Tags
Archbishop of Canterbury, Edict of Expulsion, Judaism, King Edward I of England, Pope Honorius IV, Stephen Langton, Synod of Oxford, The Second Barons' War
In 1218, the situation only got worse for Jews as the thirteenth century progressed when
Henry III of England proclaimed the Edict of the Badge requiring Jews to wear a marking badge. Taxation grew increasingly intense.
Between 1219 and 1272, 49 levies were imposed on Jews for a total of 200,000 marks, a vast sum of money. In 1222, Stephen Langton, Archbishop of Canterbury, convened the Synod of Oxford which passed a set of laws that forbade Jews to build new synagogues, own slaves, or mix with Christians in England.
Henry III imposed greater segregation and reinforced the wearing of badges in the 1253 Statute of Jewry. He endorsed the myth of Jewish child murders. Meanwhile, his court and major Barons bought Jewish debts with the intention of securing lands of lesser nobles through defaults.
The Second Barons’ War in the 1260s brought a series of pogroms aimed at destroying the evidence of these debts and Jewish communities in major towns, including London (where 500 Jews died), Worcester, Canterbury, and many other towns.
The first major step towards expulsion took place in 1275, with the Statute of the Jewry. The statute outlawed all lending at interest and gave Jews fifteen years to readjust. In 1282, John Peckham, the Archbishop of Canterbury, closed all synagogues in his diocese.
In the duchy of Gascony in 1287, King Edward ordered the local Jews expelled. All their property was seized by the crown and all outstanding debts payable to Jews were transferred to the King’s name. In late 1286, Pope Honorius IV addressed a special rescript to the Archbishops of York and Canterbury claiming that the Jews had an evil effect on religious life in England through free interaction with Christians and called for action to be taken to prevent it.
The Church responded with the Synod of Exeter in 1287, restating the Church laws against commensality between Jews and Christians and prohibiting Jews from holding public office, have Christian servants, or appear in public during Easter. Jewish physicians were also forbidden to practice and the ordinances of the Synod of Oxford of 1222 which prohibited the construction of new synagogues and the entry of Jews into Churches were restated.
By the time he returned to England in 1289, King Edward was deeply in debt. The next summer he summoned his knights to impose a steep tax. To make the tax more palatable, Edward, in exchange, essentially offered to expel all Jews. The heavy tax was passed, and three days later, on July 18th the Edict of Expulsion was issued.
Apology
In July 2021, the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, announced that the Church of England would in 2022 offer a formal “act of repentance”, on the 800th anniversary of the Synod of Oxford in 1222, which passed a set of laws that restricted Jews’ rights to engage with Christians in England and eventually led to the expulsion of 1290. Historically, the Synod predated the Church of England’s split from the Roman Catholic Church in 1534, but the Archbishopric of Canterbury dates to before 600 AD.
The service was held in May 2022.