Surviving records of the Exchequer Pipe Roll of the reign of Henry I show that the Jews of England constituted a major source of royal revenue to the Crown early in the twelfth century. With the further advance of commerce and industry under Henry I and Henry II, the Jews of England continued to increase their royal revenues and the demand for the creation of a distinct department of the Great Exchequer for the Jews capital management had grown.[1]

In addition, with the Crusaders mania reaching England (around 1190), so did attacks against the Jews by the fanatic Christians who would kill them and took their money, leaving debts uncollected. Richard I, then the king, became concerned about how violence against the Jews will affect his access to their capital, given how the Jews' wealth was one of the main sources of money for the Crown [2]. Around the same time, the estate left by Aaron of Lincoln (a Jew who died in 1186 and was believed to be the richest man in England) was so big, that it required a treasurer and clerk to manage all the debtors. An arrangement termed "Aaron's Exchequer." [3]

The danger to the Jews, emphasized by Aaron's death and the enormous effort it took to collect the money he lent to people, led to king Richard I to decided to re-organize the machinery by which revenue from the Jews were collected. [4] Implementation took some time and it wasn't until the last decade of the 12th century that the Crown finalized the institution of the Exchequer of the Jews, the primary purpose for which was to make a record of the debts owing to the Jews. [5]

As ordered by Richard I in 1194: "_All the debts, pledges, mortgages, lands, houses, rents, and possessions of the Jews shall be registered ... no contract shall be made with, nor payment, made to, the Jews, nor any alteration made in the charters, except before the said persons._" [6]

Definition and description:

The Exchequer of the Jews (the "Scaccarium Judaeorum" or the Scaccarium Judaismi" or "Thesauraria Judaeorum" as it was alternately called) was a department of medieval English government, appointed by the king, and designated to deal with Jewish affairs. This department was subordinate to the main Exchequer. [7]

As part of its functions, the Exchequer of the Jews controlled the system of officials within established Jewish communities, appointing and dismissing their officials as well as handling transactions. Monies collected by the Exchequer of the Jews were retained in a separate treasury, and were disbursed on the king's instructions. All money-lending transactions had to be registered in the archae (chests). When a debt became due, the Exchequer of the Jews would issue an authorization for the levying of the debt at the request of the creditor; only if the debtor had died would this need to be preceded by legal proceedings. [8]

In addition, within the responsibilities of the Exchequer of the Jews was the "_Scaccarium Judaeorum_" which served as escheator—a doctrine which transfers the property of a person who dies without heirs to the crown or state. This serves to ensure that property was not left in "limbo" without recognized ownership. In effect it meant to take charge by tenements and chattels of Jews ensuring that fell into the king's hands following death or transgressions. [9]

Judicial power:

The Exchequer of the Jews also exercised a jurisdiction over cases involving Jewish debts which had passed into the hands of the Crown or had been transferred to other Christian creditors. The Exchequer of the Jews claimed exclusive jurisdiction in these matters, though it was subject to some exception. [10]

In 1200 four "Justices of the Jews" were named, two of whom were Jews: Benjamin de Talemunt and Joseph Aaron (they were the only Jews appointed to this position through the duration of this institute). The Justices were given the status of Barons of the Exchequer, and were subjected to the authority of the treasurer and the chief of justice. [11] During deliberations, the justices often were aided by the _presbyter judaeorum_—a chief rabbi—who assisted them in matters involving Jewish law. [12]

Also within the jurisdiction power and duty of the Exchequer of the Jews, was to assess the contributions of the Jews to the royal treasury in reliefs, escheats, fines, and tallages (general taxes applied arbitrarily by the king). [13]

Periodically the Justices would order a "scrutiny" ("_scrutinium_") to be made of the lists of the debts (many such lists still exist) that were contained in the archae. [14] Each archae had 3 locks and a set of keys for each lock. Each set of keys was held by different designated people (one set by two Jews, one by two Christians, and the third by two royal clerks) so that the chests could only be opened if all three were present [15] After "scrutiny" of the lists of the debts was made, the Justices sent a report to the king describing the capability of the Jewry to bear further tallage. [The king constantly applied additional tallage, which if not paid, the Jew’s wife and children were often imprisoned as hostages or the Jew himself was sent to the Tower and his lands and chattels were detained]. [16]

Documentation in the form of The Plea Rolls of the Exchequer of the Jews survive for 1219–20, 1244, 1253, and in a virtually continuous series from 1266 to 1287. These include details from various pleas entered by Jews or Christians which dealt with the rate of interest, its lapse during the minority of an heir, alleged forgeries of Chirographs.[17] A volume of the more important of these pleas was published in 1902 jointly by the Selden Society and the Jewish Historical Society of England. [18]

At first the selected justices were men of some distinction who were usually appointed from among the king's favorites. But later on, from 1272-1287 they were dismissed for corruption and bribery. [19]

The expulsion of England’s Jewry in 1290 signaled the end of the office of Exchequer of the Jews, though cases with references to the debts of the Jews occurred in the year-books during some of the reign of Edward II (1284-1327). [20]

******* [1] Charles Gross, "The Exchequer of the Jews of England in the Middle Ages"- a lecture delivered at Anglo-Jewish Historical Exhibition at Royal Albert Hall, 5 (9th of June, 1887). [2] Id, p. 6. [3] Robert C. Stacey, "The English Jews under Henry III" THE JEWS IN MEDIEVAL BRITAIN: HISTORICAL, LITERARY, AND ARCHAEOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE 47 (Patricia Skinner, editor 2003). [4] Charles Gross, p.6 [5] Id, p.7. [6] The Ordinances of the Jews, 1194. See at: www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/1194ordjews.asp [7] Paul Brand, "The Jewish Community of England in the Records of English Royal Government" THE JEWS IN MEDIEVAL BRITAIN: HISTORICAL, LITERARY, AND ARCHAEOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE 83 (Patricia Skinner, editor 2003). [8] Id, p. 74-75. [9] Charles Gross, p. 10. [10] Paul Brand, p.75-76. [11] Exchequer of the Jews in Jewish Encyclopedia. See: www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/5932-exchequer-of-the-jews [12] Charles Gross, p. 12. [13] Id, p. 25. [14] Id, p. 30-31. [15] Paul Brand, p. 73. [16] Charles Gross, p. 34. [17] Charles Gross, p. 45-47. [18] Exchequer of the Jews in Jewish Encyclopedia. [19] Id. [20] Id.

-- InbarAsif - 17 Oct 2014