling them for slaves, pretending they were 
 prisoners of war, or those who threw the sick over¬ 
 board to take their property. On board one vessel 
 full of emigrants a pestilential disease broke out; the 
 captain landed all on a desert island, where they 
 wandered about in quest of assistance. A mother 
 
 \ 
 
 carrying two infants, walking with her husband, 
 
 u 
 
290 
 
 SUFFERINGS OF THE EXILES. 
 
 [ 1492 . 
 
 expired on the road; the father, overcome with fatigue, 
 fell fainting near his two children; on awakening he 
 found them dead from hunger. He covered them 
 with sand: “ My Gcfd,” exclaimed he, “my misfor¬ 
 tunes seem to induce me to abandon thy law; but I 
 am a Jew, and will ever remain so.” 
 
 Another captain deprived them of their clothes, 
 and landed them naked on a barren coast, where they 
 found a spring of water. At night, climbing some 
 rocks in search of human habitations, a number were 
 devoured by wild beasts. After being there for five 
 days, the captain of a passing ship perceived naked 
 people on the shore; he took them on board, clothed 
 them with old sails, gave them food, and conveyed 
 them to Genoa. Seeing their miserable condition, 
 the inhabitants inquired if he had slaves for sale? He 
 nobly answered, “ No!” and delivered them to their 
 brethren in the city, on payment of reasonable ex¬ 
 penses. They gladly made him an additional present, 
 and loaded him with their blessings. 8 One wretch is 
 said to have violated a Jewish maiden in her parent s’ 
 presence: after quitting her, he returned and cut her 
 throat, for fear, as he said, she should have conceived, 
 and should bring forth a Jew. 
 
 The miseries suffered by those who went to Morocco 
 are equally appalling. The Moors plundered them of 
 almost everything they had. Hearing that many men 
 and women had swallowed gold to bring away, they 
 murdered a number, and then ripped them open to 
 search for it. 
 
 At Sallee, the crew of a large vessel enticed a 
 number of children on board, with promises of giving 
 them bread, and then set sail, while their frantic 
 
 8 Shebet Jeudah. 
 
1492 .] 
 
 SUFFERINGS OF THE EXILES. 
 
 291 
 
 mothers implored them from the beach to restore them 
 their only treasure. 
 
 Nine crowded vessels, infected with disease, arising 
 from the hardships and privations of the voyage, 
 arrived at Naples. The pestilence was communicated 
 to the city, and 20,000 of its inhabitants fell victims 
 to it. 
 
 Others repaired to Genoa, where a famine prevailed. 
 They were permitted to land, but were met by priests 
 carrying a crucifix in one hand and a loaf of bread in 
 the other; thus intimating, that by receiving baptism 
 they should have food. 
 
 This is but a brief account of the horrors and 
 atrocities suffered by the unfortunate descendants of 
 Judah on quitting, by the cruel mandate of Ferdinand 
 and Isabella, a country to which, notwithstanding the 
 persecutions they had occasionally experienced from 
 the populace instigated by fanatic monks, they were 
 sincerely and devotedly attached. 
 
 Many of the expatriated Hebrews went to the 
 Levant. Those that repaired to the various Italian 
 states were hospitably received, notwithstanding the 
 existence of inquisitions; but no Torquemada go¬ 
 verned them. Even Pope Alexander VI. kindly 
 afforded them an asylum in the papal dominions, and 
 subsequently wrote to all the Italian States to grant 
 the exiles from Spain and Portugal the same privileges 
 as resident Jews enjoyed. 
 
 Besides the gold and silver they had secreted, and 
 the valuable effects they were permitted to carry away, 
 which an author has estimated at thirty millions of 
 ducats, they took with them a great many Hebrew 
 manuscripts, that had been • the ornaments of the 
 
292 
 
 SYNAGOGUES IN SPAIN. 
 
 [ 1492 . 
 
 synagogues, or which opulent families hacl had written 
 for their private use by able scribes, which are to 
 the present day admired specimens of Hebrew calli- 
 graphy. 
 
 They were not permitted to dispose of property that 
 belonged to the congregations. The synagogues were 
 for the most part converted into churches. 
 
 The following appears on the records of the city of 
 Vittoria, 9th July, 1492 : 9 — 
 
 The town council notified to Juan Martinez de Ulbarri, that 
 it was reported he had bought the synagogue the Jews had in 
 that city, which the civic authorities had ordered no inhabitant 
 should purchase, because they were not permitted to be sold in 
 the whole kingdom; and that if he had not bought it, he was 
 not to buy it; and if he had, he should not pay the sum agreed 
 for; and if he had already paid, he must have recourse to the 
 persons who sold it, particularly to the chief of the Jews of the 
 city, to recover what he had paid, as afterwards he could make 
 no claim on the city, as the said synagogue must remain as 
 other synagogues in the kingdom. Not acting accordingly, 
 he would lose whatever he may have given for it. The said 
 Juan Martinez demanded a copy. 
 
 Diego Martinez de Alava, notary, and Alvaro de Urquibel, 
 inhabitants of the said city, witnesses. 
 
 9 Acuerdos de Vit., vol. i., p. 857. 
 
293 
 
 CHAPTER XXVI. 
 
 Review of the consequences of Ferdinand's conduct .— 
 Condemned by Mariana. — Surprise of Bajazet. — 
 Declarations of the Grandees. — Forgeries to impose 
 on the People. — Images of Rabbinism. — Opinions 
 thereon of Spaniards of the present day. —The conse¬ 
 quences of the Expulsion.—Extracts from Morejon on 
 the Act. — Assistance. — The Second Inquisitor-gene¬ 
 ral Deza.—Additional Decree obtained by him.—A 
 private Synagogue discovered at Valencia. 
 
 The conduct of Ferdinand in issuing and putting into 
 execution this decree, was severely reprobated and 
 disapproved by every one. But for the submission 
 always shewn by the Hebrew people to the will of the 
 sovereign, and their resignation to the decrees of the 
 Omnipotent, a civil war might have been the result of 
 this intemperate and cruel act. But the crafty mo¬ 
 narch calculated on the peaceable demeanour of his 
 Jewish subjects, whose conduct on this occasion Abar- 
 banel justly praised. A prudent sovereign would 
 have taken into consideration the fearful consequences 
 that might have ensued from this cruel and insensate 
 mandate. Instigated by that monster in human shape, 
 the Dominican inquisitor, Torquemada, under the 
 hypocritical mask of religion, he risked crown and 
 throne to gratify his avarice. 
 
 Spain, although apparently then at peace, possessed 
 
294 
 
 EXTRACT FROM MARIANA. 
 
 within itself the germs that might have proved the 
 overthrow of the catholic sovereigns, its ramifications 
 might easily have undermined the royal authority. 
 
 Had these 800,000 souls in their despair have raised 
 the standard of revolt, they would soon have found 
 numerous auxiliaries. Granada had surrendered; but 
 the martial spirit of the hardy race of Moors in the 
 Alpuxai a mountains was not subdued. The new 
 Christians, who the year before had sought to render 
 themselves independent by the purchase of Gibraltar 
 fiom the duke of Medina Sidonia, on whom by deed 
 of gift dated 3rd June, 1469, Henry IY. had con¬ 
 ferred it, 1 would gladly have thrown off the disguise 
 they had been forced to assume. Portugal, forced to 
 conclude a peace after her defeat on the plains of Toro, 
 would gladly have seized so favourable an opportunity 
 to avenge her discomfiture. Surrounded by such 
 Perils, what might not have been the fate of the 
 Castilian monarchs ? 
 
 The fanatical jesuit, Mariana, who could write in 
 defence of Jacques Clement, the assassin of Henry Hi. 
 of France, condemned it; he says:— 
 
 The number of Jews that quitted Castile is not known; most 
 authors say they amounted to 160,000 families; and some, that 
 they amounted to 800,000 souls; undoubtedly an immense multi¬ 
 tude, which induced many persons to reprobate the resolution 
 adopted by the king, Don Ferdinand, in expelling from his 
 dominions so profitable and opulent a people, acquainted with 
 every mode of collecting wealth. Carrying with them a 
 large portion of the riches of Spain in gold, precious stones, 
 and jewels of inestimable value, the states they went to derived 
 incalculable benefit. 
 
 When the exiles from Spain came to Turkey, the 
 sultan, Bajazet, who had been led to form a high 
 
 J Ayala, Hist. Gib. 
 
PRIVILEGES FROM FORMER SOVEREIGNS. 295 
 
 opinion of Ferdinand, exclaimed, “ Do you term this 
 a political king, who impoverishes his country and 
 enriches ours?” 
 
 Had the Catholic sovereigns a right to drive so 
 many thousand families from their native soil? Or 
 should they have confined themselves to the laws that 
 existed in Spain ? These are questions that may be asked; 
 for, from the earliest period of Christianity, the dis¬ 
 persed and wandering Hebrew people had been every¬ 
 where tolerated; such conduct was considered one of 
 the greatest triumphs of Christianity. In Spain they 
 had been established long anterior. 
 
 The sovereigns of the second Gothic monarchy not 
 only afforded their protection to the Jews, but secured 
 to them their individual freedom, granting them in 
 the civil order remarkable concessions. In the Fuero 
 Viejo of Castile, Alphonso VIII. placed their property 
 in security from unjust aggressions. 
 
 Ferdinand III. granted them the privilege of being 
 tried by their own judges, and that Christians should 
 not serve as witnesses against them. 
 
 Alphonso the Wise, in the Seven Codes, ordained 
 that the existence of Jews among Spaniards should be 
 respected, that the holy scriptures might be fulfilled. 
 Alphonso XI. desired that the Jews should never quit 
 Spain, and they would be converted to Christianity. 
 While he forbade their usury, he authorized them to 
 acquire landed property in all his dominions. 
 
 In nearly all the laws made by the Cortes regarding 
 the Jews, in all the privileges and charters granted 
 them by sovereigns, the desire that they should reside 
 in Spain is perceptible, flattering themselves with the 
 hope that they would abjure their religion, and be of 
 
296 
 
 LEARNING OF THE JEWS. 
 
 great advantage to the state. How then could the 
 Catholic sovereigns infringe the laws of the kingdom, 
 and by a single stroke of the pen drive from their 
 hearths the descendants of Judah, who for so many 
 centuries had reposed under the shadow of the throne 
 in the Iberian peninsula? The only answer that can 
 be given is, that they had no right; they were bound 
 to act in conformity to the existing laws enacted 
 constitution ally. 
 
 Examining the edict politically, did it affect the 
 interest of the state? Undoubtedly it did; for not¬ 
 withstanding the prohibition, the Jews carried away 
 immense wealth, to aggrandise and enrich foreign 
 states. By the expulsion of the Hebrews, the true 
 sources of public welfare, commerce and industry, 
 suffered a mortal blow. The latter, owing to the 
 recent conquest of Granada, was at first less felt, 
 as thereby Castile obtained new cultivators. Com¬ 
 merce, on the contrary, closed its gates, by the 
 banishment of the proscribed people, and for a time 
 lost all its activity. 
 
 The act of Ferdinand and Isabella is condemnable, 
 as injurious to literature and the arts and sciences. 
 For many ages, the efforts of the Jews had been 
 directed to acquire knowledge. The triumphs gained 
 by them in the sciences and literature, the constant 
 example of their studies, exercised no little influence 
 on Spanish civilisation. The earliest writers of anti¬ 
 quity, down to the most modern authors, had been 
 consulted and studied by the rabbins. Innumerable 
 works on every science, whether in Hebrew or in 
 Arabic, had been translated into Spanish, or more 
 frequently into Latin, the language of the learned. 
 
FORGERIES TO INFLUENCE THE PEOPLE. 297 
 
 The academies, schools, synagogues, meetings of 
 learned men, commercial establishments, all were 
 destroyed at a single blow. What a return for the 
 assistance rendered by them in the war with Granada! 
 
 The grandees, when they found their towns and 
 villages depopulated, their lands uncultivated, declared, 
 that, could they have imagined the desolation would 
 have been so great, they would have resisted its exe¬ 
 cution. 
 
 The people generally seem to have disapproved 
 of the measure; for although the rabble, when incited 
 by fanatic monks, committed the most horrid out¬ 
 rages, the Jews would not otherwise so earnestly have 
 sought to remain in the midst of a hostile population. 
 The following forgeries became necessary, and were 
 widely spread, to induce a belief in the necessity 
 of banishing them for ever. They are yet on record. 2 
 
 Letter of the Jews of Spain to those of Constantinople. 
 
 Respected Jews, —Health and grace. Know ye, that 
 the king of Spain, by public proclamation, makes us become 
 Christians, takes away our property, deprives us of existence, 
 destroys our synagogues, and commits other vexations towards 
 us, which confuses us, and we know not what to do, conform¬ 
 ably to the law of Moses. We beg and entreat you to be kind 
 enough to convene a meeting, and forward us with all despatch, 
 
 the resolutions you may therein adopt. Chamoro, 
 
 Chief of the Jews of Spain. 
 
 Answer of the Jews of Constantinople to those of Spain. 
 
 Beloved Brethren in Moses, —We received a letter, 
 wherein you inform us of the troubles and misfortunes you 
 suffer; for which we feel as much as yourselves. The opinion 
 of the authorities and rabbins is the following: —In regard 
 to what you say, that the king of Spain makes you become 
 
 2 Arch. Nav. § Ecc. Aff. leg. i., ch. 21. 
 
298 
 
 AGES OF RABBANIM. 
 
 Christians, submit to it since you cannot do otherwise. As to 
 what you say, that they take away your property, make your 
 sons merchants that they may take away theirs. In regard to 
 taking away your lives, make your sons physicians and apothe¬ 
 caries, that they may deprive them of theirs. In respect to 
 your saying that they destroy your synagogues, make your 
 sons ecclesiastics, that they may destroy their temples. As to 
 saying they otherwise vex you, endeavour that your sons enter 
 into the offices of the state, that you may avenge yourselves by 
 having them under you. Depart not from this order which we 
 give you, and you will find from being low, you will become 
 very high. Usufu, 
 
 Chief of the Jews of Constantinople. 
 
 This infamous imposture and calumny was the 
 fabrication of some ignorant ecclesiastic; for the 
 Spanish Jews never acknowledged those of Constan¬ 
 tinople, or any others, after the closing of the Per¬ 
 sian schools, and the death of Pabenu Haye, in Per¬ 
 sia, whom all Israel recognised as supreme head 
 and judge. The Jews of Spain acknowledged only 
 their own rabbanim, of whom they reckon ten genera¬ 
 tions. 
 
 1. R. Samuel a Levi, the prince. 
 
 2. R. Joseph a Levi, his unfortunate son. 
 
 3. R. Isaac A1 Fez. 
 
 4. R. Joseph a Levi ben Megas. 
 
 5. R. Moses ben Maimon (Maimonides). 
 
 6. R. Moses Micozi, and R. Moses ben Nachman (Nach- 
 
 manides). 
 
 7. R. Solomon ben Adereth. 
 
 8. The famed Rabenu Asher, a German. 
 
 9. R. Isaac Campanton. 
 
 10. R. Isaac Aboab. 
 
 The author has the honour of being personally ac- 
 quainted (here and in Spain), with many of the illus- 
 
EXTRACTS FROM MOREJON. 
 
 299 
 
 trious Spaniards of the present day; and all, without 
 exception, attribute the fall of their country from the 
 highest pinnacle of glory and power,to its present state, 
 to the banishment of its most industrious population. 
 For, a few years after the expulsion of the Jews, the 
 Catholic sovereigns, in violation of a sacred treaty, 
 forced the Moors to quit the Iberian soil. 
 
 The consequences are visible: Spain, which formerly 
 contained forty millions of inhabitants, to which its 
 productive soil afforded subsistence, now can barely 
 number fifteen, and although at one time it was com¬ 
 plained that the immense Jewish population enhanced 
 the price of provisions, political economy, properly 
 understood, teaches that the chief source of the wealth 
 of nations is their population; and whilst in every 
 other country it has considerably increased, in Spain 
 it has fearfully diminished. 
 
 From being the first among the nations, she has 
 fallen into a secondary rank in the European family. 
 Such has been the effect of impolicy, fanaticism, and 
 persecution! 
 
 I shall close this digression with extracts from a 
 modern Spanish author of note. 
 
 I will not speak of that cruel persecution, of that horrid 
 banishment of four hundred thousand Jews by order of the 
 Catholic sovereigns in 1492, without permitting them to take 
 away the gold and silver that belonged to them. 
 
 Would that a thick veil could hide this act from us which 
 casts such a stain on the happy epoch of that reign, and ob¬ 
 scures the glory acquired by other noble deeds of those who 
 
 counselled such a political assassination. 
 
 Would that this black page could be blotted from history, 
 which exhibits to us the blindness of fanaticism, and the ob¬ 
 duracy of heart, when once religious prejudices are instilled 
 
300 WANT OF PHYSICIANS AT VITTORIA. 
 
 into it. 1 The dislike with which some persons regard this un¬ 
 fortunate people, is an injustice towards them, an insult they 
 do not deserve, and their banishment from Spain must be con¬ 
 sidered a political crime. 3 
 
 Considered humanely, this painful and ever to be regretted 
 act against a race that had for many centuries peaceably resided 
 in our Peninsula, among whom so many men of worth, talents, 
 and learning had shone, cannot contribute to dispel the opinion 
 all Europe has formed of our ancestors, “ that they were pre¬ 
 eminently intolerant.” 4 
 
 If to this be added, that the Jews neither could, nor ever at¬ 
 tempted to invade our territories, to subvert our laws, to act 
 hostilely to our religious belief, or to disturb our social order, it 
 will be seen how wrong our legislators were in proscribing and 
 placing under a perpetual ostracism thousands of families, who, 
 by their departure from the kingdom, only diminished our 
 public wealth and reduced our population, the value of which 
 is well known in political economy. 5 
 
 The Christian population were by the expulsion 
 deprived of sufficient medical assistance; for, although 
 the laws prohibited them employing Jew physicians, 
 surgeons, and apothecaries, their known abilities and 
 professional skill in the practice of medicine, rendered 
 their services indispensable and sought after by their 
 Christian fellow citizens, as is proved by the following 
 record of the municipality of Vittoria, dated 29th 
 October, 1492. 
 
 Knowing the want of physicians, the city, its territory, and 
 vicinity experience, from the departure' and absence of the 
 Jews and the physicians of the said city and its neighbourhood, 
 they agree to request, and do hereby request, the licentiate Doctor 
 Antonio de Tournay, physician, to remain and reside in the 
 said city, there to practise his profession and art for the fol¬ 
 lowing year; that is, from the day of All Saints for one com¬ 
 plete year; for which, in the name of the city, they would give 
 
 3 Morejon, Hist. Med. Espag., vol. i., p. 74. 4 Ibid. p. 75. 5 Ibid. p. 344. 
 
1498.] DON DIEGO DEZA, INQUISITOR-GENERAL. 301 
 
 and pay him ten thousand maravedis for his services during 
 the said year. 6 
 
 This want of medical assistance continued to be 
 felt the following year; for in the record of a meeting 
 of the town council, held 10th June, 1493, mention is 
 
 made a that there was a great scarcity of physicians, 
 owing to the departure and absence of the Jews.” 7 
 
 At a meeting held 20th August, they resolved and 
 ordered — 
 
 Whereas many of the new Christians resident in this city, 
 who were formerly Jews, have come to live in the new street, 
 formerly called the Jewry; from which arises a disservice to 
 God, and a great inconvenience; although some inhabitants 
 have complained thereof, none of them are to reside in the 
 said street; but, on the contrary, all such as now reside in it 
 are to seek other dwellings, and are to remove thereto within 
 fifteen days after it shall be notified to them. The magistrates 
 are charged to notify and remedy the same. 8 
 
 It would appear from this, fears were entertained 
 that the forced converts might relapse to Judaism, 
 if their early habits and associations were permitted. 
 The last notice of the Jews on the records of Yittoria 
 is, that by an order from Madrid, dated 10th January, 
 1495, any public property there might be that 
 belonged to the Jews, was to be delivered over to the 
 city for 1,000 maravedis the Jewry owed for taxes. 
 
 On the death of Torquemada, in 1498, another 
 Dominican, Don Diego Deza, archbishop of Seville, was 
 appointed inquisitor-general: his hatred of the Jews 
 equalled that of his cruel predecessor. The Jews were 
 so attached to the country where the learning of the 
 Hebrews had immortalized their names, that some 
 sought to settle in Spain a few years after the expul- 
 
 6 Acuerdos de Vit., vol. i. p. 487, b. 7 Ibid., p. 506. 8 Ibid., p. 548. 
 
302 
 
 A SYNAGOGUE AT VALENCIA. 
 
 [ 1501 . 
 
 sion. Deza applied to the Catholic sovereigns to pre¬ 
 vent it; inconsequence, on the 5th September, 1499, 
 after repeating the former edict of 1492, they added 
 the following: — 
 
 As we have been informed that some Jews have presumed 
 to come to these our kingdoms, saying, they are not the persons 
 that were banished, and that the foregoing law does not extend 
 to them, being from foreign states, and on being arrested, declare 
 that they wish to become Christians, as the punishment is 
 doubtful. We therefore order all and each of the justices of 
 our kingdoms, that if now, or at any time hereafter, any Jews 
 or Jewesses should enter our kingdoms, whether those that 
 weie banished, or whatsoever others from foreign kingdoms or 
 states, you are immediately to inflict on them the punishment 
 of death, confiscation of their property, and every other 
 penalty contained in the aforesaid law. Fail not to execute it, 
 although such Jews declare they desire to become Christians, 
 except previous to entering our kingdoms they send to mani¬ 
 fest and make known to you that they come to turn Christians 
 and be converted to our holy Catholic faith, and execute a deed 
 m presence of a notary and witnesses, to that effect, at the 
 first town they enter. Such persons, on publicly becoming 
 Chiistians at the place where they arrive, in conformity to the 
 above, we permit to reside in our kingdoms as Christians; but 
 if any of them should have Jew servants, they must send 
 them out of the kingdom within two months, or at the ex¬ 
 piration of that time they must become Christians: failing so 
 to do, they incur the aforesaid penalties and punishments. 
 
 But they could not eradicate Judaism from the 
 Hebrew breast; and the converts, although apparently 
 the devoutest Catholics, secretly observed the religious 
 rites enjoined by the Mosaical law, and even assem¬ 
 bled to join in worship to the God of Israel. A 
 private synagogue, in 1501, was discovered at Valen¬ 
 cia. The owner of the premises suffered at an Auto 
 
DON SOLOMON JACHIA. 
 
 303 
 
 1190.] 
 
 da Fe; the house was rased; and the Inquisition built 
 a chapel on the site, which is yet known by the name 
 of La Cruz Nueva (the new cross). 
 
 CHAPTER XXVII. 
 
 » 
 
 Jews of Portugal. — Don Solomon Jachia holds the 
 highest Offices of State.—Order of Gregory IX.— 
 Favoured by all the Sovereigns. — Their Civil and 
 Religious Government. — Privileges .— Laws respect¬ 
 ing Converts.—Bull of Clement VI.— Cortes of Lis¬ 
 bon _ of Evora.—Paid a Property Tax of Two per 
 Cent.—Ordinance of Duarte — of Alphonso V .— 
 Cortes of Santarem—of Lisbon. 
 
 The settlement of the Jews in the ancient Lusitania 
 was as early as in the other parts of the Iberian pen¬ 
 insula. From the earliest period of the Portuguese 
 monarchy, they enjoyed the confidence of its sovereigns. 
 We find, in the reign of Sancho I., in 1190, Don Solo¬ 
 mon Jachia, by his merit and fidelity, obtained the 
 command of the army, and was appointed field-marshal- 
 general. His bravery and success raised many power¬ 
 ful enemies against him; but by his humility he dis¬ 
 armed their angry feelings, and eluded the cabals and 
 intrigues of the ministry. He prevailed on his co¬ 
 religionists not to ride on horses or wear silk, as he 
 observed it caused the envy and jealousy of the Chris¬ 
 tians. His family must have been ennobled, as all his 
 descendants had the title of Don , a title then only 
 
304 ALFONZO m. REGENT OF PORTUGAL. [1248. 
 
 conferred on noblemen, and not used in common as at 
 the present day. 
 
 Sancho II. appointed Jews, in preference to Chris¬ 
 tians, to various public offices, undoubtedly because 
 he found them to be better financiers, and more 
 adapted for the public service than the latter. Com¬ 
 plaints being made to Pope Gregory IX. that he 
 favoured the Jewish religion, he ordered the bishop of 
 Astorga and Lugo to admonish him on the subject. 
 He also desired the king, when the posts of receivers, 
 collectors, or farmers-general were held by Jews or 
 Moors, to appoint a Christian superin tendant, who 
 might look into the vexations and impositions they 
 practised on ecclesiastics and Christians generally, 
 by their rigorous exactions and mode of recovery. 
 In return for the protection afforded them, the Jews 
 furnished an anchor and a cable of sixty fathoms to 
 every king’s vessel on her first leaving port. The 
 origin of this custom is not stated; but that it existed 
 is proved by a commission appointed in 1320 by King 
 Dennis, to inquire respecting it; therefore it must 
 have fallen into desuetude during the reign of his 
 father. 1 
 
 The crown of Portugal had rendered itself tributary 
 to the Holy See, a power which, once obtained, was 
 never willingly relinquished by the representatives of 
 St. Peter. In virtue of this authority, Innocent IV. 
 nominated Alfonzo III. regent of the kingdom, thus 
 virtually deposing his brother, the king, who, through 
 the influence of the discontented clergy and nobles, 
 became the victim of the court of Rome ? 
 
 The undisturbed residence of the Jews in Portugal, 
 proves that the Papal See was not opposed to the 
 
 1 Britto’s Hist, de Portugal. 2 Brandads Monar. Lusitania. 
 
1340.] ALFONZO IV. COMMUTED THE TAXES. 305 
 
 Hebrew people residing in Catholic countries; for until 
 the reign of Emanuel, we find none of the pages of 
 the history of Portugal stained with the sanguinary 
 records that so frequently disgrace the annals of Spain. 
 That it should be opposed to Jews holding the highest 
 offices of state is not surprising, as thereby they might 
 exercise a powerful influence over the Christian popu¬ 
 lation. 
 
 But the Portuguese sovereigns found their financial 
 and commercial talents necessary, and continued to 
 employ them in various departments of government; 
 for when the clergy, in 1289, made forty charges 
 against King Dennis to the Papal See, the 27th was, 
 that he appointed Jews to the highest offices of state, 
 —the chief rabbi Judah being his high treasurer and 
 minister of finance,—and that, in consequence, he per¬ 
 mitted Jews to be without the distinguishing mark, 
 and did not compel them to pay tithes, according to 
 canonical law; which he promised to remedy, and that 
 year ordered them to wear the sign; but what it was 
 is not stated. In 1317, the king agreed that the 
 Jews of Braganza, in lieu of extraordinary taxes, 
 should pay annually 600 maravedis of eight, in white 
 Leonese sous. At a cortes held in 1325 at Evora, 
 sumptuary laws respecting dress were enacted; and no 
 exceptions were made in regard to the Jews. During 
 his reign, except the favour granted to the Jews of 
 Braganza, they paid the ordinary and extraordinary 
 taxes the same as in the time of his predecessors. 
 
 The sovereign of Portugal continued to favour 
 them. His son, Alfonzo IV., in 1340, fixed a sum 
 for the ordinary tribute; and, to put a stop to the 
 exactions they were subject to, commuted for 50,000 
 
 x 
 
306 CONSTITUTION OF THE JEWS IN PORTUGAL. 
 
 livres the extraordinary impositions. This was a 
 great boon, for the Jews of Portugal were much 
 wealthier than those of Castile; the major part lived 
 on their incomes, or by contracts with government 
 and the cities, most of the revenues being farmed 
 by them; they were also large landed proprietors. The 
 commutation was regularly collected; for although in 
 every town of Portugal there were Jewish communities, 
 the whole formed a body under their own particular 
 government, more resembling a foreign tributary na¬ 
 tion than subjects of the Portuguese crown. Besides, 
 being under the protection of the laws, which were 
 better administered and observed than in Castile, they 
 enjoyed from the sovereigns extraordinary privileges 
 and immunities. Although generally regarded with 
 mistrust and contumely by the Christian population, 
 many were highly respected for their moral conduct, 
 civil virtues, and immense wealth. They had various 
 magistrates to watch over the economy, policy, and 
 •interest of the different communities, as well as for 
 the administration of justice. 
 
 The head of their civil and religious government was the 
 Chief Rabbi, who was elected by the king, and consequently 
 either a person who had rendered some service to the state, or 
 a personal friend of the sovereign; it was a post of high dis¬ 
 tinction and importance. His seal of office was the arms of 
 Portugal, with the words, “ Chief Rabbi of Portugal” round it, 
 all documents and letters signed by him, or his ouvidor (the 
 title of a magistrate who hears causes), who always accompanied 
 him, were sealed with it. 
 
 All acts of appeal and other documents, that in the last in¬ 
 stance were appealed to the ministers of state, began, “ Judah 
 (or A. B.), chief rabbi of my lord the king, of the communes of 
 the Jews of Portugal and Algarve, to whomsoever these pre¬ 
 sents cometh,” &c. 
 
CONSTITUTION OF THE JEWS IN PORTUGAL. 307 
 
 Besides having the same authority as noblemen who pos- . 
 sessed seigneurial rights, he had the power of inflicting punish¬ 
 ment, a power the sovereigns of Portugal did not often grant 
 to other grandees. 
 
 He took cognizance of all wrongs and injuries committed by 
 the magistrates he had appointed in the provinces, those com¬ 
 mitted by him or his ouvidor were only subject to the revision 
 of the corregidor (the supreme magistrate) of the court. All 
 causes and suits of which he was bound to take cognizance, 
 were heard and determined by him. It was his duty from 
 time to time to visit the different communes., He took, or 
 commissioned other persons to take, an account from the 
 administrators and treasurers of the property of communes, to 
 see that they were placed to advantage, and by his usher could 
 compel defaulters to pay to the utmost of their means. He 
 was bound to examine and see that the property of orphans 
 was properly secured, and to demand accounts from their s 
 curators and guardians; and to order the rabbis of provinces, 
 under a penalty, to appoint within a certain time, curators or 
 guardians for those who had not . 3 In places where the court 
 was present, he could order immediate punishment to be in¬ 
 flicted, and could take cognizance of all causes of persons who 
 from their rank, office, wealth, or protection, were exempted from 
 the jurisdiction of the rabbis of provinces. It belonged to him 
 to order the making of footpaths, and keeping them and the 
 buildings of the Jewries in proper repair. 
 
 He had the same authority as magistrates of provinces to 
 grant passports and safeguards: those made in his name ran 
 thus: — 
 
 “ I (A. B.), chief rabbi of my lord the king of the communes 
 of the Jews of Portugal and Algarve, to you (C. D.) rabbi of 
 the commune of Jews of * * * *. Know ye, that I hereby 
 give safeguard and security to(E. F.), who is authorized to live 
 and reside in your place,” &c. 
 
 He could not grant any privilege, favour or grace, to exempt, 
 or excuse any person from serving the offices, duties, and 
 
 3 Mem. da Aca. real das scien do Lisboa, and Monteiro 11 is. da 
 Inquisicam. 
 
308 CONSTITUTION OF THE JEWS IN PORTUGAL. 
 
 charges in the community where he resides. Nor could he 
 either in the first instance, or by appeal, take cognizance of 
 complaints against the persons authorized to fix the market 
 prices of articles, as each commune had its particular officer 
 appointed for that purpose. Nor could he decide on verbal 
 quarrels, as they belonged to the appointed officers of the 
 respective districts. He could neither arrest nor have any 
 person arrested, except on sworn evidence or declared wit¬ 
 nesses. In consequence of the many inconveniences suffered 
 by those who were imprisoned by him, they were forced to 
 follow him to the place where the punishment was to be 
 inflicted. 
 
 All sentences delivered by the chief rabbi or his ouvidor, 
 were issued in the name of the reigning sovereign, and sealed 
 with the royal arms. From the foregoing, it will be per¬ 
 ceived that the chief rabbi exercised the same authority over 
 the Jews as the chief civil magistrate of the court had over 
 the other population. He had various officers attached to him. 
 The principal was an ouvidor, who always accompanied him; 
 his duties were the same as the chief civil magistrate; he 
 joined the chief rabbi in taking cognizance of all causes that 
 he could not determine by himself. 
 
 1. The ouvidor was to be a well-informed Jew, possessing 
 all the necessary qualifications for an upright and just judge. 
 He affixed the official seal to all letters, sentences, and releases 
 or acquittals, given by the chief rabbi or himself. 
 
 2. A chancellor, in whose custody all the official papers 
 were kept, which he carried with him to the respective pro¬ 
 vinces. He might either be a Jew or Christian, provided he 
 was duly qualified for the office. 
 
 3. A notary, to note, and give notarial acts and documents 
 of every thing that passed before him, for which he was entitled 
 to make the same charges as the royal notaries. Before enter¬ 
 ing on his office, he was sworn before the chief rabbi, faithfully 
 and truly to perform its duties. He might either be a Christian 
 or a Jew, but must know to read and write well. 
 
 4. He had also an usher to make the seizures, and execute 
 the sentences given by him, or his ouvidor. 
 
CONSTITUTION OF THE JEWS IN PORTUGAL. 309 
 
 No appeal or complaint could be made against any sentence 
 or acquittal given by the ouvidor who accompanied the chief 
 rabbi, as that person is considered the same as a minister 
 appointed by the king. 
 
 The kingdom was divided into seven provinces. Each had 
 its particular ouvidor. They were appointed by the chief rabbi, 
 and their residence fixed by law. The ouvidor of Estremadura 
 resided at Santarem; of Lower Beira, at Vizeu; of Upper 
 Beira, at Covilha; of Entre Douro e Minho, at Porto; of Tras 
 os Montes, at Torre de Moncorvo; of Alemtejo, at Evora; and 
 of the kingdom of Algarve, at Faro. 
 
 Each used for his seal the arms of Portugal, around which 
 was “ Ouvidor of the Province of ****.” They had their 
 chancellor, who was bound to reside in the same city or town, 
 and might be either a Jew or Christian. He affixed the official 
 seals to all documents. They also had their respective notaries 
 to record all matters that were brought before the ouvidor. 
 He might be a Christian or Jew. The duty of the ouvidor 
 was to hear and determine all complaints and appeals from the 
 rabbis of the communes in their respective province. Their 
 sentences were issued in the name of the chief rabbi. 
 
 Besides the magistrates in each province, every town had its 
 rabbi, whose authority was only annual. These rabbis were 
 elected by the votes of the Jews of the place, but could not act 
 until their election was approved by the chief rabbi; and they 
 had a commission signed by him or his ouvidor, sealed with his 
 official seal, and issued in the name of the reigning sovereign. 
 
 They had civil and criminal jurisdiction over the Jews of 
 their respective towns; but they could not take cognizance of 
 causes that concerned royal rights, as there were particular 
 judges specially appointed for that purpose. They attended 
 to the economy, policy, and property of their respective com¬ 
 munities, in each of which there was an assessor of markets, an 
 intendant, a treasurer, and a representative. They also had 
 their respective notaries, who in presence of the rabbis noted all 
 proceedings that took place, and drew up all contracts made 
 between Jews, which were in Hebrew. 
 
310 CONSTITUTION OF THE JEWS IN PORTUGAL. 
 
 In criminal cases, the rabbi of the place took cognizance 
 of them in the first instance. From his interrogatories, or 
 definite sentence, the parties might appeal or complain to the 
 chief rabbi, in case it was in the town or province; or in his 
 absence to the ouvidor of the province. But if the crime com¬ 
 mitted should be of the description that belonged to the 
 superior tribunal of justice, they could not pass a final sentence 
 thereon, as the royal ministers took cognizance of them in the 
 last instance. 
 
 Civil actions were in the first instance decided by the rabbis 
 of the towns. From their decisions, appeals or complaints 
 might be made to the chief rabbi, if he were in the town 
 or province; but if he were not, to the ouvidor of the respective 
 province; but the parties condemned might appeal or complain 
 to the royal ministers. Actions between themselves were to be 
 proved in the same manner as suits between Christians were, 
 that is by documentary evidence, witnesses, or by oath. But 
 the word and testimony of a Jew might be impugned in a 
 dispute between a Christian and a Jew, as in that case the 
 testimony of a Jew against a Christian was not valid, unless 
 corroborated by another Christian. But the testimony of 
 Christians against Jews was always valid, even in causes 
 among themselves. 
 
 Jews, whether in their own causes, or with Christians, were 
 to be sworn by the rabbi on the five books of Moses in the 
 synagogue, in presence of the party, and an usher of the court, 
 who acquaints the judge that the Jew had been sworn; then 
 the judge examines him, and learns the truth of the case. 
 
 In civil cases between a Christian and a Jew, or Jew and 
 Moor, the Jew defendant can only be summoned before his 
 rabbi; the plaintiff can only go to the court of the defendant. 
 This rule has only two exceptions. 
 
 1. In places where judges are specially appointed to take 
 cognizance of all civil causes that may occur between Christians 
 and Jews. 
 
 2. When the action is for tithes, tolls, taxes or other royal 
 dues, as there are particular judges appointed to try those 
 causes. 
 
LAWS RESPECTING CONVERTS. 
 
 311 
 
 In criminal actions, although a Jew is the defendant, they 
 could only be tried by the criminal judge appointed by the 
 king. 
 
 They could sue Christians for bond debts, even after the 
 limitation of twenty years. 
 
 On Saturdays, passover, and other holidays enjoined by their 
 religion, as they are prohibited to distract themselves with 
 profane concerns, on those days the royal ministers could not 
 proceed against them, nor could they be summoned to appear 
 in any court. 
 
 In all cities and towns where ten Jews resided, they had 
 their Jewry to live separate from Christians; they were closed 
 at night, and guarded by two sentinels; they were better 
 situated than the Moors, for the Jewries were always within the 
 walls of the city. The street where the Jewry of Lisbon was, 
 yet retains the name; the Moories were without the city walls. 
 
 It may now be necessary to state the laws regarding 
 converts, for the kings of Portugal granted many 
 advantages and favours to Jews and Moors who would 
 enter the pale of the church. By a very ancient law 
 
 Any person who called another “ Turncoat, who from any 
 other religion became a Christian, was to be fined sixty soldos 
 by the alcalde. 
 
 No Jew could disinherit a child solely on account of em¬ 
 bracing Christianity: on the contrary, it secured to the convert 
 a large portion of the parents’ property, even before their death. 
 
 The following was the law on the subject: — 
 
 If the convert was an only son or grandson, he received two- 
 thirds of all the family property, and a third only was left for 
 the parents: to which, or any other property he might acquire 
 after the division had been made, the convert could never 
 make any further claim, unless left to him by will. 
 
 If there were many sons, and the whole became Christians, 
 the two thirds of the property were equally divided among 
 
312 
 
 COliTES OF LISBON. 
 
 [ 1371 . 
 
 them, under the same conditions as if there had been only a 
 single convert. 
 
 If the convert had another brother who was a Jew, he was 
 only to have half the property the parent possessed at the time 
 of his conversion; and if he had more than one Jew brother, 
 then he was only to have a third. 
 
 A convert might inherit from any Jew relation in the same 
 way as he would were they Christians. 
 
 It has been stated that they were large landholders. 
 No limits seem to have been made to their acquisitions; 
 for the first mention of the subject is in the reign of 
 Dorn Pedro, who enacted,— 
 
 That when Jews bought, hired, assigned, farmed, or ex¬ 
 changed landed property with or from Christians, they should 
 be sworn before the judge of the place, or the two notaries that 
 draw up the deed, that the transaction is neither fraudulent 
 nor usurious. 
 
 At this time they appear to have received titles or 
 surnames from their landed possessions, for this sove¬ 
 reign granted to the chief rabbi, Don Moses, and his 
 wife Donna Salva, and their heirs, the right and pri¬ 
 vilege of assuming the name of Navarro, on entailing 
 a large property and many villas they possessed 
 within the boundaries of Lisbon. 
 
 Dom Ferdinand, his successor, was also much 
 attached to his Jewish subjects. Don Judah was the 
 high treasurer of the royal treasury, and Don David 
 Negro was a particular favorite with him. On his 
 death Don David evinced his gratitude by his conduct 
 towards John I., of Castile, the husband of Donna 
 Beatrice, the daughter of the deceased monarch, as 
 before related. 
 
 At the Cortes held in 13?1, at Lisbon, he ordered 
 
THE DISTINGUISHING SIGN. 
 
 313 
 
 1391.] 
 
 that the privileges which had been granted to the 
 Jews and Moors should be observed. 
 
 On Dom John I. ascending the throne of Portugal, 
 he continued favourable to the Hebrew people. His 
 physician, Don Moses Salom, who had held the same 
 post to his predecessors, fearing that the flame against 
 the Israelitish people, which had caused such devast¬ 
 ation in Castile and Aragon, might spread to Portu¬ 
 gal, in 1391 presented to the king a bull of Boniface 
 IX., confirming that of Clement VI., issued in 1348, 
 wherein the Pope prohibited Christians molesting the 
 Jews in the exercise of their religion, desecrating their 
 cemeteries, or imposing on them any other taxes than 
 what Christians were subject to. In consequence of 
 this representation, the king, in the following year, 
 ordered, u that the rights and privileges of the 
 Israelites should be respected.’ 7 Thus preventing 
 bigoted ecclesiastics instigating the ignorant populace 
 to perpetrate on the descendants of Judah those scenes 
 of horror, that cast so indelible and bloody a stain on 
 the pages of Spanish history. 
 
 The wearing a distinguishing sign having fallen into 
 disuetude, complaint was made to the cortes held at 
 Evora in 1391, that either they did not wear them, or 
 had them so small, or wore them in such part of their 
 dress, as not to be perceptible. Whereupon he or¬ 
 dained,— 
 
 That all Jews of his dominions should wear a red star, having 
 six points, the size of his round seal, on the breast of the outer 
 garment, at the pit of the stomach, in such manner as to he 
 visible. 
 
 Hitherto all papers and documents among Jews 
 were drawn up in Hebrew; but Dom John ordered 
 
314 
 
 DUARTE SUCCEEDS JOHN I. 
 
 [ 1433 . 
 
 that in future they should be made in the language of 
 the country. 
 
 In the early period of the monarchy, all the vassals 
 were military, and every rich and powerful subject 
 was bound to have his horse, to be prepared in case of 
 war; as it was a measure for the defence and security 
 of the kingdoms, the Jews were equally bound to the 
 same until this reign, when the king ordered his master 
 of horse not to compel Jews to have a horse, although 
 they possessed property which, according to the regu¬ 
 lations, would oblige them to it. 
 
 In 1404 it was ordered,— 
 
 That all Jews should inscribe the value of the produce, and 
 the lands they possessed, or they should become the property 
 of the occupiers. 
 
 It appears they paid a property-tax of 2 per cent.; 
 for it is recorded that property worth 6,000 reis paid 
 120 to the king. 
 
 At the instance of the Jews, and by the advice of 
 Dom Gil Alma, bishop of Lisbon, and other persons of 
 his council, he ordered that a convert from Judaism 
 should be compelled to give his wife guet (a divorce 
 according to Jewish form), as without that docu¬ 
 ment she would yet be considered bound to him as 
 his wife. 
 
 For the protection of converts, he ordered,_ 
 
 That any person that offended them should be summoned 
 and tried before secular judges, as delinquents frequently were 
 not punished when carried before ecclesiastical commissioners. 
 
 John was succeeded by his son Duarte (Edward). 
 During his short reign of less than five years, he made 
 many laws respecting the Jews and Moors. He 
 appears to have taken example from his Castilian 
 neighbour, John II. He ordained — 
 
ALFONZO V. OF PORTUGAL. 
 
 315 
 
 1438.] 
 
 That no Jew or Moor should hold any office in the house¬ 
 hold of the king, queen, infantes, noblemen, or prelates. 4 
 
 Fearing too much communication with Jews and 
 Moors might be injurious to his Christian subjects, 
 particularly to women, he enacted,— 
 
 That neither Jews nor Moors should have Christian boys or 
 girls in their service, for hire or gratis. 
 
 They were prohibited entering the houses of single women, 
 widows, or even of married women, in the absence of their 
 husbands, unless in the company of two Christian men or 
 women; except physicians, surgeons, apothecaries, and mecha¬ 
 nics, who in virtue of their office, were permitted. 
 
 No Christian woman might enter the warehouses or shops of 
 Jews or Moors, unless accompanied by a Christian man. 
 
 No Christian woman could enter the Jewry by herself under 
 pain of death. 
 
 The same occurred here as in Spain; the extreme 
 severity of the laws to prevent the intercourse of Jews 
 and Moors with Christians, rendered them ineffective. 
 The early death of this monarch probably saved the 
 Hebrews of Portugal similar persecutions to what their 
 co-religionists suffered at this period in Spain. 
 
 Alfonzo V., who succeeded to the throne in 1438, 
 although constantly engaged in glorious but unprofit¬ 
 able wars with the Moors in Africa, or his Castilian 
 neighbour, was a great benefactor to his country for 
 he revised and compiled the laws of the kingdom, 
 forming a code which bears the title of the Alfonzine 
 Code. The foregoing laws and privileges respecting 
 the Hebrew people are embodied in it, with the follow¬ 
 ing alterations and additions:— 
 
 A convert might continue to live with his unconverted wife 
 for one year. If within that time she would not embrace 
 Christianity,. he should then be compelled to give her yuet. 
 
 4 Vit. de Santarem das Cortes. 
 
316 
 
 CORTES OF LISBON. 
 
 [ 1473 . 
 
 That the privileges granted to converted Jews should be 
 extended to Christians, who married Jewesses that had become 
 Christians. 
 
 At the Cortes held in 1451, at Santarem, it was 
 enacted,— 
 
 That Jews and Moors should not be permitted to wear silk 
 dresses. 
 
 At another held at Lisbon in 1460, in consequence 
 of a ruinous war he had entered into against Castile, 
 a general contribution was ordered to be levied on the 
 Jews and Moors; but their officers were exempted 
 from it. 
 
 In 1468 a cortes was held at Santarem, which 
 resolved,— 
 
 That Jews and Moors should not be permitted to reside 
 without their Moories and Jewries, and that they should be 
 compelled to wear the signs enacted by law. 
 
 Although ordered by John I., and now confirmed, 
 it will be seen that it was not observed. 
 
 The Jews of Portugal, like those of Spain, were found 
 to be more liberal in farming the public revenues than 
 Christians; and the clergy, whatever might be their 
 dislike to them for adherence to their faith, had none 
 against them as farmers and collectors of the revenues 
 of the church, as they paid better prices than could be 
 obtained from any of their Catholic flock. To remedy 
 this, in the last Cortes held by this sovereign at Lisbon, 
 in 1473, it was enacted,— 
 
 That Jews should not be permitted to recover the revenues 
 belonging to the church j and severe penalties were enacted 
 against Christians who farmed or let them to either Jews or 
 Moors. 
 
317 
 
 1481 .] CORTES OE EVORA. 
 
 At the same Cortes it was ordained— 
 
 That the Jewish rabbis and the muftis of the Moors might 
 only take cognizance of affairs that occurred among themselves 
 in their respective communities. 
 
 CHAPTER XXVIII. 
 
 •i i „ 
 
 John II.—Cortes of Evora.—The Exiles from Spam 
 admitted—Forced to quit—Cruelties they suffered .— 
 Emanuel succeeds to the Throne—Banishes them —- 
 Deliberations of the Council — Their Children taken 
 from them — Bishop Osorio's Account — Usque's De¬ 
 lation of their Sufferings. 
 
 On the accession of John II. in 1481, he held a 
 Cortes at Evora; the following petitions against the 
 Jews and Moors were presented to it. 
 
 Sire, it appears to our people that in regard to the dresses of 
 Jews, Moors, and their wives, your highness might order that 
 they should wear their signs and dress as formerly, in such 
 manner that they may be known as Jews or Moors wherever 
 they are, and thereby confer a great favour on your vassals. 1 
 
 Whereas, at present we generally perceive, much injurious 
 dissoluteness among Jews, Moors, and Christians, as well in 
 living, in dress, and m association, which is disgraceful, im¬ 
 proper, and abominable. And we notice Jew cavaliers, mounted 
 on richly caparisoned horses and mules, in fine cloaks, cas¬ 
 socks, silk doublets, closed hoods, and with gilt swords, that it 
 is impossible to recognise them. Further, they enter churches, 
 mock the holy sacraments and mix with Christians, to the 
 great injury of the Catholic faith. And besides this great 
 
 1 Chap. ciii. 
 
318 
 
 CORTES OF EVORA. 
 
 [ 1482 . 
 
 dissoluteness, there spring other errors and acts highly preju¬ 
 dicial and injurious to bodies and souls. What is worse, from 
 being farmers-general they do not wear the distinguishing sign, 
 but molest and annoy Christians by their strict exaction of 
 payment. 2 
 
 The king answered,— 
 
 As to the clothes of Jews, it is right that they should be of 
 the same description of cloth as I have ordered other men to 
 wear, but they may not wear silk, and are only to wear wool¬ 
 len. And they are to wear the customary sign of a star, ac¬ 
 cording to the form of the ordinance, on the pit of the stomach. 
 
 A singular complaint was made against them at 
 the Cortes held the following year:— 
 
 The representatives of the kingdom laid before the king that 
 Jew workmen, as cobblers, renovators, etc., travel the country 
 in search of work, and while the labourers are employed in the 
 fields, they are connected with their wives and daughters, 
 which (added the Cortes), is highly injurious to good morals 
 and the Catholic faith; and, in consequence, they demanded 
 that Jew workmen should not be permitted to travel the 
 country, but be confined to their Jewries, where those who 
 require their work will be sure to find them. 
 
 The king sensibly answered— 
 
 That it was for the convenience of the country people that 
 he had permitted Jew workmen to offer their services to the 
 labourers, and that if those workmen committed any crime 
 they could be brought to justice. 
 
 This proves that the poor Jews were artisans, and 
 sought industriously to gain their livelihood. The 
 higher classes were men of learning, and great repute 
 in the sciences generally; their physicians were held 
 in the highest esteem, and rivalled in skill their 
 medical brethren in Spain. 
 
 2 Chap, cxviii. 
 
1485 .] 
 
 PRINTING BY THE JEWS. 
 
 819 
 
 In the early part of his reign, from an expedition 
 made by Abraham de Beija and Joseph Zapatera to 
 the Persian Gulf, by the coast of the Bed Sea, the king 
 gained such information as to induce him to expect 
 that a passage to India by the western coast of Africa 
 might be effected; but his premature death prevented 
 the accomplishment of his wish to discover it, in which 
 his successor succeeded in 1497 by the aid of the 
 intrepid Vasco de Gama. John charged the Hebrew 
 physicians, R. Rodrigues and R. Joseph, together 
 with the geographer, Martin Belem, to form rules for 
 taking the altitude of the sun, and tables of its declin¬ 
 ation, for his vassals who were making voyages on 
 the coast of Africa. It was probably to these two 
 eminent physicians and cosmographers, together with 
 the bishop of Vizeu, that he referred the consideration 
 of Columbus’s project for the discovery of America, as 
 he used to consult them on all matters of this descrip¬ 
 tion. 
 
 As early as in 1485, R. Eliezer and R. Tzorba in¬ 
 troduced Hebrew printing into Portugal. From their 
 press many valuable books were produced in 1491. 
 Among other works a beautiful edition of the Penta¬ 
 teuch, with the Targum paraphrase of Onkelos, and 
 the commentary of Rashi in two volumes, quarto; it 
 is considered by bibliographers to be the finest speci¬ 
 men of Hebrew typography of the fifteenth century. 
 It is extremely rare, as are most of the early editions of 
 Hebrew books, probably the smallness of the editions 
 in the beginning of that invaluable art, and the losses 
 experienced in the frequent emigrations, have been the 
 causes of their scarcity. 
 
 The Jews had seized with avidity an art that 
 afforded the means of disseminating knowledge. The 
 
320 
 
 SPANISH EXILES. 
 
 [ 1492 . 
 
 printing presses of the Jews were not confined to 
 theological and religious books. Works of every 
 description on jurisprudence, history, and medicine 
 were printed from the manuscripts that circulated 
 among the Hebrew people in the bright age of their 
 literature. Soon after the discovery of the art, 
 Hebrew presses were established in many cities of 
 Italy, among the earliest may be reckoned those of 
 Plebisario, Mantua, Padua, Sonsino, Yenice, Naples, 
 Pesaro, Faro and Rimini; and from those cities they 
 introduced printing at Thessalonica and Constan¬ 
 tinople. Ten years earlier the Jews of Italy had 
 been actively employed in disseminating their sacred 
 books, but they are so rare as to be accounted among 
 the greatest curiosities of bibliographers. Learned 
 Jews attended to the correction of the press, therefore 
 the earliest editions of the sacred books of the He¬ 
 brews, are for the most part correct, and offer import¬ 
 ant instruction to establish the purity of the text of 
 those books, having mostly been printed from ancient 
 and esteemed manuscripts; so that not only biblio¬ 
 graphers, but theologians also, seek those old editions 
 which are regarded equal to manuscripts, their types 
 are beautifully moulded, and are printed with fine 
 black ink, having exceedingly wide margins. 
 
 Black slaves being imported into Portugal from the 
 coast of Africa, in 1490 Jews and Moors were pro¬ 
 hibited buying them. 
 
 When no alleviation to the cruel edict of Ferdinand 
 and Isabella could be found, and the descendants of 
 Israel prepared to quit the Spanish territory, numbers, 
 ns befoi e stated, sought an asylum in Portugal, which 
 had frequently offered a peaceable residence to the 
 
TERMS FOR ENTERING PORTUGAL. 
 
 321 
 
 Castilian Hebrew emigrants in the many persecutions 
 they had suffered in that kingdom. Two causes may 
 have led so many of the Spanish exiles to seek an 
 asylum in Portugal, and submit to the harsh terms 
 imposed by John II., which according to Portuguese 
 historians were; that— 
 
 Ail persons, children at the breast excepted, were to pay 
 eight crusados, for which they were to receive certificates from 
 the officers appointed for the purpose. Those who should be 
 found not to have paid, and who were unprovided with certi¬ 
 ficates, were to be slaves to the king. Under these conditions, 
 they were permitted to remain eight months in the kingdom, 
 within which period the king engaged to furnish them vessels 
 on moderate terms, to carry them wherever they wished to go. 
 Those who did not depart within the specified time were to 
 become slaves. 
 
 Armourers, smiths, and braziers, who would remain in the 
 kingdom, were only to pay four crusados each. 3 
 
 Under these conditions, 20,000 families, some of 
 ten and twelve persons, are said to have entered 
 the kingdom. 
 
 Historians, to palliate the conduct of their sove¬ 
 reign, say that he then meditated an expedition 
 against the Moors of Africa, and not being able to 
 raise sufficient money from his subjects, he extorted 
 this imposition from the unfortunate Israelites, which 
 at his death was found intact, as he could not execute 
 his intended project. 4 
 
 The vicinity of the countries, and the similarity of 
 language and customs, were inducements that natu¬ 
 rally would lead them to seek refuge there, in pre¬ 
 ference to undertaking perilous voyages, and to find 
 
 3 Damiao de Goes. 4 Garcia de Resende’s Chro. 
 
 Y 
 
322 John’s conduct to the Spanish exiles. [1494. 
 
 on their arrival, inhospitable shores; to which may be 
 added that innate principle in every civilised breast, 
 love of one’s native land; fondly hoping the stern 
 decree might be repealed, and themselves restored to 
 the land of their birth, their homes, their fondest 
 ties, and the graves of ancestors of whom they might 
 so justly be proud. This made them linger on the 
 Iberian soil of Lusitania; but, alas! their hopes were 
 vain. The cruel mandate was irrevocable, the tyrants 
 were inflexible, and even carried their hatred, ven¬ 
 geance, and persecution, against the unoffending 
 descendants of Israel beyond their own dominions, as 
 will be seen. 
 
 The consideration in which the Hebrew people was 
 held in that country, the privileges and tranquillity 
 they had long enjoyed, offered some security and peace 
 to the expatriated Spanish descendants of Judah. 
 
 Although the schools of Portugal had not produced 
 an Aben Ezra, or a Maimonides, they could boast of 
 their Jachias, their Abarbanels, and many other 
 learned men, whose names will be found in the pre¬ 
 ceding pages, and who cast a lustre on the Hebrew 
 name, and the literature of their age. 
 
 But John, though favourable to the Jews of Por¬ 
 tugal, was not so to the unfortunate Spanish exiles. 
 Probably the great influx was the cause of his exact¬ 
 ing the performance of the agreement under which 
 they had been permitted to enter Portugal. Although 
 the king had ordered that they should be charged 
 moderately for their passages and freights, the cap¬ 
 tains and masters of vessels made them pay higher 
 prices than they had agreed for. Besides ill-treating 
 them, and taking advantage of their forlorn condition, 
 
1495.] ACCESSION OF EMANUEL. 323 
 
 as they had no means for obtaining redress, they 
 prolonged the voyages for the purpose of selling pro¬ 
 visions and water to them at any price they chose 
 to exact. They insulted them in the most brutal 
 manner, and even ravished their wives and daughters, 
 so that in quitting Spain, the miseries of the unfor¬ 
 tunate exiles had not yet terminated. 
 
 The Castilian Jews, who from poverty or any other 
 cause had not departed at the limited time, the king 
 ordered should be taken for slaves, according to the 
 terms of their entrance, and distributed them to who¬ 
 ever asked for them. His inhumanity did not cease 
 here. He tore their young children from them, and 
 had them baptised. Being at the time desirous of 
 peopling his newly discovered acquisition on the 
 coast of Africa, the island of St. Thomas, he sent 
 them to it, with the new governor, Alvaro de Cominha, 
 so that by being separated from their parents, and 
 marrying people in the island, they might become 
 good Christians. 
 
 Fathers threw themselves at the feet of the king, 
 entreating they might be sent with their children, 
 which was cruelly denied them. A mother embracing 
 her only child, and determined not to be separated from 
 her infant, threw herself into the sea, and perished 
 with it in her arms. 
 
 On the accession of Emanuel in 1495, the prospects 
 of the unfortunate Spanish Hebrews brightened, and 
 seemed to promise a happier future. This prince 
 being sensible they had not wilfully, but only from 
 necessity, remained in Portugal after the limited 
 time, generously restored to their liberty those whom 
 his predecessor had condemned to slavery. With a 
 
324 LITERATURE OF THE PORTUGUESE JEWS. [1497. 
 
 grateful sense for such extraordinary goodness, a treat¬ 
 ment they had long been unaccustomed to, they offered 
 the king a large sum of money, which he magnani¬ 
 mously refused, being resolved to gain their affection 
 by kind treatment, and thereby gradually to allure 
 them to the Christian faith. 
 
 But their hopes were soon blighted, for in a few 
 months they were treated even worse, and suffered 
 more, than when they quitted the Spanish dominions. 
 The Portuguese Jews who had been among the first 
 settlers of that kingdom, were doomed to suffer the 
 same troubles that awaited their Castilian brethren, 
 without even a cause being assigned for it. The Catho¬ 
 lic sovereigns had given a reason, although false; but 
 Emanuel drove from their homes the unfortunate 
 descendants of Israel, who had enlightened and been 
 the ornaments of his kingdom, only because they would 
 not abjure the religion of their forefathers, nor aban¬ 
 don that law their ancestors had received from the 
 Eternal at Mount Sinai. 
 
 The Academician Ribiero dos Santos, author of 
 “ Memoirs of the Sacred Literature of the Portuguese 
 Jews/’ acknowledges that the Christians of Portugal, 
 in regard to learning, owe innumerable obligations to 
 the Hebrews established in Portugal. 
 
 Indeed (says he), we are chiefly indebted to them for the 
 first knowledge of philosophy, botany, medicine, astronomy, and 
 cosmography, as well as for the rudiments of the grammar of 
 the holy language, and nearly all the studies of biblical litera¬ 
 ture. What contributed greatly to disseminate the knowledge 
 of these subjects, was the introducing, and the perfecting of 
 Portuguese typography, particularly the Hebrew, which put us 
 in a state to enter into competition with the more advanced 
 nations of Italy and Germany. 
 
1497 .} THE EXPULSION FROM PORTUGAL. 325 
 
 The following account of the cruel and inhuman 
 conduct of Emanuel is extracted from the works of 
 the Historian of the time, 5 and the learned bishop 
 Osorio. 6 
 
 As the Portuguese were anxious to see their sovereign mar¬ 
 ried, they recommended an alliance with one of the daughters 
 of Ferdinand, king of Castile; Emanuel consented, provided 
 he could obtain the hand of the young and beautiful widow of 
 Alphonso, the son of Don John. The princess Isabella was 
 weak, and animated with a false zeal; and although opposed to 
 a second marriage, gave her consent, on condition that Emanuel 
 should previously banish the Jews and Moors from his states. 
 Ferdinand also wrote to the king and earnestly entreated him 
 not to permit so perverse a people, who were under the displea¬ 
 sure of God and the odium of mankind, to remain in his do¬ 
 minions. Emanuel considering it a subject of the utmost deli¬ 
 cacy and worthy the greatest consideration, thereupon consulted 
 his council. 
 
 Some of the councillors were of opinion, that they ought not 
 to be driven away, since the pope himself permitted them to 
 reside in the papal dominions. Induced by his example, 
 several Italian states, and many Christian princes, not only in 
 Italy, but in Germany, Hungary, and other parts of Europe, 
 had also granted them the same liberty, and permitted them to 
 trade and carry on all kinds of business. Besides (said they), 
 their banishment will never reclaim them, for wherever they 
 go, they will carry their perverse dispositions; a change of 
 country will not make any alteration in the depravity of their 
 minds. If they should go over to Africa, as it is probable 
 they would if driven from Portugal, all hopes of their conver¬ 
 sion would be lost. While they have lived among Christians, 
 many of them, influenced by friendship and example, have 
 embraced the Christian faith, which will never be the case 
 when they come to mingle with blind and superstitious Maho- 
 medans. Moreover, it will be highly detrimental to the public 
 benefit, if this people, who are extremely rich, should carry 
 
 * Damiao de Goes. 
 
 6 De rebus Emanuelis. 
 
326 THE EXPULSION FROM PORTUGAL. [1497. 
 
 their wealth to the Moors, and enrich our enemies. They 
 would be able to teach the Moors what is necessary to oppose 
 us, and instruct them in the mechanical arts, in which they are 
 very expert, particularly in the manufacture of arms, from 
 which great injury, trouble, and loss might accrue both to the 
 people and property of all Christendom. 
 
 Those of a different opinion acknowledged # that what had 
 been said was true, but that it was not without reason that the 
 Jews had been banished from Spain, France, England, Scot¬ 
 land, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, and many adjoining states, 
 from the whole of Flanders, Burgundy, and many places in 
 Germany. Those princes did not set a higher value on the 
 increase of their revenues than the interests of religion. They 
 had perceived the dangerous consequences of allowing such 
 a people to remain in their dominions, for they were apt to 
 impose their pernicious errors on the simple and vulgar. That, 
 in fact, it would be highly imprudent to place confidence in 
 men who were so inveterate against our religion, who were 
 bound by no ties nor obligations, but would be ready to sacrifice 
 every thing to their interests, by prying into the secrets of 
 state, and giving intelligence to our enemies. It would be 
 much more to the public benefit that they should be banished 
 immediately, when they could only carry away the wealth they 
 had scraped together in other countries; this (they said) would 
 be more advisable than allowing them to remain longer, and 
 then send them aAvay after they had amassed considerable 
 wealth, which they scrupled not to obtain by the most fraudu¬ 
 lent means. As the latter opinion was more agreeable to the 
 passion of Emanuel, influenced by it, in December 1496, he 
 issued a decree from Muja, ordering all Jews and Moors who 
 would not embrace the Christian faith to quit his dominions. 
 A day was fixed, after which all who remained in Portugal 
 were to lose their liberty. Three months was the time allowed 
 them. 
 
 The time approached, when the Jews who would not become 
 Christians were to quit Portugal. All prepared with alacrity 
 and firm resolution for their departure. It caused Emanuel 
 
EXPULSION EROM PORTUGAL. 
 
 327 
 
 1497 .] 
 
 great uneasiness, to think of so many thousand men leaving his 
 kingdom, and being driven into banishment; and he was desir¬ 
 ous at least of converting their sons. For this purpose he 
 devised a plan that in fact was contrary to justice and equity, 
 although the act was attended with the good consequences he 
 wished. He ordered all the sons of Jews under fourteen years 
 of age to be forcibly taken from their parents, that they might 
 be instructed and initiated in the Christian faith. This could 
 not be executed without causing the most affecting and heait- 
 rending scenes. It was a horrid and wretched spectacle to see 
 tender children torn from the arms and breasts of tlieir dis¬ 
 tressed mothers; fathers who fondly held them in their embrace, 
 dragged about to force them from their arms. To hear the cries, 
 sighs, groans, lamentations, and female shrieks that filled the 
 air, was dreadful. Some were so distracted, that they destroyed 
 their children by casting them into wells; others, in fits of 
 despair, made away with themselves. These wretched mortals 
 were yet doomed to suffer further calamity and misery. Those 
 who were desirous of quitting a country where they had met 
 such barbarous treatment were not permitted. The king was 
 so determined on making converts of this people, that he 
 resolved to induce them by rewards, or compel them by neces¬ 
 sity to embrace Christianity. 
 
 By the arrangement the king was to have provided vessels 
 for the Jews, and to permit them freely to depart; but this he 
 purposely delayed from time to time, dhiee ports (Lisbon, 
 Oporto, and Setubal), were at first assigned for their embarka¬ 
 tion; but it was subsequently ordered they should only embaik 
 at Lisbon. This obliged them from all parts of the country to 
 repair to that capital, which became so crowded with them, 
 that they were like sheep in a pen. The motive for reducing 
 the number of ports of embarkation by the inhuman and wily 
 Emanuel was, that by compelling all to come to Lisbon, the 
 limited time would expire, numbers would be unable to leave, 
 and thus forfeit their freedom. Many, wearied by these hard¬ 
 ships, became Christians. Some perhaps were sincere in their 
 conversion, but far more were only so in outward appearance, 
 
328 
 
 THE EXPULSION FROM PORTUGAL. [1497. 
 
 to render their existence less painful and irksome. They were, 
 however, baptised, and initiated into the mysteries of our holy 
 religion. By this means they recovered their children, and 
 were restored to their freedom. The king was extremely kind 
 to these, and gave them great encouragement, so that many 
 Jews continued to live comfortably in the Portuguese domi¬ 
 nions. 
 
 Such was the mode used to bring about the conversion of 
 this people; but it must be owned it was unwarrantable. Will 
 any one pretend to maintain that it was consistent with the 
 principles of justice or religion, to force perverse and obstinate 
 minds into the belief of things which in reality they despised and 
 1 ejected? Will any one pretend to take on himself to prevent 
 the freedom of will, or put fetters on the understanding? This 
 is impossible to be done, and is directly opposed to the doctrine 
 of Christ. He does not take pleasure in any thing that pro¬ 
 ceeds from force or restraint, and is pleased only with a volun¬ 
 tary sacrifice that flows from the heart. He does not command 
 violence to be offered to the minds of men, but that, by per¬ 
 suasion and mild tieatment, they should be invited to the study 
 of the tiue religion. Besides, what is more presumptuous, 
 than for a mortal to do what the Divine Spirit only can effect? 
 It alone is able to enlighten and purify the minds of men. 
 Those it finds not altogether perverse and repugnant to its 
 influence, it removes from darkness, and makes them see the 
 truths of Christianity. Is it not scandalous and disgraceful, 
 that leligion should be so far prostituted, as to admit men of 
 so much infidelity and dissimulation into her holy mysteries? 
 That those who contemn the doctrine of Christ, should have 
 such opportunities afforded them to exercise their impiety and 
 ridicule? That religion should be violated and debased under 
 a religious pretence? 
 
 Yet there were some persons who highly applauded the 
 conduct of Emanuel towards the Jews, especially as some 
 religious and learned men were of opinion that it was lawful, 
 and had been done before by Christian princes. But there 
 never was, nor will there ever be wanting persons, who, to 
 
THE EXPULSION FROM PORTUGAL. 
 
 329 
 
 1497.] 
 
 insinuate themselves into the favour of their prince, will accom¬ 
 modate their sentiments with his humours. This step of the 
 king, although unjust in itself, produced, as we see daily, most 
 excellent effects, for, notwithstanding many only put on a 
 religious mask, their sons, having forgotten the impiety of their 
 fathers, influenced by custom and example, now worship Christ 
 most devoutly, and live according to his rules. Thus it was 
 that part of the Jews were removed by banishment, and part 
 lost the name of Jews. 
 
 But the Moors, who would not renounce the pernicious errors 
 of Mahomedanism, were allowed, unmolested, to depart for 
 Africa, lest if they had been injured, the Christians that lived 
 in Asia and Africa should suffer for it. 
 
 The foregoing leaves but little room for comment. 
 The worthy and learned prelate acknowledges the 
 injustice and iniquity of the conduct of Emanuel, 
 although he attempts to palliate it by the effects 
 produced. But his ideas of forcing man to change 
 his religious belief, cannot fail to meet the approba¬ 
 tion of every reflecting mind. Fear of retaliation 
 induced the Portuguese monarch to show greater 
 mercy towards the Moors than to the descendants 
 of Israel. 
 
 As to the assertion of some of the councillors, fearing 
 the treachery of the Jews, universal history shews it 
 was unfounded and untrue: for no country in the 
 world can produce a single instance of a Jew being a 
 traitor, — their fidelity to their native country has 
 ever been a most remarkable characteristic in their 
 conduct, as faithful and devoted subjects. As to 
 getting wealth by fraudulent means, in the history of 
 Portugal they are not accused, as in other countries, 
 of usury, in any one instance. 
 
 Usque adds to the relation of Osorio,— 
 
330 THE EXPULSION FROM PORTUGAL. [ 1497 . 
 
 That on the children being taken from their parents, many 
 fine promises were made to induce them voluntarily to become 
 Christians, but they were firm and refused; whereupon they 
 were dragged by the legs and arms to the churches, where 
 water was thrown on them. After this they were sent back 
 to their afflicted parents, who sustained a miserable existence, 
 who were told they were now Christians, and would hate them 
 unless they did the same; but they would not submit. The 
 king ordered them to be deprived of food and drink. At 
 the end of three days, finding they would rather die than 
 abandon their faith, they were dragged by the hair and beards, 
 with blows and wounds, to the churches, where water was 
 sprinkled on them. Those who were thus baptized had Chris¬ 
 tian names given to them, and were given in charge to old 
 Christians, to watch that they observed Catholicism and kept 
 to the faith. A father who had thus been taken with his six 
 children, by learned reasoning recommended them to die, 
 rather than renounce their religion ; they were all murdered. 
 Some, sooner than abandon the religion of their fathers, threw 
 themselves into wells, or from their windows. Their corpses 
 were taken up and burnt, to inspire their surviving friends and 
 relatives with fear and dread . 7 
 
 A wretched mother, from whom six children had 
 been taken, cast herself before the king’s carriage, 
 and entreated that the youngest might be restored to 
 her, to console her for the loss of the others. The 
 king, inhumanly smiling at her distress, ordered her 
 to be taken away, while his attendant courtiers ridi¬ 
 culed her maternal affliction. The people were not 
 as unfeeling or inhuman as their sovereign: many of 
 them secreted the children of the unfortunate Israel¬ 
 ites for their wretched parents. 
 
 Many yielding to necessity received baptism, solely 
 to preserve their lives, for it will be seen numbers of 
 those dissembling Catholics only waited the oppor- 
 
 1 Consola^ao. 
 
1497 .] 
 
 .EFFECTS OF THE EXPULSION. 
 
 331 
 
 tunity of escaping from the fangs of these ferocious 
 monsters. Learning the deplorable state in which 
 the holy office held the converts in Spain, they stipu¬ 
 lated that for twenty years the Inquisition should not 
 be introduced into Portugal, and after its establish¬ 
 ment, that the accused should be informed who were 
 the witnesses against them, and in case of condemna¬ 
 tion their property should not be taken from their 
 families . 8 
 
 These were but feeble guarantees which the Jews 
 asked against the tyranny of inquisitors; but it shews 
 the odious reputation they had acquired in a few 
 years. Emanuel acceded to the demand. 
 
 The expulsion of so many useful subjects, which 
 took place at a time when the expeditions and mari¬ 
 time conquests took away so many thousands of Portu¬ 
 guese from the peninsula, and the establishment of 
 innumerable convents, hastened the decline of the 
 population of the kingdoms . 9 
 
 The blind policy of Spain and Portugal in expelling 
 this industrious and commercial people prevented 
 their reaping the rich harvests their discoveries in the 
 east and west would otherwise have afforded them, 
 by which they might have preserved that ascendancy 
 they held at the commencement of the sixteenth 
 century. 
 
 8 Monteiro Inq. do Portugal. 
 
 9 Mem. para a Hist, de Agricul. em Portugal. 
 
332 
 
 CHAPTER XXIX. 
 
 The Eociles protected by the Papal See—The Senate 
 of Venice welcomes them.—Privileges granted them at 
 Leghorn , and other Italian States. — Heroism of 
 Esther Cohen. —Solomon Rophe — In the Ea,vbary 
 States , raised to the Highest Offices. — Egypt. — 
 Morocco. —Heroism of Alvarensi.—Noble conduct of 
 the Jews to the Portuguese Prisoners. —Parliament of 
 Paris Settle at Bourdeaux and Bayonne. — Depu¬ 
 tation to Charles V.—Independence of Holland — 
 The Jews protected there—at Hamburg—in South 
 America and the JVest Indies—the North of Europe 
 England Sir Moses Montef ore. Baronet of the 
 United Kingdom — employed and ennobled by Spain 
 and Portugal.—An Article of the Treaty of Utrecht. 
 
 1 he cruelties suffered by the unfortunate Hebrews in 
 these two banishments, induced those who were not 
 nominally, but in reality Christian states, to afford an 
 
 asylum to the expatriated Spanish and Portuguese 
 refugees. 
 
 Besides the Jews who had resided in Italy from 
 time immemorial, the many emigrations from Spain 
 had vastly increased the Jewish population in the 
 south of Europe, and they had held the highest situa¬ 
 tions, not only in the palaces of the lay princes, but 
 also in the households of popes. In proof of this 
 assertion, in 1414, the republic of Florence sent a 
 Jew banker, named Valori, to Milan, with a complaint 
 
333 
 
 PROTECTED BY THE COURT OF ROME. 
 
 to the Duke Visconti, against the act of the lord of 
 Forli, who, at his death, had appointed the duke 
 • administrator of his estates. The duke refused to 
 receive a Jew as ambassador, and referred him to his 
 secretary. Florence considered itself insulted by the 
 affront offered to its envoy, and declared war against 
 Visconti. 1 As a proof of the ignorance of Christianity 
 of the bigoted Spanish and Portuguese sovereigns, 
 Rome opened its gates to the banished Israelites, and 
 Alexander VI., who probably laughed at their intem¬ 
 perate zeal, kindly received the exiled Hebrews, and 
 afforded them his protection. Zurita relates, “ that 
 the Jews of Rome, fearing the competition of the 
 exiles, exerted themselves to prevent their establish¬ 
 ment in that capital, and even offered a thousand 
 pieces of gold to the pope to prohibit it.” But the 
 more humane and politic pontiff threatened to banish 
 them, unless they received and assisted their co-reli¬ 
 gionists. When the well-known liberality and com¬ 
 passion ever shewn by the Jews to their indigent and 
 distressed brethren are considered, the veracity of this 
 historian on this point may be justly doubted, and a 
 Spaniard of that bigoted age, may be excused for 
 vilifying the Hebrew people. After the persecution 
 the new Christians suffered in Portugal, Clement VII. 
 invited them to settle in the papal states, and offered 
 the Jews that had forcibly been baptized, to come and 
 live in his dominions as they pleased, without enquiry 
 being made how they had lived in Portugal. His suc¬ 
 cessors, finding the benefit of this policy, continued to 
 follow it. Nearly 20,000 repaired to the States of the 
 Church, and by their commerce and industry Ancona 
 became a flourishing commercial port. The family of 
 
 1 Daru Hist, de Venise. 
 
334 
 
 RECEPTION IN ITALY. 
 
 Corcos was highly esteemed by the noble families of 
 Rome, and had great influence at court. But when 
 the king and cardinal of Portugal found that many of 
 the new Christians prepared to go there, in 1524 they 
 made it death and confiscation of property for anv 
 to attempt to depart the kingdom. 
 
 The senate of \ enice, which, in its deliberations, 
 was ever most prudent and cautious, reprobated the 
 conduct of these sovereigns, in thus banishing from 
 their dominions without any cause, people who were 
 publicly and privately so beneficial to the state. The 
 emigrants were welcomed in all the Venetian states, 
 and were so powerfully protected at Florence, that it 
 was commonly said, a person might as soon insult the 
 grand duke as a Jew. Two Jews had permission 
 granted them in the latter part of the 14th century, 
 to establish a bank to lend money at interest. The 
 emigrants were employed by the senate in various 
 affairs of state. Don Isaac Abarbanel negociated 
 for it the spice treaty with Portugal; and Daniel 
 Rodrigues was sent in 1589 to appease the troubles 
 in Dalmatia, which he successfully effected. 
 
 # Leghorn had just been founded by the Medici; its 
 situation promised to render it an important com¬ 
 mercial place. A quarter was assigned to the Spanish 
 and Portuguese emigrants; they were received more 
 as colonists, than as tolerated foreigners. It was in 
 reality a Jewish colony, which has prospered and 
 lasted longer than any of their establishments in the 
 south of Europe; for it is yet in the most flourishing 
 and solid condition. Whether misfortunes'had ren¬ 
 dered the exiles prudent, or that the colonists, ad¬ 
 mitted by the Medici, were naturally the friends of 
 
I 
 
 TIIE JEWS AT LEGHORN. 335 
 
 order and justice, and provided with means for main¬ 
 taining a rising establishment, it is certain they pro¬ 
 ceeded with great wisdom in the foundation of their 
 colony, which secured them the favor of the grand 
 duke. They formed a constitution where theocracy 
 does not govern; a proof that it was merchants, and 
 not rabbis, that founded the Jewish community at 
 Leghorn. The exiles modelled their government on 
 the Italian republics; they placed it in an aristo- 
 cratical body, a senate of sixty persons, who elected 
 from themselves an administration of five members, 
 part of which were chosen every six months; but 
 they were only elected on the approval of the grand 
 duke, to whom a list of candidates was submitted. 
 This senate judged the suits of the community, and 
 could even inflict corporal punishment, and banish 
 culprits from Leghorn. The Spanish language is yet 
 preserved in congregational matters, and even in their 
 daily transactions; the Mosaic worship is performed 
 with great splendour. The community possesses a 
 considerable income, which, together with some im¬ 
 posts, serves to support the synagogue, schools, and 
 hospital. Medicine and surgery are studied and prac¬ 
 tised as formerly by many Israelites, both merchants 
 and rabbis. The former, by their commercial specu¬ 
 lations, especially with Africa, have made immense 
 fortunes; the wealth of the Ghetto (the Jewry) of 
 Leghorn has so increased, that the 10,000 inhabitants 
 of that obscure and dirty quarter, are owners of a 
 large part of the city, and the surrounding country. 
 They are likewise bankers and brokers. The invasion 
 of the French during the revolution, placed them on 
 an equality with other citizens, since which, the 
 
336 
 
 THE JEWS AT NAPLES. 
 
 senate no longer exercises judicial power except in 
 religious matters, and has been reduced to forty. 
 
 It has been before stated, that a number of the 
 emigrants had repaired to Naples, where they soon 
 amalgamated with the Neapolitan Jews. Owing to 
 their security and ease of life under the fine Parthe- 
 nopian sky, they began to signalise themselves in 
 literature. The invasion of Charles VIII. of France 
 destroyed their happiness, and exposed them to new 
 persecutions. The major part fled; those that remained, 
 panic struck, seemed inclined to embrace Christianity 
 to save their property and liberty. But as soon as 
 the danger was over, they forgot their baptism and 
 profession of faith, and returned to Judaism; or at 
 least ceased to practise the Catholic worship. When, 
 in 1504, Gonzalve de Cordova, took Naples for the 
 king of Spain, to appear consistent, as the Jews had 
 been banished from the Spanish dominions, the ques¬ 
 tion of expelling the Jews was mooted. But the 
 Great Captain, as Gonzalve is styled, considered it 
 would be a great detriment to the state, if they retired 
 to Venice; he preferred prosecuting them as bad 
 Christians, to expelling them as Jews. In consequence, 
 instead of promulgating an edict of banishment, he 
 wished to introduce the Inquisition. But other affairs 
 occupied the government in this recent conquest, so 
 difficult to maintain. At length, in 1510, the attempt 
 was made to introduce the tribunal of the Inquisition. 
 When the people saw that it was intended to impose on 
 the conquered nation an ecclesiastical authority, which 
 had shed torrents of blood and diffused mournino- 
 
 O 
 
 throughout Spain, a general insurrection took place. 
 The Spanish government found it most prudent to 
 
THE JEWS AT FERRARA. 
 
 337 
 
 yield; but, in promising the Neapolitans not to intro¬ 
 duce the Inquisition, it avenged itself for this conces¬ 
 sion, on the Jews, who were all banished the kingdom, 
 and obliged to retire to other Italian states. 
 
 The duke of Ferrara admitted the Portuguese 
 exiles to reside in his capital and states, and granted 
 them the same privileges as the other Italian princes; 
 but the great influx of Jews and new Christians, 
 induced him to renew an old law, that they should 
 wear a small yellow circle on the breast. In 1551, 
 he was obliged to enact a law again exiling the un¬ 
 fortunate Israelites, in consequence of the plague 
 which had been brought by some Swiss and Germans; 
 but as some of the expatriated Hebrews had arrived 
 from the Grisons, the people exclaimed they had 
 spread the contagion, although they were equally suf¬ 
 fering, so that many found the utmost difficulty to 
 
 drao* themselves to the vessels that were to take them 
 © 
 
 away. Some fell into the hands of pirates; others, 
 repulsed, from the fear of infection, from the ports 
 of the Adriatic, were charitably received by their 
 brethren in Pesaro. At the intercession of Emanuel 
 Bichacho, a noble emigrant, from Portugal, the duke 
 of Urbino granted them his protection. One night, 
 in 1553, a mob secretly entered their synagogue, and 
 destroyed everything they found in it, as well as in 
 another synagogue belonging to the Italian Jews. 
 The duke had only signed this decree of banishment 
 to quiet his riotous subjects. They soon returned to 
 Ferrara; for the famed edition of the Ferrara Bible 
 bears the date of 1553; and, in the same year, B. 
 Samuel Usque printed in that city, As Consalaqams 
 os tribulaqoens de Ysrael , which gives the most im- 
 
 z 
 
338 
 
 HEROIC CONDUCT OF ESTHER COHEN. 
 
 partial account of the various persecutions the Jews 
 suffered from the earliest period until his time. It is 
 a most curious work, written, in the Portuguese lan¬ 
 guage of that age. He often borders on the poetic, 
 as may be seen by his description of the Inquisition. 
 The work is extremely scarce. 
 
 A number repaired to Bologna, where they were 
 so much esteemed, that, when in 1529, the Emperor 
 Charles V. wished to banish them from it, the nobles 
 interfered, and dissuaded him; but, in 1534, he 
 banished them from Sicily. 
 
 Many went to Cremona, where renowned Jewish 
 academies flourished. They possessed a most valuable 
 library of Hebrew works. In 1559, the Inquisition 
 of Borne resolved on its destruction, and despatched 
 Sextus of Sienna for the purpose. The fanatical Do¬ 
 minican proved himself a fit envoy for such a mission; 
 he condemned 12,000 volumes to the flames, and, had 
 he not been restrained by the more enlightened Italian 
 princes, would not have left a single Hebrew book; 
 for, he regrets, a that the avarice and weakness of 
 princes permitted them to retain Talmudical works.” 
 
 The duke of Modena also granted them the privi¬ 
 lege of having judges of their own people. At Mantua, 
 Padua, Verona, Bagusa, and every other city and in¬ 
 dependent state, they were kindly received. 
 
 Before quitting Italy, the following historical fact 
 deserves to be recorded. When Andrew Doria ravaged 
 Sicily and the Morea, he made many Jews prisoners, 
 who were redeemed by their brethren in Italy. In 
 every congregation, funds were appropriated for the 
 redemption of captives. Among the prisoners made 
 at Coron, was Jacob Cohen and his wife, Esther. The 
 
TIIE JEWS IN TURKEY. 
 
 339 
 
 captain of the galley on which she was on board, 
 became enamoured of her. Finding that her tears and 
 entreaties did not divert him from his wicked purpose, 
 she begged him to grant her a little delay, and she 
 would submit to his wishes. The tyrant, quieted 
 thereby, desisted; in the meanwhile the virtuous and 
 afflicted wife mounted to a part of the galley suited to 
 her purpose, tied her clothes to her feet, and threw 
 herself into the sea; sacrificing her life to preserve 
 her honour and chastity. 1 
 
 Many joined their brethren in Turkey, where the 
 Spanish exiles had been kindly received. The free 
 and undisturbed practice of their religion was per¬ 
 mitted, and many privileges granted to them. E. 
 Joseph Peso, a disciple of E. Isaac Aboab, opened 
 a college at Constantinople, which produced many 
 learned men. Selim I. appointed Joseph Amon, a 
 native of Andalusia, to be his chief physician. His 
 son, Moses Amon, who, by order of the sultan, had 
 translated the Hebrew ritual into the Turkish lan¬ 
 guage, occupied the same post under Solyman, his 
 successor. From his influence, he saved the Jews 
 from being massacred in that capital under the fol¬ 
 lowing circumstance: — 
 
 A virtuous married Turkish woman having been 
 much importuned and persecuted by a Turk, she in¬ 
 formed her husband, who advised her to give him a 
 rendezvous. Lying in wait for the intended adulterer, 
 he assassinated him, and to avoid discovery threw 
 the corpse into the Jews’ quarter. The populace rose 
 against them, and false testimony being adduced to 
 the bashaws, they had a number imprisoned; when 
 the physician requested the sultan to have a rigid 
 
 1 Nomologia. 
 
340 
 
 IN THE BARBARY STATES. 
 
 enquiry made into the affair, by which the whole was 
 discovered. 2 
 
 Shortly after, Solyman granted them permission to 
 establish a printing-press at Constantinople, which 
 was of great ad vantage to the nation; for copies of the 
 law which had become scarce were now universally 
 circulated, and people applied more earnestly to its 
 study. The Muftis were opposed to this grant, fear¬ 
 ing the Alcoran might be printed; but their opposition 
 could have had little or no effect, for Zacut, in 1566, 
 there published the first edition (the only correct 
 one), which is now very scarce, of his u Juchasin,” 
 the Book of Genealogies. Successive sultans conti¬ 
 nued their protection, and employed them and their 
 descendants in various honorable posts. After the 
 battle of Lepanto, Selim II. sent Solomon Rophe to 
 conclude and negotiate a treaty of peace with the 
 republic of Venice. 
 
 Numbers repaired to the Barbary states of Algiers, 
 Tunis, and Tripoli, where many of their brethren 
 had long resided. The Deys employed and still con¬ 
 tinue their descendants in the highest offices of state, 
 as secretaries, treasurers, and envoys to foreign powers; 
 although in general disliked by the people, the pro¬ 
 tection they received from the government secured 
 them from the persecutions the Israelites suffered in 
 Europe; they were only molested in the various revo¬ 
 lutions that so frequently happened in those piratical 
 states. On those occasions they were unmercifully 
 plundered. When Tunis, in 1535, was taken by 
 Charles V., the Jews were made prisoners, and one 
 hundred and fifty captives were redeemed by the 
 congregations of Naples and Venice. 
 
 2 Consol, de Israel. 
 
IN EGYPT AND MOROCCO. 
 
 341 
 
 At Salonica, where many of the exiled European 
 Jews repaired, they established a famous college, which 
 had as many as five thousand students. The poor 
 were maintained, clothed, had salaries allowed them, 
 and qualified instructors provided. They also had 
 other academies, and thirty-six synagogues, all of 
 which, with a valuable library, were destroyed in 
 1545, by an accidental fire. 
 
 Numbers went to Saphet, where they enjoyed many 
 privileges. A college of high repute had long existed 
 there; and the famed R. Moses, of Cordova, is con¬ 
 sidered to have been among its first founders. 
 
 Egypt also offered an asylum from persecution, to 
 the descendants of Israel. They were numerous in 
 that country, and possessed great privileges; and most 
 were merchants who carried on an immense trade; 
 for the frequent emigrations from Spain had greatly 
 increased the Jewish population of Egypt. R. Samuel 
 Serralvo removed his college to Cairo. In 1524, 
 Achmed, the governor, revolted against the sultan, 
 and the lawless soldiery began to plunder the houses 
 of the Jews. Achmed, determined to enrich himself, 
 at once taxed them two hundred talents. They repre¬ 
 sented their inability to pay so large an amount, but 
 carried fifteen talents to his treasury. Achmed, en¬ 
 raged, ordered all who had not paid to be imprisoned. 
 While one of his officers was executing his order, a 
 conspiracy broke out, and Achmed was obliged to flee; 
 but being overtaken by Ibrahim and put to death, 
 peace was restored to Cairo, and the Jews escaped this 
 danger. 
 
 Many retired to Morocco. R. Joseph Uziel and R. 
 Shemtob re-opened their colleges at Fez, where the 
 
342 
 
 DEFEAT OF DOM SEBASTIAN. 
 
 Portuguese refugees were kindly received by their 
 brethren and the emperor. They were allowed to 
 have their own judges; twelve of the most eminent 
 sages were chosen, three officiated weekly; and on 
 important cases all assembled, and the governor was 
 bound to have their sentences executed. They were 
 so much respected, that for many years the family 
 of Rutes were Xeques or governors of Fez and 
 Tarudante. 
 
 At this period the throne of Fez was occupied by 
 the Merines, the Xeriffes rose against them, and plun¬ 
 dered the kingdom. Samuel Alvarensi, a Spanish 
 emigrant, was a great favourite with the reigning 
 sovereign. The Xeriffes laid siege to Ceuta, then 
 occupied by the Portuguese troops of Emanuel. Alva¬ 
 rensi, in gratitude to the monarch from whom he 
 had received so much kindness, risked his life, property, 
 and all he possessed, to serve against the enemies of 
 his sovereign. Providing some vessels, he joined 
 some officers of the Merines, who appointed him their 
 commander, and embarked with about four hundred 
 men. They landed at Ceuta, and at night, with that 
 small force, attacked the besieging army of the Xeriffes, 
 amounting to thirty thousand men, and completely 
 defeated them, so that the next day they raised the 
 siege. 3 R. Judah Aboab transferred his college to 
 Alcacarquiver, a place renowned in history for the 
 defeat and death of Dom Sebastian, in 1578, when the 
 flower of the Portuguese nobility were slain or made 
 prisoners. From thence they were taken to Fez, where, 
 in the market-places, they were sold by public auction 
 for slaves, and considered themselves fortunate when 
 
 purchased by the descendants of those whom their 
 
 » 
 
 3 Nomologia. 
 
INVITED INTO EEANCE. 
 
 343 
 
 ancestors had so cruelly persecuted. They permitted 
 many to return to Portugal, depending on their promise 
 to repay the sums they had advanced to redeem them, 
 which they fulfilled, and sent many valuable pre¬ 
 sents in return for the kindness they had received. 
 Such was the revenge the Portuguese Jews took for 
 the wrongs they had suffered. They enjoyed great 
 favour at court, and the emperor intrusted the most 
 important offices to them, and frequently sent them 
 as ambassadors and envoys to foreign states. Great 
 numbers were employed in the iron works on the 
 mountains of Morocco, in building, and many labori¬ 
 ous works, which the indolent habits of the Moois 
 rendered them averse to; and many were industrious 
 agriculturists. They were governed by their own 
 judges, who exercised an arbitrary power, and kept 
 the lower classes, who were extremely ignorant except 
 of the outward forms of Judaism, in the most abject 
 state; and although there were many Jews in Morocco 
 of high attainments, they required the polish of 
 European civilization to procure for them that con¬ 
 sideration their learning might otherwise have entitled 
 them to. The want of printing in Morocco probably 
 hides from us many valuable treasures; therefore the 
 Jews of that country should not be judged by the 
 few we see from it. 
 
 The parliament of Paris reprobated in severe terms 
 the inhuman conduct of the Castilian and I 01 tuguese 
 monarchs, which probably induced Henry II. (as the 
 Jews were not then tolerated in France), to invite 
 some Jews from Mantua to settle in that kingdom; 
 and in 1550, by letters patent, he granted them pro¬ 
 tection, and various privileges, which led a number 
 
 4 Cardozo Excel de los Ilebreos. 
 
344 
 
 DEPUTATION TO CHARLES V. 
 
 of Portuguese emigrants to establish themselves at 
 Bourdeaux and Bayonne, where to the present day 
 their descendants carry on the trade and commerce 
 of their ancestors, and enjoy every right as French 
 subjects. 
 
 On the accession of Charles V. to the throne of 
 Spain, in 1519, some of the sincere Jews and pre¬ 
 tended converts made a last effort to return to the 
 Iberian Peninsula. They deputed some of the most 
 considerable of their people to him in Flanders, to 
 represent that they groaned under the yoke of a 
 religion which they had been forced to embrace, and 
 were daily exposed to the merciless tribunal of the 
 Inquisition,— that they carried on with honour nearly 
 the whole commerce of the nation, and were the most 
 useful, and perhaps the most faithful subjects of the 
 kingdom, —on which account they trusted in his 
 justice and goodness that he would grant them the 
 free exercise of their religion, and engaged on that 
 condition, to give him all the assistance they could, 
 and in return for his kindness, would make him a 
 present of 800,000 crowns in gold. The deputation 
 met with a very gracious reception from that monarch, 
 and the council of Flanders was likewise of opinion 
 that he ought to accept their offer, and grant their 
 request; but Cardinal Ximenes, who by the death of 
 Deza had become inquisitor-general, no sooner heard 
 of this resolution, than he despatched a courier express, 
 to inform Charles that it was not lawful to make a 
 traffic of religion, and to barter the blood of Christ 
 for gold; that the Inquisition had been instituted for 
 very good and wise purposes; that he ought there¬ 
 fore to follow the example of King Ferdinand the 
 
IN HOLLAND. 
 
 345 
 
 Catholic, who in his greatest need, had refused 600,000 
 crowns which those very Jews had offered him for 
 the liberty of continuing peaceably in his dominions. 
 What other advice could be expected from an inqui¬ 
 sitor-general, who was enriching himself with the 
 spoil of his victims? Charles yielded to it, and their 
 request was refused. Many from Portugal had sought 
 refuge in the Low Countries; but in 1532, Charles 
 forbade them remaining, unless they had been resi¬ 
 dents there for six years. No favour was shewn to 
 the Portuguese converts. They were also included 
 in the proscription, being undoubtedly considered 
 better Jews than Christians. 
 
 Spanish tyranny and intolerance, at length forced 
 Holland to declare its independence, and the Spanish 
 and Portuguese Jews were gladly welcomed in the 
 Seven United Provinces. They brought large proper¬ 
 ties with them; the States-General took them under 
 their protection; and Amsterdam became in a manner 
 their head-quarters, as the Reformation offered them 
 security from the persecutions of ignorant friars and 
 fiendish Dominican monks. Most of the new Christ¬ 
 ians that escaped the fangs of the merciless Inqui¬ 
 sition repaired to that city, where they could throw 
 off their Catholic mask, openly profess their Judaism, 
 and freely exercise the religion of their forefathers. 
 At the Hague also they have a handsome synagogue, 
 and enjoy the greatest prosperity. They live in the 
 most sumptuous edifices, in the utmost luxury, and 
 enjoy their wealth and grandeur, without exciting the 
 jealousy, zeal, or envy of the populace. Their exten¬ 
 sive commerce tended greatly to the prosperity of 
 Amsterdam, Rotterdam, and Antwerp; and so careful 
 
346 
 
 IN AMERICA. 
 
 was the government of protecting them, that in a 
 treaty in 1627 with Algiers, the vessels and trade of 
 Israelites residing in the Netherlands, by articles 2, 
 12, 14, 15, and 19, are specially provided for, and pro¬ 
 tected with the same privileges as other subjects of 
 the Dutch nation, as probably, without these stipula¬ 
 tions, the Algerine pirates might have yet considered 
 them as belonging to Spain and Portugal. 
 
 A few years after they were settled in Holland, 
 some went to Hamburgh, where they were permitted 
 to build a synagogue, although the Catholics were not 
 
 allowed to erect a church. 
 
 The discovery of the New World opened a wide 
 field for their commercial enterprise. Many of the 
 New'Christians from Portugal had emigrated to the' 
 Brazils, to live unmolested by the Inquisition. As 
 soon as the Dutch became masters of that rich and 
 fertile country, a large number of Jews from Amster¬ 
 dam repaired to the new conquest of Holland, and to 
 their agricultural industry the Abb6 Raynal attributes 
 in a great measure its fertility. On their arrival, 
 many of the Portuguese Brazilians threw off the 
 Catholic disguise they had been forced to assume, and 
 returned to the religion of their forefathers. When 
 the Portuguese regained possession of the country, 
 the emigrants from Amsterdam returned to Holland, 
 accompanied by those who had abandoned a religion 
 they had feigned to profess; and every facility for 
 their departure was afforded them by the Portuguese 
 authorities. The Jews, perceiving the commercial 
 advantages the discoveries in America offered, were 
 anxious to return to the Western hemisphere. David 
 Nassy, and other Portuguese Jews, who had returned 
 to Holland from the Brazils, obtained a charter from 
 
INVITED TO ENGLAND. 
 
 347 
 
 the Dutch West India Company, to establish a colony 
 in the island of Cayenne, to which a number of Jews 
 from Amsterdam, Leghorn, and other places, repaired 
 and flourished, until driven from it by the French 
 under M. de la Barre. Many then retired to Suri¬ 
 nam, where they were soon joined by a number from 
 England, and obtained extraordinary privileges from 
 • the British government, 5 which gave great encourage¬ 
 ment to settlers in its colonies. After the cession of 
 Surinam to the Dutch, all the privileges that had 
 been granted to the Jews were confirmed; but the 
 major part of those who had come from England 
 quitted with the fleet under Captain Willoughby, and 
 settled at Barbadoes and Jamaica. In the North 
 American possessions of England, the Spanish and 
 Portuguese Jews also settled. The earliest synagogues 
 in the United States were founded by them; and 
 Jews enjoy equal rights with other American citizens; 
 and at the present day, an Israelite (David Levy 
 Yule), is a member of the Senate of the United 
 States. 
 
 Their abilities, commercial enterprise, and peace¬ 
 able conduct soon attracted attention in the north 
 of Europe. Christina, queen of Sweden, appointed 
 the Teixeiras her agents in Holland and Hamburgh; 
 and the king of Denmark invited them to settle at 
 Gluckstadt. 
 
 During the Protectorate, they were invited to 
 England by Mr. Secretary Thurlow. Manasseh ben 
 Israel came over from Amsterdam, and proposed 
 some conditions, 6 which, although it does not appear 
 by any official document, were probably consented to 
 by Cromwell, as the third is— 
 
 5 Appendix, No. VII. 
 
 6 Jewish Calendar. 
 
348 SIR MOSES MONTEFIORE, BARONET. 
 
 That we may have a place or cemetery out of the town to 
 inter our dead without being troubled by any. 
 
 Two months after, they leased the burial ground at 
 Mile End for 999 years, which it cannot be supposed 
 they would have done, unless they were assured of 
 remaining unmolested. On the restoration, Charles 
 II. continued to afford them his protection; and over¬ 
 tures for his marriage with Catharine of Braganza 
 were made to General Monk by a Portuguese Jew. In 
 this, and the following reign, upwards of one hundred 
 Jews were naturalized. Under the protection of the 
 laws of the country, the Jewish population of the 
 United Kingdom and her numerous colonies has greatly 
 increased. Successive British sovereigns have con¬ 
 tinued their favour. Our present gracious sovereign 
 created Sir Moses Montefiore, a baronet of the United 
 Kingdom, on his return from his philanthropic journey 
 in the winter of 1847, to Russia, to intercede with the 
 Emperor in behalf of his co-religionists, and avert the 
 misfortune that threatened them. Her Majesty had 
 previously conferred on him the distinguished honour 
 of supporters to his arms, as she is pleased to say in 
 the grant, “as an especial mark of our royal favor, to 
 the said Sir Moses Montefiore, in commemoration of 
 his unceasing exertions in behalf of his injured and 
 persecuted brethren in the East, and the Jewish nation 
 at large.” 
 
 Undaunted by the cold of a Russian winter, and 
 the heat of an Egyptian summer, or the dreaded 
 sirocco, his lady accompanied him in his philanthropic 
 expeditions to serve and rescue their fellow Israelites 
 from danger. 
 
 Sir I. L. Goldsmid, and Baron A. de Rothschild, 
 
HONOURS CONFERRED ON THE JEWS. 
 
 349 
 
 have also been created baronets of the United Kingdom. 
 To the unremitting exertions of David Salomons, 
 Esq., are the Jews of England indebted for their ad¬ 
 mission to the highest municipal offices in the kingdom; 
 and he has deservedly been chosen an alderman of the 
 city of London. The only disability the Jews are now 
 under in Great Britain is, that they are not yet admitted 
 by law to sit in parliament, although Baronel Lionel 
 de Rothschild, at the last election, was chosen a mem¬ 
 ber for the city of London, which was recognised by a 
 majority of the House of Commons. 
 
 Spain and Portugal made it death for a Jew to be 
 found in their dominions, yet they employed the pre¬ 
 tended Catholics in high offices; for Charles Y. sent 
 Jacob Casino on various embassies to the Barbary 
 States, and appointed him as ambassador to the em¬ 
 peror of Morocco; and the two intolerant Philips 
 continued the family in that post for many years. 
 Charles II. of Spain appointed Emanuel Belmonte 
 accredited agent for Spain to the United Provinces, 
 and created him Baron de Belmonte, and Fr. Lopes 
 Suasso, baron d’Averna, for the assistance these two 
 Jews residing at Amsterdam had rendered the allies, 
 by all of whom they were much esteemed. John IV. 
 of Portugal appointed Gabriel Nunes da Costa, Portu¬ 
 guese consul, agent, and resident at the Hague, and 
 honored him with letters patent of nobility, to all of 
 which his son, Alexander, succeeded. This sovereign 
 shewed his confidence in persons who were known to 
 be Jews; for the cargo of produce destined to pay 
 the dower of Catherine of Braganza, was entrusted 
 to Diego da Silva. The descendants of the forced 
 Portuguese converts were all employed in the most 
 
350 
 
 TREATY OF UTRECHT. 
 
 honourable posts. Antonio Mendes was the king’s 
 physician, and head professor of medicine at Coimbra, 
 Iiis talents were so highly considered, that an express 
 was sent for him to attend Catherine of Braganza, the 
 queen of Charles II., in an attack of erysipelas she 
 suffered in Castile, on her journey to Portugal; and 
 his brother, Andrea, was appointed her chamberlain. 
 They, with their brother, came to England, openly 
 professed their Judaism, and assumed their real name 
 of Mendes da Costa. 
 
 Yet, although the sovereigns of Spain employed 
 and conferred honours on Jews when their services 
 were wanted, a latent hatred continued in the breasts 
 of Spanish monarchs, as if intolerance was an appen¬ 
 dage and peculiarity of the Castilian crown; not only 
 demonstrated by their attendance at those religious 
 butcheries, termed Autos da Fe, but by their treaties 
 with foreign powers. By Art. 10 of the treaty 'of 
 Utrecht, in 1713, Gibraltar was ceded to Great 
 Britain: one of the conditions is— 
 
 And her Britannic Majesty, at the request of the Catholic 
 king, consents and agrees, that on no account whatever shall 
 Jews or Moors he permitted to reside, or jiave domiciles, in 
 the said city of Gibraltar ; and that no refuge nor shelter 
 shall be allowed to any Moorish vessel of war in the harbour of 
 the said town, whereby the communication between Spain and 
 Ceuta may be obstructed, or the coasts of Spain be infested by 
 the excursions of the Moors. But whereas, there are treaties 
 of friendship and freedom of commerce existing between 
 British subjects, and certain parts of the coast of Africa, it is 
 always to be understood, that entrance cannot be refused to 
 Moors, and their vessels, that come solely to trade. 
 
 Notwithstanding Moorish vessels were admitted, 
 and the Jews were allowed to establish themselves 
 
NEW CHRISTIANS. 
 
 351 
 
 there, who, by their commerce and industry soon ren¬ 
 dered it a trading port of the utmost importance to 
 British interests in the Mediterranean, representations 
 were made by the court of Madrid in 1723, respect¬ 
 ing the admission of Moorish vessels ; but nothing 
 was said about the Jews, probably from the British 
 government permitting Catholics the free exercise ol 
 their religion. 
 
 CHAPTER XXX. 
 
 New Christians . — Massacres at Lisbon. — John III .— 
 Inquisition established in Portugal.—Jew Physicians. 
 —Anecdote of Francis I. —Learned Men — Aniatus 
 Lusitanus—Solomon Malcho , etc. 
 
 Having given in the preceding chapter an account of 
 the dispersion of the banished Spanish and Portuguese 
 Hebrews from their native land, I shall return to those 
 who remained in those countries, under the denomi¬ 
 nation of New Christians. 
 
 Those of Spain were not murdered by the populace, 
 but thousands were immolated by the infernal tribunal 
 of the Inquisition, which, not to stain its hands with 
 blood, condemned its victims to the flames. It was 
 next to impossible to escape from those human, or 
 rather inhuman blood-hounds, yet some who conti¬ 
 nued their medical studies in the famed Spanish uni¬ 
 versities, were so fortunate, as will be seen in the 
 following pages. Llorente, who had been secretary to 
 it in its latter days, in his “ Critical History of the 
 
352 NEW CHRISTIANS MASSACRED AT LISBON. 
 
 Inquisition /* in four volumes, octavo, relates horrors 
 that are inconceivable. 
 
 m ' 
 
 In Portugal that merciless tribunal had not yet been esta¬ 
 blished, when upwards of 2,000 of the forced converts were 
 murdered and plundered by the mob of Lisbon, on Easter Sun¬ 
 day, the 19th April, 1506. 
 
 In the monastery of St. Domingo there was a celebrated 
 chapel called Jesus’ chapel: on the altar was a crucifix having 
 a bit of red glass to represent the wound in the side, the monks 
 to delude the ignorant populace, caused a candle to cast its 
 light through the glass, which they proclaimed to be a miracle. 
 A New Christian, who perceived the imposture, and saw that 
 the reflection of the light proceeded from the situation of the 
 candle, incautiously made the remark, whereupon they dragged 
 him by the hair from the church, killed him, and burnt his corpse. 
 While one monk was inveighing from the pulpit, two other Do¬ 
 minicans sallied forth with crucifixes in their hands, exclaiming, 
 Heresy! Heresy ! and offering a hundred days’ indulgence to 
 every Christian who should kill a Jew or any one who conformed 
 to Judaism. They soon collected a mob, which was increased 
 by a number of Dutch and Danish sailors who landed from their 
 vessels then lying in the Tagus. They slew and mangled their 
 victims, casting many while yet living into the fires the negroes 
 and vilest rabble had kindled at the church doors, to which 
 they kept constantly adding fuel. On the Monday, the 
 numbers of the mob were considerably augmented from the 
 neighbouring villages, the massacre and butchery of the hiew 
 Christians were continued, their houses were broken open, 
 whole families were murdered, the merciless wretches dashed 
 out the brains of infants against the walls, pregnant women 
 were thrown from the windows on the pikes of those below, 
 women were violated and virgins ravished; such were the 
 horrors committed in the capital of Portugal on that day. One 
 woman courageously drew from the belt of a monk a knife he 
 carried, and when attempting to violate her, stabbed him to 
 the heart. On the Tuesday the scene of carnage was renewed ; 
 the mob were equally eager for blood and plunder, but were 
 
1521.] 
 
 JOHN III. OF PORTUGAL. 
 
 353 
 
 nearly exhausted; many of their intended victims had escaped 
 from the city, and were secreted and protected at the risk of 
 their own lives by Christian friends. All who were discovered 
 were murdered, many Christians only from resembling Jews 
 were sacrificed, private animosities eagerly seized the opportu¬ 
 nity of wreaking vengeance. Sanctuaries were desecrated, and 
 the poor suppliants were dragged from the crucifixes they 
 embraced to be immolated with the others. Plunder was 
 not lost sight of; the sailors took the booty they had got on 
 board their vessels, weighed anchor, and sailed away from the 
 port. Thus for three days Lisbon was completely in the hands 
 of a lawless infuriated populace. Owing to the plague then 
 raging, the court had removed to Abrantes; and the magistrates, 
 when they found they could not suppress the riot, abandoned 
 the city: they then returned with soldiers, and quelled the 
 tumult. Emanuel sent commissioners with orders to use the 
 utmost severity; the monks who had instigated the riot were 
 divested of their religious habits, strangled, and burnt. The 
 magistrates who had not performed their duty, were heavily 
 fined and deprived of office. The title of “ Most Faithful 
 City,” was taken from the metropolis, and it was divested of 
 its decorations. Had he not been dissuaded by his council, the 
 king would have demolished the church, and had all persons 
 convicted of having been concerned in the outrage executed. 
 But by an ancient law of Portugal, when fifty or more persons 
 were concerned in any riot where loss of life occurred, the 
 ringleaders only were responsible. He confirmed the agree¬ 
 ment made with the New Christians in 1497, and ordered that 
 in future no distinction should be made between Old and New 
 Christians. 1 
 
 John III. succeeded his father Emanuel in 1521. 
 Shortly after his accession he wished to introduce the 
 Inquisition in Portugal. The anonymous author of 
 “ Authentic Memoirs of the Portuguese Inquisition,” 
 
 1 Chron. do Rey Manuel. 
 A A 
 
354 ORIGIN OF THE PORTUGUESE INQUISITION. [1526. 
 
 gives the following improbable account of its intro¬ 
 duction. 
 
 A Spaniard named Saavedra, who had amassed great wealth 
 by forging apostolical briefs, pretended to have been sent as 
 a Legate from Rome, and having set up a splendid equipage 
 he was received in that quality by the archbishop of Seville, 
 and lodged in his palace. Arriving on the frontiers of Portugal, 
 he despatched his secretary to the king to advise his coming, 
 and transmitted several fictitious letters, as from the pope, the 
 emperor, and other princes, requesting the king to favour so 
 pious a design. John, giving implicit faith to such a messenger, 
 sent a nobleman of the highest rank to pay his compliments, 
 with orders to accompany the pretended legate to the royal 
 palace, where he resided for three months in great pomp; 
 during which time he took -his measures so well, as to fix the 
 holy office in 1526 on a solid basis. Saavedra having effected 
 this business took leave of the king, and arriving on the fron¬ 
 tiers of Castile, was discovered by a domestic of the Marquis 
 of Villa Nova, who recognised him; upon which he was seized 
 and condemned to the galleys, from which Paul IV. afterwards 
 procured his release. 
 
 The writer in support of this extraordinary relation 
 declares to have seen it in manuscript in the libraries 
 of the marquis of Abrantes, of the count of Vimioso, 
 and of cardinal de Souza, and that the story has been 
 dramatised under the title of u 0 falso Nuncio de 
 Portugal .” 
 
 But a far more probable account is given by a re¬ 
 nowned jurisconsult at Borne, as stated by Aboab 
 in his “ Nomologia.” 
 
 On the death of Emanuel, his son, John III., succeeded to 
 the throne. Instigated by others that his father’s promises to the 
 New Christians were of no value, as they did not live as they 
 ought, and that his father could not grant them without the 
 
1535.] ORIGIN OF THE PORTUGUESE INQUISITION. 355 
 
 authority of the pope, he (the king) wished to proceed 
 against them, in the same manner as the Spaniards were then 
 acting towards the Moors. He sent to Rome to obtain permis¬ 
 sion to cancel those engagements, which was not only refused, 
 but his idea was reprobated; the promises of his father were 
 confirmed, and a general pardon proclaimed for all who had 
 been imprisoned, and one thousand five hundred were restored 
 to liberty. This was done by Clement VII., and the whole 
 conclave of cardinals. John repeated his request with so many 
 replications and triplications, that ultimately the pontiff granted 
 it, although he revoked it a few days after, declaring no such 
 licence should ever be granted, as being contrary to reason and 
 justice, and, to the great dissatisfaction of the king and his 
 brother the cardinal, proclaimed a general amnesty for all who 
 had been imprisoned, which were one thousand two hundred 
 persons. Paul III. succeeded Clement, and they endeavoured to 
 obtain from the new pontiff permission to establish the Inqui¬ 
 sition, but holding the same opinion as his predecessor, that 
 it was opposed to justice and reason, he would not grant it; he 
 confirmed the promises made by Emanuel, apd pardoned all 
 delinquents from the time compulsion had been used. 
 
 John, hereupon, sent an ambassador to Rome expressly on 
 that business; but the pope would not grant permission. John 
 then resolved to apply to the Emperor Charles V., who in pas¬ 
 sing through Rome on his victorious return from Tunis, would 
 be entitled to a triumph, when, as was customary, he might 
 ask the pope for any favour he wished. John requested him 
 to ask permission for the king of Portugal to establish the In¬ 
 quisition in his kingdom. The emperor asked it; but the pope 
 replied that he could not grant it, in consequence of the pro¬ 
 mises made by Emanuel in 1497, at which time he was apostolic 
 nuncio, when the Jews were forced to become Christians, and 
 those promises were made. The emperor answered, Let the sin 
 fall on him and his son, and the apostolic see be free from it; 
 whereupon the pope granted it. Charles had interested him¬ 
 self in this affair from being brother-in-law to John, and they 
 were, at the time, also in treaty for an alliance between their 
 
356 
 
 PHYSICIANS. 
 
 children, which was afterwards concluded. At the time Paul 
 III. granted it, he decreed a general pardon for all who had 
 been imprisoned up to that period, and that they should be 
 released. The king would neither obey this pardon nor re¬ 
 lease the prisoners, which the pontiff considered so ill-done, 
 that he sent Monsignor Monte Puliciano, as nuncio, expressly 
 on this subject. Nevertheless the king would not obey, 
 whereupon the nuncio had the pardon put on the doors of the 
 churches, personally opened the prisons, and released one 
 thousand eight hundred persons. The New Christians had 
 engaged Duarte de Paz, a knight of St. John’s, to watch over 
 and frustrate the machinations of their enemies at Rome; he 
 was highly esteemed by the pope, the cardinals, and the whole 
 court. While the emperor, with his troops, was in that capital, 
 ten masked men attacked De Paz one night, gave him a number 
 of wounds, and left him for dead. The persons who discovered 
 him in this state, carried him to the house of Philip Estozzi. 
 As soon as Paul III. heard of it, he had him for safety con¬ 
 veyed to the castle of St. Angelo, where he was magnificently 
 entertained and attended by the pope’s physicians. 
 
 The great reputation the Jeiv physicians of Spain 
 enjoyed, will have been seen by R. Jacob Mantenu be¬ 
 coming first physician to Pope Alexander VI., and 
 Joseph Anion to Sultan Selim I. Their acquaintance 
 with all the medical writers of antiquity, whose works 
 had been translated into Hebrew or Arabic, procured 
 for them this pre-eminence, enabling them to pro¬ 
 secute their studies in languages they understood 
 perfectly, and which many of the New Christians 
 continued to cultivate. 
 
 Printing, yet in its infancy, had not then dis¬ 
 seminated knowledge sufficiently to enable other stu¬ 
 dents of the Esculapian art to acquire that celebrity 
 so many have since so deservedly attained. That 
 Jews were at this period considered amongst the best 
 
1542 .] 
 
 ANECDOTE OF FRANCIS I. 
 
 357 
 
 physicians, is further exemplified by the following 
 anecdote of Francis I., recorded by Huarte. 2 
 
 Francis de Valois, king of France, suffering a long illness, 
 and finding that all the physicians of his household and court 
 could not cure him, whenever the fever increased, he said 
 Christians did not understand how to cure, and that he never 
 expected to be cured by them. Once, in despair at the con¬ 
 tinuance of the malady, he sent a courier to the Emperor 
 Charles V., requesting him to send the best Jew physician he 
 had in his capital, who, he understood, could cure his disease. 
 1 he request was heartily laughed at in Madrid, and every one 
 considered it to be the wanderings of a person under a fever; 
 yet the emperor ordered one to be sought, even out of the 
 kingdom, but not finding one, he sent a physician who was 
 a New Christian, thinking that would fulfil the king’s wish. 
 On the arrival of the physician in France, and being intro¬ 
 duced to the king, a curious conversation took place between 
 them, by which, discovering that he was a Christian, the king 
 would not be cured by him. 
 
 The king, under the idea that the physician was a Jew, in 
 conversation asked him if he was not tired of waiting for the 
 Messiah promised in the law? 
 
 Physician.— Sire, I do not expect the Messiah promised by 
 the Jewish law. 
 
 King.— You are very discreet thereon, for the signs given 
 in Holy Scripture to know his coming, have long since been 
 fulfilled. 
 
 Physician. — We Christians have reckoned the time cor¬ 
 rectly: it is now 1542 years; he was 33 years in the world, 
 and then died on the cross; on the third day he rose and 
 ascended to heaven, where he now is. 
 
 King. — Then you are a Christian? 
 
 Physician. — Yes, Sire, by the grace of God. 
 
 King. — Then in a good hour return to your country; for 
 I have Christian physicians enough in my household and court; 
 I want a Jew, for in my opinion they possess the natural ability 
 of curing. 
 
 3 Examen de ingenios. 
 
358 
 
 LEARNED MEN. 
 
 The king despatched him without speaking to him about 
 his disorder, or permitting him to feel his pulse. He then 
 sent to Constantinople for a Jew, who cured him with ass’s 
 milk. 
 
 But the New Christians did not confine themselves 
 to the study of medicine; every other branch of 
 science and literature was cultivated by them. The 
 following list will shew that Spain and Portugal con¬ 
 tinued to produce among the descendants of Israel, 
 men of first-rate talents; and that, notwithstanding 
 the Inquisition, Judaism continued secretly to be 
 practised, and Hebrew learning taught and inculcated 
 in succeeding generations. 
 
 Alphonso de Alcala — born in 1465, at Alcala la Beal, 
 was a profound Hebrew, Greek, and Latin scholar; graduated 
 as doctor of medicine at the University of Salamanca, where 
 he practised. He abjured Judaism in 1492, when he-applied 
 himself to the study of theology. 
 
 Pablo Coronel — a native of Segovia, born in 1480, was 
 a celebrated talmudist, and deeply versed in Hebrew, Latin, 
 Greek, and the Oriental languages. After his baptism, in 1492, 
 he studied theology, and was appointed professor of it at the 
 University of Salamanca. 
 
 Alphonso de Zamora —where he was born in 1480, 
 also became a convert from Judaism in 1492. From his 
 profound knowledge of Hebrew, Chaldee, and Greek, Cardinal 
 Ximenes employed him with the two preceding, to translate 
 the Hebrew Bible into Latin, for the famed Polyglotta Biblia 
 Complutense; and by desire of Don Alphonso de Fonseca, 
 archbishop of Toledo, he wrote a Hebrew grammar for the 
 instruction of Spaniards. ’ 
 
 B. Joseph Caro —was born in Castile previous to 1492. 
 At the expulsion he was carried by his parents to Saphet, 
 where he became chief of its famed college. He wrote under 
 the title of “ The House of Joseph,” a commentary on the 
 
LEARNED MEN—AMATUS LUSITANUS. 
 
 359 
 
 “Four Orders” of R. Jacob ben Asher, which he afterwards 
 abridged under the title of “ Shulchan Aruch, the prepared 
 Table,” which is followed by the Jews to this day as the best 
 digest of Jewish laws and customs. He also commented on 
 “ The Powerful Hand” of Maimonides; he wrote rules for the 
 study of the Talmud and Guemara, and an exposition of the 
 Pentateuch. 
 
 R. Samuel de Medina —was a contemporary of the pre¬ 
 ceding, born at Medina del Campo. He was a philosopher, 
 jurist, and teacher of repute: he became head of the college 
 of Salonica. He has left a volume of sermons, and another 
 of answers to legal questions. 
 
 • R. Jacob Judah Arie— a native of Leon, retired to 
 Middleburgh in Holland. To gain a more perfect idea of the 
 temple of Solomon, he made a wooden model of it, from 
 the plans described by Jewish authors, and then published a 
 description of it in French, which he afterwards augmented, 
 and translated into Hebrew, under the title of “ The Figure 
 of the Temple;” to which he added a description of the Ta¬ 
 bernacle, and a treatise on the Ark and Cherubim; he also 
 wrote a commentary on Psalms. 
 
 R. Moses de Cordova —born at that place in 1508, and 
 afterwards went to Saphet. He was a philosopher, jurist, and 
 profound cabalist, on which science he wrote a number of 
 works, and various expositions on the prayers. 
 
 R. Aaron Abiah —a moral philosopher and metaphysician 
 of high repute. He wrote in Spanish a work entitled “ Opinions 
 on the Soul,” taken from the most eminent philosophical 
 writers, and quotes those of upwards of twenty of the most 
 renowned philosophers of antiquity. 
 
 R. Judah ben Biliiam — a native of Toledo, was a gram¬ 
 marian and talmudist. He wrote a work on the accents of 
 the Holy Scriptures. 
 
 Amatus Lusitanus — born at Castelbranco, in Portugal. 
 He professed Christianity under the name of Juan Rodrigo; 
 
360 
 
 LEARNED MEN. 
 
 was a physician and surgeon of great repute. Hejpractised 
 surgery at eighteen years of age at Salamanca, at the university 
 of which city he graduated. He then went to Lisbon, from 
 thence to Rome, Ferrara, and Venice, where he declared him¬ 
 self a Jew, and ultimately retired to Salonica, where he died. 
 He was professor of medicine at Ferrara. He travelled through 
 nearly all Europe, and refused advantageous offers from the 
 king of Poland, and the Republic of Ragusa. His works are 
 well known and appreciated by medical practitioners. Under the 
 name of Juan Rodriguez he commented on the first two books 
 of Dioscondes, as well as the five books of Materia Medica of 
 the same author, in which he explains simples in Greek, Latin, 
 Italian, Spanish, German, and French. Under the name of 
 Amatus Lusitanus, he wrote a work entitled “ Centurias of 
 Medicinal Cures,” which was highly recommended to young 
 practitioners. Fie also commented in Latin on the fourth fen 
 
 of the first book of Avicenna, and translated into Spanish the 
 “ History of Utopia.” 
 
 R. Judah Lerma— was a philosopher, jurist, and talmudist 
 of high repute. After quitting Spain, he became rabbi at 
 -Belgrade. Under the title of “ The Bread of Judah,” he 
 wrote a commentary on “ The Ethics of the Fathers,” and a 
 
 talmudical work entitled “ The Remnant of the House of 
 Judah.” 
 
 E. Israel, ben Moses Nagera— of which city he was a 
 native, was a celebrated mathematician and poet, went to 
 Damascus. He wrote many much admired hymns, which he 
 set to Turkish airs. His work, “ The Waters of Israel,” con¬ 
 tains some hymns, prayers, and elegantly written letters’ 
 
 II. Jgel ben Soheb an Aragonese, wrote a commentary 
 
 on tie Psalms, with the title of “ Fearful in Praise;” and “ The 
 
 Sabbath Offering,” containing doctrinal sermons for the Sab- 
 bath-day. 
 
 B. Abraham Zahalon— an astronomer, poet, moral phi- 
 losopher, and jurist of high repute, wrote “ The Salvation of 
 Ood, a moral and literal commentary on the Book of Esther; 
 
LEARNED MEN — R. SOLOMON MALCHO. 
 
 361 
 
 “ Medicine for the Soul,” on conversion and repentance; and 
 u The Hand of the Diligent,” on the Jewish, Christian, and 
 Mahomedan calendars. 
 
 E. Isaac Leon —so named from the city where he was 
 born, wrote a commentary on the Book of Esther; and under 
 the title of “ The New Book,” novel observations on the books 
 of the Talmud. 
 
 E. Joseph ben Joshua a Cohen —born in 1496, at 
 Avignon, whither his father had retired on leaving Spain, wrote 
 a historical work, entitled “ Chronicles of the Kings of France 
 and the Ottoman Sovereigns.” It contains a very detailed 
 account of the wars between Francis I. and Charles V«, par¬ 
 ticularly in Italy, and the inroads of the Turks in Europe. 
 Disinterested and cotemporary with those events, he must be 
 regarded as an impartial historian. 
 
 Duarte Pinel — born at Lisbon, in the latter part of the 
 fifteenth century, wrote in his native city, in 1543, a Latin 
 Grammar. On retiring to Ferrara, he there published, in 1553, 
 a Spanish translation of the Bible. He was also an excellent 
 mathematician. 
 
 E. Abraham Usque —born also about the same period at 
 Lisbon, went to Ferrara, where, together with E. Yom tob 
 Athias, he published a Spanish translation of the Bible in 
 1553, and wrote a treatise on the rites of the New Year and 
 the Day of Atonement. 
 
 E. Solomon Malcho —became a convert to Christianity 
 in the time of Dom Manuel, and was employed in the office of 
 the king’s secretary. A few years after, he returned to Judaism, 
 by the persuasion of E. David Euben, who had come from the 
 East, and was much esteemed for his learning by Clement VII. 
 Kuben went to Portugal. On his return to Italy, Malcho 
 accompanied him, and made such progress in the study of the 
 Talmud, that he became head of the college at Mantua. He 
 was so zealous for Judaism, that he entertained the idea of 
 converting the pope, King Francis I., and the Emperor 
 
362 
 
 LEARNED MEN. 
 
 Charles V. to it. The latter, offended at his temerity, ordered 
 him to be burnt at Mantua, in 1532. A more humane sove¬ 
 reign would have confined him in a mad-house; for he was an 
 object rather for a lunatic asylum than the stake. 
 
 R- Abraham Zacut —born at Lisbon in 1575, was one of 
 the most erudite of the Hebrew physicians; he studied at Sala¬ 
 manca and Coimbra; at the age of eighteen he received the 
 degree of doctor of medicine, at the university of Siguenza. 
 His works are much esteemed; he wrote “ Historia Medicorum 
 Principium “ Be Praxi Medica Admiranda ;” “ Introitus 
 adPraxim et Pharmacopeam “ Be Cctlcolorum Morbis ;” “ A 
 Jdistory of the most renowned Surgeons;” “ On the Govern¬ 
 ment of Princes;” a treatise on the errors of modern physi¬ 
 cians, and an epitome of the select doctrine of Hippocrates and 
 Galen. He practised medicine for thirty years. At the age of 
 fifty, he returned to the religion of his forefathers, in which faith 
 he died in 1642. 
 
 Rodrigues de Castro —a native of Lisbon, was a doctor 
 of philosophy and medicine, and student of the university of Sala¬ 
 manca, from whence he went to Hamburgh, where he practised 
 medicine with general satisfaction; he died in 1627. He wrote 
 in Latin on “ Female Diseases;” “ Advice to Physicians;” and 
 on “ The Plague.” 
 
 R. Abraham Nehemias — born at Lisbon about the 
 middle of the sixteenth century; wrote in Latin various medi¬ 
 cal works. On leaving Portugal he settled at Amsterdam, 
 where he practised medicine. 
 
 R. Joseph Semach Arias — a native of Portugal; he held 
 the commission of captain m the army; was a historian, 
 grammarian and Falmudist of repute at Amsterdam, where 
 he translated Josephus’ answer to Apion from the Greek into 
 Spanish. 
 
 Elias Montalto —born in Portugal; while professing 
 Christianity he went under the names of Philip and Eliano. 
 He wrote some esteemed medical works in Latin; the fame of 
 
LEARNED MEN. 
 
 363 
 
 his abilities procured his being appointed principal physician to 
 Mary de Medici, queen of Henry IV. of France, who obtained 
 for him the free exercise of his religion. He was subsequently 
 physician and counsellor to Louis XIII., and died at Paris 
 in 1616. 
 
 R. Solomon Elesmi — a native of Lisbon, born in the 
 latter part of the sixteenth century, was much esteemed for 
 his abilities as a moral philosopher; he wrote a moral philoso¬ 
 phical treatise, entitled, “ An Exhortatory Letter,” for the 
 instruction of his scholars. 
 
 R. Abraham Ferrar — practised as a physician at Lisbon, 
 where he was born; on retiring to Amsterdam, he wrote, in 
 1627, “ An Exposition of the Precepts,” in Portuguese. 
 
 R. Joseph aben Ezra — bom at the latter part of the 
 sixteenth century, was one of the most renowned Talmudists 
 of his time. He wrote two talmudical works. 
 
 R. Abraham Cohen Herrera — born at Lisbon about 
 the same period, went to Morocco, and from thence to Vienna; 
 was a famed cabalist, and wrote a work on it m Latin, which 
 was translated into Hebrew under the title of, “ The House of 
 the Lord;” another entitled, “ The Gate of Heaven,” and a 
 treatise on logic in Spanish. 
 
 R. Shem tob ben Palkira —born in Spain about the 
 middle of the sixteenth century; was a philosopher, poet, and 
 jurist, of repute. He wrote in verse two moral philosophical 
 works, entitled, 11 Rules for Body and Soul, and The Book 
 of the Enquirer.” In prose, 46 The Science of Philosophers, 
 following the doctrine of Aristotle; 44 The Book of Degrees, 
 to demonstrate the utility of the Aristotelian philosophy for 
 advancement in Jewish studies; 44 A Letter of Disputation, 
 a dialogue between a moral philosopher and a jurist, and The 
 Beginning of VTsdom, ? shewing the necessity of philosophy 
 
 for real happiness. 
 
 R. Emanuel Rosales —born at Lisbon in the middle of 
 the sixteenth century; wrote in Portuguese, 44 Three true Pro- 
 
364 
 
 JEWS OF SPAIN AND PORTUGAL. 
 
 positions of Astrology, Astronomy, and Philosophy,” and 
 various heroic poems; he was an excellent poet, philosopher, 
 and astronomer. 
 
 K. Emanuel Aboab —of Spanish origin; resided at Venice 
 and subsequently at Amsterdam; was a jurist and historian of 
 repute. His “ Nomology, or legal arguments in defence of the 
 oral law,” is highly esteemed; it contains an excellent account 
 of the banishments from Spain and Portugal; he died in 1629 . 
 
 CHAPTER XXXI. 
 
 New Christians that escape from Spain and Portugal — 
 R. Manasseh hen Israel—Learned Men — R. Isaac 
 Cardozo , Specimen of his Writings—Isaac Orobio , 
 his sufferings in the Inquisition — R. David Nieto — 
 Prevented from quitting Portugal— Sugar introduced 
 hy them into South America and the West Indies — 
 Jews permitted to trade in Portugal.—Anecdote of the 
 Marquis of Pomhal. — Re-admitted into Portugal — 
 Sir I. L. Goldsmid created a Portuguese Baron. — 
 Laws of Spain unrepealed. — Some established and 
 trade with it unmolested — Opinions of the enlightened 
 Spaniards of the present Day _ The End. 
 
 Notwithstanding the numerous New Christians, or 
 rather dissembling Catholics (from that faith having 
 been forced on them) who found means to escape from 
 the Inquisitions of Spain and Portugal, to places where 
 they could freely exercise the religion of their fore¬ 
 fathers, Judaism yet continued to be practised secretly 
 in the Iberian Peninsula. 
 
R. MANASSEH BEN ISRAEL. 
 
 365 
 
 The numbers reflecting honor on the Hebrew name, 
 who rejoined their brethren, particularly in Holland, 
 in the 17th century, shew, that, while residing under 
 the bigoted Most Catholic, and Most Faithful Sove¬ 
 reigns, and in the constant dread of the horrors of 
 
 o / 
 
 that merciless tribunal, the Inquisition, their parents 
 strictly attended to the education and instruction of 
 their children in the Mosaical rites. Many in this 
 country possess and preserve mementos of their an¬ 
 cestors, who perished in the flames of those disgrace¬ 
 ful and horrid misnamed religious acts, termed Autos 
 da Fe. 
 
 The following are some of the learned Hebrews, 
 whose works are highly esteemed, and whose talents 
 procured for them the esteem of the literati of the 
 17th century, the age in which they were born in the 
 Peninsula; to which are added, a few descendants of 
 Spanish and Portuguese Jews, who, at the same 
 period, rendered themselves illustrious in the annals 
 of literature. 
 
 R. Manasseh ben Israel — born in Lisbon in 1605; his 
 father had thrice been incarcerated in the prisons of the Inqui¬ 
 sition, from which he effected his escape, and settled with his 
 family at Amsterdam. Manasseh was an able philosopher, 
 poet, physician, and theologian; he wrote Hebrew, Greek, 
 Latin, Spanish, and Portuguese, with elegance and fluency. 
 His literary fame procured him the esteem of the learned 
 throughout Europe, with many of whom he corresponded. At 
 the age of seventeen, he commenced his Heorew Grammar, 
 “ The Pure Lip;” and at twenty-seven, his grand work, “ The 
 Conciliator,” reconciling the apparent contradictions in the 
 Bible. This valuable work has lately been translated into 
 English, and is highly appreciated as a valuable appendage to 
 the Holy Scriptures. “ A Spanish Version of the Pentateuch;” 
 
366 
 
 LEARNED MEN. 
 
 “ The Customs, Rites, and Ceremonies of the Jews.” In He¬ 
 brew, “ The Precious Stone,” a comment on the statue of 
 Nebuchadnezzar; “ The Soul of Life,” on the resurrection and 
 immortality of the soul; “Many Faces,” an index of the pas¬ 
 sages of Scripture explained by the rabbins; “The Hope of 
 Israel.” “A Spanish and Arabic nomenclature; ” “A Rabbinical 
 Catalogue,” “Phocylides,” with notes in Spanish; “ On Human 
 Frailty.” In Latin, “ Thirty Problems on the Creation;” “ On 
 the Duration of Human Life;” “ Defence of the Jews,” in 
 English. Llis exertions procured the present establishment of 
 the Jews in England; after which he retired to Middleburgh, 
 where he died in 1657. 
 
 R. David Cohen de Lara —born at Lisbon in the begin¬ 
 ning of the 17th century; was a grammarian, moral philoso¬ 
 pher, and jurist of repute. He translated into Latin, and wrote 
 notes to, Aben Ezra’s enigma of the letters "jnN ; “ The Ethics 
 - of Maimonides;” “ His treatises on the Law, and on Penitence,” 
 into Spanish. He commenced a Rabbinical Talmudical dic¬ 
 tionary, with the meaning of each word in Chaldee, Syriac, 
 Arabic, Persian, Turkish, Greek, Latin, Italian, Spanish, 
 Portuguese, French, German, Saxon, and English. After 
 labouring forty years on this work, he had only completed the 
 tenth letter; to which he gave the title of “ The Crown .of the 
 Priesthood.” He retired from Portugal to Amsterdam. 
 
 R. Moses Abudiente — a native of Lisbon, where he was 
 born in the early part of the 17th century; went to Hamburgh, 
 and is celebrated by De Barrios as an able poet. He wrote a 
 Hebrew and Portuguese grammar. 
 
 R. Josias ben Joseph Pinto —born at the beginning of 
 the 17th century at Lisbon, settled at Damascus, where he 
 wrote “ Light of the Eyes,” annotations on the Fountain of 
 Jacob; “ Purified Silver,” a diffuse exposition of the Penta¬ 
 teuch, and a more succinct one, with the title of, “ Choice 
 Silver.” 
 
 R. Moses Toledo —born in that city about the same time, 
 was a philosopher and Talmudist of repute; from Spain he 
 
LEARNED MEN. 
 
 367 
 
 went to France, and from thence to Amsterdam, and became a 
 member of the Hebrew college of that city, but retired to 
 Venice, where he wrote a moral philosophical work, under the 
 title of, “ The Trumpet of Moses of Toledo.” 
 
 R. Jacob Lumbroso — doctor of medicine, flourished in 
 the early part of the 17th century, in Tuscany, where he was 
 president of the council of the grand duke, but retired to 
 Venice to live openly as a Jew, where he practised medicine. 
 He wrote a “ Grammatical Commentary;” that is, a treatise on 
 the points and accents, and the most necessary rules for reading 
 Hebrew. The most difficult words are explained in Spanish, 
 written in Hebrew characters. He also wrote a work against 
 Grotius, in defence of the Jewish religion. 
 
 R. Isaac Cardozo —a native of Lisbon, born the begin¬ 
 ning of the 17th century, practised as a physician at Valladolid 
 and Madrid. While professing Christianity he bore the name 
 of Ferdinand; he quitted Spain and went to Venice openly to 
 profess himself a Jew, and retired to Verona where he died; 
 he was an eminent practitioner, he wrote various medical 
 works; his style borders on the sublime, as the following ex¬ 
 tract from his work “ On the benefit of Water and Snow” 
 shews. “Nature appears to have surpassed itself in the supe¬ 
 riority of this element, adorning its waters with different proper¬ 
 ties, and enclosing mysterious wonders in its waves. There is 
 no part of the liquid crystal, from the minuteness of the 
 spring to the immensity of the ocean, that does not proclaim 
 wonders. In the beginning they overflowed the earth, seeking 
 new concavities; they retired within the limits fixed by the 
 divine command, making so light an object as sand, which a 
 breath of air can disperse, to break the vivacity of its arrogance, 
 that it may be seen how the greatest pride can be overcome by 
 the most humble instrument.” This work, as well as “ The 
 Excellencies of the Hebrews,” divided into ten classes, and 
 refuting ten calumnies against them; and “ The Origin and 
 Restoration of the World,” are written in Spanish. His medical 
 work “ De Fiebri Syncopale ’ and “ Liberal Philosophy,” he 
 wrote in Latin. 
 
368 
 
 LEARNED MEN. 
 
 R. Abraham Cardozo —brother of the preceding, was 
 physician to the Dey of Tripoli, he wrote a philosophical work 
 entitled “ Jacob’s Ladder.” 
 
 R* Benjamin Musaphia — born at the early part of the 
 17th century, was a celebrated physician and scholar; he 
 practised medicine with great repute at Hamburg and Gluck- 
 stadt. He wrote a treatise on “ Potable Gold,” and made ad¬ 
 ditions to the “ Hebrew Lexicon,” under the title of “ The 
 Remembrance of Many;” “The Hebrew Roots;” the disputes 
 between R. Jacob Sasportas and himself; entitled' “ The Testi¬ 
 mony in Jacob.” He commented on the Jerusalem Talmud, 
 and applied himself to search into the causes of the tides of 
 the ocean. 
 
 Emanuel Gomez —a native of Portugal; after serving in 
 the army, he graduated at the university of Evora, for Doctor 
 of Medicine, which science he practised at Antwerp. Like many 
 other Spanish physicians, to great practical knowledge he 
 united the talent of versification; he commented in Spanish 
 verse on the first aphorism of Hippocrates, applying with great 
 ingenuity his doctrine to the art of war. He highly eulogised 
 surgery, wrote on the plague, and was among the first who 
 called attention to the inutility of an implicit reliance on the 
 use of milk in the treatment of confirmed phthisis. His works 
 are highly praised by Morejon. 
 
 R. Saul Levi Morteira —studied at Venice, but settled 
 at Amsterdam, and was sent for to Paris to convey the corpse of 
 Montalto for interment in that city; he wrote a work entitled 
 
 The Divine Providence of God towards Israel,” impugning 
 Catholicism so severely that it has never been printed. 
 
 R. Solomon de Oliviera— born at Lisbon in the middle 
 of the 17th century, was a moral philosopher, astronomer, 
 and grammarian of repute. On settling at Amsterdam he 
 published a complete Hebrew and Portuguese dictionary; an 
 abndgment of it; a grammar; a dictionary of Hebrew words, 
 having the same terminations, a useful work for poets; a 
 calendai; an astronomical work; a moral philosophical one, 
 
LEARNED MEN. 
 
 369 
 
 entitled “ The Loving Hind” and “ The Ways of the Lord;” an 
 alphabetical index of the precepts. 
 
 R. Samuel Cohen de Piza —a native of Lisbon, was 
 one of the most profound Talmudists of his age; he wrote 
 “ The Revealer of Secrets,” a commentary on part of Ec¬ 
 clesiastes. 
 
 R. Ezekiel de Castro — a celebrated physician, flourished 
 at Verona in the middle of the 17th century, where he wrote 
 the following medical works: “ Ampfiitheatrum Medicum;" 
 “ Ignis Lamberts ;” “ Hisioria Medica and i( Pt'olusiones 
 Medical' 
 
 R. Isaac Jessurun — flourished at Hamburgh about the 
 same time; he was a celebrated jurist and moral philosopher, 
 and wrote in Hebrew, “New Faces,” a compilation of Jewish 
 customs since the “ House of Joseph,” of R. Joseph Caro; a 
 compendium of “ The Path of Life,” under the title of “ The 
 Collection of Meal;” and a moral philosophical work, “ On 
 Divine Providence,” in Portuguese. 
 
 R. Abraham Israel Pereira — of Portuguese origin, 
 born at Amsterdam, where he flourished in the middle of the 
 17th century, was one of the students of the college of that city; 
 highly considered for his literary talents. He wrote in Spanish, 
 “ The Mirror of Worldly Vanity,” and “ The Sure Path.” 
 
 R. Moses Raphael Aguilar — also of Amsterdam, and 
 member of its college; he went in 1641 with the Jews that 
 emigrated to the Brazils. On his return to his native city, he 
 wrote in Hebrew, “ An Alphabetical Index to the Guemara 
 and Talmud;” “ The Book of Narratives,” all those contained 
 in the Talmud, and a Portuguese and Hebrew Grammar. 
 
 R. Abraham Israel Pilzarro — flourished likewise at 
 Amsterdam; he wrote an exposition of Jacob’s prophecy, entitled, 
 “ The Sceptre of Judah;” in which he complains of the unfair 
 manner in which Christians expound the Scriptures, of their 
 unfitness for such a task, and the danger of confuting their 
 
 B B 
 
370 
 
 LEARNED MEN. 
 
 interpretations. The governors of the congregation very pro¬ 
 perly suppressed the work. 
 
 E. David Pardo — of Spanish origin, was head of the con¬ 
 gregation in London; he was horn at Amsterdam. He wrote 
 in Plebrew, “ I he Pure Table,” an abridgment of the Jewish 
 rites; and translated into Spanish, u The Duties of the Heart” 
 of Rabenu Behaye; it is printed in Hebrew characters. 
 
 R. Jacob Abendana —a native of Amsterdam, in 1682 
 was appointed head of the congregation of London, where he 
 died in 1685. He made an elegant translation of “ The Cuzari” 
 of R. Judah a Levi; it is preferred to any other translation. 
 
 R. Isaac Abendana —brother of the preceding; they 
 were of Spanish origin. He came from Amsterdam where he 
 practised as a physician, and settled at Oxford; and he became 
 professor of Hebrew in that city; he translated the Mishna, 
 with the commentaries of Bartenora and Maimonides into 
 Spanish. Surenhusius profited by it for his celebrated Latin 
 translation. 
 
 Daniel Levi de Barrios —born at Montilla. While out¬ 
 wardly professing Catholicism, he bore the name of Michael, 
 and was a captain m the Portuguese army. He retired 
 to Amsterdam to follow the religion of his lathers openly; 
 was a historian, philosopher, and poet of great celebrity; his 
 numerous poetical works and comedies have become scarce. 
 He wrote “ The triumph of Popular Government;” “ An Essay 
 on Jewish History;” and an account of a long list of Spanish 
 and Portuguese Jews, who were poets in those languages. 
 
 Don Isaac Orobio de Castro— a native of Portugal, was 
 a philosopher and physician of eminence in the seventeenth 
 century. His parents, who were Jews, although outwardly 
 professing Catholicism, educated him in Judaism. Orobio 
 studied the scholastic philosophy usual m Spam, and became so 
 skilled m it, that he was made professor of metaphysics at the 
 university of Salamanca. Afterwards applying himself to the 
 study of physic, lie practised that art with great reputation at 
 
SUFFERINGS OF OROBIO IN THE INQUISITION. 371 
 
 Seville, until, suspected of Judaism, he was thrown into the 
 Inquisition, and suffered the most dreadful cruelties to extort a 
 confession. His own account is the best we have of the suffer-* 
 ings of those persons who incurred the displeasure or suspicion 
 of that merciless tribunal. He tells us that he was put into 
 a dark dungeon, so narrow, that he could scarcely turn in it, 
 and suffered so many hardships, that his brain became disturbed. 
 He would ask himself, “ Am I that Don Balthasar (his baptis¬ 
 mal name) Orobio, who walked about freely in Seville, who 
 lived at ease, and had the blessing of a wife and children?” 
 Sometimes he would suppose his past life to have been a dream, 
 and that the dungeon where he then lay was his birth-place, 
 and which to all appearance would be that of his death. At 
 other times, as he had a very metaphysical mind, he formed 
 arguments and then resolved them, thus performing the parts 
 of opponent, respondent, and moderator at the same time. In 
 this way he amused himself, and constantly denied that he was 
 a Jew. After appearing twice or thrice before the inquisitors, 
 he was used as follows:—At the bottom of a subterraneous 
 vault, lighted by two or three small lamps, he appeared before 
 two persons. One was the judge, and the other the secretary 
 of the Inquisition, who asking him to confess the truth, declared, 
 that in case of a criminal’s denial, the holy office would not be 
 deemed the cause of his death if he should expire under the 
 torture, but it must be attributed to his own obstinacy. Then 
 the executioner stripped off his clothes, tied his hands and feet 
 with a strong cord, and set him on a low stool, while he 
 passed the cord through some iron rings fixed in the walls; 
 then drawing away the stool, he remained suspended by the 
 cord, which the executioner drew tighter and tighter to make 
 him confess, until* a surgeon assured the court he could not 
 bear more without expiring. These cords put him to exquisite 
 torture, by cutting into the flesh, and making the blood burst 
 from under his nails. To prevent the cords tearing off the 
 flesh, of which there was danger, bands were girded about the 
 breast, which were drawn so tight, that he would not have 
 been able to breathe, if he had not held his breath in while the 
 
372 
 
 OROBIO—R. DAVID NIETO. 
 
 executioners put the bands round him. By this device his 
 lungs were enabled to perforin their functions. During the 
 severest of his sufferings, he was told that was but the begin¬ 
 ning of his torments, and that he had better confess before 
 they proceeded to extremities. Orobio adds, that the execu¬ 
 tioner being on a small ladder, to frighten him, frequently let 
 it fall against his shin-bones. The staves being sharp, caused 
 him dreadful pain. After three years’ confinement, as he per¬ 
 severed in denying his Judaism, they ordered his wounds to be 
 cured, and released him. Shortly after he quitted Spain, and 
 retired to France, and was made professor of medicine at 
 Toulouse. The theses he chose for obtaining that place were on 
 putrefaction, and he maintained them with so much metaphy¬ 
 sical subtlety that he embarrassed all his competitors. He con¬ 
 tinued there to appear a Christian; but weary of dissembling, 
 he went to Amsterdam, where he was circumcised, and took 
 the name of Isaac. He wrote “ Israel Avenged,” an exposition 
 of the prophecies Christians apply to the Messiah; “A Phi¬ 
 losophical Defence of the Revealed and Natural Law;” “A 
 Letter in Defence of the Law of Moses;” “ The Divine Prohi¬ 
 bition of Heathen Idolatry;” “Reflections on the Seventy 
 Weeks of Daniel;” and “ Fifty-third Chapter of Isaiah;” “ On 
 the Perpetuity of the Mosaic Law;” and “Three Treatises in 
 favour of Judaism.” Lie died at Amsterdam in 1687. 
 
 R. David Nieto — of Spanish origin, born at Venice in 
 1654, w r as a philosopher, physician, poet, mathematician, 
 astronomer, historian, and theologian of high repute. He 
 practised medicine at Leghorn, where he wrote in Italian a 
 work entitled “ Pascalogia,” dedicated to Cardinal de Medici, 
 demonstrating the errors which had crept into the calendar, 
 from the Council of Nice to 1699, and rules for correcting it 
 in perpetuity. Ihe fame of his talents led the congregation of 
 London to invite him to be their head. Pie arrived here in 
 1701. He wrote a Theological Treatise on “Divine Provi¬ 
 dence;” “ A Jewish Calendar.” In Hebrew, “ The Fire of the 
 Law,” impugning the doctrine of R. Nehemiah Chiyon; “ The 
 Rod of Judgment, or second part of the Cuzari, to prove the 
 
NEW CHRISTIANS QUIT PORTUGAL. 
 
 373 
 
 divine authority of the oral law; and under the assumed name 
 of Carlos Vera,. “ A Reply to the Sermon of the Archbishop of 
 Cranganor,” at the Auto da Fe, at Lisbon, in 1705. lie died 
 in 1728. 
 
 To the above, as well as to those of preceding cen¬ 
 turies, many other names might be added; but suffi¬ 
 cient has been said, to shew that the Jews of Spain 
 have been the preservers not only of Holy Writ in 
 its purity, but also of the arts and sciences. To 
 them is due the preservation of the most valued works 
 of the ancient philosophers, while Europe was involved 
 in Gothic barbarism. 
 
 Apparently as Christians, it will be seen they con¬ 
 tinued long to linger in Portugal after the proscrip¬ 
 tion. During the first ten years, so many had quitted 
 their native land, that Emanuel, perceiving the injury 
 his kingdom suffered by the emigration of the most 
 wealthy and most industrious of its population, 
 ordered in 1507 the seizure of the persons, and con¬ 
 fiscation of the property of all who should be found 
 preparing to quit the country. Yet so many ven¬ 
 tured, at all hazards, to abandon the Portuguese soil, 
 that in 1524, John HI. found it requisite to renew the 
 edict; and the emigration must have continued, for 
 Dom Sebastian repeated it in 1567, and again in 1573. 
 But in return for the assistance they rendered him, 
 by advancing £250,000 towards fitting out his unfor¬ 
 tunate expedition against Morocco in 1577, he re¬ 
 voked all prohibitions and penalties. They eagerly 
 embraced the opportunity of emigrating to where 
 they could openly profess the religion their parents 
 had diligently taught them. 
 
 Before the establishment of the Inquisition, all 
 
374 
 
 CULTIVATE SUGAR IN THE WEST. 
 
 crimes against the faith (as the return of the New 
 Christians to the religion of their ancestors was 
 termed), were taken cognizance of by the bishops, 
 who confiscated the property of the accused, and 
 banished them to the Brazils, then considered by the 
 Portuguese as a penal settlement. There they found 
 kind relations and old friends; others, known as men 
 of probity and intelligence, obtained advances from 
 merchants of other countries with whom they had 
 formerly been in correspondence. By the assistance 
 of some enterprising men, they began to cultivate the 
 sugar cane, which in 1531 they had procured from 
 Madeira. Sugar until then had only been used in 
 medicine; now it became a luxury. In Surinam, they 
 were also the earliest cultivators of the cane; at 
 Martinique its culture was introduced in 1650, by 
 Benjamin da Costa, also a Portuguese Jew; so that 
 to their industry is the world chiefly indebted for the 
 enormous production, in the West, of an article that 
 has now become almost a necessary of life. 
 
 The Inquisition of Portugal exercised the same 
 cruelty as that of Spain towards the New Christians. 
 Those who were discovered or suspected of practising 
 Jewish rites, and under torture confessed their 
 Judaism, suffered death, and expired in the flames of 
 the Autos da Fe. 
 
 Yet Jews seem to have been permitted to trade 
 with that country. Through them all the rich products 
 of India that were brought to Lisbon, were carried to 
 eveiy other part of Lurope, from which the crown of 
 Portugal derived great profit. This is confirmed by an 
 edict ol John III., dated 7th February, 1537, order¬ 
 ing that all Jews should wear a badge by which 
 
ANECDOTE OF THE MARQUIS DE POMBAL. 375 
 
 they might be distinguished from Christians.” While 
 Portugal was united to Spain during the reigns of the 
 bigoted Philips, they were treated as cruelly as in all 
 the other Spanish dominions; but on the revolution 
 and the accession of the house of Braganza, as their 
 wealth had assisted John IY. to defend his crown, he 
 again tacitly tolerated them. 
 
 In Portugal, in proportion to its population, they 
 had been as numerous as in Spain, and were there also 
 allied with the chief nobility of that kingdom. Orobio 
 states that in the synagogue at Amsterdam he met 
 brothers, sisters, and near relations of the first Portu¬ 
 guese families, and that the greater part of the clergy, 
 even archbishops and bishops, are descended from 
 them; this is corroborated by the following anecdote 
 of the famed Marquis de Pombal. Joseph I. ordered 
 that all Portuguese, who were in any way allied or 
 descended from the Hebrew race, should wear a yellow 
 hat. The old marquis shortly after appeared at court 
 with three of them under his arm. The king, 
 smiling, asked him, “ What he had to do with them?” 
 He replied, “ That he had them in obedience to his 
 majesty’s command, for he did not know a single 
 Portuguese of note who had not Jewish blood in his 
 veins.” But said the king, “ Why have you three ? ” 
 He answered, “ One for myself, one for the inquisitor- 
 general, and one in case your majesty should wish to 
 be covered.” 
 
 Many who had been friars and nuns, of almost 
 every monastic order, not excepting the Jesuits, 
 sought at Amsterdam, Leghorn, and other places, to 
 make atonement for their former apostasy, and to re¬ 
 enter the flock of Israel. Among other instances is 
 
376 SPANISH AND PORTUGUESE LANGUAGES PRESERVED. 
 
 that of a New Christian, whose catholicity was so 
 undoubted, that he was entrusted with the sale of 
 indulgences in Spain; from Malaga he went to Bar¬ 
 bary, where he disposed of the remainder of his stock 
 to some resident Catholics. As soon as he received 
 payment, he declared himself to be a Jew, upon which 
 the purchasers appealed to the Cadi against the im¬ 
 position ; but he claimed the privilege of a free port to 
 sell any description of goods. 
 
 In the congregations of the Spanish and Portuguese 
 Jews, those languages are yet more or less preserved, 
 and many in Europe keep their records in them; but 
 the custom is falling into desuetude, and since their 
 closer amalgamation with the inhabitants of the north 
 of Europe, they have generally adopted the language 
 of their respective countries. Notwithstanding, some 
 remembrance of them is yet preserved; even here, 
 in London (where the congregational records are 
 kept in English), this is the case; and many of its 
 members, who have never visited the Peninsula, speak 
 the languages of their ancestors. 
 
 At Jerusalem, where the major part of its Jew 
 inhabitants are of Spanish descent, that language is 
 generally spoken, as well as throughout the East and 
 in Italy. 
 
 From the general knowledge of these languages by 
 their co-religionists, many of the Hebrew authors of 
 the seventeenth century, at Amsterdam and in Italy, 
 wrote and translated from the Hebrew into them, 
 some of the most esteemed works of the ancient Span¬ 
 ish rabbins. 
 
 With the destruction of the Inquisition, persecution 
 has ceased in those countries; and in return for the 
 
BARON DE GOLDSMID AND DA PALMEIRA. 377 
 
 assistance rendered by the Jews during the scarcity 
 in Portugal, John VI., in 1820, granted them per¬ 
 mission to settle at Lisbon, where, by their conduct, 
 they have gained the esteem of the other inhabitants. 
 They have there a synagogue, and follow the religion 
 of their forefathers unmolested. They are allowed 
 to hold and possess landed property; for Sir Isaac 
 Lyon Goldsmid has bought from government the 
 estates of San Antonio e Palmeira, in the suburbs of 
 Lisbon, adjoining the ancient Moory. In 1840, the 
 present queen conferred on him a commandership of 
 the Tower and Sword; and in 1845, created him a baron, 
 with the title of Baron de Goldsmid and da Palmeira, 
 as she expresses in the patent, “ in manifestation of 
 the important services rendered by him on various 
 occasions to the Portuguese nation;” and our gracious 
 sovereign has been pleased to grant her royal sanction 
 to his bearing the title in Great Britain. Since the 
 independence of the former Spanish and Portuguese 
 possessions in the Americas, where formerly Autos da 
 Fe blazed, Jews are now freely admitted; and the 
 emperor of the Brazils, following the enlightened policy 
 of the Braganza family in Europe, has created Sir I. 
 L. Goldsmid an officer of the Order of the Rose. 
 
 In Spain, the laws against the Hebrews are yet 
 unrepealed; which may be attributed more to the fre¬ 
 quent ministerial changes than to the disinclination 
 of the ruling powers. The Israelites of Bayonne 
 have formed establishments at St. Sebastian, where 
 they are respected, and carry on their commerce un¬ 
 molested. The Hebrews of Gibraltar trade openly 
 with Cadiz and the ports of the Mediterranean with¬ 
 out obstruction; and a Jew can at the present day 
 
378 
 
 CONCLUSION. 
 
 travel in Spain without fear of insult, as the author has 
 experienced. 
 
 A late minister of justice in that country informed 
 the author, that no judge in Spain would now dare to 
 act on the antiquated laws against the Jews; and an 
 ambassador to this court assured him of personal 
 safety in travelling in a country from which his 
 ancestors had been exiled. 
 
 To them, and a late prime minister of Spain, he is 
 indebted for introductions to some of the most en¬ 
 lightened individuals of the Spanish capital. They, 
 as well as all other illustrious Spaniards resident in 
 this country, are of opinion that Spain must, and 
 shortly will acknowledge the principle of universal 
 toleration and freedom of conscience, as necessary to 
 its welfare. 
 
 May the day soon arrive when a difference in 
 serving the Creator of all shall cease to disturb the 
 harmony and union the Eternal intended should ever 
 exist among mankind! 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 No. I .—Extract from Power's History of the Empire of the Mussulmans. 
 
 The writers from whom these details are taken, relate also the sums 
 which it cost to build this palace, and the town of Zahara, which 
 amounted to 300,000 dinars of gold (about sixty millions of our 
 money) per annum; and it occupied a space of time of nearly twenty- 
 five years to complete the work. To these immense expenses, it is 
 necessary to add, the maintenance of a seraglio, in which his wives, 
 his concubines, and slaves, together with his black and white eunuchs, 
 amounted to 6,300 persons. The officers of the palace of the caliph, 
 and the horses, set apart for himself, were in equal proportion. 
 12,000 horsemen composed his guard alone; and if one reflects that 
 Abderachman, in a state of continual war with the Spanish princes, 
 was obliged to keep on foot a numerous army, to maintain a marine, 
 to purchase frequent stipendiaries from Africa, and to fortify those 
 places on the frontiers which were continually menaced, it is difficult 
 to conceive how his revenues could have been sufficient. But his 
 resources were immense; and the sovereign of Cordova was perhaps 
 the richest and most powerful potentate in Europe. An idea of his 
 opulence may be formed, from the presents Abderachman received 
 from one of his subjects, Abdulmelec ben Chica, who was elevated to 
 the dignity of grand vizier. They consisted of 400 lbs. of gold; the 
 value of 420,000 sequins in bars of silver; 420 lbs. wood of aloes; 
 500 ounces of ambergris; 300 ounces of camphor; 30 pieces of 
 drapery of gold and silk, so costly that none but the caliphs had the 
 privilege of wearing them; 10 furs of the sable or martin of Khora- 
 san; 100 other of common martins; 48 trailing housings of cloth 
 of gold of Bagdad; 40001bs. of silk; 30 Persian carpets of superior 
 beauty; 800 suits of steel armour for horses of war; 1000 bucklers; 
 100,000 arrows; 15 Arabian led horses, adorned as richly as those 
 of the caliph; 100 inferior Arabian horses for the suite of the prince; 
 20 mules with their saddles and trailing housings; 40 young boys 
 and 20 girls of exquisite beauty, dressed most splendidly. The 
 vizier accompanied this present with a copy of verses, in which the 
 praises of him to whom it was offered, and the protestations of the 
 zeal and devotion of him who offered it, were not forgotten. The 
 present and poem pleased the caliph extremely, and contributed not 
 a little to the favour the vizier enjoyed during his administration; 
 and the prince, as a recompence, assigned him a revenue of 100,000 
 pieces of gold. Abderachman possessed Portugal, Andalusia, the 
 kingdoms of Granada, Murcia, Valencia, and the greatest portion of 
 New Castile; that is to say, all the most beautiful provinces of Spain. 
 These provinces were at this time extremely populous; and the 
 
380 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 Mussulmans had carried agriculture to the highest degree of perfec¬ 
 tion. Historians assure us, that on the borders of the Guadalquivir, 
 there stood 12,000 villages; and that a traveller could not advance 
 for a quarter of an hour, without meeting a hamlet. The states of 
 the caliph contained 80 great towns, 300 of the second order, and 
 an infinite number of country villages. Cordova, the capital, en¬ 
 closed within its walls 200,000 houses, and 900 public baths. All 
 these have suffered a great change since the expulsion of the Mus¬ 
 sulmans; the reason of which is obvious, for the Mussulmans, con¬ 
 querors of the Spaniards, who conquered them, not only persecuted, 
 but deprived them of their possessions. It is calculated, that the 
 revenue of the caliphs of Cordova amounted to 12,045,000 dinars of 
 gold, which is more than 130 millions of our money.* Independently 
 of this gold, a number of the imposts were paid in the produce of 
 the land; and amongst a people laborious and prone to agricultural 
 pursuits, and possessing a country the most fertile in the world, 
 these riches must have been incalculable. The mines of gold and 
 silver at all times common in Spain, were another source of wealth. 
 Commerce, too, that fruitful tree of treasure, which enriches at the 
 same time the sovereign and people, had many branches. The silks, 
 the oil, the sugar, the cochineal, the iron, and the wool of Spain, 
 were peculiarly estimable at that period; to which may be added, 
 ambergris, amber, the loadstone, antimony, the marcassite stone, 
 rock crystal, sulphur, saffron, and ginger; the coral collected on the 
 shores of Andalusia, and the pearl fisheries of Catalonia; the rubies, 
 of which they had discovered two mines, one at Malaga, and one at 
 Beja. All these productions of the earth were transported into 
 Africa, Egypt, and the East. The emperor of Constantinople, always 
 a necessary ally to the caliphs of Cordova, favoured these branches of 
 commerce; and the immense extent of coast, and the vicinity of 
 Africa, Italy, and France, contributed to render them more flourish¬ 
 ing. Such was the state of Cordova during the reign of Abderach- 
 man, who occupied the throne more than fifty years. Must we not 
 acknowledge that it was with glory ? 
 
 No. II .—Extract from Epitaph of E. Joseph Ben Shoshan. 
 
 csinn Sya rvnnn nn o 
 
 d'sk b D'lrwa ns? 
 
 mron t\bn i minn “nan 
 
 Abne Zicaron , No. 75. 
 
 * The author here calculates the dinar at about half what he states it to be 
 at the beginning of this extract. 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 381 
 
 No. III.— Extract from Epitaph of R. Joseph Ben Daoud. 
 
 mro oil TDD my ’d^d b lpbni amay 1 ? *ny 
 
 Abne Zicaron , No. 49. 
 
 No. IV .—Extract from Epitaph of R Joseph Levi Ahulaphia. 
 
 np’3 ysn pban *ie?x mxn 
 mix by ann tdi Dpi 
 
 Ahne Zicaron , No. 22. 
 
 No. V.— Extract from a Poetical Satire on Sancho the Brave for his 
 
 Protection of the Jews. 
 
 Despues desto llego Don Abram y Don Samuel, 
 
 Con sus dulces palabras que parecen la miel; 
 
 Y facen una puja sobre los de Ysrael, 
 
 Que monta en todo el Key no cuento y medio de fiel. 
 
 Discurso sobre los Judios de Espana. 
 Which may be thus rendered in English : — 
 
 Then Don Abram and Don Samuel stood forth and pleaded well, 
 And words of honied sweetness and of wisdom from them fell; 
 
 And they magnified the sons of the faithful Israel, 
 
 Of whom a million and a half do in the kingdom dwell. 
 
 No. VI.— Extract from Epitaph of R. Abraham ben Alnakova. 
 
 psa ni.ii layS aia Enin 
 px ’xyi'i d'dSd oy 
 mp'n minn in nun*? nia tmai 
 mini, nixa *oa crn iik 1 ? 
 ropaS orraxS nn n'ai 
 nj3 baa D'aan d'mix*? lEJmpni 
 miyo 1 ? prai muai nddi ]r\b& naa id jroi 
 
 Abne Zicaron, No. 28. 
 
 No. VII.— Privileges granted by the British Government to the Jews of 
 
 Surinam. 
 
 Whereas it is good and sound policy to encourage as much as 
 possible whatever may tend to the increase of a new colony, and to 
 invite persons of whatsoever country and religion, to come and reside 
 here and traffic with us: and whereas we have found that the 
 Hebrew nation, now already resident here, have, with their persons 
 
382 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 and property, proved themselves useful and beneficial to this colony; 
 and being desirous further to encourage them to continue their re¬ 
 sidence and trade here: we have, with the authority of the governor, 
 his council, and assembly, passed the following act:—• 
 
 Every person belonging to the Hebrew nation now resident here, 
 or who may hereafter come to reside and trade here, or in any place 
 or district within the limits of this colony, shall possess and enjoy 
 every privilege and liberty possessed by and granted to the citizens 
 and inhabitants of this colony, and shall be considered as English- 
 born ; and they and their heirs shall in this manner possess their 
 property, whether real or personal. 
 
 It is also hereby declared, that they shall not be compelled to 
 serve any public office in this colony, and that we receive them 
 under the protection and safeguard of our government, with all the 
 property they now hold, or shall hereafter possessor import from 
 any foreign place or kingdom abroad. We also grant them every 
 privilege and liberty which we ourselves enjoy, whether derived 
 from laws, acts, or customs, either regarding our lands, our persons, 
 or other property, promising them that nothing of what they now 
 possess, or shall hereafter acquire, shall be taken from them or be 
 appropriated among ourselves, by any person of whatsoever rank: 
 but that, on the contrary, they shall have full liberty to plant, 
 trade, and do whatsoever they may consider conducive to their 
 advantage and profit, on condition that they shall be true subjects 
 of our Sovereign Lord the King of England, and shall obey all 
 orders already issued by him, or which he may hereafter promul¬ 
 gate. It is, however, to be well understood, that none of these 
 orders shall be contrary to what is herein contained. 
 
 It is also hereby granted and permitted, in the most ample man¬ 
 ner possible, to the Hebrew nation, to practise and perform all 
 ceremonies and customs of their religion, according to their usages; 
 also those relating to their marriages and last wills or testaments; 
 and that the acts of marriage made according to their rites and 
 customs shall be held valid in every respect. It is also hereby de¬ 
 clared that they shall not suffer any let or hindrance in the observ¬ 
 ance of their sabbaths or festivals, and those who shall trouble them 
 on that account, shall be considered disturbers of the public peace, 
 and shall be punished accordingly. Also that they shall not be 
 bound to appear, on the said days, before any court or magistrate; 
 and that all summonses and citations for the said days shall be null 
 and void. Neither shall their refusal of payment of any claim made 
 against them on these days prejudice them in any way, or diminish 
 any right they may have. The possession of ten acres of land at 
 Thoxarica, is also hereby granted to them, that they may build 
 thereon places of worship and schools; also for the burial of their 
 dead. They shall, moreover, not be compelled to do personal duty, 
 but shall be permitted to send a substitute, except in case of war, 
 when they also shall be bound to come forward with the other 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 383 
 
 inhabitants. Permission is also hereby granted them to have a tri¬ 
 bunal of their own; and that in cases so litigated, the deputies of 
 their nation may pronounce sentence in all cases not exceeding the 
 value of ten thousand pounds of sugar. Upon which sentence, pro¬ 
 nounced by the said deputies, the judge of our court shall grant ex¬ 
 ecution to issuej and they shall keep registers and records of the 
 same according to custom. When an oath shall be required, it 
 shall be administered in conformity with the customs of the Hebrew 
 nation, and such oath shall be deemed valid, and have all the force 
 and effect of a judicial oath, notwithstanding any law to the 
 contrary. 
 
 That all this may be fully known’, I have, by order of his excellency 
 the governor, his council and assembly, signed the present on the 
 seventh of August, 1665. 
 
 (Signed) JOHN PARRY, Secretary. 
 
 No. VIII.— Facsimile of the Inscription in the Synagogue of Toledo , 
 
 taken in 1752. 
 
 The following is a translation, as far as it could be made, of the 
 Hebrew inscription of the synagogue at Toledo, as taken by Don 
 Francisco Perez Bayer, in 1752, for the Royal Academy at Madrid, 
 according to the annexed fac-simile; being formed of stucco, 
 many letters have fallen off. To render it intelligible in English, it 
 has been necessary to add some words, which are printed in italics; 
 they are mostly passages from scripture. 
 
 ON THE RIGHT HAND SIDE. 
 
 I will mention the loving kindnesses of the Lord, and his praises , in 
 respect £o all he hath bestowed upon us, and according to the great 
 things that he hath done for us. Pie rescued us from the hands of 
 enemies and persecutors. Although there is no king in Israel, he 
 
 hath not left us without a protector.even he {whom as a 
 
 mark of respect ice call) the mighty tower. Since the captivity of 
 Ariel, none like him has arisen in Israel. He is distinguished by his 
 noble lineage; his descent from those who in past times were the 
 fundamental pillars of the state, the princes and valiant leaders, 
 known from the high position in which they stood. His name is 
 known in Israel by praise, fame and glory. Throughout his life he 
 stood before sovereigns as a hero in the breach, to preserve the 
 welfare of his people. Chief of the captivity of Ariel, the chosen 
 one of the nobles, the crown of grace and honour , and great among 
 the Jews. To him came Gentiles from the farthest parts of the 
 earth, to adopt him as the protector of their paths, that he might 
 defend them in the breach of danger. He was commander over the 
 land, the lofty tree, the mighty tower; he ascended to the height of 
 princely rule. From the high praise lie enjoys, and the magnanimity 
 he displays , he may justly be termed a holy man. He is the main 
 
384 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 pillar that supports the house of Levi, and the house of Israel. Who 
 can recount the praise he merits, and the good attributes that belong 
 to him? Where is the man who can sufficiently celebrate his worthi¬ 
 ness? He is the crown ol the nobility, the wondrous glory, standing 
 first in rank of the Levite princes, Samuel a Levi, the man who was 
 raised on high. May his God be with him, and may he rise higher. 
 He found grace and favour in the sight of the Great Eagle, with mighty 
 wings, the renowned warrior and champion, whose fear fell upon all 
 nations. Great is his name among the people, the mighty King, our 
 Lord and ruler. The KING, DON PEDRO, may God be his 
 help, and augment his strength and majesty, and preserve him . . . . 
 The king aggrandised him ( Samuel Levi), advanced him, and set his 
 seat above all the princes that were with him. And committed to 
 his charge all his house contained , and commanded, that without his 
 consent no man should lift his hand or his foot, and that all other 
 noblemen should bow to him respectfully .... being thus mighty 
 . over all the land.his fame was bruited in every king¬ 
 dom, and he became a helper to Israel. 
 
 / 
 
 on the left ( much defaced). 
 
 .... He rescued them from their enemies. Since the time of 
 our captivity there has been none among the children of Israel of 
 so high a rank. He may be compared to a stately tree: the great, 
 pious, and righteous man; the prince of the princes of Levi. . . . 
 
 . In former days and years past there was not. 
 
 And he added above all this, the building of a house of prayer to the 
 name of the Lord God of Israel. And he began to build the house . . 
 
 and finished in the year (onin^) iitb (d 00 ^ to ^ ie J ews > numerically 
 
 117—1357) .... Praise and glory be greatly given to Him 
 
 (God) who aided him to commence .... May the glory of this 
 house be extolled. Eyes never beheld like it, nor ears heard the 
 existence of its equal. For thy name’s sake, with thy hand ever open 
 and extended, may his God remember him for good, and prolong 
 his days ... In this everlasting house to stand and minister in 
 the name of the Lord: he and his children; and to do unto him 
 
 what is merciful and kind .Let thy eyes be open on this house, 
 
 and thy ears open to hearken to the prayers therein addressed unto thee. 
 Thy servants found grace in thy sight to build the sanctuary of Ariel, 
 to save Judah and Israel, and may the Redeemer come to Zion. 
 
 THE END. 
 
 WERTHEIMER AND CO., PRINTERS, CIRCUS PEACE, FINSBURY. 
 
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In 2 vols. demy 8vo., bound in cloth , price 20.?. 
 
 THE CONCILIATOR; 
 
 BY 
 
 R. MANASSEH BEN ISRAEL: 
 
 I 
 
 A RECONCILEMENT OF THE APPARENT CONTRADICTIONS 
 
 IN HOLY SCRIPTURE. 
 
 TO WHICH ARE ADDED, 
 
 EXPLANATORY NOTES AND BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICES 
 OF THE QUOTED AUTHORITIES. 
 
 BY 
 
 E. H. LINDO, 
 
 AUTHOR OF “ THE .JEWISH CALENDAR.” 
 
 OPINIONS ON THE ORIGINAL WORK. 
 
 Celui oil il parait plus d’erudition Juive, est intitule en Espagnol 
 “ El Conciliador ,” imprime l’an 1632 a Francfort. II tache de con- 
 cilier dans ce livre les passages de l’Ecriture, qui semble se contredire; 
 et s’y sert des temoignages des Rabbins, tant anciens que nouveaux. 
 II est aussi quelquefois Philosophe et Cabaliste; mais il ne laisse 
 pas de s’appliquer a la lettre, et cet Ouvrage peut n’etre pas moins 
 utile aux Chretiens qu’aux Juifs. On voit meme qu’il a lu les 
 livres des Chretiens, dont il se sert, mais plus rarement. Ceux qui 
 aiment la litterature des Juifs, trouveront de quoi se satisfaire dans 
 cet Ouvrage qui en est rempli.— Diet. Hist, du Pere Moreriedit. 1718, 
 vol. iv. p. 185. 
 
2 
 
 THE CONCILIATOR, BY MANASSEH BEN ISRAEL. 
 
 This work shews that the author had a profound and intimate 
 acquaintance with the Old Testament writings; and it procured for 
 him the esteem and admiration of all the learned, as well Christians 
 as Jews. It was recommended to the notice of Biblical Scholars by 
 the learned Grotius. — Rees’ Cyclopedia. 
 
 This work, which he afterwards finished, gained him the admir¬ 
 ation and esteem of all the learned, both Jews and Christians; and 
 it must be owned no Rabbi, either before or since, ever discussed 
 these difficult points with so much erudition and solidity. — Hist, of 
 the Jews , p. 436. 
 
 A learned and curious work, in which he reconciles those passages 
 of Scripture which seem to contradict each other. — Ency. Brit. 
 
 OPINIONS ON THE TRANSLATION. 
 
 We hail with pleasure every attempt to render the treasures 
 which have been so long unheeded, more accessible to Christian 
 students. “ The Conciliator ’’ will doubtless be thankfully received 
 by many who have begun to feel interested in books of this class. — 
 
 Jewish Intelligence. 
 
 The object of this work, written by one of the most eminent 
 Rabbins of modern Judciism, is to explain and reconcile the apparent 
 inconsistencies in various parts of the Old Testament. It is a valu¬ 
 able collection of Rabbinical opinions, intermingled with many origi¬ 
 nal observations, and deserves the attention of Biblical students.— 
 
 Athenaeum,. 
 
 The vast stores of erudition, research, and criticism in these 
 volumes, impart to them a value of another sort, and render them 
 well deserving of the attention not only of the Biblical student, but 
 of every intelligent scholar. — Literary Gazette. 
 
 To some Biblical scholars, the present hint will be sufficient to 
 lead them to examine a book, the title of which so plainly indicates 
 its use. They will find it a work of much learning and research, 
 giving the views of various learned men as to the mode in which 
 apparently contradictory statements in Scripture are to be reconciled— 
 
 Voice of Israel. 
 
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