Language:
English
Year of publication:
1992
Titel der Quelle:
Speculum; a Journal of Medieval Studies
Angaben zur Quelle:
67,2 (1992) 263-283
Keywords:
Christian converts from Judaism
;
Christian converts from Judaism
Abstract:
The shift toward missionizing in the 13th century marked a turning-point in Christian-Jewish relations. Examines the social reality of Jewish conversion in England. The size and financial resources of the Jewish community shrank due to unrelenting royal taxation and periodic judicial murder. A converted Jew's property and chattels were ordinarily forfeit to the crown. Institutional pressures on Jews to convert came almost entirely from the king. The friars (especially Dominicans) were involved, but the bishops hardly at all. In 1232, Henry III established the Domus Conversorum in London, which gave converted Jews shelter and a weekly stipend. Describes the function of the Domus and the lives of the Jews who lived there. The number of converts peaked in the 1240s-50s (they may have numbered 300 in a total Jewish population of ca. 3,000-5,000). Lists reasons for conversion, including the growing number of destitute Jews due to the king's ruinous taxation policy. Converts were suspect in the eyes of Christian society; intermarriage was rare. During the reign of Edward I, conversion declined, even though his reign was marked by severe persecutions and eventual expulsion of the Jews, in which frustration at the failure of conversion played a part.
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