History of the Jews

HISTORY OF THE JEWS

HISTORY OF THE
JEWS

BY

HEINRICH GRAETZ

VOL. IV

From the Rise of the Kabbala (1270 C. E.) to the

Permanent Settlement of the Marranos

IN Holland (i6i3 C. E.)

,^ag^..

*sr"e8»

PHILADELPHIA
The Jewish PxraLiCATioN Society of America

5717-1956

Copyright, 1894, by

THE JEWISH PUBLICATION SOCIETY OF AMERICA

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be
reproduced in any Jorm without permission in
writing from the publisher: except by a reviewer
who may quote brief passages in a review to be
printed in a magazine or newspaper.

PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

CONTENTS.

CHAPTER I.

CULTIVATION OF THE KABBALA, AND PROSCRIPTION OP

SCIENCE.

Progress of the Kabbala— Todros Halevi and his Sons-
Isaac Allatif and his Kabbalistic Doctrines — Adventurous
Career of Abraham Abulafia — He assumes the Character
of Messiah — Opposition of Ben Adret — The Prophet of
Avila — Joseph Jikatilla and his Kabbalistic Mazes — The
Impostor Moses de Leon — Forgeries of the Kabbalists —
Origin of the Zohar — Its Doctrines and Influence —
Shem-Tob Falaquera — Isaac Albalag — Levi of Ville-
franche — Samuel Sulami and Meiri — Abba-Mari's Exag-
gerated Zeal — Jacob ben Machir Profatius and the Con-
troversy regarding the Study of Science — Asheri — The
Poet Yedaya Bedaresi page i.

1270 — 1328 C.E.
CHAPTER IL

THE FIRST EXPULSION OF THE JEWS FROM FRANCE, AND
ITS CONSEQUENCES.

Philip le Bel — The Jews of France plundered and banished —
Estori Parchi ; Aaron Cohen ; Laments of Bedaresi —
Eleazar of Chinon, the Martyr — Return of the Jews to
France ; their Precarious Position — Progress of the Con-
troversy regarding the Study of Philosophy — Abba-Mari
and Asheri — Death of Ben Adret — Rabbinical Revival
in Spain — Isaac Israeli II — Samuel and the Queen Maria
Molina — Don Juan Emanuel and Judah Ibn-Wakar — The
Jews of Rome — Robert of Naples and the Jews — Peril
of the Jews in Rome — Kalonymos ben Kalonymos, his
Satires — Immanuel and Dante — The Poet Judah Sici-
liano — Leone Romano and King Robert — Shemarya
Ikriti — Position of Karaism — Aaron the Elder and the
Prayer-Book of the Karaites page 46.

1306 —1328 C.E.

IV CONTENTS.

CHAPTER III.

THE AGE OF THE ASHERIDES AND OF GERSONIDES.

Condition of Palestine — Pilgrims and Immigrants — Sham
Tob Ibn-Gaon — Favorable Position of the Jews in Cas-
tile under Alfonso XI — Persecution in Navarre — Joseph
de Ecija and Samuel Ibn-Wakar — Increase of Anti-
Jewish Feelings — Abner-Alfonso of Burgos, Convert to
Christianity, and Persecutor of the Jews — Gonzalo Mar-
tinez— Fall of Martinez and Deliverance of the Jews —
Decline of the Study of Science — The Study of the
Talmud prosecuted with Renewed Vigor — Jacob and
Judah Asheri — Isaac Pulgar, David Ibn-Albilla — The
Provencal Philosophers Ibn-Kaspi, Leon de Bagnols, and
Vidal Narboni — Decline of the Study of the Talmud in
Germany — Emperor Louis of Bavaria and the Jews ■-
Persecution by the " Leather- Arms " . . . . page 73.

1328 — 1350 C.E.
CHAPTER IV.

THE BLACK DEATH.

Rise of the False Accusation against Jews of Poisoning
the Wells — Massacres in Southern France and Catalo-
nia— The Friendly Bull of Pope Clement VI — Terrible
Massacres in all Parts of Germany — Confessions wrung
from the Jews on the Rack — The Flagellants as a Scourge
for the Jews — King Casimirjof Poland — Persecution in
Brussels — The Black Death in Spain — Don Pedro the
Cruel and the Jews — Santob de Carrion and Samuel
Abulafia — Fall of Don Pedro and its Consequences for
the Jews — Return of the Jews to France and Germany
— The " Golden Bull " — Manessier de Vesoul — Mata-
thiah Meir Halevi — Synod at Mayence . . page 100.

1348— 1380 C.E.
CHAPTER V.

THE AGE OF CHASDAI CRESCAS AND ISAAC BEN SHESHET.

The Jews of Spain after the Civil War— Joseph Pichon and
Samuel Abrabanel — The Apostates : John of Valladolid
— Menachem ben Zerach, Chasdai Crescas, and Isaac
ben Sheshet — Chayim Gallipapa and his Innovations —
Prev6t Aubriot and the Jews of Paris — The French

CONTENTS. t

Rabbinate — Reviv'al of Jewish Influence in Spain — The
Jews of Portugal— The Jewish Statesmen, David and
Judah Negro — Rabbis and Clergy — Persecutions in Ger-
many and Spain — The First Germs of the Inquisition —
Second Expulsion of the Jews from France — The Convert
Pessach-Peter — Lipmann of Miihlhausen . . page 136.

1369 — 1380 C.E,

CHAPTER VI.

JEWISH APOSTATES AND THE DISPUTATION AT TORTOSA.

The Marranos — The Satirists — Pero Ferrus of Alcala,
Diego de Valencia, and Villasandino — Astruc Raimuch
and Solomon Bonfed — Paul de Santa Maria and his
Zealous Campaign against the Jews — Joshua Ibn-
Vives — Profiat Duran (Efodi) — Meir Alguades — The
Philosophy of Crescas— Death of Henry III of Castile
and Unfavorable Change in the Position of the Jews —
Messianic Dreams of the Kabbalists — Jews seek an
Asylum in Northern Africa — Simon Duran — Geronimo
de Santa Fe, Vincent Ferrer and Benedict XIII — Anti-
Jewish Edict of Juan II — Special Jewish Costume —
Conversion of Jews owing to Ferrer's Violent Efforts —
Disputation at Tortosa — The Jewish Spokesmen at the
Conference — Incidents of the Meeting — Geronimo insti-
gates the Publication of a Bull for the Burning of the
Talmud — Pope Martin V befriends the Jews . page 179.

1391— 1420 C.E.

CHAPTER VII.

THE HUSSITES. PROGRESS OF JEWISH LITERATURE.

The Hussite Heresy — Consequences for the Jews involved
in the Struggle — Jacob Molin— Abraham Benveniste and
Joseph Ibn-Shem Tob in the Service of the Castilian
Court — Isaac Campanton, the Poet Solomon Dafiera —
Moses da Rieti — Anti- Christian Polemical Literature —
Chayim Ibn-Musa — Simon Duran and his Son Solomon —
Joseph Albo as a Religious Philosopher — Jewish Philo-
sophical Systems — Edict of the Council of Basle against
the Jews — Fanatical Outbreaks in Majorca — Astruc
Sibili and his Conversion to Christianity . . page 221.

1420 — 1442 C.E.

VI CONTENTS.

CHAPTER VIII.

CAPISTRANO AND HIS PERSECUTION OF THE JEWS.

Pope Eugenius IV, under the Influence of Alfonso de
Cartagena, changes his Attitude towards the Jews — His
Bull against the Spanish and Italian Jews in 1442 — Don
Juan II defends the Jews — Pope Nicholas V's Hostility —
Louis of Bavaria — The Philosopher Nicholas of Cusa
and his Relation to Judaism— John of Capistrano — His
Influence with the People is turned against the Jews —
Capistrano in Bavaria and Wiirzburg — Expulsion of the
Breslau Community — Expulsion of the Jews from Briinn
and Olmiitz — The Jews of Poland under Casimir IV —
Capture of Constantinople by Mahomet II — The Jews
find an Asylum in Turkey — The Karaites — Moses Kap-
sali — Isaac Zarfati — Position of the Jews of Spain —
Persecutions directed by Alfonso de Spina — The Condi-
tion of the Marranos page 248.

1442 — 1474 C.E.
CHAPTER IX.

THE JEWS IN ITALY AND GERMANY BEFORE THE EXPULSION
FROM SPAIN.

Position of the Jews of Italy — The Jewish Bankers — Yechiel
of Pisa — His Relations with Don Isaac Abrabanel — Jew-
ish Physicians, Guglielmo di Portaleone — Revival of
Learning among Italian Jews — Messer Leon and Elias
del Medigo — Pico di Mirandola, the Disciple of Medigo
— Predilection of Christians for the Kabbala — Jochanan
Aleman — Religious Views of Del Medigo — German Rab-
bis immigrate into Italy — Joseph Kolon, his Character
and his Feud with Messer Leon — Judah Menz, an An-
tagonist of Del Medigo — Bernardinus of Feltre — Jews
banished from Trent on a False Charge of Child-Murder
— The Doge of Venice and Pope Sixtus IV befriend the
Jews — Sufferings of the Jews of Ratisbon— Israel Bruna
— Synod at Nuremberg— Emperor Frederick III,

page 285
1474 — 1492 C.E.

CHAPTER X.

THE INQUISITION IN SPAIN.

Jewish Blood in the Veins of the Spanish Nobility — The
Marranos cling to Judaism and manifest Unconquerable

CONTENTS. VII

Antipathy to Christianity — Ferdinand and Isabella —
The Dominicans, Alfonso de Ojeda, Diego de Merlo, and
Pedro de Solis — The Catechism of the Marranos — A Po-
lemical Work against the Catholic Church and Despot-
ism gives a Pov/erful Impulse to the Inquisition — The
Tribunal is established in 1480 — Miguel Morillo and Juan
de San Martin are the first Inquisitors — The Inquisition
in Seville — The "Edict of Grace" — The Procession and
the Auto-da-fe — The Numbers of the Accused and Con-
demned— Pope Sixtus IV and his Vacillating Policy with
Regard to the Inquisition — The Inquisition under the
first Inquisitor General, Thomas deTorquemeda; its Con-
stitutions— The Marranos of Aragon — They are charged
with the Death of the Inquisitor Arbues — Persecutions
and Victims — Proceedings against two Bishops Favorable
to the Jews, De Avila and De Aranda . . page 308.

1474— 1483 C.E.
CHAPTER XI.

EXPULSION OF THE JEWS FROM SPAIN.

Friendship of Marranos and Jews — Torquemada demands
of the Rabbis of Toledo the Denunciation of Marra-
nos— Judah Ibn-Verga — Jewish Courtiers under Fer-
dinand and Isabella — Isaac Abrabanel: his History
and Writings — The Jews of Portugal under Alfonso V —
The Ibn-Yachya Brothers — Abrabanel's Flight from Por-
tugal to Spain — The Jews of Granada: Isaac Hamon —
Edict of Banishment promulgated by Ferdinand and Isa-
bella— Its Consequences — Departure from Spain — Num-
ber of the Exiles — Decline in the Prosperity of Spain
after the Banishment of the Jews — Transformation of
Synagogues and Schools into Churches and Monasteries
— The Inquisition and the Marranos — Deza, the Succes-
sor of Torquemada page 334.

1483— 1492 C.E.
CHAPTER XII.

EXPULSION OF THE JEWS FROM NAVARRE AND PORTUGAL.

The Exiles from Navarre — Migration to Naples — King
Ferdinand I of Naples and Abrabanel — Leon Abrabanel
— Misfortunes of the Jews in Fez, Genoa, Rome, and the
Islands of Greece — The Sultan Bajazet — Moses Kapsali
— Spanish Jews in Portugal — The Jewish Astronomers,

Vlll CONTENTS.

Abraham Zacuto and Jose Vecinho — ^The Jewish Trav-
elers, Abraham de Beyaand Joseph Zapateiro — Outbreak
of the Plague among the Spanish Jews in Portugal — Suf-
ferings of the Portuguese Exiles — Judah Chayyat and his
Fellow-Sufferers — Cruelty of Joao II — Kindly Treatment
by Manoel changed into Cruelty on his Marriage — Forc-
ible Baptism of Jewish Children — Levi ben Chabib and
Isaac Caro — Pope Alexander VI — Manoel's Efforts on
Behalf of the Portuguese Marranos — Death of Simon
Maimi and Abraham Saba /^,^^357-

1492 — 1498 C.E.
CHAPTER XIII.

RESULTS OF THE EXPULSION OF THE JEWS FROM SPAIN AND
PORTUGAL. GENERAL VIEW.

Widespread Consequences of the Expulsion — The Exiles —
Fate of the Abrabanel Family — Leon Medigo — Isaac
Akrish — The Pre-eminence of Jews of Spanish Origin —
The North-African States: Samuel Alvalensi, Jacob
Berab, Simon Duran II — The Jews of Algiers, Tripoli
and Tunis — Abraham Zacuto and Moses Alashkar —
Egypt : Isaac Shalal, David Ibn-Abi Zimra — The Jews
of Cairo — Selim I — Cessation of the Office of Nagid —
Jerusalem — Obadyah di Bertinoro — Safet and Joseph
Saragossi — The Jews of Turkey — Constantinople — Elias
Mizrachi: the Karaites — The Communities of Salonica
and Adrianople — The Jews of Greece — Elias Kapsali —
The Jews of Italy and the Popes : Bonet de Lates — The
Ghetto in Venice — Samuel Abrabanel and Benvenida
Abrabanela — Abraham Farissol — The Jews of Germany
and their Sorrows — Expulsion of the Jews from Various
Towns — The Jews of Bohemia — Jacob Polak and his
School — The Jews of Poland page 382.

1496— 1525 C.E.
CHAPTER XIV.

REUCHLIN AND THE TALMUD.

Antecedents of the Convert John Pfefferkorn — Pfefferkom
and the Dominicans of Cologne — Hoogstraten, Ortuinus
Gratius and Arnold of Tongern— Victor von Karben —
Attacks on the Talmud and Confiscation of Copies in
Frankfort — Reuchlin's Hebrew and Kabbalistic Studies
— The Controversy concerning the Talmud — Activity on

CONTENTS. «

both Sides— Public Excitement— Complete Victory of
Reuchlin's Efforts in Defense of Jewish Literature-
Ulrich von Hutten— Luther— Revival of Hebrew Studies,

page 422.
15CX) — 1520 C.E.

CHAPTER XV.

THE KABBALA AND MESSIANIC FANATICISM. THE MARRANOS
AND THE INQUISITION.

Internal Condition of Judaism — Division in the Communi-
ties— The Lack of Interest in Poetry — Historical Studies
— Leon Medigo's " Dialogues of Love" — Supremacy of
the Kabbala— Messianic Hopes — The Marranos and the
Inquisition — Henrique Nunes — The Traveler David Reu-
beni in Rome — Solomon Molcho — His Relations with
David Reubeni — Joseph Karo and his "Maggid" —
Clement VII — Molcho in Ancona and Rome — His Favor
with the Cardinals — Death of Molcho — The Enthusiastic
Regard in which he was held — Duarte de Paz— Paul III
— Charles V and the Jews — Emanuel da Costa,

page 477.
1500 — 1538 C.E.

CHAPTER XVL

STRIVINGS OF EASTERN JEWS FOR UNITY. SUFFERING IN
THE WEST.

Efforts towards Unity — Jacob Berab proposes the Re-intro-
duction of Rabbinical Ordination into Palestine — Suc-
cessful Opposition of Levi ben Chabib — Joseph Karo —
His Connection with Solomon Molcho and his Messianic
Visions — Karo's Religious Code — Converts to Judaism at
the Era of the Reformation — Expulsion of the Jews from
Naples and Prague — Their Return to the latter Town —
Dr. Eck — Martin Luther and the Jews — Moses Hamon
— Jewish Histories by Joseph Cohen, the Ibn-Vergas,
and Samuel Usque — Elegy of Samuel Usque — Reaction
in the Catholic Church ; Loyola establishes the Order
of Jesuits — The Censorship of Books — Eliano Romano
and Vittorio Eliano — Fresh Attacks on the Talmud —
Paul IV and his anti-Jewish Bulls — Persecution of the
Marranos by the Inquisition in Ancona — Joseph Nassi —
The Levantine Jews — Expulsion of the Jews from Aus-
tria and Bohemia— Relations of Pope Pius IV and V to
the Jews page 529.

1538— 1566 CE.

X. CONTENTS.

CHAPTER XVII.

THE JEWS IN TURKEY. DON JOSEPH NASSI.

Joseph Nassi's Favorwith Sultan Solyman — His Friendship
for Prince Selim— Hostility of Venice and France to
Nassi — Joseph Nassi restores Tiberias, and is created
Duke of Naxos — The Vizir Mahomet Sokolli — The Turks,
at the Instigation of Nassi, conquer Cyprus — Rebellion
against Philip II in the Netherlands — Solomon Ashkenazi
— Election of Henry of Anjou as King of Poland — Ashke-
nazi negotiates a Peace between Venice and Turkey — Ge-
dalya Ibn-Yachya and Jewish Literature in Turkey —
Joseph Karo compiles the "Shulchan Aruch" — Azarya
dei Rossi — Isaac Lurya — The Jewish "Dark Age" —
Spread of the Kabbala — Lurya's Disciple, Chayim Vital
Calabrese — Death of Joseph Nassi — Esther Kiera and the
Influence of Jewish Women in Turkey . . page 593.

1566 — 1600 C.E.
CHAPTER XVIII.

THE JEWS IN POLAND.

Condition of Poland — Favorable Situation of the Jews in
that Country — Anti-Jewish Party in Poland — The Jewish
Communities — Judaizing Poles — Studies of the Jews —
The Talmud in Poland — Solomon Lurya — Moses Isserles
— The Historian, David Gans — "Zemach David" — Su-
premacy of the Polish Authorities in Rabbinical Matters
— The Jewish Seminaries in Poland — The Disputations
at the Fairs— Chiddushim and Chillukim — Stephen Ba-
thori — His Kindness towards his Jewish Subjects — Sigis-
mund III — Restriction on the Erection of Synagogues —
Jewish Synods — Vaad Arba Arazoth — Mordecai Jafa —
Christian Sects in Poland — The Socinians or Unitarians
— Simon Budny — The Reformers and the Jews — Isaac
Troki — "The Strengthening of Faith" . . page 611.

1566 — 1600 C.E.
CHAPTER XIX.

SETTLEMENT OF JEWS IN HOLLAND. FEEBLE ATTEMPTS
AT ENFRANCHISEMENT.

Revival of Catholicism — Decay in European Culture — Ill-
treatment of Jews in Berlin — Emperor Rudolph II of
Austria— Diminution in the Numbers of Italian Jews-
Pope Gregory XIII — Confiscation of Copies of the T^-

CONTENTS, »

mud — Vigorous Attempts at the Conversion of Jews —
Pope Sixtus V — The Jewish Physician David de Pomis
— Renewal of Persecution by Clement VIII — Expulsion
from Various Italian States — The Censors and the Tal-
mud— The Jews at Ferrara — Settlement of Jews in Hol-
land—Samuel Pallache — Jacob Tirado and the Marranos
in Amsterdam — Tolerant Treatment — The Poet, David
Jesurun — Moses Uri — Hebrew Printing in Amsterdam,

page 650.
1593—1618 C.E.

CHAPTER XX.

THE DUTCH JERUSALEM AND THE THIRTY YEARS' WAR.

The Amsterdam Jewish Community — Its Wealth, Culture,
and Honored Position — Zacuto Lusitano — Internal Dis-
sensions— The Talmud Torah School — Saul Morteira,
Isaac Aboab, and Manasseh ben Israel — The Portuguese
Congregation in Hamburg — The First Synagogue —
Lutheran Intolerance — John Miller — Jewish Colony in
Brazil — The Chief Communities in Germany — Persecu-
tion in Frankfort — Dr. Chemnitz — The Vienna Congre-
gation— T.iomann Heller — Ferdinand IPs Zeal for the
Conversion ot Jews— Influence of the Thirty Years'
War on the Fortunes of the Jews .... page 676

1618 — 1648 C.£.

HISTORY OF THE JEWS

) YHOl

HISTORY OF THE JEWS.

CHAPTER I.

CULTIVATION OF THE KABBALA, AND PROSCRIPTION OF

SCIENCE.

Progress of the Kabbala — Todros Halevi and his Sons — Isaac Allatif
and his Kabbalistic Doctrines — Adventurous Career of Abraham
Abulafia — He assumes the Character of Messiah — Opposition of
Ben Adret — The Prophet of Avila — Joseph Jikatilla and his
Kabbalistic Mazes — The Impostor Moses de Leon — Forgeries
of the KabbaUsts — Origin of the Zohar — Its Doctrines and
Influence — Shem-Tob Falaquera — Isaac Albalag — Levi of Ville-
franche — Samuel Sulami and Meiri — Abba-Mari's Elxaggerated
Zeal — Jacob ben Machir Profatius and the Controversy regard-
ing the Study of Science — Asheri — The Poet Yedaya Bedaresi.

1270 — 1328 c.E. .

The secret science of the Kabbala, which hitherto
had assumed a modest deportment and been of a
harmless character, began to foment discord in Ben
Adret's time, ensnare the intelligence and lead
astray the weak. What it lacked in intrinsic truth
and power of conviction, it endeavored to supply
by presumptuousness. It had already spread from
Gerona, its original seat, and from northern Spain
by way of Segovia to southern Spain, as far as the
Castilian capital, Toledo, the Jewish community of
which had before strenuously opposed obscurantism.
In the city of Toledo the Kabbala won thfe adher-
ence, among others, of one man who, by his noble
birth, his princely state, his high position, his wealth
and learning, gave it great weight. This man, whose
influence is even now not fully recognized, was
Todros ben Joseph Halevi, of the noble Toledan
family of Abulafia (born 1234, died after 1304). He

2 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. I.

was a nephew of that Meir Abulafia who had been
so obstinate an adversary of Maimuni and rational-
istic thought. Todros Abulafia took as a model his
uncle, who in his old age had laid his hands on his
head, and blessed him. When he grew up, he ap-
plied himself to the Talmud and to secret lore ; but
he must have been a man of affairs, too, for he ob-
tained an honorable position at the court of Sancho
IV, and was in special favor with the wise queen,
Maria de Molina, as a physician and financier. By
the Jews he was esteemed and venerated as their
prince (Nasi). When the king and queen of Spain
held a meeting in Bayonne with the king of France,
Philip le Bel, to settle their mutual hostilities (1290),
Todros Abulafia was in the train of the former, and
received the most flattering homage from the Jews
of southern France. Todros, like his uncle, was a
determined opponent of philosophy and its devo-
tees. He had no words bitter enough against the
would-be wise people who hold everything which
appears incompatible with logic as incredible and
impossible. Even Maimuni, whom he highly re-
spected, he censured for undervaluing the impor-
tance of the sacrifices so greatly as to explain them
merely as a concession to the heathen propensities
of the people, and for calling the offering of incense
an expedient for purifying the air. He waged
vehement warfare against the philosophy which
denies the existence of evil spirits, which to him was
identical with doubting the existence of angels.
Having been initiated into the secret science by
one of the earliest Kabbalists, perhaps by Jacob of
Segovia, who formed a school of his own, Todros
valued it as divine wisdom, to uncover whose veil
to laymen was fraught with danger. The recogni-
tion of the secret doctrine by a person of so high a
position could not but produce some effect. His
sons, Levi and Joseph, likewise plunged headlong
into its study. Two of the four Kabbalists of his

CH. I. TODROS ABULAFIA. 3

time, who developed the Kabbala, and extended its
influence, ranged themselves under the banner of
Todros Abulafia, and dedicated their compositions
to him. These four Kabbalists of the first rank,
who established new theories with more or less suc-
cess, were Isaac Ibn-Latif, Abraham Abulafia, Joseph
Jikatilla, and Moses de Leon, all Spaniards. They
obscured the mental light, with which men of intel-
lect, from Saadiah to Maimuni, had illumined Judaism,
and substituted for a refined religious belief, fantastic
and even blasphemous chimeras. The intellectual
degradation of the Jews in the following centuries is
to a large extent their work. They led astray both
their own times and posterity through designed or
unintentional imposition, and the injuries which they
inflicted on Judaism are felt even at the present day.
The least harmful of these four was Isaac ben
Abraham Ibn-Latif or Allatif (born about 1220, died
about 1290). He no doubt owed his origin to the
south of Spain, for he was acquainted with Arabic.
Nothing is known of his history beyond the fact that
he was on friendly terms with Todros Abulafia, to
whom he dedicated one of his works. His writings,
as has been said by one who came after him, seem
to "stand with one foot on philosophy and with the
other on the Kabbala." But Allatif only toyed with
philosophical formulae, their meaning does not seem
to have become known to him. He was not of a
thoughtful nature, and did not enrich the Kabbala,
although he attempted to give himself the appear-
ance of following original methods, and avoided the
usual Kabbalistic expressions. Allatif started with
the thought that a philosophical view of Judaism was
not the "right road to the sanctuary," and that it
was, therefore, needful to seek a higher conception,
but, instead of making the way clear, he concealed
it by empty allusions and unmeaning phrases. Alla-
tif laid more weight than his predecessors on the
close connection between the spiritual and the mate-

4 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. I.

rial world — between God and His creation. For the
Godhead is in all, and all is in it. In soul-inspiring
prayers the human spirit is raised to the world-
spirit (Sechel ha-Poel), to which it is united "in a
kiss," and, so influencing the Divinity, it draws down
blessings on the sublunar world. But not every
mortal is capable of such spiritual and efficacious
prayer; therefore, the prophets, the most perfect
men, were obliged to pray for the people, for they
alone knew the power of prayer. The unfolding
and revelation of the Deity in the world of spirits,
spheres and bodies, were explained by Isaac Allatif
in mathematical formulae. Isaac Allatif must, how-
ever, be considered a clear thinker, when compared
with his enthusiastic contemporary, Abraham Abu-
lafia, who endeavored to establish a new order of
things by Kabbalistic sophisms.

Abraham ben Samuel Abulafia (born 1240, in
Saragossa, died 1291) was an eccentric personage,
full of whims, and fond of adventures. Endowed
with a lively mind and with more than a moderate
amount of knowledge, he renounced the ways of
common sense to throw himself into the arms of
enthusiasm. His whole life from his entry into
manhood was a succession of adventures. His
father, who had instructed him in the Bible and the
Talmud, died when his son was a youth of eighteen,
and two years later Abraham undertook a journey
of adventure, as he relates, in order to discover the
mythical river Sabbation or Sambation, and to be-
come acquainted with the supposed Israelite tribes
dwelling on its banks, no doubt with a Messianic
purpose. His mind was in a constant tumult. He
wrestled for clearness, but fell ever deeper into
mazes and illusions. One thing, however, became
evident to him, that the philosophy with which he
had much occupied himself offered no certainty,
and, therefore, no satisfaction to the religious mind
thirsting after truth. Even the trite Kabbala as

CH. 1. ABRAHAM ABULAFIA. 5

commonly accepted, with its doctrine about the Sefi-
roth, did not satisfy his soul, since both only nursed
the pride of knowledge. He, a Kabbalist, criticised
the unsoundness of this mystic theory so severely
and correctly that it is surprising that he should have
conceived still more insane notions. Abraham Abu-
lafia sought after something higher, for prophetic
inspiration, which alone opens the fountain of truth,
without traversing the laborious path of systematic
application.

At length Abulafia believed that he had found
what his soul was yearning for, and that through
divine inspiration he had come upon a higher Kab-
bala, in relation to which the lower mystical doctrine
and philosophy were only handmaids. This Kab-
bala alone, he maintained, offers the means of com-
ing into spiritual communion with the Godhead, and
of obtaining prophetic insight. This means was far
from new, but the firm conviction of its effectiveness
and his application of it are peculiar to Abulafia.
To decompose the words of Holy Writ, especially
the all-hallowed name of God, to use the letters as
independent notions (Notaricon), or to transpose
the component parts of a word in all possible per-
mutations, so as to form words from them (Tsiruf),
or finally to employ the letters as numbers (Gema-
tria), these are the means of securing communion
with the spirit-world. But this alone is not sufficient.
He who desires to render himself worthy of a
prophetic revelation, must adopt an ascetic mode of
living, must remove himself from the turmoil of the
world, shut himself up in a quiet chamber, deliver
his soul from earthly cares, clothe himself in white
garments, wrap himself up with Talith and Phylac-
teries, and devoutly prepare his soul, as if for an
interview with the Deity. Besides, he must pro-
nounce the letters of God's name at intervals, with
modulations of the voice, or write them down in a
certain order, at the same time making energetic

6 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH, I,

movements, writhing and bending forward till the
mind becomes dazed, and the heart filled with a
glow. Then the body will be surprised by sleep,
and a sensation will arise, as if the soul were released
from the body. In this condition, if it become last-
ing through practice, the divine grace is poured into
the human soul, uniting with it in a kiss, and the
prophetic revelation follows quite naturally. This
means of working himself up into a state of ecstasy
Abulafia certainly practiced, exciting his heated
fancy to delirium He considered his Kabbala to
be prophetic inspiration, by means of which he alone
could penetrate into the secrets of the Torah. For
the plain sense of the words and the simple practice
of the religious precepts were merely for the un-
initiated, like milk for children. Experts, on the
other hand, find the higher wisdom in the numerical
value of the letters and in the manifold changes of
the words.

In this way he laid down his Kabbala, in anti-
thesis to the superficial or baser Kabbala, which
occupies itself with the Sefiroth, and, as he gibingly
said, erects a sort of Decem-unity instead of the
Christian Trinity. He lectured on his Kabbala
in Barcelona, Burgos, and Medina-Celi. So low
was the general intelligence, that this half-insane
enthusiast found old and young to listen to
him. Two of his disciples, Joseph Jikatilla, and
Samuel, alleged to be a prophet, both of Medina-
Celi, proclaimed themselves to be prophets and
workers of miracles. Abulafia appears, nevertheless,
to have aroused opposition in Spain, or at least not
to have found any real sympathy ; he left his native
country a second time, betaking himself once more
to Italy, where he reckoned upon stronger support.
In Urbino for the first time he produced prophetic
writings, and alleged that God had spoken with him.
At last he conceived the mad idea of converting the
pope to Judaism (Sabbath-eve, 1281). The attempt

CH, 1. ABULAFIA IN ROME. 7

cost him dear. He was arrested two days later in
Rome, languished twenty-eight days in prison, and
escaped the stake only through the circumstance
that God, as he expressed it, had caused a double
mouth (or tongue ?) to grow in him. Possibly he
told the pope that he, too, taught the doctrine of the
Trinity. After this he was allowed to walk about
Rome in freedom. Thence Abulafia proceeded to
the island of Sicily, and in Messina he met with a
favorable reception, gaining six adherents. Here
he finally proclaimed that he was not only a prophet
but the Messiah, and set forth his claims in writing
(November, 1284). God, he said, had revealed to
him His secrets, and had announced to him the end
of the exile and the beginning of the Messianic
redemption. The gracious event was to take place
in the year 1 290. Mysticism has always been the
ground on which Messianic fancies have thriven.

Through strictly moral deportment, ascetic life
and revelations veiled in obscure formulae, perhaps
also through his winning personality and boldness,
Abraham Abulafia found many in Sicily who believed
in him, and began to make preparations for return-
ing to the Holy Land. But the intelligent part of
the Sicilian congregation hesitated to join him with-
out investigation. They addressed themselves to
Solomon ben Adret, to obtain information from him
respecting Abraham Abulafia. The rabbi of Bar-
celona, who was acquainted with Abulafia's earlier
career, sent an earnest letter to the community of
Palermo, in which he severely condemned the self-
constituted Messiah as illiterate and dangerous.
Naturally, Abulafia did not allow this attack to
remain unanswered, but proceeded to defend him-
self from the denunciation. In a letter he justified
his prophetic Kabbala, and hurled back Ben Adret's
invectives in language so undignified that many
thought the letter not genuine.

But his abusive retort was of no avail, for other

8 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. I.

congregations and rabbis, who may have feared
that a persecution might be the consequence of
his fantastic doctrines, also expressed themselves
against Abulafia. He was harassed so much in
Sicily that he had to leave the island, and settle in
the tiny isle of Comino, near Malta (about 1288).
Here he continued to publish mystical writings,
and to assert that he would bring deliverance to
Israel. Persecution had embittered him. He lev-
eled charges against his brethren in faith, who in
their stubbornness would not listen to him : "Whilst
the Christians believe in my words, the Jews eschew
them, and absolutely refuse to know anything of the
calculation of God's name, but prefer the calculation
of their money." Of those who exclusively occu-
pied themselves with the Talmud, Abulafia said that
they were seized by an incurable disease, and that
they were far inferior to those skilled in the higher
Kabbala. Abraham Abulafia, besides twenty-six
on other subjects, composed at least twenty-two
so-called prophetic works, which, although the pro-
duct of a diseased brain, were used by the later
Kabbalists. What at last became of the prophetic
and Messianic enthusiast and adventurer is not
known.

His extravagant conduct did not fail to produce
evil consequences, even in his own time, and was as
infectious as an epidemic. About the same time
there arose in Spain two enthusiasts, of whom one
was probably Abraham Abulafia's disciple. One of
them made his appearance in the small town Ayllon
(in the district of Segovia), the other in the large
congregation of Avila, Both proclaimed themselves
to be prophets, and announced in mystic language
the advent of the Messianic kingdom. Both found
followers. The adherents of the prophet of Avila
related, that in his youth he had been ignorant, and
could neither read nor write ; that an angel, who
appeared to him in his sleeping, and sometimes also

CH. I. THE PROPHETS OF AVLLON AND AVILA. 9

in his waking moments, suddenly endowed him
through higher inspiration, with the power of writing
a comprehensive work, full of mystical ideas, and a
diffuse commentary (without which at that time no
fairly respectable book could be conceived). When
the people of Avila and remote congregations heard
of this they wondered greatly. The story excited
extraordinary interest, and the representatives of
the congregation of Avila consulted Solomon ben
Adret, the last commanding authority of that time,
as to whether they should accept this new prophecy.

Himself a partial follower of the secret science,
subscribing only to the Biblical and the Talmudical
miracles, the rabbi of Barcelona replied that he
would have considered the affair of the prophet of
Avila as arrant fraud, if trustworthy people had not
attested its truth. Still he could not possibly recog-
nize him as a prophet, for he lacked the principal
conditions which the Talmud lays down as essential
to prophecy : outside of Palestine, prophecy is alto-
gether impossible ; the age is not suitable for pro-
phetic revelation, and the prophetic spirit can not rest
upon a perfectly ignorant person. It was incredible
that a man should go to bed an idiot and get up a
prophet. The story required the most painstaking
and impartial investigation.

In spite of the warning of the most honored rabbi
of the time, the prophet of Avila pursued his course,
and fixed the last day of the fourth month (1295)
as the beginning of the Messianic redemption. The
easily influenced and ignorant multitude made
preparations for its coming, fasted, and spent money
lavishly in alms, that they might be found accept-
able in the Messianic kingdom, and be permitted to
partake of its bliss. On the appointed day, the de-
luded people, dressed as on the Day of Atonement,
hastened to the synagogues, and waited there to
hear the trumpet-blasts announcing the Messianic
advent. But the expected Messiah did not show

10 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. I.

himself, nor was there any sign of him. Instead,
they are said to have noticed on their garments
small crosses, for which they were totally unpre-
pared, and which pardy sobered and pardy terrified
them. It is possible that some of the incredulous in
the congregation had fastened the crosses secretly
on their garments, either to practice a joke upon
their credulous brethren, or to point out to what
end Messianic charlatanry was destined to lead
them, and thus cure them of their delusion. Some
of the impostor's followers are said to have gone
over to Chrisdanity in consequence of this incident ;
others, to have been plunged into melancholy, be-
cause they could not explain the presence of the
crosses. What became of the prophets, or beguiled
deceivers, of Ayllon and Avila is not related. Like
Abraham Abulafia they were lost sight of, and have
importance only as the excrescences of a diseased
state. It is possible that another disciple of Abulafia,
Joseph Jikatilla, who also was looked upon as a
performer of miracles, and had his dwelling not far
from Ayllon, played a part in the mad or deceitfiil
pranks of the prophets of Ayllon and Avila. Joseph
ben Abraham Jikatilla (born in Medina-Celi, died in
Penjafiel, after 1305), heard, at the age of twenty
years, an exposition of the bewildering secret doc-
trine of Abulafia, and whilst the latter still was in
Spain, he composed a Kabbalistic book of his own,
in which he exhibits the same eccentricities as his
master. He, too, occupied himself with the mysti-
cism of letters and numbers, and with the transpo-
sition of letters. Joseph Jikatilla's writings are in real-
ity only an echo of Abraham Abulafia's fancies; the
same delusion is apparent in both. But far more
influential and more pernicious than these three
Kabbalists, Allatif, Abulafia, and Jikatilla, was Moses
de Leon, whose ascendancy was felt both by his
contemporaries and posterity. Although a contem-
porary and fellow-specialist unmasked his perform-

CH. I.

MOSES DE LEON. II

ances, Moses de Leon succeeded in introducing into
Jewish literature and thought a book which gave the
Kabbala a firm foundation and wide extension, in
brief, raised it to the zenith of its power. The ques-
tion about Moses ben Shem Tob de Leon (born in
Leon about 1250, died in Arevalo, 1305) is only
whether he was a selfish or a pious impostor. His
intention was certainly to deceive and lead astray,
and in this respect he appears much baser than
Abulafia, who at all events was sincere and naive in
his delusion. A sciolist, who had mastered neither
the Talmud nor any other subject thoroughly, Moses
possessed the skill to use deftly the little that he
knew, to write easily and fluently, to discover a
connection between the most remote things and
verses of Scripture piled up in the chamber of his
memory, and to couple them with playful wit. Even
the Kabbala was not present to him as a system ; he
knew merely its forms and technical terms, and
employed them in a skillful manner.

Of careless prodigality, Moses de Leon expended
everything that he had without reflecting what would
remain for the morrow ; he made use of the Kabbala
which had come into fashion to procure for himself
a rich source of revenue. He led a wandering life,
lived a long time in Guadalaxara, then in Viverro, in
Valladolid, and finally in Avila. At first he publish-
ed his intellectual productions under his own name
(about 1285). His writings, however, were not suf-
ficiently noticed, and brought him but little fame and
money. Moses de Leon then hit upon a much more
effective means for opening hearts and purses. He
commenced the composition of books under feigned
but honored names. If he put the doctrines of the
Kabbala, worn threadbare, to be sure, into the mouth
of an older, highly venerated authority, some impos-
ing name from the dazzling past, — taking care, of
course, to make the coloring and the method of
presentation archaic — would not such a composition

12 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. I,

be eagerly swallowed ? Would he not be richly
rewarded if he hinted that he was in possession of
so costly a treasure ? Moses de Leon knew well
the credulity of those who devoted themselves with
more or less earnestness to the study of the Kab-
bala ; how they eagerly sought for every word which
they were led to think originated from ancient times.
For, since the secret science had been promulgated,
and had striven for recognition, doctrines which
sounded Kabbalistic had been fathered upon old and
illustrious names, and thus had found acceptance.
But Moses de Leon did his work much more cleverly
than most forgers. He found the most likely author
for the secret doctrine, against whom there could be
little or no objection, in the person of the Tanaite
Simon bar Yochai, who is said to have spent thirteen
years in a cave, solitary and buried in profound reflec-
tion, and whom ancient mysticism represented as re-
ceiving revelations. Simon bar Yochai was assuredly
the right authority for the Kabbala. But he must not
be permitted to write or speak Hebrew, for in this
language the Kabbalists would recognize the echo
of their own voices. He must express himself in
Chaldee, in a half obscure language, peculiarly fit
for secrets, and sounding as if from another- world.
And thus there came into the world a book, the
book Zohar (brilliancy), which for many centuries
was held by Jews as a heavenly revelation, and was
and partly is even now regarded by Christians as an
old tradition. But seldom has so notorious a forgery
so thoroughly succeeded. Moses de Leon well
knew how to produce the proper effect on credulous
readers. He made Simon bar Yochai appear in
splendor, surrounded by a halo, in the book Zohar,
and impart his revelation to a circle of select pupils
(sometimes twelve, sometimes six), "scholars who
shine with heaven's light." "When they assembled
to compose the Zohar, permission was granted to
the prophet Elijah, to all the members of the celestial

CH. I. SIMON BAR JOCHAI. 13

conclave, all the angels, spirits, and higher souls to
act in sympathy with them, and the ten spiritual
substances (Sefiroth) were charged with the duty of
revealing to them deeply hidden secrets, reserved
for the time of the Messiah." Or in another version :
Simon bar Yochai summoned his followers to a great
council, and heard the flapping of the wings of the
celestial host, who also had assembled to listen to
the disclosure of mysteries till then unknown even
to the angels. The Zohar glorifies its author exces-
sively. It calls him the holy light, who stands higher
than the greatest prophet, Moses, "the faithful
shepherd." " I swear by the holy heavens and the
holy earth," the Zohar makes Simon bar Yochai
exclaim, " that I behold now what no other mortal
since Moses ascended Sinai for the second time has
beheld, aye, even more than he. Moses knew not
that his countenance shone ; I. however, know that
my countenance shines." On account of God's love
for the writer of the Zohar, his generation merited
the revelation of truths till then hidden. As lono- as
he who illumines everything lives, the sources of the
world are opened and all secrets are disclosed.
" Woe to the generation forsaken by Simon bar
Yochai." He is almot deified in the Zohar. His dis-
ciples once broke out into ecstatic praise that he had
mounted the degrees to heavenly wisdom, which
none of his predecessors had done; and of him it is
written in Scripture, "All men are to appear before
the lord," z. <?., before Simon bar Yochai. This extrav-
aofant grlorification and self-deification, sufficient to
mark a forgery, are not without design. They were
to meet the objection, how the Kabbala, so long
unknown, and kept secret by the prudent Kabba-
lists — for they had hesitated to impart any of it in
writing — how this mysterious wisdom could all at
once come to light, and be revealed to every one's
knowledge. The Zohar frequently uses the fol-
lowinof excuse: As the time in which Simon bar Yochai

14 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. I.

lived was especially meritorious and rich in grace,
and as the Messianic period was near, the veil which
had concealed the book so long could now be
drawn aside.

There are certainly very few compositions which
have exercised so much influence as the Zohar, or
which can be compared with it in regard to the re-
markable nature of its contents and form. It is
a book without beginning or end, of which it is
unknown whether it once formed part of a whole,
whether the extant portions originally belonged to
it, or were added later, or whether at an earlier
period more of it was in existence. It consists of
three principal parts, with appendices and explana-
tory comments. The absence of form in this farrago
made it possible for certain portions to be imitated.
It is so easy and tempting to imitate its wild though
sonorous style. Thus the forgery was counter-
forged. It is not positively certain whether the Zohar
is to be regarded as a running commentary to the
Pentateuch, as a theosophic manual, or as a collec-
tion of Kabbalistic sermons. And its contents are
just as curious, confused and chaotic as its form and
external dress. The Zohar with its appendages in
no wise develops a Kabbalistic system like Azriel's,
neither does it unfold an idea like Abraham Abula-
fia, but plays with the Kabbalistic forms as with coun-
ters— with the En-Sof, with the number of the Sefi-
roth, with points and strokes, with vowels, accents,
with the names of God and the transposition of their
letters, as well as with the Biblical verses and Agadic
sayings — casts them about in eternal repetition, and
in this manner produces sheer absurdities. Occa-
sionally it gives a faint suggestion of an idea, but in
a trice it evaporates in feverish fancies, or dissolves
in childish silliness.

The underlying principle of the Zohar (if we may
speak of principles in reference to this book) is that
the historical narratives and religious statutes of the

CH. I. THE ZOHAR. 1$

Bible were never intended to be understood in a
plain, simple sense, but that they contain something
higher, mysterious, supernatural. " Is it conceiv-
able," the Zohar makes one of Simon bar Yochai's
circle exclaim, "that God had no hoHer matters to
communicate than these common things about Esau
and Hagar, Laban and Jacob, Balaam's ass, Balak's
jealousy of Israel, and Zimri's lewdness ? Does a
collection of such tales, taken in their ordinary sense,
deserve the name of Torah ? And can it be said of
such a revelation that it utters the pure truth ?" " If
that is all the Torah contains," remarks Simon bar
Yochai (orMoses de Leon), "we can produce in our
time a book as good as this, aye, perhaps better.
No, no ! the higher, mystical sense of the Torah is
its true sense. The Biblical narratives resemble a
beautiful dress, which enraptures fools so that they
do not look beneath it. This robe, however, covers
a body, i. e., the precepts of the Law, and this again a
soul, the higher soul. Woe to the guilty, who assert
that the Torah contains only simple stories, and
therefore look only upon the dress. Blessed are the
righteous, who seek the real sense of the Law. The
jar is not the wine, so stories do not make up the
Torah." Thus the secret lore of Moses de Leon
naturally has free play to pervert everything and
anything, and give it the seal of sublimit}', and in
this manner to promulgate a false doctrine, not only
absurd, sometimes even blasphemous and immoral.
All laws of the Torah are to be considered as parts
and constituents of a higher world ; they resolve
themselves into the mysteries of the masculine and
feminine principle (positive and negative). Only
when both parts meet, does the higher unity arise.
Consequently, whenever any one transgresses one
of the laws, he obscures the brilliant image of the
higher world.

It is almost impossible to give an idea of the
abuse which the Zohar, or Moses de Leon, practices

l6 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. I.

in the interpretation of Holy Writ, and how he
twists the sense of the words. In the verse, "Raise
your eyes to heaven, and see who has created this,"
a profound mystery is supposed to reside, which the
prophet Elijah learned in the celestial school, and
revealed to Simon bar Yochai; namely, that God had
been unknown and obscure before the creation of
the world, in a manner existing, and still not exist-
ing. He was the "Who" (the unknown subject).
The creation is part of His self-revelation. It was
by the creation that He first proclaimed Himself as
God.

The Zohar is particularly concerned with that side
of man which is an eternal riddle to man, — the soul,
its origin and end. Like the older Kabbalists, the
Zohar assumed the pre-existence of the souls in
the brilliant world of the Sefiroth. They are there
wrapped in a spiritual robe, and entranced in the
contemplation of God's light. When the souls are
about to enter this world they assume an earthly
garment, the body ; but as soon as they are to leave
the earth, the angel of death divests them of this
earthly garment. If a soul lives piously and morally
here below, it receives its former heavenly robe, and
can once more enjoy the blissful ecstasy of God's
presence ; if not, particularly if it departs from the
world impenitent, it wanders about naked and
ashamed till purified in hell. The nakedness of the
soul, paradise and hell — depicted in fantastic, ba-
roque, and terrible images — are themes for which
the Zohar often and gladly makes digressions.
What happens to the soul during sleep, and the
shadows of life — sin, impurity in small and great
things — are likewise favorite subjects for discussion
In the Zohar, to which it frequently reverts, present-
ing them in the greatest variety of guises and repe-
titions. One of the older Kabbalists arrived at
the notion that to the higher world, the world of
light, of holiness, and of angels, there was a sharp

CH. I. DOCTRINE OF ABSOLUTE EVIL. 1/

antithesis — a world of darkness, of unholiness, of
Satan, in short the principle of evil, which was like-
wise developed into ten degrees (Sefiroth) at the
creation of the world. In spite of their opposite
characters, the two worlds are of one origin, forming
opposite poles, and are in the same relation to each
other as the right side is to the left. Accordingly,
evil is called in the language of the Kabbalists the
left or other side. The Kabbalists gave another
representation of the Satanic empire. On the bor-
der of the world of light, the world of darkness is
situated, and encompasses it as the shell surrounds
the kernel of the fruit. Hence the Zohar meta-
phorically designates evil, or sin, with its ten de-
grees, as shell (Kelifa). This side is the favorite
topic of the Zohar; for here it can apply its peculiar
exposition of the Scriptures. The ten Sefiroth of
the left side, the Satanic kingdom, are enumerated
and denominated by names which savor of barbar-
ism. The names sound like those of the princes of
the demons in the book of Enoch, and are perhaps
borrowed thence : Samael or Samiel, Azael, Angiel,
Sariel, Kartiel. The Zohar identifies all blasphemers
and wicked people with the evil principle of the
"shells" (Kelifoth) — the first serpent, Cain, Esau,
Pharaoh, and Esau's empire, Rome, and the civil
and spiritual power of Christendom in the Middle
Ages, which rested on violence and injustice. Israel
and righteous people, on the other hand, belong to
the world of light, the right Sefiroth. "He who
goes after the left side (sin), and defiles his actions,
draws upon himself the impure spirits ; they attach
themselves to him, nor do they ever leave him."
The laws of the Torah have no other object than to
effect and cherish the union of the souls with the
world of light. Every transgression of them brings
the souls to the world of darkness, evil spirits, and
impurity. The Zohar coarsely represents the con-
nection of the souls with light or with darkness by

1 8 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. I.

the image of wedded union, as, in general, it as-
serts the mascuhne and feminine principle in the
higher world, even in reference to the Deity. As
long as Israel lives in exile, the divine unity is defi-
cient and disrupted ; God will become one only in
those days when the Mistress (Matronita) will
espouse the King.

Moses de Leon would have left n. gap, if he had
not spoken of the Messianic period — the keynote of
the Kabbala — and determined its date. In fact, the
sudden revelation of the doctrine so long held
secret rests on the assumption that the time of the
Messiah is near. But here the forger betrays him^
self Instead of indicating a period or a year for
the appearance of the Messiah approximating the
age of Simon bar Yochai (in the second century),
the Zohar, with its casuistical playing with letters
and numbers, demonstrated that it would happen in
the beginning of the fourteenth century, therefore
in the lifetime of the author. ** When the sixtieth
or the sixty-sixth year will pass the threshold of the
sixth thousand, the Messiah will show himself ;" but
some time will pass before all nations will be con-
quered, and Israel be gathered together. The Mes-
siah will first be summoned to appear on earth from
his secret abode in Paradise, "the bird's nest,"
where he has been dwelling in bliss since the begin-
ning of the world. A bloody conflict will then break
out in the world. Edom and Ishmael (Christian and
Mahometan nations) will vehemendy contend with
one another, and eventually both will be annihilated
by a mightier conquering people. Signs and mira-
cles will presage the time, and the resurrection of
the dead and a general diffusion of the Kabbalistic
knowledge of God will constitute the end of the
world. Moses de Leon intended to arouse in the
minds of his contemporaries the hope that they
would behold the time of the Messiah with their own
eyes. He was perhaps as much a victim to Messi-

CH. I. TALMUD AND KABBALA. I9

anic enthusiasm as Abraham Abulafia. Despite the
Zohar's endeavor to exalt rabbinical Judaism and its
law, and by a mystical explanation to give every
custom, however trivial, a special signification and
higher import, it carps at and criticises the Talmud
and its method, though in an obscure, equivocal
manner, and with the most innocent air in the
world. It represents the study of the Kabbala as
of much higher importance than the study of the
Talmud, and even of the Bible. The Kabbala has
the power of soaring, and is able to follow the flight
of the Deity in His inscrutable guidance of things ;
the Talmud, on the other hand, and its adherents,
have clipped wings, and cannot elevate themselves
to higher knowledge. The Zohar compares the
Mishna (Talmud) with a lowly slave ; the Kabbala,
on the other hand, with a powerful mistress. The
former has to do with inferior matters, with " clean
and unclean," with "permitted and prohibited," with
" what is and is not fit to be used." As long as this
woman rules with her "now pure, at another time
impure blood," the union of the Father with the
Matrona (God with Israel) cannot take place. In
the Messianic period, on the other hand, when the
higher knowledge will awake, and gain the ascend-
ency, the Kabbala will once more assert its domin-
ion over the slave (Talmud), as in the time of the
lawgiver Moses. The Zohar lastly compares the
study of the Talmud with a rugged, unproductive
rock which, when struck, gives out scanty drops of
water, causing only disputes and discussions. The
Kabbala, on the other hand, is like a spring flowing
abundantly, to which only a word needs to be spoken
to cause it to pour out its refreshing and vivifying
contents.

When the Zohar or Midrash of Simon bar Yochal
was published, it aroused the greatest wonder among
the Kabbalists. They seized upon it with avidity.
Moses de Leon received vast multitudes of orders

20 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. I.

to send copies. The question, whence all at once
had come so comprehensive a work of an old teacher
of the Mishna, not a trace of which had been known
till then, was thus answered: Nachmani had
exhumed it in Palestine, had sent it to his son in
Catalonia, by a whirlwind it had been carried to
Aragon or Alicante (Valencia), where it had fallen
into the hands of Moses de Leon, who alone pos-
sessed the original document. The repute of the
newly discovered Kabbalistic treasure soon spread
through the whole of Spain. The school of Abulafia
at once gave the Zohar the tribute of its acknowl-
edgment, and considered it indisputably genuine.
Moses de Leon's wildest hopes were more than
realized. There were, of course, Kabbalists who
doubted that the Zohar had originated with Simon
bar Jochai and his school, but none the less did they
pay homage to the book as to a pure source for
Kabbalistic theories. When the Kabbalist Isaac of
Accho,whohad escaped the massacre that had ensued
upon the capture of that city, arrived in Spain, and
saw the Zohar, he was staggered, and became
desirous of coming to the root of the question,
whether this alleged ancient Palestinian work was
really genuine, as he had been born and educated
in the Holy Land, had associated with Nachmani's
pupils, and yet had never heard a syllable about it.
When he met Moses de Leon in Valladolid, the
latter took a solemn oath that he had in his house
at Avila an old copy of the book from the hand of
Simon bar Yochai, and pledged himself to submit it
to Isaac of Accho for examination. But Moses de
Leon became ill on his journey home, and died
in Arevalo (1305). The veil around the origin
of the Zohar was wrapped still closer. Two
influential men of Avila, David Rafan and Joseph
de Avila, had indeed discovered the simple truth
from Moses de Leon's wife and daughter. Moses
de Leon had never possessed the original copy.

CH. I. RECEPTION OF THE ZOHAR. 21

but had evolved it out of his own inner conscious-
ness, and had written it with his own hand. His
wife frankly related that she had often asked her
husband why he published the productions of his
own intellect under a strange name, and that he
had answered that the Zohar would not, under his
own name, have brought him any money, but
assigned to Simon bar Yochai it had been a lucrative
source of income.

Thus wife and daughter, without being aware of
the full gravity of their assuredly unassailable
testimony, unmasked Moses de Leon as a forger.
Nevertheless, the Zohar met with the unqualified
applause of the Kabbalists, because it supplied a
want which would have had to be provided for in
one way or another. The Kabbalistic doctrine,
which had already gained so much weight, had
hitherto been without firm basis ; it had no other
authority than the very doubtful one of Isaac the
Blind. Now the dignified figure of a teacher of the
Mishna in communion with departed spirits and
celestial hosts and angels confirmed the truths which
were not only doubted by many at the time, but
absolutely ridiculed. Should they, then, not cling
to it and defend it? What Moses de Leon put into
the mouth of Simon bar Yochai, " Many will range
themselves round the book Zohar, when it becomes
known, and nourish their minds with it at the end
of days," actually happened soon after his death.
If the Zohar did not bring the Kabbalists anything
essentially new, it exhibited to them what they
did know in so peculiar a form and language,
that they were wonderstruck. Everything in it is
contrived for effect, for illusion, and for fascina-
tion. The long discussions which Simon bar Yochai
holds with his circle or with the " faithful shepherd,"
have dramatic power, especially the scene in which,
in premonition of his speedy dissolution, he imparts
once more what he so often had proclaimed. Full

22 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. I.

of effect, and, upon minds easily accessible to faith,
of transporting and overwhelming influence, are the
oft-recurring exclamations in the Zohar : Woe, woe
to those who believe, or do not believe, or fail to
respect, this and that. Sometimes short prayers are
interspersed, which, being elevated and imaginative,
are peculiarly fitted to fill the soul with mysterious
awe. Even the characteristic terms introduced
instead of the usual Kabbalistic forms are calculated
to arouse interest by their double sense. The author
designated God and the higher spiritual substances
(Sefiroth) collectively or in their single parts and
effects, as father, mother, the prototype of man, bride,
matron, the white head, the large and the small face,
the mirror, the higher heaven, the higher earth, lily,
apple-orchard, and so on. The pious were gained
over to the side of the Zohar, as it attributes to every
religious custom and every practice a higher import,
a higher sanctity, and a mysterious effect.

So a new text-book of religion was by stealth
introduced into Judaism. It placed the Kabbala,
which a century before had been unknown, on the
same level as the Bible and the Talmud, and to a
certain extent on a still higher level. The Zohar
undoubtedly produced good, in so far as it opposed
enthusiasm to the legal dry-as-dust manner of the
study of the Talmud, stimulated the imagination and
the feelings, and cultivated a disposition that re-
strained the reasoning faculty. But the ills which it
has brought on Judaism outweigh the good by far.
The Zohar confirmed and propagated a gloomy
superstition, and strengthened in people's minds
the belief in the kingdom of Satan, in evil spirits
and ghosts.

Through its constant use of coarse expressions,
often verging on the sensual, in contradistinction
to the chaste, pure spirit pervading Jewish litera-
ture, the Zohar sowed the seeds of unclean desires,
and later on produced a sect that laid aside all regard

CH. I. EFFECTS OF THE ZOHAR. 2$

for decency. Finally, the Zohar blunted the sense
for the simple and the true, and created a visionary
world, in which the souls of those who zealously
occupied themselves with it were lulled into a sort
of half-sleep, and lost the faculty of distinguishing
between right and wrong. Its quibbling interpreta-
tions of Holy Writ, adopted by the Kabbalists and
others infected with this mannerism, perv^erted the
verses and words of the Holy Book, and made the
Bible the wrestling-ground of the most curious, in-
sane notions. The Zohar even contains utterances
which seem favorable to the Christian dogma of the
Trinity of the Godhead. The mystics dismembered
the fair form of Holy Writ, indulged in mad sport,
and stupefied all sense for truth, but they were
scarcely more guilty in this respect than the so-called
philosophers of the time. Maimuni's attempt to
bring Judaism and its religious literature into conso-
nance with reason, to give certain too realistic verses
of the Bible a philosophical, or at least a tolerable
sense, and place religious precepts on the basis of
an intelligible, acceptable purpose, encouraged half-
learned men to explain everything and anything in
the same way. Hence the allegorizing of the Scrip-
tures, the Agada, and the rites, was carried to an
incredible extreme. These pseudo-philosophers di-
vested the stories of the creation and of the patri-
archs of their historical character, and interpreted
them as philosophical commonplaces, in which they
sported with Aristotelian and Maimunist terms, as
the Zohar with Kabbalistic terms. Abraham and
Sarah, for example, denote to the allegorists matter
and form, Pharaoh denotes vicious desires, Egypt the
body, the land of Goshen the heart, Moses the divine
spirit, and the Urim and Thummim, which the High
Priest wore on his breast in the Temple, were the
astrolabe of the astronomers, with which they calcu-
lated time, longitude and latitude. If there had
been at that time any Jewish thinkers of the first

24 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. 1.

rank, they would have made serious efforts to put a
stop to this childish proceeding, whether Kabbalistic
or pseudo-philosophical. But the age of Ben Adret
happened to be poor in great intellects. Even the
two chief representatives of the philosophy of that
time, Shem-Tob Falaquera and Isaac Albalag, were
not above mediocrity, and were themselves tainted
with the current errors.

There were, however, certain men of bolder spirit,
who from philosophical premises drew conclusions
endangering the stability of Judaism. Like their
predecessors, the Alexandrine allegorists, many in-
telligent and consistent thinkers were induced at
this time to disregard the ceremonies of Judaism by
assigning erroneous purposes to religious precepts.
As the ceremonies are intended simply to awaken
certain religious, philosophical, or moral feelings,
they argued, it is sufficient to call up these thoughts,
to be penetrated by them, to occupy one's mind
constantly with them, while the observance of relig-
ious customs is superfluous. Several members of
this school denied Moses' prophetic character, ac-
cepting him only as an ordinary lawgiver, such as
other nations had, and thus rejected the divinity of
the Torah. The pseudo-philosophers cast a doubt
upon the very fundamentals of Judaism, and thereby
provoked a reaction injurious to free inquiry.

The chief authority of this allegorical school was
a man of vast erudition, but full of crotchets, who,
without desiring it, occasioned violent conflicts.
This was Levi ben Abraham ben Chayim, of Ville-
franche, not far from Perpignan (born about 1240,
died after 1315). Coming from a respectable family
of scholars, he was deeply read in the Talmud ; but
he was more attracted by Maimuni's philosophy and
Ibn-Ezra's astrology, being a warm adherent of the
belief of the latter in the influence of the stars over
human destiny. Of a volatile rather than a solid
mind, Levi ben Chayim had no perfect conception

CH. I. LEVI OF VILLEFRANCHE. 2$

of Maimuni's aims. To him Judaism resolved itself
into philosophical platitudes, which, preposterous
and childish as they sound to us, were, strange to
say, regarded by the people of early times as pro-
found wisdom. Ben Chayim was the disseminator
of that superficial method satisfied with formulae
instead of thoughts. He composed two chief works,
one in verse, the other in prose, a kind of encyclo-
paedia, in which he applied the theory derived from
Maimuni to all branches of knowledge. In these
books he translated the historical narratives in the
Bible into philosophical generalities, explained the
standing still of the sun on the occasion of Joshua's
victory as a natural occurrence, and in general,
adopted any method of expounding which depends
on word-t\visting. Levi ben Chayim repudiated the
allegorical interpretations of laws; in fact, he de-
nounced the allegorists as heretics, and desired to
preserve the historical character of the biblical
narratives as much as possible. Like his proto-
type, Ibn-Ezra, he tried to keep secret his deepest
convictions, so that not even his friends could fathom
his ideas. This Judaism, disfigured by absurd phil-
osophical interpretations, was not only privately
taught, but preached in the synagogues.

The home of this pseudo-philosophy was the not
insignificant congregation of Perpignan, the capital
of the province of Roussillon, which belonged to the
kingdom of Aragon. Although the Jews had no
enviable lot, and were compelled to live in the most
miserable part of the town, that assigned to lepers,
they nevertheless preserved a taste for science and
free inquiry, and eagerly awaited the new theories
taught by the exponents and followers of Maimuni's
philosophy. Here poor Levi of Villefranche had
found a place of refuge at the house of a rich and
influential man, Don Samuel Sulami or Sen Escalita,
whose piety, learning and liberality were praised
beyond measure by his contemporaries. "From

26 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. L

Perpignan to Marseilles there is not another who
can be compared with Samuel Sulami in knowledge
of the Law, benevolence, piety and humility. He
gives charity in secret, his house is open to every
traveler; and he is indefatigable in getting books
for his collection." He corresponded on learned
topics with Ben Adret, and took interest in the phil-
osophical interpretation of the Bible and the Agada.
Even the rabbi of Perpignan was a friend of free
thought and a determined enemy of mummified
orthodoxy and the unreflecting faith of the literalist.
This was Don Vidal Menachem ben Solomon Meiri
(born Elul, 1249, died about 1306), little celebrated
in his own time, but none the less of great impor-
tance. Though not of commanding influence, he
possessed an attractive personality. He had what
nearly all his contemporaries sorely lacked, mod-
eration and tact. These qualities are revealed
particularly in Meiri's style. Nearly all the Jewish
authors of Spain and Provence wrote their prose
and verse in a redundant, bombastic style, as if the
whole literary thesaurus of the Bible were needed to
express a meager idea. The much-admired model
of this time, the moral poet Yedaya Bedaresi, is so
prolix in saying the most ordinary platitude, that one
has to peruse whole pages of his apology, reflections,
and miscellaneous writings before coming across a
tolerable idea. The style in vogue, a mosaic of
Biblical phrases, favored verbosity. But Don Vidal
Meiri forms a glorious exception to this practice, his
style being terse and clear. In his commentaries to
the tractates of the Talmud which relate to cere-
monial duties, he proceeds throughout in a method-
ical manner, advances from the general to the par-
ticular, arranges his material in lucid order, and
seeks to give the reader information, not to confuse
him. Of a similar character is Meiri's exposition of
Holy Writ. The philosophers and mystics always
endeavored to find some higher meaning in it, the

CH. I. DON ASTRUC DE LUNEL. 2f

simple explanation being too prosaic for them, and
accordingly they put upon the Bible their own ex-
travagant nonsense. Not so Meiri. He certainly
assumed that there are many commands and narra-
tives in the Bible which point to something higher
than the Hteral meaning, but the majority of theni
must, he maintained, be taken quite literally. Meiri
was naturally dissatisfied with the extravagant man-
nerisms of the allegorists, but it did not enter his
mind to reject the good together with the bad, to
interdict learning because of its abuse.

These proceedings were not regarded quite so
calmly by certain bigots, dwelling in the city which
had produced tlie obscurantist Solomon of Mont-
pellier, the proscriber of Maimuni and his composi-
tions, and author of so much dissension and evil.
Although pseudo-philosophical extravaganzas were
not more dangerous than the follies of the Kab-
balists, the watchers of Zion nevertheless overlooked
the latter, and waged energetic warfare with the
former, so that the philosophers obtained more
weight than they would otherwise have had. The
bigots of Montpellier well-nigh kindled the fire of
discord in Jacob. The first instigator of this ill-
timed zeal belonged to that class of men who mark
off the province of faith according to an exact rule,
denounce every movement and opinion which trans-
gress their limit as heresy, and desire to have
them rooted out with anathemas and scourges,
where possible with fire and sword — a class of men
in whom fanatical zeal cannot be separated from a
kind of egoism. To this category belonged Abba-
Mari ben Moses, of Montpellier, or^ as his aristo-
cratic title ran, Don Astruc En-Duran de Liinel.
Of a respectable family, and of great influence in
the capital of Languedoc, Abba-Mari was certainly
not without culture, and he had great veneration
for Maimuni and his compositions ; but he had
irrevocably attached himself to the Jewish creed as

28 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. I.

laid down by Nachmani, and was indignant if any-
one ventured to consider it from the point of view
of another system. He did not object to miraculous
tales ; on the contrary, the more the better. The
conclusions of philosophy and science, which denied
the possibility of these miracles, in no way disturbed
him. In the choice between Moses and Aristotle,
or between the authorities of the Talmud and the
upholders of philosophy, he was not for a moment
doubtful to whom to give the preference. To be
sure, this narrow-minded point of view is justifiable ;
but Abba-Mari wanted to thrust his opinion upon
every one else, and to persecute all who thought
otherwise. Not only did he hold in abomination
the allegorical exegesis publicly preached, but he
reprobated the study of all profane literature as the
cause of this aberration. He regretted that the
scourge could no more be brought into requisition
to silence those who filled their minds with such
learning as endangered religion.

Abba-Mari, however, did not possess sufficient
authority to proceed against Levi of Villefranche
and his school. He addressed himself to the most
influential rabbi of the time, Ben Adret of Barcelona,
and charged that their perversities would accomplish
the dissolution of Judaism, if a restraint were not
put upon them. He importuned Ben Adret to
exercise his great influence. The rabbi naturally
found the circumstance deplorable that " strangers
had forced their way through the gates ofZion."
He exhorted Abba-Mari to organize a party to
oppose this extravagant movement, but positively
refused his support, as he did not like to interfere in
the affairs of congregations abroad. Other bigots,
however, took up the cause, and hurried it to a crisis,
among them Don Bonafoux Vidal, of Barcelona, and
his brother, Don Crescas Vidal, who had moved to
Perpignan, both highly respected and learned, but as
intolerant as Abba-Mari. Don Crescas made a propo-

CH. I. THE PROSCRIPTION OF SCIENCE. 2g

sition, which met with much applause. The study of
science, and the reading of profane Uterature in
general, was to be prohibited to Jewish youths till
their thirtieth year. Only men of mature age, " who
had filled their minds with the Bible and the Talmud,
were to be allowed to warm themselves by the
strange fires of philosophy and the natural sciences."
Although Ben Adret did not feel disposed to take
measures against the study of science, he neverthe-
less considered it his duty to persecute the provoker
of so much animosity. He took umbrage at the
pious Samuel Sulami for granting a heretic shel-
ter in his house, thus giving him an opportunity to
spread his pernicious views. He harassed Samuel
Sulami so unmercifully, and subjected his conscience
to such torment, that the man, not very remarkable
for strength of character, became shaken in his pre-
vious convictions. When a daughter of his died he
believed that it was a punishment for his sinfulness,
and renounced his hospitality to Levi. Many mem-
bers of the congregation of Perpignan bitterly
resented the suspicion of heresy cast upon Levi,
and as they knew Ben Adret to be a man of stain-
less character, they vented their dissatisfaction on
the instigator, Abba-Mari, to whom they imputed
sordid ulterior designs and personal motives.

Abba-Mari and his allies, who felt themselves
helpless without powerful support, labored without
intermission to inflame the zeal of the Barcelona
rabbinate, that it might forbid free inquiry and the
study of science. At the same time they promised
the co-operation of the whole congregation of Mont-
pellier, which, being the chief one in southern
France, would draw other communities after it. Ben
Adret and his college, imagining from Abba-Mari's
exaggerated description that Judaism was in the great-
est danger, were at last determined to take up the
matter, but desired first to sound the congregation
of Montpellier as to its feeling on the subject, and for

3© HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. I.

this purpose sent a letter to be read before the
members in case they felt disposed to join them in
interdicting the study of the natural sciences. But
as soon as the proposed ban against the sciences
became known, decided opposition arose among the
most important men of the congregation.

There was at that time in Montpellier a man, who
by reason of his family, position, wealth and knowl-
edge, was held in high estimation by his people,
and who had imbibed a love for the sciences with his
mother's milk. Jacob ben Machir Tibbon, known
in Christian circles as Don Profiat, or Profatius
(born about 1236, died after 131 2), was descended
on one side from the celebrated Meshullam of
Liinel, the first to promote a revival of learning
in southern France, and on the other side he was
related to the Tibbonides. From his birth he was
taught to look upon Judaism and science as twin
sisters, dwelling together in the utmost harmony.
Like all educated Jews of his time, he was well
grounded in Jewish literature, the Bible, and the
Talmud, practiced medicine as his profession, but
devoted himself with particular zeal to mathematics
and astronomy. His accurate observation of the
inclination of the earth's axis to the orbit was taken
by later master astronomers as the basis of their
investigations. As he had acquired a knowledge of
Arabic, he was able to translate useful scientific
works from that language into Hebrew. His wealth
of knowledge was not employed as a means of
/gratifying his vanity or ambition, but he properly
regarded it as the distinction of man, enabling him
to arrive at self-knowledge. Jacob Tibbon main-
tained that in the happy time of the Jewish people
science had its home in their midst, but exile and
suffering had banished it, and its former exponents
now had to become students in order to learn the
results arrived at by foreign nations. In his scien-
tific labors Jacob ben Machir had a very noble end

CH. 1. ABBA-MARl'S EFFORTS. 31

in view. He aimed at elevating his co-religionists
in the eyes of the Christian world, and silencing the
sneers of their enemies, who tauntingly said that
they were destitute of all knowledge.

This man was now asked to assist in banishing
science from the Jewish world. If Abba-Mari wished
to carry out in Montpellier his scheme of holding
the Jewish youth aloof from the study of the sciences,
he was bound to take Jacob ben Machir into con-
sideration. For he was held in high esteem by his
congregation on account of his many excellent traits
and his meritorious achievements, and had the great-
est influence with the members entided to a vote.
Indeed, he was the first to whom Abba-Mari dis-
closed the project, supported by the Barcelona
rabbinate, against the study of the profane sciences,
and he reckoned upon Jacob's co-operation. With
impressive decisiveness, Profiat not only refused
participation, but pointed out the sad consequences
of so serious a step, and importuned him to omit
the public reading of Ben Adret's letter. Abba-
Mari and his ally, Todros of Beaucaire, nevertheless
persisted in their determination, and summoned the
members of the congregation to an important
conference in the synagogue on a Sabbath
(Elul- August, 1304). It was immediately apparent
that the zealots had deceived themselves, or had
been too confident in their assertion that the Jews
of Montpellier would give unanimous consent to the
interdict to be laid on science. A portion of the
congregation even abstained from taking part in
the deliberations, and Jacob ben Machir raised an
emphatic protest against the proposed enslaving
of the intellect. A violent discussion ensued, and
the meeting dispersed without coming to a resolu-
tion. Soon a party, consisting of advocates of
science, and of friends, adherents and parasites of
the highly esteemed leader, rallied round Jacob
Machir, the most distinguished representative of

32 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. I.

science. The obscurantists and the simple-minded
attached themselves to Abba-Mari, so that the con-
gregation became a prey to division and conflict.
Each party endeavored to gain supporters, both
within and without the community.

It became a point of honor with Abba-Mari to
bring the affair to a conclusion conformable to his
own views, for his defeat had exposed his true
position to Ben Adret and the Barcelona congre-
gation. After the unfavorable issue of the first
deliberation in the synagogue, he hardly ventured
to answer the man whom he had assured of a unani-
mous adoption of his proposal. He, therefore,
worked very energetically in collecting at least
twenty-five signatures of members of the congrega-
tion, to give Ben Adret proof that he did not stand
alone in his extreme views.

It was no less a point of honor with Jacob Tibbon
not to allow the interdiction of science to come into
force. For he and the Tibbonides believed that the
attacks were directed chiefly against their highly-
venerated ancestors, Samuel Ibn-Tibbon and Jacob
Anatoli, because the latter's book of sermons
(Maimed) had been the first to explain away Biblical
tales and religious laws, and at that time was used
in certain quarters for Sabbath devotions. Ben
Adret, at Abba-Mari's instigation, did, indeed, treat
Anatoli, the favorite of the Tibbonides, with scorn.
Of Samuel Ibn-Tibbon, the translator of Maimuni's
works, and propagator of his theories, the austere
bigots had not a good word to say. Judah ben
Moses, his great-grandson, consequently became the
soul of what may be called the Tibbonide party,
which agitated against Abba-Mari's plan. To attract
outsiders, the Tibbonides gave out that the adver-
saries of science once more had in view the denuncia-
tion of Maimuni and his compositions as heretical, and
that Abba-Mari wanted to take up the position of
Solomon of Montpellier. This was a very happy

CH. I. THE TIBBONIDE PARTY. 33

party manoeuvre ; it won over even those who had
shown indifference to the burning topic of the day,
for they thought themselves in duty bound to take
up arms on behalf of Maimuni's honor. The
Tibbonide party, thus strengthened, sent a trenchant
and pointed letter to Ben Adret and the Barcelonians,
to ask them to reconsider their decision. It is true,
they were not able to offer any convincing reasons
for the admission of science into the Jewish curricu-
lum ; but the arguments which they set forth in its
favor were considered satisfactory in a superficial
age. They appealed to King Solomon's wisdom,
" from the cedar of Lebanon to the hyssop on the
wall," which, they said, referred to nothing but
natural science. From the Talmud, too, reasons were
adduced for the study of science. They would not
admit the validity of the reply that it was not
intended to interdict research generally, only to
prohibit immature young men from its pursuit. That,
they said, was an evasion of the main point at issue.
For a man not familiar with science before his
thirtieth year was permanently incapable of engaging
in its study, and in advanced age could never
retrieve the loss. The Tibbonides, moreover, pro-
tested that they were branded as heretics, because
along with the Torah they paid homage to the
profane sciences. They did not recognize the
superiority of any one in piety and orthodoxy.
Lastly, the Tibbonides exhorted Ben Adret and his
college to bury the hatchet of denunciation and
discord. The spirited and defiant tone assumed by
Jacob ben Machir and his adherents greatly pro-
voked the Barcelonians. The tension increased.
Bitter and caustic letters flew hither and thither.
Both sides labored to gain new adherents in other
congregations, and to draw over the waverers. The
communities of Argentiere, Aix, Avignon and Liinel,
through their representatives, declared in favor of
Abba-Mari and his followers. In Perpignan, the

34 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. I.

chief seat of the much-assailed enlightenment, a
relative of Abba-Mari agitated in his favor. The
latter was particularly desirous of securing the
assistance of a man who, by reason of his noble birth
and highly honorable position, had powerful influence
in Perpignan and elsewhere. This was Kalonymos
ben Todros of Narbonne, thought to be a descend-
ant of the house of King David. Kalonymos did
not at first appear inclined to take part in the
proscription of science ; but Abba-Mari from the
one side and Ben Adret from the other assailed him
with such pertinacity that at length he promised his
consent and co-operation. As the Tibbonide party
had also gained new adherents, Ben Adret himself
shrank from pushing the controversy to extremes,
and decided not to issue the decree of excommuni-
cation till at least twenty congregations had declared
themselves unequivocally in favor of it.

Whilst in southern France and Spain the balance
was inclining now to one side, now to the other, in
the dispute about the admission of scientific studies
into Jewish circles, the German communities were
passing through a series of the most deplorable
events, which drove to Spain a man who spoke the
deciding word in favor-of the excommunication and
proscription of free inquiry. He was of high
morality, rare disinterestedness, of pure aspiration
and sincere piety, and possessed profound Talmud-
ical learning, but was filled with the fanatical hate
of his countrymen against profane knowledge. The
emigration of Asheri or Asher from Germany to
Spain inaugurates an unhappy period for the Spanish
and Provencal Jews in their efforts for the progress
of culture.

Asher ben Yechiel (born about 1250, died 1327)
of the Rhine district, sprang from ancestors who
centered their whole world in the Talmud. A dis-
ciple of the celebrated Meir of Rothenburg, Asher
acquired the acute Tossafist method, composed

CH, I. ASHER BEN YECHIEL. 35

Tossafist works, but had a finer sense of system
and order than this school. After the death of his
master, whose corpse the unprincipled emperor,
Adolph of Nassau, refused to give up for burial with-
out remuneration, Asheri was reckoned among the
most influential rabbinical authorities of Germany.
A paroxysm of persecutions of the Jews broke out
in his time, far worse than those during the crusades ;
it robbed thousands of innocent men of their lives,
or sentenced them to a lot worse than death. A
civil war raged at that time in Germany between
Adolph of Nassau and Albrecht of Austria, who
were contending for the empty glitter of the Ger-
man crown. This strife promised impunity for auda-
cious attacks on the Jews, who were proscribed by
the church and society, and an opportunity was
easily found. A report was spread that the Jews
of the little town of Rottingen (in Franconia) had
desecrated a sacramental wafer and pounded it in a
mortar, and blood was said to have flowed from it.
A nobleman of the place, named Rindfleisch, took
up the cause of the host alleged to have been dese-
crated, declared that he had received a mission from
heaven to root out the accursed race of Jews, and
gathered a credulous, besotted mob around him to
assist in his bloody intentions. He and his troops
first of all consigned the Jews of Rottingen to the
flames (7th lyar — 20th April, 1298). From this
place the rabble of slaughterers, under Rindfleisch's
leadership, traveled from town to town, always
swelling their numbers with others of their descrip-
tion, and destroyed all the Jews who fell into their
hands, even those converted to Christianity. Rind-
fleisch, impelled by audacity and spurious enthusi-
asm, fairly forced the inhabitants of various towns
to ill-treat their Jewish fellow-citizens brutally. The
great community of Wiirzburg was completely
blotted out (i2thAb — 24th July). In Nuremberg
the Jews had at first fled for refuge into the fortress.

36 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. 1.

but being attacked there, too, they took to arms,
and though assisted by humane Christians, were
overpowered at last, and all butchered (2 2d Ab —
I St August). Asheri's relative and fellow-student,
Mordecai ben Hillel, who had compiled a very im-
portant rabbinical work, fell at about the same time,
together with his wife and five children. Many
parents, lest their children from fear of death should
renounce their faith, threw them with their own
hands into the flames, and plunged in after them.
In Bavaria the congregations of Ratisbon and Augs-
burg were the only ones to escape the slaughter.
In the first city, where they had the right of citizen-
ship from time immemorial, the .mayor protected
them with great zeal. In Augsburg, too, the mayor
and council defended them against the destroyers,
Rindfleisch and his horde.

This bloody persecution spread from Franconia
and Bavaria to Austria, swept away more than a
hundred and forty congregations and more than
100.000 Jews, and lasted nearly half a year. The
Jews of Germany all trembled, and were prepared
to meet destruction. This would certainly have
come if the civil war in Germany had not been
brought to an end by the death of Emperor Adolph,
and the election of Albrecht. The second Habs-
burger energetically restored the country to a state
of peace, brought to book the perpetrators of the
outrages on the Jews, and imposed fines on the
towns which had participated in them, on the ground
that he had suffered losses in his purse through the
immolation of his " servi camerae " and their goods.
The majority of the Jews baptized through fear
returned to Judaism, apparently with the connivance
of the emperor and the representatives of the church.
The after-throes of this massacre were likewise bitter
enough. The wives of those who had perished could
not authenticate the death of their husbands through
Jewish witnesses, as no men remained alive com-

CH. I. ASHERI LEAVES GERMANY. 37

patent to give testimony. They could appeal only
to the statement of baptized Jews, whose evidence
was considered by many rabbis to be invalid accord-
ing to the Talmudical marriage laws. Asheri,
however, was sensible enough to unbend from this
strictness, and allowed the widows to marry again
on the evidence of baptized Jews returned to
Judaism.

Asheri did not feel very secure in Germany after
this bloody massacre, or perhaps he was threatened
with danger on the part of Emperor Albrecht. It
was said that the emperor demanded of him the sum
of money which the Jews were to pay as ransom
for the imprisoned Meir of Rothenburg, for which
Asheri had become security. He accordingly left
Germany (summer of 1303), and traveled from one
country to another with his wife, his eight sons and
grandsons, and on account of his reputation, he
was everywhere treated with the utmost respect,
especially in Montpellier, even before the breaking
out of the controversy. He finally settled in
Toledo, the largest city of Spain (January, 1305).
With joy the illustrious German rabbi was installed
by the Toledo congregation in the vacant rabbi-
nate. With Asheri the dismal spirit of over-piety,
so hostile to knowledge, entered into the Spanish
capital.

iVsheri did not conceal his antipathy to profane
culture. He could not conceive how pious Jews,
in southern France and in Spain, could occupy
themselves with subjects outside of the Talmud.
With the utmost scorn he discountenanced the very
aspiration of the Spanish and Provengal Jews on
which they prided themselves. He thanked his
Creator that He had protected him from the baneful
influence of science. He did not give the southern
Frenchmen and the Spanish Jews credit for thor-
oughness even in knowledge of the Talmud, and
maintained that the German and northern French

38 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. I.

Jews alone had inherited wisdom from the time of
the destruction of the Temple. A man like this,
incapable of appreciating the sciences, and harbor-
ing enmity to everything not in the Talmud, was
bound to exercise an influence prejudicial to knowl-
edge. Next to him Solomon ben Adret himself
appeared more or less of a freethinker. Abba-Mari
forthwith availed himself of the man, from whom he
expected effectual support for his party. He re-
quested him to express his views on the pending
question. Asheri, of course, gave Abba-Mari his
unqualified approval, but was of opinion that he did
not go far enough, for the evil would not be eradi-
cated, if the pursuit of the sciences were allowed at
a ripe age. The poison of heresy had spread too far,
every one was infected by it, and the pious were
open to the reproach that they shut their eyes to it.
His proposal was that a synod should be convoked,
and a resolution be taken that study was to be de-
voted solely to the Talmud, while the sciences were
to be pursued only when it was neither day nor
night — that is, not at all. This exclusive fidelity to
the Talmud, which rejected all compromise, advo-
cated by an energetic man of pure character, made
an overpowering impression on the unsettled minds
of Spanish Jews. Ben Adret himself, who had
hitherto always hesitated to lead the movement, all
at once declared that he was prepared to pronounce
the ban, if Abba-Mari and the prince, Kalonymos,
would prepare it. An officious zealot, Samson ben
Meir, disciple of Ben Adret, took upon himself to
collect assenting signatures from twenty congrega-
tions. Toledo was especially reckoned upon, having
been swayed by Asheri's mind, and next, Castile
generally, which as a rule followed the guidance of
the head community.

How artificial and opposed to the sentiment of the
majority this zeal was, became apparent especially in
the congregation of Montpellier, styled the tower of

CH. I. THE BAN AGAINST SCIENCE. 39

Zion by Abba-Mari's party. In this congregation
the zealots did not venture to collect signatures for
the sentence of excommunication. As if in defiance,
one of the Tibbonides announced that he would give
a reading from Anatoli's book of sermons on a cer-
tain Sabbath, and immediately drew a numerous
audience. Abba-Mari, who had repeatedly boasted
to Ben Adret of his mighty influence, and had per-
suaded him that the whole congregation, except a
few deluded people, were on his side, now had to
admit that Montpellier was not to be reckoned upon
in this affair. In the consciousness that their party
was in a minority in southern France, the two lead-
ers, Abba-Mari and Kalonymos, of Narbonne, made
the ecclesiastical ban unexpectedly mild, both as to
wording and contents. First, the reading of works
on natural science and of metaphysical books only
was to be prohibited, all other branches of learning
being expressly allowed. Secondly, the writings of
Jewish authors, even those dealing with natural
science or metaphysics, were to be excluded from
the inhibition. Abba-Mari, with a view to meeting
his adversaries half-way, had made the proposal to
fix the period when the study of every department
of learning was to be allowed, not at the thirtieth,
but at the twenty-fifth year of the student's age. Ben
Adret, however, who could not tolerate half-meas-
ures nor brook retreat, had now become more
severe. He who formerly had to be driven and
urged on, now became the propeller. Asheri's
influence is not to be mistaken. On the Sabbath of
Lamentation in commemoration of the destruction
of Jerusalem, he and his colleagues ordered the
anathema against the study of the sciences to be
read amid solemn ceremonies, the scroll of the Law
in the arms of the reader (4th Ab — 26th July, 1305).
Whoever read any scientific book before the twenty-
fifth year of his age was liable to the penalty of
excommunication. The ban was to remain in force

40 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. I.

for half a century. The philosophical expounders
of Holy Writ were doomed in the hereafter, and
in this world subjected to excommunication, and
their writings condemned to be burnt. As no
exception was made of scientific works composed in
Hebrew, according to the formulation of the ban,
not only Anatoli's book of sermons was exposed to
proscription, but also Maimuni's philosophical writ-
ings. Ben Adret and his college allowed only the
study of medicine, on the ground that its practice is
permitted in the Talmud. This was the first heresy-
tribunal in Jewish history, and Ben Adret was at its
head. The Dominicans had found docile emulators
among the Jews.

According to the communal system in the Middle
Ages, every congregation was independent, and the
resolutions of one congregation had no force with
another. The ban accordingly had validity only
in Barcelona, unless some other congregation con-
firmed it. Ben Adret, however, labored to have
it adopted by other congregations. The sentence,
signed by Ben Adret, his two sons, and more than
thirty of the most influential members of the Bar-
celona congregation, was dispatched to the congre-
gations of Spain, Languedoc, northern France, and
Germany. But the ban was not so readily adopted
as the authorities of Barcelona had flattered them-
selves it would be. Jacob ben Machir and his party
had already received notice that a blow was being
meditated against them, and accordingly made prep-
arations for a countermove. They resolved from
the first to frustrate the effect of the ecclesiastical
interdict of *the study of science. They drew up a
resolution in Montpellier which contained three im-
portant points. A sentence of excommunication
was to fall upon those who, out of religious scruples,
ventured to debar or withdraw their sons, whatever
their youth, from the study of any science whatso-
ever, regardless of the language in which it was

CH. 1. THE TIBBONIDE BAN. 4I

treated; secondly, upon those who presumed to
utter an irreverent or abusive word against the great
Maimuni, and, lastly, also upon those who presumed
to denounce a religious author on account of his
philosophical system. The last point was intro-
duced for the sake of Anatoli's memory, which his
opponents had vilified. Thus there was ban against
ban. Jacob Tibbon and his friends caused their
resolution in favor of science and its advocates to
be announced in the synagogue, and the great
majority of the congregation of Montpellier took
his side. Party zeal, however, impelled the Tibbon-
ides to take an ill-advised step, which threatened to
produce the same evil consequences as had ensued
at the time of the first conflict in Montpellier with
the obscurantists. As Jacob ben Machir Profatius
and others of his party had influence with the
governor of the city, they wished to secure his as-
sistance in the event of their opponents' endeavor-
ing violently to carry the Barcelona interdict into
effect. The governor, however, explained to them
that he was interested only in one point: that the
Jewish youth should not be prevented from reading
other than Talmudical works. He should strongly
deprecate any attempt to discourage the study of
extra-Talmudical literature, because, as he frankly
expressed himself, he would not consent to their
being deprived through fear of excommunication of
the means to potential conversion to Christianity.
To the other points he was indifferent.

Abba-Mari and his party were now in despair
on account of the activity of their opponents. As
the resolution in favor of the unrestricted study of
science had been adopted by the majority of the
community, according to rabbinical law it was
binding on the minority as well, and therefore on
their leader, and they could not legally stand by
the interdict of Barcelona. Thus the zealots, the
provokers of the conflict, had their hands tied, and

42 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH, I.

were caught in their own net. They did what they
could ; they protested against the resolution of the
Tibbonides, and advertised their protest far and wide.
But they could not conceal that they had suffered a
defeat, and were obliged to consult certain author-
ities as to whether the resolutions of the Tibbonides
were binding on them. Ben Adret was thus placed
in an embarrassing position. The party of Jacob
ben Machir believed, or wished to have it believed,
that the prohibition of the rabbis of Barcelona in
reference to the study of scientific books, was meant
to apply to Maimuni's works, too. They obtained
the credit of having taken up the cudgels in behalf
of Maimuni's honor, and of contending for the glory
of Judaism ; whilst their opponents, Ben Adret
included, through their narrow-mindedness and
obstinacy, were exposing their reh'gion to the scorn
of educated Christians. The vindicators of science
seemed to be continually gaining in public opinion.
There now appeared on their side a young poet,
whose eloquent defense, written in a highly imagi-
native style, made a great impression. It gives a
faithful picture of the feeling and excitement which
agitated the souls of the champions of science, and,
therefore, awakens interest even in the present day.
In a modest manner, but with manly spirit, the poet
tells Ben Adret truths which he never had the
opportunity of hearing in his own circle. This
young poet, more famous through his letter than
through his verses, was Yedaya En-Bonet ben
Abraham, better known under the name of Bedaresi
(of Beziers) and under the poetical pseudonym of
Penini (born about 1280, died about 1340). Yedaya
Penini, son of the bombastic pott, Abraham Bedaresi,
had more talent as a poet than his father. He
possessed a lively imagination and overflowing
wealth of language, and lacked only restraining
tact, and a dignified, universally acceptable, uplifting
aim for poetry. This deficiency gave his poems the

CH. I, YEDAYA PENINI (bEDARESI). 43

appearance of empty grandiloquence and artificiality.
He had inherited the defect of his father, inability to
control the superabundance of words by the law
of beauty. He was too ornate, and he moralized,
instead of elevating and impressing. In his seven-
teenth yearYedaya Bedaresi wrote a book of morals
(Pardes), and in his earliest years, whilst his father
was still alive, he composed a prayer of about one
hundred verses, in which all the words begin with
the same letter (Bekashoth ha-Memin), and which
his father, and perhaps his contemporaries, admired,
but which is nevertheless very insipid. An admirer
of Maimuni and Ibn Ezra, Bedaresi considered
science and philosophy of equal importance with
Judaism, or, like most thoughtful men of that time,
he believed that the one contained the other.

Bedaresi conceived that his deepest convictions
had been assailed by Ben Adret's anathema, and
that it had in reality been directed against Maimuni's
name, and, therefore, he could not restrain himself
from addressing a sharp rebuke to the excommuni-
cators. As he lived in Montpellier and was certainly
attached to Jacob ben Machir's party, it is quite
probable that he wrote the defense of Maimuni and
of science, sent to Ben Adret, at their instigation
(December, 1305, or January, 1306). This missive,
like most of those written in this controversy, was
intended not only for the individual addressed, but
for the Jewish reading public in general. After
Bedaresi had expressed his respect for the upright,
learned rabbi of Barcelona, he remarked that he
and his friends were not indignant about the ban, for
science was invulnerable, and could not be injured
by the fulmination of excommunicators. They were
only hurt that Ben Adret should brand the Jewish
congregations of southern France as heretics and
renegades, and expose them to contempt in his mes-
sage to many congregations and countries. Ben
Adret, he continued, had allowed himself to be taken

44 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. I.

in tow by Abba-Mari, and had made a mountain of a
mole-hill. From time immemorial, from Saadiah's
age, science was not only tolerated in Judaism, but
cherished and fostered, because its importance in
religious knowledge was indisputable. Moreover,
the denouncers of heresy were not consistent ; they
excluded the science of medicine from the ban,
although this science, like every other, had a side
which was in conflict with religion. How could they
dare impugn the writings of Maimuni, whose dazzling
personality outshone all his great predecessors? At
the end, Yedaya Bedaresi observed that violent
faction fights had broken out in Montpellier. Did
they wish to continue to foment party strife, that the
absence of unity among the Jews might occasion the
Christians unholy satisfaction? "We cannot give
up science ; it is as the breath to our nostrils. Even
if Joshua would appear and forbid it, we could not
obey him, for we have a warranty, who outweighs
you all, Maimuni, who has recommended it, and
impressed it upon us. We are ready to set our
goods, our children, and our very lives at stake for
it." In conclusion, he invited Ben Adret to advise
his friends in Montpellier to relinquish heresy hunt-
ing, and desist from stirring the fire of discord.

At the same time, furious disputes broke out in
the church, between King Philip IV of France and
Pope Boniface VIII, but here the subject of the dis-
pute was not ideal good, not science and free
research, but purely dominion, power and mammon.
There was war to the knife between the chiefs of the
two parties. The king accused the pope of heresy,
simony, covetousness, perjury, and impurity. And
the pope released the subjects from their oath to
their hereditary king, and gave away his empire.
The Jewish hostilities had neither the same wide
range, nor yet the same bottomless wickedness,

Ben Adret and several who had signed the decree
of excommunication, Moses Iskafat Meles and Solo-

CH. L EFFECT OF BEDARESl'S LETTER. 45

mon Gracian, were so unpleasantly affected by
Bedaresi's letter, and feared its effect so much, that
they hastened to offer the explanation that they had
in no wise animadverted upon Maimuni's writings,
whom they revered in the highest degree. They
even exhorted Abba-Mari's party to make peace
with their opponents, to vindicate their dignity
before their common enemy. But the controversy
was now at a stage when it could no longer be
settled peaceably. The mutual bitterness was too
violent, and had become too personal. Each party
claimed to be in the right from its own standpoint;
neither could consent to a compromise nor make
concessions. Each adhered to its own principles;
the one sought to enforce the freedom of science,
the other protested that Jewish youth, before ma-
turity, must be guarded from the deleterious poison
of knowledge. Whilst the adherents of Abba-Mari
were seeking legal decisions to prove the ban of
their opponents unauthorized, a sad event happened,
which, like a whirlwind, tore friends asunder, and
dashed enemies against each other.

CHAPTER II.

THE FIRST EXPULSION OF THE JEWS FROM FRANCE, AND
ITS CONSEQUENCES.

Philip le Bel — The Jews of France plundered and banished — Estori
Parchi ; Aaron Cohen ; Laments of Bedaresi — Eleazar of
Chinon, the Martyr — Return of the Jews to France ; their Pre-
carious Position — Progress of the Controversy regarding the
Study of Philosophy — Abba-Mari and Asheri — Death of Ben
Adret — Rabbinical Revival in Spain — Isaac Israeli II — Samuel
and the Queen Maria Molina — Don Juan Emanuel and Judah
Ibn-Wakar — The Jews of Rome — Robert of Naples and the
Jews — Peril of the Jews in Rome — Kalonymos ben Kalonymos,
his Satires — Immanuel and Dante — The Poet Judah Siciliano —
Leone Romano and King Robert — Shemarya Ikriti — Position
of Karaism — Aaron the Elder and the Prayer-Book of the
Karaites.

1306 — 1328 C.E.

Philip IV, le Bel, at that time the king of France,
one of those monarchs who made arrogant and
unprincipled despotism familiar to Europe, suddenly
issued a secret order (21st January, 1306), imposing
the strictest silence, to the higher and lower officials
throughout his kingdom, to put all the Jews of
France under arrest on one and the same day, with-
out warning of any kind. Before the Jews had fully
recovered from fasting on the Day of Lamentation
in remembrance of the destruction of Jerusalem, and
as they were about to begin their daily business,
the constables and jailors appeared, laid hands upon
them, and dragged young and old, women and
children, to prison (loth Ab — 22d July). There
they were told that they had to quit the country
within the space of a month, leaving behind both
their goods and the debts owing to them. Whoever
was found in France after that time was liable to
the penalty of death. What could have induced
this prudent rather than clerical prince so suddenly

CH. II. EXPULSION OF THE JEWS FROM FRANCE. 47

to change his sentiments towards the Jews ? It was
certainly not clerical intolerance, nor was it yielding
to the will of the people. For the French, even in
the Middle Ages, were not bigoted, and it was not
their wish to remove the Jews to free themselves
from usurers. Avarice was the first motive of this
cruel order. For Philip's feud with the pope, and
his war with the rebellious Flemish, had so ex-
hausted his treasury, and had rendered necessary
so unsparing an extortion of money that, as the
ballads of the time scoffingly said, '* The fowl in the
pot was not secure from the king's grasp." The
king wanted to replenish his coffers from the
property of the Jews. Another circumstance is said
to have moved him to this hard-hearted resolution.
The German emperor Albrecht, who at that time
was not on good terms with Philip, had demanded
the surrender of the kingdom of Aries ; further,
that he should deliver up Jesus* supposed crown
of thorns, and lastly, that he should acknowledge the
authority of the successor of Vespasian, Titus, and
Charlemagne over the French Jews, i.e., yield to
him a portion of the hard-earned property of the
Jews. Philip is said to have consulted his lawyers,
to decide to whom the authority over the Jews ap-
pertained, and as they adjudged it to the German
emperor, the idea occurred to him to fleece the Jews
of their property, and to send his " servi camerae "
naked and bare to Albrecht. Before the world the
king covered his act of violence, inhuman as it was
unstatesmanlike, with the excuse that incredible out-
rages of the Jews had rendered their expulsion im-
perative. That he had aimed at the possessions of
the Jews was shown by his relentless plundering.
The officials left the unhappy Jews nothing beyond
the clothes they wore, and to everyone not more
than seemed necessary for a day's living (12 gros
Tournois). Wagonfuls of the property of the Jews,
gold, silver and precious stones were transported to

48 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. 11.

the king ; and less valuable objects were sold at a
ridiculously low price. At the appointed time
(September, 1306), they were banished, about
100,000 souls, from the country which their an-
cestors had inhabited, in part at the time of the
Roman republic, long before Christianity had spread
into France. Some who could not separate them-
selves from their property and the country which
they loved went over to Christianity. The whole
congregation of Toulouse is said to have been
guilty of this cowardice, which scarcely seems cred-
ible. The celebrated seats, at which so much intel-
lect had been displayed, the colleges of Rashi, Tam,
and the Tossafists : Troyes, Paris, Sens, Chinon,
Orleans ; the places in which a higher culture had
had its temple : Beziers, Liinel, Montpellier, whence
the combatants forandagainstscience were plunged
into common misery, — all these schools and syna-
gogues were sold to the highest bidder or given
away. A German or an English king might have de-
stroyed the holy places of the Jews — King Philip le
Bel made a present of a synagogue to his — coach-
man. An approximate idea can be formed of the
sums which the expulsion and robbery of the Jews
brought in to the king, if it is kept in mind that the
sale of the Jewish goods in the house of the prefect
of Orleans alone brought in 337,000 francs.

How many of the refugees, reduced to beggary,
fell victims to the hardships of their journey cannot
be known. The bitter plaints of those oppressed by
the heavy affliction sound mournful and touching
even at this distance of time. Estori Parchi, then
a youth of many accomplishments and noble heart,
a relative of Jacob ben Machir, whose parents had
emigrated from Spain to southern France, thus
describes his sorrow: "From the house of study
have they torn me ; naked was I forced as a young
man to leave my ancestral home, and wander from
land to land, from people to people, whose tongues

CH. II. SUFFERINGS OF THE EMIGRANTS. 49

were strange to me." Parchi at length found a
resting-place in Palestine. Another fugitive, the
learned Aaron Cohen of Narbonne, poured forth
this elegy: "Unhappy me, I saw the misery of the
banishment of the sons of Jacob, like a herd of
cattle driven asunder. From a position of honor I
was thrown into a land of darkness." The sudden
turn of fortune which changed rich men into beggars,
and exposed the delicate and those used to the
comforts of life to bitter privation, filled the bom-
bastic poet Yedaya Bedaresi with gloomy reflections.
In vivid colors he painted the trouble and pain of
life, and man's helplessness and nothingness. His
"Trial of the World" (Bechinath Olam), suggested
by personal observation and bitter experience, con-
sequently makes a depressing and mournful im-
pression, and reflects faithfully the melancholy
feelings of the ill-starred race.

The expulsion of the Jews from France by the
stony-hearted Philip le Bel did not come off without
martyred victims. Those who transgressed the
time of grace, yet rejected solicitations to abjure
their faith, were punished by death. A martyr of
this time, Eleazar ben Joseph of Chinon, is specially
famous. He was a learned, noble-minded man, a
correspondent of Ben Adret, master of many dis-
tinguished disciples, among them the youthful Parchi,
one of the last of the Tossafist school. He was
condemned to the stake, although no crime could
be laid at his door except that he was a Jew. With
him died two brothers. The expatriated Jews dis-
persed in all parts of the world ; many traveled to
Palestine. But the majority remained as near as
possible to the French borders, in Provence proper,
at that time pardy under German suzerainty, in the
province of Roussillon, which belonged to the Ara-
gonian king of Majorca, and in that island. Their
intention was to wait for a favorable change of
fortune, which would permit them to return to the

$0 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. II.

land of their birth. They had not speculated falsely.
King Philip himself was induced by avarice to
unbend from his severity.

The vehement struggle in Montpellier about per-
mitting Jewish youth to engage in the study of the
sciences, remarkable to relate, continued after the
banishment from France (September, 1306), and the
mutual hatred of the two parties was in no way
abated by suffering. A portion of the Tibbonide
party had settled in Perpignan, which belonged to
the king of Majorca, who was no favorer of the
Jews. At his command copies of the Talmud were
once more delivered up to the auto-da-fe ; but as he
hoped to gain some advantage by the settlement
of intelligent, industrious Jews, he suffered them.
Abba-Mari and another portion of the congregation
of Montpellier at first took up their abode in the
town of Aries, but as he could not stay there, he, too,
emigrated to Perpignan (January, 1307). But the
opposing party, which had influence with the king
or governor, endeavored to hinder his settlement in
that place. Abba-Mari's partisans, by making rep-
resentations to the king, succeeded in obtaining
permission for him to live in Perpignan. Here
the controversy raged anew. Solomon ben Adret
and Asheri, particularly the latter, whose decision of
character had acquired for him the chief authority,
again interfered. Asheri declared that he had given
his signature in a half-hearted manner to the decree
prohibiting young men from occupying themselves
with profane studies ; for, according to his opinion,
it was too great a concession to permit it at the
age of twenty-five. Science ought to be prohibited
altogether, for it inevitably lures on to unbelief.
The defenders of science were to be condemned
without mercy, since the afflictions of exile had made
no impression on them, suffering had not broken
their spirit of defiance, and had not chastened their
hardness of heart.

CH. II. ASHERI'S INFLUENCE. $1

This view, that qualities prejudicial to Judaism
were inherent in science, gained supremacy after
Ben Adret's death (1310), when Asheri was ac-
knowledged in Spain and in the neighboring coun-
tries as the only authority in religious matters.
Asheri, his sons and companions who had migrated
with him from Germany, transplanted from the
Rhine to vivacious Toledo that spirit of hon^est, but
tormenting, narrow-minded and intolerant piety;
that gloomy disposition which regards even harmless
joy as a sin ; that feeling of abjectness, which char-
acterized the German Jews of the Middle Ages, and
they inoculated the Spanish Jews with it. The free
activity of the mind was checked. Asheri concen-
trated ail his mental power on the Talmud and its
exposition. His chief work was a compilation of
the Talmud for practical use (1307 — 13 14). On all
occasions he endeavored to enforce a difficult,
painful, and severe discipline. If any one desired
to express his thoughts on any department of
knowledge whatsoever, he had to array his subject
in the garments of contrite orthodoxy. When the
erudite Isaac ben Joseph Israeli II, of Toledo, pub-
lished an astronomical work (13 10), he had to
adjust it to Talmudical standards, and introduce it
by a confession of faith, for only in this manner
could he find grace in Asheri's eyes.

At about this time, during Asheri's rabbinate in
Toledo, prominent Jews once more obtained influence
at court. King Ferdinand IV (1295 — 1312) had a
Jewish treasurer named Samuel, whose counsels he
followed in political matters too. The dowager
queen, Maria de Molina, who had held the reins of
government during her son's minority, with feminine
passionateness hated the favorite Samuel, who is
said to have nourished the enmity between mother
and son. One day, when Samuel was in Badajos,
and was preparing to accompany the king to Seville,
he was attacked by an assassin, and so severely

52 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. II.

wounded that he was left for dead. It is not known
who instigated the deed. The king had such care
and attention devoted to Samuel, that he recovered
from his wounds.

Don Ferdinand's death brought in its train a time
of unquiet, of civil war, and social anarchy for
Spain. As the Infante Alfonso was still a child in
the cradle, several persons, the clever Maria de
Molina, the young queen-mother Constantia, and
the uncles of the young king contended for the
guardianship and the regency, and provoked faction
feuds in the country (131 2 — 1326). Donna Maria
de Molina, who conducted the government, did not
extend her hate against her son's Jewish counselor
to the community to which he belonged. As in the
lifetime of her husband she had had a Jewish
favorite, Todros Abulafia, so during her regency
she had a Jewish treasurer, Don Moses. When the
council of Zamora (13 13) renewed canonical laws
hostile to the Jews, the cortes of Burgos demanded
the exclusion of Jews from all honors and offices, and
the pope issued a bull that Christians were to be
absolved from their debts to Jews on account of
usury, the wise regent submitted only in part. She
ordered that Jews should not bear high-sounding
Christian names, nor enter into close intercourse
with Christians ; but she most emphatically declared
herself against the unjust abolition of debts, and
published a law that no debtor could make himself
free of his obligation to professors of the Jewish
faith by appealing to a papal bull.

The regency of Don Juan Emanuel inaugurated
an improvement in the condition of the Castilian
Jews (13 19 — 1325). The regent was a friend of
learning, himself an author and poet, and was con-
sequently held in esteem by educated Jews, A Jew
of Cordova, Jehuda ben Isaac Ibn-Wakar, found
high favor in his eyes, and probably acted as his
treasurer. At his solicitation Juan Emanuel once

CH. 11. RE-ADMISSION OF JEWS INTO FRANCE. 53

more invested the rabbinate with penal jurisdiction,
which the Jews had partly lost during the regency
of Maria de Molina, and had practiced only pri-
vately.

Jehuda Ibn-Wakar, however, was an admirer of
Asheri, and, like the latter, of excessive piety,
desiring to have every religious transgression pun-
ished with the utmost severity. When a Cordovan
uttered a blasphemy in Arabic, Ibn-Wakar asked
Asheri what was to be done with him, and the latter
replied that his tongue should be cut out. A beauti-
ful Jewess having had intercourse with a Christian,
Don Juan Manuel resigned her to the punishment
of the Jewish court, and Jehuda Ibn-Wakar con-
demned her to have her face disfigured by the
removal of her nose, and Asheri confirmed the
sentence.

The southern Spanish and Castilian congregations
still lived in peace, and in the undisturbed posses-
sion of their goods ; on the other hand, the northern
Spanish, and still more the southern French congre-
gations were exposed to bloody attacks by fanatical
hordes, which the church had unfettered, and then
could not restrain. Jews once more lived in France.
Louis X had recalled them nine years after their
banishment (13 15). This king, himself seized by a
desire to abrogate the ordinances of his father and
indict his counselors, had been solicited by the people
and the nobility, who could not do without the Jews,
to re-admit them into France. He accordingly
entered into negotiations with them in reference to
their return. But the Jews did not accept his pro-
posal without deliberation, for they well knew the
inconstancy of the French kings, and the fanatical
hatred of the clergy against them. They hesitated
at first, and then submitted their conditions. These
were, that they be allowed to reside in the same
places as before ; that they should not be indictable
for former transgressions; that their synagogues,

54 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. II.

churchyards, and books be restored to them, or sites
be granted for new places of worship. They were
to have the right of collecting the money owing to
them, of which two-thirds should belong to the king.
Their former privileges, as far as they were still in
force, were to be again extended to them, or new
ones conceded. King Louis accepted all these
conditions, and granted them also the right of emi-
gration under certain restrictions. In order to con-
ciliate the clergy, he, on his side, imposed the condi-
tions that they wear a badge of a certain size and
color, and hold neither public nor private disputa-
tions on religion. Two high officials (prud'hommes,
auditeurs des Juifs) were appointed to superintend
the re-settlement of the Jews. Their residence in
France was fixed for twelve years ; if the king should
resolve to expel them again after the expiration of
that period, he put himself under the obligation to
give them a year's warning that they might have
time to make their preparations. The king pub-
lished this decree, declaring that his father had been
ill-advised to banish the Jews. As the voice of the
people solicited their return, as the church desired
a tolerant policy, and as the sainted Louis had set
him the precedent of first banishing and then re-
admitting them, he had, after due consultation with
the prelates, the barons, and his high council, per-
mitted the return of the Jews. The French Jews
streamed back in masses to their former dwelling-
places, regarding this event as a miraculous redemp-
tion. When Louis X died a year after, and his
brother Philip V, the Long, ascended the throne, he
extended their privileges, and protected them espe-
cially from the enmity of the clergy ; so that they
and their books could be seized only by royal offi-
cers. But they were not free from vexation by the
degenerate clergy, who insisted that the Jews of
Montpellier, who thought they could venture on
certain liberties, should re-affix the Jew-badge on

CH. 11. MASSACRES BY THE "SHEPHERDS. 55

their dress. At one time they accused the Jews of
Liinel with having pubHcly outraged the image of
Christ on the Purim festival ; at another time they
ordered that two wagonfuls of copies of the Talmud
be publicly burned in Toulouse. Such occurrences,
however, were mere child's play compared with what
they had to endure from the bigoted multitude.

Philip V had the idea, repugnant to the spirit of
the time, of undertaking a crusade to wrest the
Holy Land, after so many vain attempts, from the
hands of the infidels. This enterprise appeared so
foolish to the discerning, that even Pope John XXII,
the second of the popes that resided in Avignon in-
stead of at Rome, dissuaded him from it. Never-
theless, the fancy, as soon as it was known, inflamed
the minds of the rude populace. A young man of
excited imagination gave out that a dove had settled
at one time on his head, at another, on his shoulder,
and when he had sought to seize it, it had trans-
formed itself into a beautiful woman, who urged
him to gather a troop of crusaders, assuring him of
victory. His utterances found credulous hearers,
and the lower people, children, and swine-herds
attached themselves to him. A wicked priest and
an unfrocked Benedictine monk used the oppor-
tunity to force their way to the front, and thus arose
in northern France (1320) a numerous horde of
forty thousand shepherds (Pastoureaux, Pastorelli,
Roim), who moved in procession from town to town
carrying banners, and announced their intention of
journeying across the sea to deliver the so-called
holy sepulcher. Their attention was immediately
turned to the Jews, possibly because they wanted to
raise money for the purchase of weapons by robbing
the Jews of their possessions, or a Jew, as is related,
had made sport of their childish heroism. The
massacre of the Jews by the shepherds (Gesereth-
ha-Roim) is another bloody page in Jewish history.

Nearly all the crusading enterprises had com-

$6 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. II.

menced with the murder of Jews; so this time.
The shepherd-gangs which had collected near the
town of Agen (on the Garonne) cut down all the
Jews they met on their march from this place to
Toulouse, if they refused to be baptized. About
five hundred Jews had found refuge in the fortress
of Verdun (on the Garonne), the commandant hav-
ing placed a strong tower at their disposal. The
shepherds took it by storm, and a desperate battle
took place. As the Jews had no hopes of rescue,
they had recourse in their despair to self-destruction.
The unhappy people selected the oldest and most
respected man of their number to slay them one
after the other. The old man picked out a muscular
young assistant in this ghastly business, and both
went to work to rid their fellow-sufferers of their
miserable lives. When at last the young man, after
slaying his aged partner, was left alone, the desire
of life came strong upon him ; he declared to the
besieging shepherds that he was ready to go over
to them, and asked to be baptized. The latter were
just or cruel enough to refuse the request, and tore
the renegade to pieces. The Jewish children found
in the tower were baptized by force. The governor
of Toulouse zealously espoused the cause of the
Jews, and summoned the knights to take the ap-
proaching shepherds prisoners. Thus many of them
were brought in chains to the capital, and thrown
into prison. But the mob, which sympathized with
them, banded together, and set them at liberty, the
result being that the greater part of the congrega-
tion of Toulouse was destroyed. A few seceded to
Christianity. On the capture of the shepherds near
Toulouse, the Jews in the neighborhood, who had
been granted shelter in Castel-Narbonnais, thought
that they were now free of all danger, and left their
place of refuge. They were surprised by the rabble,
and annihilated. Thus perished almost all the Jews
in the neighborhood of Bordeaux, Gascogne, Tou-

CH. II. CALUMNIES OF THE " LEPERS. $f

louse, Albi, and other towns of southern France.
Altogether, more than 120 Jewish congregations in
France and northern Spain were blotted out through
the rising of the Shepherds, and the survivors were
so impoverished by spoliation that they were de-
pendent upon the succor of their brethren in other
parts, which flowed to them in abundance even from
Germany.

The following year, too, was very unfortunate for
the Jews, the trouble again beginning in France.
This persecution was occasioned by lepers, from
whom it has its name (Gesereth Mezoraim). The
unhappy people afflicted by leprosy in the Middle
Ages were banished from society, declared dead as
citizens, shut up in unhealthy quarters, and there
tended after a fashion. Once, when certain lepers
in the province of Guienne had been badly provided
with food, they conceived and carried into effect the
plan of poisoning the wells and rivers, through
which many people perished (132 1). When the
matter was traced back to the lepers, and they were
examined under torture, one of them invented, or
somebody suggested to him, the lying accusation
that the Jews had inspired them with the plan of
poisoning the waters. The charge was generally
believed; even King Philip V had no doubt about
it. Sometimes it was asserted that the Jews wanted
to take revenge for the sufferings experienced at
the hands of the Shepherds the year before ; again,
that they had been persuaded by the Mahometan
king of Granada to cause the Christians to be
poisoned ; or it was suggested that they had done
it in league with the Mahometan ruler of Palestine,
to frustrate the intended crusade of King Philip.
In several places Jews were arrested on this accusa-
tion, unmercifully tortured, and some of them burnt
(Tammuz — July, 1321). In Chinon a deep pit was
dug, fire kindled in it, and eight Jewish men and
women thrown in, who sang whilst dying. The

$8 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. IL

mothers had previously cast in their children, to
save them from forcible baptism. Altogether five
thousand are said to have suffered death by fire in
that year. Many were banished from France, and
robbed by the heartless populace. Philip was con-
vinced later on of the untruth of the accusation;
but as the Jews had been accused, he seemed to
think that the opportunity might be used to swell
the treasury. Accordingly, the congregations were
condemned by Parliament to a penalty of one
hundred and fifty thousand pounds (Parisian) ; they
were to apportion the contributions among them-
selves. Deputies (procureurs) from northern France
(de la langue frangaise) and from Languedoc, met
and enacted that the southern French Jews, deci-
mated and impoverished by the previous year's
massacre, were to contribute forty-seven thousand
pounds, and the remainder was to be borne by the
northern French Jews. The wealthiest Jews were
put under arrest as security for the payment of the
fine, and their goods and debts distrained.

In the same year a great danger threatened the
oldest of the European communities. Misfortune
came upon it the more unexpectedly as till then it
had tasted but little of the cup of misery which the
Jews of England, France and Spain so often had to
drink to the dregs. It was because Rome did not
belong to the pope, but to the families of Orsini
and Colonna, to the Ghibellines and Guelphs — the
great and minor lords, who fought out their party
feuds in that city — that the Jews were left untouched
by papal tyranny. It was well for them that they
were little considered.

At about this time the Roman Jews had made an
advance in material welfare and intellectual culture.
There were some who possessed houses like palaces,
furnished with all the comforts of life. Since the
time when, through the concurrence of favorable
circumstances, they had tasted of the tree of knowl-

CH. II. THE JEWS OF ROMK 59

edge, learning and poetry were cherished by the
Italian Jews. The seeds which Hillel of Verona,
Serachya ben Shaltiel and others had scattered,
commenced to bear fruit. When the flower of
intellectual glory in southern France began to decay
through the severity of Talmudical rigorists and the
bloody persecutions, it unfolded itself in Italy,
especially in Rome. At that time the first rays of a
new cultural development, breaking through the
gloom of priestcraft and the rude violence of the
Middle Ages, appeared in Italy. A fresh current of
air swept the heavens in Italy in the beginning of the
fourteenth century, the epoch of Dante, thawing the
icy coat of the church and of knightdom, the two pil-
lars of the Middle Ages. A sense of citizenship, the
impulse towards liberty, enthusiastic love for science,
were the striking symptoms of a new spirit, of a striv-
ing for rejuvenescence, which only the emperor, the
embodiment of rude, ungainly knighthood, and the
pope, the incarnation of the stern, unbending church,
failed to perceive. Every greater or lesser Italian
lord made it a point of honor to encourage art and
science, and patronize poets, artists and learned
men at his court. Nor were the Jews overlooked
at this juncture. One of the most powerful Italian
princes, Robert of Anjou, king of Naples, count of
Provence (Arelat), vicar-general of the Papal States
and for some time titular lieutenant of the Holy
Roman empire, was a friend of science, a warm
admirer also of Jew'sh literature, and consequently
a protector of the Jews. Several Jewish litterateurs
were his teachers, or at his instance undertook
scientific and theological works.

Either in imitation of the current practice or from
sincere interest in Jewish literature, rich Jews, who
played the part of small princes, invited Jewish
authors into their circle, lightened their material
cares by liberal support, and stimulated their activity
by encouragement. Thus it came to pass that three

60 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. 11.

Jewish Italian men of letters had the courage to
compete with the Spaniards and Provencals. These
were Leo Romano, Judah Siciliano, and above all
the poet Immanuel Romi, who once more ennobled
neo-Hebrew poetry, and raised it to a higher level.
The Roman congregation at that time displayed
exceptional interest in Jewish writings. OfMaimuni,
the embodiment of science for them as for the rest
of the Jewish world, they possessed the copious
Religious Codex, and the translation of his "Guide;"
but of his luminous Mishna commentary, composed
originally in Arabic, only those parts which Charisi
and Samuel Ibn-Tibbon had done into Hebrew.
The representatives of the Roman congregations, to
whom probably the poet Immanuel also belonged,
wished to have a complete edition of the work, and
sent a messenger to Barcelona to Ben Adret
expressly for the purpose of procuring the remain-
ing parts. The affair was not so simple as the
Roman Jews had imagined. The greater portion of
the anxiously desired commentary of Maimuni on
the Mishna, on account of peculiar difficulties, was
not yet rendered into Hebrew. The greatest obstacle
was the circumstance that the Spanish Jews, except
those in Toledo and in the neigborhood of the king-
dom of Granada, had forgotten Arabic. Ben Adret,
who wished to oblige the Roman congregation,
endeavored to get the required portions translated
into Hebrew. He encouraged scholars, learned both
in Arabic and the Talrhud, to undertake this difficult
task, and Joseph Ibn-Alfual and Jacob Abbassi of
Huesca, Solomon ben Jacob and Nathaniel Ibn-
Almali, the last two physicians of Saragossa, and
others divided the labor among themselves. Jewish
literature is indebted for the possession of this most
valuable work of Maimuni to the zeal of the Roman
congregation, of Ben Adret, and these translators.
The Roman community was roused from Its peace-
ful occupations and undisturbed quiet by a rough

CH. II. SANGISA AND POPE JOHN XXII. 6 1

hand, and awakened to the consciousness that it
existed under the scourge of priestcraft and the
caprice of its rulers.

It is related that a sister of the pope (John XXII),
named Sangisa, had repeatedly exhorted her brother
to expel the Jews from the holy city of Christendom.
Her solicitations had always been fruitless; she
therefore instigated several priests to give testimony
that the Jews had ridiculed by words and actions a
crucifix which was carried through the streets in a pro-
cession. The pope thereupon issued the command to
banish all the Jews from Roman territory. All that
is certain is that the Jews of Rome were in great
danger during that year, for they instituted an extra-
ordinary fast, and directed fervent prayers to heaven
(21 Sivan — 18 June, 1321), nor did they fail to em-
ploy worldly means. They sent an astute mes-
senger to Avignon to the papal court and to King
Robert of Naples, the patron of the Jews, who hap-
pened to be in that city on state affairs. The mes-
senger succeeded, through the mediation of King
Robert, in proving the innocence of the Roman Jews
in regard to the alleged insulting of the cross and the
other transgressions laid to their charge. The twenty
thousand ducats, which the Roman community is
said to have presented to the sister of the pope,
silenced the last objections. The Jews of Rome
entered their school of trouble later than the Jews
of other countries. For that reason it lasted the
longer.

Whilst King Robert was residing in southern
France, he seems to have made the acquaintance of
a learned, genial Jewish satirist, Kalonymos ben
Kalonymos, and to have taken him into his service.
This talented man (born 1287, died before 1337)
possessed solid knowledge, was familiar with the
Arabic language and literature (which was very re-
markable in a Provencal), and in his youth (1307-
131 7) translated medical, astronomical, and philo-

62 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. II.

sophical writings from that language into Hebrew.
Kalonymos ben Kalonymos was not merely a hewer
of wood and drawer of water, an interpreter in the
realm of science ; he had intellect enough to make
independent observations. Disregarding the prov-
ince of metaphysical speculation, he was more inter-
ested in pure ethics, which he especially wished to
inculcate in his co-religionists, " because neglect and
ignorance of it leads men to all kinds of perversities
and mutual harm." He did not treat the subject in
a dry, uninteresting style, but sought to clothe it in
attractive garments. With this end in view, Kalony-
mos adapted a part of the Arabic encyclopedia of
science (which was in circulation under the name of
" Treatises of the Righteous Brethren ") for a dia-
logue between man and beasts, giving the theme a
Jewish coloring.

In another work, "Touchstone" (composed at the
end of 1322), Kalonymos ben Kalonymos held up a
mirror for his Jewish contemporaries, in which they
could recognize their perversities, follies, and sins.
To avoid giving himself the appearance of an irre-
proachable censor of morals, he enumerated his own
sins, more in satire than as a confession. Kalony-
mos whimsically satirized even Judaism. He wished
he had been born a woman, for then he w^ould not
have had to bear the burden of six hundred and
thirteen religious laws, besides so many Talmudical
restrictions and rigorous ordinances, which could
not possibly be fulfilled, even when a man tried with
the most exacting conscientiousness. As a woman,
he would not have to trouble himself with so much
reading, to study the Bible, the Talmud, and the
subjects belonging to it, nor torment himself with
logic, mathematics, physics, astronomy, and phi-
losophy. By ind by Kalonymos' satire grew
deeply serious. The degradation of his Jewish co-
religionists, and the bloody persecutions occasioned
by the Shepherds and the lepers, dispelled his mock-

CH, II. KALONYMOS BEN KALONYMOS. 6$

ing humor, and satire was changed into lamentation.
In Rome, which King Robert assigned to him as a
place of residence, Kalonymos, having been fur-
nished with letters of recommendation, obtained
entry into a joyous, vivacious, imaginative circle of
men, by whom he was stimulated to write a peculiar
parody. He composed a treatise for the Jewish
carnival (Purim), in which he imitated the tenor and
spirit of the Talmud, its method, controversies, and
digressions, with considerable wit. It is a fine
parody, exciting laughter at every step, and one can
not tell whether it was intended as a harmless car-
nival joke or as a satire on the Talmud. Kalony-
mos occupied a position of importance in the Roman
congregation. Handsome in form, of abundant
accomplishments, solid character, all his excellencies
enhanced by the good opinion of King Robert of
Naples, he was everyone's favorite. The Italian
Jews were proud of him. But Kalonymos was not
a true poet, still less an artist.

Much more gifted, profound, and imaginative was
his older friend and admirer, Immanuel ben Solo-
mon Romi (born about 1265, died about 1330). He
was an anomaly in the Jewish society of the Middle
Ages. He belonged to that species of authors
whose writings are all the more attractive because
not very decent. Of overflowing wit, extravagant
humor, and caustic satire, he is always able to
enchain his readers, and continually to provoke their
merriment. Immanuel may be called the Heine of
the Jewish Middle Ages. Immanuel had an inex-
haustible, ready supply of brilliant ideas. And all
this in the holy language of the Prophets and Psalm-
ists. Granted that the neo-Hebrew poets and
thinkers, the grammarians and Talmudists, had lent
flexibility to the language, but none of Immanuel's
predecessors had his power of striking from it
showers of sparkling wit. But if, on the one side,
he developed the Hebrew language almost into a

64 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. II.

vehicle for brilliant repartee, on the other side, he
robbed it of its sacred character. Immanuel trans-
formed the chaste, closely-veiled maiden muse of
Hebrew poetry into a lightly-clad dancer, who
attracts the attention of passers-by. He allows
his muse to deal with the most frivolous and
indelicate topics without the slightest concealment
or shame. His collection of songs and novels tends
to exert a very pernicious and poisonous effect upon
hot-blooded youth. But Immanuel was not the
hardened sinner, as he describes himself, who thought
of nothing but to carry on amours, seduce the fair,
and deride the ugly. He sinned only with the
tongue and the pen, scarcely with the heart and the
senses.

Though he often indulges in unmeasured self-
laudation, this simple description of his moral con-
duct must still be credited: "I never bear my
enemies malice, I remain steadfast and true to my
friends, cherish gratitude towards my benefactors,
have a sympathetic heart, am not ostentatious with
my knowledge, and absorb myself in science and
poetry, whilst my companions riot in sensual enjoy-
ments." Immanuel belonged to those who are
dominated by their wit, and cannot refrain from
telling some pointed witticism, even if their dearest
friends are its victims, and the holiest things are
dragged in the mire by it. He allowed himself to
be influenced by the vivacity of the Italians and the
Europeanized Jews, and put no curb upon his tongue.
What is remarkable in this satirist is that his life,
his position, and occupation seem to have been in
contradiction with his poetical craft. In the Roman
community he filled an honorable position, was
something like a president, at all events a man of
distinction. He appears to have belonged to the
medical profession, although he made sport of the
quackery of physicians. In short, he led the domes-
tic life of his time, a life permeated by morality

CH. II.

IMMANUEL ROMI. 65

and religion, giving no opportunity for excess. But
his honorable life did not prevent him from singing
riotous songs, and from writing as though he were
unconscious of the seriousness of religion, of respon-
sibiHty and learning. Immanuel was acquainted, if
not on intimate terms, with the greatest poet of the
Middle Ages, the first to open the gates of a new
epoch, and to prognosticate the unity of Italy in
poetic phrase. Probably they came to know each
other on one of Dante's frequent visits to Rome,
either as ambassador or exile. Although their
poetic styles are as opposite as the poles — Dante's
ethereal, grave, and elevated ; Immanuel's forcible,
gay, and light — they, nevertheless, have some points
of contact. Each had absorbed the culture of the
past; Dante the catholic, scholastic, and romantic
elements ; Immanuel the biblical, Talmudical, Maim-
unist, philosophical, and neo-Hebraic products.
Both elaborated this many-hued material, and
molded it into a new kind of poetry. The Italians
at that time were full of the impulse of life, and
Immanuel's muse is inspired by the witchery of
spring. He wrote ably in Italian, too, of which a
beautiful poem, still extant, gives evidence. Im-
manuel was the first to adapt Italian numbers to
the neo-Hebraic lyre. He introduced the rhyme in
alternate lines (Terza rima in sonnet form), by which
he produced a musical cadence. His poems are
not equally successful. They are wanting not in
imagination, but in tenderness and grace. His
power lies in poetical prose (Meliza), where he can
indulge in free and witty allusions. In this style he
composed a host of short novels, riddles, letters,
panegyrics, and epithalamia, which, by clever turns
and comic situations, extort laughter from the most
serious-minded readers.

In one of his novels he introduces a quarrelsome
grammarian of the Hebrew language, a verbal critic
who takes the field in grammatical campaigns, and

66 HISTORY OF THE JEWS, CH. II.

is accompanied by a marvelously beautiful woman.
Immanuel enters into a hair-splitting disputation
that he may have the opportunity of coquetting with
the lovely lady. He suffers defeat in grammar, but
makes a conquest in love. Immanuel's description
of hell and paradise, in which he imitated his friend
Dante, is full of fine satire. Whilst the Christian
romantic poet shows gravity and elevation in his
poetical creation, represents sinners and criminals,
political opponents and enemies of Italy, cardinals
and popes, as being tortured in hell, metes out, as it
were, the severe sentences of judgment day ; his
Jewish friend, Immanuel, invents scenes in heaven
and hell for the purpose of giving play to his hu-
morous fancy. Dante wrote a divine, Immanuel a
human, comedy. He introduces his pilgrimage to
heaven and hell by relating that he once felt greatly
oppressed by the burden of his sins, and experi-
enced compunction ; at this juncture his young
friend Daniel, by whose untimely death he had
lately been deeply affected, appeared to him, and
offered to guide him through the dismal portals of
hell and the elysian fields of the blessed. In the
chambers of hell Immanuel observes all the wicked
and godless of the Bible. Aristotle, too, is there,
"because he taught the eternity of the world," and
Plato, "because he asserted the reality of species"
(Realism). Most of all he scourges his contem-
poraries in this poem. He inflicts the torment of
the damned upon the deriders of science ; upon a
Talmudist who secretly led a most immoral life ;
upon men who committed intellectual thefts, and
upon those who sought to usurp all the honors of
the synagogue, the one to have his seat by the Ark
of the Covenant, the other to read the prayers on
the Day of Atonement. Quack doctors are also
precipitated into hell, because they take advantage
of the stupidity and credulity of the multitude, and
bring trusting patients to a premature grave. His

CH. 11. IMMANUEL AND DANTE. 6/

young, beatified guide goes widi him through the
gates of Paradise. How the departed spirits rejoice
at the poet's approach ! They call out, " Now is the
time to laugh, for Immanuel has arrived." In the
description of paradise and its inhabitants, Immanuel
affects to treat his theme very seriously ; but he
titters softly within the very gates of heaven. Of
course, he notices the holy men, the patriarchs,
the pious kings and heroes of the Jewish past, the
prophets and the great teachers, the poets, Jehuda
Halevi and Charisi, the Jewish philosopher Maimuni.
But next to King David, who fingers the harp and
sings psalms, he observes the harlot Rahab who
concealed the spies in Jericho, and Tamar who sat
at the cross-roads waiting. Dante excludes the
heathen world from paradise, because it did not ac-
knowledge Christ, and had no share in the grace of
salvation. Immanuel sees a troop of the blessed,
whom he does not recognize, and asks their leader
who they are. "These are," answers the latter,
"righteous and moral heathens, who attained the
height of wisdom, and recognized the only God as
the creator of the world and the bestower of grace."
The pious authors, David, Solomon, Isaiah, Ezekiel,
on seeing Immanuel, darted forward to meet him ;
each one thanks him for having expounded his
writings so well, and here older and contemporary
exegetists come in for their share of Immanuel's sly
satire.

Neo-Hebraic poetry, which began with Jose ben
Jose, and reached its zenith in Ibn-Gebirol and
Jehuda Halevi, attains its final stage of development
in Immanuel. The gamut had now been run. After
Immanuel, the Hebrew muse became silent for a
long time, and it required a fresh and powerful
stimulus to awaken it from slumber to new energy.
Verses were, of course, written after his days, and
rhymes polished, but they are as far removed from
poetry as a street-song from a soul-stirring melody.

68 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. II.

The fate of Hebrew poetry is illustrated in Im-
manuel's career. For a long period he was popular,
every one sought his friendship, but in old age he
fell into neglect and poverty. His own statement
is that his generosity dissipated his means. He was
as much derided as he had formerly been praised.
He left Rome with his family, traveled about, and
found repose at length at the house of a wealthy,
influential friend of art (Benjamin?) in Fermo, who
interested himself in him, and encouraged him to
arrange the verses and poems written at different
periods of his life into a symmetrical whole.

The praises which Immanuel bestows on his own
productions, and his boast that he casts the old
poets into the shade, certainly tend to produce a bad
impression. Nevertheless, like every expert in his
profession, he was far removed from that repulsive
vanity which perceives its own depreciation in the
recognition of another. To true merit Immanuel
gave the tribute of his warmest praise, and modestly
conceded precedence to it. Not only did he extol
the highly honored Kalonymos, basking in the sun-
shine of the king's favor, with the most extravagant
figures of speech, but he praised almost more
heartily the poet Jehuda Siciliano, who lived in
straitened circumstances. He gave him the palm
for poetical verse, maintaining his own superiority
in poetical prose. But for Immanuel, nothing would
have been known of this poet. Poor Siciliano had
to waste his power in occasional poems for his
subsistence, and was thus unable to produce any
lasting work. With glowing enthusiasm Immanuel
eulogizes his cousin, the young and learned Leone
Romano, Jehuda ben Moses ben Daniel (born about
1292), whom he calls the " Crown of Thought." In
paradise he allots to him the highest place of honor.
Leone Romano was the teacher of King Robert of
Naples, and instructed him in the original language
of the Bible. He knew the language of learned

CH. II. LEONE ROMANO. 69

Christendom, and was probably the first Jew to pay
attention to scholastic philosophy. He translated
for Jewish readers the philosophical compositions of
Albertus Magnus, Thomas Aquinas, and others.
Leone Romano composed original works of exegesis,
set forth in philosophical method. Greatly as his
contemporaries admired his learning and intellect,
which had achieved so much when he had scarcely
arrived at man's estate, he exercised no influence
whatever on posterity.

The Roman society which promoted science and
poetry may be said to have included also the grand-
son of a Roman emigrant who took up his abode in
Greece, Shemarya Ikriti (Cretan) of Negroponte
(flourished 1290 — 1320). He stood in close rela-
tion with the Roman community and King Robert.
Familiar with Talmudical literature, as he probably
was rabbi in Negroponte, he devoted himself to
philosophical speculations, and was, perhaps, well
read in the Greek philosophical literature in its origi-
nal language. In his youth, Ikriti, like many of his
contemporaries, occupied himself with translations
of philosophical works. Later on he conceived a
plan of practical utility, in which he thought he could
turn his knowledge to account. He sought to
smooth over the diflference between the Rabbanites
and the Karaites, and lastingly to reconcile the sects
at enmity with each other for centuries, "that all
Israel may once more be united in one fraternal
bond." Shemarya of Negroponte was the first, per-
haps the only Rabbanite, who, if he did not extend the
hand of reconciliation to Karaism, at least showed
a friendly disposition towards it. He recognized
that both parties were in error ; Karaism was wrong
in rejecting Talmudical traditions unconditionally ;
but the Rabbanites sinned against truth in placing
the Talmud in the forefront, and overlooking the
Bible. In Greece there may have been Karaites at
that time who had come from Constantinople. To

70 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. II.

these Shemarya Ikriti addressed himself to incline
their minds towards union with the mother com-
munity.

For the difficult task of bringing discordant faiths
into harmony, much intelligence and energy were
required, and Shemarya could furnish only good
will. He was not deficient in knowledge, but his
mental grasp was not sufficiendy powerful. At
the instance of King Robert, who interested himself
in Jewish literature, he wrote a commentary on the
Bible, and forwarded to him, with a dedication, the
books first completed (1328). It read as follows:
"To our noble king Robert, adorned like King
Solomon with the crown of wisdom and the diadem
of royalty, I send this exposition of the cosmogony
and the Song of Songs." His Biblical commentaries
were set forth with great dififuseness, covered a great
range, and were not calculated to appeal to the
Karaites, and draw them over to the side of rabbini-
cal Judaism. His attempt at reconciliation mis-
carried, perhaps was not made in the proper spirit ;
for there was a disposition on the part of some
Karaites to treat his overtures favorably, and his
efforts would not have failed, if they had been con-
ducted with skill. Nevertheless, Ikriti was held in
such esteem in his time that the Roman congrega-
tion took an interest in his labors, entered into
correspondence with him, while the Karaites assidu-
ously read his works, and in later times considered
him a member of their own party.

Karaism was still dragging itself along in its
decaying, stiffening form. Internal schisms remained
unaccommodated. Different Karaite congregadons
celebrated the fesdvals at different times: the
Palestinians, according to the observation of the
new moon, and the extra-Palestinian congregations,
in common with the Rabbanites. Their extremely
severe marriage laws were not finally settled even
at this epoch. Karaism at that time had three

CH. II. AARON BEN JOSEPH. /I

centers — Cairo in Egypt, Constantinople in the
Byzantine Empire, and Sulchat (Eski-Crim) in the
Crimean peninsula. Some importance was pos-
sessed by Aaron ben Joseph the Elder, physician in
Constantinople (flourished about 1270 — 1300). He
came originally from the Crimea, made extensive
voyages, and acquired a knowledge of medicine
and philosophy. Aaron I also made himself inti-
mate with Rabbanite literature to a degree that few
of his sect attained. He made use of Nachmani's
commentary on the Pentateuch, and from this
circumstance arose the mistake of later Karaites,
that Aaron had sat at Nachmani's feet. His famili-
arity with Rabbanite literature had a beneficial
effect on his style ; he wrote much more clearly and
intelligibly than most of the Karaite authors. He
was even disposed to accept the tradition of the
Talmud.

He completely fixed the Karaite prayer book
(Siddur Tefila), hitherto in an unsettled condition,
incorporating into it hymns written by Gebirol,
Jehuda Halevi, Ibn-Ezra, and other Rabbanite
liturgical poets. Aaron himself possessed very
little poetical genius, and his metrical prayers, with
which he enriched the prayer book of the Karaites,
have no great poetical merit, but by the admission
of hymns written by Rabbanites into his compila-
tion, he showed that he knew how to appreciate the
devout sublimity in the prayers of the Spanish
Jews, and that he was not altogether devoid of taste.
If Shemarya, of Negroponte, had undertaken to effect
a reconciliation between the Rabbanites and the
Karaites in a more intelligent and energetic manner,
there can be no doubt that Aaron would willingly
have offered his assistance, provided, of course, that
he had known of Shemarya's attempt. There was
not wanting among Karaites a strong inclination for
union. Owing to the activity of Abraham Maimuni
II, a great-grandson of the renowned Maimuni, who

72 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. II.

had succeeded to the post of Chief (Nagid) of the
Rabbanite communities in Egypt after the death of
his father David, an important Karaite congrega-
tion in Egypt on one day openly acknowleged the
teachings of the Rabbanites. In Palestine, too,
frequent conversions of Karaites to Talmudical
Judaism took place. On this account the rabbis of
the time were more favorably disposed towards
them. On the one hand, the strict Talniudist Sam-
son of Sens denounced the Karaites as heathens,
whose wine was not to be partaken of by orthodox
Jews; on the other hand, Estori Parchi, who had
been banished from Provence, and who, emigrating
to Palestine, had settled in Bethshan, recognized
them as co-religionists, led astray by erroneous
notions, but not to be rejected.

CHAPTER III.

THE AGE OF THE ASHERIDES AND OF GERSONIDES.

Condition of Palestine — Pilgrims and Immigrants — Shem Tob Ibn-
Gaon — Favorable Position of the Jews in Castile under Alfonso
XI — Persecution in Navarre — Joseph de Ecija and Samuel Ibn-
Wakar — Increase of Anti-Jewish Feelings — Abner-Alfonso of
Burgos, Convert to Christianity, and Persecutor of the Jews —
Gonzalo Martinez — Fall of Martinez and Deliverance of the
Jews — Decline of the Study of Science — The Study of the Talmud
prosecuted with Renewed Vigor — Jacob and Judah Asheri —
Isaac Pulgar, David Ibn-Albilla — The Provengal Philosophers
Ibn-Kaspi, Leon de Bagnols, and Vidal Narboni — Decline of
the Study of the Talmud in Germany — Emp)eror Louis of Bavaria
and the Jews — Persecution by the " Leather-Anns."

1328 — 1350 C.E.

The Holy Land was once more accessible to its
children. The Egyptian sultans, into whose power
it passed after the fall of Accho and the expulsion
of the Christians, were more tolerant than the
Christian Byzantine emperors and the Prankish
crusading kings. They did not hinder the coming
of Jewish pilgrims who desired to lighten their over-
burdened hearts by praying and weeping over the
ruins of the past, so rich in recollections, or at the
graves of their great men there interred ; nor did
they oppose the settlement of European exiles, who
again cultivated the soil of the land of their fathers.
The long, firm, yet mild, reign of the Mameluke
sultan, Nassir Mahomet (1299 — 1341), was a happy
time for the Jews who visited Palestine. Whilst
under the rule of the Christian governors of the
country no Jew was permitted to approach the
former capital, at this time Jewish pilgrims from
Eg)'pt and Syria regularly came to Jerusalem, to
celebrate the festivals, as in the time when the
Temple shone in all its splendor. The Karaites
established special forms of prayer for those who

73

74 HISTORY OP THE JEWS. CH. III.

went on pilgrimages to Jerusalem ; at their depart-
ure, the whole congregation assembled to give ut-
terance in prayer to the bitter-sweet emotions
connected with Zion. The immigrants who settled
in Palestine engaged in agriculture. They came to
feel so thoroughly at home there that the question
was mooted whether the laws of tithes, of the year
of release, and others ought not to be again carried
into effect. In consequence of the freedom and tol-
erance which the Jews were enjoying, many en-
thusiastic spirits were again seized by the ardent
desire to kiss the dust of the Holy Land. Emigra-
tion to Palestine, especially from the extreme west,
became very common at this time.

A pupil of Meir of Rothenburg, named Abraham,
a painstaking copyist of holy writings, considered
his dwelling in the Holy Land a mark of divine
grace. Two young Kabbalists, Chananel Ibn-As-
kara and Shem Tob Ibn-Gaon from Spain, also trav-
eled thither, probably to be nearer the source of
the mystic doctrines, which fancy assigned to this
country, and took up their residence in Safet. But
instead of obtaining fresh information upon the doc-
trines of the Kabbala; one of them — Ibn-Askara died
in his youth — introduced new features of the science.
Shem Tob ben Abraham Ibn-Gaon, from Segovia
(born 1283, died after 1330), whose teacher in the
Talmud had been Ben Adret, and in the Kabbala
Isaac ben Todros, was a zealous adherent of the
secret science, and described even Maimuni as a
Kabbalist.

The congregation of Jerusalem was at this time
very numerous. A large portion of the Rabbanite
community led a contemplative life, studied the Tal-
mud day and night, and became engrossed with the
secret lore of the Kabbala. There were also handi-
craftsmen, merchants, and several acquainted with
the science of medicine, with mathematics and as-
tronomy. The artistic work of the famous callig-

CH. III. THE HOLY LAND. 75

raphers of Jerusalem was in great demand, far and
near. Hebron, too, possessed a vigorous commun-
ity, whose members engaged chiefly in the weaving
and dyeing of cotton-stuffs, and in the manufacture
of glass wares, exported in large quantities. In the
south of Palestine, in company with Mahometans,
Jewish shepherds again pastured their flocks after
the manner of the patriarchs. Their rabbi was also
a shepherd, and delivered discourses upon the Tal-
mud in the pasture fields for such as desired to ob-
tain instruction.

Although the Holy Land was the goal of arden^
longing hearts, yet it was no more a center for the
dispersed of the Jewish race than it had been for a
long time previous. It could not produce an original
leader of any sort, and lived upon the crumbs of cult-
ure dropped by the Jews in Europe. The Kabbala,
studied in Palestine since the time of Nachmani,
was an exotic plant which could never flourish very
well there, and degenerated into rankest supersti-
tion. The Holy Land did not even produce a Tal-
mudical authority of widespread renown ; also for
earnest rabbinical studies it had become dependent
upon Europe. The leadership of Judaism in the days
after the death of Ben Adret and Asheri remained
with Spain, not as formerly Aragon, but Castile,
where the family of Asheri and their views prevailed.
Here lived Talmudical authorities whose decisions
were considered final. Here was still to be found,
if not a flourishing state of science, at least appre-
ciation of scientific research. In Castile, under the
rule of the powerful and intelligent Alfonso XI, the
Jews were in so prosperous a condition that, com-
pared with other countries in Europe, this period
may be called a Golden Age. Several clever Jews
in succession, under the modest title of ministers
of finance (Almoxarif), exercised an influence upon
the course of politics. Not only the court, but also
the great nobles, surrounded themselves with Jew-

y6 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. 111.

ish counselors and officers. In place of the humble,
servile bearing-, and the degrading badge which the
church decreed for the Jews, the Jewish Spaniards
still bore their heads erect, and clothed themselves
in gold and silk. Dazzled by the glitter of this fav-
orable state of affairs, some recognized the fulfill-
ment of the old prophecy, "the scepter shall not
depart from Judah," which Christians had so often
employed in their attacks on Judaism.

It is scarcely to be wondered at, if the Spanish
Jews were unduly elated because of the promotion
of a few from their midst to state offices. Such
prominent public men were for the most part a pro-
tecting shield for the communities against the ava-
ricious and turbulent lower orders of the nobility,
against the stupid credulity and envy of the mob,
and the serpent-like cunning of the clergy, lying
concealed but ready to attack the Jews. Jewish
ministers and counselors in the service and the reti-
nue of the king, clothed in the costume of the court,
and wearing at their sides the knightly sword, by
these very circumstances, without special mterces-
sion, disarmed the enemies of their brethren in faith
and race. The impoverished nobles, who possessed
nothing more than their swords, were filled with envy
of the rich and wise court Jews ; but they were com-
pelled to stifle their feelings. The masses, guided
by appearances, did not venture, as was done in
Germany, to ill-treat or slay any Jew they chanced
across, as an outlaw and a pariah, because they
knew that the Jews were held in high favor at court.
They often overrated their influence, believing that
the Jews at court could obtain a hearing with the
king at any time. Even the haughty clergy were
obliged to restrain themselves so long as Joseph of
Ecija, Samuel Ibn-Wakar, and others, were in a
position to counteract their influence.

If the Castilian Jews compared the condition of
their brethren in neighboring countries with their

CH. III. THE JEWS OF NAVARRE. JJ

own, they must certainly have felt exalted, and
entitled to be proud of their lot. In Aragon, at
this time united into one kingdom with the islands
of Majorca and Sicily, the persecuting spirit of the
church, which Raymond de Penyaforte had stirred
up, and Jayme I had perpetuated by means of
oppressive laws, was rampant. In Navarre, which
for half a century had belonged to the crown of
France, the hatred against the Jews burned with a
frenzy hitherto to be met with only in Germany.
The last of the Capets, Charles IV, was dead, and
with the accession of Philip VI to the French throne
the House of Valois began. It is noteworthy that
even Christians believed that the extinction of the
lineal successors of Philip le Bel was retribution for
his merciless expulsion of the Jews from France.
The people of Navarre strove to separate them-
selves from the rule of France, and form an inde-
pendent state. It is not known in how far the Jews
stood in the way of their project. Anyhow it is
certain that suddenly, throughout the whole country,
a bloodthirsty enmity arose against the Jews,
prompted by envy of their riches, and fostered by
the monks. A Franciscan, named Pedro Olligoyen,
made himself most prominent in goading on the
deluded mob against the innocent Jews. In the
large congregation of Estella a most horrible mas-
sacre began on a Sabbath (23d Adar — 5th March,
1328). The infuriated mob raised the cry, "Death
to the Jews, or their conversion."

In vain did the Jews attempt to defend themselves
in their streets ; the inhabitants of the city, strength-
ened by troops from other places, besieged them,
and took by storm the walls which surrounded the
Jewish quarter, breaking them down and slaying
almost all the Jews of the city. They also set fire to
the Jewish houses, and reduced them to ashes. The
description by an eye-witness of his own sufferings
gives only a feeble idea of the horrors of this savage

78 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. III.

massacre in Estella. The murderers had slain the
parents and the four younger brothers of Menachem
ben Zerach, then barely twenty years old, afterwards
a scholar of commanding influence. He himself was
wounded by the murderers and knocked down, lying
on the ground unconscious, from evening till mid-
night, beneath a number of corpses. A compassion-
ate knight, a friend of Menachem's father, searched
for him beneath the pile of corpses, took him to his
house, and had him carefully tended till he recovered
from his wounds. Similar scenes of barbarity were
enacted in other parts of the country, especially in
Tudela, the largest community in Navarre, and in
the smaller ones of Falcos, Funes, Moncilla, Viana
and others, but nowhere to so frightful an extent
as in Estella. Over six thousand Jews perished in
these massacres. Only the Jews of the capital,
Pampeluna, appear to have escaped these savage
attacks. The people of Navarre at length suc-
ceeded in their desire ; their country was separated
from France, and obtained a king of its own, Philip
III, Count of Evreux and Angouleme. As soon as
he was crowned, the relatives of the murdered
entreated him to mete out justice. At first, Philip
prosecuted the guilty persons in real earnest ; he
ordered the ringleaders, the Franciscan Pedro
Olligoyen and others to be cast into prison, and laid
a fine upon the cities in which these crimes had been
committed. But, in course of time, he liberated all
the imprisoned, and remitted the fine as an act of
grace. He took good care, too, not to let the stolen
property and the possessions of persons without
heirs escape him ; they had to be surrendered to
him, just as in Germany. There was no objection
to the Jews'being slaughtered, but the royal treasury
was not to suffer loss on that account. This king
and his successors imposed new burdens upon
the wretched people. The Jews of Navarre now
began to sink into degradation like those of Germany.

CH. III. JOSEPH OF ECIJA. 79

The sun that was shining upon them In Castile at
this time was, strictly speaking, only a false sun, but
its glimmer, compared with the gloom wherein the
congregations of other countries were steeped, gives
at least momentary pleasure, Alfonso XI, as soon
as he came of age, and obtained the sovereignty
(1325 — 1380), had two Jewish favorites, Don Joseph
of Ecija and Samuel Ibn-Wakar. The former,
whose full name was Joseph ben Ephraim Ibn-Ben-
veniste HalevI, had a pleasing exterior, understood
music, and knew how to ingratiate himself with those
in power. At the recommendation of his uncle, the
king had made him not only minister of finance
(Almoxarif), but also his confidential counselor
(privado), whose opinion he highly valued. Joseph
of Ecija possessed a state carriage, knights accom-
panied him as an escort on his journeys, and hidal-
gos dined at his table. On one occasion the king
dispatched him on a very important and honorable
mission which almost cost him his life. He was
besieged by the citizens of Valladolid in the palace
of the Infanta, and they demanded his surrender
with tumultuous clamor. Some of Joseph's retinue
succeeded in escaping from the city, and they hast-
ened at full speed to the king, to whom they related
what had taken place. Alfonso rightly considered
this a revolt against his sovereignty. He marched
rapidly against Valladolid, and summoned the
knights of Old Castile to join him. For the sake of
his Jewish favorite, he besieged the former capital of
his kingdom, burnt many houses, and would have
destroyed the place entirely, had not more moderate
persons intervened, and explained to the king that
the people were not so much embittered against
Don Joseph as against Don Alvar Nunez, whose
influence was most hateful to them. Don Alfonso
thereupon condescended to remove Alvar from his
public offices, whilst Don Joseph continued in favor
with the king.

80 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. III.

The other favorite of King Alfonso was his
physician, Don Samuel Ibn-Wakar (Abenhuacar).
This man had a scientific education, was an astron-
omer, and perhaps the astrologer of his master.
Although he occupied no public office, and took no
part in state affairs, yet, through the favor of the
king, he possessed very great influence. There
existed between Don Joseph of Ecija and Ibn-
Wakar the jealousy which is common among cour-
tiers who bask in the rays of the same sun. On
account of their rivalry, these two favorites sought
to injure each other, and thus they and their co-
religionists incurred the hatred of the people.

Some wealthy Jews, probably relying upon the
favorable position of their friends at court, carried
on money transactions in an unscrupulous manner.
They extorted a high rate of interest, and merci-
lessly persecuted their dilatory Christian debtors.
The king himself encouraged the usury of the Jews
and Moors, because he gained advantage there-
from. The complaints of the people against the
Jewish and Mahometan usurers grew very numer-
ous. The cortes of Madrid, Valladolid and other
cities made this point the subject of petitions pre-
sented to the king, demanding the abolition of these
abuses, and the king was compelled to yield to their
entreaty.

The minds of the people, however, remained em-
bittered against the Jews. The cortes of Madrid
thereupon called for several restrictive laws against
the Jews, such as, that they should not be allowed
to acquire landed property, and that Jewish minis-
ters of finance and farmers of taxes should not be
appointed (1329). Alfonso replied, that, in the
main, things should continue as they had been be-
fore. Don Samuel Ibn-Wakar rose even higher in
the royal favor. Don Alfonso intrusted him with
the farming of the revenues derived from the im-
portation of goods from the kingdom of Granada.

CH. III. SAMUEL IBN-WAKAR. 8 1

He, moreover, obtained the privilege empowering
him to issue the coinage of the realm at a lower
standard. Joseph of Ecija now became jealous and
offered a higher sum for the right of farming the
import-taxes from Granada. When he thought he
had supplanted his rival, the latter dealt him a
severe blow. Ibn-Wakar succeeded in persuading
the king that it would be more advantageous to
the people of Castile to carry the protective system
to its uttermost limits, and prohibit all imports from
the neighboring Moorish kingdom (1330 — 133 1).

Whilst the two Jewish courtiers were stri\ang
to injure each other, the enemies of the Jews were
busily at work to imperil their reputation and the
existence of all the Castilian congregations. They
inflamed the minds of the people by representing to
them that, owing to the depreciation in the value of
money, brought about by die farmer of the coinage,
Ibn-Wakar, the price of the necessaries of life had
risen, these articles being exported to the neighbor-
ing countries, where they were bartered for silver,
which had a higher value in their own land. The
enemies of the Jews also brought the influence of
the church to bear to arouse the prejudices of the
king against all the Jews. Their champion was a
Jew, who no sooner had embraced Christianity, than
he became a fanatical persecutor of his brethren.
This was the infamous Abner, the forerunner of the
baptized and unbaptized Jew-haters, who prepared,
and at length accomplished, the humiliation and
banishment of the Spanish Jews.

Abner of Burgos, or as he was afterwards called,
Alfonso Burgensis de Valladolid (born about 1270,
died about 1346), was well acquainted with biblical
and Talmudical writings, occupied himself with
science, and practiced medicine. His knowledge
had destroyed his religious belief, and turned him
not only against Judaism, but against all faiths.
Troubled by cares for his subsistence, Abner did

82 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. III.

not obtain the desired support from his kinsmen in
race. He was too little of a philosopher to accept
his modest lot. His desires were extravagant, and
he was unable to find the means to satisfy them. In
order to be able to live in ease and splendor, Abner
determined, when nearly sixty years of age, to adopt
Christianity, although this religion was as little able
to give him inward contentment as that which he
forsook. As a Christian, he assumed the name of
Alfonso. The infidel disciple of Aristotle and Aver-
roes accepted an ecclesiastical office ; he became
sacristan at a large church in Valladolid, to which a
rich benefice was attached, enabling him to gratify
his worldly desires. He attempted to excuse his
hypocritical behavior and his apostasy by means of
sophistical arguments.

Alfonso carried his want of conscientiousness so
far that not long after his conversion to Christianity
he attacked his former brethren in faith and race with
bitter hate, and showed the intention of persecuting
them. Owing to his knowledge of Jewish literature,
it was easy for him to discover its weak points, em-
ploy them as charges against Judaism, and draw the
most hateful inferences. Alfonso was indefatigable
in his accusations against the Jews and Judaism,
and composed a long series of works, in which he
introduced arguments partly aggressive, partly de-
fensive of his new faith against the attacks upon it
by the Jews. In his abuse of Judaism, the Hebrew
language, in which he composed with much greater
ease than in Spanish, was made to do service.

Alfonso had the brazen impudence to send one of
his hateful writings to his former friend, Isaac Pulgar.
The latter replied in a sharply satirical poem, and
pressed him close in his polemical writings. The
Jews of Spain had not yet become so disheartened
as to suffer such insolent attacks in silence. Another
less renowned writer also answered Alfonso, and
thus a violent literary warfare broke out

CH. III. ALFONSO OF VALLADOUD, 83

Alfonso of Valladolid, however, did not content
himself with polemical writings ; he boldly presented
himself before King Alfonso XI, and laid his accus-
ations against the Jews before him. He raked up
anew the remark of the Church Father Jerome and
others, that the Jews had introduced into their book
of prayer a formula of imprecation against the God
of the Christians and his adherents. The repre-
sentatives of the Jewish community in Valladolid,
probably summoned by the king to justify them-
selves, emphatically denied that the imprecation
originally leveled against the Minim (Nazarenes)
referred to Jesus and his present followers. Alfonso,
however, would not admit the validity of this excul-
pation, and pledged himself to prove his charges
against the Jews in a disputation. The king of
Castile thereupon commanded the representatives
of the Valladolid community to enter upon a relig-
ious discussion with the sacristan. It took place
in the presence of public officials and Dominicans.
Here Alfonso Burgensis repeated his accusations,
and was victorious, inasmuch as, in consequence of
this disputation. King Alfonso issued an edict (25th
Februar)', 1336) forbidding the Castilian communi-
ties, under penalty of a fine, to use the condemned
prayer or formula of imprecation. Thus the ene-
mies of the Jews succeeded in winning over the
king, who was really well-disposed towards the
Jews. More ominous events were to happen.

King Alfonso was not very constant ; he trans-
ferred his favor from one person to another. He
took into his confidence a man unworthy of the dis-
tinction, named Gonzalo Martinez (Nunez) de
Oviedo, originally a poor knight, who had been pro-
moted through the patronage of the Jewish favorite,
Don Joseph of Ecija. Far from being grateful to
his benefactor, he bore deep hatred against him
who had thus raised him, and his hostile feeling ex-
tended tn all Jews. When he had risen to the post

$4 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. III.

of minister of the royal palace, and later to that of
Grand Master of the Order of Alcantara (1337), he
revealed his plan of annihilating the Jews. He
lodged a formal charge against Don Joseph and Don
Samuel Ibn-Wakar, to the effect that they had en-
riched themselves in the service of the king. He
obtained the permission of the king to deal with
them as he chose, so as to extort money from them.
Thereupon Gonzalo ordered both of them, together
with two brothers of Ibn-Wakar, and eight relatives
with their families, to be thrown into prison, and
confiscated their property. Don Joseph of Ecija
died in prison, and Don Samuel died under the tor-
ture to which he was subjected. This did not sat-
isfy the enemy of the Jews. He now sought to
destroy two other Jews, who held high positions
at court — Moses Abudiel and (Sulaiman?) Ibn-
Yaish. He implicated them in a charge, pretending
all the while to be friendly towards them. Through
their downfall Gonzalo Martinez thought to carry
into effect his wicked plan against the Castilian Jews
without difficulty.

The Moorish king of Morocco, Abulhassan
(Alboacin), whose help was implored by his op-
pressed co-religionists in Granada, had sent a very
large army under the command of his son, Abume-
lik, over the straits to undertake a vigorous campaign
against Castile. On the reception of this news, terror
spread throughout Christian Spain. King Alfonso
forthwith appointed Gonzalo Martinez, Master of the
Order of Alcantara, as general in charge of this
war, and invested him with plenary power. But
funds were wanting ; at the deliberation on ways
and means of procuring them, Gonzalo propounded
his plan for depriving the Jews of their wealth, and
then expeUing them from Castile. By this means,
large supplies of money would flow into the royal
treasury; for all the Christians who were dunned
by the Jews would willingly pay large sums of

CH. III. GONZALO MARTINEZ. 85

money to rid themselves of their enemies. For-
tunately this proposal met with opposition in the
royal council, and even from the most prominent
clergyman in Castile, the archbishop of Toledo.
The latter urged that the Jews were an inexhaust-
ible treasure for the king, of which the state should
not deprive itself, and that the rulers of Castile had
guaranteed them protection and toleration. Don
Moses Abudiel, who obtained information concerning
the council held to decide on the weal or woe of the
Jews, advised the congregations to institute public
fasts, and to supplicate the God of their fathers to
frustrate the wickedness of Gonzalo. The latter
marched to the frontier against the Moorish army,
and secured an easy victory. It happened, fortun-
ately for the Spaniard, that the Moorish general,
Abumelik, fell pierced by an arrow, and his army,
filled with dismay at this event, was defeated and
put to rout. The vainglory of the Grand Master
of Alcantara now attained a high pitch. He thought
to obtain such great importance in Spanish affairs
that the king would be compelled to approve of all
measures proposed by him. He was, indeed, filled
with that pride which precedes a fall.

The feeble hand of a woman was the cause of his
downfall. The beautiful and sprightly Leonora de
Guzman, who had so enthralled the king with her
charms that he was more faithful to her than to his
wife, hated the favorite Gonzalo Martinez, and suc-
ceeded in making the king believe that he spoke ill
of him. Alfonso desiring to learn the real truth of
the matter sent a command to Gonzalo to present
himself before him in Madrid ; he, however, dis-
obeyed the royal command. To be able to defy the
anger of the king, he stirred up the knights of the
Order of Alcantara and the citizens of the towns
assigned to his government, tc rebel against his
sovereign, entered into traitorous negotiations with
the king of Portugal and with the enemy of the

86 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. III.

Christians, the king of Granada. Alfonso was forced
to lead his nobles against him, and besiege him in
Valencia de Alcantara. In mad defiance, Gonzalo
directed arrows and missiles to be aimed at the king,
which mortally wounded a man in the vicinity of
Alfonso. But some of the knights of the Order of
Alcantara forsook their Grand Master, and sur-
rendered the stronghold to the king. There
remained nothing for Gonzalo except to yield. He
was condemned to death as a traitor, and was burnt
at the stake (1336), and thus ended the man w^ho
had sworn to annihilate the Jews. The Castilian
congregations thereupon celebrated a new festival
of deliverance, in the same month in which the evil
plans of Haman against the Jews had recoiled on
his own head. Alfonso again received the Jews
into his favor, and raised Moses Abudiel to a high
position at his court. From this time till the day of
his death, Alfonso XI acted justly towards his
Jewish subjects.

It may be thought that, under these on the whole
favorable circumstances, the Jews occupied them-
selves with their intellectual culture, which had
already developed its full blossom ; but it was not
so. Castile in particular, and all Spain, at this
epoch, were very deficient in men who cultivated
Jewish science. The Talmud constituted the only
branch of study which intellectual men attended to,
and even here there was no particular fertility.
Decrease in strength manifested itself even in the
study of the Talmud. The most famous rabbis of
this period had so great a mistrust of their own
powers that they no longer dared take an independ-
ent view of anything, and relied more and more
upon the conclusions of older authorities. They
made it very convenient for themselves by slavishly
following Maimuni's Code in practical decisions,
deviating from it only in such particulars as Asheri
had objected to. The latter had pretty well sue-

CH. III. DECLINE OF SPANlSH-JEWISH CULTURE. 8/

ceeded, if not in altogether destroying the inclina-
tion of the Spanish Jews to engage in scientific
inquiry, at least in bringing science into disrepute,
and thus weakening its study. The distinguished
supporters of philosophy henceforth no more came
from Spain ; the few that came into prominence were
from southern France. These were Ibn-Kaspi, Ger-
sonides and Narboni. Asheri and his sons, who
inherited his hostility to science, in causing the view
to become general throughout Spain, that a man
should not engage in higher questions concerning
Judaism and its connection with philosophy, did not
consider that by this means the spirit of the Spanish
Jews would become enfeebled and incapacitated for
Talmudical investigations, too. The Jewish sons
of Spain were not so well suited for the study of
narrow Talmudism as the German Jews. Prevented
from occupying themselves with science, they lost
their buoyancy of spirit, and became unfit for the
studies permitted. Even their pleasure in song and
their poetical talents died away. Occasionally a
poem was still produced, but it consisted merely of
rude and unimaginative rhymes. In time they were
no better than the German Jews, whom they had
before so greatly despised. Even their prose style,
on which the Spanish Jews had formerly bestowed
so much care, degenerated for the most part into
spiritless verbosity. The charming writer, Santob
de Carrion, who as early as the time of Alfonso XI
had clothed his thoughts in beautiful Spanish verse,
was a solitary poet, whose song awoke no echo.

The eight sons of Asheri, his relatives, who had
emigrated with him from Germany to Toledo,
together with his numerous grandsons, dominated
Spanish Judaism from this time onwards. They
introduced a one-sided Talmudical method of in-
struction deeply tinged with a gloomy, ascetic view
of religion. The most famous of the sons of
Asheri were Jacob (Baal ha-Turim) and Jehuda,

88 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. 111.

both intensely religious, and of unselfish, self-sacri-
ficing dispositions ; they were, however, limited to
a very narrow range of ideas. Both were as learned
in the Talmud as they were ignorant in other sub-
jects, and possessed every quality calculated to
bring the decay of religion into accord with the in-
creasing sufferings of the Jews in this third home
of their race.

Jacob ben Asheri (born about 1280, died 1340)
was visited by bitter misfortunes. His life was one
chain of sufferings and privations ; but he bore all
with patience, without murmur or complaint. Al-
though his father, Asheri, had brought much wealth
with him to Spain, and had always been in good
circumstances, yet his son, Jacob, had to suffer the
bitterest pangs of poverty. Nevertheless, he re-
ceived no salary as a rabbi : in fact, he does not
appear to have filled that post at any time. As with
all the family of Asheri, both sons and grandsons,
the Talmud constituted his exclusive interest in life ;
but he displayed more erudition than originality.
His sole merit consists in the fact that he brought
the chaos of Talmudical learning into definite order,
and satisfied the need of the time for a complete
code of laws for religious practice.

Owing to his German origin and to his residence
in Spain, Jacob Asheri became familiar with the
productions of the different schools and authorities
in their minutest details. He was thus well suited
to control this chaotic mass and reduce it to order.
On the basis of the labors of all his predecessors in
this field, especially of Maimuni,. Jacob compiled a
second religious code (in four parts, Turim, short-
ened to Tur, about 1340). This work treated solely
of religious practice, that is, of the ritual, moral,
marriage and civil laws. He omitted all such things
as had fallen into disuse since the destruction of the
Temple and because of altered circumstances. With
the composition of this work, a new phase in the
inner development of Judaism may be said to begin.

CH. III. JACOB ASHERI'S CODE. 89

Jacob's code forms part of a graduated scale,
by means of which it can be ascertained to how low
a level official Judaism had sunk since the time
of Maimuni. In Maimuni's compilation thought is
paramount ; every ritual practice, of whatever kind,
whether good or bad, is brought into connection
with the essence of religion. In Jacob's code, on
the other hand, thought or reasoning is renounced.
Religious scrupulousness, which had taken so firm a
hold of the German Jewish congregations, inspires
the laws, and imposes the utmost stringency and
mortifications. Maimuni, in accepting religious pre-
cepts as obligatory, was guided entirely by the
Talmud, and but seldom included the decisions of
the Geonim as invested with authority. Asheri's
son, on the contrary, admitted into his digest of
religious laws everything that any pious or ultra-
pious man had decided upon either out of scrupu-
losity or as a result of learned exposition. In his
code, the precepts declared to be binding by rab-
binical authorities far outnumbered those of Talmudic
origin. One might almost say that in Jacob Asheri's
hands, Talmudical Judaism was transformed into
Rabbinism. He even included some of the follies
of the Kabbala in his religious digest.

Jacob's code is essentially different from that of
Maimuni, not only in contents, but also in form.
The style and the language do not manifest the
conciseness and lucidity of Maimuni's. Notwith-
standing this, his code soon met with universal
acceptance, because it corresponded to a want of
the times, and presented, in a synoptical form, all
the ordinances relating to the ritual, to marriage,
and civil laws binding on the adherents of Judaism
in exile under the rule of various nations. Rabbis
and judges accepted it as the criterion for practical
decisions, and even preferred it to Maimuni's work
A few of the rabbis of that age refused to forego
their independence, and continued to pronounce

90 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. 111.

decisions arrived at by original inquiry, and there-
fore paid little heed to the new religious code. The
great majority of them, on the other hand, not only
in Spain, but also in Germany, were delighted to
possess a handy book of laws systematically pre-
senting everything worth knowing, making deep,
penetrative research superfluous, and taxing the
memory more than the understanding. Thus Jacob's
Tur became the indispensable manual for the knowl-
edge of Judaism, as understood by the rabbis, for a
period of four centuries, till a new one was accepted
which far surpassed the old.

His brother, Jehuda Asheri, w^as on a par with
Jacob in erudition and virtue, but did not possess
similar power of reducing chaos to order. He was
born about 1284, and died in 1349. After the death
of his father, the community of Toledo elected him
as Asheri's successor in the rabbinate of the Spanish
capital. He performed the functions of his office
with extraordinary scrupulousness, w^ithout respect
of persons, and was able to call the whole commun-
ity to witness that he had never been guilty of the
slightest trespass. When Jehuda Asheri, on account
of some small quarrel with his congregation, re-
solved to take up his abode in Seville, the entire
community unanimously begged of him to remain
in their midst, and doubled his salary. In spite of
this show of affection, he did not feel comfortable
in Spain, and in his will he is said to have advised
his five sons to emigrate to Germany, the original
home of his family. The persecution of the German
Jews, during the year of the epidemic pestilence,
probably taught them that it was preferable to
dwell in Spain. By reason of his position in the
most important of the congregations and of his
comprehensive rabbinical learning, Jehuda Asheri
was regarded as the highest authority of his age,
and was preferred even to his brother Jacob.

Seeing that even the study of the Talmud, so

CH. III. DECUNE OF SCIENCE. 9I

zealously pursued in Spain, had fallen into this
state of stagnation and lassitude, the other branches
of science could not complain that they made no
progress, or were not attentively cultivated. The
study of the Bible, Hebrew grammar, and exegesis
were entirely neglected ; we can recall hardly a
single writer who earnestly occupied himself with
these subjects. Owing to the energetic zeal of
Abba-Mari, the interdict of Ben Adret, and the pro-
nounced aversion of Asheri, reasoning had fallen
into disrepute and decay. The truly orthodox
shunned contact with philosophy as the direct route
to heresy and infidelity, and pseudo-pious people
behaved in a yet more prudish fashion towards it.
It required courage to engage in a study inviting
contempt and accusations of heresy. The Kabbala,
too, had done its work, in dimming the eyes of men
by its illusions. There were but few representa-
tives of a philosophical conception of Judaism in
those days ; these were Isaac Pulgar, of Avila,
David Ibn-Albilla of Portugal, and Joseph Kaspi of
Argentiere, in southern France.

Levi ben Gerson, or Leon de Bagnols, was more
renowned and more talented than any of these. He
was also called Leo the Hebrew, but more usually
by his literary name Gersonides (born 1288, died
about 1345). He belonged to a family of scholars,
and among his ancestors he reckoned that Levi of
Villefranche who had indirectly caused the prohibi-
tion of scientific study. In spite of the interdict of
Ben Adret forbidding the instruction of youths in
science, Gersonides was initiated into it at a very
early age, and before he had reached his thirtieth
year he was at work at a comprehensive and pro-
found work upon philosophy. Gersonides was
gifted with a versatile and profound intellect, and
averse to all superficiality and incompleteness. In
astronomy he corrected his predecessors, and made
such accurate observations that specialists based

92 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. III.

their calculations upon them. He invented an
instrument by means of which observations of the
heavens could be made more certain. This discov-
ery filled him with such ecstasy that he composed a
Hebrew poem, a kind of riddle, upon it, though he
was an unpoetical man, and had his head filled with
dry calculations and logical conclusions. He also
wrote works upon the science of medicine, and dis-
covered new remedies. At the same time he was
held in very high repute by his contemporaries as
a profound Talmudist, and inspired by his love for
systematic arrangement, wrote a methodology of
the Mishna.

Maestro Leon de Bagnols, as he was called as a
physician, fortunately did not belong to the Jews of
France proper: he successively lived in Orange,
Perpignan, and in Avignon, at this time the home of
popedom. Therefore, he had not been a sufferer
in the expulsion of his co-religionists from this land ;
but his heart bled at the sight of the sufferings which
the exiles were made to undergo. He moreover
escaped from the effects of the rising of the Shep-
herds, and the subsequent bitter calamities. At
about the same time, his fertile powers of production
began to put forth fruit, and he began the series of
writings which continued for more than twenty years
(132 1 — 1343). None of his writings created such a
sensation as his work on the philosophy of religion
(Milchamoth Adonai). In this he set forth the
boldest metaphysical thoughts with philosophical
calmness and independence, as if paying no heed to
the fact that by his departure from the hitherto re-
ceived notions upon these questions, he was laying
himself open to the charges of heresy and heter-
odoxy. *Tf my observations are correct," he re-
marked, "then all blame leveled against me, I
regard as praise." Leon de Bagnols belonged to
a class of thinkers seldom met with, who, with
majestic brow, seek truth for its own intrinsic value,

CH. III. GERSONIDES. 93

without reference to other ends and results which
might cause conflict. Levi ben Gerson thus ex-
pressed his opinion upon this subject : Truth must
be brought out and placed beneath the glare of open
daylight, even if it should contradict the Torah in
the strongest possible manner. The Torah is no
tyrannical law, which desires to force one to accept
untruth as truth, on the contrary, it seeks to lead
man to a true understanding of things. If the truth
arrived at by investigation is in harmony with the
utterances of the Bible, then so much the better.
In his independence of thought, the only parallel to
Gersonides among Jewish inquirers is Spinoza. Un-
like many of his predecessors, he would not look
upon science as a body of occult doctrines designed
for an inner circle of the initiated. He moreover
refused to follow slavishly the authorities in philos-
ophy regarded as infallible. He propounded in-
dependent views in opposition not only to Maimuni
and Averroes, but also to Aristotle. Leon de Bag-
nols did not establish a perfect and thoroughly
organized system of the philosophy of religion, but
treated of the difficulties which interested the think-
ers of the age more incisively than any of his pre-
decessors.

In spite of his great ability, Gersonides exercised
very little influence apon Judaism. By the pious,
he was denounced as a heretic, because of his inde-
pendent research, and his ambiguous attitude
towards the doctrine of the creation. They took
the title of his chief work, "The Battles of the
Lord," to mean " Battles against the Lord." So
much the warmer was his reception by Christian in-
quirers after truth. Pope Clement VI, during the
lifetime of the author, commanded his treatise upon
astronomy and the newly-invented instrument to be
translated into Latin (1342).

Of a similar nature was another representative of
philosophical Judaism of this age, Moses ben Joshua

94 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. III.

Narboni, also called Maestro Vidal (born about
1300, died 1362). His father Joshua, who belonged
to a family in Narbonne, but resided in Perpignan,
was so warmly interested in Jewish, that is to say
Maimunistic, philosophy, that in spite of the inter-
dict hurled against all who studied the subject, he
instructed his son therein when he was thirteen
years old. Vidal Narboni became an enthusiastic
student. He divided his admiration between
Maimuni and Averroes, his writings consisting
chiefly of commentaries upon their works. His
travels from the foot of the Pyrenees to Toledo
and back again to Soria (1345 — 1362) enriched
and amended his knowledge. He was interested
in anything worth knowing, and made obser-
vations with great accuracy. No calamities or
troubles succeeded in damping his zeal in the in-
quiry after truth. In consequence of the Black
Death, an infuriated mob fell upon the community
at Cervera. Vidal Narboni was compelled to take
to flight with the rest of the congregation ; he lost
his possessions, and, what was more painful to him,
his precious books. These misfortunes did not dis-
turb him ; he took up the thread of his work where
it had been interrupted. He accomplished no
entirely independent or original work ; he was a
true Aristotelian of Averroist complexion. Nar-
boni conceived Judaism as a guide to the highest
degree of theoretical and moral truth: the Torah
has a double meaning — the one simple, direct, for
the thoughtless mob, and the other of a deeper,
metaphysical nature for the class of thinkers — a
common opinion in those times, Gersonides alone
demurring. Narboni, too, gave expression to he-
retical views, that is, such as are contrary to the
ordinarily accepted understanding of Judaism, but
not with the freedom and openness of Levi ben
Gerson. He rejected the belief in miracles, and
attempted to explain them away altogether, but de-

CH. IIL AARON BEN ELJA. 9$

fended man's freedom of will by philosophical argu-
ments. Death overtook him in the very midst of
his labors when, advanced in years, he was on the
point of returning to his native land from Soria, on
the other side of the Pyrenees, where he had spent
several years.

Though the Karaite, Aaron ben Elia Nicomedi,
may be reckoned among the philosophers of this time,
he can scarcely be admitted into the company of Levi
ben Gerson and the other Provencal thinkers. His
small stock of philosophical knowledge was a matter
of erudition, not the result of independent thought.
Aaron II, of Nicomedia (in Asia Minor, born about
1300, died 1369), who probably lived in Cairo, was
indeed superior to his ignorant brother Karaites,
but several centuries behind the Rabbanite philoso-
phers. His thoughts sound like a voice from the
grave, or as of one who has slumbered for many
years, and speaks the language of antiquity, not
understood by the men of his own day.

Aaron ben Elia was not even able to indicate the
end aimed at by his work, "The Tree of Life."
Without being himself fully conscious of his motives,
he was guided in its composition by jealous rivalry
of Maimuni and the Rabbanites. It vexed him sorely
that Maimuni's religious philosophical work, " The
Guide," was perused and admired not only by Jews,
but also by Christians and Mahometans, whilst the
Karaites had nothing like it. Aaron desired to save
the honor of the Karaites by his "Tree of Life."
He sought to detract from the merits of the work of
Maimuni, and remarked that some of the statements
to be found in the book had been made by Karaite
philosophers of religion. Notwithstanding this, he
followed Maimuni most minutely, and treated only
of those questions which the latter had raised ; but
he sought to solve them not by the aid of philos-
ophy, but by the authority of the Bible.

The history of this period, when dealing with

96 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. HI.

events in Germany, has nothing but calamities to
record : bloody assaults, massacres, and the conse-
quent intellectual poverty. Asheri and his sons
were either deluded or unjust when they preferred
bigoted Germany to Spain, at that time still tolera-
ble, and cast longing looks thitherwards frorn Toledo.
From the time of Asheri' s departure till the middle
of the century, misfortune followed upon misfortune,
till nearly all the congregations were exterminated.
On account of this state of affairs, even the study
of the Talmud, the only branch of learning pursued
in Germany with ardor and thoroughness, fell into
decay. How could the Germans gather intellectual
strength, when they were not certain about one
moment of their lives, or their means of sustenance?
Their state in a most literal way realized the pro-
phetical threat of punishment: "Thy life shall hang
in doubt before thee ; and thou shalt fear day and
night. In the morning thou shalt say. Would God
it were even ! and at even thou shalt say. Would
God it were morning ! for the fear of thine heart
wherewith thou shalt fear." Emperor Louis, the
Bavarian, is reported to have been favorably in-
clined towards the Jews, which is said to have made
them proud. But this is idle calumny both against
the emperor and the Jews. No German ruler before
him had treated his " servi camerae " so badly,
pawned them and sold them, as Louis the Bavarian.
He also imposed a new tax upon the Jews, the
so-called golden gift-pence. As the emperors had
gradually pawned all the revenues derived from
their "servi camerae" to enable them to satisfy
their immediate necessity for money, Louis the
Bavarian was driven to cogitate upon some new
means of obtaining supplies from them. He pro-
mulgated a decree (about 1342), which commanded
that every Jew and Jewess in the German Empire
above the age of twelve, and possessed of at least
more than twenty florins, should pay annually to

CH. IIL " ARMLEDER.** JJJT

the king or the emperor a poll-tax of a florin. He
probably derived his right, if, indeed, the question
of right was considered in reference to the treat-
ment of Jews, from the fact that the German em-
perors were in possession of all the prerogatives
once claimed by those of Rome. As the Jews,
since the days of Vespasian and Titus, had been
compelled to pay a yearly tax to the Roman em-
perors, the German rulers declared themselves the
direct heirs to this golden gift-pence.

Hitherto the massacres of Jews in Germany had
taken place only at intervals, and in a few places ;
but now, under the reign of Louis, owing to riots
and civil wars, they became much more frequent
During two consecutive years (1336 — 1337), a regu-
larly organized band of peasants and rabble, who
called themselves " the beaters of the Jews," made
fierce attacks upon them with unbridled fury and
heartless cruelty. Two dissolute noblemen w^ere at
the head of this troop ; they gave themselves the
name of Kings Leather-arm (Armleder) from a piece
of leather which they wore wound round the arm.
In this persecution, as in that of Rindfleisch, the fan-
aticism and blind superstition inculcated by the
church played an important part One of the
Leather-arms announced that he had received a di-
vine revelation which directed him to visit upon the
Jews the martyrdom and the wounds which Jesus
had suffered, and to avenge his crucifixion by their
blood. Such a summons to arms seldom remained
unanswered in Germany. Five thousand peasants,
armed with pitchforks, axes, flails, pikes, and what-
ever other weapons they could lay hands upon,
gathered around the Leather-arms, and inflicted a
bloody slaughter upon the Jewish inhabitants of Al-
sace and the Rhineland as far as Suabia. As
frequently happened during such barbarous perse-
cutions, numbers of Jews, on this occasion also, put
an end to their own lives, after having slain theii*

§9 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH, IIL

children to prevent their falling Into the hands of
the Church. Emperor Louis the Bavarian did in-
deed issue commands to protect the heretic Jews
(April, 1337), but his help came too late, or was of
little effect. At length the emperor succeeded in
capturing one of the Leather-arms, whom he ordered
to be executed.

At about the same time a bloody persecution,
prompted by the frenzy of avarice, was set on foot
in Bavaria. The councilors of the city of Decken-
dorf (or Deggendorf) desired to free themselves
and all the citizens from their debts to the Jews, and
enrich themselves besides. To carry out this plan,
the fable of the desecration of the host by the Jews,
with the accompaniment of the usual miracles, was
spread abroad. When the populace had been incited
to a state of fanatical frenzy, the council proceeded
to execute the project which it had secretly matured
outside the town, so as not to arouse any suspicion
among the Jews. On the appointed day (30th Sep-
tember, 1337), at a signal from the church bell, the
knight Hartmann von Deggenburg, who had been
initiated in the conspiracy, rode with his band of
horsemen through the open gates into Deckendorf,
and was received with loud rejoicing. The knight
and the citizens thereupon fell upon the defenseless
Jews, put them to death by sword and fire, and pos-
sessed themselves of their property. In honor of
the miracles performed by the host that had been
pierced by the knives of the Jews, a church of the
Holy Sepulcher was erected, and appointed as a
shrine for pilgrims ; and the puncheons which the
Jews had used, together with the insulted host, were
placed beneath a glass case, and guarded as relics.
For many centuries they were displayed for the edi-
fication of the faithful, — perhaps are still displayed.
The lust for slaughter spread abroad into Bavaria,
Bohemia, Moravia, and Austria. Thousands of
Jews perished by different forms of torture and

CH. III. MASSACRE OF DECKENDORF. 99

death. Only the citizens of Vienna and Ratisbon
protected their Jewish inhabitants against the infuri-
ated mob. The friendly efforts of Pope Benedictus
XII were of little avail against the brutal spirit of
the then Christian world.

CHAPTER IV.

THE BLACK DEATH.

Rise of the False Accusation against Jews of Poisoning the Wells-
Massacres in Southern France and Catalonia — The Friendly
Bull of Pope Clement VI — Terrible Massacres in all Parts of Ger-
many— Confessions wrung from the Jews on the Rack — The
Flagellants as a Scourge for the Jews — King Casimir of Poland
— Persecution in Brussels — The Black Death in Spain — Don
Pedro the Cruel and the Jews — Santob de Carrion and Samuel
Abulafia — Fall of Don Pedro and its Consequences for the Jews
— Return of the Jews to France and Germany — The " Golden
Bull" — Manessier de Vesoul — Matathiah Meir Halevi — Synod
at Mayence.

1348 — 1380 C.E.

The assistance of the pope was of very little use to
the Jews, and the protection of the German emperor
was like the support of a broken reed. Within ten
years they learned this comfortless experience ; for
soon came most mournful days for the Jewish com-
munities in most parts of Europe where the cross
held sway, to which the slaughter by the Leather-
arms and the brutal atrocities of Deckendorf were
but a weak prelude.

The glimpse of good fortune which the Spanish
Jews enjoyed under Alfonso XI served only to
bring down upon their brethren in the other Christian
countries a widespread, intense, indescribably cruel
persecution with which none of the massacres that
had hitherto taken place can be compared. The
destroying angel called the Black Death, which
carried on its ravages for over three years, made
its way from China across lands and seas into the
heart of Europe, heralded by premonitory earth-
quakes and other terrifying natural phenomena.
Sparing neither rank nor age, it left a devastated
track behind, sweeping away a fourth part of all
mankind (nearly 25,000,000) as with a poison-laden

CH. IV. THE BLACK DEATH. lOI

breath and stifling every noble impulse. In Europe
the invisible Death with its horrors turned the Chris-
tians into veritable destroying angels for the Jews.
Those whom the epidemic had spared were handed
over to torture, the sword, or the stake. Whilst
neither Mahometans nor Mongols who suffered from
the plague attacked the Jews, Christian peoples
charged the unhappy race with being the originators
of the pestilence, and slaughtered them e7i masse.
The church had so often and impressively preached
that infidels were to be destroyed ; that Jews were
worse than heretics, even worse than unbelieving
heathens ; that they were the murderers of Chris-
tians and the slayers of children, that at last its true
sons believed what was said, and carried its doctrines
into effect. Owing to the prevailing misery, disci-
pline and order, obedience and submissiveness were
at an end, and each man was thrown upon his own
resources. Under these circumstances, the effects
of the education of the church appeared in a most
hideous form. The Black Death had indeed made
itself felt among Jews also ; but the plague had
visited them in a comparatively milder form than the
Christians, probably on account of their greater
moderation, and the very careful attention paid their
sick. Thus the suspicion arose that the Jews had
poisoned the brooks and wells, and even the air, in
order to annihilate the Christians of every country
at one blow.

It was charged that the Spanish Jews, supposed
to be in possession of great power and influence
over the congregations of Europe, had hit upon this
diabolical scheme ; that they had dispatched mes-
sengers far and wide with boxes containing poison,
and by threats of excommunication had coerced the
other Jews to aid in carrying out their plans, and
that these directions issued from Toledo, which
might be viewed as the Jewish capital. The infatu-
ated populace went so far as to name the man who

I02 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. I\.

had delivered these orders and the poison. It was
Jacob Pascate, said they, from Toledo, who had set-
tled in Chambery (in Savoy), from which as a center
he had sent out a troop of Jewish poisoners into all
countries and cities. This Jacob, together with a
Rabbi Peyret, of Chambery, and a rich Jew, Aboget,
was said to have dealt largely in the manufacture
and sale of poisons. The poison, prepared by the
Jewish doctors of the black art in Spain, was re-
ported to be concocted from the flesh of a basilisk,
or from spiders, frogs and lizards, or from the hearts
of Christians and the dough of the consecrate^l
wafers. These and similar silly stories invented by
ignorant, or, perhaps, malicious people, and distorted
and exaggerated by the heated imagination, were
credited not alone by the ignorant mob, but even by
the higher classes. The courts of justice earnestly
strove to learn the real truth of these rumors, and
employed the means for confirming a suspicion used
by the Christians of the Middle Ages with especial
skill — torture in every possible form.

As far as can be ascertained, these tales concern-
ing the poisoning of the brooks and wells by Jews
first found credence in southern France, where
the Black Death as early as the beginning of the
year 1348 had obtained many victims. In a certain
town of southern France, on one day (the middle
of the month of May), the whole Jewish congrega-
tion, men, women, and children, together with their
holy writings, were cast into the flames. From that
place the slaughter spread to Catalonia and Aragon.
In these provinces, in the same year, anarchy was
rife, because the nobles and people had revolted
against the king, Don Pedro, in order to secure cer-
tain of their privileges against the encroachments
of the monarch. When the tales of the poisoning
of the wells had taken firm root in the minds of the
people of these countries also, the inhabitants of
Barcelona gathered together on a Saturday (towards

CH. IV. POPE CLEMENT VI. IO3

the end of June), slew about twenty persons, and
pillaged the Jewish houses. The most distinguished
men of the city received the persecuted people
under their protection, and aided by a terrible storm,
loud thunder and flashes of lightning, they made a
successful attack upon the deluded or plunder-seek-
ing assailants of the Jews.

A few days later the community at Cervera was
attacked in a similar manner, eighteen of its mem-
bers killed, and the rest compelled to flee. The
Jewish philosopher, Vidal Narboni, happened to be
in the town, and in the assault he lost his posses-
sions and his books. All the congregations of
northern Spain knew themselves in danger of being
attacked ; they instituted public fasts, implored mercy
from heaven, and barricaded those of their quarters
which were surrounded by walls. In Aragon, how-
ever, the higher classes came to the help of the Jews.
Pope Clement VI, who had taken so much interest
in the astronomical works of Gersonides, and who,
terrified at the approach of death, had shut himself
up in his room, still felt for the sufferings of an in-
nocent, persecuted people. He issued a bull in
which, under pain of excommunication, he prohibited
anyone from killing the Jews without proper judicial
sentence, or from dragging them by force to be
baptized, or from despoiling them of their goods
(the beginning of July). This bull was probably
of some use in southern France, but in the other
parts of the Christian world it produced no effect.
One country followed the example of another.
The ideally beautiful region surrounding Lake
Geneva next became the scene of a most frightful
pe*-secution. At the command of Amadeus, duke
of Savoy at that time, several Jews suspected of
poisoning were arrested and imprisoned in two
small towns, Chillon and Chatel, on Lake Geneva,
A commission of judges was appointed to inquire
into the charges brought against the prisoners, and,

104 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH, IV.

if convicted, they were to be severely punished. In
this country, then, a prince and his tribunal believed
the preposterous fable of the poisoning by Jews.
On the Day of Atonement (15th September, 1348),
three Jews and a Jewess in Chillon were made to
undergo torture : the surgeon Valavigny, from
Thonon, Bandito and Mamson, from Ville-Neuve,
and, three weeks later, Bellieta and her son Aquet.
In their pain and despair, they told the names of
the persons from whom they had received the poison,
and admitted that they had scattered it in different
spots near wells and brooks. They denounced
themselves, their co-religionists, their parents and
their children as guilty. Ten days later the merci-
less judges again applied the torture to the enfee-
bled woman and her son, and they vied with each
other in their revelations. In Chastelard five Jews
were put to the torture, and they made equally
incredible confessions of guilt. Aquet made the
wild statement that he had placed poison in
Venice, in Apulia and Calabria, and in Toulouse,
in France. The secretaries took down all these
confessions in writing, and they were verified by
the signatures of their authors. To remove all
doubts concerning their trustworthiness, the crafty
judges added that the victims were only very lightly
tortured. In consequence of these disclosures, not
only the accused who acknowledged their crime,
but all the Jews in the region of Lake Geneva and
in Savoy were burnt at the stake.

The report of the demonstrated guilt of the Jews
rapidly made its way from Geneva into Switzerland,
and here scenes of blood of the same horrible
description were soon witnessed. The consuls of
Berne sent for the account of the proceedings of
the courts of justice at Chillon and Chastelard, They
then put certain Jews to the torture, extracted con-
fessions from them, and kindled the funeral pyre
for all the Jews (September).

CH. IV. MASSACRES IN SWITZERLAND. IO5

The annihilation of the Jews on the charge of
poisoning was now systematically carried out, begin-
ning with Berne and Zofingen (canton Aargau).
The consuls of Berne addressed letters to Basle,
Freiburg, Strasburg, Cologne, and many other
places, with the announcement that the Jews had
been found guilty of the crime imputed to them ;
and also sent a Jew, bound in chains, under convoy,
to Cologne, that every one might be convinced
of the diabolical plans of the Jews. In Zurich the
charge of poisoning the wells was raised together
with that of the murder of a Christian child. There,
also, those who appeared to be guilty were burnt at
the stake, the rest of the community expelled from
the town, and a law passed forbidding them ever to
return thither (21st September). The persecution
of the Jews extended northwards with the pestilence.
Like the communities around Lake Geneva, Jews
in the cities surrounding Lake Constance, in St.
Gall, Lindau, UeberHngen, Schaffhausen, Constance
(Costnitz), and others, were burnt at the stake, put
to the wheel, or sentenced to expulsion or compul-
sory baptism. Once again Pope Clement VI took
up the cause of the Jews ; he published a bull to the
whole of Catholic Christendom, in which he declared
the innocence of the Jews regarding the charge
leveled against them. He produced all possible
reasons to show the absurdity of the accusation,
stating that in districts where no Jew lived the
people were visited by the pestilence, and that Jews
also suffered from its terrible effects. It was of no
avail that he admonished the clergy to take the Jews
under their protection, and that he placed the false
accusers and the murderers under the ban (Septem-
ber) . The child had become more powerful than its
parent, wild fancy stronger than the papacy.

Nowhere was the destruction of the Jews prose-
cuted with more thoroughness and more intense
hatred than in the Holy Roman Empire. In vain

Id6 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. IV.

the newly-elected emperor, Charles IV, of Luxem-
burg, issued letter after letter forbidding the persons
of the Jews, his "servi camerse," to be touched.
Even had he possessed more power in Germany, he
would not have found the German people willing to
spare the Jews. The Germans did not commit their
fearful outrages upon the Jews merely for the sake
of plunder, although a straightforward historian of
that epoch, Clpsener of Strasburg, remarks that
"their goods were the poison which caused the
death of the Jews." Sheer stupidity made them
believe that Jews had poisoned the wells and rivers.
The councils of various towns ordered that the
springs and wells be walled in, so that the citizens
be not poisoned, and they had to drink rain water
or melted snow. Was it not just that the Jews, the
cause of this evil, should suffer?

There were some too sensible to share the delu-
sion that the Jews were the cause of the great
mortality. These few men deserve a place in
history, for, despite their danger, they could feel
and act humanely. In the municipal council of
Strasburg, the burgomaster Conrad (Kunze) of
Wintertur, the sheriff, Gosse Sturm, and the master
workman, Peter Swaber, took great trouble to prove
the Jews innocent of the crimes laid at their door,
and defended them against the fanatical attack of
the mob and even against the bishop. The coun-
cilors of Basle and Freiburg likewise took the part
of the unhappy people. The council of Cologne
wrote to the representatives of Strasburg that it
would follow the example of the latter town with
regard to the Jews ; for it was convinced that the
pestilence was to be considered as a visitation from
God. It would, therefore, not permit the Jews to
be persecuted on account of groundless reports, but
would protect them with all its power, as in former
times. In Basle, however, the guilds and a mob
rose in rebellion against the council, repaired

CH. IV. CHAMPIONS OF THE JEWS. IO7

with their flags to the city hall, insisted that the
patricians who had been banished on account of
their action against the Jews, should be recalled,
and the Jews banished from the city. The coun-
cil was compelled to comply with the first demand ;
as to the second, it deferred its decision until a
day of public meeting, when this matter was to
be considered. In Benfelden (Alsace) a council
was actually held to consider the course to be fol-
lowed with regard to Jews. There were present
Bishop Berthold of Strasburg, barons, lords, and
representatives of the towns. The representatives
of Strasburg bravely maintained the cause of the
Jews, even against the bishop, who either from
malice or stupidity was in favor of their complete
destruction. Although they repeatedly demonstrated
that the Jews could not be the cause of the pesti-
lence, they were out-voted, and it was decided to
banish the Jews from all the cities on the upper
Rhine (towards the close of 1348).

The Jews of Alsace, through the decision of
Benfelden, were declared outlaws, and were either
expelled from the various places they visited, or
burnt. A hard fate overtook the community of
Basle. On an island of the Rhine, in a house
especially built for the purpose, they were burnt to
death (January 9th, 1349), and it was decided that
within the next two hundred years no Jew should
be permitted to settle in that city. A week later
all the Jews of Freiburg were burnt at the stake
with the exception of twelve of the richest men,
who were permitted to live that they might disclose
the names of their creditors, for the property of the
victims fell to the community. The community of
Speyer was the first sacrifice amongst the communi-
ties of the Rhineland. The mob rose up and killed
several Jews, others burning themselves in their
houses, and some going over to Christianity. The
council of Speyer took the property of the Jews,

I08 HISTORY OF THE JEWS, CH. IV.

and confiscated their estates in the neighborhood.
The council of Strasburg remained firm in its pro-
tection of the Jews, sending out numerous letters
to obtain proofs of their innocence. But from many-
sides came unfavorable testimony. The council of
Zahringen said that it was in possession of the
poison the Jews had scattered. When tried it proved
fatal to animals. The council would not let it go
out of its hands, but would show it to a messenger.

A castellan of Chillon had the confessions of the
Jews tortured in the district of Lake Geneva copied,
and sent them to the council of Strasburg. Only
the council of Cologne encouraged Wintertur to
support the cause of the Jews, and to take no notice
of the demands of their enemies. At length the
trade-guilds rose against Wintertur and his two
colleagues, who were deposed from office. A new
council was chosen that favored the persecutions of
the Jews. In the end, the entire community of
Strasburg — 2,000 souls — were imprisoned. The
following day, on a Sabbath (14th February, 1349),
they were all dragged to the burial ground. Stakes
were erected, and they were burnt to death. Only
those who in despair accepted the cross were spared.
The new council decreed that for a period of a
hundred years no Jew should be admitted into Stras-
burg. The treasures of the Jews were divided
amongst the burghers, some of whom were loth to
defile themselves with the money, and, by the ad-
vice of their confessors, devoted it to the church.

Next came the turn of Worms, the oldest Jewish
community in Germany. The Jews of this town
had the worst to fear from their Christian fellow-
citizens, Emperor Charles IV having given them
and their possessions to the town in return for ser-
vices, so that " the city and the burghers of Worms
might do unto the Jews and Judaism as they wished,
might act as with their own property." When
the council decreed that the Jews should be burnt,

CH. IV. THE JEWS OF WORMS. IO9

the unfortunates determined to anticipate the death
which awaited them from the hangman. Twelve
Jewish representatives are said to have repaired to
the town hall and begged for mercy. When this
was refused to them, they are said to have drawn
forth the weapons concealed in their clothes, to have
fallen on the councilors, and killed them. This story
is legendary ; but it is a fact that nearly all the Jews
of Worms set fire to their houses, and that more
than 400 persons were burned to death (loth Adar
— I St March. 1349). The Jews of Oppenheim like-
wise burnt themselves to death to escape being tor-
tured as poisoners (end of July). The community
of Frankfort remained secure so long as the rival
emperors, Charles IV and Gunther of Schwarzburg,
were fighting in that neighborhood ; the latter holding
his court in Frankfort. When he died, and the con-
test was ended, the turn of the Jews of Frankfort
came to be killed. On being attacked they burned
themselves in their houses, causing a great con-
flagration in the city. In Mayence, where the Jews
had hitherto been spared, a thief, during a flagellation
scene, stole his neighbor's purse. An altercation
arose, and the mob seized the opportunity to attack
the Jews. They had, no doubt, been prepared, and
300 of them took up arms, and killed 200 of the mob.
This aroused the anger of the entire Christian com-
munity, which likewise took to arms. The Jews
fought a considerable time ; at length, overpowered
by the enemy, they set fire to their houses (24th
August). Nearly 6,000 Jews are said to have per-
ished in Mayence. In Erfurt, out of a community of
3,000 souls, not one person survived, although the
council, after their slaughter in the whole of Thur-
ingia, including Eisenach and Gotha, had long pro-
tected them. In Breslau, where a considerable
community dwelt, the Jews were completely de-
stroyed. Emperor Charles gave orders to seize the
murderers and give them their due punishmenL

no HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. IV.

But he had taken no steps to hinder the horrible
slaughter enacted everywhere, although informed of
the plots against the Jews. In Austria, also, the
outcry was made that the Jews were poisoners,
and terrible scenes ensued. In Vienna, on the
advice of Rabbi Jonah, all the members of the
congregation killed themselves in the synagogue.
In Krems, where there was a large congregation,
the populace of the town, assisted by that of a neigh-
boring place named Stein and the villages, attacked
the Jews, who set fire to their houses and died (Sep-
tember, 1349), only a few being saved.

In Bavaria and Suabia, persecution was also rife,
and the communities of Augsburg, Wiirzburg, Mun-
ich, and many others succumbed. The Jews of
Nuremberg, through its extensive commerce, pos-
sessed great riches and grand houses, and were
the especial objects of dislike to the Christians.
Their destruction was so imminent that Emperor
Charles IV freed the council from responsibility if
they should be injured against its wish.

At length their fate was fulfilled. On a spot
afterwards called Judenbiihl (Jews' hill), the follow-
ers of the religion of love erected a pile, and all
those who had not emigrated were burnt or killed.
The council of Ratisbon did its utmost to save the
community, the oldest in the south of Germany.
For here also the mob demanded the annihilation or
banishment of the Jews. The dukes of Bavaria, the
sons of Emperor Louis, who favored the persecution
of the Jews, had given the people permission in
writing to "treat the Jews as they liked, according
to honor or necessity, and banish them with or with-
out justice." Margrave Louis of Brandenburg, son
of Emperor Louis, one of the partisans of the rival
emperor, Gunther of Schwarzburg, showed his
religious feeling by giving orders to burn all the
Jews of Konigsberg (in Neumark), and to confis-
cate their goods. So inhuman were people in those

CH. IV. THE JEWS OF POLAND. Ill

days that the executioner boasted of his deed, and
gave documentary evidence that Margrave Louis
had commanded the Jews to be burnt. In North
Germany there Hved but few Jews, except in Magde-
burg, but there, too, they were burnt or banished.
In Hanover (in 1 349) the flagellants were rampant.
Outside of Germany, amongst the nations still
uncivilized, there were comparatively few persecu-
tions. Louis, King of Hungary, an enthusiast for
his faith, drove the Jews out of his land, not as
poisoners, but as infidels, who opposed his scheme
of conversion, although he had given them equal
rights with the Christians and privileges besides.
The Hungarian Jews who remained true to their
faith emigrated to Austria and Bohemia. In Poland,
where the pestilence also raged, the Jews suffered
but slight persecution, for they were favored by
King Casimir the Great. At the request of some
Jews who had rendered services to him, the king,
after his ascent upon the throne (October 9th, 1334)
confirmed the laws enacted nearly a century before
by Boleslav Pius, duke of Kalish, or rather by
Frederick the Valiant, archduke of Austria, and
accepted by the king of Hungary and various
Polish princes. Holding good only in the dukedom
of Kalish and Great Poland, they were extended by
Casimir to the whole of the Polish empire. Thir-
teen years later, Casimir altered the laws by which
the Jews were permitted to lend money at interest,
but we must not deduce that he was inimical to the
Jews, for he expressly states that he made this
limitation only at the request of the nobility. In the
years of the pestilence, too, Casimir appears to have
protected the Jews against the outbreaks of the mis-
guided multitude, for the accusation of the poison-
ing of wells by the Jews had traveled from Germany
across the Polish frontier, and had roused the
populace against them. Massacres occurred in
Kalish, Cracow, Glogau, and other cities, especially

112 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. IV

on the German frontier. If the number of Jews
stated to have been killed in Poland (10,000) be
correct, it bears no relation to the enormous multi-
tudes who fell as victims in Germany. Later (1356)
Casimir is said to have taken a beautiful Jewish
mistress named Esther (Esterka), who bore him two
sons (Niemerz and Pelka) and two daughters. The
latter are said to have remained Jewesses. In
consequence of his love to Esther, the king of
Poland is supposed to have bestowed special favors
and privileges on some Jews, probably Esther's
relations. But the records, handed down by untrust-
worthy witnesses, cannot be implicitly believed.

At all events, the Jews of Poland fared better than
those of Germany, seeing that they were placed on
an equality, if not with the Roman Catholics, yet
with the Ruthenians, Saracens, and Tartars. The
Jews were permitted to wear the national costume
and gold chains and swords, like the knights, and
were eligible for military service.

As on the eastern frontier of Germany, the Jews
on the western side, in Belgium, were also perse-
cuted at the period of the Black Death. In Brussels
a wealthy Jew stood in great favor with the duke of
Brabant, John II. When the flagellants came, and
the death of his co-religionists was imminent, this
Jew entreated his patron to accord them his protec-
tion, which John willingly promised. But the ene-
mies of the Jews had foreseen this, and ensured
immunity from punishment through the duke's son.
They attacked the Jews of Brussels, dragged them
into the streets, and killed all — about 500.

In Spain, the congregations of Catalonia, which,
after those of Provence, supplied the first victims,
conceived a plan to prevent the outrages of fanati-
cism. They determined to establish a common fund
in support of their people who should become desti-
tute through a mob or persecution. They were to
choose deputies to entreat the king (Don Pedro IV)

CH. IV. THE JEWS OF CASTILE. II3

to prevent the recurrence of such scenes of horror.
Other concessions were to be sought, but the plan
was never carried into effect, owing to delay on the
part of the Jews of Aragon, and also probably
because too much was expected of the king. The
Jews under Aragonian rule were still behind those
in the kingdom of Castile.

In Castile also the Black Death had held its grue-
some revelries ; but here the population, more intel-
ligent than elsewhere, did not dream of holding the
Jews responsible for its ravages. In Toledo and
Seville the plague snatched away many respected
members of the community, particularly from the
families of Abulafia, Asheri, and Ibn-Shoshan. The
grief of the survivors is vividly depicted in such of
the tombstone inscriptions of the Toledo Jewish
cemetery as have come down to us. King Alfonso
XI was amongst the victims of the insidious plague,
but not even a whisper charged the Jews with
responsibility for his death. During the reign of
Don Pedro (1350 — 1369), Alfonso's son and suc-
cessor, the influence of the Castilian Jews reached a
height never before attained. It was the last luster
of their splendid career in Spain, soon to be shrouded
in dark eventide shadows. The young king, only
fifteen years of age when called to the throne, was
early branded by his numerous enemies with the
name of "Pedro the Cruel." His favors to the
Jews had a share In procuring him this nickname,
although he was not more cruel than many of his
predecessors and successors. Don Pedro was a
child of nature with all the good and the bad quali-
ties implied ; he would not submit to the restrictions
of court etiquette, nor allow himself to be controlled
by political considerations. Through the duplicity
and faithlessness of his bastard brothers, sons of
Alfonso's mistress, Leonora de Guzman — the same
who had unconsciously saved the Jews from Immi-
nent destruction — the king was provoked to san-

114 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. IV.

guinary retaliation. The instinct of self-preservation,
the maintenance of his royal dignity, filial affection,
and attachment to an early love, had more to do
with his reckless, bloody deeds than inherent cruelty
and vengeance. The young king, destined to come
to so sad an end, involving the Castilian Jews in his
fall, was from the beginning of his reign surrounded
by tragic circumstances. His mother, the Portu-
guese Infanta Donna Maria, had been humiliated
and deeply mortified by her husband at the mstiga-
tion of his mistress, Leonora de Guzman. Don
Pedro himself had been neglected for his bastard
brothers, and particularly for his elder half-brother,
Henry de Trastamara. The first important duty of
his reign, then, was to obtain justice for his humil-
iated mother, and degrade the rival who had caused
her so much misery. That he tolerated his bastard
brothers is a proof that he was not of a cruel dispo-
sition. His severity was felt more by the grandees
and hidalgos, who trampled on justice and humanity,
and ill-treated the people with cavalier arrogance.
Only in these circles Don Pedro had bitter enemies,
not amongst the lower orders, which, when not mis-
led, remained faithful to him to death. The Jews also
were attached to him. They risked property and
life for their patriotism, because he protected them
against injustice and oppression, and did not treat
them as outcasts. The Jews certainly suffered much
through him, not in the character of patient victims,
as in Germany and France, but as zealous partisans
and fellow combatants, who shared the overthrow
of their leader with his Christian followers.

Shortly after Don Pedro had ascended the throne,
when the grief caused by the death of King Alfonso
XI was still fresh, a venerable Jewish poet ventured
to address to the new monarch words of advice in
well-balanced Spanish verses. This poet, Santob
(Shem Tob) de Carrion, from the northern Spanish
town of that name (about 1300 — 1350), a member

CH. IV. SANTOB DE CARRION. US

of a large community, has been entirely neglected
in Jewish literature. Christian writers have pre-
served his memory and his verses. Santob's (or as
abbreviated, Santo's) poetical legacy deserves to be
treasured. His verses flow soft and clear as the
ripples of an unsullied spring, dancing with silvery
brightness out of its rocky hollow. He had not
only thoroughly mastered the sonorous periods of
the Spanish language, at that time in a transition
state between tenderness and vigor, but had en-
riched it. Santob embodied the practical wisdom of
his time in beautiful strophes. His *' Counsels and
Lessons," addressed to Don Pedro, have the char-
acter of proverbs and apothegms. He drew upon
the unfailing wealth of maxims of the Talmud and
later Hebrew poets for his verse, and the sweetness
of his poetry was derived from various sources.

Santob's verses are not always of this gentle,
uncontroversial character. He did not hesitate to
speak sternly to those of his co-religionists who
had become wealthy by the king's bounty, and
he denounced the prejudice with which Spanish
Christians regarded whatever was of Jewish origin.
Even to the young king he was in the habit of in-
dulging in a certain amount of plain speaking ; and
in his stanzas, more than 600 In number, he often
drew for his majesty's benefit suggestive pictures of
virtue and vice. He reminded the king, too, of
promises made to Santob by his father, and bade
him fulfill them. From this it would appear that our
Jewish troubadour, who wooed the muse so success-
fully, was not a favorite of fortune. Little, how-
ever, is known of him beyond his verses, and we
have no knowledge of the reception which his rep-
resentations met at the hands of Don Pedro.

To other prominent Jews the king's favor was
unbounded. Don Juan Alfonso de Albuquerque,
his tutor and all-powerful minister, recommended
for the post of minister of finance a Jew who had

i

Il6 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. IV.

rendered him great services, and the king appointed
Don Samuel ben Meir AUavi, a member of the lead-
ing family of Toledo, the Abulafia-Halevis, to a
state situation of trust, in defiance of the decision
of the cortes that Jews should no longer be eligible.
Samuel Abulafia not only became treasurer-in-chief
(Tesoreo mayor), but also the king's confidential
adviser (privado), who had a voice in all important
consultations and decisions. Two inscriptions
referring to Don Samuel, one written during his
lifetime, the other after his death, describe him as
noble and handsome, instinct with religious feel-
ing, a benevolent man, " who never swerved from
the path of God, nor could he be reproached with
a fault."

Another Jew who figured at Don Pedro's court
was Abraham Ibn-Zarzal, the king's physician and
astrologer. Don Pedro was, indeed, so surrounded
by Jews, that his enemies reproached his court for
its Jewish character. Whether the protection he ex-
tended to his Jewish subjects was due to the influ-
ence of these Jewish favorites or to his own im-
pulses is unknown. On opening for the first time
the cortes of Valladolid (May, 1351), he was pre-
sented with a petition, praying him to abolish the
judicial autonomy enjoyed by the Jewish communi-
ties and their right to appoint their own Alcaldes ; he
replied that the Jews, being numerically a feeble
people, required special protection. From Christian
judges they would not obtain justice, or their cases
would be delayed.

Whilst the relatives of the young king were in-
triguing to arrange a marriage between him and
Blanche, daughter of the French Due de Bourbon,
he fell in love with Maria de Padilla, a clever, beau-
tiful lady of a noble Spanish family. It is said that
he was formally married to her in the presence of
witnesses. At any rate, he caused the marriage
proposals to Blanche to be withdrawn ; but the

CH. TV. FACTIONS AT COURT. 11/

Bourbon princess, either of her own accord, or at
the instance of her ambitious relatives, insisted on
coming to Spain to assume the diadem. Her re-
solve brought only sorrow to herself and misfortune
to the country. The nearest relatives of the king
strained every nen/e to procure the celebration of
the marriage, and in this they succeeded ; but Don
Pedro remained with his bride only two days. The
result of this state of things was that to the old
parties in the state another was added, some
grandees taking part with the deserted queen,
others with Maria de Padilla. To the latter belono-ed
Samuel Abulafia and the Jews of Spain. The
reason assigned was that Blanche, having observed
with displeasure the influence possessed by Samuel
and other Jews at her husband's court, and the
honors and distinctions enjoyed by them, had made
the firm resolve, which she even commenced to put
into execution, to compass the fall of the more
prominent Jews, and obtain the banishment of the
whole of the Jewish population from Spain. She
made no secret of her aversion to the Jews, but, on
the contrary, expressed it openly. For this reason,
it is stated, the Jewish courtiers took up a position
of antagonism to the queen, and, on their part, lost
no opportunity of increasing Don Pedro's dislike
for her. If Blanche de Bourbon really fostered such
anti-Jewish feelings, and circumstances certainly
seem to bear out this view, then the Jews were com-
pelled in self-defense to prevent the queen from
acquiring any ascendency, declare themselves for
the Padilla party, and support it with all the means
in their power. Dissension and civil war grew out
of this unhappy relation of the king to his scarcely
recognized consort. Albuquerque, who was first
opposed to the queen, and then permitted himself to
be won over to her side, fell into disgrace, and
Samuel Abulafia succeeded him as the most trusted
of the king's counselors. Whenever the court

Il8 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. IV.

moved, Samuel, with other eminent grandees, was
in attendance on the king.

One day Don Pedro's enemies, at their head his
bastard brothers, succeeded in decoying him, with a
few of his followers, into the fortress of Toro. His
companions, among whom was Samuel Abulafia,
were thrown into prison, and the king himself was
placed under restraint (1354). Whilst a few of
the loyal grandees and even the Grand Master of
Calatrava were executed by the conspirators, the
favorite Samuel was, strange to say, spared. Later
on he succeeded in escaping with the king. Having
shared his royal master's misfortune, he rose still
higher in his favor, and the esteem in which he was
held by the king was largely increased by his suc-
cessful administration of the finances, which he had
managed so as to accumulate a large reserve, of
which few of Don Pedro's predecessors had been
able to boast. The treacherous seizure of the king
at Toro formed a turning point in his reign. Out
of it grew a fierce civil war in Castile, which Don
Pedro carried on with great cruelty. In this, how-
ever, the Jewish courtiers had no hand ; even the
enemies of the Jews do not charge the Jewish min-
ister with any responsibility for Don Pedro's exces-
ses. The bastard brothers and their adherents
endeavored to seize the chief town, Toledo. Here
Don Pedro had numerous partisans, amongst them
the whole of the Jewish community, and they con-
tested the entrance of the brothers. One of the
gates was, however, secretly opened to them by
their friends, and they immediately attacked the
quarters in which the Jews lived in large numbers.
In Alcana street they put to the sword nearly
12,000 people, men and women, old and young.
But in the inner town they failed to make any
impression, the Jews having barricaded the gates and
manned the walls, together with several noblemen
belonging to the king's party (May, 1355). A few

CH. IV, SAMUEL ABULAFIA. II9

days later Don Pedro entered Toledo. By his
adherents in the city he was received with enthusi-
asm, but he dealt out severe retribution to all who
had assisted his brothers.

Samuel Abulafia, by the wisdom of his counsels,
his able financial administration, and his zeal for the
cause of Maria de Padilla, continued to rise in the
favor of the king. His power was greater than that
of the grandees of the realm. His wealth was
princely, and eighty black slaves ser\'ed in his palace.
He seems to have lacked the generosity which would
have suggested employing some portion of his
power and prosperity for the permanent benefit of
his race and religion. He certainly "sought to pro-
mote the welfare of his people," as an inscription
tells us ; but he failed to understand in what this
welfare consisted. Against injustice and animosity
he protected his brethren, promoted a few to state
employment, and gave them opportunities for enrich-
ing themselves, but he was far from being what
Chasdai Ibn-Shaprut and Samuel Ibn-Nagrela had
been to their co-religionists. Samuel Abulafia
appears to have had little sympathy with intellectual
aspirations, or with the promotion of Jewish science
and poetic literature. He built synagogues for
several of the Castilian communities, and one of
especial magnificence at Toledo, but not a single
establishment for the promotion of Talmudic study.

The Abulafia synagogue at Toledo which, trans-
formed into a church, is still one of the ornaments
of the town, was, like most of the Spanish churches
of that period, built partly in the Gothic, partly in
the Moorish style. It consisted of several naves
separated from each other by columns and arches.
The upper part of the walls is decorated with deli-
cately cut arabesques, within which, in white char-
acters on a green ground, the eightieth Psalm may
be read in Hebrew. On the north and south sides
are inscriptions in bas-relief, reciting the merits of

I20 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. IV.

Prince Samuel Levi ben Meir. The community
offers up its thanks to God, " who has not withdrawn
His favor from His people, and raised up men to
rescue them from the hands of their enemies. Even
though there be no longer a king in Israel, God has
permitted one of His people to find favor in the eyes
of the king, Don Pedro, who has raised him above
the mighty, appointed him a councilor of his realm,
and invested him with almost royal dignities." The
name of Don Pedro appears in large and prominent
letters, suggesting that this prince, in intimate rela-
tions with the Jews, belonged, one may say, to the
synagogue. In conclusion, the wish is expressed
that Samuel may survive the rebuilding of the
Temple, and officiate there with his sons as chiefs of
the people.

This large and splendid synagogue was completed
in the year 1357. For the following year the be-
ginning of the Messianic period had been predicted,
a century before, by the astronomer Abraham ben
Chiya and the rabbi and Kabbalist Nachmani, and,
a few decades before, by the philosopher Leon de
Bagnols. As this prophecy was not literally fulfilled,
many Jews began to regard the eminence attained
by Samuel and other leading Jews as a suggestion of
the scepter of Judah. It was- a dangerous aberration,
whose pitfalls were fully appreciated by Nissim
Gerundi ben Reuben (about 1340 — 1380), rabbi of
Barcelona, the most important rabbinical authority
of his day. Justly fearing that the belief in the
coming of a Messiah would suffer discredit by the
non-fulfillment of such prophecies, he preached
against the calculation of the end of the world from
expressions in the book of Daniel.

Don Samuel exercised too decided an influence
over the king to avoid making enemies. Even had
he been a Christian, the court party would have de-
vised schemes to bring about his fall. Attempts were
made to stir up the Castilian population against the

CH. IV. SAMUEL ABUtAFIA'S DEATH. 121

Jews, particularly against the Jewish minister, not
only by Don Pedro's bastard brother, Don Henry,
and Queen Blanche, but by all formerly in the king's
service. Don Pedro Lopez de Ayala, poet, chron-
icler, and the king's standard-bearer, has given us,
in one of his poems, a picture of the feelings of the
courtiers for favored Jews: "They suck the blood
of the afflicted people ; they lap up their possessions
with their tax-farming. Don Abraham and Don
Samuel, with lips as sweet as honey, obtain from the
king whatever they ask." Samuel's fall was de-
sired by many. It is even said that some Toledo
Jews, envious of his good fortune, charged him with
having accumulated his enormous wealth at his
royal master's expense. Don Pedro confiscated
Samuel's entire fortune and that of his relatives,
170,900 doubloons, 4,000 silver marks, 125 chests
of cloth of gold and silver and 80 slaves from the
minister, and 60,000 doubloons from his relatives.
According to some writers, an extraordinary quan-
tity of gold and silver was found buried under Sam-
uel's house. Don Pedro ordered his former favorite
to be imprisoned at Toledo and placed upon the
rack at Seville, in order to force him to disclose
further treasures. He, however, remained firm, re-
vealed nothing, and succumbed under the torture
(October or November, 1360). His gravestone re-
cites in simple phrase how high his position had
been, and how his soul, purified by torture, had
risen to God. Concerning Don Pedro, the inscrip-
tion has not a single condemnatory expression.

Samuel Abulafia's death did not change the
friendly relations between the king and the Jews.
They remained faithful to him, and he continued to
confer important distinctions on members of their
body. They consequently came in for a share of
the hatred with which the enemies of the king re-
garded him. The king resolved to put to death his
detested consort (1361). Whatever the character

122 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. IV.

of the queen, whether she was a saint or the re-
verse, whether or not she had deserved her fate,
the method of her death must ever remain a stain
on Don Pedro's memory. In spite of the animosity
with which De Ayala regarded the Jews, there is no
intimation in his chronicle that any of Don Pedro's
Jewish favorites were concerned in this crime. It
was reserved for a later period to invent fables
identifying them with the king's guilt. A story was
forged to the effect that a Jew had administered
poison to the queen on the king's order, because
she had insisted on the expulsion of the Jews from
Spain. A French romance, in which an endeavor is
made to varnish the deeds and misdeeds of the
French adventurers who fought against Don Pedro
and the Jews, attributes the queen's death to a
Jewish hand.

Don Pedro announced publicly, before the assem-
bled cortes at Seville, that his marriage with Blanche
of Bourbon had been illegal, inasmuch as he had
been previously married to Maria de Padilla. He
called witnesses, among them a few of the clergy,
and these confirmed his statement on oath. Through
the murder of Blanche, and its consequences, an
opportuntity offered itself to Don Henry de Trasta-
mara to obtain allies for the dethronement of the
king, and of this he was not slow to avail him-
self. The Bourbons in France and the king prom-
ised him aid, and allowed him to enlist the wild
lances of the so-called great or white company,
who, at the conclusion of the war with England,
were rendering France insecure. The pope, dis-
pleased at the favors shown by Don Pedro to the
Jews, also supported Don Henry, and placed the
king of Spain under the ban.

To invest his rebellion with a tinge of legality
and win the feelings of the people, Don Henry
blackened his brother's character, picturing him as
an outcast who had forfeited the crown because he

CH. IV. DON HENRY PROCLAIMED KING. 123

had allowed his states to be governed by Jews, and
had himself become attached to them and their re-
ligion. Don Henry carried his calumnies so far as
to state that not only his mistress, Maria de Padilla,
was a Jewess, but that Don Pedro himself was of
Jewish extraction.

With the mercenaries of the "white company,"
graceless banditti, Henry crossed the Pyrenees to
make war on and, if possible, depose his brother.
At the head of these French and English outlaws
stood the foremost warrior of his time, the hero and
knight-errant, Bertrand du Guesclin (Claquin), cele-
brated for his deeds of daring, his ughness, and his
eccentricity, who, like the Cid, has been glorified by
legend. The Jews consistently cast in their fortunes
with those of the Don Pedro party, and supported
it with their money and their blood. They flocked
to its standard in the field, and garrisoned the
towns against the onslaughts of Don Henry and Du
Guesclin. The wild mercenaries to whom they were
opposed avenged themselves not only on the Jew-
ish soldiers, but also on those who had not borne
arms.

The approach of the enemy compelled Don Pedro
to abandon Burgos, the capital of Old Castile, and
at an assembly of the inhabitants it was prudently
resolved not to contest Don Henry's entrance. On
taking possession of the town, where he was first
proclaimed king (March, 1360), Henry levied a fine
of 50,000 doubloons on the Jewish community, and
canceled all outstanding debts due from Christians
to Jews. The Jews of Burgos, unable to pay this
large contribution, were compelled to sell their
goods and chattels, even the ornaments on the
scrolls of the Law. Those who could not make up
their share of the contribution were sold into slavery.
The whole of Spain fell to the conqueror in conse-
quence of Don Pedro's neglect to concentrate round
himself that portion of the population on which he

124 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. IV.

could rely, or to buy over the free lances of the
"white company," as he had been advised. The
gates of Toledo, the capital, were opened to the
victor, although Don Pedro's party, to which the
Jews belonged, strongly counseled defense. Upon
the Toledo community Don Henry also levied a
heavy fine for its fidelity to the legitimate king.
Don Pedro's last refuge was Seville, which he also
lost.

Once again fortune smiled on Don Pedro, after
he was compelled to cross the Pyrenees as a fugi-
tive, and leave the whole of his country in the hands
of the enemy. The heroic Prince of Wales, called
the Black Prince from the color of his armor, being
in the south of France, undertook to come to the aid
of the deposed monarch both for the sake of a legiti-
mate cause, and in expectation of rich rewards in
money and land. Henry de Trastamara was com-
pelled to leave Spain (1367). The whole of the
peninsula hailed the victor Don Pedro and his ally,
the Black Prince, with enthusiasm, as it had pre-
viously rejoiced at the triumph of his brother and
the wild Constable of France, Bertrand du Gues-
clin. Soon, however, the scene changed. The
Black Prince left Don Pedro, and Don Henry
returned with new levies from France. The north-
ern towns of Spain again fell before his arms. The
citizens of Burgos opened their gates to the con-
queror, but the Jews remained true to the unfor-
tunate Don Pedro. Assisted by a few loyal noble-
men, they bravely defended the Jewry of Burgos,
and were subdued only by the superior strength of
the enemy. They obtained a favorable capitulation,
providing for their undisputed continuance in the
town, but they were forced to pay a war indemnity
of one million maravedis.

This time the Christian population was desirous
of profiting by the revolt against Don Pedro. The
cortes of Burgos represented to Henry that the

CH, IV. JEWS FAVOR DON PEDRO. 125

Jews, having been favorites and officials under the
former king, were largely responsible for the civil
war, and that he should sanction a law to exclude
them in future from all state employment, including
the post of physician to the king or queen, and also
from the right of farming taxes. To this Don
Henry replied that such a practice had not been
countenanced by any former king of Castile. He
would, however, not consult with the Jews at his
court, nor permit them the exercise of functions
which might prove detrimental to the country.
From this it is evident that Henry had no particular
aversion to the Jews. Possibly, he feared that by
oppressing them he might drive them to acts of
desperation.

Don Pedro still counted many adherents in the
country. Most of the Jewish communities remained
true to him, and Jews served in his army, and fought
against the usurper for the king, who to the last
treated them with special favor. Even when in
despair he was obliged to call to his assistance the
Mahometan king of Granada, he impressed upon
that monarch the duty of protecting the Jews. Not-
withstanding this, the Jews endured indescribable
sufferings at the hands of both friend and foe. Don
Pedro being entirely dependent on the auxiliaries
of the Black Prince and on those of the Mahometan
king, his wishes with respect to the Jews were not
regarded. The community of Villadiego, celebrated
for its benevolence and the promotion of learning,
was utterly destroyed by the English. The same
evil fortune befell Aguilar and other communities.
The inhabitants of Valladolid, who paid allegiance
to Don Henry, plundered the Jews, demolished
their eight synagogues, despoiled them of their
treasures, and tore up the sacred writings. A period
of shocking degeneracy followed. Wherever Don
Henry came, he laid the Jews under heavy contri-
butions, precipitating them into poverty, and leaving

126 HISTORY OF THE JEWS, CH. IV.

them nothing but their lives. The Mahometan king,
Don Pedro's ally, carried three hundred Jewish
families as prisoners from Jaen to Granada. Still
worse was the treatment of the violent Du Guesclin.
A prey to French Jew-hatred, he could not look
upon Jews as his equals in party strife and war,
but only as slaves who had dared draw the sword
against their masters. The misery was so great
at this time that many Jews became converts to
Christianity.

The community of Toledo suffered most severely.
In emulation of Don Pedro's Christian adherents,
they made the greatest sacrifices for the defense of
the town, and endured a long and frightful siege.
The famine during the investment was so great that
the unfortunates consumed, not only the parchment
of the La^\, but even the flesh of their own chil-
dren. Through hunger and war the greater portion
of the Toledo community perished — according to
some 8,000 persons, according to others more than
10,000. At last, at Montiel, Don Henry defeated
his brother, who had been abandoned by all his
partisans (14th March, 1369). Don Pedro's end was
tragic. When the brothers met, Henry is said to
have hurled these insulting words in his face :
" Where is the Jew, the son of a harlot, who calls
himself king of Castile?" They then closed in a
struggle. Don Pedro was overcome, and beheaded
by his brother's general, Du Guesclin. Pope Urban
V could not contain his delight on hearing the news
of Don Pedro's death. " The church must rejoice,"
he wrote, "at the death of such a tyrant, a rebel
against the church, and a favorer of the Jews and
Saracens. The righteous exult in retribution." The
humiliation and abasement of the Spanish Jews,
which the papacy had so long failed to accomplish,
was obtained unexpectedly by the civil war in Castile.
At Montiel they suffered a defeat pregnant with
consequences fatal to their future.

en. IV. DISTRESS OF THE JEWISH COMMUNITIES. 12/

Had a traveler, like Benjamin of Tudela, journeyed
through Europe in the latter half of the fourteenth
century, with the object of visiting, enumerating,
and describing the various Jewish communities, he
would have had a dismal picture to give us. From
the Pillars of Hercules and the Atlantic Ocean to
the banks of the Oder or the Vistula, he would have
found in many districts no Jews at all, and elsewhere
only very small, poverty-stricken, wretched com-
munities, still bleeding from the wounds inflicted
by the plague-maddened populace. According to
human calculation, the destruction of the Jews in
western and central Europe was imminent. Those
who had survived the pitiless massacre, or been
spared a desperate suicide, had lost courage. Com-
munal ties were for the most part rent asunder. The
recollection of the scenes of horror through which
they had passed long agitated the small number
of surviving Jews, and left them no hope of better
times. Lord Byron's elegiac lines —

" The wild dove hath her nest, the fox his cave.
Mankind their country — Israel but the g^ave,"

are applicable to the whole of the mediaeval history
of the Jews, but to no period more than to this.
Western and central Europe had become for the
descendants of the patriarchs and the prophets one
vast grave, which insatiably demanded new victims.
It is remarkable that the Jews had become indis-
pensable to the Christian population, in spite of the
venomous hatred with which the latter regarded
them. Not only princes, but cities, and even the
clergy, had a mania for "possessing Jews." A few
years after the terrible frenzy which followed the
Black Death, German citizens and their magistrates
hastened to re-admit the Jews ; they soon forgot
their vow, that for a hundred or two hundred years
no Jew should dwell within their walls. The bishop
of Augsburg applied to Emperor Charles IV for the

128 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. IV.

privilege " to receive and harbor Jews." The elec-
tors, ecclesiastical as well as secular, were bent upon
curtailing the exclusive right of the German em-
peror to possess serfs of the chamber (servi camerae),
and upon acquiring the same right for themselves.
Gerlach, archbishop of Mayence, especially exerted
himself to wrest this privilege from Emperor Charles
IV, his success being to no small extent due to
the desire of the emperor to retain his popularity
amongst the electors. At an imperial Diet held at
Nuremberg in November, 1355, where a kind of
German constitution, known as the "Golden Bull,"
was promulgated, the emperor conferred on the
electors, in addition to the right of discovery of
metal and salt mines, the privilege to hold Jews ;
that is to say, he yielded to them this source of rev-
enue in addition to such sources as deposits of metal
and salt. But it was only to the electors that the
emperor conceded this right ; he retained his rights
over the "servi camerae" living under the rule of
the minor princes and in cities. The archiepiscopal
elector of Mayence lost no time in utilizing the new
privilege, and immediately employed a Jew to obtain
others for him. Thus the Jews were at once repelled
and attracted, shunned and courted, outlawed and
flattered. They were well aware that it was not for
their own sake that they were tolerated, but solely
on account of the advantages they afforded the
authorities and the population. How, then, could
they be expected not to devote themselves to money-
making, the sole means by which they were enabled
to drag out a miserable existence ?

In France, as in Germany, financial considerations
induced the rulers to consent to the re-admission of
the Jews. The embarrassments resulting from fre-
quent wars with England, particularly felt after the
captivity of King John (September, 1356), threatened
to reduce this chivalrous land to the condition of a
province of the English crown. Money especially

CH. IV. MANKSSIER DE VESOUL. 1 29

was wanting. Even to ransom the imprisoned king
the assembled States-General did not vote supplies,
or they burdened their grant with heavy conditions.
The third estate rose in rebellion, and encouraged
the peasants to throw off the yoke of the nobles.
Anarchy reigned throughout the country. At this
juncture the Jews, with their financial skill, appeared
to the dauphin Charles, who acted as regent during
the captivity of the king, as providential deliverers
of the state. A clever Jew, Manessier (Manecier)
de Vesoul, actively negotiated the return of the Jews
to France, whence they had been so frequently
banished. The dauphin-regent had granted per-
mission to a few Jews to return, but if the impover-
ished state or court was to reap any real benefit
from such return, it was necessary that it should
take place on a large scale. Hence, the plan which
Manessier submitted to the prince was approved in
every detail, and the return of the Jews for twenty
years was authorized under the most favorable con-
ditions. Neither the Jews nor their representative,
Manessier, cared to take advantage of so important
an offer without the consent of the imprisoned king.
The plan was accordingly submitted to him for con-
firmation. At the instance of Manessier de Vesoul,
the Jews at the same time laid before the king a
memorial setting forth that they had been unjustly
expelled from France, and that they could not for-
get the land of their birth. The imprisoned monarch
then issued a decree (March, 1360), by which, with
the consent of the higher and lower clergy, the
higher and lower nobility, and the third estate, per-
mission was granted to all Jews to enter France
and reside there for twenty years. They were
allowed to take up their abode in any part of the
country, in large and small towns, villages and
hamlets, and to possess, not only houses, but also
lands.

The head of every Jewish family was, however.

130 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. IV.

compelled, on entering the country, to pay a sum
of fourteen florins (florins de Florence) for himself,
and one florin for each child or other member of
his family ; besides this, he became liable to an
annual Jew tax of seven florins, and one for each
individual of his household. On the other hand, the
emigrants were to enjoy extensive privileges. They
were not amenable to the jurisdiction of the ordinary
courts or officials, but had a special justiciary in the
person of Count d'Etampes, a prince of the blood
royal, who acted as their protector (gardien, con-
servateur), and whose duty it was to appoint inves-
tigating judges and commissioners, and to safeguard
the interests of the community when endangered.
Cases of misdemeanor and crime amongst them-
selves were to be tried by two rabbis and four
assessors. From the decisions of this tribunal there
was no appeal. The property of the convicted
Jewish criminal, however, became forfeited to the
king, to whom, in addition, the rabbis had to pay
the sum of one hundred florins. For past misde-
meanors and crimes the king granted them a com-
plete amnesty. They were protected against the
violence of the nobles and the petty annoyances of
the clergy. They could not be forced to attend
Christian services or discourses. Their furniture,
cattle, and stores of grain and wine, as well as their
sacred books, not merely the Bible, but copies of
the Talmud also, were to be guaranteed against con-
fiscation, so that the public burning of the Talmud
at Paris could not be repeated. The amplest pro-
tection was given their trade. They were allowed
to charge 80 per cent interest (4 deniers on the
livre) on loans, and to take pledges, their rights
upon which were safeguarded by a fence of laws.
Manessier de Vesoul himself, the active and zealous
negotiator of these privileges, was appointed to a
high position at court. He became receiver general
(procureur or receveur-general),and in this capacity

CH. IV. THE ROUELLE. I3I

was responsible for the punctual payment of the
Jew taxes, his commission being nearly 14 per cent.
The result of the granting of these privileges was
that the Jews entered France in large numbers, even
foreigners being permitted to settle there, or take
up a more or less protracted residence.

The extensive privileges granted to the Jews
excited envy. The Christian physicians, exposed to
the competition of Jewish doctors, complained that
the latter had not passed a public examination, and
denounced them as charlatans. The judges and
officials, without power over the Jews and having no
opportunity for extorting money from them, com-
plained that they abused their privileges. The
clergy, indignant at the favored position of the Jews,
but having no real grievance, complained that they
no longer wore the prescribed badge. The feeble
king allowed an order to be extorted from him, to
some extent in contradiction of his own decree, by
which only such Jews were to be permitted to prac-
tice medicine as had passed an examination, and all
Jews, not excepting those even who enjoyed especial
privileges (Manessier and his family), were to wear
a red and white wheel-shaped badge (rouelle) of the
size of the royal seal. Finally the Jews were re-com-
mitted to the jurisdiction of the ordinary courts, and
the earlier arrangements annulled.

As soon as the politic dauphin ascended the
throne, under the title of Charles V, and adopted a
strict system of government, to deliver himself from
dependence on the States-General (May, 1364), he
proceeded to assure himself of the sources of
revenue possessed by the Jews. He restored the
privileges partly abolished by his father, lengthened
the period of residence by six years, and secretly
granted permission to Hebrew money dealers to
exceed the charge of 80 per cent on loans. At the
instance of Manessier de Vesoul, always zealous
in the interests of his co-religionists, the Jews were

132 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. IV.

again withdrawn from the jurisdiction of the ordi-
nary tribunals, and committed to the care of their
official protector, Count d' Etampes. The clergy,
whose hatred of the Jews bordered on inhumanity,
were rendered powerless. In the south of France,
the heads of the church had threatened with excom-
munication any Christians who should trade with
Jews, or provide them with fire, water, bread, or
wine, and by this means, had so stirred up the
fanaticism of the people, that the lives and prop-
erty of the Jews were imperiled. To counteract
this, the governor of Languedoc issued, in the name
of the king, an ordinance informing the officials,
both lay and ecclesiastical, that all who exhibited
hostility toward the Jews would be unsparingly
punished in person and substance.

During the reign of Charles V (1364 — 1380),
then, the condition of the Jews was at least endur-
able. Manessier remained receiver general of the
Jew taxes for the north of France (Langue d'Oyl),
and the same functions were discharged by Denis
Quinon in Languedoc. On the complaint of the
latter that a few Jewish converts, in conjunction
with the Christian clergy, had forced their former
brethren to attend the churches to hear sermons,
the king issued a rescript (March, 1368) severely
prohibiting all such unseemly compulsion. Sub-
sequently, Charles prolonged the period for remain-
ing in the country by ten years, and later on by six
more. All this was brought about by the indefatig-
able Manessier (1374). His zeal in the Jewish
cause and the advantages the king derived from his
exertions were rewarded by the exemption of him-
self and his family from every kind of tax, contri-
bution and service to the crown (1375).

Although the German and French Jews appeared
to revive after their dreadful sufferings, it was only
a material revival ; their spirit remained dead. Their
intellectual powers had disappeared. In France,

CH. IV. MATATHIAH PROVENCI. 133

where, during more than two centuries, from Rashi
to the last of the Tossafists, the study of the Talmud
had been carried to its most flourishing point, and
where remarkable acuteness and intellectual depth
had been developed, the new emigrants exhibited so
astonishing an ignorance that they were obliged to
commence their studies anew. The indulgences of
the kings, John and Charles, certainly spoke of
rabbis who should be invested with authority to try
Jewish criminals ; but there was not a single pro-
found Talmudist among them ; indeed, according to
the avowal of contemporary writers, not more than
five of even mediocre attainments. The only devotee
of Talmudical study, Mattathiah ben Joseph Provenci,
has left nothing in writing to testify to his ability.
Held in such esteem by Charles V that he and his
family were exempted from wearing the distinctive
badges prescribed by law, and apparently related to
the receiver general, Manessier de Vesoul, Mata-
thiah was in the best position to deal with the pre-
vailing ignorance. He re-established a college at
Paris, assembled pupils, expounded the Talmud
to them, ordained them to rabbinical offices, and
caused copies of the Talmud to be written. In
consequence of his energy and his comparatively
great learning, he was chosen by the newly estab-
lished French communities to the office of chief
rabbi and chief justice in civil and penal cases, his
appointment being confirmed by the king. His
school had to supply the communities with rabbis,
but his pupils enriched rabbinical literature by their
contributions as little as he himself Even Provence,
once so fruitful of Jewish literature, had become
intellectually impoverished.

In Germany, where the rabbis had once been so
proud of their traditional knowledge, the Black
Death, with its attendant persecutions and banish-
ments, had so thinned the ranks of the Jews that
extraordinary intellectual decay had set in. The

134 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. IV.

illiterate and the superficial, in the absence of better
men, were inducted into rabbinical offices. This
mischievous practice was vigorously opposed by
Meir ben Baruch Halevi, a rabbi, who, in his time,
passed for a great authority in Germany (1370 —
1390). Rabbi at Vienna, as his father had been
before him, Meir Halevi (Segal) ordered that no
Talmudical student should exercise rabbinical func-
tions unless authorized by a rabbi of standing.
Until then it had been the practice for anyone who
felt able and willing to assume the rabbinical office
without further ceremony, or, if he perchance settled
in the neighborhood of his teacher, to obtain per-
mission from him. As from the time of Gershom of
Mayence there had always been great Talmudists
in Germany, public opinion counteracted the abuse
of this liberty ; for had an unqualified person arro-
gated to himself the exercise of rabbinical functions,
he would have incurred general derision and con-
tempt. After the Black Death, however, this deter-
rent lost much of its force through the scarcity of
Talmudists. The order of Meir of Vienna, that
every rabbi should be ordained, that he should earn
the title (Morenu), and that, without such prepara-
tion, he should be precluded from dealing with matri-
monial matters, marriages and divorces, was dictated
by the exigencies of the times, not the presumptu-
ousness of its author. The insignificance of even
the most respected of the German rabbis of this
period is apparent from the fact that not one of them
has left any important Talmudical work ; that, on
the contrary, they all pursued a course productive
of mental stagnation. Meir Halevi, his colleague
Abraham Klausner, and Shalom, of Austria, rabbi
at Neustadt, near Vienna, devoted themselves
exclusively to writing down and perpetuating the
customs of the communities (Minhagim), to which,
formerly, but very little attention had been given.
They and their disciples, Isaac Tyrnau of Hungary,

CH. IV. SYNOD AT MAYENCE. 1 35

and Jacob Molin (Maharil) have left behind them
nothing but such insipid compilations. If the
Austrian school, which at this time preponderated,
was so wanting in intellectuality, how much more
the Rhenish, from which only names have come
down to us.

Through the disasters that resulted from the
Black Death, the memories of old times had become
so obliterated that the Rhenish rabbis found them-
selves compelled, in consequence of differences of
opinion on points of marriage law, to convene a
synod, exclusively for the purpose of restoring old
regulations. At the meeting at Mayence (15th
Ab — 5th August, 1 381) a few of the rabbis, together
with some of the communal leaders, renewed the
old decisions of Speyer, Worms and Mayence
(Tekanoth Shum) ; as, for instance, that the childless
widow should be released, without extortion or
delay, from the obligation of marrying her brother-
in-law, and should receive a definite portion of the
property left by her husband. Among the rabbis
who took part in this synod there is not one name
of note.

CHAPTER V.

THE AGE OF CHASDAl CRESCAS AND ISAAC BEN SHESHET.

The Jews of Spain after the Civil War — ^Joseph Pichon and Samuel
Abrabanel — The Apostates : John of ValladoUd — Menachem ben
Zerach, Chasdai Crescas, and Isaac ben Sheshet — Chayim Galli-
papa and his Innovations — Prevot Aubriot and the Jews of
Paris — The French Rabbinate — Revival of Jewish Influence in
Spain — The Jews of Portugal — The Jewish Statesmen, David
and Judah Negro — Rabbis and Clergy — Persecutions in Germany
and Spain — The First Germs of the Inquisition — Second Expul-
sion of the Jews from France — The Convert, Pessach-Peter —
Lipmann of Miihlhausen.

1369 — 1380 c. E.

The heart of the Jewish race had become not
less crippled and sickly than its members. In Spain
disintegrating forces were at work on the firm
nucleus of Judaism, which had so long defied the
corroding influences of ecclesiastical and civil ani-
mosity. The prince, whom the Jews at the dictates
of their loyalty had so sturdily resisted, against
whom they had even taken up arms ; the bastard,
Don Henry de Trastamara ; the rebel who had
brought civil war upon his native land, and flooded
it with a marauding soldiery ; the fratricide, who had
burst the bonds alike of nature and law, had, after
the victory of Montiel, seized the scepter with his
blood-stained hands, and placed the stolen crown of
Castile on his guilty head. Of the large Jewish
population, a considerable proportion had, during
the protracted and embittered civil war, met death
on the field of battle, in the beleaguered towns, and,
armed and unarmed alike, at the swords of the
mercenaries of the "white company."

The Jewish community of Toledo, the Castilian
capital — the "Crown of Israel" of the Middle Ages,
and, in a measure, the Jerusalem of the Occident — •

CH, V. DON HENRY II. 137

did not number, after the raising of the siege, as
many hundreds of Jews as previously thousands. The
remainder of the Jews of Castile had been reduced
to beggary by the depredations and confiscations of
friend and foe. Not a few, in their despair, had
thrown themselves into the arms of Christianity. A
striking picture of the unhappy condition of the
Castilian communities at this period is furnished by
a contemporary writer, Samuel ^ar^a : " In truth,
plunderers followed on plunderers, money vanished
from the purse, souls from the bodies ; all the pre-
cursory sufferings of the Messianic period arrived
— but the Redeemer came not! "

After Don Henry's victory, the Jews had good
reason to tremble. One pretext for making war on
his brother was the favor shown by Don Pedro to
Jews. Now he had become the arbiter of their
destinies. Would he not, like another Vespasian
or Hadrian, place his foot on the necks of the van-
quished? The gloomiest of their anticipations, how-
ever, were not realized. Don Henry II was as little
able to dispense with the Jews as his predecessors,
or the French and German princes. Jews were the
only financiers able to keep the state exchequer in
prosperity and order, and for this purpose Don
Henry stood in need of them more than ever.
During the war he had incurred debts for the pay-
ment of the troops with which Du Guesclin had
assisted him, and for help received in other quarters
he had made promises which had to be redeemed.
The countr}' had become impoverished by the pro-
tracted war. Who was to procure the necessary
sums, and provide for the systematic collection of
the taxes, if not the Jews ? Henry was not blind to
the merits of the Jews exemplified in their constancy
to his brother. Instead of punishing the conquered,
he appreciated their fidelity, saying : " Such subjects
a king must love and reward, because they main-
tained proper loyalty to their conquered king unto
death, and did not surrender to the victor."

138 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. V.

Don Henry, then, was guilty of the conduct which,
in the case of his brother, he branded as a crime in
the eyes of all Christendom ; he employed able Jews
in the service of the state, confiding to them the
finances in particular. Two Jews from Seville, Don
Joseph Pichon and Don Samuel Abrabanel, he ap-
pointed to important posts, the former as receiver
general of taxes, and Almoxarif to the king, by
whom he was held in high esteem. Other Jews,
distinguished for their ability or their wealth, had
access to Don Henry's court.

If the king bore the Jews no grudge for the part
they had taken in the war against him, the general
population was not so magnanimous. The nobility
and the commonalty could not forgive their having
confronted them as foes in the besieged towns and
on the open battle-fields. A passion for venge-
ance, linked with the usual Jew-hatred, blinded
them to the benefits which the Jews contributed
to the welfare of the state, and their only thought
was how to gratify their resentment. The Jews,
being the vanquished, ought, as they thought, to
be reduced to a kind of serfdom. The hostile
feeling of the populace manifested itself on the
assembling of the first- cortes at Toro (1371).
Here the enemies of the Jews opened the attack.
The cortes expressed to the king their displeasure
that this "evil, audacious race," these enemies
of God and Christendom, were employed in
"high offices " at court and by the grandees of
the realm, and that the farming of the taxes was
confided to them, by which means feeble Christians
were held in subjection and fear. The cortes ac-
cordingly made explicit demands upon the crown
with respect to the Jews. From that time forward
they were not to be eligible for any kind of state
employment; they were to live in Jewish quarters
separated from the Christian population, be forced to
wear Jew-badges, be prohibited from appearing in

CH. V. JEAV BADGES. 139

public in rich apparel, from riding on mules, and from
bearing Christian names. To Don Henry these de-
mands were very unwelcome, but he dared not re-
fuse some concessions. The majority he dismissed
with the remark that in his treatment of Jews he only
followed the example of his ancestors, especially
that of his father, Alfonso XI. The two restrictions
conceded were, if not of material significance, yet
calculated to have a sinister effect. These were
that the Castilian Jews should don the degrading
badges, and give up their Spanish names. The
pride of the Jews, equal to that of the grandees and
the hidalgos, was deeply wounded. A century and
a half had elapsed since the canonical law concern-
ing the Jew-badge, the outcome of papal intolerance
and arrogance, had been promulgated. During the
whole of that period the Jews of Castile had been
able to prevent its application to themselves, but
now they also were to be compelled to wear the
stigma on their garments. They who had been ac-
customed to hold their heads high, and rejoice in
sounding titles, were, like the German Jews, to slink
along with downcast eyes, and be called by their
Oriental names. They could not accustom them-
selves to this humiliating" situation.

In consequence of an outcry made by some of his
subjects, who had been ruined by loans from Jewish
creditors, and complained of usurious interest, Don
Henry made encroachments upon their private
rights. He decided that if the Christian debtors
discharged their obligations within a short space of
time, they need refund only two-thirds of the prin-
cipal borrowed.

The misery resulting from the civil war and the
new restrictions exercised a depressing effect on the
Castilian Jews. Their most prominent men, those
who had access to court, and possessed wealth and
influence, especially Samuel Abrabanel, exerted
themselves to remedy the gloomy state of affairs.

140 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. V.

They particularly endeavored to restore the abased,
impoverished, and disorganized community of To-
ledo ; but it was beyond their power to revive the
scholarly culture and intellectual distinction to which
the Toledo community had been as much indebted
for its leading position as to the prosperity of its
members. The unhappy war, and the evils follow-
ing in its trail, had stunted the Jewish mind, and
diverted it from intellectual to material interests.
Disorganization proceeded with great strides. In-
difference to scientific work resulted in so general
an ignorance, that what formerly every tyro was fa-
miliar with now passed for transcendent wisdom.
We have an example of the mawkishness to which
the new Hebrew poetry had fallen in the verses of
the poetaster Zarak (Zerach) Barfat, who, in a poet-
ical paraphrase of the book of Job, completely mar-
red the beauties of that work of art. Just at this
period men of learning and ability were urgently
required, for representatives of Christianity began
to make earnest and energetic attacks on Judaism
to obtain converts from amongst its adherents.

Don Henry had much to thank the clergy for ;
they had sanctified his usurpation, and acquiesced
in his arrogated succession. From gratitude and a
false conception of religiousness, he conceded much
to them. At his command, Jews were again forced
to take part in religious debates, in which there was
much to lose and nothing to gain.

Two baptized Jews received from the king the
privilege of holding religious discussions in every
province and town of Castile, which they might com-
pel Jews to attend.

One of these apostates was John of Valladolid.
At Burgos the discussion took place before Arch-
bishop Gomez of Toledo. At Avila the whole com-
munity was compelled to repair to the great church
(1375), where the debate was carried on in the
presence of many Christians and Mahometans.

CH. V. DISPUTATION AT AVILA. I4I

Moses Cohen de Tordesillas, who was as familiar
with Christian as with Jewish theological authorities,
appeared on behalf of the Jews. He entered upon
his dangerous enterprise with trepidation, for he had
had an opportunity to form an estimate of Christian
charity. During the civil war, Christian marauders
had robbed him of all his possessions, and had even
personally ill-used him in order to force him to em-
brace Christianity. All these trials he had suffered
with the courage of strong convictions, but he had
become so poverty-stricken that he had to accept
support from the community of Avila.

Moses de Tordesillas did not find his part in the
discussion too difficult. The apostate John of Valla-
dolid laid stress on the proposition that the dogmas
of Christianity — the Messianic claim, the Divinity
and Incarnation of Jesus, the Trinity, and the Vir-
ginity of the " Mother of God" — could be demon-
strated from the Old Testament. It was consequently
not difficult for his Jewish opponent to confute his
arguments. After four debates John was obliged to
abandon his task, vanquished. This, however, did
not conclude the matter. A pupil of the apostate,
Abner-Alfonso, appeared soon after, and challenged
Moses de Tordesillas to a debate on the Talmud
and Agadic texts. In case of refusal, he threatened
publicly to impeach the Talmud as the source of
anti-Christian sentiments. Moses was again forced
to meet a series of silly assertions and charges, and
to drag himself through the thorny length of another
controversy. By the advice of the Avila community,
he committed to writing the principal arguments
used in these discussions under the title, " Ezer ha-
Emuna," and sent them to his Toledan brethren for
use under similar circumstances. Moses de Torde-
sillas' disputations, notwithstanding the difficulties of
his position, were characterized by calmness and
equanimity. Not a word of abuse or invective
escaped him, and he counseled his Toledo brethren

142 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. V.

not to permit themselves to be tempted by their zeal
to vexatious expressions, "for it is a fact," he said,
" that the Christians possess the power and disposi-
tion to silence truth by force." Toledo, formerly
recognized as the teacher of Jewry, was now
obliged to play the part of pupil, and follow formu-
laries in the disputations to which its members might
be invited.

As if the more far-seeing Jews had anticipated
the approach of the gloomiest era of Spanish Juda-
ism, they provided their co-religionists for the coming
struggle with casque and buckler, so that the inexor-
able foe might not surprise them unarmed. A
Spanish Jew, contemporary with Moses de Tordesil-
las, compiled a polemical work, more exhaustive
than its predecessor, defending Judaism and attack-
ing Christianity. Shem-Tob ben Isaac Shaprut of
Tudela had at an early age been forced into the
position of a defender of his brethren against pro-
selytizing attempts. Cardinal Don Pedro de Luna,
who later on, as Pope Benedict XIII, brought so
much confusion into the church and evil on the Jews,
was possessed of a perfect mania for conversion and
religious controversy. At Pampeluna he summoned
Shem-Tob ben Shaprut to a debate on original sin
and salvation, and the latter was compelled to sus-
tain his part in the presence of bishops and learned
prelates. The war between England and Castile,
the scene of which was Navarre, obliged Shem-Tob
ben Shaprut, with many other Jews, to quit the
country (1378) and settle in the neighboring town
of Tarazona, in Aragon. Observing here that Jews
of the stamp of John de Valladolid were extremely
zealous in the promotion of religious discussions, the
conversion of weaklings, and the maligning of Jewish
literature, he published (1380) a comprehensive work
("Eben Bochan"), unmasking the speciousness of
the arguments deduced by Christian controversial-
ists from the Bible and the Talmud. The work is

CH. V. HOSTIUTY TO SCIENCE. I43

written in the form of a discussion between a
believer in the unity of God and a Trinitarian. To
enable the Jews to use weapons out of the Christian
armory, Shem-Tob ben Shaprut translated into
Hebrew extracts from the four Gospels, with incisive
commentaries. Subsequently the anti-Jewish work
of the apostate Abner-Alfonso fell into his hands,
and he refuted it, argument by argument.

These polemical works did not prove of far-
reaching importance ; at any rate, their effect was
not what their authors had expected. The Jews of
Spain did not so much stand in need of writings as
of men of force of character, commanding person-
ality and dignity, able to raise, if not the masses, at
least the half-educated classes, and imbue them with
somewhat of their own spirit. The ban against sci-
entific studies, pronounced by excessive fear and
extreme religiousness, notably avenged itself. It
dwarfed the intelligence of the people, and deprived
them of that capacity for appreciating the signs of
the times which only a liberal education can develop.
Even faith suffered from this want of culture in the
rising generation. Only one Jew of profound phil-
osophic genius stands out prominently in the his-
tory of this period, and the influence he exerted over
a rather small circle was due less to his superior
intelligence than to his position and Talmudic
knowledge. The majority of the Spanish rabbis,
if not actually hostile, were indifferent to the sci-
ences, especially to religious philosophy. Only lay-
men devoted themselves to such pursuits, and they
were neither exhaustive in their inquiries nor crea-
tive in their speculations. It is characteristic of this
period that Maimuni's philosophical "Guide of the
Perplexed" was entirely neglected, the fashion
being to read and discuss Ibn-Ezra. The frag-
mentary nature of the writings of this commentator,
the ingenuity and acuteness, the disjointedness of
thought, the variety of matter, which characterize

144 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. V.

his work, appealed to the shallowness of this retro-
grade generation. Shem-Tob ben Shaprut, Samuel
(Jarga, Joseph Tob-Elem, Ezra Gatifio, and others
wrote super-commentaries on Ibn-Ezra's commen-
tary on the Pentateuch. The solution of riddles
propounded by Ibn-Ezra, and the discovery of his
secrets, and explanations of his obscurities, seriously
exercised the minds of large circles of students.

The Talmud, with which the more thoughtful
minds, prompted by a religious bias, continued to
be engaged, fared no better than secular learning.
Here, also, a state of stagnation, if nothing worse, had
supervened. The rabbis of some large communities
were not even able to discharge one of their chief
duties, the explanation of the Talmud to their dis-
ciples. A French Talmudist, Solomon ben Abra-
ham Zarfati, who had settled at Majorca, could
venture to speak slightingly of the Spanish rabbis,
not excepting the celebrated Nissim Gerundi, and
compare them disparagingly with the French and
German rabbis. A measure of the average intelli-
gence of the rabbis of this period is yielded by the
works of Menachem ben Zerach, chief rabbi of
Toledo, even after its misfortunes a very important
Jewish community.

Menachem ben Aaron ben Zerach (born 1310,
died 1385) counted several martyrs in his family.
His father, Aaron, was one of the unfortunates
whom the cupidity and tyranny of a French king
had banished. With the limited means spared by
legalized robbery he had settled in Estella, a not
inconsiderable Navarrese community. His father,
mother, and four brothers perished in the massacre
of Jews instigated by a Dominican friar. Young
Menachem was severely wounded in this outbreak,
and might have succumbed but for the assistance of
a nobleman of his father's acquaintance. On his
recovery he devoted himself daily to Talmudical
study, and later on attended the celebrated schooj

CH. V. MENACHEM BEN ZERACH. 145

of the Asheride Judah of Toledo. After he had
passed his fortieth year, Menachem ben Zerach
became chief of an academy, the care of which was
confided to him by the Alcala (de Henares) com-
munity. During the civil war in Castile he was
wounded and plundered by the lawless soldiery,
and of his entire fortune, only his house, field, and
collection of books remained. Don Samuel Abra-
banel assisted him in his distress, so that he was
enabled to recover somewhat from his misfortunes.
Through his interposition Menachem was called
from Alcala to assume the rabbinate of Toledo,
where he opened an academy. As the disciple and
successor of Jehuda Asheri, considerable Tal-
mudical attainments were with justice expected of
him. But he did not rise above the mediocrity of
his times. To remedy the increasing ignorance of
religious forms and duties, he wrote a compendium
of theoretic and practical Judaism ("Zeda la-
Derech," 1374), as comprehensible as it was short,
for the use of prominent Jews, who, employed at
court and by the grandees, had not sufficient leisure
to search an extensive literature for instruction.
His work is interspersed with scientific elements —
psychological and religio-philosophical — but it is
weak and commonplace, full of platitudes, and its
several parts do not cohere. Even the Talmudical
elements are neither profound nor original. The
only redeeming feature is that it is conceived in a
warm, sympathetic spirit, distinguishing it from the
usually dry rabbinical disquisitions.

Only two men of this time are raised by their
character and learning above the dead level of pre-
vailing mediocrity: Chasdai Crescas and Isaac ben
Sheshet. They both lived in the kingdom of Ara-
gon, where the Jews under Pedro IV and Juan I
were neither so poor nor so oppressed as their breth-
ren in Castile. Chasdai Crescas and Isaac ben She-
shet were not sufficiently great to dominate their

146 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. V.

contemporaries, or prescribe their own views as
rules of conduct; they were, however, the foci of
large circles, and were frequently appealed to for
final decisions on complicated and difficult questions.
Both worked earnestly for the maintenance and
furtherance of Judaism, for the preservation of peace
in the communities at home and abroad, and for the
consolation and re-animation of the broken in spirit,
notwithstanding that their means were limited, and
the times unpropitious.

Chasdai ben Abraham Crescas (born 1340, died
1410), originally of Barcelona, and subsequently of
Saragossa, where he ended his days, did not belong
to the class of ordained rabbis, but he had been
educated on Talmudical lines, and was an accom-
plished Talmudist. His wealth and his occupa-
tions seem to have indisposed him for this honor-
able position. Chasdai Crescas was in close relation
with the court of Juan I, of Aragon, was frequently
consulted on important state questions, and also had
much intercourse with the grandees of the kingdom.
In the views of the various schools of philosophy he
was well versed ; the independence and depth of
thought he evinced in dealing with them stamp him
an original thinker. His ideas, of course, were
largely based upon religious, or rather Jewish con-
victions, which, however, he presented in an original
form. Chasdai Crescas was the first to recognize
the weak points of the prevailing Aristotelianism,
and he attacked it with irresistible force. Of his
youth nothing is known, and it is impossible to say
under what influences those ripe powers of mind
were developed which enabled him to question the
authority not only of Maimonides and Gersonides,
but of Aristotle himself. His ancestors were learned
Talmudists, and his grandfather enjoyed a reputa-
tion equal to that of the famous Asheri family. In
Talmudical studies he was a disciple of Nissim
Gerundi, of Barcelona. Chasdai Crescas was kind

CH. V. ISAAC BEN SHESHET. I47

and gentle, a friend in need, and a faithful defender
of the weak. During the unhappy days which broke
upon the Jews of Spain in his lifetime, he devoted
all his powers to the mitigation of the disasters
which befell his brethren.

Similar in character, but fundamentally opposed
to him in the disposition of his mind, was his friend
and senior, Isaac ben Sheshet Barfat (Ribash, born
1 3 lo, died about 1 409) . A native of Barcelona, and
having studied under Ben Adret's son and pupils,
Isaac ben Sheshet may, in a measure, be considered
a disciple of Ben Adret. He acquired his teacher's
capacity for seizing the spirit of the Talmud and
expounding it lucidly, and far surpassed him in hos-
tility to secular studies. Ben Adret had permitted
the circumstances of his times to extort from him
the prohibition of such studies, as far as raw youths
were concerned ; Ben Sheshet, in his rigid ortho-
doxy, took the view that even mature men should
hold aloof from them, although at that period there
was but little fear of heresy. The physical sciences
and philosophy, he held, should be completely
avoided, as they were calculated to undermine the
two essential supports of the Torah, the doctrines
of the creation, and of a Providence ; because they
exalted reason over faith, and generated doubts of
miracles. In Gersonides, and even Maimuni, Ben
Sheshet found illustrations of the pernicious effects
of philosophic speculation. He granted that they
were men of incomparable genius, but he insisted
that they had been seduced by philosophy to adopt
heterodox views, and explain certain miracles of the
Bible rationalistically. Ben Sheshet was of high
moral character ; his disposition was kindly, and on
several occasions he willingly sacrificed his personal
interests to adv^ance the common good and to pro-
mote peace. But when he suspected the violation
of a Talmudical precept or the non-observance of
even an unessential custom, his mildness was imme-
diately transformed into most obdurate severity.

148 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. V.

On account of his Talmudical learning, his clear,
penetrating intellect, and his irreproachable char-
acter, he was much sought after. The important
community of Saragossa elected him its rabbi.
Immediately on taking office, Isaac ben Sheshet
gave an illustration of the tenacity with which he
clung to the letter of the Law, even when it con-
flicted with the spirit. He observed, with regret,
that the practice obtained of reading the book of
Esther on the feast of Purim in a Spanish transla-
tion, for the benefit of the women. This practice
had been introduced into other Spanish communi-
ties, and was not only applauded by all men of com-
mon sense, but had even been authorized by a few
rabbis, who considered it unobjectionable from a
Talmudical point of view. Ben Sheshet raised a
cry of alarm, as if Judaism had been threatened
with ruin. He called to his assistance the authority
of his teacher, Nissim Gerundi, and together they
opposed the excellent custom with sophistical argu-
ment. They appear to have been successful in
abolishing it.

Still more characteristic of Isaac ben Sheshet is
his quarrel with Chayim ben Gallipapa, a rabbi,
stricken in years, whose opinions differed from those
of the rabbi of Saragossa. This man (born 13 10,
died 1380), rabbi of Huesca and Pampeluna, was a
singular figure in the Middle Ages, whom it is dif-
ficult to classify. Whilst the rabbis of the time,
particularly since the rise of the Asheride teaching,
exceeded all bounds in the imposition of burden-
some observances, and always, in cases of doubt,
decided in favor of their most rigorous fulfillment,
Gallipapa took the opposite view, and maintained
that the aim of all Talmudical exegesis should be to
disencumber life. The times, he considered, had
improved, and neither the ignorance of the people
nor the fear of defection was so great as to warrant
such severity. This principle was no mere theory

»

CH. V. CHAYIM GALLIPAPA. 14^

with Gallipapa, for he followed it practically. The
freedom he suggested concerned matters of com-
parative insignificance, but at that time every trifle
was regarded as important. On certain dogmas,
also, Gallipapa held independent views. The Mes-
sianic belief which, since the time of Maimonides,
had become an article of faith, to deny which was
heresy, he boldly set aside. Gallipapa considered
that the prophecies, in Isaiah and Daniel, of the
great prosperity of Israel in the future, had been
fulfilled in the days of the Maccabees, and wrote a
work on the subject. Against this hardy innovator,
a storm naturally arose. A neighboring rabbi,
Chasdai ben Solomon, of Tudela, a man of not over-
fine sensibilities, denounced him to Isaac ben She-
shet, and the latter lectured the venerable Gallipapa,
who had sent disciples into the world, as if he had
been a mere schoolboy. He adjured Chayim Galli-
papa to avoid scandal and give no opportunity for
schism amongst his brethren. The modest attempt
at reform went no further.

This severe tendency in matters of religion was
the natural outcome of the prevailing spiritual needs;
and it must be confessed that the more rigorous, the
better it was adapted to them. Isaac ben Sheshet
and his friend Chasdai Crescas, who, although no
enemy of secular learning, entertained the same
view as his colleague, and defended his orthodoxy
on philosophic grounds, were considered, after the
death of Nissim Gerundi, the most eminent rab-
binical authorities of their day, not in Spain only.
From far and near, inquiries were addressed to
them, principally to Isaac ben Sheshet, but also to
Chasdai Crescas. The proudest rabbis and the
largest communities invoked their counsel, and
were content to abide by their decisions. The
court of Aragon also regarded them as the leaders
of the Jewish communities, but this operated to
their disadvantage. In consequence of the denun-

150 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. V.

ciation of some malevolent person, the ground of
which is unknown, the king, Don Pedro IV, ordered
Chasdai Crescas, Isaac ben Sheshet, his brother,
Crescas Barfat, the aged Nissim Gerundi of Barce-
lona, and two others, to be thrown into prison.
After a long time, they were released on bail. We
may believe Isaac ben Sheshet, when he assures us
that he and his fellow-prisoners were all innocent
of the offense or crime laid to their charge. Their
innocence must have come to light, for they after-
wards remained unmolested.

The authority of Chasdai Crescas and Isaac^ben
Sheshet was appealed to by the French communities
to settle an important point in a dispute about the
chief rabbinate of France. A change, largely the
outcome of the political condition of the country,
had come over the circumstances of these commu-
nities. Manessier de Vesoul, the zealous defender
and protector of his co-religionists, was dead (about
1375 — 1378). Of his four sons — Solomon, Joseph,
Abraham, and Haquinet — the eldest succeeded to
his father's post of receiver general of the Jew taxes
and political representative of the French Jews, and
the second became a convert to Christianity. Solo-
mon and his brothers enjoyed the same esteem at
the royal court as their father. They were exempted
from wearing the humiliating Jew badge, and they
diligently cared for the interests of their brethren.
Among Jews, however, they do not seem to have
obtained the consideration that their father had en-
joyed. On the death of the king, Charles V, their
importance ceased altogether. The regent Louis,
Duke of Anjou, confirmed, for a consideration, the
privileges acquired by the French Jews (14th October,
1380), and prolonged their term of sufferance in the
land by another five years. His protection, however,
did not reach far, or rather it involved the Jews in
his own unpopularity. The impoverished popula-
tion of Paris, driven to despair by burdensome taxa-

CH. V. RIOT IN PARIS. 151

tion, loudly and stormily demanded redress of the
young king and the regent. Egged on by a nobility
involved in debt, they included the Jews in their out-
cry, and demanded that the king should expel from
the country "these shameful usurers who have
ruined whole families." The people did not stop
at words; at the instigation of the nobles, they
attacked the houses of the Jews (November i6th,
1380), robbed the exchequer of the receiver general
(of the Vesoul family), pillaged their dwelling-houses,
destroyed the bonds of the debtors, appropriated
the accumulated pledges, murdered a few Jews, and
tore children from the arms of fleeing and weeping
Jewish mothers to baptize them forthwith. A large
number of Jews saved themselves by flight to the
fort Chatelet. The regent was much irritated by
this violent outbreak, but was unable to punish the
offenders at once on account of the excited state of
the people. He ordered that the Jews be re-
instated in their homes, and the plunder restored to
them. Few complied with the order. The prevot
of Paris, Hugues Aubriot — a man of considerable
energy, who had beautified and enlarged the French
capital — also interested himself in the Jews. In
particular, he brought about the restitution of the
stolen and baptized children. For this he was
violently attacked by men whose learning should
have taught them better. Aubriot, by his orderly
administration, had made enemies of the university
professors and students, who denounced as criminal
his interference for the benefit of the Jews. He
was accused before the bishop of Paris of having
held intercourse with Jewish women, and even of
being a secret adherent of Judaism. He was found
guilty of heresy and infidelity, and made to pay with
imprisonment for his humane conduct towards the
Jews. Not only in Paris, but also in other towns
where the people rose against heavy taxation, Jews
fell victims to the popular excitement. Four months

152 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. V.

later, similar bloody scenes were enacted in Paris
and the provinces when the rising of the Maillotins
(so called from the mallets with which the insurgents
were armed) took place. For three or four days
in succession Jews were again plundered, ill-treated,
and murdered (March ist, 1381). The king, Charles
VII, or rather the regent, attempted to protect the
Jews and to obtain some indemnification of their
losses. They were, however, unable to recover
from the blow they had received. In these tumults
the sons of Manessier de Vesoul appear either to
have lost their lives, or, at any rate, their position of
influence.

This change in the fortunes of the French Jews
brought in its train a violent communal dispute, the
excitement of which extended far and wide. The
chief rabbi, Matathiah Provenci, had been gathered
to his fathers. The communities had elected his
eldest son, Jochanan, in his place, and the king had
confirmed their choice. He had been in office five
years, and was projecting the establishment of an
academy, when a former pupil of his father, one
Isaiah ben Abba-Mari, arrived in France from Savoy
■with the authorization of the German chief rabbi,
Meir ben Baruch Halevi^ granting to him alone the
right to maintain an academy and ordain pupils as
rabbis. Whoever exercised rabbinical functions
without his authority and, especially, meddled with
marriages and divorces, was threatened with excom-
munication. All unauthorized documents were de-
clared null and void. By virtue of his authority,
and in consequence of Jochanan's refusal to sub-
ordinate himself to him, Isaiah relieved him of his
office (about 1 380 — 1 390). The Vesoul family being
extinct or having lost prestige, Jochanan found him-
self without influential support. Many of the French
Jews, however, were extremely wroth at this violent,
imperious behavior of the immigrant rabbi. They
condemned the presumptuousness of the German

CH. V. MEiR BEN BARUCH HALEVI. 155

rabbi, Meir Halevi, in treating France as though it
were a German province, and protested against his
dictating laws to the French communities, as it had
always been the custom to regard each community,
and certainly the Jews of each country, as independ-
ent. The result was a storm of indignation, which
increased considerably when Isaiah proceeded to
appoint his own relatives to the various rabbinates.
It being impossible to settle the dispute by an appeal
to the home-authorities, Jochanan turned with his
grievance to the two foremost representatives of
Spanish Judaism, Chasdai Crescas and Isaac ben
Sheshet. Both these "Catalonian grandees," as
they were called, pronounced in favor of Jochanan.
This decision, however, was not destined to bring
about lasting peace, for the days of the Jews in
France were numbered.

The storm on this occasion arose in Spain, and
convulsed for a time the entire Jewish race. The
golden age of the Spanish Jews had passed away ;
still they were more firmly established in the Penin-
sula than in any other country. It required a series
of violent shocks, extending over an entire century,
to completely uproot them, whilst in France they
were swept away by a breath, like twigs planted in
quicksand. For the sanguinary drama which com-
menced towards the end of the fourteenth century,
and ended in the latter part of the fifteenth, the
Spanish Jews were themselves largely to blame. It
is true that the many had to suffer for the few, for
when the enemies of the Jews complained of their
obsequious attendance at court and on the grandees,
of their wealth accumulated by usury, and their
flaunting in silks and satins, blame was due only to
a few of the most prominent, for whose follies and
extravagances the masses were not responsible.
Indeed, there were Jews who complained that their
moral sense was deeply wounded by the selfishness
and covetousness of their wealthy brethren. " For

154 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. V.

these troubles," says one, "the titled and wealthy
Jews are greatly to be held responsible; their only
consideration is for their position and money, whilst
for their God they have no regard." In fact, the
union that had previously been the chief source of
strength among the Spanish Jews, was broken up.
Jealousy and envy among the Jewish grandees had
undermined fraternal feeling, which formerly had
induced each to merge his interests in those of the
community at large, and all to combine for the
defense of each. Generosity and nobility of mind,
once the brilliant qualities of the Spanish Jews, had
now become almost extinct. A contemporary writer
pictures their degeneracy in darkest hues, and if
only one half of what he tells us is true, their decline
must have been grave indeed.

"The majority of wealthy Jews," says Solomon
Alami in his "Mirror of Morals," or "Letter of
Warning," "who are admitted to royal courts, and
to whom the keys of public exchequers are con-
fided, pride themselves on their dignities and wealth,
but give no thought to the poor. They build them-
selves palaces, drive about in splendid equipages,
or ride on richly caparisoned mules, wear magni-
ficent apparel, and deck their wives and daughters
like princesses with gold,- pearls, and precious stones.
They are indifferent to their religion, disdain
modesty, hate manual labor, and live in idleness.
The wealthy love dancing and gaming, dress in the
national costume, and go about with sleek beards.
They fill themselves with dainties, whilst scholars
starve on bread and water. Hence, the rabbis are
despised, for all classes prefer to have their sons
taught the lowest of handicrafts to bringing them
up to the study of the Law. At sermon time, the
great resign themselves to sweet slumber, or talk
with one another, and the preacher is frequently
disturbed by men and women at the back of the
synagogue. On the other hand, how devout are

CH. V. INFORMERS. 155

the Christians in their houses of worship ! In every
town the noble live at variance with one another,
and stir up discord on the most trivial questions.
Still worse is the jealousy with which they regard
each other; they slander one another before the
king and the princes."

It is certainly true that at this period secret de-
nunciations, once almost unknown among the Jews,
were exceedingly rife, even rabbis being occasionally
the victims. As the aged Nissim Gerundi, Isaac ben
Sheshet, Chasdai Crescas, and their friends were
victimized by the conspiracy of some miserable
calumniator, so an attempt was made to ruin the
rabbi of Alkolea de Cinca, En-Zag Vidal de Tolosa,
by representations to the queen of Aragon.

The rabbis, who, with one or two assessors, con-
stituted courts of justice for criminal cases, dealt
severely with such traitors, and even sentenced
them to death. In the communities of Castile, Ara-
gon, Valencia, and Catalonia, the privilege of pass-
ing death-sentences was of great antiquity. The
Jewish courts required for the execution of such
sentences special sanction from the king in a sealed
letter (Albala, Chotham); but, if necessary, this could
be obtained through the medium of Jewish courtiers,
or by bribery. Such proceedings, however, only
increased the evil they were designed to cure. The
accused were made short work of without exhaust-
ive inquiry, or sufficient testimony, and this naturally
infuriated their relatives and friends. It did not un-
frequently occur that utterances were construed as
treasonable which had no such character. The ill-
advised action of the Jewish court of Seville (or
Burgos) on an unfounded charge of disloyalty to
the community preferred against an eminent and
beloved co-religionist was, if not the actual cause,
at any rate the occasion of the first widespread and
sanguinary persecution of the Jews in Spain, the
final result being the total expulsion of the Jews
from the Peninsula.

1 56 HISTORY OP THE JEWS. CH. V.

Joseph Pichon, of Seville, high in favor with the
king of Castile, Don Henry II, whose receiver
general of taxes he had been, was accused of em-
bezzlement by some jealous Jewish courtiers. He
was imprisoned by the king, condemned to pay a
fine of 40,000 doubloons, and then set free. He
afterwards retrieved his reputation, and became
extraordinarily popular among the Christian popula-
tion of Seville. To avenge his wrongs, or possibly
with a view to his own vindication, he had entangled
his enemies in a serious accusation, when Don Henry
died. His son, Don Juan I, was crowned at Burgos,
the capital of Old Castile (1379). During the
coronation festivities, a Jewish court of justice (at
Burgos or Seville) condemned Pichon as an enemy
to the community and a traitor (Malshim, Malsin),
without affording him an opportunity of being heard
in defense. Some Jews, having access to the court,
asked permission of the young king to execute a
dangerous member of their own body without men-
tioning his name. Confidants of the king are said
to have been bribed to obtain the royal signature to
this decree. Provided with the king's warrant and
the death sentence of the rabbinical college, Pichon's
enemies repaired to the chief of police (Alguacil),
Fernan Martin, and obtained his assistance at the
execution. Early on the morning of the 2 1 st August,
two or three Jews, together with Martin, entered
Pichon's house whilst he was yet asleep, and awoke
him under the pretext that his mules were to be
seized for debt. As soon as he appeared at the
door of his dwelling, he was arrested by the Jews
intrusted with the carrying out of the sentence, and,
without a word, beheaded.

Whether Pichon had deserved death, even accord-
ing to rabbinical law, or whether he fell a victim to
the intrigues of his enemies, is not known. It is
not difficult to understand that so cruel an act should
have stirred up widespread indignation. The anger

CH. V. LOSS OF PENAL JURISDICTION. 157

of the young king knew no bounds when he learnt
that his coronation festivities had been stained with
the murder of one who had rendered his father sub-
stantial services, and that his own sanction had been
surreptitiously obtained. He immediately ordered
the execution of the Jews who had carried out the
sentence, and of a Jewish judge of Burgos. Even
the chief of police, Fernan Martin, was ordered to
be put to death for the assistance he had given ;
but at the intercession of some nobles, his life was
spared, and his punishment commuted to the chop-
ping off of one hand. This incident had other
grave consequences. The king at once deprived
the rabbis and Jewish courts of justice of jurisdic-
tion in criminal cases, on the ground of their abuse
of the privilege. At the first meeting of the cortes
at Soria (1380), he made this restriction a permanent
statute. By its terms the rabbis and communal
leaders were thenceforth prohibited from decreeing
punishments of death, dismemberment, or exile, and
in criminal cases were to choose Christian judges.
One of the reasons assigned was that, according to
the prophets, the Jews were to be deprived of all
power and freedom after the advent of Jesus. The
still exasperated king then arraigned the Jews on
other charges. He accused them particularly of
cursing Christians and the Christian church in their
prayers, and with receiving Mahometans, Tartars,
and other foreign persons into the pale of Judaism,
and having them circumcised. These alleged prac-
tices were forbidden under heavy penalties. The
feeling against the Jews was not limited to the king
and the court circle. The entire population of
Castile was roused by the apparently unjust execu-
tion of Joseph Pichon, and by the circumstance that
his death was not the work of irresponsible indi-
viduals, but of the foremost leaders of the Jewish
community. In Seville, where Pichon had been
very popular, the fury against the Jews rose to such

158 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. V.

a height that, had the opportunity presented itself,
summary vengeance would have been taken.

Accusations against the Jews and petitions for the
restriction of their liberties became the order of the
day at the meetings of the cortes, as formerly at the
councils of the Visigothic kings. The infuriated
Don Juan acquiesced in this agitation, in so far as
it did not tend to the detriment of the royal finances.
At the cortes of Valladolid (1385), he granted the
petition for the legalization of the canonical restric-
tions, presented by the clergy, and accordingly pro-
hibited the living together of Jews and Christians,
and the suckling of Jewish infants by Christian
nurses, under pain of public whipping. He also
consented to the passing of a law excluding Jews
(and Mahometans) from the post of treasurer to the
king, queen, or any of the royal family.

Curiously, it was the quarrel over the chief rabbi-
nate of Portugal that snatched the crown of that
country, at the moment when it was within his grasp,
from this monarch, who cannot be said to have been
wholly hostile to the Jews. By a treaty with King
Ferdinand of Portugal, it had been agreed that,
male heirs to the crown failing, he, or rather his
second wife, the Portuguese Infanta Beatrice
(Brites), should have the first right to the succes-
sion. In Portugal the Jews had always been toler-
ated, and, up to the time of their expulsion from the
country, suffered no persecution. During the reign
of King Ferdinand (1367 — 1383), their position was
exceptionally happy. Since the thirteenth century
(1274), the government of the community had been
more completely in its own hands than in any other
European country. Some of their peculiar institu-
tions dated even further back. At the head of the
Portuguese Jews was a chief rabbi (Ar-Rabbi Mor),
possessing almost princely privileges. On account
of the importance of the office he was always
appointed by the king, who conferred it as a reward

CH. V. JEWS IN PORTUGAL. 159

for services rendered to the crown, or to add to the
dignity of some particular favorite. The chief rabbi
used a special signet, administered justice in all its
branches, and issued decrees under his own sign-
manual with the addendum : "By the grace of my
lord, the king, Ar-Rabbi Mor of the communities of
Portugal and Algarve." It was his duty to make an
annual circuit of all the Portuguese communities, to
investigate their affairs, invite individuals to lay
before him their grievances, even against the rabbis,
and remedy abuses wherever they existed. On
these journeys he was accompanied by a Jewish
judge (Ouvidor), a chancellor (Chanceller) with his
staff, a secretary (Escrivao), and a sheriff (Porteiro
jurado), to carry out the sentences of his court.
The chief rabbi or Ar-Rabbi Mor, appointed in each
of the seven provinces of the kingdom provincial
rabbis (Ouvidores) subject to him. These rabbis
were established in the seven principal provincial
Jewish centers, Santarem, Vizeu, Cavilhao, Porto,
Torre de Montcorvo, Evora and Faro. They gov-
erned the provincial communities, and were the
judges of appeal for their several districts. The
local rabbis were elected by the general body of
contributing members of the community ; but the
confirmation of their election and their investiture
proceeded from the chief rabbi, under a special deed
issued in the name of the king. The judicial au-
thority of the rabbis extended to criminal cases,
and they retained this privilege much longer than
their Spanish brethren. Public documents had to be
written in the vernacular. The Jewish form of oath
was very simple, even in litigation with Christians ;
it required nothing but the presence of a rabbi and
the holding up of the Torah.

The king, Don Ferdinand, had two Jewish favor-
ites, who supervised his monetary affairs: Don
Judah, his chief treasurer (Tesoreiro Mor), and Don
David Negro, of the highly-respected Ibn-Yachya

l6o HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. V.

family, his confidant and counselor (Almoxarif).
When this frivolous and prodigal monarch died, and
the regency was undertaken by the queen, Leonora
— a princess whose beauty rendered her irresistible,
but who was hated for her faithlessness and feared for
her vindictiveness and craft — the municipal authori-
ties of Lisbon approached her with an urgent prayer
for the abolition of sundry unpopular measures of the
late king. Among other things they asked that
Jews and Moors should no longer be allowed to hold
public offices. Leonora craftily replied that during
the Hfetime of the king she had exerted herself to
procure the exclusion of Jews from public offices,
but her representations had always been unheeded.
Immediately after the king's death she had removed
Judah and David Negro from the public service, and
dismissed all the Jewish receivers of taxes. She
nevertheless retained Judah in her immediate circle,
anticipating that, on account of his wealth and ex-
perience, he might prove of use to her. Leonora's
scheme to obtain absolute authority and share the
government with her paramour was frustrated by
the still craftier bastard Infante Don Joao, Grand
Master of Avis. In the art of winning public favor
and turning it to account, Don Joao was a master,
and he soon brought things to such a pass that the
queen regent was forced to leave the capital. Burn-
ing for revenge, Leonora invoked the aid of her
son-in-law. King Don Juan of Castile, with the
result that a sanguinary civil war was commenced.
In opposition to the aristocratic faction, supporting
the queen regent and the Castilians, there arose a
popular party, which enthusiastically espoused the
cause of Don Joao of Avis. Leonora was obliged
to fly before the hatred of her people and take
refuge in Santarem. Among her escort were the
two Jewish grandees, Judah and David Negro, who
had escaped from Lisbon in disguise. Hither came
King Juan of Castile ; and Leonora, in order to

CH. V. CHIEF RABBINATE OF CASTILE. l6l

be enabled to take full vengeance on her enemies,
renounced the regency in his favor, and placed at
his disposal all her adherents, comprising the entire
Portuguese nobility, together with a large number
of fortresses. The idea of the Castilian king in
undertaking this enterprise was to unite the crowns
of Portugal and Castile; but for the realization of
this project a thorough understanding between
Leonora and her son-in-law and her ungrudging
co-operation were indispensable. This important
harmony was disturbed by a question as to the
appointment of a chief rabbi, and owing to this dis-
pute their agreement was transformed into bitter
and disastrous enmity.

The rabbinate of Castile became vacant in 1384.
Leonora, desiring to obtain the appointment for her
favorite Judah, made application to the king on his
behalf. At the instance of his wife Beatrice, he con-
ferred the dignity upon David Negro. Leonora's
anger at this rebuff was expressed with vehemence.
She is reported to have said to her circle of adher-
ents : " If the king refuses so trivial a favor, the first
I have asked of him, to me, a woman, a queen, a
mother, one who has done so much for him, what
have I and what have you to expect ? Even my
enemy, the Grand Master of Avis, would not have
treated me thus. You will do better to go over to
him, your legitimate master." Leonora transferred
to her son-in-law, King Juan, all the hatred with
which she had formerly regarded the Grand Master
of Avis. She organized a conspiracy to murder
him, the details of which she confided to the former
treasurer Judah. The plot was, however, discov-
ered by the chief rabbi elect, David Negro, who
saved the king's life. Don Juan immediately caused
the queen dowager to be arrested and thrown into
prison. Judah also was imprisoned, and ordered to
be executed, but at the energetic intercession of his
rival, David Negro, his life was spared. This

1 62 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. V.

quarrel with and imprisonment of his mother-in-law
cost Don Juan all support in Portugal. Thenceforth
he encountered resistance on every side, and was
obliged to resort to forcible measures for the subju-
gation of the country. His plans, however, all
failed, and in the end he found himself compelled
to renounce his hope of a union of the two lands.

A few rabbis intrigued to obtain rabbinical office,
and involved their several communities in much un-
seemly strife, as, for example, David Negro and
Judah, Isaiah ben Abba-Mari and Jochanan in
France, Solomon Zarfati and En-Vidal Ephraim
Gerundi in the Island of Majorca, and Chasdai ben
Solomon and Amram Efrati in Valencia, but it m.ust
be acknowledged that such incidents were of rare
occurrence. To the majority, the rabbinate was as
a holy priesthood, the duties of which they sought
to discharge in all purity of heart and deed, with
devotion and self-denial. They were generally ex-
amples to their communities, not only in learning
and piety, but in high-mindedness, conscientious-
ness, and the purity of their morals. Even the less
worthy cannot be charged with anything more seri-
ous than a desire for place, and a certain degree of
irascibility. It would be a gross libel on their
memory to compare them with the servants of the
church during the same period. At no time in its
history had Christianity more reason to be ashamed
of its representatives than during the fourteenth and
the succeeding century. Since the papacy had es-
tablished itself at Avignon, it had become a perfect
hot-bed of vice, the contagion of which spread over
the clergy down to the lowliest friar. Besides, there
arose passionate strife between pope and anti-pope,
between one college of cardinals and another, di-
viding the whole of Christendom into two huge,
bitterly hostile camps. It was only natural that the
clergy should infect the lay world with their im-
measurable dissoluteness and vice, Yet these degen-

CH. V. SYNOD AT WEISSENFELS. ifij

erate, inhuman and degraded Christian communities
presumed to treat the modest, virtuous, pious Jews
as outcasts and accursed of God. Although supe-
rior in everything save wickedness and the virtues of
a robber chivalry, they were denied the commonest
rights of man. They were baited and slaughtered
like beasts of the field. In Nordlingen the entire
Jewish community, including women and children,
was murdered (1384). All over Suabia they were
persecuted, and in Augsburg they were imprisoned
until a ransom of 20,000 florins was paid. A char-
acteristic illustration is furnished by the following
occurrence : The rabbis and communal leaders of
central Germany had determined to hold a synod at
Weissenfels, in Saxony, for the purpose of deliber-
ating upon certain religious questions, and adopting
resolutions of public utility (1386). They had pro-
vided themselves with safe-conduct passes from the
Saxon princes, it being unsafe for Christians to
travel on the public highroads, and, of course, much
more so for Jews. Nevertheless, a party of German
robber-nobles, anticipating rich booty, waylaid the
travelers on their return journey, and, having plun-
dered and ill-used them, threw them into prison, and
liberated them only on the payment of a ransom of
5,000 groschen. The rabbis and their companions
complained to the princes of this attack, and the
latter, indignant at the disrespect with which their
authority had been treated, summoned the noble
marauders to answer the charges urged against
them. The line of defense adopted by the spokes-
man of the accused was that they had no idea of
disregarding the safe-conduct passes of the princes,
but that they held the opinion that the Jews, the
enemies of the church, did not deserve the protection
of Christian authorities. The speaker continued
that, for his own part, wherever he met the enemies
of Christ, he would give them no quarter. A de-
fense of this kind could not fail to obtain applause.

164 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. V.

Its Spirit was that of the majority of the Christians
of that day. The accused were absolved from
blame, and the Jews dismissed without redress,
*' for the defense captivated the princes."

The art of poetry, which should beautify life, be-
gan to work like poison on the moral atmosphere
of the Jews. For some centuries past romantic
works had variously portrayed the character of a
creditor, who, as equivalent for a debt, claimed a
certain portion cut from the body of his creditor,
either a liege lord from his vassal, or a nobleman
from a burgher. At first this was harmless fiction,
but afterwards it was turned against the Jews, as
though only a Jewish Shylock could be capable of
such hardness of heart as to insist on the payment
of a pound of flesh from a Christian. Thus cannibal
hatred of Christians was foisted on the Jews, and
received credence. Romances took up the theme,
and made it popular.

The depraved, dissolute clergy — a class of men
who, in an age of public decency, would have been
objects of universal contempt, or might have earned
the corrections of a Bridewell — affected to feel in-
sulted by contact with the Jews, and, under the pre-
text that their cloth was disgraced by them, caused
new scenes of horror and cruelty. In Prague, since
the time of Charles IV the chief city of Germany, a
bloody persecution was set on foot by their agency.
A local priest — perhaps one of those whom Emperor
Wenceslaus had caused to be pilloried with their
concubines — passed through the Jewish quarter on
Easter Sunday (April i8th, 1389) with the host, to
visit a dying person. Jewish children playing in
the street — it was one of the latter days of the
Passover feast — were throwing sand at one another,
and a few grains happened to fall upon the priest's
robe. His attendants immediately turned upon the
children, and cruelly beat them. Their cries quickly
brought their parents to their rescue, whereupon

CH. V. JEWS OF PRAGUE. I65

the priest fled to the market-place, loudly proclaim-
ing that his holy office had been profaned by Jews.
To invest the incident with the necessary import-
ance, he exaggerated it, and said that he was pelted
with stones until forced to drop the host. The citi-
zens and lower orders of Prague immediately banded
themselves together, and, armed with murderous
weapons of every description, made a violent attack
upon the houses of the Jews. As usual, they offered
their victims the choice between death and baptism,
but they found them steadfast in their faith. Many
thousands perished in the massacre, which lasted a
whole day and night. Several of the Jews, among
them their venerable rabbi, first took the lives of
their wives and children, and then their own, to
escape the cruelties of their enemies. The syna-
gogue was laid in ashes, and the holy books and
scrolls torn and trodden under foot. Not even the
burial ground escaped the fury of these Christian
zealots. The corpses in the streets were stripped
of their clothing, left naked, and then burnt.

For the same offense — that is, for no offense at
all — the communities in the vicinity of the Bohemian
capital were "confined, oppressed, ill-treated and
persecuted " The reigning pope issued a bull con-
demning the outrages (July 2d, 1389), and based
his action upon the edict of Pope Innocent IV, which
enacted that Jews should not be forcibly baptized,
nor disturbed in the observance of their festivals ;
but he failed to produce an impression on the con-
sciences of the faithful. It was in vain, too, that the
Jews appealed to their liege lord, the German em-
peror Wenceslaus, in whose capital the persecution
had originated. This prince — who, had he not been
an emperor, would certainly have been a freebooter
— was a man of sense only on the rare occasions
when he was not intoxicated. His reply to the rep-
resentations of his Jewish subjects was that they
had deserved the attacks made upon them, as they

l66 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. V.

had had no right to show themselves outside their
houses on Easter Sunday. For the goods and chat-
tels they had left behind them he exhibited more
concern, promptly ordering them to be appropriated
to his empty exchequer. This was the measure of
his general attitude towards the Jews. During sev-
eral years he attempted to possess himself of their
monetary claims on his Christian subjects, and to
carry out his design he convened (1385) a confer-
ence of representatives of the Suabian cities, which
met at Ulm. Despite the impoverishment of the
German communities, he exacted from every Jew,
even from every Jewish youth and maiden, the so-
called " golden penny " poll-tax, amounting to one
gulden annually. He openly declared that the pos-
sessions of the Jews were his personal property,
and forbade them to sell or mortgage anything.
And still Emperor Wenceslaus was not the worst
of rulers in the eyes of the Jews. The rabbi, Avi-
gedor Kara, of Prague, boasted his friendship ; and
the Jews of Germany whispered significantly to one
another that his allegiance to the teaching of Christ
was very weak.

This storm of spoliation and persecution had no
far-reaching consequences in the history of the
German Jews. It could not affect their abject con-
dition, for they had been too long accustomed to
turn their cheeks submissively to the smiter. Quite
different were the effects of a contemporary perse-
cution in Spain. Here the very heart of the Jew-
ish race was attacked, and the results made them-
selves felt in the history of the whole Jewish people.
The Spanish Jews had until then been more hated
than despised; the horrors of this persecution,
however, so thoroughly cowed their spirits, so par-
alyzed their energies, and humbled their pride, that
they, too, became the scorn of their oppressors.
As in Prague, the outbreak was the work of an
ecclesiastic and a mob, but here it assumed the

CH. V. FERDINAND MARTINEZ- 1 67

vastest proportions, and developed permanent re-
sults, the operations of which were disastrous in
the extreme. It arose in Seville through the agita-
tion of a fanatical priest, Ferdinand (Ferrand)
Martinez, who seemed to consider implacable hatred
of the Jews as the essence of his religion; His
discourses were devoted to stirring up the popu-
lace against them, and he thundered against their
hardened infidelity, their pride, their heaped-up
riches, their greed, and their usury. In Seville he
found the people only too ready to listen to him,
for there the Jews were hated with special intensity.
The citizens could not forgive them the important
part they had played in the civil war between Don
Pedro and Don Henry II, and particularly the sus-
picious circumstances of the death of Joseph Pichon,
who had been so popular among them. As long
as Don Juan I lived, Martinez took care to restrain
the mob from open violence, for though the king
regarded the Jews with but little affection, he was
in the habit of punishing lawless outbreaks with the
utmost severity. No sooner was he dead, however,
than the bigoted cleric thought he might dare the
utmost. The circumstances of the government
were favorable to the development of his plans.
The new monarch, Henry III, was a boy of only
eleven years of age, and in the council of regency
discord reigned, threatening to involve the country
in another civil war.

One day (March 15, 1391) — a memorable day, not
only for the Jews and for Spain, but for the history
of the entire world, for on that day the first germ of
the monstrous Inquisition was created — Martinez,
preaching as usual against the Jews, deliberately
incited the mob to riot in the expectation that
many Jews would abjure their religion. The
passions of the multitude became inflamed, and
broke out in wild uproar. The authorities of the
city, the Mayor (Alguacil mayor), Don Alvar Perei

1 68 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. V.

de Guzman, and two of the magistrates interposed
to protect the Jews, arresting two of the ringleaders
in the riot, and ordering them to be flogged. This
proceeding excited the fanatical mob only the more.
In their fury they put a large number of Jews to
death, and threatened with a like fate the governor
of the city, Don Juan Alfonso, and the officials who
were attempting to shield the unfortunate Hebrews.
A few of the leading Jews of Seville, perceiving that
the local authorities were not strong enough to
grapple with the rising, hurried to the court of the
young king, and appealed to the council of regency
to stop the slaughter of their brethren. Their rep-
resentations were favorably received. Messengers
were dispatched forthwith to Seville with instruc-
tions to tell the populace to abstain from further
outrage. The local nobility seconded the action of
the king, and, ranging themselves on the side of the
Jews, succeeded in mastering the rioters. When
the Christian inhabitants of the neighboring towns
showed a disposition to imitate the scenes enacted
in Seville, the council of regency also sent messen-
gers thither armed with the same powers. Thus,
for a brief moment, the threatened Jew-hunt was
delayed, but by no means suppressed. It was soon
renewed with greater violence, and on a far more
extended scale. The young king and a few of the
members of the council of regency were probably
earnest in their desire not to permit the massacres,
but, unfortunately, they were not sufficiently inter-
ested to take adequate precautions against them.
One such precaution should have been to silence
the outrage-monger, Ferdinand Martinez, or at least
to prohibit his inflammatory harangues ; but they
did nothing of the kind. They left him perfectly
free to level his poisonous eloquence at the Jews,
and he was not slow to take advantage of their inac-
tion. Encouraged by the dissensions in the govern-
ment, and the disorder which consequently reigned

CH. V. PERSECUTIONS IN CASTILE. 169

throughout the entire land, he again set himself to
stir up the rabble of Seville, and this time with
greater success. Hardly three months after the last
outbreak, the mob resumed (June 6th, 1391) its
holy work of massacre by setting fire to the Jewish
quarter (Juderia) and slaughtering its inhabitants.
The result was that, of the important and wealthy
community of Seville, which had numbered 7,000
families, or 30,000 souls, but few remained. Murder
counted not more than 4,000 victims, but to escape
death the majority permitted themselves to be bap-
tized. Women and children were sold into Maho-
metan slavery by the bloody rioters. Of the three
synagogues of Seville two were transformed into
churches. Among the large number who sought
refuge from fire and sword at the baptismal font
was Samuel Abrabanel, the ancestor of the after-
wards celebrated Abrabanel family, and an ornament
of his community in the reign of Don Henry II, with
whom he possessed great influence. He adopted
the Christian name of Juan de Sevilla.

From Seville the persecution swept like a raging
torrent over a large portion of Spain. Its progress
was stimulated more by a craving for plunder than
by fanatical eagerness to proselytize. Cordova, the
parent community of the Peninsula, the mold in
which the high character of Spanish Judaism had
been cast, was the next scene of its activity. Here
also many Jews were cruelly murdered, and a large
number forced to embrace Christianity. On the fast
day commemorating the fall of Jerusalem (Tammuz
17th — June 20th) the population of the capital,
Toledo, rose against the largest Jewish community
in Spain. The blood of the believers in the unity
of God, who steadfastly refused to change their
faith, deluged the streets. Among the many mar-
tyrs who fell at Toledo were the descendants of the
Asheri family. They met death with the same un-
flinching courage as their German brethren. Jehuda

170 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH, V.

ben Asher II, one of Asheri's great-grandsons, who
lived in Burgos, but happened to be at Toledo, took
with his own hands the lives of his mother-in-law
and wife, and then his own. Here also a large
number went over to Christianity. About seventy-
communities were visited by this terrible persecu-
tion, among them those of Ecija, Huete, Logrono,
Burgos, Carrion, and Ocana. At Ascalona not a
single Jew remained alive. The thoroughly mad-
dened Christian population meditated a similar fate
for the Moors, or Mahometans, living in the king-
dom of Seville. The more prudent among them,
however, pointed out the danger of such a step,
reminding them that the Christians living in the
Mahometan kingdom of Granada, or held as pris-
oners by the Moors on the other side of the straits
of Gibraltar, might be sacrificed in retaliation. The
massacre of the Moors was consequently aban-
doned. The Jews alone were made to drain the
cup of bitterness to the dregs, because they were
too weak to protect themselves. Nothing demon-
strates more impressively that the clergy had suc-
ceeded in transforming the people into a race of
cut-throats.

In the kingdom of Aragen, where both ruler and
people were opposed to Castile, and, as a rule, held
that to be wrong which in the latter state was con-
sidered right, the hatred and persecution of the
Jews were promoted with the same zeal. Here the
government was in the hands of the weak but well-
meaning king, Juan I, who, absorbed by his love of
music and the chase, wielded but little authority,
and was the laughing-stock of his generally un-
cultured subjects. About three weeks after the
outbreak at Toledo, the inhabitants of the province
of Valencia rose against the Jews (Ab 7th — July 9th).
Of the 5,000 souls that constituted the Jewish com-
munity in the city of Valencia, not one was left.
Some 250 were murdered, a few saved them-

CH. V. PERSECUTIONS IN MAJORCA. 1^1

selves by flight, and the rest embraced Christianity.
Throughout the length and breadth of the kingdom
the defenseless Jews were attacked with fire and
sword, the community of Murviedro alone being
spared.

The sanguinary madness then crossed the sea,
and alighted on the island of Majorca. In the
capital, Palma, a crowd of roughs and sailors pa-
raded the Monte-Zion street, in which the Jews
resided, and holding aloft a cross, rudely formed by
tying together two cudgels, shouted " Death to the
Jews" (August 2d — Ellul ist). One sturdy Jew,
assaulted by the rabble, ventured to defend himself,
and severely punished his assailants. Hereupon the
mob broke out in uncontrollable violence, and 300
martyrs fell to its fury. Among the victims was the
rabbi, En-Vidal Ephraim Gerundi, whose contro-
versy with Solomon Zarfati has already been re-
ferred to. A large number of Jews here also sought
safety in baptism.

Three days later, as if by previous arrangement,
the Jew-massacres began in Barcelona, one of the
proudest homes of Jewish intelligence. The great
wealth which the Jews of this city had acquired by
their extensive maritime commerce appears to have
excited the envy of the Christians, and tempted
them to outrage. On the 5th August, a Sabbath,
on which was held a minor festival in honor of Mary,
the mob attacked the Jews as if to honor their queen
of heaven with human sacrifices. In the first as-
sault, close upon 250 victims fell. The larger por-
tion of the community were harbored and cared for
in the citadel by the governor of the town ; but here
again the rabble opposed the nobility. They at-
tacked the citadel with crossbows, laid siege to it in
due form, and ultimately set it on fire. When the
imprisoned Jews saw that there was no longer a
chance of being saved, a large number slew them-
selves with their own hands, or threw themselves

1/2 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. V.

from the walls. Others sallied forth from the fort-
ress to meet their assailants in the open field, and
fell in honorable combat. Among the martyrs was
the noble Chasdai Crescas' young- and only son,
then on the eve of his marriage. Eleven thousand
Jews are said to have been baptized on this occa-
sion. Only a very few escaped, and not one re-
mained in Barcelona. The same fate befell the
communities of Lerida, Gerona, and other towns,
in each case a large number of Jews being mur-
dered, some being baptized, and a very few escap-
ing by flight. In Gerona, where the community
was distinguished for rigid piety, the number of
converts to Christianity was exceedingly small, the
rabbis setting their flocks an example by their stead-
fastness and contempt for death. In Catalonia, as
in Valencia, but few Jews were spared, and they
owed their good fortune to the protection received
— in exchange, of course, for large sums of money —
in the castles of the nobility. In Aragon itself the
outbreaks were not so serious, as the Jewish com-
munities had made a timely and prudent offer of all
their wealth for the protection of the court.

For three months fire and sword raged unresisted
in the majority of the Spanish Jewries. When the
storm abated, the Jews remaining were so broken
in spirit that they did not venture forth from their
places of refuge. The sad occurrences were de-
scribed in a heart-breaking, tearful epistle to the
community of Perpignan, which Chasdai Crescas,
who had been robbed of an only son and his entire
fortune, penned in answer to their sympathetic in-
quiries. Thus, to Spanish Jews came the tragical
fate which had befallen their German brethren,
hardly half a century before, at the time of the Black
Death. They also had acquired materials for bitter
songs of lamentation, which they inserted in the
Jewish liturgy. But the consequences of the per-
secution were even more terrible than the persecu-

CH. V. EFFECTS OF THE SPANISH PERSECUTIONS. I73

tion itself. Their pride was completely crushed,
and their spirit permanently darkened. They who
had formerly held their heads so proudly aloft, now
slunk timidly along, anxiously avoiding every Chris-
tian as a possible murderer or instigator of murder-
ous assaults. If hundred Jews were assembled, and
a single rough abused them, they fled like a flock
of frightened birds. This persecution gave them
their first experience of the bitterness of exile, for,
notwithstanding many untoward circumstances, they
had always imagined themselves secure and at home
in Spain. Now, for the first time, their haughty
demeanor was humbled. They were no longer the
men who had so valiantly wielded the sword in the
armies of Don Pedro. In Portugal alone the Jews
were free from fanatical attacks. Its king, Don
Jocio I, enjoyed a popularity to which, in a crisis, he
was able to appeal. As his instructions were cheer-
fully obeyed, he was able to preserve order and put
down outbreaks with a firm hand. The chief rabbi,
Don Moses Navarro, brought under his notice the
two bulls of the popes Clement VI and Boniface IX,
in which force was forbidden in converting Jews.
The king immediately issued an order (July 17th,
1392) prohibiting persecutions. Wide publicity was
given to the bulls in every town in Portugal, and
they were inserted among the statutes of the realm.
Portugal thus became an asylum for the persecuted
Jews of Spain.

The Jews of the south of France were not entirely
exempted from the horrors of this persecution.
The tempest which had crossed the sea to the
island of Majorca also whirled over the snow-
capped Pyrenees, and caught up the Jews of Prov-
ence in its deadly eddies. No sooner was intelli-
gence received of the bloody massacres of the Jews
of Spain than the populace of Provence rose, and
began to plunder and murder their Jewish
neighbors.

174 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. V.

The Jews in France had been permitted to settle
in the country only for a specified time, and, although
this term was frequently extended, their thoughts
were necessarily always directed towards possible
banishment. They were compelled to amass and
keep in readiness sufficient money to enable them,
at any moment, to start life afresh in another land.
Like their ancestors in Egypt, they were ready for
an exodus, their loins girded, their shoes on their
feet, and their staffs in their hands. Although the
acquisition of land was allowed them, they were
obliged to concentrate themselves on the money
business, and pursue the advantages offered by each
moment. Necessity made them usurers. Some
among them charged a higher rate of interest than
permitted by the privileges granted them, and
exacted even compound interest from dilatory
debtors. But it was the king himself who forced
them to immoderate, exasperating usury, by the
extravagant demands he made upon their purses to
meet the expenses of his wars, and the Jews could
fulfill his demands only by transgressing the laws,
but their exactions naturally rendered them hateful
in the eyes of the general public. That Jewish
creditors frequently had ill-intentioned or tardy
Christian debtors imprisoned to force them to dis-
charge their liabilities tended to increase the bitter-
ness. The exercise of this right was regarded as a
triumph of " the children of the devil over the chil-
dren of heaven." The public became so angered at
their possessing the privilege that the king, Charles
VI, was obliged to abolish it. On the other hand,
the necessityof maintaining the privilege was shown
to be so imperative — the Jews being threatened
with the entire loss of their outstanding debts — that
the king and parliament had to grant it a month
later in a modified form. They permitted the Jews
to imprison only the debtors who, in their bonds,
made themselves answerable with their bodies,

CH. V. SECOND EXPULSION FROM FRANCE. 1/5

A trifling circumstance sufficed to kindle into a
flame these embers of Jew-hatred in France. A
wealthy Israelite, Denys Machault, of Villa-Parisis,
became a convert to Christianity, and then suddenly
disappeared. The affair became the subject of
stranore rumors. Some said that he had been mur-

o

dered by Jews ; others that he had been hurried
abroad with a view to providing him with an easy
means of returning to Judaism. The clergy inter-
ested themselves in the mystery, fanatical appeals
were made to the people, and, eventually, the Paris
tribunals prosecuted seven prominent Hebrews. A
commission of priests and lawyers subjected the
accused to the rack, and extorted the confession
that they had advised Denys Machault to abandon
his new faith. The commission condemned them to
the stake as promoters of apostasy from Christianity,
Parliament substituted an apparently milder punish-
ment. It ordered the accused to be scourged in three
of the public places of Paris, kept in goal until Denys
Machault re-appeared, and then, stripped of all their
possessions, expelled the country. From the pub-
licity given to this affair, it created an extraordinary
sensation, and still further inflamed the popular pas-
sions against the Jews.

For about three months the court extended a
protecting wing over the unfortunate Jews, but soon
withdrew it in face of the stormy, menacing clamor
of the clergy and people. At last the enemies of
the Jews prevailed upon the king to promulgate the
order of banishment. Doubtless with malice afore-
thought the day chosen for the issue of the decree
was the solemn Fast of Atonement (September
17th, 1394), when the Jews were afflicting their
souls during the entire day in the synagogues. The
prolonged term granted for their sojourn in the
country not having expired, it became necessary to
put forward an excuse for ignoring the convention.
The royal decree was not able to impute to the Jews

176 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. V.

Specific crimes or misdemeanors, and, consequently,
confined itself to vague generalities. It had been
reported to his majesty by trustworthy persons, in-
cluding many of his lieutenants and other officials,
that complaints had been made concerning offenses
committed by the Jews against the Christian religion
and the special laws drawn up for their control.
That meant that they had encouraged baptized Jews
to recant, and had practiced extortionate usury —
the latter Charles had partly approved and partly
condoned. The decree then stated that his majesty
had made the irrevocable law that henceforth no
Jews should be allowed to reside or tarry in any
part of France, either in Languedoil or Languedoc
(northern and southern France).

Thus, ninety years after their first expulsion by
Philip le Bel, and after a second sojourn of thirty-
four years, the French Jews were compelled once
more to grasp the wanderer's staff. Charles, how-
ever, dealt more leniently with them than his heart-
less ancestor. They were not, as before, robbed
of all their possessions, and turned adrift stripped
to the skin. On the contrary, Charles VI issued
orders to the prevot of Paris and his provincial
governors, instructing them to see that no harm
come to the Jews, either in their persons or their
chattels, and that they cross the frontier safely.
Time was also allowed them up to the 3d November
to collect their debts. They did not leave France
until the end of 1394 or the beginning of the follow-
ing year. To some of the nobility and towns the
expulsion was not a welcome measure. Thus, the
Count de Foix wished at all hazards to retain the
community of Pamier, and had to be forced by royal
officers to expel the Jews. In Toulouse twelve Jew-
ish families, and in the vicinity seven more, remained
behind, so that they must have received special
indulgences. Jews also remained in the provinces
not directly dependent on the French crown — in the

CH. V. FRENCH REFUGEES. 1/7

Dauphine, in Provence proper, and in Aries, these
being fiefs of the German empire. The flourishing
seaport, Marseilles, possessed a Jewish community
for a long time after the expulsion. Even the popes
of Avignon tolerated Jews in Avignon and Carpen-
tras, the chief towns of their small ecclesiastical
province of Venaissin ; and here they remained
until very recent times, using a ritual of their own,
which differed from that of their Spanish and their
French brethren. The papacy had now little to fear
from the helpless, enfeebled Jews ; hence, doubtless,
this parade of toleration.

The exiles who failed to find an asylum in the
tolerant principalities of France emigrated to Ger-
many and Italy; only a few directed their steps to
Spain, formerly the most hospitable refuge for per-
secuted Jews. Since the massacres of 1391 that
country had become a purgatory to the native Jews,
and so long as foreign Jews could find a shelter else-
where, they naturally avoided its frontiers. French
communities migrated in a body to Piedmont, and
settled in the towns of Asti, Fossano, and Moncalvo,
where they could maintain unchanged their old
synagogue ritual. The fate of the larger number
of the French exiles may be described in the words
of Amos : " As if a man did flee from a lion, and a
bear met him ; or went into the house, and leaned
his hand on the wall, and a serpent bit him." Almost
everywhere they were met with a storm of barbarity,
not unfrequently stirred up against them by baptized
Jews. In Germany an apostate named Pessach, who,
with Christianity, had adopted the name of Peter,
brought serious accusations against his brethren in
race, with a view to bringing about another per-
secution. To the usual charges that the Jews called
Jesus the crucified or the hanged, and that they
cursed the Christian clergy in one of their prayers,
Pessach-Peter added others. He stated that an
abusive allusion to Jesus was contained in the sub-

1^8 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. V.

lime Alenu prayer, which pictures the future reign of
God on earth, and he made other lying and ludicrous
charges. The result was that a large number of the
Jews of Prague were arrested and imprisoned
(August 3d, 1399). Among them was the fore-
most and, perhaps, only really learned German Jew
of the Middle Ages, Lipmann (Tab-Yomi) of Mlihl-
hausen, a scholar accomplished alike in Biblical and
Talmudical lore, who had read not only Karaite
authors, but also the New Testament in a Latin
version. The clergy called upon him to answer
Pessach-Peter's charges. His defense was forcible,
but seems to have had little effect, for on the day
Emperor Wenceslaus was deposed, and Rupert of
the Palatinate elected his successor (August 2 2d,
1400), seventy-seven Jews were executed, and three
weeks later three more led to the stake.

CHAPTER VI.

JEWISH APOSTATES AND THE DISPUTATION AT TORTOSA.

The Marranos — The Satirists — Pero Ferrus of Alcala, Diego de
Valencia, and Villasandino — Astruc Raimuch and Solomon
Bonfed — Paul de Santa Maria and his Zealous Campaign
against the Jews — Joshua Ibn-Vives — Profiat Duran (Efodi) —
Meir Alguades — The Philosophy of Crescas — Death of Henry III
of Castile and Unfavorable Change in the Position of the Jews —
Messianic Dreams of the Kabbalists — Jews seek an Asylum in
Northern Africa — Simon Duran — Geronimo de Santa F6, Vincent
Ferrer and Benedict XIII — Anti-Jewish Edict of Juan II — Special
Jewish Costume — Conversion of Jews owing to Ferrer's Violent
Efforts — Disputation at Tortosa — The Jewish Spokesmen at the
Conference — Incidents of the Meeting — Geronimo instigates the
Publication of a Bull for the Burning of the Talmud — Pope
Martin V befriends the Jews.

1391 — 1420 C.E.

The baptized Jews who had abandoned their faith
during the terrible persecution of 1391 became a
source of considerable trouble to their Spanish
brethren. They had embraced the cross only to
save their lives, or the lives of those dear to them ;
for, surely, they had found no convincing demon-
stration of the truth of the Christian religion in the
violence of its missionaries, or in the death agonies
of their brethren in race who had perished rather
than apostatize. Dazed and broken-hearted, these
forced converts (Anusim) to Christianity felt more
intense antipathy to their new religion than when
they had been openly opposed to it. It was natural
for them to resolve to take the first opportunity of
casting away their disguise, and returning to Juda-
ism with increased zeal. Many of these new Chris-
tians emigrated to the neighboring Moorish coun-
tries ; to Granada or across the straits to Morocco,
Tunis, or Fez, where the people, wiser and more
tolerant than Christian Europe, gladly opened their

l80 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH, VI.

doors to a wealthy and industrious race. The
majority, unable to leave Spanish territory, yet
averse to wholly discarding their ancient faith, joined
in Jewish ceremonies and celebrations whilst out-
wardly appearing Christians. The kings of Castile,
Aragon and Majorca, who had disapproved of con-
versions by mob violence, allowed the Jews to do
as they pleased. The authorities either did not or
would not see their relapse into Judaism, and the
Inquisition had not yet been established in Spain.
These forced converts gradually formed themselves
into a peculiar class, outwardly Christians, at heart
Jews. By the populace, who nicknamed them
Marranos, or " The Damned," they were regarded
with more distrust and hatred than the openly ob-
servant Jews, not because of their secret fidelity to
Judaism, but on account of their descent and inborn
intelligence, energy, and skill. Baptized Jews, who
had been glad to disencumber themselves of their
Judaism, shared in these feelings of aversion. They
were the worldlings who valued wealth, rank, and
luxury above religion, or the over-educated whose
philosophy had led them to skepticism, and whose
selfishness induced them to welcome a change which
brought them out of the narrow confines of a small
community, and opened up a wider world to them.
Their hearts had never been with Judaism, and they
had adhered to it only out of respect or a certain
compunction. To them, forced baptism was a relief
from chafing fetters, a welcome coercion to over-
come scruples which had always sat hghtly upon
them. For their own advantage they simulated
devotion to Christianity, but were on that account
neither better nor more religious men. The un-
scrupulous among them found special pleasure in
the persecution of their former religion and its fol-
lowers. To gratify their malice, they brought
charges against rabbis and other representative
Jews, or any member of the community, thus en-

CH. VI. DON PERO FERRUS. l8l

dangering the existence of the whole body of Jews
in the country. It was bad enough that the latter
had been robbed of so many able and learned men
— physicians, authors, poets — and that the church
had been enriched by their wealth and intelligence;
but these very forces were used to inflict further
mischief on the Jews that had remained steadfast.
Knowing the faults of their former brethren, the
converts could easily attack them. Don Pero Fer-
rus, a baptized Jew, made the community and rab-
bis of Alcala the target for his ridicule. In a poem
he represents himself exhausted from want of sleep
finding repose at last in the synagogue of this
town, when suddenly he is disturbed, and scared
away without mercy by "Jews with long beards and
slovenly garments come thither for early morning
prayer." A sharp rejoinder to this effort of Ferrus'
" buffoon tongue " was put forth by a Jewish poet
in the name of the Alcala community, Spanish
poetry reaped considerable advantage from these
passages at arms. Verse, up to that period starched,
solemn, and stately as the punctilious ceremonial
of the Madrid court, in the hands of Judaeo-Christian
satirists acquired the flexibility, wit and merriment
of neo-Hebraic poetry at its best. This tone and
style were gradually adopted by Christian poets,
who borrowed expressions from Jewish writers to
give point to their epigrams. Not only the apos-
tate, the monk, Diego de Valencia, used Hebrew
words in lampoons on the Jews, but the same prac-
tice was adopted with surprising dexterity by the
Christian satirist, Alfonso Alvarez de Villasandino,
the "poet prince" of his day. A malicious critic
might have been inclined to say that Spanish poetry
was in process of being Judaized.

A few of the new-Christians showed as active a
zeal in the propagation of Christianity as if they had
been born Dominicans, or as if they felt isolated
in their new faith among the old Christians, and

1 82 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. VI.

yearned for the companionship of their former
friends. A newly-baptized physician, Astruc Rai-
much, of Fraga, who, as a Jew, had been a pillar of
orthodoxy, exerted himself to make converts, taking
to himself the name of Francisco God-flesh (Dios-
Carne). He spread his snares particularly with a
view to entrapping one of his young friends. A
fluent writer of Hebrew, Astruc-Francisco drew up
a letter in that language, dwelling on the decline of
Judaism and enthusiastically propounding the dog-
mas of Christianity. His applications of Biblical
texts to the doctrines of the Trinity, Original Sin,
Redemption, and the Lord's Supper, appear almost
droll in Hebrew. His friend's answer was meek
and evasive, every word carefully weighed to avoid
offending the delicate sensibilities of the church and
its zealous servants. More spirited was the reply
of the satirical poet, Solomon ben Reuben Bonfed,
who in rhymed prose set himself to confute Astruc-
Francisco's arguments with unsparing incisiveness.
Apologizing in his introduction for interfering be-
tween two friends, he proceeded to point out that
as a Jew the questions discussed concerned him
nearly, whilst the misstatements made rendered it
impossible for him to remain silent. Solomon Bon-
fed examined somewhat minutely the dogmas of the
Incarnation, Original Sin, and Transubstantiation,
showing them to be irrational and untenable. He
justly said : " You twist and distort the Bible text to
establish the Trinity. Had you a Quaternity, you
would demonstrate it quite as strikingly and con-
vincingly from the books of the Old Testament."

Of all the Jews baptized in 1391, however, none
inflicted so much injury on his former brethren as
Rabbi Solomon Levi of Burgos (born 1351 — 1352,
died 1435), who as a Christian rose to very im-
portant ecclesiastical and political dignities under
the name of Paul Burgensis, or de Santa Maria.
Previous to his change of creed he had been a rabbi,

CH. VL PAUL DE SANTA MARIA. 1 83

and he was well versed in Biblical, Talmudical, and
Rabbinical literature. As a Jew he was extremely
orthodox and punctilious, passing in his own circle
for a pillar of the faith. His nature was, however,
shrewd and calculating. Ambitious and vain to the
last degree, he soon began to regard as too narrow
his sphere of action within the walls of the college,
which during a long period counted him amongst
its students and teachers. He longed for a life of
bustling activity. To obtain a state appointment,
he sought access to court, and began to live like a
grandee, with equipage and horses and numerous
retinue. It was his ambition to become a Jewish
Almoxarif or even to obtain a higher appointment.
His occupations bringing him into daily contact with
Christians, and frequently involving him in religious
controversies, he devoted some attention to church
literature, in order to be able to make a display of
learning. The massacres of 139 1 dissipated his last
hope of obtaining high preferment as a Jew, and he
consequently resolved, in his fortieth year, to be
baptized. To derive the best advantage from his
conversion, the new Christian, Paul de Santa Maria,
caused it to be understood that he had embraced
Christianity willingly, as a result of the convincing
arguments put forth in the theological writings of
the schoolman Thomas Aquinas. The Jews received
such protestations with distrust. Knowing him
well, they did not scruple to ascribe his conversion
to a craving for rank and power. After his change
of creed, his family, wife and sons, renounced him.
For a commoner, the only road to high office lay
through the church. Solomon-Paul knew this well,
and at once proceeded to Paris and attended the
University, where he pursued theology. His knowl-
edge of Hebrew gave him a great advantage, and
helped him to distinguish himself. It was not long
before the quondam rabbi became a duly ordained
Catholic priest. Then he betook himself to the

184 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. VI.

papal court at Avignon, where the haughty, obstin-
ate, and proselytizing cardinal, Pedro de Luna,
reigned as anti-pope under the title of Benedict
XIII. Here, during the stormy church schism, favor-
able opportunities for intrigue and personal advance-
ment presented themselves. Paul won the pope's
favor by his shrewdness, zeal, and eloquence. He
was appointed archdeacon of Trevinjo and canon of
Seville, his first steps on the ladder of the Catholic
hierarchy. He abandoned himself to the most
ambitious dreams : he might become a bishop, a
cardinal, and why not the pope ? The times were
propitious. He boasted that he was descended from
the most ancient and the noblest branch of the
Hebrew race, the tribe of Levi, the same that had
given birth to Mary, the mother of Jesus. He was
not an ordinary priest sprung from the people, but
had ancestors bound to be acknowledged and dis-
tinguished by the church. On the recommendation
of the pope, he was later on overwhelmed with
honors and favors by the king of Castile, Don
Henry III, and his ambition was satisfied.

The apostasy of so respected a rabbi as Solomon
Burgensis not only created the greatest astonish-
ment among Jews, but filled them with anxiety.
Would this example not find imitators in a time of
so much trouble and temptation ? Would it not
bias waverers, or at least encourage pretending
Christians to persevere in the course begun ? The
prevailing disquietude was increased when it was
found that after his own conversion Paul considered
it his duty to convert his former co-religionists. To
this end he left no stone unturned. With voice and
pen he assailed Judaism, seeking his weapons in
Jewish literature itself. Not long after his conver-
sion he addressed a letter to his former acquaint-
ance, Joseph (Jose) Orabuena, physician in ordinary
to King Charles III of Navarre, and chief rabbi of
the Navarrese communities, in which he stated that

CH. VI. HIS EFFORTS TO CONVERT. 1 85

he acknowledged and honored Jesus as the Messiah
whose advent had been foretold by the prophets,
and invited Orabuena to follow his example. To
another chief rabbi, Don Meir Alguades, physician
in ordinary to the Castilian king, Don Henry III,
Paul de Santa Maria addressed a Hebrew satire in
prose and verse, in which he ridiculed the innocent
celebration of the Jewish feast of Purim. As if
grudging the Jews the moderate pleasures in which
they indulged during this festival, he exaggerated
their love of drink, and boasted of his own sobriety.
Paul evinces in this satire considerable skill in
handling the new-Hebrew language, but, notwith-
standing his opportunities, he exhibits little wit.

As soon as he had acquired a position at the
papal court at Avignon, he devoted himself to cal-
umniating the Jews with a view to bringing about
new persecutions. His purpose became so obvious
that the cardinal of Pampeluna himself, and other
ecclesiastics, ordered him to desist. It is true the
Jews had to pay dearly for his silence. He also in-
trigued against Chasdai Crescas, So far did this
apostate carry his enmity to Judaism that he advised
the king, Don Henry III, to abstain from employing
both Jews and new-Christians in state offices. Did
he wish to render impossible the rivalry of some
fellow-Hebrew, his superior in adroitness? In his
writings Paul de Santa Maria exhibited as much
hatred of Judaism as of Jews. While the Francis-
can monk, Nicholas de Lyra, a born Christian, held
up the works of Jewish commentators like Rashi
as models of simple exegesis, the former rabbi
found every observation of a Rabbinical writer in-
sipid, nonsensical, and scandalous. On the other
hand, the most ridiculous commentary of a church
writer was to him a lofty, unsurpassable work.

Thoughtful Jews were not slow to recognize their
bitterest foe in this new-Christian, and they prepared
for a severe struggle with him, notwithstanding that

1 86 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. VI,

their choice of weapons was limited. Christians
were not only free to say what they pleased in
demonstration and defense of their doctrines, but
could appeal to the summary authority of the sword
and the dungeon. Jews were forced to all kinds of
circumlocution and ambiguity to avoid provoking
the violence of their adversaries. The gallant stand
of a mere handful of Jews against power and
arrogance should excite the admiration of all whose
sympathies are not with victorious tyranny, but with
struggling right.

The campaign against Paul de Santa Maria was
opened by a young man, Joshua ben Joseph Ibn-
Vives of Lorca ( Allorqui) , a physician and an Arabic
scholar, who had formerly sat at the feet of the rene-
gade rabbi. In an humble epistle, as though a docile
pupil were addressing an illustrious master, Joshua
Allorqui administered many a delicate reproof to
his apostate teacher, and at the same time, by his
naive doubts, dealt destructive blows at the funda-
mental doctrines of Christianity. He observes in
his introduction that the conversion of his beloved
teacher had to him more than to others been a source
of astonishment and reflection, as his example had
been a main support of his own religious belief. He
was at a loss to conceive the motives of the sudden
change. He could not think that he had been led
away by desire for worldly distinction, " for I well
remember," he says, "how, surrounded by riches
and attendants, thou didst yearn for thy former
humble state with its life of retirement and study,
and how it was thy wont to speak of thy high posi-
tion as empty mockery of happiness." Nor could
he suppose that Paul's Jewish convictions had been
disturbed by philosophic doubt, as up to the moment
of his baptism he had conscientiously observed all
the ceremonial laws, and had known how to discrimin-
ate between the kernel of philosophic truth which
harmonizes with religion and the pernicious shell

CH. VI. JOSHUA ALLORQUI ATTACKS CHRISTIANITT. 1 8/

which SO often passes for the real teaching. Could
it be that the sanguinary persecution of the Jews
had led him to doubt the possibility of the enduring
power of Judaism ? But even this theory was un-
tenable, for Paul could not be unaware of the fact
that only a minority of Jews live under Christian
rule, that the larger numbers sojourn in Asia, and
enjoy a certain degree of independence ; so that if
it pleased God to allow the communities in Christian
lands to be extirpated, the Jewish race would not by
any means disappear from the face of the earth.
There remained, continued Joshua Vives of Lorca,
the assumption that Paul had carefully studied Chris-
tianity, and had come to the conclusion that its dog-
mas were well founded. He begged him, therefore,
to impart to him the convictions at which he had
arrived, and thus dissipate the doubts which he
(Joshua) still entertained as to the truth of Christi-
anity. Allorqui then detailed the nature of his
doubts, covertly but forcibly attacking the Christian
system. Every sentence in this epistle was calcu-
lated to cut the Jew-hating new-Christian to the
quick. The evasive and embarrassed reply, which
Paul indited later on, clearly indicated how he had
winced under this attack.

The philosopher, Chasdai Crescas, also came for-
ward in gallant defense of the religion of his fathers.
He composed (1396) a polemical treatise (Tratado),
in which he tested philosophically the Christian arti-
cles of faith, and demonstrated their untenableness.
This work was addressed to Christians more than to
Jews, and was particularly intended for the perusal
of Spaniards of high rank whose friendship Chasdai
Crescas enjoyed. Hence it was written not in He-
brew but in Spanish, which the author employed
with ease, and its tone was calm and moderate.
Chasdai Crescas set forth the unintelligibility of the
doctrines of the Fall, the Redemption, the Trinity,
the Incarnation, the Immaculate Conception, and

1 88 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. VI.

Transubstantiation, and examined the value of bap-
tism, the coming of Jesus, and the relation of the
New Testament to the Old, with dispassionate delib-
eration, as if he did not know that he was dealing
with questions which might at any moment light the
fires of an auto-da-fe.

At about the same time an accomplished Mar-
rano, who had relapsed into Judaism, published a
pungent attack on Christianity and the new-Chris-
tians. In the entire history of Judseo-Christian con-
troversy no such stinging satire had been produced
on the Jewish side as that now issued by the phy-
sician, astronomer, historical student, and gram-
marian Profiat Duran. During the bloody persecu-
tion of 1 39 1 in Catalonia, Profiat Duran, otherwise
Isaac ben Moses, or, as he called himself in his
works, Efodi (Ephodaeus), had been forced to sim-
ulate conversion to Christianity. He was joined
by his friend David Bonet Buen-Giorno. Both
resolved at a convenient opportunity to abandon
their hated mask and emigrate to Palestine, where
they could freely acknowledge Judaism. Their af-
fairs being arranged, Profiat Duran traveled to a
seaport town in the south of France, and there
awaited his friend. The latter, in the meantime,
was sought out by or came across the Jew-hating
apostate, Solomon Paul de Santa Maria, and was
prevailed upon to remain a Christian. What was
Profiat Duran's astonishment when he received a
letter announcing, with much exultant vaporing, the
definite acknowledgment of Christianity by En
Bonet, who exhorted him also to remain in the pale
of his adopted faith. The letter contained an en-
thusiastic panegyric of Paul de Santa Maria, who
had been taken into the favor of the king of Castile.
Profiat Duran could not remain silent. In reply, he
inflicted punishment on his friend, and more par-
ticularly on the proselytizing Paul, in an epistle
characterized by the keenest irony, which has not

CH. Vi. PROFIAT DURAN'S SATIRE. I89

yet lost its sting. It pretends to assent to every-
thing advanced by Bonet, and to confirm him in his
resolve to remain a Christian, " Be not ye like
your fathers" (Altehi ka-Abothecha) is the refrain
throughout, and so artfully is this admonition em-
ployed that Christians used it (under the title Alteca
Boteca) as an apology for Christianity. Whilst
thus pretending to criticise the errors of the older
faith, Profiat Duran dwells on the Christian dogmas,
naively describing them in their most reprehensible
form. He concentrates on the weaknesses of Chris-
tianity the full light of reason, Scriptural teaching
and philosophic deduction, apparently with no de-
sire to change his friend's intention. A portion of
the satire is directed against the Jew-hater Paul de
Santa Maria, upon whom Bonet had bestowed un-
stinted praise. "Thou art of opinion that he may
succeed in becoming pope, but thou dost not inform
me whether he will go to Rome, or remain at Avig-
non " — a cutting reference to the papal schism dis-
tractingr the church. " Thou extollest him for havingr
made efforts to free Jewish women and children
from the obligation of wearing the Jew badge.
Take the glad tidings to the women and children.
For myself, I have been told that he preached mis-
chief against the Jews, and that the cardinal of
Pampeluna was compelled to order him to be silent.
Thou art of opinion that he, thy teacher, will soon
receive the miter or a cardinal's hat. Rejoice, for
then thou also must acquire honors, and wilt be-
come a priest or a Levite." Towards the end Pro-
fiat Duran changes irony into a tone of seriousness :
he prays his former friend not to bear as a Chris-
tian the name of his respected father who, had he
been alive, would sooner have had no son than one
faithless to his religion. As it is, his soul in Para-
dise will bewail the faithlessness of his son. This
satirical epistle was circulated as a pamphlet. Its
author sent copies not only to his former friend, but

190 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. VI.

also to the physician of the king of Castile, the chief
rabbi, Don Meir Alguades. So telling was the
effect produced, that the clergy, as soon as they dis-
covered its satirical character, made it the subject
of judicial inquiry, and committed it to the flames.
At the request of Chasdai Crescas, Profiat Duran
wrote another anti-Christian work, not, however, a
satire, but in the grave language of historical inves-
tigation. In this essay he showed, from his intimate
acquaintance with the New Testament and the lit-
erature of the church, how in course of time Chris-
tianity had degenerated.

Favored and promoted by the anti-pope, Bene-
dict XIII, of Avignon, Paul of Burgos rose higher
and higher; he became bishop of Carthagena, chan-
cellor of Castile and privy counselor to the king,
Don Henry III. His malice did not succeed in
prejudicing the king against the Jews, or inducing
him to bar them from state employment. Don
Henry had two Jewish physicians, in whom he
reposed especial confidence. One, Don Meir Al-
guades, an astronomer and philosopher, he ap-
pointed, perhaps in imitation of Portugal, to the
chief rabbinate of the various Castilian communities.
He was always in the king's train, and it is probable
that to some extent he influenced him favorably
towards his co-religionists. The other was Don
Moses Zarzel (^argal), who celebrated in rich
Spanish verse the long wished for birth of an heir
to the Castilian throne, borrowing the beauties of the
neo-Hebraic poetry to do honor to the newly-born
prince, in whose hands, he prophesied, the various
states of the Pyrenean Peninsula would be united.
The calm, as between two storms, which the Spanish
Jews enjoyed during the reign of Don Henry was
favorable to the production of a few literary fruits,
almost the last of any importance brought forth in
Spain. None of these works was epoch-making;
they were useful, however, in keeping alive the

CHi^Vi. CHASDAi CRESCAS. I9I

spirit of better times, and in preventing the treas-
ures of Jewish literature from being forgotten.
Profiat Duran managed to make people forget his
baptism and to setde down quietly in Spain or
Perpignan, where he commentated Maimuni's phil-
osophy, and some of Ibn-Ezra's works. He also
composed a mathematical and calendarial essay
(Chesheb-Efod) and an historical account of the per-
secutions to which his race had been subjected since
the dispersion. His best work is a Hebrew gram-
mar (" Maase Efod," written about 1403), in which
he summarizes the results of older writers, rectifies
their errors, and even attempts to formulate the
principles of Hebrew syntax.

A production of more than common merit was
written by Chasdai Crescas, now on the brink of the
grave, his spirits shattered by persecution. He was
a profound, comprehensive thinker, whose mind
never lost itself in details, but was forever striving
to comprehend the totality of things. His scheme
for a work treating, in the manner of Maimuni, of
all phases and aspects of Judaism, investigating the
ideas and laws out of which Jewish teaching had
gradually developed, and reharmonizing the details
with the whole where the connection had ceased to
be apparent, bears witness to the extraordinary
range of his learning and the perspicacity of his mind.
The work was to be at once a guide to Talmudical
study and a practical handbook. Death appears
to have prevented the accomplishment of this gi-
gantic enterprise, only the philosophic portion, or
introduction, being completed. In this introduction
Chasdai Crescas deals, on the one hand, with the
principles of universal religion, the existence of God,
His omniscience and providence, human free-will,
the design of the universe, and, on the other, with
the fundamental truths of Judaism, the doctrines of
the creation, immortality, and the Messiah.

Crescas was less dominated by the Aristotelian

192 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. VI.

bias of mediseval philosophy than his predecessors.
It had lost its halo for him ; he perceived its weak-
nesses more clearly than others, and probed them
more deeply. With bold hands he tore down the
supports of the vast edifice of theory constructed by
Maimuni on Aristotelian grounds to demonstrate
the existence of God and His relation to the uni-
verse, and, conversant with the whole method of
scholastic philosophy, he combated it with destruct-
ive force.

While the philosophy of his day appeared to him
thus vague and illusory, he considered the founda-
tions of Judaism unassailable, and set himself to
show the futility of the criticisms of the former.
The acknowledgment of Divine omniscience led
him to the daring statement that man in his actions
is not quite free, that everything is the necessary
result of a preceding occurrence, and that every
cause, back to the very first, is bound to deter-
mine the character of the final action. The human
will does not follow blind choice, but is con-
trolled by a chain of antecedent circumstances and
causes. To what extent can the doctrine of reward
and punishment be admitted, if the will is not
free? Chasdai Crescas' answer to this is that
reward and punishment wait on intentions, not on
actions. He who, in purity of heart, wishes to
accomplish good — which must, of course, necessarily
follow — deserves to be rewarded, as the man who
willingly promotes evil, deserves punishment. The
highest good to which man can aspire, and the end
of all creation, is spiritual perfection, or bliss ever-
lasting, not to be obtained, as the philosophers
imagine, by filling the mind with metaphysical theo-
ries, but only through the active love of God. This
is the substance of all religion and particularly of
Judaism. From this point of view it may with
justice be said that " the world was created for the
sake of the Torah," for the aim of the Law is to

CH. VI. DON MEIR ALGUADES. 1 93

lead to immortality by means of ideas and com-
mandments and the guidance of thoughts and
actions.

Chasdai Crescas, the first to distinguish between
universal religion and specific forms, such as Juda-
ism and Christianity, propounded, deviating from
Maimuni's system, only eight peculiarly Jewish
tenets. His just objection to Maimuni's thirteen
articles of faith was that they were either too many
or too few, inasmuch as they blended indiscriminately
fundamental truths common to all religions, and
teachings peculiar to Judaism.

Together with Profiat Duran and Chasdai Cres-
cas, Don Meir Alguades, the Castilian chief rabbi,
appeared, in the brief interval between two bloody
persecutions in Spain, as a writer of philosophic
works. He was not an independent inquirer; he
merely translated the ethics of Aristotle (1405, in
collaboration with Benveniste Ibn-Labi) into He-
brew, making the work accessible to Jews, who, in
practical life, lived up to its principles better than
the Greeks, who produced them, or the Christians,
who, in the pride of faith and church doctrine, con-
sidered themselves above the necessity of conform-
ing to the requirements of morality.

Throughout the reign of Don Henry III of Cas-
tile the life of the Jews was tolerable. The young
but vigorous monarch severely punished Fernan
Martinez, the primemoverin the massacres of 1391,
as a warning against further excesses. He per-
mitted the Jews to acquire land, renewed the law of
his ancestor, Alfonso XI, and relieved his Jewish
tax-farmers and finance administrators from restric-
tions. As soon as he died (the end of 1406) the
affairs of the Jews again took an unfavorable turn,
foreshadowing unhappy times. The heir to the
crown, Juan II, was a child, barely two years old.
The regency devolved on the queen-mother, Cata-
lina (Catherine) of Lancaster, a capricious, arrogant

194 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. VL

and bigoted young woman, who imagined that she
ruled, while she was herself ruled by her various
favorites. The co-regent, Don Ferdinand, later
king of Aragon, who was intelligent and kind,
allowed himself to be guided by the clergy. By his
side in the council of state sat the apostate rabbi,
Solomon alias Paul de Santa Maria, another and
more mischievous Elisha-Acher, in whose eyes
Judaism was an abomination, and every Jew a
stumbling-block. The deceased king, Don Henry
III, had appointed him executor of his will and tutor
to his heir ; he consequently had an influential voice
in the council of the regency. What a prospect for
the Jews of Castile ! It was not long before they were
made to feel the hostile spirit of the court. First it
exhibited itself in attempts to humiliate the more
notable Jews who had intercourse with the court
circle and the grandees of the kingdom, and occu-
pied positions of distinction. The intention was to
dismiss them from these positions with the reminder
that they belonged to a despised caste.

An edict was issued (October 25th, 1408), in the
name of the infant king, reviving the anti-Jewish
statutes of the code of Alfonso the Wise. "Whereas
the exercise of authority by Jews may conduce to
the prejudice of the Christian faith," their occupa-
tion of posts in which they might possess such au-
thority was forbidden for all future time. Every Jew
permitting himself to be invested with official func-
tions, either by a nobleman or a municipality, was to
be fined twice the amount of the revenue of such
post, and, if his fortune did not suffice to make up
the required amount, it would be confiscated, and
the delinquent become liable to a punishment of
fifty lashes. A Christian appointing a Jew to a post
of influence would also be punished with a fine. To
insure the working of the edict, it was enacted that
the informer and the court of law concerned in a
case should secure each one-third of the confiscated

CH. VI. ARREST OF DON MEfR ALGUADES. I95

estates. Officials were charged to make the edict
known everywhere, and carefully to watch that its
injunctions were carried out. It is impossible not
to suspect the hand of Paul de Santa Maria in this
decree. No one knew better than he the strong and
the weak points in the character of the Spanish Jews,
and he doubtless calculated that Jewish notables, in
danger of losing their official employment and high
social position, would go over to Christianity, while
the faithful, excluded from intercourse with Christian
society and from participation in the public life of
the country, would suffer a decline similar to that of
the German Jews.

At the same time he vented his hate on Meir Al-
guades, the physician of the dead king. The queen-
regent had no cause to injure this Jewish notable;
only Paul could desire his ruin, because he was the
mainstay of his opponents and the leader of those
who held him up to contempt. With the object of
procuring his downfall, a vindictive accusation was
trumped up against him. While the queen-mother,
with the infant king, was staying at Segovia, some
priests charged a Jew of the town with having bought
a consecrated host from the sacristan, in order to
blaspheme it. They further stated that the holy
wafer had worked such terrible wonders while in the
possession of the Jew, that in fear and trembling he
had delivered it up to the prior of a monastery.
Whether this story was fabricated, or whether there
was a grain of truth in a bushel of fiction, it is im-
possible to say ; it sufficed, however, to attract the
serious attention of the bishop. Velasquez de Tor-
desillas, who caused a number of Jews to be
arrested as accomplices in the crime, among them
Don Meir Alguades, Criminal proceedings were
formally commenced by order of the queen-regent,
and Alguades and his fellow-prisoners were sub-
jected to torture, and confessed their guilt. It is
stated that in his agony Meir Alguades made a con-

196 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. VI.

fession of another kind — that the king, Henry III,
had come by his death at his hands. Although
everybody knew that the king had been ailing from
his youth, Don Meir — who must have been specially
interrogated while under torture as to whether he
had poisoned the king — was put to death in the
most inhuman manner. He wao torn limb from
limb. The same fate befell the other prisoners.
Still not satisfied, the bishop of Segovia accused
some Jews of having bribed his cook to poison his
food, and they also were put to death. At about
this time one of the synagogues in Segovia was
transformed into a church.

The troubled times, projecting shadows of a still
more unhappy future, produced the melancholy
phenomenon of another Messianic frenzy. Again
it arose in the minds of mystics. The Zohar having
adroitly been raised to the dignity of an approved
authority, the Kabbala daily acquired more influ-
ence, although it was not studied in proportion to
the zeal with which its authority was advocated.
Three Kabbalists were particularly active in exciting
the emotions and turning the heads of the people —
Abraham of Granada, Shem Tob ben Joseph, and
Moses Botarel. The first composed (between 1391
and 1409) a Kabbalistic work, a farrago of strange
names of the Deity and the angels, of transposed
letters, and jugglery with vowels and accents.
Abraham of Granada had the hardihood to teach
that those who could not apprehend God by Kab-
balistic methods belonged to the weak in faith, were
ignorant sinners, and like the depraved and the
apostate were overlooked by God, and not found
worthy of His special providence. He thought that
the relinquishment of their religion by cultured Jews
was explained by their fatal application to scientific
study, and their contempt for the Kabbala. On the
other hand, he professed to see in the persecutions
of 1 391, and in the conversion of so many prominent

CH. VI. MOSES BOTAREL. Ip/

Jews to Christianity, the tokens of the Messianic
age, the suffering that must precede it, and the ap-
proach of the redemption. Shem Tob ben Joseph
Ibn-Shem Tob (died 1430) accused the Jewish
philosophers, Maimuni, Gersonides, and others, of
seducing the people to heresy and infidelity, and with
being the real cause of apostasy in troubled times.
In a work entitled " Emunoth " he made violent
attacks on Jewish thinkers and philosophic studies
generally, and taught that the salvation of Israel lies
in the Kabbala, the oldest Jewish tradition, and the
genuine, pure truth. The entire book is composed
of grave charges against the more enlightened
school of Jewish thinkers, and panegyrics of Kab-
balistic nonsense.

These two men, Abraham of Granada and Shem
Tob, though narrow-minded, were sincere, differing
in this respect from Moses Botarel (or Botarelo),
also a Spaniard, from Cisneros, in Castile, who pur-
sued his course with fraudulent intent. He g^ave
out that he was a thaumaturge and prophet ; he an-
nounced himself even as the Messiah. He prophe-
sied that in the spring month of 1393 the Messianic
age would be ushered in by extraordinary marvels.
Later on he wrote a work full of lies and delusions.
In his pride andboastfulness, he addressed a circular
letter to all the rabbis of Israel, declaring that he
was in a position to solve all doubts, and throw
light on all mysteries, that he was the chief of the
great Synhedrin, and a great deal more in the same
charlatan ic strain.

As in the days of the oppression by the Visigothic
kings, an asylum for persecuted Jews was formed
> on that portion of the African coast facing Spain.
Many of the north African towns, such as Algiers,
Miliana, Constantine, Buja, Oran, Tenes, and Tlem-
gen, were filled with Jews fleeing from the massa-
cres of 1 39 1, and with new-Christians anxious to
get rid of the Christianity which they had been

iqS history of the jews. CH. VI.

forced to embrace, but which they hated cordially.
Almost daily there came fresh troops of refugees
from all parts of Spain and Majorca. They trans-
planted to their new fatherland their intelligence,
wealth, industry, and commercial enterprise. The
Mahometan Berber princes, then more tolerant and
humane than the Christians, received them without
imposing a poll tax. At first the Mahometan popu-
lation grumbled a little at so sudden and considera-
ble an increase in the number of inhabitants, fearing
that the price of provisions would be raised. When,
however, the narrow-mindedness and selfishness of
their complaints were pointed out to them by an
intelligent kadi they were satisfied, and the Jews
were allowed to settle in their midst in peace. The
small Berber communities formed since the cessa-
tion of the Almohade persecution a century before,
acquired greater importance through this immi-
gration. The new-comers preponderated in numbers
over the native Jews, so that the latter, to a certain
extent, were forced to adopt the Spanish communal
organization and the Sephardic ritual. The Span-
iards, in fact, became the leading element in the old
African communities.

The distinguished rabbi, Isaac ben Sheshet-Barfat,
who had escaped from Spain and settled in Algiers,
was recognized by the king of Tlemgen as chief
rabbi and judge of all the communities. This he
owed to the influence of one of his admirers, Saul
Astruc Cohen, a popular physician and an accom-
plished man, who not only practiced his art gratui-
tously, but spent his fortune in relieving both
Mahometan and Jewish poor. In the name of the
king the local rabbis were forbidden to assume cler-
ical or judicial functions without the authority of the
chief rabbi, Isaac ben Sheshet. This in no way
detracted from the esteem in which Ben Sheshet
was held, and applications for the decision of diffi-
cult questions continued to pour in upon him. In

CH. VI. ISAAC BEN SHESHET-BARFAT. I99

Algiers he continued to oppose wrong-doing with
the conscientiousness and impartiaHty that had
always characterized him. Among the members of
his community was a mischievous personage (Isaac
Bonastruc?), who had considerable influence with
the Algerian authorities. Actuated by self-interest
he was desirous of stopping the daily increasing
immigration of Marranos, and to this end persuaded
the kadi to impose a tax of one doubloon on every
immigrant. Finding that troops of fugitives con-
tinued to arrive, he set himself to work upon the
selfishness of the community, so that they might
oppose any further influx of their brethren. Fifty-
five new-Christians, who had recanted, from Valencia,
Barcelona, and Majorca, were waiting to land in the
harbor of Algiers, but were refused permission by
Jews. This was tantamount to throwing them on the
mercy of Christian executioners. Such selfishness
and injustice the chief rabbi, Isaac ben Sheshet, could
not tolerate, and he laid the ban on the heartless Jews,
who tried to escape the punishment. So determined
was his attitude that, with the assistance of Astruc
Cohen and his brother, the Marranos were ultim-
ately brought safe to land. In Africa Ben Sheshet-
Barfat worked for nearly twenty years, promoting
the welfare of his co-religionists and the interests of
religion and morality. His declining years were
embittered by the persistent attacks of a young rabbi,
Simon ben Zemach Duran, an able Talmudist, who
had emigrated from Majorca.

Ben Sheshet was succeeded on his death by Simon
Duran (born 1361, died 1444). The community of
Algiers elected him on condition that he did not seek
a ratification of his appointment from the king, prob-
ably because the authority derived by his predeces-
sor from the royal confirmation had been too uncon-
trolled. Simon Duran, an accomplished mathema-
tician and physician, was the first Spanish-Jewish
rabbi to take pay. He publicly excused himself

200 HISTORY OF THE JFAVS. CH. VI.

for doing so, on the ground of his necessitous cir-
cumstances. During the persecutions in Majorca a
portion of his large fortune had been lost, and the
remainder had been sacrificed in bribing the inform-
ers who threatened to dehver him as a Judaizing
Christian to the Dominican Moloch. He had arrived
in Algiers almost a beggar, and the healing art, by
which he had hoped to earn a subsistence, had
brought him nothing, physicians enjoying but little
consideration among the Berbers. Subsequently
Simon Duran justified the payment of rabbis from
the Talmud. Were the abbots, bishops, and princes
of the church equally conscientious?

As if the Jews of Spain had not had enough ene-
mies in the poor, indolent burghers and nobles, who
regarded their opulence with so much jealousy, in
the clergy, who cloaked their immorality with zeal
for the propaganda of the faith, or in the upstart
converts, who sought to disguise their Jewish origin
by a show of hatred of their former brethren, there
arose at about the beginning of the fifteenth century
three new Jew-haters of the bitterest, most implac-
able type. One was a baptized Jew, another a Do-
minican friar, and the third an abandoned anti-pope.
On these three men, Joshua Lorqui, Fra Vincent
Ferrer, and Pedro de Luna, or Benedict XIII, the
responsibility must rest for the events which directly
conduced to the most terrible tragedy in the history
of the Jews of Spain. Joshua Lorqui of Lorca as-
sumed on his baptism the name Geronimo de Santa
Fe, became physician in ordinary to the Avignon
pope, Benedict, and, like his teacher, Solomon-Paul
de Santa Maria, considered it his mission in life to
draw his former brethren over to Christianity by
every possible means, Vincent Ferrer, afterwards
canonized, was one of those gloomy natures to whom
the world appears a vale of tears, and who would
wish to make it one. In saint-like virtue, indeed, he
stood alone among the clergy and monks of his day.

CH. VI. VINCENT FERRER. 2CH

The pleasures of life had no charm for him ; for gold
and worldly distinction he thirsted not ; he was pene-
trated with true humility, and entered on his work
with earnestness. Unfortunately, the degeneracy
and foulness of society had impressed him with the
fantastic idea that the end of the world was at hand,
and that mankind could be saved only by adopting
the Christian faith and a monastic mode of life.
Vincent Ferrer consequently revived flagellation.
He marched through the land with a troop of fanat-
ics who scourged their naked bodies with knotted
cords, and incited the masses to adopt the same form
of penance, believing that it would bring about the
salvation of the world. Gifted with a sympathetic
voice, an agreeable manner, and considerable elo-
quence, this Dominican friar soon obtained ascend-
ancy over the public mind. When amid sobs he
recalled the sufferings of Jesus, and depicted the
approaching end of the world, the emotions of his
auditors became violently agitated, and he could lead
them to good or to evil. He had given up a high
position at the papal court to lead the life of a flag-
ellant and barefooted friar. This helped to increase
the number of his admirers and disciples, for renun-
ciation of position and wealth on the part of an ec-
clesiatic was without parallel. Ferrer, however,
abused his power by the promotion of sanguinary
deeds. He directed his fanatical denunciations not
only against Jews and heretics, but even against
friends who had helped to raise him from the dust.
The terrible demoralization of the church is illus-
trated in this monk. The wrangling of three con-
temporary popes, each declaring himself to be the
vicegerent of God, one of whom, John XXIII (1410
— 1 41 5), had exhausted the catalogue of vices and
deadly sins, a pirate, a trafficker in indulgences, an
assassin, and a debauchee — all this did not so strik-
ingly indicate the prevailing degeneracy as the fanat-
ical excesses of one really pure, moral nature like

202 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. VI.

Vincent Ferrer. The dove had become transformed
into a venomous snake, the lamb into a rapacious
beast. So much viciousness cannot be spontaneous
in human character, in the adherents of Christianity;
it must have been derived from the Christian teach-
inor itself.

Unlike Wycline and other reformers, Ferrer did
not raise his voice against the shortcomings of the
church, but devoted himself to Jews and heretics,
whom he hated as adversaries of Christianity and
opponents of the infallibility of the pope. With pen
and voice he opened a crusade against Jews, which
he sustained for several years. His most vehement
invective was aimed at the Spanish new-Christians,
who during the massacres of 1391 had gone over to
the church, but still largely conformed to Judaism.
Partly from fear of incurring the severe punishment
attaching to apostasy, partly won over by the fiery
eloquence of the preacher, the Marranos made a
contrite confession of faith, which Ferrer regarded
as a great victory for the church, a triumph for the
truths of Christianity, leading him to hope that the
conversion of the entire body of Jews might be
vouchsafed to him. By his influence with the people,
who honored him as a saint, he was very useful to
the kings of Spain in putting down popular risings
durinof the civil wars without bloodshed. Encour-
aged by the consideration of the Castilian royal
family, Ferrer craved permission not only to preach
in the synagogues and mosques, but to force Jews
and Mahometans to listen to his addresses. A cru-
cifix in one arm, the Torah in the other, escorted by
flagellants and spearmen, he called upon the Jews,
" with a terrible voice," to enrol themselves under
the cross.

Seraphic as he was, Vincent Ferrer was not averse
to the employment of force. He represented to the
Spanish rulers that the Jews should be strictly
isolated, as their intercourse with the Christian pop-

CH. VI. HUMILIATION OF THE JEWS. 303

ulation was calculated to injure the true faith. His
suggestions met with too ready a response. Through
him and the other two conversionists, unspeakable
sorrows were brought upon the Spanish Jews ;
indeed, the years from 141 2 to 141 5 may be reck-
oned among the saddest in the sorrowful history of
the Jewish people. Shortly after Ferrer's appear-
ance at the most Christian court, the regent Donna
Catalina, the Infante Don Ferdinand, and the apos-
tate Paul Burgensis de Santa Maria, in the name of
the child-king, Juan II, issued an edict of twenty-four
articles (January 12th, 141 2), the aim of which was
to impoverish and humiliate the Jews, and reduce
them to the lowest grade in the social scale. It
ordered that they should live in special Jew-quarters
(Juderias), provided with not more than one gate
each, under pain of confiscation of fortune and per-
sonal chastisement. No handicraft was to be exer-
cised by them ; they were not to practice the heal-
ing art, nor transact business with Christians. It
goes without saying that they were forbidden to hire
Christian servants and fill public offices. Their
judicial autonomy was abolished, not only in criminal
cases, in which they had long ceased to exercise it,
but also in civil disputes. The edict prescribed a
special costume for the Jews. Both men and women
were to wear long garments, in the case of males, of
coarse stuffs. Whoever dressed in the national cos-
tume, or in fine materials, became liable to a heavy
fine ; on a repetition of the offense, to corporal pun-
ishment and confiscation of property. The wearing
of the red Jew badge was, of course, insisted upon.
Males were prohibited from shaving the beard or
cutting the hair under pain of one hundred lashes.
No Jew was to be addressed, either in conversation
or in writing, by the title " Don," to the infringe-
ment of which a heavy fine was also attached. They
were interdicted from carrying weapons, and might
no longer move from town to town, but were to be

204 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. VI.

fixed to one place of abode. The Jew detected in
an evasion of the latter restriction was to lose his
entire property, and be made a bondman of the
king. Grandees and burghers were sternly
enjoined to afford not the slightest protection to
Jews.

It is not unwarrantable to assume the influence of
the apostate Paul de Santa Maria in the details of
these Jew-hating laws. They singled out the most
sensitive features of the Jewish character, pride and
sense of honor. Wealthy Jews, in the habit of ap-
pearing in magnificent attire and with smoothly-
shaven chins, were now to don a disfiguring costume,
and go about with stubbly, ragged beards. The
cultivated, who as physicians and advisers of the
grandees had enjoyed unrestricted intercourse with
the highest ranks, were to confine themselves to
their Jew quarter, or be baptized, baptism being the
hoped-for result of all these cruel restrictions,
enforced with merciless vigor. A contemporary
writer (Solomon Alami) describes the misery caused
by the edict : " Inmates of palaces were driven into
wretched nooks, and dark, low huts. Instead of
rustling apparel we were obliged to wear miserable
clothes, which drew contempt upon us. Prohibited
from shaving the beard, we had to appear like
mourners. The rich tax-farmers sank into want,
for they knew no trade by which they could gain a
livelihood, and the handicraftsmen found no custom.
Starvation stared everyone in the face. Children
died on their mothers' knees from hunger and
exposure."

Amid this tribulation the Dominican Ferrer in-
vaded the synagogues, crucifix in hand, preached
Christianity in a voice of thunder, offering his hear-
ers enjoyment of life and opportunities of prefer-
ment, or threatening damnation here and hereafter.
The Christian populace, inflamed by the passionate
eloquence of the preacher, emphasized his teaching

CH. VI. CASTILIAN JEWS ACCEPT BAPTISM. 20$

by violent assaults on the Jews. The trial was
greater than the unhappy Castilian Jews could bear.
Flight was out of the question, for the law forbade
it under a terrible penalty. It is not surprising, then,
that the weak and lukewarm among them, the com-
fort-loving and wordly-minded, succumbed to the
temptation, and saved themselves by baptism.
Many Jews in the communities of Valladolid,
Zamora, Salamanca, Toro, Segovia, Avila, Bena-
vente, Leon, Valencia, Burgos, Astorga, and other
small towns, in fact, wherever Vincent Ferrer
preached, went over to Christianity. Several syna-
gogues were turned into churches by Ferrer. In
the course of his four months' sojourn (December,
141 2 — March, 141 3) in the kingdom of Castile, this
proselyte-monger inflicted wounds upon the Jews
from which they bled to death.

When, however, he repaired to the kingdom of
Aragfon — summoned thither to advise on the rival
claims of several pretenders to the throne — and
when through his exertion the Castilian Infante, Don
Ferdinand, was awarded the Aragonese crown (June,
1414), a trifling improvement took place in the con-
dition of the Castilian Jews. The regent, Donna
Catalina, issued a new edict in the name of her son
(17th July). In this document the Jews were still
interdicted the exercise of handicrafts, but were al-
lowed, under a multitude of conditions, to visit mar-
kets with their merchandise. The prohibition to
hire Christian or Mahometan domestics was con-
firmed ; but, on the other hand, the employment of
day-laborers and gardeners for the fields and vine-
yards of Jews, and shepherds for their flocks, was
permitted. The new law triflingly allowed Jews
to trim their hair and to clip with shears, but not
entirely remove, their beards ; a fringe of hair was
ordered to be left on the chin, and shaving with the
razor was forbidden, as though the queen-regent
and her sage counselors were anxious that Jewish

i06 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. VI.

orthodoxy should not be wronged. The new decree
conceded the wearing of dress materials of a value
of sixty maravedis (under the former edict the value
had been fixed at half this sum), but imposed a
funnel-shaped head-covering, to which it was for-
bidden to attach tassels. The vehemence with
which the edict declaimed against the ostentation
of Jewish women disclosed its female authorship.
Under this decree, freedom of domicile was once
more accorded to Jews. It is noteworthy that the
new edict applied only to Jews, whereas its prede-
cessor restricted Mahometans as well.

With the transfer of the fanatical Ferrer to Ara-
gon, the communities of that kingdom began to ex-
perience trials and misfortunes. The newly-elected
king, Don Ferdinand, owed his crown to Ferrer, for
as arbitrator between the rival pretenders he had
warmly espoused his cause, proclaimed him king,
and united the populace in his favor. Ferdinand
consequently paid exceptional veneration to his
saintliness, appointed him his father-confessor and
spiritual adviser, and granted him his every wish.
Foremost among Ferrer's aspirations was the con-
version of the Jews, and to advance it the king com-
manded the Jews of Aragon to give every attention
to his discourses. The zealous proselytizer made a
tour of the kingdom, vehemently denouncing the
Jews in every town he visited. His intimidations
succeeded in converting a large number, particularly
in Saragossa, Daroca, Tortosa, Valencia, and Ma-
jorca. Altogether Ferrer's mission to the Jews of
Castile and Aragon is said to have resulted in not
less than 20,500 forced baptisms.

This, however, did not end the woes of Spanish
Jews. Pope Benedict XIII had still worse troubles
in store for them, employing as his instrument his
newly-baptized Jewish physician, Joshua Lorqui,
otherwise Geronimo de Santa Fe. This pope, de-
posed by the council of Pisa as schismatic, heretic

CH. VI. POPE BENEDICT XIII. 207

and forsworn, deprived of his spiritual functions and
put under the ban, projected the conversion of the
entire body of Jews in Spain to the church, at that
time the object of universal opprobrium. On the
Pyrenean peninsula he was still regarded as the
legitimate pope, and from this base of operations he
used every effort to procure a general acknowledg-
ment of his authority. He was not slow to perceive
that the general conversion of the Jews would pow-
erfully assist his design. If it were vouchsafed to him
to overcome at last the obstinacy, blindness and infi-
delity of Israel, and to bring it under the sovereignty
of the cross — would it not be the greatest triumph
for the church and for himself? Would it not put
all his enemies to shame ? Would not the faithful
range themselves under the pope who had so glori-
fied the church? What better proof could he give
that he was the only true pontiff?

To promote this scheme, Benedict, by the author-
ity of the king, Don Ferdinand, summoned (towards
the end of 141 2) the most learned rabbis and stu-
dents of Scripture in the kingdom of Aragon to a
religious disputation at Tortosa. The apostate
Joshua Lorqui, who was well read in Jewish litera-
ture, was to prove to the Jews, out of the Talmud
itself, that the Messiah had come in the person of
Jesus. The design was to operate on the most
prominent Jews, the papal court being convinced
that, their conversion effected, the rank and file
would follow of their own accord. Geronimo care-
fully selected the names of those to be invited, and
the pope or the king attached a punishment to their
non-attendance. What were the Jews to do ? To
come or to remain away, to accept or to refuse, was
equally dangerous. About twenty-two of the most
illustrious Aragonese Jews answered the summons.
At their head was Don Vidal ben Benveniste Ibn-
Labi (Ferrer), of Saragossa, a scion of the old Jew-
ish nobility, a man of consideration and culture, a

208 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH, VI.

physician and neoHebrew poet. Among his com-
panions were Joseph Albo, of Monreal, a disciple of
Chasdai Crescas, distinguished for his philosophic
learning and genuine piety ; Serachya Halevi Sa-
ladin, of Saragossa, translator of an Arabic philo-
sophic work; Matathias Yizhari (En Duran?),of
the same town, also a polished writer ; Astruc Levi,
of Daroca, a man of position ; Bonastruc Desmaes-
tre, whose presence was most desired by the pope,
because he was learned and distinguished; the ven-
erable Don Joseph, of the respected Ibn-Yachya
family, and others of lesser note.

Although the Jewish notables summoned to the
disputation were men of liberal education, and Don
Vidal even spoke Latin fluently, none of them pos-
sessed that stout-heartedness and force of character
which impress even the most vindictive enemy, and
which Nachmani so conspicuously displayed when
alone he encountered two of the bitterest adversaries
of Judaism — the Dominican General De Penyaforte
and the apostate Pablo Christiani. A succession
of humiliations and persecutions had broken the
manhood of even the proudest in Jewry, and had
transformed all into weaklings. They were no match
for perilous times. When Benedict's summons
reached them, they trembled. They agreed to act
with circumspection and calmness, not to interrupt
their opponent, and, above all, to be united and har-
monious, but they disregarded these resolutions, ex-
posed their weakness, and eventually broke up into
factions, each of which took its own course.

Duly commissioned by his schismatic master, the
renegade Geronimo drew up a program. In the
first place, proofs were to be adduced from the Tal-
mud and cognate writings that the Messiah had
already come in the person of Jesus of Nazareth.
The papal court flattered itself that this would bring
about widespread conversion of the Jews, but, in
case of failure, there was to follow a war of exter-

CH. VL GERONIMO DE SANTA FE S TREATISE. 209

ruination against the Talmud on account of the
abominations it contained, and the support it af-
forded the Jews in their bHndness. Geronimo de
Sante Fe accordingly composed a treatise on the
Messianic character and Divinity of Jesus as illus-
trated in Jewish sacred writings. He collected all
the specious arguments, the sophistries and text
twistings which his predecessors had developed from
their obscure, senseless, Scriptural interpretations,
added nonsense of his own, declared playful Agadic
conceits to be essential articles of faith, and refuted
Jewish views of the questions discussed. He enum-
erated twenty-four conditions of the coming of the
Messiah, and exerted himself to show that they had
all been fulfilled in Jesus. His fundamental con-
tention was that the Christians constituted the true
Israel, that they had succeeded the Jewish people in
Divine favor, and that the Biblical terms, mountain,
tent, temple, house of God, Zion and Jerusalem were
allegorical references to the church. An instance of
his ridiculous arguments may be mentioned. Like
John of Valladolid, he saw in the irregular formation
of a letter in a word in Isaiah a deep mystery, indi-
cating the virginity of Mary, and the realization of
the Messianic period by the advent of Jesus. From
another prophetic verse he expounded the immac-
ulate conception of Jesus in so indecent a manner
that it is impossible to repeat his explanation. This
treatise, which blended the Patristic and the Rab-
binic spirit, having been examined by the pope
and his cardinals, was ordered to serve as the theme
of the disputation.

No more remarkable controversy was ever held.
It occupied sixty-eight sittings, and extended, with
few interruptions, over a year and nine months
(from February, 1413, until the 12th November,
1414). In the foreground stands a pope, abandoned
by almost the whole of Christendom, and hunted
from his seat, anxious for a favorable issue, not for

2IO HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. VI.

the glorification of the faith, but for his own tem-
poral advancement; by his side, a baptized Jew,
combating Rabbinical Judaism with Rabbinical
weapons ; and in the background, a frenzied Dom-
inican preacher with his escort of flagellants, pro-
moting a persecution of the Jews to give force to
the conversionist zeal of Tortosa. The helpless,
bewildered Jews could only turn their eyes to heaven,
for on earth they found themselves surrounded by
bitter enemies. When, at their first audience with
Pope Benedict (6th February, 141 3), they were
asked to give their names for registtation, they
were seized with terror ; they imagined their lives
in jeopardy. The pope quieted them with the ex-
planation that it was only a customary formality.
On the whole he treated them at first with kindness
and affability, the usual attitude of princes of the
church when they have an end to attain. He as-
sured them that no harm would befall them ; that
he had summoned them merely to ascertain whether
there was any truth in Geronimo's statement that
the Talmud attested the Messianic character of Jesus,
and he promised them the fullest freedom of speech.
At the end of the first audience he dismissed them
graciously, assigned quarters to each of the notables,
and gave instructions that their comfort should be
cared for. A few prophesied from this friendly re-
ception a successful issue for themselves and their
cause, but they knew little of Rome and the vice-
gerents of God.

A few days later the disputation began. When
the Jewish notables entered the audience hall, they
were awe-struck by the splendor of the scene:
Pope Benedict, on an elevated throne, clad in his
state robes; around him the cardinals and princes
of the church, resplendent in jeweled vestments ;
beyond them nearly a thousand auditors of the
highest ranks. The little knot of defenders of
Judaism trembled before this imposing and confident

CH. VI. DISPUTATION AT TORTOSA. 211

array of the forces of Christianity. The pope him-
self presided, and opened the sitting with an address
to the Jews. He informed them that the truth of
neither Judaism nor Christianity was to be called
into question, for the Christian faith was above
discussion and indisputable, and Judaism had once
been true, but had been abrogated by the later dis-
pensation. The disputation would be confined to
the single question, whether the Talmud recognized
Jesus as the Messiah. The Jews were conse-
quently limited to mere defense. At a sign from
the pope, the convert Geronimo stood forth, and,
after a salutation of the papal toe, delivered himself
of a long-winded harangue, abounding in Christian,
Jewish, and even scholastic subtleties, and full of
praise of the magnanimity and graciousness of the
pope in endeavoring to bring the Jews into the way
of salvation. His text, applied to the Jews, was a
verse from Isaiah : " If ye be willing and obedient,
ye shall eat the good of the land; but if ye refuse
and rebel, ye shall be devoured with the sword" —
which disclosed the final argument of the church.
In reply, Vidal Benveniste, who had been elected
spokesman by the notables, delivered a speech in
Latin, which evoked a compliment from the pope.
Don Vidal exposed Geronimo's malignity in threat-
ening the sword and other punishments before the
arguments on either side were heard. The pope
acknowledged the justice of the reproof, and said
in extenuation that Geronimo had still the boorish-
ness derived from his Jewish origin. The notables
plucked up courage to petition the pope to release
them from further controversy, giving as their
reason that their opponent employed scholastic
methods of reasoning, in which it was impossible for
them to follow him, as their faith was founded not
on syllogisms but on tradition. The pope naturally
declined to accede to this request, but invited them
to continue the discussion on the following day, and

212 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. VI.

had them escorted to their quarters by officers of
high rank.

Overwhelmed with anxiety, the Jewish notables and
the entire community of Tortosa assembled in the
synagogue to implore help of Him who had so often
stood by their fathers in their hours of need,
and to pray that acceptable words might be put
into their mouths, so that by no chance ex-
pression they should provoke the wild beasts
seeking to devour them. Serachya Halevi Saladin
gave expression to the gloomy feelings of the con-
gregation in his sermon.

For a time the controversy retained its friendly
character. Geronimo quoted obscure Agadic pas-
sages from the Talmud and other Hebrew writings
to establish his astounding contention that the Tal-
mud attests that Jesus was the Messiah. Generally
the pope presided at the disputations, but occasion-
ally grave matters affecting his own position neces-
sitated his absence. The maintenance of his dignity
was threatened by the convening of the council of
Constance by the Christian princes, which consti-
tuted itself the supreme court in the conflict between
the three popes. Consequently, Benedict had to
hold frequent consultations with his friends. On
these occasions, his place was taken by the general
of the Dominicans or the chamberlain of the papal
palace. The proofs adduced by Geronimo in sup-
port of his statements were so absurd that it should
have been easy for the Jewish delegates to refute
them. But their words were wilfully misinterpreted,
so that in several instances it was recorded in the
protocol that they had conceded the point under
discussion. A few of them consequently committed
their refutations to writing; but they still met with
arbitrary treatment. Some points raised by them
were condemned as not pertinent to the discussion.
The Jewish delegates, who had entered on the con-
troversy with unwilling hearts, were exhausted by

CH. VI. ARRAIGNMENT OF THE TALMUD. 2I3

the talking and taunting, and were anxious to avoid
retort. Suddenly the pope threw aside his mask of
friendliness, and showed his true disposition by
threatening them with death. Sixty-two days the
war of tongues had lasted, and the representatives
of Judaism showed no sign of their much-hoped-for
conversion. Their power of resistance appeared to
grow with the battle. So. in the sixty- third sitting,
the pope changed his tactics. At his command Ge-
ronimo now came forward as the censor of the Tal-
mud, accusing it of containing all kinds of abomi-
nations, blasphemy, immorality and heresy, and
demanding its condemnation, A few new-Christians,
among them Andreas Beltran (Bertrand) of Va-
lencia, the pope's almoner, valiantly seconded this
demand,

Geronimo had prepared, at the instance of the
pope, a treatise with this purpose in view. He had
collected all the extravagances accidentally uttered
by one or two of the hundreds of Agadists figuring
in the Talmud. Shameless malice or ignorance dic-
tated manifestly false accusations against the Tal-
mud. Thus, he stated that it permitted the beating
of parents, blasphemy, and idolatry, also the break-
ing of oaths, provided that on the previous Day of
Atonement the precaution had been taken to declare
them invalid. Conscientiousness in respect to oaths
and vows he thus construed as perfidy, and, like
Nicholas-Donin, drew the conclusion that the Jews
did not fulfill their obligations towards Christians.
Of course, he revived the calumny of Alfonso of
Valladolid, that the Jews cursed the Christians in
their daily prayers. Every inimical reference in the
Talmud to heathens or Jewish Christians, Geronimo
interpreted as applying to Christians, a fabrication
with disastrous consequences, inasmuch as the ene-
mies of the Jews repeated these deadly charges
without further inquiry. When the attacks on the
Talmud unexpectedly became the subject of discus-

214 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. VI.

sion, the Jewish representatives defended the ar-
raigned points, but were so hard pressed that they
split up into two parties. Don Astruc Levi handed
in a written declaration, setting forth that he ascribed
no authority to the Agadic sentences quoted incrimi-
nating the Talmud ; that he held them as naught, and
renounced them. The majority of the notables sup-
ported him. To save the life of the whole they sac-
rificed a limb. Joseph Albo and Ferrer (Don Vidal)
alone maintained their ground, declaring that the
Talmudic Agada was a competent authority, and
that the equivocal passages had a different mfeaning
from that ascribed to them, and weref not to be in-
terpreted literally. So the machinations of the pope
and his creatures had at least succeeded in bringing
about a division in the ranks of the defenders of
Judaism.

The principal object of the disputation — the con-
version of the Jews eti masse through the example
of their most prominent leaders — was not attained.
All the means employed failed — the benignant re-
ception, the threats of violence, the attack on Jewish
convictions. An expedient, calculated entirely for
effect, had also been tried, which, it was thought,
would so mortify the notables that, dazed and over-
whelmed, they would throw down their arms and
surrender at discretion. The fanatical proselytizer
Vincent Ferrer had returned from Majorca to Cata-
lonia and Aragon, and, surrounded by his terror-
inspiring band of flagellants, had renewed his mis-
sion to the Jews, amid dismal chants and fiery
exhortations to embrace the cross. Again he suc-
ceeded in winning over many thousands to Chris-
tianity. In the great Jewish communities of Sara-
gossa, Calatajud, Daroca, Fraga and Barbastro, the
conversions were limited to individuals ; but smaller
congregations, such as those of Alcafiiz, Caspe,
Maella, Lerida, Alcolea and Tamarite, hemmed in
by hostile Christians, who spared neither limb nor

CH. VI. benedict's bull. 215

life, went over in a body to Christianity. All these
proselytes were gradually brought, in small and
large troops, to Tortosa, and conducted, at the
order of the pope, into the audience hall, where,
before the entire assembly, they made public pro-
fession of the Christian faith. Living trophies, they
were intended to shadow forth the impending vic-
tory of the church, dishearten the defenders of
Judaism, and press upon them the conviction that,
as in their absence the Jewish communities were
melting away, all resistance on their part was in
vain. It is no small merit that Don Vidal, Joseph
Albo, Astruc Levi, and their companions refused to
yield to the pressure. The pope saw his hopes
shattered. Not a sinorle notable wavered, and con-

versions of large masses did not take place. The
great communities of Aragon and Catalonia re-
mained true to their faith, with the exception of a
few weaklings, amongst them some relations of
Vidal Benveniste. The council of Constance would
soon meet, and Benedict would be unable to appear
before it as the triumphant conqueror of Judaism —
would have no special claim to preference over the
other two competing popes.

In his disappointment he vented his spleen on
the Talmud and the already restricted liberties of the
Jews. At the last sitting of the disputation he
dismissed the Jewish notables with black looks,
from which they easily divined his evil intentions.
Various obstacles prevented him from putting them
into force for six months, when (May nth, 1415)
they were embodied in a bull of eleven clauses.
The Jews were forbidden to study or teach the Tal-
mud and Talmudic literature ; all copies of the Tal-
mud were to be sought out and confiscated. Anti-
Christian works, written by Jews, especially one
entitled "Mar Mar Jesu," were not to be read under
pain of punishment for blasphemy. Every com-
munity, whether large or small, was prohibited from

2l6 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. VI.

possessing more than one simple, poorly appointed
synagogue. The Jews were to be strictly separated
from Christians, were not to eat, bathe, or do busi-
ness with them. They were to occupy no official
posts, exercise no handicrafts, not even practice
medicine. The wearing of the red or yellov/ Jew
badge v^^as also enjoined by this bull. Finally, all
Jews were to be forced to hear Christian sermons
three times a year — during Advent, at Easter, and
in the summer. In the first sermon the Prophets
and the Talmud were to be used to prove that the
true Messiah had come ; in the second, their atten-
tion was to be directed to the abominations and
heresies contained, according to Geronimo's treatise,
in the Talmud, alone responsible for their infidelity ;
and in the third it was to be impressed upon them
that the destruction of the temple and the disper-
sion of the Hebrew people had been predicted by
the founder of Christianity. At the close of each
sermon the bull was to be read aloud. The strict
execution of this malignant edict was confided by
the pope to Gonzalo de Santa Maria, son of the
apostate Paul, who had been taken over to Chris-
tianity by his father.

Fortunately, the vindictive schemes of Pope Bene-
dict never came into active operation. While he
was still engaged in tormenting the Jews, the coun-
cil of Constance decreed his deposition. As he had
obstinately opposed the advice of the king, Don
Ferdinand, and the German emperor, Sigismund,
to lay aside the tiara of his own initiative, he was
abandoned by his Spanish protectors. The weapons
he had employed recoiled upon himself. His last
adherents were drawn from him by Vincent Ferrer's
fanatical preaching. The flagellant priest not only
exhorted the king of Aragon to renounce " this
unfrocked and spurious pope," but he held forth
everywhere — in the churches and the open streets
— that "a man like this pope deserves to be pur-

CH. VI. END OF THE CHIEF PERSECUTORS. 21/

sued to death by every right-thinking Christian."
Deserted by his protectors, his friends, and even
his proteges, there now remained to Pedro de Luna,
of all his possessions, only the small fortress of
Peniscola, and even here King Ferdinand, urged on
by Santa Maria, the pope's creature, threatened him
with a siege. In the end this ambitious and obstin-
ate man covered himself with ridicule by attempting
to continue to play the part of pope in his tiny
palace. He appointed a college of four cardinals,
and pledged them before his death not to recognize
the pope elected at Constance, but to choose a suc-
cessor from among their own body. When he died,
his college elected two popes instead of one. Such
was the infallibility of the church, into the pale of
which it was sought to force the Jews. What be-
came of the malicious apostate, Joshua Lorqui-
Geronimo de Santa Fe, after the fall of his master,
is not known. In Jewish circles he was remembered
by the well-earned sobriquet of " The Calumniator"
(Megadef). King Ferdinand of Aragon, who had
always allowed himself to be influenced by enemies
of the Jews, died in 141 6. His death was followed,
after a short interval, by that of the Jew-hating
regent, Catalina of Castile, the instrument of Vin-
cent's Jew-hunt (1418), and finally by that of Vin-
cent himself (1419), who had the mortification to
see the flagellant movement, to which he owed his
saintly reputation, condemned by the council of
Constance, he himself being compelled to disband
his "white troop."

Although the chief persecutors of the Jews had
disappeared, the unhappy conditions created by them
remained. The exclusive laws of Castile and the
bull of Pope Benedict were still in force. Ferrer's
proselytizing campaigns had severely crippled the
Spanish, and even foreign communities. In Portu-
gal alone they met with no success. The Portu-
guese ruler, Don Joao I, had other interests to pur-

2l8 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. VI.

sue than the conversion of Jews. He was then
occupied in that first conquest on the coast of Africa,
opposite to Portugal, which laid the foundation of
the subsequent maritime supremacy of the Portu-
guese. When Vincent Ferrer petitioned King JoSo
for permission to come to Portugal in order to make
the pulpits and streets resound with his dismal har-
angues on the sinfulness of the world and the blind-
ness and obstinacy of the Jews, the Portuguese king
informed him that he " might come, but with a crown
of red-hot iron on his head." Portugal was the only
refuge on the Pyrenean peninsula from the prosely-
tizing rage of the flagellant preacher, and many
Spanish Jews who had the means of escaping fled
thither. Don Judah Ibn Yachya-Negro, held in high
esteem by King Joao I, and, perhaps, appointed by
him chief rabbi of Portugal, represented to him the
horrors of enforced baptism, and the necessary in-
sincerity of the professions of unwilling converts.
The king consequently issued his commands that the
immigrant new-Christians should not be interfered
with or delivered up to Spain.

In other parts of Europe, where the fanatical
Dominican had been, or whither reports of his deeds
or misdeeds had penetrated, the Jews were forced to
drain the cup of bitterness to the dregs. In Savoy,
which Vincent Ferrer had visited, they were obliged
to hide themselves with their holy books in mount-
ain caves. In Germany, persecutions of Jews had
always found a congenial soil, and they were pro-
moted by the anarchy which prevailed during the
reign of Sigismund and the sessions of the council
of Constance. Even the Italian communities, though
for the most part undisturbed, lived in continual
anxiety, lest the movement strike a responsive
chord in their politically distracted land. They
convened a great synod, first at Bologna, then at
Forli (1416 — 1418), to consider what measures
might be adopted to avert the threatened danger.

CH. VI. POPE MARTIN V. 2I9

Happily, at this moment, after a long schism, bitter
strife and a plurality of anti-popes, the council of
Constance elected a pope, who, though full of dis-
simulation, was not the most degraded in the
college of cardinals. Martin V, who was said by
his contemporaries to have appeared simple and
good before his election, but to have shown himself
afterwards very clever and not very kind, received
the Jews with scant courtesy when, during his pro-
gress through Constance, they approached him car-
rying lighted tapers in festive procession, and offered
him the Torah with a prayer for the confirmation of
their sufferance. From his white palfrey with silk
and gold trappings he answered them : "You have
the law, but understand it not. The old has passed
away, and the new been found." (The blind finding
fault with the seeing.) Yet he treated them with
leniency. At the request of Emperor Sigismund,
he confirmed the privileges granted to the Jews of
Germany and Savoy by the preceding emperor, Ru-
pert, denouncing attacks on their persons and prop-
erty, and the practice of converting them by force.
The emperor, who may be accused of thoughtlessness
but not of a spirit of persecution, thereupon issued
his commands to all the German princes and magis-
trates, cities and subjects, to allow his "servi cam-
erae " the full enjoyment of the privileges and im-
munities which had been given them by the pope
(February 26th, 141 8). A deputation of Jews, com-
missioned by the Italian synod, also waited upon the
now generally acknowledged pope, and craved his
protection. Even the Spanish Jews appear to have
dispatched an embassy to him, consisting of two of
their most distinguished men, Don Samuel Abra-
banel and Don Samuel Halevi. When the Jews
complained of the insecurity of their lives, the at-
tacks on their religious convictions, and the frequent
desecration of their sanctuaries, the pope issued a
bull (January 31st, 141 9), with the following pre-
amble :

220 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. VI.

" Whereas the Jews are made in the image of God, and a remnant
of them will one day be saved, and whereas they have besought our
protection, following in the footsteps of our predecessors we command
that they be not molested in their synagogues ; that their laws, rights,
and customs be not assailed ; that they be not baptized by force, con-
strained to observe Christian festivals, nor to wear new badges, and
that they be not hindered in their business relations with Christians."

What could have induced Pope Martin to show such
friendly countenance to the Jews? Probably he had
some idea of checkmating by this means the Jew-
hating Benedict, who still played at being pope in
his obscure corner. The principal consideration
probably was the rich gifts with which the Jewish
representatives approached him. Although at the
council of Constance no cardinal was poorer than
Martin, and his election was in great measure ow-
ing to this fact, on the throne of St. Peter he
showed no aversion to money. On the contrary,
everything might be obtained from him if money
were paid down ; without it, nothing.

CHAPTER VII.

THE HUSSITES. PROGRESS OF JEWISH LITERATURE.

The Hussite Heresy — Consequences for the Jews involved in the
Struggle — Jacob Molin — Abraham Benveniste and Joseph Ibn-
Shem Tob in the Service of the Castilian Court — Isaac Cam-
panton, the Poet Solomon Dafiera — Moses Da Rieti — Anti-
Christian Polemical Literature — Chayim Ibn-Musa — Simon Duran
and his Son Solomon — Joseph Albo as a ReUgious Philosopher —
Jewish Philosophical Systems — Edict of the Council of Basle
against the Jews — Fanatical Outbreaks in Majorca — Astruc
Sibili and his Conversion to Christianity.

1420— 1442 C.E.

Meanwhile history received a fresh impulse, which,
although coming from weak hands, produced a for-
ward movement. The spreading corruption in the
church, the self-deifying arrogance of the popes and
the licentiousness of priests and monks revolted the
moral sense of the people, opened their eyes, and
encouraged them to doubt the very foundations of
the Roman Catholic system. No improvement could
be expected from the princes of the church, the
jurists and diplomatists who met in council at Con-
stance to deliberate on a scheme of thorough
reform. They had only a worldly object in view,
seeking to gloss over the prevailing rottenness by
transferring the papal power to the high ecclesiastics,
substituting the rule of an aristocratic hierarchy for
papal absolutism. A Czech priest, John Huss, of
Prague, inspired by the teachings of Wycliffe, spoke
the magic word that loosened the bonds in which
the church had ensnared the minds of men. " Not
this or that pope," he said in effect, "but the papacy
and the entire organization of the Catholic church
constitute the fundamental evil from which Chris-
tendom is suffering." The flames to which the
council of Constance condemned this courageous

222 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. VII.

priest only served to light up the truth he had
uttered. They fired a multitude in Bohemia, who
entered on a life and death struggle with Catholi-
cism. Whenever a party in Christendom opposes
itself to the ruling church, it assumes a tinge of the
Old Testament, not to say Jewish, spirit. The
Hussites regarded Catholicism, not unjustly, as
heathenism, and themselves as Israelites, who must
wage holy war against Philistines, Moabites, and
Ammonites. Churches and monasteries were to
them the sanctuaries of a dissolute idolatry, temples
to Baal and Moloch and groves of Ashtaroth, to be
consumed with fire and sword. The Hussite war,
although largely due to the mutual race-hatred of
Czechs and Germans, and to religious indignation,
began in a small way the work of clearing the church
doctrine of its mephitic elements.

For the Jews, this movement was decidedly
calamitous, the responsibility for which must rest,
not with the wild Hussites, but with the Catholic
fanaticism stirred up against the new heresy. The
former went little beyond denunciations of Jewish
usury; at the most, sacked Jewish together with
Catholic houses. Of special Hussite hostility to the
Jews no evidence is forthcoming. On the other
hand, Catholics accused Jews of secretly supplying
the Hussites with money and arms; and in the
Bavarian towns near the Bohmerwald, they per-
secuted them unmercifully as friends and allies of
the heretics. The Dominicans — the "army of anti-
Christ" as they were called — included the Jews in
their fierce pulpit denunciations of the Hussites,
and inflamed the people and princes against them.
The crusades against the Hussites, like those against
the Mahometans and Waldenses, commenced with
massacres of Jews. Revived fanaticism first affected
the Jews in Austria — a land which, like Spain, passed
from liberal tolerance of Jews to persecution, and
in bigotry approximated so close to the Iberian

CH. VII. OLD CHARGES REVIVED IN AUSTRIA. 223

kingdom that it ultimately joined it. The mind of
Archduke Albert, an earnest and well-intentioned
prince, was systematically filled with hatred against
the " enemies of God." Fable after fable was in-
vented, which, devoid even of originality, sufficed
to drive to extreme measures a man of pure char-
acter, ignorant of the lying devices of the Jew-
haters. Three Christian children went skating in
Vienna ; the ice broke through, and they were
drowned. When the anxious parents failed to find
them, a malicious rumor was set on foot that they
had been slaughtered by Jews, who required their
blood for the ensuing Passover celebration. Then a
Jew was charged with a crime calculated to incense
the populace to a still greater degree. The wife of
the sacristan of Enns was said to have purloined
the consecrated host from the church, and sold it to
a wealthy Jew named Israel, who had sent it to a
large number of Jewish communities in and out of
Austria. The charges of Jewish murders of Chris-
tian children and Jewish profanations of hosts had
not lost their charm in the fifteenth century, and
their inventors could calculate their effect with ac-
curacy. By order of the archduke, the sacristan's
wife and her two accomplices or seducers, Israel
and his wife, were brought to Vienna, examined,
and forced to confess. The records of the case
are silent as to the means employed to obtain the
avowal of guilt; but the procedure of mediaeval
Christendom in such trials is well known.

Archduke Albert issued the order that in the
early morning of the 23d May, 1420 (loth Sivan),
all the Jews in his realm should be thrown into pri-
son, and this was promptly done. The moneyed
Jews were stripped of their possessions, and the
poor forthwith banished the country. In the gaols,
wives were separated from their husbands, and
children from their parents. When from helpless-
ness they fell to hopelessness, Christian priests

224 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. VII.

came to them with crosses in their hands and
honeyed words on their lips to convert them. A
few of the poorer-spirited saved their Hves by ac-
cepting baptism. The more resolute slew them-
selves and their kinsfolk by opening their veins
with straps, cords, or whatever they found to hand.
The spirit of the survivors was broken by the length
and cruelty of their imprisonment. Their children
were taken from them, and immured in cloisters.
Still they remained firm, and on the 13th March
(9th Nisan), 142 1, after nearly a year's confinement,
they were committed to the flames. In Vienna alone
more than a hundred perished in one field near the
Danube. Another order was then issued by Arch-
duke Albert, forbidding Jews to stay thenceforth in
Austria.

The converts proved no gain to the church. The
majority seized the first opportunity of emigrating
and relapsing into Judaism. They bent their steps
to Bohemia, rendered tolerant by the Hussite
schism, or northwards to Poland and southwards
to Italy. How attached the Austrian Jews were to
their religion is shown by the conduct of one clever
youth. Having received baptism, he had become
the favorite of Duke Frederick, afterwards the
German emperor, but, although living in luxury,
he was seized with remorse for his apostasy, and
boldly expressed his desire to return to Judaism.
Frederick exerted himself to dissuade his favorite
from this idea. He begged, entreated, and even
threatened him ; he sent a priest to advise him ; all,
however, in vain. Finally, the duke handed the
"obstinate heretic and backslider" over to the
ecclesiastical authorities, who condemned him to
the stake. Unfettered and with a Hebrew song on
his lips the Jewish youth mounted the scaffold.

In the meantime, the devastating war broke out
between the fierce Hussites and the not less barbar-
ous Roman Catholics, between the Czechs and the

CH. VII. MAHARIL. 225

Germans. A variety of nationalities participated in
the sanguinary struggle as to the use of the cup by
the laity in the eucharist. Emperor Sigismund, who
found it impossible to subdue the insurrection with
his own troops, summoned the imperial army to
his standard. Wild free-lances, men of Brabant and
Holland, were taken into his pay. From all quar-
ters armed troops poured into the Bohemian valleys
and against the capital, Prague, where the blind
hero, Zisca, bade defiance to a world of foes. On
the way, the German imperial army exhibited its
courage by attacks on the defenseless Jews. " We
are marching afar," exclaimed the mercenaries, "to
avenge our insulted God, and shall those who slew
him be spared?" Wherever they came across
Jewish communities, on the Rhine, in Thuringia and
Bavaria, they put them to the sword, or forced them
to apostatize. The crusaders threatened, on their
return from victory over the Hussites, to wipe the
Jewish people from the face of the earth. Jewish
fathers of families true to their faith gave orders
that, at a certain signal, their children should be
killed to avoid falling into the hands of the blood-
thirsty soldiery. Letters of lamentation over the
threatened disaster, calling upon him to implore the
intervention of heaven, were addressed from far and
near to the illustrious rabbi of Mayence, Jacob ben
Moses Molin Halevi (Maharil, born 1365, died
1427), the most pious rabbi of his time. His
arrangement of the synagogue ritual and melodies
is used to this day in many German communities,
and their colonies in Poland and Hungary. Jacob
Molin ordered a general fast, accompanied by fer-
vent prayer, and his instructions were circulated
from one community to another throughout the land.
The German congregations forthwith assembled
for solemn mourning and humiliation, and fasted
during four days between New Year and Atonement
(8th — nth September, 142 1), and for three succes-

226 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. VII.

sive days after Tabernacles, the observance being
as strict as on the most sacred fast days of the
Jewish calendar. It was a time of feverish tension
for the German Jews. In their despair they prayed
that victory might be vouchsafed to the Hussites,
and it seemed as if their supplications were heard.
For, shortly afterwards, the imperial army and its
mercenary allies assembled near Saatz were stricken
with such terror at the news of Zisca's approach,
that they sought safety in disorderly flight, disband-
ing in all directions, and hurrying home by different
routes. Famished and footsore, a few of the very
men who had vowed death and extirpation to the
Jews, appeared at the doors of their houyes, begging
for bread, which was gladly given them. Privation
had so reduced the fugitives that they could no*
have harmed a child.

The Dominican clergy commissioned to preach
against the Hussites did not cease to foster Catholic
hatred of Jews. From their pulpits they thundered
against heretics and Jews alike, cautioning the faith-
ful against holding intercourse with them, and con-
sciously and unconsciously inciting to attacks on
their persons and property. The Jews flew for help
to the pope, Martin V — doubtless not with empty
hands — and again obtained a very favorable bull (23d
February, i42 2),in which Christians were enjoined to
remember that their religion had been inherited from
Jews, who were necessary for the corroboration of
Christian truth. The pope forbade the monks to
preach against intercourse between Jews and Chris-
tians, and declared null and void the ban with which
transgressors had been threatened. He recom-
mended to Catholics a friendly and benevolent atti-
tude towards their Hebrew fellow-citizens, severely
denounced violent attacks upon them, and con-
firmed all the privileges which had from time to
time been granted by the papacy. This bull was,
however, as ineffectual as the protection which

CH. VIL LITERARY DECADENCE IN GERMANY. 22/

Emperor Sigismund had so solemnly promised the
Jews. A persecuting spirit continued to animate
the Christian church. The monks did not cease to
declaim against the " accursed " Jewish nation ; the
populace did not refrain from tormenting, injuring
and murdering Jews ; even succeeding popes ignored
the bull, and restored the odious canonical restric-
tions in all their stringency. Turning a deaf ear to
both pope and emperor, the citizens of Cologne
expelled the Jewish community, perhaps the oldest
in Germany. The exiles took up their abode at
Deutz (1426). In the South German towns, Ravens-
burg, Ueberlingen and Lindau, the Jews were burnt
because of a lying blood accusation (1431).

The literary work of the German Jews was, as a
consequence, poor and inconsiderable. Anxiety
and persecution had deadened their intellect. Even
in Talmudical study the German rabbis hardly rose
above mediocrity, and gave nothing of consequence
to the world. Some rabbis were installed by the
reigning prince ; at least Emperor Sigismund com-
missioned one of his Jewish agents, Chayim of
Landshut, "to appoint three rabbis (Judenmeister)
in Germany." Under such auspices, appointments
were probably determined less by merit than by
money. For a college, in which students were pre-
pared for the rabbinate, a heavy tax had to be paid,
notwithstanding that the instruction was given grat-
uitously. Besides Jacob Molin, only one name of
importance emerges from the darkness of this
period, Menachem of Merseburg, or, as he was
generally called, Meil Zedek. He wrote a compre-
hensive work on the practice of the Talmudic mar-
riage and civil law, which the Saxon communities
adopted for their authoritative guidance. He, at
least, departed from the beaten track of his older
contemporaries or teachers, Jacob Molin and Isaac
Tyrnau, who attached value to every insignificant
detail of the liturgy. By and by Menachem of

228 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. VII.

Merseburg was recognized as an authority, and an
excellent regulation drawn up by him received uni-
versal assent. Among the Jews at that period,
marriages took place at a very early age ; girls in
their teens were hurried into matrimony. Accord-
ing to Talmudical law a girl, under age, who had
been given in marriage by her mother or brothers
and not by her father, was permitted, on attaining
her majority, in her twelfth year, and even much
later under some circumstances, to dissolve her
union without further ceremony than a declaration
of her intention to do so, or the contracting of
another marriage (Miun). Menachem of Merse-
burg felt the indecency of so sudden and often ca-
pricious a dissolution of marriage, and he decided
that formal bills of divorce should be required.

The literary achievements of the Spanish Jews
during this period were not of a higher character ;
they exhibited unmistakable signs of decay, notwith-
standing that their situation had become more toler-
able since the death of the bigoted and wanton
queen regent, Catalina, and the fall of the anti-pope,
Benedict XIII, and his Jewish accomplices. Don
Juan II — or, rather, his favorite, Alvaro de Luna, to
whom the manao-ement of the state was confided —
stood too much in need of the assistance of Jewish
financiers during the frequently recurring civil wars
and insurrections to do anything to offend them.
Hence, during his reign, restrictive laws against the
Jews seem to have been enacted only to be broken,
Jews were again admitted to public employment,
regardless of the fact that such appointments had
been sternly forbidden both by kings and popes. An
influential Jew, Abraham Benveniste, surnamed
Senior, distinguished for his intelligence and wealth,
was invested with a high dignity at the court of Don
Juan, and was thus in a position to frustrate threat-
ened persecutions of his co-religionists. Also Joseph
ben Shem Tob Ibn-Shem Tob, a cultivated and fruit-

CH. VII. MEETING AT AVILA. 229

ful writer, proficient in philosophic studies, was in
the service of the state under Juan II. On the one
hand, the cortes did not fail to remind the king that
by his father's laws and by papal decrees the Jews
were excluded from public offices, and, on the other
hand. Pope Eugenius IV, successor to Martin V,
strained every effort to humiliate the Jews and har-
den their lot, even forbidding Don Juan to befriend
them ; but these representations were of no avail.
To the cortes of Burgos the king replied evasively
that he would cause an examination to be made of
the laws promulgated in regard to the Jews by his
father, and of the papal bulls, and he would take care
to observe everything calculated to promote the ser-
vice of God and the welfare of the state. Against
the pope's interference with his crown-rights he en-
tered a protest.

This king gave permission to the no less noble
than wealthy rabbi, Abraham Benveniste, to hold a
meeting of delegates from various communities in
the royal palace of Avila (1432). These delegates
were to bring harmony into the state of moral and
religious disorder caused by the attacks of the
masses in 141 2 — 1415. The smaller communities
were without teachers, the large ones without rabbis
and preachers. Many of them had been reduced to
poverty, and the richer members were unwilling to
contribute to the support of religious institutions.
Evil ways and denunciations by the unscrupulous
had acquired the upper hand, because the represen-
tative men and the few rabbis did not venture to
punish the evildoers. Abraham Benveniste, there-
fore, framed a statute (the law of Avila), which com-
pelled people to establish schools and colleges, to
introduce order into the communities, and to punish
miscreants. Juan II confirmed this statute.

The literature of the Spanish Jews, however, was
powerless to recover itself. Despite the calm suc-
ceeding the storm, it seemed to wither like autumn

230 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH, VII.

leaves. The decline was most marked in the de-
partment of Talmudic study. After the emigration
of Isaac ben Sheshet and the death of Chasdai
Crescas, no Spanish rabbi obtained more than local
authority and reputation. The only upholder of the
traditions of the rabbinate was Isaac ben Jacob Cam-
panton, who lived to be more than a hundred years
old (born 1360, died at Pefiafiel 1463); but he pro-
duced only one work (Darke ha-Talmud), which
exhibited neither genius nor learning. Still, in his
day, Campanton passed for the Gaon of Castile.
Neo-Hebraic poetry, which had blossomed so pro-
fusely on Spanish soil, faded and drooped. Of those
who cultivated it during this period only a few are
remembered — Solomon Dafiera, Don Vidal Ben-
veniste, the leading speaker on the Jewish side at
the disputation of Tortosa, and Solomon Bonfed.
The most gifted was the last. He was ambitious
to emulate Ibn-Gebirol; but he possessed little more
than the sensitiveness and moroHeness of his great
exemplar, like him imagining himself to be the
sport of fortune, with a prescriptive right to lamen-
tation.

The Jews of Italy failed to distinguish themselves
in poetry even during the Medici period, in spite of
the hiofh culture which, with the Hussite movement,
was eating away the foundations of mediaeval
Catholicism. Since Immanuel Romi, the Jews of
Italy had produced but one poet ; even he was not
a poet in the noblest sense of the word. Moses
ben Isaac (Gajo) da Rieti, of Perugia (born 1388,
died after 145 1), a physician by profession, a dab-
bler in philosophy, and a graceful writer in both
Hebrew and Italian, might have passed for an artist
if poetry were a thing of meter and rhyme, for in
his sublimely conceived poem both were faultless.
His desire was to glorify in poetry Judaism and
Jewish antiquity, the sciences, and the illustrious
men of all ages. He employed an ingenious form

CH. VI t MOSES DA RIETI. 2$ I

of verse, in which the stanzas were connected by
threes by means of cross-rhymes. But Da Rieti's
language is often rough, many of his allusions show
want of taste, and where he should rise to lofty
thought he sinks into puerilities. Only in one re-
spect does his work mark an advance in neo-
Hebrew poetry. He breaks entirely with the tra-
ditional Judaeo-Arabic method of a single rhyme.
There is variety in his versification ; the ear is not
wearied by monotonous repetition of the sameor simi-
lar sounds, and the lines fall naturally into stanzas.
He also avoids playing on Biblical verses, the objec-
tionable habit of Judaeo-Spanish poets. In a word,
Da Rieti supplied the correct form for neo- Hebrew
poetry, but he was unable to vivify it with an attrac-
tive spirit. Yet the Italian Jews adopted a part of
his poem into their liturgy, and recited extracts daily.
From the Apennine Peninsula let us turn back to
the Pyrenean, where the pulsation of historic life
among the Jews, though gradually becoming weaker,
still was stronger than in the other countries in

which they were dispersed. The two branches of
intellectual activity which formerly, in their palmy
days, had exercised every mind — the severe study
of the Talmud and the airy pursuit of the poetic
muse — had lost their predominance in the Spanish
Jewries. The systematic study of the Scriptures
also was no longer properly cultivated. The literary
activity of this period was almost exclusively di-
rected towards combating the intrusiveness of the
church, repelling its attacks on Judaism, and with
standing its proselytizing zeal. Faithful and strong-
minded Jewish thinkers held it a duty to proclaim
their convictions aloud, and to admonish waverers
and strengthen them. The more the preaching
monks, especially apostates of the stamp of Paul de
Santa Maria, Geronimo de Santa Fe, and Pedro de
la Caballeria, exerted themselves to prove that the
Christian Trinity was the true God of Israel, taught

232 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. VIL

and typified in the Bible and the Talmud, and the
more the church stretched forth its tentacles towards
the Jews, straining every nerve to fold them in its
fatal embrace, the more necessary was it for the
synagogue to watch over its sacred trust, and guard
its holy of holies from idolatrous desecration. It was
especially necessary that the weaker-minded should
be spared confusion in religious and doctrinal mat-
ters. Hence Jewish preachers devoted themselves
more than ever to expounding the doctrine of the
unity of God in their pulpits. They pointed out the
essential and irreconcilable difference between the
Jewish and the Christian conception of the Deity,
and characterized their identification as false and
impious. The time resembled that other epoch in
Jewish history when Hellenized Jews tried to induce
their brethren to deny God, and were supported by
the secular arm. Some preachers, in their zeal,
went to extremes. Instead of relying exclusively
on the convincing demonstrations in the Bible text,
or on the attractive illustrations of the Agada, they
resorted to the armory of scholasticism, employing
the formulae of philosophy and, in the presence of
the Torah, and by the side of the Hebrew prophets
and the Talmudical sages, quoted Plato, Aristotle,
and Averroes.

This controversial literature, cultivated on a large
scale, was designed to defend Judaism against cal-
umny and abuse, rather than to convert a single
Christian soul. Its aim was to open the eyes of
Jews, so that ignorance or credulity might not lead
them into the snares prepared for them. Doubtless
it also desired to stir up the new-Christians, and to
re-animate their Jewish spirit beneath the disguise
they had assumed to save their lives. Hence the
majority of the polemical writings of the day were
merely vindications of Judaism from the old charges
fulminated by Nicholas de Lyra a century before, or
more recently by Geronimo de Santa F6 and others,

CH. VII. CONTROVERSIAL LITERATURE. 233

and widely circulated by the Christian clergy. Solo-
mon-Paul of Burgos, who had been appointed bishop
of his native town, wrote, in his eighty-second year
(1434, a year before his death), a venomous tract
against Judaism — " Searching the Scriptures " (Scru-
tinium Scriptuarum) — in the form of a dialogue
between a teacher and his pupil, the unbelieving
Saul and the converted Paul. Solomon-Paul does
not seem to have retained much of the wit which,
according to Jewish and Christian panegyrists, had
at one time distinguished him — it had probably be-
come blunted amid the luxurious ease of the episco-
pal palace — for his tract, devoutly Christian and
Catholic in tone, is pointless and dull. Another
ex-rabbi who devoted himself to attacking Judaism
was Juan de Espana, also called Juan the Old (at
Toledo), a convert who in old age had embraced
Christianity under the influence of Vincent Ferrer's
proselytizing efforts. He wrote a treatise on his
own conversion and a Christian commentary on the
seventy-second Psalm, in both of which he asserted
the genuineness of his change of creed, and urged
the Jews to abjure their errors. How many weak-
minded Jews must have been influenced by the zeal,
earnest or hypocritical, of such men as these, be-
longing to their own race, and learned in their lit-
erature!

It is impossible to exaggerate the services of the
men who, deeply impressed with the gravity of the
crisis, threw themselves into the breach, with exhor-
tations to their co-religionists to remain faithful to
their creed. In defiance of the dangers which men-
aced them, they scattered their inspiriting discourses
far and wide. Foremost among them were the men
who had distinguished themselves at the Tortosa
disputation by their unyielding attitude and their
courage in withstanding the unjustifiable attacks
upon the Talmud — Don Vidal (Ferrer) Ibn-Labi
and Joseph Albo. The former drew up in Hebrew

234 HISTORY OF THE JF.WS. CH. VII.

a refutation of Geronimo's impeachment of the
Talmud (Kodesh ha-Kodashim), and the latter cir-
culated, in Spanish, an account of a religious con-
troversy he had sustained with an eminent church
dignitary. Isaac ben Kalonymos, of a learned Pro-
vencal family named Nathan, who associated a great
deal with learned Christians, and frequently had to
defend his religious convictions, wrote two polem-
ical works, one entitled " Correction of the False
Teacher," directed against Geronimo's libelous
essay, and the other, called "The Fortress," of
unknown purpose. He also compiled a laborious
work of reference intended to assist others in de-
fending Judaism from attack. Isaac Nathan, in his
intercourse with Christians, often had to listen to
criticisms of Judaism, or evidences drawn from the
Hebrew Bible, in favor of Christian dogmas, which
he found were always based on false renderings of
Hebrew words. To put an end to these illusory
outgrowths of prevailing ignorance of the original
text of the Scriptures, or, at least, to lighten the
labors of his brethren in refuting them, he resolved
to compile a comprehensive digest of the linguistic
materials of the Bible, by which the actual meaning
of each word should be made clear. According
to the plan adopted, any one can ascertain, at a
glance, both how often a certain word occurs in the
Bible, and its varying meanings according to the
contexts. The work thus undertaken by Isaac
Nathan was of colossal scope, and occupied a long
series of years (September, 1437 — 1445). It was a
Bible concordance, that is, the verses were grouped
alphabetically under the reference words according
to roots and derivations. The existing Latin con-
cordances served in a measure as models, although
their purpose was the less ambitious one of assist-
ing preachers to find texts. Isaac Nathan, who
produced various other works, by this concordance
rendered inestimable and lasting service to the

CH. VII. JOSEPH IBN-SHEM TOB. 235

Study of the Bible, although his labor was of a
purely mechanical kind. Originating from the tem-
porary needs of the polemical situation, it has been,
and will ever remain, a powerful weapon for ensur-
ing the triumph of Judaism in its struggles with
other religious systems.

The philosopher, Joseph Ibn-Shem Tob (born
1400, died a martyr 1460), who was a voluminous
writer, a popular preacher, and a frequenter of the
Castilian court, also entered the lists against Chris-
tianity to expose the fallacy and unreasonableness
of its dogmas. In his frequent intercourse with
Christians of distinction, both clerical and lay, he
found it necessary to make himself thoroughly
acquainted with Christian theology that he might
adduce cogent arguments in reply to those who
wished to convert him, or in his presence made the
oft- reiterated statement of the falsity of Judaism.
Occasionally a regular controversy in defense of
his creed was forced upon him. The fruits of his
studies and thought he committed to writing in the
shape of a small treatise, entitled " Doubts of the
Religion of Jesus," in which he criticised with un-
sparing logic the dogmas of Original Sin, Salvation,
and Incarnation. Besides, he wrote, for the in-
struction of his brethren, a detailed commentary
on Profiat Duran's satire on Christianity, and made
available for them, by means of a Hebrew transla-
tion, Chasdai Crescas' polemical work against the
Christian religion, originally written in Spanish.
Strange to say, the Spanish Jews preferred, as a
rule, Hebrew books to those in the language of
their adopted country.

Among the authors of polemical works against
Christianity a contemporary of Joseph Ibn-Shem
Tob deserves special mention. History has hitherto
forgotten Chayim Ibn-Musa, from Bejar, in the
neighborhood of Salamanca (born about 1 390, died
about 1460), a physican, versifier and writer, who

236 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. VII.

had access to the Spanish court and the grandees
through his medical skill, and so, frequent oppor-
tunities of discussing questions of doctrine with
ecclesiastics and learned laymen. A colloquy pre-
served by Chayim Ibn-Musa illustrates the spirit
which prevailed in Spain before the hateful Inquisi-
tion silenced all freedom of speech. A learned
ecclesiastic once asked Ibn-Musa why, if Judaism, as
he maintained, was the true faith, the Jews could
not possess themselves of the Holy Land and
Jerusalem ? Ibn Musa replied that they had lost
their country through the sins of their fathers,
and could regain it only by perfect atonement and
purgation. He, in turn, propounded a question :
Why are the Christians no longer in possession of
the Holy Sepulcher? and why does it, together with
all the sites associated with the Passion, continue in
the hands of Mahometan infidels, notwithstanding
that Christians, by means of confession and absolu-
tion, and through the medium of the nearest availa-
ble priest, can free themselves at any moment from
sin ? Before the ecclesiastic could bethink himself
of a suitable reply, a knight, who had formerly been
in Palestine, interposed: The Mahometans are the
only people who deserve to possess the site of the
Temple and the Holy Land, for neither Christians
nor Jews hold houses of prayer in so much honor
as they. The Christians, during the night before
Easter (Vigils), perpetrate shameful abominations
in the churches at Jerusalem, abandon themselves
to debauchery, harbor thieves and murderers, and
carry on bloody feuds within their precincts. They
dishonor their character in the same way as the
Jews profaned their Temple. Therefore, God, in
His wisdom, has deprived the Jews and the Chris-
tians of the Holy City, and has intrusted it to the
Mahometans, because, in their hands, it is safe
from desecration. To his observation the Christian
priest and the Jewish physician could oppose only
abashed silence.

CH. VII. CHAYIM IBN-MUSA. 237

Chayim Ibn-Musa devoted himself to the task of
discrediting the chief sources of the materials of
Christian attacks on Judaism, the writings of the
Franciscan Nicholas de Lyra. He not only refuted
the assertions put forward in those works, but de-
prived them of the soil upon which they fed. The
ever-recurring controversies between Jews and
Christians led to no conclusions, and left each party
in the belief that it had gained a victory, because
they generally turned on secondary questions, the
disputants never discussing fundamental premises,
but wrangling, each from his undemonstrated basis.
Chayim Ibn-Musa wished to introduce method into
these controversies, and to lay down clear princi-
ples for the defense of Judaism. Accordingly, he
drew up rules which, strictly observed, were bound
to lead to a definite result. In the first place, he
advised Jews invariably to hold fast in a disputation
to the simple meaning of the Scriptures, always
to take the context into account, and especially to
avoid allegorical or symbolical methods of interpre-
tation, which left Christian polemics free to intro-
duce arbitrary theories. Further, Jewish disputants
were to announce that they ascribed no authority in
matters of belief either to the Chaldaic translation
of the Bible (Targum) or to the Greek (Septuagint),
these being the sources of the false proofs adduced
by Christians. He counseled them to abandon even
Agadic exegesis, and not to hesitate to declare that
it had no weight in determining the doctrines of
Judaism. These and similar rules Chayim Ibn-
Musa applied to this writings of Nicholas de Lyra,
successfully refuting them from beginning to end in
a comprehensive work, justly entitled " Shield and
Sword."

The anti-Christian polemical literature of this
period was further enriched by two writers, father
and son, living in Algiers, far removed from the
scenes of the Christian propaganda. But Simon

238 HISTORY OF THE JEWS, CH. VII.

ben Zemach Duran and his son, Solomon Duran,
were Spaniards by birth and education. In his
philosophic exposition of Judaism, the former de-
voted a chapter to Christianity, maintaining, in an-
swer to Christian and Mahometan objections, the
inviolability of the Torah. This chapter, entitled
"Bow and Buckler," and described as being "for
defense and attack," proves the contention of older
writers, and more recently of Profiat Duran, that
Jesus' intention was not to abolish Judaism. The
rabbi of Algiers exhibits extraordinarily wide
acquaintance with the literature of the New Testa-
ment and thorough familiarity with church doctrine,
combats each with weapons taken from its own
arsenal, and criticises unsparingly.

Solomon Duran I (born about 1400, died 1467),
who succeeded his father in the Algerian rabbinate,
combined with profound Talmudic knowledge a
decided leaning towards a rationalistic apprehension
of Judaism. Unlike his father and his ancestor,
Nachmani, he was a sworn enemy of the Kabbala.
During his father's lifetime and at his request, he
wrote a refutation of the shameless, lying accusa-
tions brought against the Talmud by Geronimo de
Santa Fe. In an exhaustive treatise ("Letter on the
Conflict of Duties " ) he deals sharply with Geroni-
mo's sallies. He repels the accusation that the
Talmud teaches lewdness, and proves that it really
inculcates extreme continence. Jews who regulate
their Hves according to Talmudical prescriptions
scrupulously abstain from carnal sins, holding them
in great abhorrence, and pointing with scorn at
persons guilty of them. How, asks Solomon Duran,
can Christians reproach Jews with unchastity — they,
whose holiest men daily commit sins which dare not
be mentioned to modest ears, and which have
become proverbial as " Monk's sin " (peccato dei
frati).

Religious philosophy, which had been raised to

CH. VII. JOSEPH ALSO. 239

the perfection of a science only by Jewish-Spanish
thinkers, had its last cultivators in Spain during this
period. The same men who protected Judaism
against the onslaughts of Christianity defended it
against benighted Jews who wished to banish light,
and, like the Dominicans, desired to establish blind
faith in the place of reason and judgment Zealots
like Shem Tob Ibn-Shem Tob and others, biased by
their narrow Talmudical education, and misled by
the Kabbala, saw in scientific inquiry a byroad to
heresy. Perceiving that for the most part cultivated
Jews succumbed to the proselytizing efforts of
Vincent Ferrer and Pope Benedict, men of the
stamp of Shem Tob were confirmed in their belief
that philosophic culture, nay, reflection on a relig-
ious topic, irretrievably lead to apostasy. The logical
result of religious impeachment of science was the
condemnation of Maimuni and all the Jewish think-
ers who had allowed reason to have weight in
religious questions. Against this form of bigotry
Joseph Albo entered the lists with a complete
religio-philosophical work (Ikkarim, "fundamental
teachings"), in which he attempted to separate the
essential doctrines of Judaism from the non-essen-
tial, and to fix the boundary line between belief and
heresy.

Joseph Albo (born about 1380, died about 1444),
of Monreal, one of the principal representatives of
Judaism at the Tortosa disputation, who, probably
through the intolerance of Pope Benedict, had emi-
grated to Soria, was a physician and a pupil of
Chasdai Crescas, hence well acquainted with the
physical sciences and the philosophic thought of his
time. Although a strict adherent of Talmudical
Judaism, he was, like his teacher, not averse to phi-
losophic ideas. Indeed, he tried to reconcile them,
without, of course, permitting Judaism to yield a jot
to philosophy. Albo had not, however, the pro-
fundity of his teacher; as a thinker he was super-

240 HISTORY OP THE JEWS. CH. VII.

ficial, commonplace, and incapable of writing with
logical sequence. On the advice of his friends, he
undertook to investigate in how far freedom of
inquiry in religious matters was possible within the
limits of Judaism. At the same time he wished to
fix the number of articles of faith and to decide the
question whether the number thirteen adopted by
Maimuni was correct, orwhetheritcould be increased
or lessened without justly bringing a charge of heresy
on him who made the change. Thus originated his
religio-philosophical system, the last on Spanish soil.
Albo's style differs widely from that of his predeces-
sors. He was a preacher — one of the cleverest and
most graceful — and this circumstance exercised
marked influence on his method of exposition. It
is easy, comprehensible, popular and captivating.
Albo has the knack of explaining every philosophic
idea by a striking illustration, and of developing it
by skillful employment of Bible verses and Agadic
aphorisms. What his style thus gained, on the one
hand, in intelligibility and popularity, it lost, on the
other, through a certain redundancy and shallowness.
It is a remakable fact that Albo, who thought that
he was developing his religio-philosophical system
exclusively in the native spirit of Judaism, placed at
its head a principle of indubitably Christian origin;
so powerfully do surroundings affect even those who
exert themselves to throw off such Influence. The
religious philosopher of Soria propounded as his
fundamental idea that salvation was the whole aim
of man in this life, and that Judaism strongly empha-
sized this aspect of religion. His teacher, Chasdai
Crescas, and others, had considered man's aim
the bliss of the future life, to be found in proximity
to the Deity and In the union of the soul with the
all-pervading spirit of God. According to Albo
highest happiness consists not so much In the
exaltation of the soul as in its salvation. That is
the nucleus of Albo's religio-philosophical system.

CH. VIL " IKKARIM." 24I

Man attains only after death the perfection for which
he is destined by God ; for this higher hfe his mun-
dane existence is but a preparation. How can he
best utiHze his term of preparation ? There are three
kinds of institutions for the reclamation of man from
barbarism and his advancement to civilization. The
first is Natural Law, a sort of social compact to ab-
stain from theft, rapine and homicide ; the second is
State Legislation, which cares for order and morals;
and the third is Philosophical Law, which aims at
promoting the enduring happiness of man, or, at
least, at removing obstacles in the way of its realiza-
tion. All these institutions, even when highly de-
veloped, are powerless to assist the real welfare of
man, the redemption of his soul, his beatitude ; for
they concern themselves only with actions, with
proper conduct, but do nothing to inculcate the views
or supply the principles which are to be the main-
springs of action. If the highest aim of man be
eternal life or beatitude after death, then there must
be a Divine Legislation, without which man in this
world must always be groping in darkness and miss-
ing his highest destiny. This Divine Legislation
must supply all the perfections lacking in its mun-
dane counterpart. It must have for its postulate a
perfect God, who both wishes and is able to promote
the redemption of man ; it must further bear wit-
ness to the certainty that this God has revealed an
unalterable Law calculated to secure the happiness
of man ; and finally it must appoint a suitable re-
quital for actions and intentions. Hence this Divine
Legislation has three fundamental principles: the
Existence of God, the Revelation of His Will, and
just Retribution after Death. These are the three
pillars on which it rests, and it requires none other.
Judaism, then, according to Albo, is a discipline
for eternal salvation. It is " the Divine Legislation"
(Dath Elohith), and, as such, comprises many reli-
gious laws — 613 according to the customary calcula-

242 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. VII.

tion — to enable each individual to promote his own
salvation. For even a single religious precept fulfilled
with intelligence and devotion, and without mental
reservation or ulterior motive, entitles man to sal-
vation. Consequently, the Torah, with its numer-
ous prescriptions, is not intended as a burden for its
disciples, nor are the Jews threatened, as Christian
teachers maintain, with a curse in the event of their
not observing the entire number of commandments.
On the contrary, the object is to render easy the
path to higher perfection. Therefore, the Agada
says that every Israelite has a share in Eternal Life
(Olam ha-ba), for each one can obtain this end by
the fulfillment of a single religious duty.

Arrived at this point, the religious philosopher of
Soria propounds the question whether Judaism can
ever be altered as previous dispensations were by the
Sinaitic Revelation. This question required specially
careful consideration, as Christians always maintained
that Christianity was a new revelation, as Judaism
had been in its time; that the "New Covenant"
took the place of the " Old," and that by the Gospel,
the Torah had been fulfilled, i. e., abrogated. Albo
had acknowledged the existence of rudimentary
revelations previous to that of Sinai, and to avoid
being entrapped by the consequences of his own
system he put forward a peculiar distinction. That
which God had once revealed by His own mouth
direct to man was, by virtue of that fact, unalter-
able and binding for all time; but that which had
been communicated only by a prophetic intermedi-
ary might suffer change or even annulment. The
Ten Commandments which the Israelites had re-
ceived direct from God, amid the flames of Sinai,
were unalterable ; in them the three cardinal prin-
ciples of a divine legislation are laid down. On the
other hand, the remaining prescriptions of Judaism,
imposed on the people solely through the mediation
of Moses, were open to change or even revocation.

CH. VII. WEAKNESS OF ALBO'S SYSTEM. 243

But this instability of a portion, perhaps a large por-
tion, of the Jewish religious law was only a theory,
propounded simply as a possibility. In practice the
obligations of the Torah were to be regarded as
binding and unalterable, until it should please God
to reveal other laws through the medium of a pro-
phet as great as Moses, and in as open and convin-
cing a manner as on Sinai. Hitherto no prophet had
made good his claim so far as to render necessary
the rescinding of any portion of Judaism.

Albo's religious system is far from satisfactory.
Based upon the Christian doctrine of salvation, it
was compelled to regard faith, in a Christian sense,
as the chief condition of the soul's redempdon, and
the ordinances of Judaism as sacraments, similar to
baptism or communion, upon which salvation was
dependent. Nor is the development of his theory
strictly logical. Too often the arts of the preacher
take the place of severe reasoning, and for the illus-
tration of his ideas he indulges in prolix sermons in
exposition of Biblical and Agadic texts.

A bolder thinker than Albo, but, like him, a
preacher, was his junior contemporary, Joseph Ibn-
Shem Tob. At one time, when in disgrace with the
king of Castile, and leading a wandering life, he held
forth every Sabbath to large audiences. He had
been well schooled in philosophy. His Kabbalistical,
gloomy and fanatical father, who denounced philos-
ophy as a primary source of evil, damned Aristotle
to hell, and even accused Maimuni of heterodoxy,
must have been scandalized when his son Joseph
plunged deep, and with all his heart, into the study
of Aristotle and Maimuni. But Joseph did not hesi-
tate to stigmatize the error of his father and of those
who thought the employment of philosophic methods
opposed to the interests of religion. He, on the
contrary, held that they were essential for the at-
tainment of the higher destiny to which all men,
especially Israelites, are called. The cultured, philo-

244 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. VII.

sophical Jew who intelligently discharges all the re-
ligious duties of Judaism obviously realizes his high
aim much sooner than the Israelite who practices his
ceremonial blindly, without wisdom or understand-
ing. Science is also of great value in enabling
human intelligence to discriminate error. It is the
nature of man's imperfect intellect to foster truth
and error side by side ; but knowledge teaches how
to distinguish between the true and the false. On
the other hand, gaps in philosophical teaching are
bridged over by the Sinaitic Law. In so far as the
latter conceives the happiness of man in the survival
of the spirit after the destruction of the body, it is
immeasurably the superior of philosophy. Judaism
also names the means of attaining eternal happiness
— the conscientious fulfillment of religious obliga-
tions. On this point, Joseph Shem Tob's view ap-
proximates that of Joseph Albo. In his eyes, also,
the commandments of Judaism have a sacramental
character, but he does not emphasize salvation so
much as Albo, Joseph Ibn-Shem Tob went so far,
however, as to deny that the objects of the religious
laws were knowable, and, to a certain extent, ascribed
to them a mystical influence.

None of these writings of the first half of the fif-
teenth century, philosophical or polemical, was the
fruit of leisure and an unfettered spirit. All were
stimulated into existence by the urgent necessities
of the times, and were put forth to protect the relig-
ious and moral treasure-house from pressing danger.
In order not to succumb, Judaism was forced simul-
taneously to strengthen itself from within and ward
off attacks from without.

It was, indeed, more than ever necessary for Juda-
ism to arm itself, doubly and trebly ; its darkest
days were approaching. Again the grim church
fiend arose, and the gruesome shadow of its ex-
tended wings swept anxiously across Europe. As
in the time of Innocent III, so again at this period

CH. VII. CHURCH COUNCIL AT BASLE. 24$

the church decreed the degradation and proscription
of the Jews. The old enactments were solemnly
renewed by the official representatives of Christen-
dom, assembled in QEcumenical Council at Basle,
where they had declared their infallibility, and even
satin judgment on the papacy. Curious, indeed!
The council could not arrange its own concerns,
was powerless to bring the mocking Hussites back
to the bosom of Mother Church, despaired of put-
ting an end to the dissoluteness and vice of the
clergy and monks, yet gave its attention to the Jews
to lead them to salvation. Leprous sheep them-
selves, they sought to save unblemished lambs! The
Basle church council, which sat for thirteen years
(June, 143 1 — May, 1443), examining all the great
European questions, gave no small share of Its at-
tention to the Jews. Their humiHation was neces-
sary for the strengthening of Christian faith — such
was the ground on which the council proceeded at
its nineteenth sitting (September 7th, 1434), when it
resolved to revise the old and devise new restric-
tions. The canonical decrees prohibiting Christians
from holding intercourse with Jews, from rendering
them services, and from employing them as physi-
cians, excluding them from offices and dignities,
imposing on them a distinctive garb, and ordering
them to live in special Jew-quarters, were renewed.
A few fresh measures were adopted, new In so far
as they had not previously been put forward by
the highest ecclesiastical authorities. These pro-
vided that Jews should not be admitted to uni-
versity degrees, that they should be made. If neces-
sary, by force, to attend the delivery of conver-
sionist sermons, and that at the colleges means
should be provided for combating Jewish heresy by
instruction in Hebrew, Chaldee, and Arabic. Thus
the CEcumenlcal Council, which gave itself out as
inspired by the Holy Ghost, designed the conver-
sion of all Jews. It adopted the program of Penya-

346 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. VII.

forte, Pablo Christiani, and Vincent Ferrer, who had
counseled systematic application of pressure to in
duce the Jews to abandon "their infidelity." On
the baptized Jews, too, the Basle church council be-
stowed special attention. They were to be favored,
but also carefully watched, lest they marry Jews,
keep the Sabbath and Jewish feasts, bury their dead
according to Jewish rites, or, in fact, follow any
Jewish observances.

A fanatical paroxysm broke out afresh in various
towns of Europe, commencing in the island of Ma-
jorca. The remnant of the congregation of Palma
was hated alike by the priests and the mob, .and
both gave a willing ear to the rumor that the Jews,
during Holy Week, had crucified the Moorish servant
of a Jew, and put him to the torture. The reputed
martyr was still living, but, nevertheless. Bishop Gil-
Nunjoz caused two Jews to be imprisoned as ring-
leaders. Thereupon arose a contest between the
bishop and the governor, Juan Desfar, the latter
maintaining that as the Jews were the property of
the king, he alone could condemn them. The bishop
was obliged to hand over the Jews, who were locked
up in the governor's jail. The priests, however, in-
cited the mob against the governor and the Jews,
and before Juan Desfar could arrange for a hearing,
the people were prepossessed against him. A court
composed chiefly of Dominicans and Franciscans
was called together, and employed the rack as the
most effectual means of obtaining the truth from the
witnesses. One of the accused put to the torture
acknowledged all that was desired, and pointed out
any Jews who happened to be mentioned as his ac-
complices. An unprincipled Jew named Astruc
Sibili, who lived in strife with many members of the
community, and feared to be involved in the blood
accusation, came forward as the denouncer of his
co-religionists. Apparently of his own accord
Astruc Sibili acknowledged that the servant had

CH. VII. END OF THE COMMUNITV OF MAJORCA. 24/

been crucified, and pointed out several Jews as the
murderers. Although he kept himself clear from
all complicity in the matter, Astruc Sibili was soon
punished for his denunciations — he was thrown into
prison as an accomplice. The fate of the informer
and the flight of several Jewish families, justly-
fearing a repetition of massacres, from Palma to a
mountain in the vicinity, excited the Christian in-
habitants yet more. The fugitives were pursued,
placed in fetters, and brought back to the city, their
flight being considered a proof of the guilt of the
entire community. Astruc Sibili and three others
were condemned to be burnt at the stake, but their
punishment was commuted to death by hanging,
on condition that they be baptized. To this they
agreed, considering baptism the last straw by which
their lives might be saved. The whole community,
men, women and children, two hundred in all, went
over to Christianity to escape a horrible death.
The priests had ample employment in baptizing the
converts. How little they believed in the imputed
crime of the condemned was shown when, the
gallows being reached, the priests, encouraging the
mob to do the same, demanded the pardon of the
condemned. The governor yielded to the voice of
the people, and by a procession and amid singing
they were escorted to the church, where a Te
Deum was chanted. Thus ended the community
of Majorca, which had lasted over a thousand years,
and had greatly contributed to the well-being of the
island. With it disappeared the prosperity of this
fruitful and favored island. Simon Duran, deeply
grieved at the secession of the community of Palma,
which he had lovingly cherished, silenced his con-
science with the thought that he had not been remiss
in exhortation.

w. # ?.

CHAPTER VIII.

CAPISTRANO AND HIS PERSECUTION OF THE JEWS.

Pope Eugenius IV, under the Influence of Alfonso de Cartagena,
changes his Attitude towards the Jews — His Bull against the
Spanish and Italian Jews in 1442 — Don Juan II defends the
Jews — Pope Nicholas V's Hostility — Louis of Bavaria — The
Philosopher Nicholas of Cusa and his Relation to Judaism —
John of Capistrano — His Influence with the People is turned
against the Jews — Capistrano in Bavaria and Wiirzburg — Expul-
sion of the Breslau Community — Expulsion of the Jews from
Briinn and Olmiitz — The Jews of Poland under Casimir IV —
Capture of Constantinople by Mahomet II — The Jews find an
Asylum in Turkey — The Karaites — Moses Kapsali — Isaac Zar-
fati — Position of the Jews of Spain — Persecutions directed by
Alfonso de Spina — The Condition of the Marranos.

1442 — 1474 C.E.

About the middle of the fifteenth century, venomous
hatred of Jews, become characteristic of Spain and
Germany, began to increase, and at the end of that
century reached its highest development. In Spain
it was stimulated principally by envy of the in-
fluential positions still enjoyed by Jews in spite of
misfortune and humiliation ; in Germany, on the
contrary, where the Jews moved like shadows, it
arose from vague race-antipathy, of which religious
differences formed only one aspect. An unfortunate
event for the German communities was the death of
Emperor Sigismund (towards the end of 1437) at
the moment when the council of Basle was casting
a threatening glance in their direction. This prince
was not a reliable protector of the Jews. Often
enough he bled them to relieve his ever-recurring
pecuniary embarrassments, and he even charged
them with the expenses of the council of Constance.
But so far as lay in his power he set his face against
the bloody persecutions of his Hebrew subjects.
He was succeeded as German king and emperor

CH. VIII. ALBERT II. 249

by the Austrian Archduke Albert, who had already
distinguished himself by inhumanity towards Jews.
Albert II was a deadly enemy of Jews and heretics.
He could not exterminate either, for the Hussites
had courage and arms, and the Jews were an indis-
pensable source of money ; but whenever it was
sought to injure them he gladly assisted. When
the town council of Augsburg decided to expel the
Jewish community (1439), the emperor joyfully
gave his consent. Two years were granted them
to dispose of their houses and immovables ; at the
end of that time they were one and all exiled, and
the grave stones in the Jewish cemetery used to
repair the city walls. Fortunately for the Jews,
Albert reigned only two years, and the rule of the
Holy Roman Empire, or rather the anarchy by
which it was convulsed, devolved on the good-
natured, weak, indolent, and tractable Frederick III.
As a set off, two fanatical Jew-haters now arose —
Pope Eugenius IV and the Franciscan, John of
Capistrano, a cut-throat in the guise of a lowly
ser\'ant of God.

Eugenius. whom the council of Basle had degraded
step by step, depriving him of his dignities and
electing another pope in his place, ultimately tri-
umphed through the treachery of some of the prin-
cipal members of the council and the helplessness
of the German princes, and was again enabled to
befool the Christian nations. Eugenius, though of
narrow, monkish views, was at first not unfavorably
disposed towards the Jews. At the beginning of his
pontificate, he confirmed the privileges granted Jews
by his predecessor, Martin V, promised them his
protection, and forbade their forcible baptism. But
he was soon influenced in an opposite direction, and
developed extraordinary zeal in degrading the Jews
andwididrawing all protection from them. The prime
mover in this conversion seems to have been Alfonso
de Cartagena, a son of the apostate Paul de Santa

250 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. VIIL

Maria. Appointed bishop of Burgos on the death
of his father, Alfonso warmly espoused the cause of
Pope Eugenius at the council of Basle, and hence
rose high in the favor of the pontiff. He alone could
have been the author of the complaints against the
pride and arrogance of the Castilian Jews which
induced the pope to issue the bull of 1442. This
document was addressed to the bishops of Castile
and Leon (loth August, 1442), and was to the effect
that it had come to the knowledge of his Holiness
that the Jews abuse the privileges granted them by-
former popes, blaspheming and transgressing to the
vexation of the faithful and the dishonor of the true
faith. He felt himself compelled, therefore, to with-
draw the indulgences granted by his predecessors —
Martin and other popes — and to declare them null
and void. At the same time Eugenius repeated the
canonical restrictions in a severer form. Thus, he
decreed that Christians should not eat, drink, bathe,
or live with Jews (or Mahometans), nor use medicines
of any kind purveyed by them. Jews (and Ma-
hometans) should not be eligible for any office or
dignity, and should be incompetent to inherit prop-
erty from Christians. They were to build no more
synagogues, and, in repairing the old, were to avoid
all ornamentation. They were to seclude themselves
from the public eye during Passion Week, to the
extent even of keeping their doors and windows
closed. The testimony of Jews (and Mahometans)
against Christians was declared invalid. Eugenius'
bull emphatically enjoined that no Christian should
stand in any relation of servitude to a Jew, and
should not even kindle a fire for him on the Sab-
bath; that Jews should be distinguished from Chris-
tians by a peculiar costume, and reside in special
quarters. Furthermore, every blasphemous utter-
ance by a Jew about Jesus, the " Mother of God,"
or the saints, was to be severely punished by the
civil tribunals. This bull was ordered to be made

CH. VIIL POPE EUGENIUS* BULLS. 25 1

known throughout the land, and put in force thirty
days later. Heavy penalties were to be exacted
for offenses under it. If the culprit was a Christian,
he was to be placed under the ban of the church,
and neither king nor queen was to be exempt ; if a
Jew, then the whole of his fortune, personal and
real, was to be confiscated by the bishop of the dio-
cese, and applied to the purposes of the church.
By means of circular letters, Eugenius exhorted the
Castilian ecclesiastics to enforce the restrictions
without mercy. He dared not be outdone in Jew-
hatred by the council of Basle. At about the same
time, or perhaps earlier, Eugenius issued a bull of
forty-two articles against the Italian Jewish commu-
nities, in which, among other things, he ordered
that, under pain of confiscation of property', Jews
should not read Talmudic literature.

The papal bull for Castile was proclaimed in
many of the towns, as it would appear, without the
consent of the king, Juan II. The fanatics had won
the day ; all their wishes were fulfilled. The mis-
guided people at once considered Jews and Ma-
hometans outlawed, and proceeded to make vio-
lent attacks on their persons and property. Pious
Christians interpreted the papal ordinances to mean
that they were not to continue commercial relations
of any kind with the Jews. Christian shepherds forth-
with abandoned the flocks and herds committed
to their charge by Jews and Mahometans, and
plowmen turned their backs upon the fields. The
union of towns (Hermandad) framed new statutes for
the more complete oppression of the proscribed of
the church. In consternation the Jews appealed to the
king of Castile. Their complaints had all the more
effect upon him as their damage meant damage
to the royal exchequer. Accordingly, Juan II, or
rather his favorite, Alvaro de Luna, issued a counter
decree (April 6th, 1443). He expressed his indig-
nation at the shamelessness which made the papal

252 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. Vlll.

bull an excuse for assaults on the Jews and Mahom-
etans. Canonical, royal and imperial law agreed in
permitting them to live undisturbed and unmolested
among Christians. The bull of Pope Eugenius
placed Jews and Mahometans under certain spe-
cific restrictions ; but it did not follow that they
might be robbed, injured or maltreated, that they
might not engage in trade or industry, nor work
as weavers, goldsmiths, carpenters, barbers, shoe-
makers, tailors, millers, coppersmiths, saddlers,
rope-makers, potters, cartwrights or basket-makers,
or that Christians might not serve them in , these
pursuits. Such service involved neither relaxation
of Christian authority nor dangerous intimacy with
Jews. Nor did it appear that the avocations men-
tioned conferred any of that prestige which solely
the bull was designed to deny to Jews.

Christians should certainly abstain from the medi-
cines of Jewish or Moorish physicians, unless com-
pounded by Christian hands ; but this did not mean
that skillful doctors of the Jewish or the Mahometan
faith should not be consulted, or their medicines
not used, when no Christian physician was available.
Juan II imposed upon the magistracy the duty of
safeguarding the Jews and Mahometans, as objects
of his special protection, and instructed them to
punish Christian offenders with imprisonment and
confiscation of goods. He furthermore ordered
that his pleasure be made known throughout the
land by public criers, in the presence of a notary.

Whether this sophistical decree was of any real
use to the Jews is doubtful. Don Juan II had not
much authority in his kingdom, and was obliged
to make frequent concessions to hostile parties,
with whom his own son occasionally made common
cause. The Castilian Jews were consequently
abandoned to the arbitrary authority of the local
magistrates during the remainder of the reign of this
well-meaning but weak monarch, and were obliged

CH. VIII. POPE NICHOLAS V. 253

to come to terms with them whenever protection
was required against violence or false accusations.
Did any misfortune threaten a Jew, then the tailor
would fly to his princely patron, or the goldsmith to
a grandee of high position, and seek to avert it by
supplications or gold. It was truly no enviable
situation in which the Jews found themselves.

Eugenius' successor, Pope Nicholas V (March,
1447 — March, 1455), continued the system of de-
grading and oppressing the Jews. As soon as he
ascended the throne of St. Peter he devoted himself
to abolishing the privileges of the Italian Jews,
which Martin V had confirmed and Eugenius had
not formally revoked, and subjecting them to excep-
tional laws. In a bull, dated June 23d, 1447, he
repeated for Italy the restrictions which his prede-
cessor had formulated for Castile, re-enacting them
in the fullest detail, not even omitting the prohibition
against the lighting of fires for Jews on the Sabbath.
But though Nicholas' bull was only a copy, it had
much more real force than the original ; for its exe-
cution was confided to the pitiless Jew-hater and
heretic-hunter, John of Capistrano. On him de-
volved the duty of seeing, either in person or
through his brother Franciscans, that the provisions
of the bull were literally obeyed, and infractions
strictly punished. If, for example, a Jewish physi-
cian provided a suffering Christian with the means
of regaining health, Capistrano was authorized to
confiscate the whole of the offender's fortune and
property. And the saintly monk, with heart of stone,
was just the man to visit such a transgression with
unrelenting severity.

The Jew-hatred of the council of Basle and the
popes spread like a contagion over a wide area.
The fierce and bigoted Bavarian Duke of Landshut,
Louis the Rich — "a hunter of game and Jews " —
had all the Jews of his country arrested on one day
(Monday, October 5th, 1450), shortly after his acces-

254 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. VIII.

slon to power. The men were thrown into prison,
the women shut up in the synagogues, and their
property and jewelry confiscated. Christian debtors
were directed not to pay their Jewish creditors more
than the capital they had originally borrowed, and
to deduct from that the interest already paid. After
four weeks of incarceration the unhappy Jews were
obliged to purchase their lives from the turbulent
duke for 30,000 gulden, and then, penniless and
almost naked, they were turned out of the country.
Gladly would Louis have meted out the same treat-
ment to the large and rich community of Ratisbon,
which was within his jurisdiction. As, however, his
authority was recognized only to a limited extent,
and as the Jews of the city were under the protec-
tion of the council and Its privileges, he was obliged
to content himself with levying contributions. Many
Jews are said to have been driven by anxiety and
want into embracing Christianity.

As the rest of the European Jews regarded their
Spanish brethren as an exalted and favored class,
so the papacy directed special attention to them in
order to put an end to their favorable position in the
state. Either on the proposition of the king to
modify the severe canonical restrictions against Jews,
or on the petition of their enemies to confirm them.
Pope Nicholas V issued a new bull (March ist,
1 45 1 ). He confirmed the old exclusions from Chris-
tian society and all honorable walks of life, and
entirely abolished the privileges of the Spanish and
the Italian Jews.

The unpitying harshness of canonical legislation
against the children of Israel was unconsciously
based on fear. All-powerful Christianity dreaded
the influence which the Jewish mind might exert on
the Christian population in too familiar intercourse.
What the papacy concealed in the incense-clouds of
its official decrees was disclosed by a philosophical
writer and cardinal standing in close relation with the

CH. VIII. NICHOLAS DE CUSA. 255 ^~--

papal court. Nicholas de Cusa (from Cues on the
Moselle), the last devotee of scholasticism, into
which he tried to introduce mystic elements, enthusi-
astically advocated, in the face of the dissensions of
Christendom, a union of all religions in one creed.
The church ceremonies he was prepared to sacrifice,
nay, he was ready to accept circumcision, if, by such
means, non-Christians could be won over to the
belief in the Trinity. He feared, as he distinctly said,
the stiffneckedness of the Jews, who cling so stub-
bornly to their monotheism ; but he consoled himself
with the reflection that an unarmed handful could
not disturb the peace of the world. It is true, the
Jews were unarmed ; but, mentally, they were still
powerful, and Nicholas resolved to devote himself
to the task of depriving them of intellectual strength.
The pope had appointed him legate for Germany,
where he was to reform church and cloister {1450 —
145 1). But the cardinal also occupied himself with
the Jewish question. At the provincial council of
Bamberg he put into force the canonical statute
concerning Jew badges, which provided that men
should wear round pieces of red cloth on their
breasts, and women blue stripes on their head-
dresses— as if the branding of Jews could heal the
dissolute clergy and their demoralized flocks of their
uncleanness. The only result of the isolation of the
Jews was their protection from the taint of prevail-
ing immorality. The cardinal was not successful in
purifying the clergy, or in putting an end to the
fraud of bleeding hosts and miracle-working
images, against which he had exclaimed so loudly.
The church remained corrupt to the core. There
would have been abundant cause to fear the Jews,
if they had been permitted to probe the suppurating
wounds.

Especially troublesome to the church were the \Xf-^
thousands of baptized Jews in Spain, who had been Oi^O y

driven into its fold by the massacres, pulpit denun-

256 HISTOKy OP THE JEWS. CH. VIII.

ciations, and legal restrictions to which their race
was exposed. Not only the lay new-Christians, but
also those who had taken orders or had assumed
the monk's garb, continued to observe, more or less
openly, the Jewish religious laws. The sophistry of
the converts, Paul de Santa Maria and Geronimo
de Santa Fe, regarding the testimony in the Old
Testament and the Talmudic Agada to the Messiah-
ship of Jesus, the Incarnation of God, the Trinity
and other church dogmas, impressed the Marranos
but little. In spite of baptism, they remained stiff-
necked and blind, i. e., true to the faith of their
fathers. Don Juan of Castile, at the instigation of
his favorite, Alvaro de Luna, who was anxious to
strike at his arch-enemies, the new-Christians, com-
plained to Pope Nicholas V of the relapses of the
Marranos, and the pontiff knew of no remedy but
force. He addressed rescripts to the bishop of
Osma and the vicar of Salamanca (November 20th,
145 1 ), empowering them to appoint inquisitors to
inquire judicially into cases of new-Christians
suspected of Judaizing. The inquisitors were
authorized to punish the convicted, imprison them,
confiscate their goods and disgrace them, to degrade
even priests, and hand them over to the secular arm
— a church euphemism for condemning them to the
heretic's stake. This was the first spark of the hell-
fire of the Inquisition, which perpetrated more in-
humanity than all the tyrants and malefactors
branded by history. At first this bull seems to have
been ineffectual. The times were not ripe for the
bloody institution. Besides, the Christians them-
selves helped to keep up the connection of the bap-
tized Jews with their brethren in race. They denied
equal rights to new-Christians of Jewish or Mahom-
etan origin, and wished to exclude them from all
posts of honor. Against this antipathy, inherent in
the diversity of national elements, the pope was
compelled to issue a bull (November 29th, 1451),

CH. VIIL JOHN OF CAPISTRANO. 2$/

but it was powerless to uproot the prejudice. It
could be removed only by higher culture, not at the
dictation of a church chief, even though he boasted
of infallibility.

How absurd, then, to continue driving such pros-
elytes into the church ! Yet this was done by the
Franciscan monk, John of Capistrano (of Neapoli-
tan origin), who is responsible for immense injury
to the Jews of many lands. This mendicant friar,
of gaunt figure and ill-favored appearance, pos-
sessed a winning voice and an iron will, which
enabled him to obtain unbounded influence, not
only over the stupid populace, but also over the
cultivated classes. With a word he could fascinate,
inspire, or terrify, persuade to piety or incite to
cruelty. Like the Spanish Dominican, Vincent
Ferrer, the secret of Capistrano' s power lay not so
much in his captivating eloquence as in the sympa-
thetic modulations of his voice and the unshakable
enthusiasm with which he clung to his mistaken
convictions. He himself firmly believed that, with
the blood he had gathered from the nose of his
master, Bernard of Sienna, and his capuche, he could
cure the sick, awake the dead and perform all kinds
of miracles, and the misguided people not only be-
lieved but exaggerated his professions. His strictly
ascetic life, his hatred of good living, luxury and
debauchery, made an impression the deeper from its
striking contrast to the sensuality and dissoluteness
of the great bulk of the clergy and monks. Wher-
ever Capistrano appeared, the people thronged by
thousands to hear him, to be edified and agitated,
even though they did not understand a syllable of
his Latin addresses. The astute popes, Eugenius
IV and Nicholas V, recog-nized in him a serviceable
mstrument for the restoration of the tottering
authority of St. Peter. They rejoiced in his homi-
lies on the infallibility of the papacy and his fiery
harangues on the extermination of heretics, and the

258 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. VIII.

necessity of withstanding the victoriously advancing
Turks. They offered no objection if, at the same
time, he thought proper to vent his monkish gall
upon harmless amusements, pastimes and the ele-
gancies of life, seeing that they themselves were
not disturbed in their enjoyments and pleasures.
Among the standing themes of Capistrano's excit-
ing discourses — second only to his rancor against
heretics and Turks, and his tirades against luxury
and sports — were his denunciations of the impieties
and the usury of Jews. This procured his appoint-
ment by Pope Nicholas to the post of inquisitor of
the Jews, his duty being to superintend the enforce-
ment of the canonical restrictions against them. He
had in Naples occupied the position of inquisitorial
judge for the Jews, on the nomination of Queen
Joanna, who had empowered him to punish with the
severest penalties any failure to observe the eccle-
siastical law or wear the Jew badge.

When this infuriate Capuchin visited Germany, he
spread terror and dismay among the Jews. They
trembled at the mention of his name. In Bavaria,
Silesia, Moravia, and Austria, the bigotry of the
Catholics, already at a high pitch on account of the
Hussite schism, was further stirred by Capistrano,
and, the Bohemian heretics being beyond its reach,
it vented itself upon Jews. The Bavarian dukes,
Louis and Albert, who had on one occasion before
driven the Jews out of their territories, were made
still more fanatical by Capistrano. The former de-
manded of certain counts, and of the city of Ratis-
bon, that they expel the Jews. The burgomaster
and town council, however, refused, and would not
withdraw the protection and the rights of citizen-
ship which the Jews had enjoyed from an early
period. But they could not shield them from the
hostility of the clergy. Eventually even the Ratis-
bon burghers, despite their good will for their Jewish
fellow-citizens, fell under the influence of Capis-

CH. VIII, BISHOP GODFREY OF FRANCONIA. 259

trano's fanaticism, and allowed themselves to be
incited to acts of unfriendliness. In the midwife
regulations, promulgated during the same year,
occurs a clause prohibiting Christian midwives from
attending Jewish women, even in cases where the
lives of the patients were at stake.

The change of public feeling in respect to the
Jews, brought about by Capistrano, is strikingly il-
lustrated by the conduct of one eminent ecclesiastic
before and after the appearance of the Capuchin in
Germany. Bishop Godfrey, of Wurzburg, reigning
duke of Franconia, shortly after his accession to the
government of the duchy, had granted the fullest
privileges to the Jews. More favorable treatment
they could not have desired. For himself and his
successors he promised special protection to all
within his dominions, both to those settled and those
who might settle there later. They were to be freed
from the authority of the ordinary tribunals, lay and
ecclesiastical, and to have their disputes inquired
into and adjudicated by their own courts. Their
rabbi (Hochmeister) was to be exempt from taxes,
and to be allowed to receive pupils in his Vesktda a.t
his discretion. Their movements were to be unre-
stricted, and those who might desire to change their
place of residence were to be assisted to collect
their debts, and provided with safe-conduct on their
journeys. It was further promised that these privi-
leges should never be modified or revoked, and the
dean and chapter unanimously recognized and guar-
anteed them " for themselves and their successors
in the chapter." Every Jew who took up his abode
within Bishop Godfrey's jurisdiction was provided
with special letters of protection. But after Capis-
trano had begun his agitation, how different the
attitude towards Jews ! We soon find the same
bishop and duke of Franconia issuing, "on account
of the grievous complaints against the Jews in his
diocese," a statute and ordinance (1453) decreeing

26o HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. VIII.

their banishment. They were allowed until the i8th
January of the following year to sell their immov-
ables, and within fourteen days after thit date, they
were to leave, for "he (the bishop) would no longer
tolerate Jews in his diocese." The towns, barons,
lords, and justices were enjoined to expel the Jews
from their several jurisdictions, and Jewish creditors
were deprived of a portion of the debts owing
to them. When Jews were concerned, inhuman
fanaticism could beguile a noble-hearted prince of
the church and an entire chapter of ecclesiastics
into a flagrant breach of faith.

Capistrano's influence was most mischievous for
the Jews of Silesia. Here he showed himself in
truth to be the "Scourge of the Jews," as his ad-
mirers called him. The two chief communities in
this province, which belonged half to Poland and
half to Bohemia, were at Breslau a'd Schweidnitz,
and the Jews composing them, not h. g permitted
to possess real property, and being, besides, largely
engaged in the money traffic, had considerable
amounts of money at their command. The majority
of the nobles were among their debtors, and several
towns were either themselves debtors or had be-
come security for their princes. Hence it is not
unlikely that some debtors of rank secretly planned
to evade their liabilities by ridding themselves of
the Jews. At any rate the advent of the fanatical
Franciscan afforded an opportunity for carrying out
such a design.

Capistrano came to the Silesian capital on the
invitation of the bishop of Breslau, Peter Novak,
who found himself unable to control his subordinate
ecclesiastics. Summoning the clergy to his pres-
ence, the Franciscan preacher upbraided them for
their sinful, immoral, and sensual lives. The doors
of the church in which the interview took place were
securely bolted, so that no lay ear might learn the
full extent of the depravity of the ministers of the

CH. VIII. THE JEWS OF BRESLAU. 261

Gospel. But nearer to his heart than the reclama-
tion of the clergy was the extermination of the
Hussites, of whom there were many in Silesia, and
the persecution of the Jews. The frenzied fanati-
cism with which Capistrano's harangues inspired
the people of Breslau directed itself principally
against the Jews. A report was spread that a Jew
named Meyer, one of the wealthiest of the Breslau
Israelites, in whose safe-keeping were many of the
bonds of the burghers and nobles, had purchased a
host from a peasant, had stabbed and blasphemed
it, and then distributed its fragments among the
communities of Schweidnitz, Liegnitz, and others
for further desecration. It need hardly be said that
the wounded host was alleged to have shed blood.
This imbecile fiction soon reached the ears of the
municipal authorities, with whom it found ready
credence. Forthwith all the Jews of Breslau, men,
women and childen, were thrown into prison, their
entire property in the "Judengasse" seized, and,
what was most important to the authors of the
catastrophe, the bonds of their debtors, worth about
25,000 Hungarian gold florins, confiscated (2d May,
1453). The guilt of the Jews was rendered more
credible by the flight of a few of them, who were,
however, soon taken. Capistrano assumed the
direction of the inquiry into this important affair.
As inquisitor, the leading voice in the prosecution
of blasphemers of the consecrated wafer by right
belonged to him. He ordered a few Jews to be
stretched on the rack, and personally instructed the
torturers in their task — he had experience in such
work. The tortured Israelites confessed. Mean-
time another infamous lie was circulated, A wicked
baptized Jewess declared that the Breslau Jews had
once before burnt a host, and that, on another occa-
sion, they had kidnaped a Christian boy, fattened
him, and put him into a cask studded with sharp
nails, which they rolled about until their victim

262 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. VIII,

gave up the ghost. His blood had been distributed
among the Silesian communities. Even the bones
of the murdered child were alleged to have been
found. The guilt of the Jews appeared established
in these various cases, and a large number, in all
318 persons, were arrested in different localities,
and brought to Breslau. Capistrano sat in judg-
ment upon them, and hurried them to execution.
At the Salzring — now Bliicherplatz — where Capis-
trano resided, forty-one convicted Jews were burnt
on one day (2d June, 1453). ^^^ rabbi (Phineas?)
hanged himself; he had also counseled others to
take their own lives. The remainder were banished
from Breslau, all their children under seven years
of age having previously been taken from them
by force, baptized, and given to Christians to be
brought up. This was Capistrano's wish, and in a
learned treatise he explained to King Ladislaus
that it was in consonance with the Christian religion
and orthodoxy. The honest town clerk, Eschenloer,
who did not venture to protest aloud against these
barbarities, wrote in his diary, " Whether this is
godly or not, I leave to the judgment of the min-
isters of religion." The ministers of religion had
transformed themselves Into savages. The goods
of the burnt and banished Jews were, of course,
seized, and with their proceeds the Bernardine
church was built. It was not the only church
erected with bloody money. In the remaining Sile-
sian towns the Jews fared no better. Some were
burnt, and the rest chased away, stripped almost to
the skin.

When the young king, Ladislaus, was petitioned
by the Breslau town council to decree that from that
time forward no Jew would be allowed to settle in
Breslau, not only did he assent "for the glory of
God and the honor of the Christian faith," but he
added, in approval of the outrages committed, "that
they (the Silesian Jews) had suffered according to

CH. VIII. THE JEWS OF POLAND. 263

their deserts," a remark worthy of the son of Albert
II, who had burnt the Austrian Jews. The same
monarch also sanctioned — doubtless at the instiga-
tion of Capistrano, who passed several months at
Olmiitz — the expulsion of the Jews from the latter
place and from Briinn.

The echoes of Capistrano's venomous eloquence
reached even Poland, disturbing the Jewish communi-
ties there from the tranquillity they had enjoyed for
centuries. Poland had long been a refuge for hunted
and persecuted Jews. Exiles from Germany, Aus-
tria and Hungary found a ready welcome on the
Vistula. The privileges generously granted them
by Duke Boleslav, and renewed and confirmed by
King Casimir the Great, were still in force. The
Jews were, in fact, even more indispensable in that
country than in other parts of Christian Europe ;
for in Poland there were only two classes, nobles
and serfs, and the Jews supplied the place of the
middle class, providing merchandise and money,
and bringing the dead capital of the country into
circulation. During a visit which Casimir IV paid
to Posen shortly after his accession, a fire broke
out in this already important city, and, with the
exception of its few brick houses, it was totally de-
stroyed. In this conflagration, the original document
of the privileges granted the Jews a century before
by Casimir the Great perished. Jewish deputations
from a number of Polish communities waited upon
the king, lamenting the loss of these records, so
important to them, and praying that new ones might
be prepared according to existing copies, and that
all their old rights might be renewed and confirmed.
Casimir did not require much persuasion. In order
that they might live in security and contentment
under his happy reign, he granted them privileges
such as they had never before enjoyed in any Euro-
pean state (14th August, 1447). This king was in
no respect a slave of the church. So strictly did he

264 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. VIII.

keep the clergy within bounds that they charged him
with persecuting and robbing them. He forbade
their meddHng in affairs of state, saying that in such
matters he preferred to rely on his own powers.

Either the king was misled by a false copy of the
original charters, or he desired to avail himself of
the opportunity of enlarging their scope without
appearing to make fresh concessions ; at all events,
the privileges accorded under the new statute were,
in many respects, more considerable than those for-
merly enjoyed by the Jews. Not alone did it per-
mit unrestricted trading and residence all over the
then very extensive kingdom of Poland, but it an-
nulled canonical laws often laid down by the popes,
and only recently re-enacted by the general church
council of Basle. Casimir's charter mentioned that
Jews and Christians might bathe together, and in
all respects enjoy free intercourse with each other.
It emphatically decreed that no Christian could
summon a Jew before an ecclesiastical tribunal, and
that if a Jew was so summoned, he need not ap-
pear. The palatines in their several provinces were
enjoined to see that the Jews were not molested by
the clergy, and generally to extend to them powerful
protection. Furthermore; no Jew might be accused
of using Christian blood in the Passover ceremo-
nies, or of desecrating hosts, "Jews being inno-
cent of such offenses, which are repudiated by their
religion." If a Christian charged an individual Jew
with using Christian blood, his accusation had to be
supported by native, trustworthy Jewish witnesses
and four similarly qualified Christian witnesses, and
then the accused was to suffer for his crime, and his
co-religionists were not to be dragged into it. In
the event, however, of the Christian accuser not
being in a position to substantiate his charge by
credible testimony, he was to be punished with
death. This was a check on ever-recurring cal-
umny with its train of massacres of Jews. Casi-

CH. VIII. CASIMIR IV RENEWS THE PRIVILEGES. 265

mir also recognized the judicial autonomy of the
Jewish community. In criminal cases between jews,
or between jews and Christians, the ordinary tri-
bunals were not to interfere, but the palatine, or his
representative, assisted by Jews, was to adjudicate.
In minor law-suits the decision was to rest with the
Jewish elders (rabbis), who were permitted to inflict
a fine of six marks in cases where their summonses
were not obeyed. To keep the authority of the
Jewish courts within reasonable bounds, Casimir's
charter enacted that the ban should be pronounced
on a Jew only with the concurrence of the entire
community. Truly, in no part of Christian Europe
were the Jews possessed of such important privi-
leges. They were renewed and issued by the king
with the assent of the Polish magnates. Also the
Karaite communities of Troki, Luzk, etc., received
from Casimir a renewal and confirmation of the
privileges granted them by the Lithuanian Duke
Witold in the thirteenth century.

The clergy looked with jealous eyes on this com-
plaisance to the Jews, and zealously worked to in-
duce the king to change his friendly attitude. At
the head of the Polish priesthood thus hostile to the
Jews stood the influential bishop and cardinal of
Cracow, Zbigniev Olesnicki. The protection ac-
corded the Jews and Hussites by the king was to
him a source of deep chagrin, and, to give effective
vent to his feelings, he sent in hot haste for the
heretic-hunter Capistrano. Capistrano entered Cra-
cow in triumph, and was received by the king and
the clergy like a divine being. During the whole of
his stay in Cracow (August 28th, 1453, to May,
1454), aided by Bishop Zbigniev, he stirred up King
Casimir against the Hussite heretics and the Jews.
He publicly remonstrated with him on the subject,
threatening him with hell-fire and an unsuccessful
issue to his war with the Prussian order of knights,
if he did not abolish the privileges enjoyed by Jews,

266 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH, VIII.

and abandon the Hussite heretics to the church. It
was easy to predict a defeat at the hands of the
Prussian knights, seeing that the pope and the whole
of the PoHsh church were secretly assisting them
against Casimir.

Therefore, when the Teutonic knights, in aid of
their Prussian allies, took the jfield against Poland,
and the Polish army, with King Casimir at its head,
was ignominiously put to flight (September, 1454),
the game of the clerical party was won. They spread
the rumor that the disaster to Poland was a conse-
quence of the king's favor to Jews and heretics. To
retrieve his fallen fortunes, and to undertake a vig-
orous campaign against the Prussians, Casimir
needed the assistance of Bishop Zbigniev, and the
latter was in a position to make his own terms. The
Jews were sacrificed — the king was compelled to
give them up. In November, 1454, Casimir revoked
all the privileges he had granted the Jews, on the
ground that "infidels may not enjoy preference over
the worshipers of Christ, and servants may not be
better treated than sons." By public criers the
king's resolve was made known throughout the land.
Besides, Casimir ordered that the Jews of Poland
wear a special costume to distinguish them from
Christians. Capistrano was victorious all along the
line. Through him the Jews were abased even in the
land where they had been most exalted. The results
of this misfortune were not long in showing them-
selves. The Jewish communities mournfully wrote
to their brethren in Germany, *'that 'the monk' had
brought grievous trouble," even to those who lived
under the scepter of the king of Poland, whose lot
had formerly been so happy that they had been able
to offer a refuge to the persecuted of other lands.
They had not believed that an enemy could reach
them across the Polish frontier ; and now they had
to groan under the oppression of the king and the
magnates.

CH. VIII. MAHOMET II CONQUERS CONSTANTINOPLE. 267

Meanwhile, heavy but deserved judgment de-
scended on Christendom. After an existence of
more than a thousand years the sin-laden Byzantine
empire, which had stood its ground for centuries in
spite of its rottenness, had at length collapsed with
the fall of Constantinople (May 29th, 1453). The
Turkish conqueror, Mahomet II, had given New
Rome over to slavery, spoliation, massacre, and
every horror and outrage, yet had, by no means,
requited the wrongs she had inflicted on others and
herself. From Constantine, the founder of the By-
zantine empire, who placed a blood-stained sword
in the hands of the church, to the last of the emper-
ors, Constantine Dragosses, of the Palaeologus fam-
ily, everyone in the long series of rulers (with the
exception of the apostate Julian) was more or less
inspired by falsehood and treachery, and an arro-
gant, hypocritical, persecuting spirit. And the peo-
ple, as well as the servants of state and church,
were worthy of their rulers. From them the Ger-
man, Latin and Slavonic peoples had derived the
principle that the Jews ought to be degraded by
exceptional laws, or even exterminated. Now, how-
ever, Byzantium itself lay shattered in the dust, and
wild barbarians were raising the new Turkish em-
pire on its site. Heavy vengeance had been ex-
acted. Mahomet II, the conqueror of Constanti-
nople, threw a threatening glance at the remainder
of Europe, the countries of the Latin Church. The
whole of Christendom was in danger ; yet the Chris-
tian rulers and nations were unable to organize an
effective resistance against the Turkish conquerors.
The perfidy and corruption of the papacy now bore
bitter fruit. When the faithless pope, Nicholas V,
called upon Christendom to undertake a crusade
against the Turks, his legates at the diet of Ratis-
bon were compelled to listen to unsparing denunci-
ation of his corruption. Neither the pope nor the
emperor, they were told, had any reaj thought of

268 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. Vlll.

undertaking a war against the Turks ; their sole idea
was to squander upon themselves the money they
might collect. When the Turks made preparations
to invade Hungary, and threatened to carry the vic-
torious crescent from the right to the left side of the
Danube, Capistrano preached himself hoarse to
kindle enthusiasm for a new crusade. His tirades
had ceased to draw. Their only effect was to aS'
semble a ragged mob of students, peasants, mendi-
cant friars, half-starved adventurers and romantic
fanatics. The ghost of mediaevalism vanished before
the dawn of a new day.

It seems almost providential that, at a moment
when the persecutions in Europe were increasing in
number and virulence, the new Turkish empire
should have arisen to, offer an hospitable asylum to
the hunted Jews. When, three days after the
chastisement which he inflicted on Constantinople,
the sultan, Mahomet II, proclaimed that all the fugi-
tive inhabitants might return to their homes and
estates without fear of molestation, he gave a benev-
olent thought to the Jews. He permitted them to
settle freely in Constantinople and other towns,
allotted them special dwelling-places, and allowed
them to erect synagogues and schools. Soon after
his capture of Constantinople, he ordered the elec-
tion of a Greek patriarch, whom he invested with a
certain political authority over all the Greeks in his
new dominions, and also nominated a chief rabbi to
preside over the Hebrew communities. This was a
pious, learned, upright Israelite, named Moses
Kapsali. Mahomet even summoned this rabbi to
the divan, and singled him out for special distinction,
giving him a seat next to the mufti, the Chief Ulema
of the Mahometans, and precedence over the patri-
arch. Moses Kapsali (born about 1420, died about
1495), also received from the sultan a kind of political
suzerainty over the Jewish communities in Turkey.
The taxes imposed upon the Jews he had to appor-

CH. VIII. KARAITE INNOVATIONS. 269

tion among communities and individuals ; he had to
superintend their collection and to pay them into
the sultan's exchequer. He was furthermore
empowered to inflict punishment on his co-religion-
ists, and no rabbi could hold office without his sanc-
tion. In short, he was the chief and the official rep-
resentative of a completely organized Jewish com-
munal system.

This favorable situation of the Jews had a stimu-
lating effect on the degenerate Karaites, who mi-
grated in considerable numbers from Asia, the
Crimea and southern Poland, to take up their abode
with their more happily placed brethren in Con-
stantinople and Adrianople. The Karaites, whose
fundamental principle is the study and reasonable
interpretation of the Bible, were in so lamentable a
state of ignorance, that their entire religious struct-
ure had become a system of authorized dogmas
and traditions more rigid even than that of the Rab-
banites. The extent of their intellectual decline
may be measured by the fact that in the course of a
century they failed to produce a single moderately
original theological writer. Those w^ith a bent for
study were compelled to sit at the feet of Rabbanite
teachers and receive from them instruction in the
Scriptures and the Talmud. The proud masters of
Bible exegesis had become the humble disciples of
the once despised Rabbanites. The petrifaction of
Karaism is illustrated by an event in European
Turkey. A Karaite college, consisting of Mena-
chem Bashyasi, his son Moses Bashyasi, Menachem
Maroli, Michael the Old, his son Joseph, and a few
others, had permitted the lights necessary for the
Sabbath eve to be prepared on Friday, so that the
holy day need not be spent in darkness. The col-
lege gave adequate reasons for the innovation.
According to a Karaite principle, not only an eccle-
siastical authority, but any individual is justified in
abolishing an ancient custom, or annulling former

2/0 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. VIII.

decisions, if he can cite sufficient exegetical author-
ity. Nevertheless, stormy opposition arose (about
1460) against this decision, aimed at a custom de-
rived, perhaps, from Anan, the founder of Karaism,
and hence possessing the sacredness conferred by
the rust of seven centuries. Schism and friction
were the result. The section of the community
which ventured to prepare the lights required for
the Sabbath eve was abused, and charged with
heresy. Moreover, the schism relating to the com-
mencement of the festivals was still unhealed. The
Palestinian Karaite communities and their neigh-
bors continued to distinguish between an ordinary
and a leap year by the state of the barley harvest,
and to regulate their festivals by the appearance of
the new moon. On the other hand, the communi-
ties in Turkey, the Crimea, and southern Poland,
used the calendar of the Rabbanites. These heredi-
tary differences were eating more and more into the
solidarity of the sect, for there was no means of
composing them, and agreeing upon uniform prin-
ciples.

The conspicuous decrepitude of Karaism and the
ignorance of its followers afforded the Rabbanites
in the Turkish empire an opportunity for reconciling
them to Talmudic Judaism, or, at least, overcoming
their bitter hostility towards it. Rabbanite teachers,
Enoch Saporta, an immigrant from Catalonia,
Eliezer Kapsali, from Greece, and Elias Halevi,
from Germany, stipulated that their Karaite pupils,
whom they instructed in the Talmud, should
thenceforward abstain, in writing and in speech,
from reviling Talmudic authorities, and from
desecrating the festivals of the Rabbanite calendar.
In the difficult position in which studiously inclined
Karaites found themselves, they could not do
otherwise than give this promise. The Turkish
chief rabbi, Moses Kapsali, was of opinion that, as
the Karaites rejected the Talmud, they might not be

CH. VIII. TURKEY. l%t

taught in It. But he was a disciple of the strict
German school, which, in its gloomy ultra-piety,
would allow no concessions, even thougrh the
gradual conversion of a dissenting sect could be
effected.

When contrasted with the miserable condition of
the Jews in Germany, the lot of those who had
taken up their abode in the newly-risen Turkish
empire must have seemed unalloyed happiness.
Jewish immigrants who had escaped the ceaseless
persecutions to which they had been subjected in
Germany expressed themselves in terms of rapture
over the happy condition of the Turkish Jews. Un-
like their co-religionists under Christian rule, they
were not compelled to yield up the third part of
their fortunes in royal taxes ; nor were they in any
way hindered in tlie conduct of business. They
were permitted to dispose of their property as they
pleased, and had absolute freedom of movement
throughout the length and breadth of the empire.
They were subject to no sumptuary laws, and were
thus able to clothe themselves in silk and gold, if
they chose.

The fruitful lands taken from the slothful Greek
Christians were occupied by them, and offered rich
reward to their industry. Turkey was, in short,
correctly described by an enthusiastic Jew as a land
"in which nothing, absolutely nothing, is wanting."
Two young immigrants, Kalmann and David,
thought that if German Jews realized but a tenth
part of the happiness to be found in Turkey, they
would brave any hardships to get there. These two
young men persuaded Isaac Zarfati, who had jour-
neyed in Turkey in earlier times, and whose name
was by no means unknown in Germany, to write a
circular letter to the Jews of the Rhineland, Styria,
Moravia and Hungary, to acquaint them with the
happy lot of Jews under the crescent as compared
with their hard fate under the shadow of the cross.

2/2 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. VUl.

and to call upon them to escape from the German
house of bondage and emigrate to Turkey. The
lights and shadows of his subject could not have
been more sharply defined than they are in Zarfati's
letter (written in 1456), whose graphic, often some-
what too artificial language does not readily lend
itself to translation :

*' I have heard of the afflictions, more bitter than
death, that have befallen our brethren in Germany
— of the tyrannical laws, the compulsory baptisms
and the banishments. And when they flee from one
place, a yet harder fate befalls them in another. I
hear an insolent people raising its voice in fury
against the faithful ; I see its hand uplifted to smite
them. On all sides I learn of anguish of soul and
torment of body ; of daily exactions levied by mer-
ciless extortioners. The clergy and the monks,
false priests, rise up against the unhappy people of
God and say : * Let us pursue them even unto de-
struction ; let the name of Israel be no more known
among men.* They imagine that their faith is in
danger because the Jews in Jerusalem might, per-
adventure, buy the Church of the Sepulcher. For
this reason they have made a law that every Jew
found upon a Christian ship bound for the East
shall be flung Into the sea. Alas ! how evilly are
the people of God in Germany entreated ; how
sadly is their strength departed ! They are driven
hither and thither, and they are pursued even unto
death. The sword of the oppressor ever hangs
over their heads ; they are flung into the devouring
flames, into swift flowing rivers and into foul
swamps. Brothers and teachers ! friends and ac-
quaintances ! I, Isaac Zarfati, from a French stock,
born in Germany, where I sat at the feet of my
teachers, I proclaim to you that Turkey is a land
wherein nothing is lacking. If ye will, all shall yet
be well with you. The way to the Holy Land lies
open to you through Turkey. Is it not better for

CH. VIII. ISAAC ZARFATI'S LETTER. ^73

you to live under Moslems than under Christians ?
Here every man may dwell at peace under his own
vine and his own fig-tree. In Christendom, on the
contrary, ye dare not clothe your children in red or
in blue, according to your taste, without exposing
them to insult and yourselves to extortion ; and,
therefore, are ye condemned to go about meanly
clad in sad-colored raiment. All your days are full
of sorrow, even your Sabbaths and the times
appointed for feasting. Strangers enjoy your goods ;
and, therefore, of what profit is the wealth of your
rich men ? They hoard it but to their own sorrow,
and in a day it is lost to them for ever. Ye call
your riches your own — alas ! they belong to your
oppressors. They bring false accusations against
you. They respect neither age nor wisdom ; and,
though they gave you a pledge sealed sixty-fold, yet
would they break it. They continually lay double
punishments upon you, a death of torment and con-
fiscation of goods. They prohibit teaching in your
schools ; they break in upon you during your hours
of prayer ; and they forbid you to work or conduct
your business on Christian feast-days. And now,
seeing all these things, O Israel, wherefore sleepest
thou ? Arise, and leave this accursed land for
ever!"

Isaac Zarfati's appeal induced many Jews to emi-
grate forthwith to Turkey and Palestine. Their
grave demeanor, extreme piety, and peculiar ap-
parel at once distinguished them from the Jews
of Greece and the Orient, and ere long the new-
comers exercised considerable influence upon the
other inhabitants of the countries in which they
settled.

There were peculiar circumstances connected
with the prohibition of the emigration of Jews to
Palestine. The Jewish inhabitants of Jerusalem
had obtained permission from a pasha to build a
synagogue on one of the slopes of Mount Zion.

274 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. VIII.

The site of this synagogue adjoined a piece of land
owned by Franciscan monks, or rather containing
the ruins of one of their chapels, known as David's
chapel. When this permission was given to the
Jews, the monks raised as much clamor as though
all Palestine, including the Holy City, had been
their peculiar inheritance since the beginning of
time. They forthwith carried their complaints to
the pope, and represented that, if the Jews were
permitted to take such liberties as this, it would not
be long before they took possession of the Church
of the Holy Sepulcher itself. The pope at once is-
sued a bull directing that no Christian shipowner
should convey Jewish emigrants to the Holy Land.
As the Levantine trade was at that time almost en-
tirely in the hands of the Venetians, the doge was
prevailed upon to issue stringent orders to all the
shipmasters of the mainland and the islands not to
give passage to Palestine to any Jews.

It is, indeed, strange that, while the Christian
powers were under the impression that they had
hemmed in the children of Israel on all sides like
hunted animals, the Turks of Eastern Europe
opened a way of escape to them. Ere another
half century had passed, their Spanish brethren,
savagely hunted from the Peninsula, were destined
to seek the same asylum.

It must, however, be admitted that under the
sway of the Castilian king, Henry IV, and that of
John II, of Aragon, the condition of the Spanish
Jews was one of comparative peace and comfort.
But it was the calm that went before the storm.
The doubly impotent Castilian king was gentle to a
degree ill-befitting a ruler of men. Although, as
Infante, Don Henry had allowed himself to be per-
suaded by his partisans to replenish his exhausted
coffers by plundering the houses, not only of the
Jews, but also of the new-Christians or converts
from Judaism, he had no personal antipathy to the

CH. VIII. HENRY IV OF CASTILE. 2^5

people of Israel. A Jewish physician was his con-
fidential minister. Not long after his accession to
the throne he had even sent him to the Portuguese
court on the most delicate mission of obtaining the
hand of the young, beautiful princess of Portugal
for his sovereign. The Jewish diplomatist brought
his mission to a successful conclusion, but was as-
sassinated in the hour of his success.

In spite of the papal bull and the repeated or-
dinances of the cities, Don Henry employed a
Jewish farmer of taxes, one Don Chacon, a native
of Vitoria ; and he, too, fell a sacrifice to his office.
A rabbi, Jacob Ibn-Nunez, his private physician, was
appointed by Henry to apportion and collect the
tribute of the Jews of Castile ; while Abraham
Bibago, yet another Jew of eminence, stood high
in the favor of John II of Aragon.

The example of the courts naturally affected the
greater nobles, who, when their own interests were
not concerned, troubled themselves very little about
ecclesiastical edicts. The practice of medicine was
still entirely in the hands of Jews, and opened
to them the cabinets and the hearts of kings and
nobles. It was in vain that papal bulls proclaimed
that Christians should not employ Jewish physicians.
There were few or no Christians who understood
the healing art, and the sick had no recourse save
to the skill of the Jews. Even the higher clergy
had but little regard for the bulls of Eugenius,
Nicholas, and Calixtus. They had too much care
for the health of the flesh to refuse the medical
aid of the Jews on account of a canonical decree.
Most of the tyrannical restrictions belonging to the
minority of John II and the times of the regent
Catalina were completely forgotten. Only on one
point did Henry insist with rigor. He would not
permit the Jews to clothe themselves luxuriously.
This was partly on account of his own preference
for simplicity of dress, partly because he was

276 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. VIII.

desirous that the envy of Christians should not be
excited against them. Under the mild rule of Don
Henry, the Jews who had been more or less com-
pulsorily baptized either returned to their faith, or
at least observed the Jewish ritual unmolested.
During the Feast of the Passover they lived upon
rice entirely in order, on the one hand, to partake
of nothing leavened, and, on the other, to avoid the
suspicion of Judaism.

Hatred of the Jew, which burnt most fiercely in
the great towns, naturally made it impossible for
the orthodox to behold without indignation this
favoritism towards the supposed enemies of their
faith, and they made use of a weapon whose efficacy
had been proved in other lands. The cry went
forth : The Jews have put Christian children to
death! Then came the report that "a Jew in the
neighborhood of Salamanca had torn a child's heart
out ;" or, "Jews elsewhere have cut pieces of flesh
out of a living Christian child," and so on. By
means of such rumors, the fanaticism of the mob
was speedily inflam.ed, the magistrates took up the
matter, and the accused Jews were thrown into
prison.

The king, well aware of the origin and object of
these accusations, had them thoroughly sifted, with
the result that the innocence of the accused was
completely established. Nothwithstanding this fact,
the enemies of the Jews maintained their guilt.
Some insiuuated that the judges had been bribed ;
while others asserted that the new-Christians had
exerted themselves in behalf of their kinsmen, and
that the king himself was partial to them.

Among all their enemies the man who raged most
bitterly and fiercely against the Spanish Jews was a
preacher in Salamanca, Alfonso de Spina, a Franciscan
monk, of the same order and opinions as Capistrano.
Instead of the venomed tongue, he used the poi-
soned pen against them. This man enjoyed a certain

CH. VIII. ALFONSO DE SPINA. 2,^^

amount of fame, because he happened to have ac-
companied Alvaro de Luna, the once all-powerful
minister of John II, to the scaffold as his confessor.
This bigoted priest thundered unceasingly from the
altar steps against the Jews and their patrons, and
especially against the new-Christians as secret ad-
herents of their former faith. As his preaching did
not appear to him to produce sufficient effect, De
Spina issued, in 1460, a virulent work in Latin, di-
rected against Jews, Moslems, and other heretics,
under the title "Fortalitium Fidei." In this book
he collected everything that the enemies of the Jews
had ever written or said against them. He repro-
duced every absurd legend and idle tale that he
could procure, and seasoned the whole collection
with every device of rhetoric that his malice could
suggest. In his opinion it was only right and natural
that all Moslems and heretics should be extermi-
nated root and branch. Against the Jews, however,
he proposed to employ apparently lenient measures.
He would simply take their younger children from
them, and bring them up as Christians, an idea for
which he was indebted to the scholastic philosopher.
Duns Scotus, and his fellow Franciscan, Capistrano.
De Spina most deeply deplored that the various
laws for the persecution of the Jews, promulgated
during the minority of John II, were no longer in
force under his successor. In most trenchant words
he rebuked the king, the nobles and the clergy for
the favor that they showed to Jews ; and, in order
to inflame the mob, he untiringly retailed all the old
fables of child-murder, theft of the host, and the
like, in the most circumstantial narrative, and in-
sinuated that the partiality of the king permitted
these abominable crimes to go unpunished.

The fanaticism aroused by Alfonso de Spina was
by no means without effect ; indeed, the most la-
mentable consequences ere long resulted from it.
A monk, crucifix in hand, proposed a general mas-

2/8 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. VIII.

sacre of the Jews of Medina del Campo, near Val-
ladolid, and his words were favorably received. The
inhabitants of the town fell upon the Jews, and burnt
several of them alive with the sacred books which
they happened to find in their possession. Murder
was naturally followed by plunder of the victims'
goods. The king had the ringleaders of this out-
rage punished ; but this was all that he could do.
He was unable to prevent a recurrence of such
scenes. He had been compelled to recognize the
abject position of the Jews officially in the statute
book which his advisers, his secret enemies, Don
Pacheco, Marquis of Villena, and the Count of
Valencia, prepared at his request. Don Pacheco,
who by his intrigues brought both king and country
to confusion, was himself of Jewish blood, his mother,
who had married a Spanish noble, being the daugh-
ter of a Jew named Ruy Capron. Notwithstanding
this fact, he included the most odious enactments in
Don Henry's revised statute book. All the earlier
disabilities were revived : the exclusion of Jews from
all offices, even from practice as apothecaries, the
wearing of distinctive badges, restriction to the Jew-
ries of towns, and even confinement to their houses
during Holy Week.

The civil war kindled by the intrigues of Don
Pacheco and other courtiers through the burlesque
deposition of Don Henry in Avila, and the corona-
tion of his younger brother, Alfonso, bore more
heavily on the Jews than even on the general popu-
lation of Castile.

In 1467 Alfonso's party had by treason become
master of Segovia, and immediately a riot against
the Jews began here. The enemies of this unhappy
people spread the report that, on the suggestion of
their rabbi, Solomon Picho, the Jews of the little
community of Sepulveda, not far from Segovia, had
during Holy Week so cruelly tortured a Christian
child that it died upon the cross (April, 1468). On

CH. VIII. ANTI-JEWISH EDICTS ENFORCED. 3^

the motion of Bishop Juan Arias, of Avila, of Jew-
ish race, several Jews (eight or sixteen, according to
different accounts), whom the popular voice had ac-
cused, were hauled from Sepulveda to Segovia, and
there condemned to the stake, the gallows and the
bowstring, whereupon the Christians of Sepulveda
fell upon the few remaining Jews of the community,
massacred some, and hunted the rest from the neigh-
borhood. Is it not strange that in Castile and in
Silesia, in Italy and in Poland, the selfsame accusa-
tions were raised, and followed by the same sen-
tences?

Scarcely was Alfonso's party dissolved by the
death of its puppet king before another sprang up,
which professed to defend the rights of the Infanta
Isabella, sister of Don Henry. The utter weakness
which Henry betrayed encouraged the rebels to
make the most outrageous assaults upon his pre-
rogatives. The cortes convened at Ocana in 1469,
wishing to humiliate him, took up the Jewish ques-
tion. They reminded him of the laws of his ances-
tors, and told him to his face that he had violated
these laws by endowing Jews with the chief offices
in the collection of the royal revenues. They further
asserted that, owing to this distinguished example,
even princes of the church had farmed out the rev-
enues of their dioceses to Jews and Moslems, and
that the tax-farmers actually levied their contribu-
tions in the churches. In conclusion, they insisted
that the edicts be once more stringently enforced,
and that heavy penalties be imposed for their trans-
gression.

The finances of this monarch, who, in consequence
of his liberality and the expense of putting down
the ever-recurring revolts against his authority, was
in constant need of money, would have been in a
sorry condition had he intrusted them to Christian
tax-farmers. The latter bid only a small amount
for the privilege ; moreover, they might have made

280 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. VIII.

use of the rebellious factions to rid themselves of
their obligations. A king who said to his treasurer:
" Give to these that they may serve me, and to those
that they may not rob me ; to this end I am king,
and have treasures and revenues for all purposes "
— such a king could not dispense with Jewish
financiers.

Thus there existed, in Castile, an antagonism
between the edicts against the Jews and the inter-
ests of the state ; and this antagonism roused the
mob, inspired alike by ecclesiastical fanaticism and
envious greed against their Jewish fellow-townsmen,
to the perpetration of bloody outrages. The fury
of the orthodox was also excited against the new-
Christians, or Marranos, because, happier than their
former fellow-believers, they were promoted to the
highest offices in the state by reason of their superior
talents.

The marriage of the Infanta Isabella with Don
Ferdinand, Infante of Aragon, on the 19th of Octo-
ber, 1469, marked a tragical crisis in the history of
the Spanish Jews. Without the knowledge of hei*
royal brother, and in open breach of faith — since she
had solemnly promised to marry only with his con-
sent— she had followed the advice of her intriguing
friends, and had given her hand to the Prince of
Aragon, who, both in Jewish and in Spanish history,
under the title of "The Catholic," has left an
accursed memory behind him. Don Abraham
Senior had promoted this marriage, hoping by it to
increase the welfare of his brethren. Many new
complications arose in Castile out of this union.
Isabella's partisans, anticipating that under her rule
and that of her husband the persecution of the Jews
would be made legal, took up arms in Valladolid,
Isabella's capital, and fell upon the new-Christians
(September, 1470). The victims assumed the de-
fensive, but were soon compelled to surrender.
Thereupon they sent a deputation to Henry, beg-

CH. Vlll. CHARGES AGAINST THE MARRANOS. 28l

ging him to protect them. The king did, indeed,
collect troops, and march against the rebelhous city,
but he had to be grateful that he himself was well
received by the citizens, and could not think of pun-
ishing even the ringleaders.

Two years later the new-Christians underwent a
persecution, which surely must have caused them to
repent having taken shelter at the foot of the cross.
The religious populace blamed the Marranos, not
altogether without reason, for confessing Christian-
ity with their lips while in their souls they despised
it. It was said that they either did not bring their
children to be baptized, or if they were baptized,
took them back to their houses and washed the stain
of baptism off their foreheads. They used no lard
at their tables, only oil ; they abstained from pork,
celebrated the Jewish Passover, and contributed
oil for the use of the synagogues. They were
further said to have but small respect for cloisters,
and were supposed to have profaned sacred relics
and debauched nuns. The new-Christians, were, in^
fact, looked upon as a cunning and ambitious set of
people, who sought eagerly for the most profitable
offices, thought only of accumulating riches, and
avoided hard work. They were believed to con-
sider themselves as living in Spain as Israel did in
Egypt, and to hold it to be quite permissible to
plunder and outwit the orthodox. These accusa-
tions were not by any means merited by the new-
Christians as a body, but they served to inflame the
mob, and caused it to hate the converts even more
bitterly than the Jews themselves.

The outbreak above referred to arose as follows :
A certain princess was going through the streets of
Cordova with the picture of the Virgin under a can-
opy, and a girl, a new-Christian, either by accident
or design, poured some water out of a window on
the canopy. The consequence was a frenzied rising
against the converted Jews. An excited smith in-

282 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. VIII.

cited the Christian mob to avenge the insult offered
to the holy picture — for it was said that the girl had
poured something unclean upon it — and in an in-
stant her father's house was in flames. The nobles
sought to defend the Marranos, and in the skirmish,
the smith was killed. This so enraged the already
furious mob that the men-at-arms were forced to re-
tire. The houses of the new-Christians were now
broken into, plundered, and then reduced to ashes ;
while those who had not been able to save them-
selves by flight were massacred in the most barbar-
ous manner (March 14th — 15th, 1472). The fugi-
tives were hunted like wild beasts in the chase.
Wherever they were seen, the most horrible death
inevitably awaited them. Even the peasant at work
in the field struck them down without ado. The
slaughter which thus began at Cordova spread
rapidly from town to town. Those of the Cordovan
fugitives who had found a temporary refuge in
Palma lost no time in seeking a stronghold to afford
them protection from the tempest of persecution.
One of their company, Pedro de Herrera, held in
the highest respect both by his fellow-sufferers and
the governor, De Aguilar, went to Seville to seek an
interview with the duke of Medina-Sidonia, lieuten-
ant-governor of the province. He asked for the
fortress of Gibraltar as a city of refuge for himself
and his brethren, under their own command. In
return, he promised to pay a considerable yearly
tribute. The duke had signified his consent to this
proposition, and the new-Christians had betaken
themselves to Seville to sign the contract, when the
friends of the duke took alarm. They believed that
the Marranos were not to be trusted, and expressed
the fear that they might enter into an alliance with
the Moors, and deliver the key of the Spanish coast
into their hands. The duke, however, insisted upon
completing the contract, whereupon the opponents
of the scheme gave the signal to the mob of Seville,

CH. VIII. MARRANOS OF SEGOVIA ATTACKED. 283

which instantly rose against the new-Christians in
an outburst of fanatical frenzy. It was with diffi-
culty that the governor protected them. They were
forced to return hastily to Palma, were waylaid by
the country people, and ill-treated and plundered

(1473)-

Thus the plan of Pedro de Herrera and his
friends served only to bring greater misery upon
them, endangering the whole body of new-Chris-
tians as well a? the Jews themselves. As early as
this, the idea took shape among both the converted
and the unbaptized Jews to leave the now in-
hospitable Peninsula and emigrate to Flanders or
Italy.

Attacks upon the new-Christians were now so
frequent that they suggested to the cunning and
ambitious minister, Pacheco, the means of carrying
out a coup d'etat. This unscrupulous intriguer, who
for two decades had kept Castile in constant con-
fusion, saw with secret chagrin that the reconcilia-
tion of Don Henry with his sister and successor
bade fair to completely annul his influence. To bring
about new complications he determined to gain
possession of the citadel (Alcazar) of Segovia, at
that time occupied by the king. With this end in
view, he instigated, through his dependents, another
assault upon the baptized Jews, during the confusion
of which his accomplices were to seize Cabrera, the
governor of the castle, and, if possible, the king
himself. The conspiracy was betrayed only a few
hours before it was to be carried into action ; but
the attack upon the new-Christians was perpetrated.
Armed bands perambulated the streets of Segovia,
broke into the houses of the Marranos, and slew
every man, woman and child that fell into their
hands (May i6th, 1474).

The crowning misfortune of the Jewish race in
Spain came in the death of Don Henry in the fol-
lowing December. The rulers of the united king-

284 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. VIII.

doms of Aragon and Castile now were his sister,
the bigoted Isabella, who was led by advisers hostile
to the Jews, and Ferdinand, her unscrupulous hus-
band, who pretended to be excessively pious. Sad
and terrible was the fate that impended over the
sons of Jacob throughout the length and breadth of
the Pyrenean Peninsula.

CHAPTER IX.

THE JEWS IN ITALY AND GERMANY BEFORE THE EXPULSION
FROM SPAIN.

Position of the Jews of Italy — The Jewish Bankers — Yechiel of Pisa
— His Relations with Don Isaac Abrabanel — Jewish Physicians,
Guglielmo di Portaleone — Revival of Learning among Italian
Jews — Messer Leon and Elias del Medigo — Pico di Mirandola, the
Disciple of Medigo— Predilection of Christians for the Kabbala
— Jochanan Aleman — Religious Views of Del Medigo — German
Rabbis immigrate into Italy — ^Joseph Kolon, his Character and
his Feud with Messer Leon — Judah Menz an Antagonist of Del
Medigo — Bemardinus of Feltre — Jews banished from Trent
on a False Charge of Child-Murder — The Doge of Venice
and Pope Sixtus IV befriend the Jews — Sufferings of the Jews of
Ratisbon — Israel Bruna — Synod at Nuremberg — Emperor Fred-
erick in.

1474 — 1492 C.E.

The Spanish Jews would have belied their native
penetration and the wisdom born of bitter experi-
ence had they not foreseen that their position would
ere long become unbearable.

Because they did foresee it, they turned their gaze
towards those countries whose inhabitants were most
favorably disposed towards Jews. Italy and the
Byzantine Empire, just wrested from the cross, were
now the countries of greatest toleration. In Italy,
where men saw most clearly the infamy of the pa-
pacy and the priesthood, and where they had most to
suffer from their selfishness, the church and her ser-
vants were utterly without influence over the peo-
ple. The world-wide commerce of the wealthy and
flourishing republics of Venice, Florence, Genoa
and Pisa, had in a measure broken through the nar-
row bounds of superstition, and enlarged men's
range of vision. The interests of the market-place
had driven the interests of the church into the back-
ground. Wealth and ability were valued even in

286 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. IX

those who did not repeat the Catholic confession of
faith. Not only the merchants, but also the most
exalted princes were in need of gold to support the
mercenary legions of their Condottieri in their daily
feuds. The Jews, as capitalists and skillful diplo-
matists, were, therefore, well received in Italy. This
is proved by the fact that when the city of Ravenna
was desirous of uniting itself to Venice, it included
among the conditions of union the demand that
wealthy Jews be sent to it to open credit-banks and
thus relieve the poverty of the populace.

Jewish capitalists received, either from the reign-
ing princes or the senates, in many Italian cities,
extensive privileges, permitting them to open banks,
establish themselves as brokers, and even charge a
high rate of interest (20 per cent). The archbishop
of Mantua in 1476 declared in the name of the pope
that the Jews were permitted to lend money upon
interest. The canonical prohibition of usury could
not withstand the pressure of public convenience.
The Jewish communal regulations also tended to
guard the bankers from illegal competition, for the
rabbis threatened with the ban all those members of
the community who lent money on interest without
proper authorization.

A Jew of Pisa, named Yechiel, controlled the
money market of Tuscany. He was, by no means,
a mere heartless money-maker, as the Christians
were wont to call him, but rather a man of noble
mind and tender heart, ever ready to assist the poor
with his gold, and to comfort the unfortunate by
word and deed. Yechiel of Pisa was also familiar
with and deeply interested in Hebrew literature, and
maintained friendly relations with Isaac Abrabanel,
the last of the Jewish statesmen of the Peninsula.
When Alfonso V of Portugal took the African sea-
board towns of Arzilla and Tangier, and carried off
Jews of both sexes and every age captive, the Por-
tuguese community became inspired with the pious

CU. IX. THE JEWS OF ITALY. 28/

desire to ransom them. Abrabanel placed himself
at the head of a committee to collect money for this
purpose. As the Portuguese Jews were notable to
support the ransomed prisoners until they found
means of subsistence, Abrabanel, in a letter to Ye-
chiel of Pisa, begged him to make a collection in
Italy. His petition was heeded.

The Jews of Italy were found to be desirable citi-
zens, not only for their financial ability, but also for
their skill as physicians. In his letter to Yechiel,
Abrabanel asked whether there were Jewish physi-
cians in the Italian states, and whether the princes of
the church employed them. "Physicians," he said,
"possess the key to the hearts of the great, upon
whom the fate of the Jews depends."

A celebrated Jewish doctor, Guglielmo (Benja-
min?) di Portaleone, of Mantua, first was physician
in ordinary to Ferdinand of Naples, who ennobled
him ; he next entered the service of Duke Galeazzo
Sforza, of Milan, and in 1479 became body physician
to Duke Ludovico Gonzaga. He was the founder
of a noble house and of a long line of skillful Italian
physicians. There even arose an intimate relation
between Jews and Christians in Italy. When a
wealthy Jew — Leo, of Crema — on the marriage of
his son, arranged magnificent festivities which lasted
eight days, a great number of Christians took part,
dancing and enjoying themselves to the intense dis-
pleasure of the clergy. Totally forgotten seemed
the bull in which Nicholas V had quite recently for-
bidden under heavy penalties all intercourse of
Christians with Jews, as well as the employment of
Jewish physicians. In place of the canonically pre-
scribed livery of degradation, the Jewish doctors
wore robes of honor like Christians of similar stand-
ing ; while the Jews connected with the courts wore
golden chains and other honorable insignia. The
contrast between the condition of Jews in Italy and
that of their brethren in other lands is well illustrated

288 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. IX.

by two similar incidents, occurring simultaneously in
Italy and Germany, but differing greatly in their
issues.

The mother of a family in Pavia, in consequence
of differences with her husband, had given notice of
her desire to be received into the Catholic Church.
She was put into a convent where she was to be
prepared for baptism. The bishop's vicar, with other
spiritual advisers, was earnestly occupied with the
salvation of her soul, when she was suddenly seized
with remorse. The bishop of Pavia, far from pun-
ishing her for this relapse, or seeking to oppose her
desire, interceded for her with her husband. He
advised him to take her out of the convent forth-
with, and testified most favorably as to her behavior,
so that her husband, a descendant of the family of
Aaron, might not be obliged, under the Jewish law,
to put her away.

In the same year a spiteful fellow in Ratisbon, Kal-
mann, a precentor (Chazan), took the fancy to turn
Christian. He frequented the convent, attended
church, and at length the bishop received him in his
house, and instructed him in the Christian religion.
To curry favor with the Christians he calumniated
his fellow-believers by asserting that they possessed
blasphemous writings against Christianity. Kal-
mann also came to rue the step he had taken. He
secretly attended the synagogue, and at length, dur-
ing the absence of the bishop, left his house, and
returned to the Jews. The clergy of Ratisbon were
infuriated against him, arraigned him before the
Inquisition, and charged him with having sought to
blaspheme the church, God, and the blessed Virgin.
He was specially charged with having said that, it
baptized, he would remain a Christian only till he
found himself at liberty. On the strength of this,
he was condemned, and put to death by drowning.

Wherever even a little indulgence was granted
the Jews, their dormant energy revived ; and the

CH. IX. MESSER LEON. 98$

Italian Jews were able to display it all the sooner
from the fact that they had gained a certain
degree of culture in the days of Immanuel and
Leone Romano. They took an active part in the
intellectual revival and scientific renascence which
distinguished the times of the Medici. Jewish
youths attended the Italian universities, and ac-
quired a liberal education. The Italian Jews were
the first to make use of the newly-discovered art
of Gutenberg, and printing-houses soon rose in
many parts of Italy — in Reggio, Ferrara, Pieva di
Sacco, Bologna, Soncino, Iscion, and Naples. In the
artistic creations of the time, however, in painting
and sculpture, the Jews had no share. These lay
outside their sphere. But several educated Jews
did not a little for the advancement and spread of
science in Italy. Two deserve especial mention ;
Messer Leon and Elias del Medigo, the latter of
whom not only received the light of science, but also
shed it abroad.

Messer Leon, or, by his Hebrew name, Judah
ben Yechiel, of Naples, flourished between 1450
and 1490, and was both rabbi and physician in
Mantua. In addition to being thoroughly versed in
Hebrew literature, he was a finished Latin scholar,
and had a keen appreciation of the subtleties of
Cicero's and Quintilian's style. Belonging to the
Aristotelian school, he expounded several of the
writings of the philosopher so highly esteemed in
synagogue and church, and wrote a grammar and a
book on logic, in the Hebrew language, for Jewish
students. More important than these writings is
his Hebrew rhetoric (Nofeth Zufim), in which he
lays down the laws upon which the grace, force and
eloquence of the higher style depend, and proves
that the same laws underlie sacred literature. He
was the first Jew to compare the language of the
Prophets and Psalmists with Cicero's — certainly a
bardy undertaking in those days when the majority

290 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. IX.

of Jews and Christians held the Scriptures in such
infinite reverence that a comparison with profane
pagan Hterature must have seemed a species of
blasphemy. Of course, this was possible only in the
times of the Medici, when love for Greek and Latin
antiquities rose to positive enthusiasm. Messer
Leon, the learned rabbi of Mantua, was liberal in
all respects. He was never weary of rebuking the
formal pietists for striving to withhold foreign influ-
ences from Judaism, as though it could be profaned
by them. He was rather of opinion that Judaism
could only gain by comparisons with the culture of
the ancient classical literatures, since thereby its
beauty and sublimity would be brought to light.

Elias del Medigo, or Elias Cretensis (1463— 1498),
the scion of a German family that had emigrated to
Crete, is a striking figure in later Jewish history.
He was the first great man produced by Italian Ju-
daism. His was a mind that shone clearly and bril-
liantly out of the clouds which obscured his age ;
the mind of a man of varied and profound knowl-
edge, and of both classical and philosophical culture.
So completely had he assimilated the Latin literary
style that he was able, not only to issue works in
that language, but also to present Hebrew syntax
under Latin analogies.

Medigo kept aloof from the vacuity of Italian
sciolists, who were under the spell of the newly-dis-
covered neo-Platonic philosophy introduced by Fi-
cinus. He gave allegiance to those sound thinkers,
Aristotle, Maimuni, and Averroes, whose systems
he made known to Christian inquirers in Italy, by
tongue and pen, through the medium of transla-
tions and in independent works. That youthful
prodigy of his time. Count Giovanni Pico di Miran-
dola, made the acquaintance of Medigo, and became
his disciple, friend and protector. Mirandola, who
was a marvel by reason of his wonderful memory,
wide erudition, and dialectic skill, and was, moreover,

CH. IX. EUAS DEL MEDIGO. 89!

on friendly terms with the ruling house of the Medicis
in Tuscany, learnt from his Jewish friend the He-
brew language, and the Arabic development of the
Aristotelian philosophy, but he might also have
learnt clearness of thought from him.

On one occasion a quarrel on a learned subject
broke out in the University of Padua. The profes-
sors and students were divided into two parties,
and, according to Christian custom, were on the
point of settling the question with rapier and pon-
iard. The University, acting with the Venetian
senate, which was desirous of ending the dispute,
called upon Elias del Medigo to act as umpire.
Everyone confidently expected a final settlement
from his erudition and impartiality. Del Medigo
argued out the theme, and by the weight of his
decision brought the matter to a satisfactory con-
clusion. The result was that he became a public
lecturer on philosophy, and discoursed to large
audiences in Padua and Florence. The spectacle
was, indeed, notable. Under the very eyes of the
papacy, ever striving for the humiliation and enslave-
ment of the Jews, Christian youths were imbibing
wisdom from the lips of a Jewish teacher. Against
the protectors of Jews in Spain it hurled the thun-
ders of excommunication, while in Italy it was forced
passively to behold favors constantly showered upon
the Jews by Christians.

Pico di Mirandola, a scholar rather than a thinker,
took a fancy to plunge into the abysses of the Kab-
bala. He was initiated into the Kabbalistic laby-
rinth by a Jew, Jochanan Aleman, who had emigrated
from Constantinople to Italy. Aleman, himself a
confused thinker, made him believe that the secret
doctrine was of ancient origin, and contained the
wisdom of the ages. Mirandola, who had a mar-
velous faculty of assimilation, soon familiarized him-
self with the Kabbalistic formulae, and discovered
confirmations of Christian dogma in them; in fact, he

292 HISTORY OF THE JEWS, CH. IX.

found far more of Christianity than of Judaism.
The extravagances of the Kabbala demonstrated in
his eyes the doctrines of the Trinity, the Incarna-
tion, Original Sin, the Fall of the Angels, Purga-
tory, and Eternal Punishment. He lost no time in
translating several Kabbalistic writings from He-
brew into Latin in order to bring this occult lore to
the knowledge of Christian readers. Among the
nine hundred points which Pico, at the age of
twenty-four, pledged himself to defend — to which
end he invited all the learned of the world to Rome,
and undertook to pay the cost of their journeys —
was this : No science affords more certainty as to
the Godhead of Christ than Kabbala and magic !
Even Pope Sixtus IV (1471 — 1484) was by this
means so strongly attracted to the Kabbala that he
was eager to procure Latin translations of Kabbal-
istic writings for the benefit of the Catholic faith.

It is a striking proof of his sober mind and healthy
judgment that Elias del Medigo kept himself aloof
from all this mental effeminacy and childish enthusi-
asm for the pseudo-doctrine of the Kabbala. He
had profound contempt for the Kabbalistic phantom,
and did not hesitate to expose its worthlessness.
He had the courage openly to express his opinion
that the Kabbala is rooted in an intellectual swamp,
that no trace of this doctrine is to be found in the
Talmud, that the recognized authorities of ancient
Judaism knew nothing of it, and that its supposed
sacred and ancient groundwork, the Zohar, was by
no means the work of the celebrated Simon bar
Yochai, but the production of a forger. In short, he
considered the Kabbala to be made up of the rags
and tatters of the neo-Platonic school.

Del Medigo had, in fact, very sound and healthy
views on religion. Although a warm adherent of
Judaism, entertaining respect also for its Talmudic
element, he was yet far from indorsing and accepting
as truth all that appears in the Talmud. When re-

CH. IX. EMPEROR FREDERICK III. J93

quested by one of his Jewish disciples, Saul Cohen
Ashkenasi, of Candia, to give his confession of Jew«
ish faith, especially his views on the signs which
distinguish a true religion, Elias Cretensis issued a
small but pregnant work, "The Investigation of Re-
ligion" (Bechinath ha-Dath), which gives a deep
insight into his methods of thought.

It cannot be maintained that Del Medigo sugges-
ted novel trains of thought in his work. In general,
the Italians were not destined to endow Judaism
with new ideas. Moreover, he occupied the stand-
point of belief rather than of inquiry, and his aim
was to defend, not to cut new paths. Standing
alone in the mental barrenness of his age, Del
Medigo's sound views are like an oasis in the desert.
He must be credited, too, with having recognized as
deformities, and with desiring to remove, the addi-
tions to Judaism by Kabbalists and pseudo-philoso-
phers.

Unfortunately, the rabbis who emigrated from
Germany to Italy assumed an attitude distincdy
hostile to philosophical investigation and its pro-
moters, Elias del Medigo and Messer Leon. With
their honest, but one-sided, exaggerated piety, they
cast a gloomy shadow wherever their hard fate had
scattered them. Fresh storms breaking over the
German communities had driven many German Jews,
the most unhappy of their race, into transalpine
lands. Under Emperor Frederick III, who for half
a century had with astounding equanimity beheld
most shameless insults to his authority on the
part of an ambitious nobility, a plundering squire-
archy, a demoralized clergy, and the self-seeking
patricians of the smaller towns, the Jewish commu-
nities but too often saw their cup of bitterness over-
flow. Frederick himself was by no means hostile to
them. On the contrary, he frequently issued decrees
in their favor. Unhappily, his commands remained
for the most part a dead letter, and his laxity of rule

294 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. IX.

encouraged the evil-minded to the commission of
the most shameful misdeeds. It was dangerous for
the German Jews to go beyond the walls of their
cities. Every man was their foe, and waylaid them
to satisfy either his fanaticism or his cupidity. Every
feud that broke out in the decaying German empire
brought misery to them.

Among exiles from Mayence were two profound
Talmudic scholars. They were cousins, by name
Judah and Moses Menz. The former emigrated to
Padua, and there received the office of rabbi, while
the latter at first remained in Germany, and then
passed over to Posen. As the result of expulsion
or oppression, many rabbis were emigrating from all
parts of Germany, and on account of their superior
Talmudic knowledge these German emigrants were
elected to the most distinguished rabbinical positions
in Italy. They re-indoctrinated with their prejudice
and narrowness of vision the Italian Jews, who were
making determined efforts to free themselves from
the bonds of the Middle Ages.

The most distinguished rabbis of Italy were at
that time Judah Menz and Joseph Kolon, and pre-
cisely these two were most inimical to any liberal
manifestation within Judaism, and most strenuously
opposed the advocates of freedom. Joseph ben
Solomon Kolon (flourished 1460 — 1490) was of
French extraction, his ancestors having been ex-
pelled from France ; but he passed his youth in
Germany, and belonged to the German school. He
subsequently lived with his relatives in Chambery
until the Jews were hunted out of Savoy. With
many companions in misfortune he went to Lom-
bardy, where he gained his living by teaching;
finally he became rabbi of Mantua. Endowed
with extraordinary penetration, and fully the equal
of the German rabbis in the depth of his Talmudic
learning, Joseph Kolon was celebrated in his day as
a Rabbinical authority of the first magnitude, and

CH, IX. JOSEPH KOLON. ^Q$

his academy rivaled the German school itself. He
was consulted by both German and Italian com-
munities. On scientific subjects and all matters out-
side the Talmud he was as ignorant as his German
fellow-dignitaries. A resolute, decided nature,
Joseph Kolon was a man of rigid views on all
religious matters. His ruggedness involved him in
unpleasant relations with Moses Kapsali in Con-
stantinople, and in a heated controversy with the
cultured Messer Leon in his own community. How-
ever well they might agree for a time, Joseph
Kolon, the strict Talmudist, and Messer Leon, the
cultured man of letters, could not long tolerate
each other. When the conflict between them broke
out, the whole community of Mantua took sides in
their feud, and split into two parties as supporters
of the one or the other. The strife at length be-
came so keen that in 1476 — 1477 Duke Joseph of
Mantua banished them both from the city; after
which Kolon became rabbi of Pavia.

Still more strained were the relations between the
rabbi Judah Menz and the philosopher Elias del
Medigo. The former (born 1408, died 1509), a man
of the old school, of comprehensive knowledge of
Talmudic subjects, and of remarkable sagacity, was
most resolutely opposed to scientific progress and
freedom in religious matters, and after his expulsion
from Mayence transplanted the narrow spirit of the
German rabbis to Padua and Italy in general.

The relatively secure and honorable position of
the Jews in Italy did not fail to rouse the displeasure
of fanatical monks, who sought to cover with the
cloak of religious zeal either their dissolute conduct
or their ambitious share in worldly affairs. The
colder the Christian world grew towards the end of
the fifteenth century with regard to clerical institu-
tions, the more bitterly did the monastic orders rage
against the Jews. Preaching friars made the chan-
cels ring with tirades against them, and openly ad-

296 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. IX.

vocated their utter extermination. Their most
desperate enemy at this time was the Franciscan
Bernardinus of Feltre, a worthy disciple of the
bloodthirsty Capistrano. The standing text of his
sermons was: Let Christian parents keep a watch-
ful eye on their children lest the Jews steal, ill-treat,
or crucify them.

He held up Capistrano, the Jew-slayer, as the type
and model of a true Christian. In his eyes friendly
and neighborly intercourse with Jews was an abom-
ination, a most grievous sin against canonical law.
Christian charity, he admitted, directs that Jews,
being human, be treated with justice and human-
ity; but at the same time the canonical law for-
bids Christians to have any dealings with them,
to sit at their tables, or to allow themselves to
be treated by Jewish physicians. As the aristoc-
racy everywhere, in obedience to their own inter-
ests, took the part of the Jews, Bernardinus inflamed
the lower classes against the Jews and their patrons.
Because certain Jewish capitalists had been success-
ful, he depicted all Jews as vampires and extor-
tioners, and roused the ill will of the populace
against them. " I, who live on alms and eat the
bread of the poor, shall I be a dumb dog and not
howl when I see the Jews wringing their wealth from
Christian poverty? Yea! shall I not cry aloud for
Christ's sake ? " Such is a fair specimen of his
preaching.

Had the Italian people not been actuated by strong
good sense, Bernardinus would have become for
the Jews of Italy what, in the beginning of the same
century, the Dominican, Vincent Ferrer, had been
to the Jews of Spain, and Capistrano, to the com-
munities of Germany and the Slav countries. The
authorities sorely hindered Bernardinus in his busi-
ness of Jew-baiting, and his bloodthirsty sermons
mostly failed of effect. When he was conducting
his crusade in Bergamo and Ticini, Duke Galeazzo,

CH. IX. BERNARDINUS OF FELTRE. Sg^

of Milan, forbade him to proceed. In Florence, in
fact everywhere in Tuscany, the enlightened prince
and the senate took the part of the Jews with vigor.
The venomous monk spread the report that they
had allowed themselves to be bribed with large sums
by Yechiel of Pisa and other wealthy Jews. As
Bernardinus was inciting the youth of the city against
the Jews, and a popular rising was imminent, the
authorities ordered him to quit Florence and the
country forthwith, and he was compelled to submit
(1487). Little by little, however, by dint of untir-
ing repetition of the same charges, he managed so
far to inflame public opinion against the Jews that
even the Venetian senate was not always able to
protect them. Finally, he succeeded in bringing
about a bloody persecution of the Jews, not, indeed,
in Italy, but in the Tyrol, whence it spread to Ger-
many.

While Bernardinus was preaching in the city of
Trent, he remarked with no little chagrin the friendly
relation between Jews and Christians. Tobias, a
skillful Jewish physician, and an intelligent Jewess,
named Brunetta, were on most friendly terms with
the upper classes, enjoying their complete confi-
dence. This roused his ire not a little, and he made
the chancels of Trent ring with savage tirades
against the Jews. Some Christians called him to
account for his hatred of Jews, remarking that
though they were without the true faith, those of
Trent were worthy folk. The monk replied: "Ye
know not what misfortune these good people will
bring upon you. Before Easter Sunday is past they
will give you a proof of their extraordinary good-
ness." It was easy for him to prophesy, for he and
a few other priests had arranged a cunning plan,
which not only brought about the ruin of the com-
munity of Trent, but also caused the greatest injury
to the Jews of various countries. Chance aided
him by creating a favorable opportunity.

298 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. IX.

In Holy Week of 1475 a three-year-old child,
named Simon, the son of poor Christian parents,
was drowned in the Adige, and the corpse was
caught in a grating close to the house of a Jew. In
order to anticipate misrepresentation of the event,
he hurried to Bishop Hinderbach to give him notice
of the occurrence. The bishop took two men of
high position with him, went to the place, and had
the body carried into the church. As soon as the
news spread, Bernardinus and other hostile priests
raised a fierce outcry against the Jews, saying that
they had tortured and slain the child, and then flung
it into the water. The body of the supposititiously
illtreated child was exhibited, in order to inflame
the fury of the populace against them. The bishop
had all the. Jews of Trent, high and low, cast into
prison, commenced proceedings against them, and
called a physician, Matthias Tiberinus, to testify to
the violent death of the child. A baptized Jew,
one Wolfkan, from Ratisbon, an engrosser, came
forward with the most fearful accusations against his
former co-religionists. His charges the more readily
found credence as the imprisoned Jews confessed
under torture that they had slain Simon, and drunk
his blood on the night of the Passover. Brunetta
was said to have supplied the weapons for the pur-
pose. A letter also was said to have been found in
the possession of a rabbi, Moses, which had been
sent from Saxony, asking for Christian blood for the
next Passover. Only one of the tortured victims, a
man named Moses, endured every torment without
confirming the lying accusations of his enemies. The
result was that all the Jews of Trent were burnt, and
it was resolved that no Jew should thenceforth settle
in the city. Four persons only became converts to
Christianity, and were pardoned.

The bishop of Trent, Bernardinus, and the monks
of all orders made every effort to utilize this occur-
rence for the general ruin of the Jews. The corpse

CH. IX. SIMON OP TRENT. 9^

of the child was embalmed, and commended to the
populace as a holy relic. Thousands made pilgrim-
ages to its remains, and ere long it was believed by
the faith-drunken pilgrims that they had seen a halo
about the remains of the child Simon. So much was
said about it that even its inventors came to believe
in the martyrdom. From every chancel the Domin-
icans proclaimed the new miracle, and thundered
against the infamy of the Jews. Two lawyers from
Padua who visited Trent in order to convince them-
selves of the truth of the occurrence were almost
torn to pieces by the fanatical mob. It was impera-
tive that the man/el be believed in, and so the Jews
of all Christian countries were jeopardized anew.
Even in Italy they dared not go outside the towns
lest they be slain as child-murderers.

The doge, Pietro Mocenigo, and the Venetian
senate, on the complaint of the Jews about the in-
security of their lives and property', issued orders to
the podesta of Padua energetically to defend them
against fanatical outbreaks, and to forbid the preach-
ing friars to inflame the mob against them. The
doge accompanied the orders with the remark that
the rumor that Jews had slain a Christian child in
Trent was a fabrication, a device invented by their
enemies to serve some purpose. When Pope Sixtus
IV was urged to canonize little Simon he steadfastly
refused, and sent a letter to all the towns of Italy,
on October loth, 1475, forbidding Simon of Trent
to be honored as a saint until he could investigate
the matter, and thus he allayed the popular excite-
ment against the Jews. The clergy, nevertheless,
permitted the bones of Simon to be held sacred, and
instituted pilgrimages to the church built for his
remains.

Through this circumstance Jew hatred in Germany
gained fresh vigor. The citizens of Frankfort-on-
the-Main exhibited, on the bridge leading to Sachsen-
hausen, a picture representing in hideous detail a

3CX) HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. IX.

tortured child, and the Jews leagued with the devil
in their bloody work. The news of the child-murder
in Trent spread like wildfire through the Christian
countries, and became the source of new sufferings
to Jews. Nowhere were these sufferings so severe
as in the free city of Ratisbon, containing one of the
oldest Jewish communities in South Germany. It
was held to be not only very pious but of distin-
guished morality, and it was considered a high
honor to intermarry with the Jews of Ratisbon.
Within the memory of man no native Jew had been
brought before the tribunal for any moral lapse.
The community was regarded as the most learned
in the land, and the parent of all German com-
munities. It possessed chartered liberties, which
the emperors, in consideration of a crown-tax, were
accustomed to renew on their accession. The Jews
of Ratisbon were half recognized as burghers, and
mounted guard with the Christians as militia. One
might almost say that the Bavarian princes and
corporations vied with each other in favoring them
— of course, merely to share their purses. In the
latter half of this century they had become a verita-
ble bone of contention between the Duke of Bava-
ria-Landsberg and Frederick III, who, hard pressed
on all sides, not only in the empire, but even in his
own possessions, hoped to fill his empty coffers with
the wealth of the Jews.

In addition to these the Kamerau family made
claims upon the Jews of Ratisbon, as well as the
town council, and, of course, the bishop. These
contradictory and mutually hostile demands made
the position of the Jews anything but a bed of roses.
First from one side and then from another came
orders to the council to imprison the Jews, their
chiefs, or their rabbi, at that time the sorely-tried
Israel Bruna, until, worn out by confinement, they
decided to pay what was claimed. The council did
indeed seek to shield them, but only so long as no

CH. IX. THE JEWS OF RATISBON. 3OI

danger threatened the citizens, or the Jews did not
compete with the Christian guildmembers.

To escape these cruel and arbitrary extortions,
prudence directed that they place themselves under
the protection of one of the Hussite nobles or cap-
tains. They would thus enjoy more security than
vvas possible under the so-called protection of the
emperor, since the fiery Hussites were not a little
feared by the more sluggish Germans. Although
they had to some extent abandoned their heretical
fanaticism, and had taken service under the Catho-
lic sovereigns, their desperate valor was still a
source of terror to the orthodox clergy. The event
proved that the Jews had acted wisely in appealing
to their protection.

A bishop named Henry was elected in Ratisbon,
a man of gloomy nature, to whom the sentiment of
mercy was unknown, and he naturally insisted on
the enforcement of the canonical restrictions against
the Jews. As examples to others, for instance, he
mercilessly punished a Christian girl who had
entered the service of a Jew, and a Christian barber
who had let blood for a Jewish customer. His ani-
mosity was contagious. On one occasion, when the
Jewish midwife was sick, and a Christian was about
to attend some Jewish women, the council actually
dared not give her the required permission without
the episcopal sanction.

Bishop Henry and Duke Louis, one in their
hatred of Jews, now pursued what seemed to be a
preconcerted plan for the ruin or conversion of the
Jews of Ratisbon. On the one hand, they obtained
the acquiescence of the pope, and on the other, the
assistance of influential persons on the city council.
Their campaign began with attempts at conversions
and false accusations, for which they availed them-
selves of the assistance of a couple of worthless
converted Jews. One of these, Peter Schwarz by
name, wrote slanderous and abusive pamphlets

302 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. IX.

against his former co-religionists. The other, one
Hans Vayol, heaped the vilest calumnies upon the
aged rabbi, Israel Bruna, amongst other things
charging him with purchasing from him a seven-
year-old Christian child and slaughtering it, and the
rabbi of Ratisbon, already bowed down by sorrow
and suffering, was charged with the death of the
child.

Israel Bruna (of Briinn, born 1400, died 1480)
was one of those sons of sorrow who seem to fall
from one misfortune into another. He appears to
have been exiled from Briinn, where he was recog-
nized as a Rabbinical authority, and after many
wanderings, to have traveled by way of Prague to
Ratisbon. He settled there, and wished to perform
the functions of rabbi for those who might place
confidence in him. But a Talmudic scholar who
resided in the city, one Amshel, a layman, not an
elected rabbi, raised objections to his competitor^
and forbade Israel Bruna to hold discourses before^
disciples, to deal with matters of divorce, to exer-
cise any Rabbinical functions, or to divide the
honors of the office with himself. As each had his
followers, a schism arose in the community of Ratis-
bon. His two teachers, Jacob Weil and Isserlein,
upholders of the freedom of the Rabbinical office
and pronounced opponents of spiritual officialism,
took the part of the persecuted Israel Bruna, with
whom David Sprinz, a rabbi of Nuremberg, also
took sides. These men proved in the clearest man-
ner that any Jew is competent to assume Rabbinical
functions, provided he possesses the requisite
knowledge, is authorized by a recognized teacher,
and leads a pious and moral life. They further^
adduced in favor of Israel Bruna the fact that he
contributed his quota to the communal treasury, and
was therefore a worthy member of the community..
The breach nevertheless remained open, and Israel'
Bruna was often exposed to insults from the oppo-

CH. IX. ISRAEL BRUNA. 3O3

site party. Once when he was about to hold a dis-
course, several of the ringleaders left the lecture-
room, and were followed by many others. Disciples
of his opponent secretly painted crosses on his seat
in the synagogue, wrote the hateful word "heretic"
(Epicuros) beside them, and offered other insults to
him. As time went on, after the death of the great
rabbis, Jacob Weil and Israel Isserlein, Bruna was
recognized as a Rabbinical authority, and from far
and near questions were sent to him. His misfor-
tunes, however, did not cease. When Emperor
Frederick demanded the crown-tax from the com-
munity of Ratisbon, Duke Louis opposed the pay-
ment, and the council was unable to decide which
side to assist. The emperor thereupon threw Israel
Bruna into prison to force him to threaten his peo-
ple with the ban if they did not pay over the third
part of their possessions. He was released only on
bail of his entire property; and, in addition, the
fearful charges of child-murder and other capital
crimes were raised against the decrepit old man by
the converted Jew, Hans Vayol. Bishop Henr)^ and
the clergy were only too ready to gratify their
hatred of Jews by means of this accusation, and
the besotted populace gave all the more credence
to the falsehood, as rumors of the death of Chris-
tian children at the hands of Jews daily increased.
No one in Ratisbon doubted that gray old Israel
Bruna had foully murdered a Christian child, and he
was on the point of being put to death on the de-
mand of the clerg^^ To withdraw him from the fury
of the mob, the council, which feared to be made
answerable, imprisoned him.

In the meantime the anxious community appealed,
not only to the emperor, but also to the Bohemian
king. Ladislaus, more feared than the emperor; and
ere long stringent directions came from both to re-
lease the rabbi instantly without ransom. The coun-
cil, however, excused itself on the plea of fear of

304 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. IX,

the bishop and the mob. Thereupon followed a
mandate from the emperor to defer the execution of
Israel Bruna until he came to the diet at Augsburg.
The council was still less satisfied with this order,
for it feared to lose its jurisdiction over the Jews. It
accordingly prepared to take decisive action in the
matter. The accuser, Hans Vayol, was led on the
stone bridge, where the executioner stood in readi-
ness. He was informed that he must die, and ad-
monished not to go into eternity with a lie on his
lips The hardened sinner maintained his accusa-
tions against the Jews in general, but confessed that
the rabbi, Israel Bruna, was innocent of the charge
of child-murder, and on receipt of another rescript
from the emperor, Vayol was banished, and the rabbi
released from prison. He was, however, compelled
to take an oath that he would not revenge himself
for his long sufferings. This poor, feeble graybeard
— how could he have avenged himself?

At this juncture the news of the martyrdom of
Simon of Trent reached Ratisbon, and added fuel to
the fire. Bishop Henry was delighted to have an
opportunity of persecuting the Jews with impunity
in the interest of the faith. He had heard some-
thing of this child-murder on his journey to Rome.
On his return, he urged the council to institute
a rigid inquiry respecting the Jews accused by
Wolfkan. The result of the extorted confessions
was the imprisonment of the whole community.
Sentinels stood on guard day and night at the four
gates of the Jewry of Ratisbon, and permitted no
one to enter or go out. The possessions of the
whole community were confiscated by the commis-
sioners and judges who took an inventory of every-
thing. A horrible fate threatened the unhappy chil-
dren of Israel.

This trial, which caused considerable attention in
its day, proved quite as prejudicial to the citizens as to
the Jews themselves. Immediately after the inquiry

CH. IX. EMPEROR FREDERICK AND RATISBON. 305

began, several Jews of Ratisbon had betaken them-
selves to Bohemia and to the emperor, and tried by
every means to save their unhappy brethren. They
knew that to explain their righteous cause gold, and
plenty of it, would be above all things necessary.
For this reason several Bavarian rabbis assembled
in a synod at Nuremberg, and decided that the Ba-
varian communities and every individual not abso-
lutely impoverished should contribute a quota to
make up the amount necessary to free the accused
Jews of Ratisbon. When the safety of their breth-
ren was in question, the Jews, however fond they
might be of money, were by no means parsimonious.
The intercession of the Bohemian nobles under
whose protection several of the Ratisbon commu-
nity had placed themselves led to no result. Far
more efficacious were the golden arguments which
the ambassadors of the community laid before Em-
peror Frederick and his advisers. It is only just to
say that this usually feeble sovereign displayed con-
siderable ability and firmness in this inquiry. He
was so strongly convinced of the falsehood of the
blood accusation against the Jews that he would not
allow himself to be deceived by any trickery. He
dispatched rescript after rescript to the council of
Ratisbon, ordering the immediate release of the im-
prisoned Jews, the cessation of the durance of the
community, and the restoration of their property.
The council, through fear of the bishop and the
duke, delayed the execution of the order, and the
emperor became furious at the obstinacy of the citi-
zens when news was brought to him that, in spite of
the imperial command, they had already executed
some of the Jews. He thereupon declared the city
to have fallen under the ban of the empire on ac-
count of its obstinate disobedience, and summoned
it to answer for its contumacy. At the same time
he sent the imperial chancellor to deprive the city of
penal jurisdiction and to threaten it with other se*
vere penalties.

306 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. IX.

Frederick, as a rule weak, showed surprising
firmness on this occasion. New and shameless
charges were nevertheless brought by the clergy
against the Jews. In Passau they were accused of
having bought consecrated wafers from a Christian,
and profaned them ; whereupon certain marvels
were said to have occurred. For this the bishop of
Passau had a great number of Jews put to death,
some "mercifully" by the sword, others at the
stake, and others by means of red-hot pincers. In
memory of this inhumanity and "to the glory of
God," a new church was built near the scene of the
atrocities. A Jew and a Jewess of Ratisbon were
accused of complicity in this crime, and thrown into
prison with the others. All the details were brought
to the notice of the emperor in order to rouse his
anger. He, however, maintained his conviction that
the Jews of Ratisbon were innocent, and issued a
new order to the effect that those in prison on the
charge of profaning the host were neither to be
tortured nor put to death, but to be treated like
other prisoners. In vain the council sent deputy
after deputy to the imperial court. Frederick
roundly declared, "In justice and honor I neither
can nor will permit these Jews to be slain, and the
men of Ratisbon who have so long hardened them-
selves in their disobedience shall certainly not sit in
judgment upon them."

Thus, after long resistance, the council was com-
pelled to kiss the rod, and give a written promise to
release the imprisoned Jews, and not to drive any
out of the city on account of this trial. Further,
the city was sentenced to pay a fine of 8,000 gulden
into the imperial exchequer and to find bail in 10,000
gulden — which latter burden, strangely enough, the
Jews had to bear. An appeal to the pope was out
of the question, since experience had taught that
" the papal court was even more greedy of gold
than the imperial."

CH. IX. THE RATISBON COMMUNITY SET FREE. 307

When the community of Ratisbon was informed
of this conclusion of the affair, and of the condi-
tions under which it could gain its freedom — by
paying not only the sum imposed upon itself,
but also the fine of the city and the costs of the
proceedings — it refused. The delegates said that
the total exceeded the possessions of the Jews,
as they had been deprived, for three long years,
of freedom and all opportunity of earning money.
They preferred their present miserable state to
becoming beggars. So they remained two years
longer in durance, partly on account of lack of
money, and partly by reason of the excessive bail
demanded. They were finally set at liberty on
taking an oath that they would not take revenge,
nor convey their persons or their goods out of the
city of Ratisbon.

All the Jews living in Suabia were expelled,
doubtless in consequence of false accusations in
connection with the child-murder of Trent. As late
as in the eighteenth century, the shameless falsehood
was repeated, and in many parts entailed upon the
Jews the sacrifice of life and property.

CHAPTER X.

THE INQUISITION IN SPAIN.

Jewish Blood in the Veins of the Spanish NobiUty — The Marranos
ding to Judaism and manifest Unconquerable Antipathy to
Christianity — Ferdinand and Isabella — The Dominicans, Alfonso
de Ojeda, Diego de Merlo, and Pedro de Solis — The Catechism
of the Marranos — A Polemical Work against the Cathohc
Church and Despotism gives a Powerful Impulse to the Inqui-
sition— The Tribunal is established in 1480 — Miguel Morillo and
Juan de San Martin are the first Inquisitors — The Inquisition in
Seville — The " Edict of Grace" — The Procession and the Auto-
da-f6 — The Numbers of the Accused and Condemned — Pope
Sixtus IV and his Vacillating Policy with Regard to the Inqui-
sition — The Inquisition under the first Inquisitor General,
Thomas de Torquemada; its Constitutions — The Marranos of
Aragon — They are charged with the Death of the Inquisitor
Arbues — Persecutions and Victims — Proceedings against two
Bishops Favorable to the Jews, De Avila and De Aranda.

1474— 1483 C.E.

A Jewish poet called Spain the "hell of the Jews ;"
and, in very deed, those foul fiends in monks'
cowls, the inventors of the Holy Inquisition, made
that lovely land an Inferno. Every misery, every
mortal pang, conceived only by the most extrava-
gant imagination of poet; every horror that can
thrill the heart of man to its lowest depths, these
monsters in the garb of humility brought upon the
Jews of the Hesperian Peninsula.

These Calibans also said, " * Burn but their books ;*
for therein lies their power." The Dominicans
wished to destroy not only the bodies, but the very
soul and spirit of the Jews. Yet they were not
able to quench the life of Judaism. They only suc-
ceeded in transforming the Spanish paradise into
one vast dungeon, in which the king himself was
not free. The Inquisition, created by the begging
friars, wounded the Jew deeply, yet not mortally.
308

CH. X. THE NEW-CHRISTIANS. 3O9

His wounds are now almost healed ; but Spain
suffers still, perhaps beyond hope of cure, from
the wounds dealt by the Inquisition. Ferdinand the
Catholic and Isabella the Bigot, who, through the
union of Aragon and Castile, laid the foundation
for the greatness of Spain, prepared the way, at the
same time, by the establishment of the Inquisition,
for her decay and final ruin.

The new-Christians, who dwelt by hundreds and
thousands throughout the kingdoms of Aragon and
Castile, were so many thorns in monkish flesh. Many
of them held high offices of state, and by means of
their wealth wielded great and far-reaching influence.
They were also related to many of the old nobility;
indeed, there were few families of consequence
who had not Jewish blood in their veins. They
formed a third part of the townspeople, and were
intelligent, industrious, and peaceful citizens. These
Marranos, for the most part, had preserved their
love for Judaism and their race in the depths of their
hearts. As far as they could, they observed Jewish
rites and customs, either from piety or from habit.
Even those who, upon philosophical grounds, were
indifferent to Judaism, were not less irreconcilably
hostile to Christianity, which they were compelled
to confess with their lips. Although they did not
have their children circumcised, they washed the
heads of the infants immediately after baptism.
They were, therefore, rightly looked upon by the
orthodox clergy either as Judaizing Christians, or as
apostate heretics. They took no count of the
origin of their conversion, which had been accom-
plished with fire and sword. They had received the
sacrament of baptism, and this condemned them
and their descendants to remain in the Christian
faith, however hateful it might be to them. Rational
legislation would have given them liberty to return
to Judaism, and, in any case, to emigrate, in order
to avoid scandal. But the spiritual powers were

3IO HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. X.

full of perversity. That which demands the freest
exercise of the powers of the soul was to be brought
about by brute force, to the greater glory of God !

During the lifetime of Don Henry IV the clerical
members of the cortes of Medina del Campo had
persistently advanced the proposal that a court of
Inquisition be instituted to bring recusant or sus-
pected Christians to trial, and inflict severe punish-
ment with confiscation of goods. Unfortunately for
the clericals, the king was by no means zealous for
the faith or fond of persecution ; and so this decision
of the cortes, like many others, remained a dead
letter. The Dominicans, however, promised them-
selves greater results under the new sovereigns —
Queen Isabella, whose confessors had reduced her
to spiritual slavery, and Don Ferdinand, who, by no
means so superstitiously inclined, was quite ready
to use religion as the cloak of his avarice. It is said
that the confessor, Thomas de Torquemada, the in-
carnation of the hell-begotten Holy Inquisition, had
extorted from the Infanta Isabella a vow that, when
she came to the throne, she would devote herself to
the extirpation of heresy, to the glory of God and
the exaltation of the Catholic faith. She was now
queen; " her throne was established; and her soul
was sufficiently beclouded to believe that God had
raised her solely to cleanse Spanish Christianity
from the taint of Judaism."

The prior of a Dominican monastery, Alfonso de
Ojeda, who had the ear of the royal consorts, made
fearful representations to them as to the offenses of
the new-Christians against the faith. Aided by two
others of like mind, he strained every nerve to set
the Inquisition in motion against the Marranos ; and
the papal nuncio in Spain, Nicolo Franco, supported
the proposition of the monk for a tribunal to call
them to account for their transgressions.

Without further consideration Don Ferdinand,
seeing that his coffers would be filled with the

CH. X. SIXTUS IV'S BULL. 3II

plunder of the accused, gave his assent to the
scheme. The more scrupulous queen hesitated,
and the royal pair decided to appeal to the pope for
advice. The two Spanish ambassadors at the court
of Rome, the brothers Francisco and Diego de San-
tillana, earnestly pressed the pope and the college
of cardinals to grant the request of their sovereigns.
Sixtus IV, from whom anything, good or bad, could
be obtained for gold, immediately grasped the
money-making aspect of the Holy Inquisition. In
November, 1478, he issued a bull empowering the
sovereigns to appoint inquisitors from among the
clergy, with full authority to sit in judgment on all
heretics, apostates, and their patrons, according to
the laws and customs of the ancient Inquisition, sen-
tence them, and — most important point of all— con-
fiscate their goods.

Isabella, who had been somewhat favorably influ-
enced in behalf of the new-Christians, was not
inclined to adopt rigorous measures to begin with.
At her direction, the archbishop of Seville, Cardinal
Mendoza, prepared a catechism in 1478 for the use
of new-Christians, and issued it to the clergy of his
diocese, in order that they might instruct the Mar-
ranos in the articles, the sacraments, and the usages
of the Christian religion. The authors of this
measure displayed strange simplicity in believing
that the baptized Jews would allow an antipathy,
which every day found new incitement, to be ap-
peased by the dry statements of a catechism. The
Marranos naturally remained in what the church
considered their blindness ; that is to say, in the
purity of their monotheism and their adherence to
their ancestral religion.

It happened that a Jew or a new-Christian
grievously offended the sovereigns by the publica-
tion of a small work in which he exposed at once
the idolatrous cult of the church and the despotic
character of the government. Hereupon the queen

312 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. X.

became more and more inclined to assent to the
proposals for the establishment of the bloody
tribunal. The work made so strong an impression
that the queen's father-confessor, in 1480, published
a refutation by royal command. The attitude of the
court became more and more hostile to new-
Christians, and when the commission appointed by
the sovereigns to inquire into the improvement or
obstinacy of the Marranos reported that they were
irreclaimable, it was authorized to frame the statute
for the new tribunal. The commission was com-
posed of the fanatical Dominican, Alfonso de Ojeda,
and the two monks — one in mind and order- — Pedro
de Solis and Diego de Merlo.

Had demons of nethermost hell conspired to tor-
ment innocent men to the last verge of endurance
and to make their lives one ceaseless martyrdom,
they could not have devised more perfect means
than those which the three monks employed against
their victims.

The statute was ratified by the sovereigns, and
the tribunal of the Holy Inquisition was appointed
on September 17th, 1480. It was composed of men
well fitted to carry out the bloody decree : the Dom-
inican Miguel Morillo, inquisitor in the province of
Roussillon, and renowned as a converter of heretics
by means of torture ; Juan de San Martin ; an as-
sessor, the abbot Juan Ruez, and a procurator fiscal,
Juan Lopez del Barco. These men were formally
confirmed by Sixtus IV as judges in matters of faith,
and of heretics and apostates. The tribunal was
first organized for the city of Seville and its neigh-
borhood, as this district stood immediately under
royal jurisdiction, and, therefore, possessed no cortes,
and because it contained a great many Marranos.
Three weeks later the sovereigns issued a decree
calling upon all officials to render the inquisitors
every assistance in their power.

It is noteworthy that as soon as the creation of

CH. X, THE INQUISITION AT SEVILLE. 313

the tribunal became known, the populace every-
where looked upon it with displeasure, as though
suspicious that it might be caught in the net spread
for the Marranos. While the cortes of Medina del
Campo proposed the establishment of a court for
new-Christians, the great popular assembly at
Toledo in the same year — the first after the acces-
sion of Ferdinand and Isabella — maintained abso-
lute silence on the question, as though it desired
to have no share in the unholy work. The mayor
and other officials of Seville proved so disinclined
to assist the inquisitors that it was necessary to
issue a second royal decree on December 27th,

1480, directing them to do so. The nobles, allied
with the converted Jews either through blood or
friendship, stood stoutly by them, and sought
by every means to protect them against the new
tribunal.

As soon as the new-Christians of Seville and the
neighborhood received news of the establishment of
the Inquisition, they held a meeting to consider
means of turning aside the blow aimed at them.
Several wealthy and respected men of Seville, Car-
mona and Utrera, among them Abulafia, the financial
agent of the royal couple, prepared to do battle
with their persecutors. They distributed money and
weapons among the people, to enable them to de-
fend themselves. An old man urged the conspir-
ators to armed resistance ; but the conspiracy was
betrayed by the daughter of one of its members,
and all fell into the hands of the tribunal. Others,
who had collected their possessions, and fled to
the province of Medina-Sidonia and Cadiz, under
whose governors they hoped to receive protection
against the threatened persecution, were deceived,
for the Inquisition went to work with remorseless
severity. As soon as it had taken up its quarters
in the convent of St. Paul at Seville, on January 2d,

1 48 1, it issued an edict to the governor of Cadiz

314 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. X.

and other officials to deliver up the Marranos and
distrain their goods. Those who disobeyed were
threatened not only with excommunication, but also
with the punishment assigned, as sharers of their
guilt, to all who showed sympathy to heretics — con-
fiscation of goods and deprivation of office.

The Inquisition inspired so much terror that the
nobility lost no time in imprisoning those to whom
they had lately promised protection, and in sending
them in custody to Seville. The number of these
prisoners was so great that the tribunal was soon
obliged to seek another building for its functions.
It selected a castle in Triana, a suburb of Seville.
On the gate of this house of blood were inscribed,
in mockery of the Jews, certain verses selected from
their Scriptures : — "Arise, God, judge Thy cause ; "
" Catch ye foxes for us," which plainly showed the
utter heartlessness of their judges. Fugitives when
caught were treated as convicted heretics. So early
as the fourth day after the installation of the
tribunal, it held its first sitting. Six Marranos who
had either avowed their old religion before their
judges, or made horrible confessions on the rack,
were condemned and burnt alive. The tale of vic-
tims grew to such proportions that the city authori-
ties set apart a special place as a permanent execu-
tion ground, which subsequently became infamous
as the Quemadero, or place of burning. Four huge
caricatures of prophets distinguished this spot, exist-
ing to the present day to the shame of Spain and
Christianity. For three hundred years the smoke of
the burnt-offering of innocence ascended to heaven
from this infernal spot.

With that mildness of mien which skillfully covers
the wisdom and the venom of the serpent, Miguel
Morillo and his coadjutors gave to the new-Chris-
tians guilty of relapse into Judaism a certain time
in which to declare their remorse. Upon doing this
they would receive absolution, and be permitted to

CH. X. DENUNCIATION OF MARRANOS. 31$

retain their property. This was the Edict of Grace ;
but it was not wanting in threats for those who
should permit the time of respite to elapse, and be
denounced by others as backsliders. The full vigor
of the canonical laws against heresy and apostasy
would then be exercised against them. The credu-
lous in crowds obeyed the summons. Contritely
they appeared before the tribunal, lamented the
awful guilt of their lapse into Judaism, and awaited
absolution and permission to live in peace. But now
the inquisitors imposed the condition that they de-
clare by name, position, residence and other particu-
lirs all persons of their ac(|uaintance whom they
knew to be apostates. This declaration they were
to substantiate on oath. In the name of God they
were asked to become accusers and betrayers — the
friend of his friend, the brother of his brother, and
the son of his father. Terror, and the assurance
that the betrayed should never know the names of
their betrayers, loosed the tongues of the weak-
hearted, and the tribunal soon had a long list of
heretics upon whom to carry out its bloody work.

Not only the hunted Marranos, every Spaniard
was called upon by an edict of the inquisitors to
become an informer. Under threat of excommuni-
cation every one was bound to give, within three
days, a list of acquaintances guilty of Jewish heresy.
It was a summons to the most hateful vices of man-
kind to become allies of the court : to malice, hatred
and revenge, to sate themselves by treachery ; to
greed, to enrich itself; and to superstition, to gain
salvation by betrayal.

And what were the signs of this heresy and apos-
tasy ? The Inquisition had published a very com-
plete, practical guide on the subject, so that each
informer might find good grounds for his denunci-
ation. The following signs of heresy were set forth :
if baptized Jews cherished hopes of a Messiah ; if
they held Moses to be as efficacious for salvation as

3l6 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. X.

Jesus; if they kept the Sabbath or a Jewish feast;
if they had their children circumcised ; if they ob-
served the Jewish dietary laws ; if they wore clean
linen or better garments on the Sabbath, laid table-
cloths, or lit no fire on this day, or if they went
barefoot on the Day of Atonement, or asked par-
don of each other. If a father laid his hands in
blessing on his children without making the sign of
the cross ; if one said his prayers with face turned
to the wall, or with motions of the head ; or if he
uttered a benediction (Baraha, Beracha) over the
wine-cup, and passed it to those seated at the table
with him, he was to be deemed recalcitrant. As a
matter of course, neglect of the usages of the church
was the strongest ground for suspicion and accusa-
tion. Again, if a new-Christian repeated a psalm
without adding the Gloria ; or if he ate meat on fast-
days ; or if a Jewish woman did not go to church
forty days after her lying-in ; or if parents gave their
children Jewish names, the charge of heresy was
held proved.

Even the most innocent actions, if they happened
to coincide with Jewish usages, were regarded as
signs of aggravated heresy. If anyone, for instance,
on the Jewish Feast of Tabernacles accepted gifts
from the table of Jews, or sent them ; or if a
new-born child was bathed in water in which gold
coins and grains of corn had been placed ; or if a
dying man in his last moments turned his face to
the wall — all such actions were held to be signs of
heresy.

By such means unscrupulous people were given
ample opportunity for denunciation, and the tribunal
was enabled to accuse of heresy the most orthodox
proselytes when it desired to destroy their influence
or confiscate their property. Naturally the dungeons
of the Inquisition were soon filled with Jewish here-
tics. Fully 15,000 were thrown into prison at the
outset. The Christian priests of Moloch inaugu-

CH. X. THE HlvST AUTO-DA-FE. 31/

rated the first auto-da-fe, on January 6th, 1481, with
a solemn procession, repeated innumerable times
during the following three hundred years. The
clergy in their gorgeous vestments and with cruci-
fixes; the grandees in black robes with their ban-
ners and pennons; the unhappy victims in the
hideous San Benito, short and clinging, painted
with a red cross, and flames and figures of devils;
the accompanying choir of a vast concourse — so
the executioners with proud bearing and the victims
in most miserable guise marched to the place of
torment. Arrived there the inquisitors recited their
sentence on the victims. To the horror of the scene
was added the ghastly mockery that the tribunal did
not execute the sentence of death, but left it to the
secular judge; for the church, though steeped to the
lips in blood, was supposed not to desire the
death of the sinner. The Jewish heretics were
given to the flames forthwith, or, if penitent, they
were first strangled. In the first auto-da-fe, at which
the bishop, Alfonso de Ojeda, preached the inaugu-
ration sermon, only six Judaizing Christians were
burnt. A few days later the conspirators of Car-
mona, Seville, and other towns, and three of the
most wealthy and respected of the Marranos, among
whom was Diego de Suson, the possessor of ten
millions, and Abulafia, formerly a Talmudic scholar
and a rabbi, were burnt to death. On the 26th of
March seventeen victims suffered death by fire on
the Quemadero. In the following month a yet
greater number were burnt ; and up to November
of the same year 298 burnt-offerings to Christ
gasped out their lives in flame and smoke in the
single district of Seville. In the archbishopric of
Cadiz no less than 2,000 Jewish heretics were burnt
alive in the course of that year, most of them being
wealthy or well-to-do, their possessions, of course,
going to the royal exchequer. Not even death
afforded a safeguard against the fury of the Holy

3l8 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. X.

Office. These ghouls of reUgion tore from their
graves the corpses of proselytes who had died in
heresy, burnt them, confiscated their possessions in
the hands of their heirs, and condemned the latter
to obscurity and poverty that they might never
J aspire to any honorable office. Here was a splendid
field for the avarice of the king. When it was im-
possible to convict a wealthy heir, it was only neces-
sary to establish proofs of a relapse to Judaism
against his dead father, and then the property fell
partly to the king, partly to the Holy Inquisition !

Many Marranos saved themselves by flight from
the clutches of the merciless persecutors, and took
refuge in the neighboring Moslem kingdom of
Granada, in Portugal, Africa, Provence, or Italy.
Those who reached Rome approached the papal
court with bitter complaints about the savage and
arbitrary proceedings of the Inquisition against
themselves and their companions in misery. As
the complainants did not come with empty hands,
their cause usually obtained a ready hearing. On
the 29th of January, 1482, the pope addressed a
severe letter to Ferdinand and Isabella, censuring
the conduct of the Inquisition in no measured terms.
He stated that he had been assured that the pro-
ceedings of the tribunal were contrary to all forms
of justice, that many were unjustly imprisoned, and
subjected to fearful tortures. Innocent people had
been denounced as heretics, and their property
taken from their heirs. In this letter the pope ad
mitted that he had issued the bull for the institu-
tion of the Inquisition without due consideration !

Sixtus further stated that, in strict justice, he
ought to depose the inquisitors, De Morillo and San
Martin ; but out of consideration for their majesties
he would allow them to remain in possession of
their offices, only so long, however, as no further
complaints were made against them. Should pro-
tests again be raised he would restore the inquisi-

-..i

CH. X. TORQUEMADA APPOINTED INQUISITOR. 3I9

torial office to the bishops, to whom it properly be-
longed. The pope refused the request of Don
Ferdinand to institute in the other provinces of the
united kingdom extraordinary tribunals for the trial
of heretics.

But Don Ferdinand also knew how to apply the
golden key to the papal cabinet, and obtained a bull
sanctioning the establishment of the Inquisition in
the provinces of Aragon. In this bull, dated Feb-
ruary nth, 1482, Sixtus appointed six monks and
clerics as chief inquisitors, among them Thomas de
Torquemada, general of the Dominicans of Avilo,
a monk already infamous for his bloodthirsty fanati-
cism. In another letter, of the 17th of April, he
invested these men with discretionary powers, in
virtue of which they were able to dispense with cer-
tain forms of common law, the hearing of witnesses
and the admission of pleaders for the defense.
Thus were fresh victims brought to the stake.

In the kingdom of Aragon, however, where the
nobility and the middle class had a weighty voice in
public matters, the condemnation of Jewish heretics
without formal trial raised such formidable opposi-
tion that Cardinal Borgia, afterwards the infamous
Alexander VI, and the king himself, petitioned
the pope for a modification of the conditions gover-
ning the practice of the tribunal. In a letter of
the loth of October, Sixtus excused himself from
making any radical changes in consequence of the
absence of the cardinals, who had fled from Rome
in mortal fear of the plague. But he abrogated the
conditions which too flagrantly violated the princi-
ples of common law ; that is to say, he ordered that
accuser and witnesses should be confronted with the
accused, and that the process should be conducted
in public.

The Inquisition also met with great opposition in
Sicily, an appanage of the kingdom of Aragon. The
people and even the authorities took the part of the

320 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. X.

new- Christians, and shielded them from the perse-
cution of their bloodthirsty judges. Christians
themselves openly charged that the victims were not
, executed out of zeal for the faith, but from insatia-
^ ble greed which sought ceaseless confiscations. The
bigoted Isabella was sorely troubled at having her
pious desire to devote the proselytes to death thus
evilly represented, and even the pope behaved as
though it wounded him to the heart. (February,

1483.)

Sixtus IV had the greatest interest in maintaining
friendly relations with the Spanish court, and, there-
fore, made every concession with regard to the In-
quisition. As it often happened that Christian
proselytes condemned by the tribunal, who had suc-
ceeded in escaping to Rome, purchased absolution
from the papal throne, with the infliction of only a
light, private penance, the sovereigns saw that their
efforts to purge the Christian faith by the extermi-
nation of Jewish proselytes, especially by the con-
fiscation of their goods, were most unpleasantly
thwarted. The court, therefore, insisted that the
pope appoint a judge of appeals in Spain itself, so
that the rulings of the Inquisition might not be re-
versed in foreign countries, where all kinds of un-
favorable influences might be brought to bear. The
pope agreed to this proposition, and appointed
Inigo Manrique chief judge of appeals in cases in
which the condemned moved for a revision of their
trial. This measure was, however, of very doubtful
benefit to the unfortunate culprits, for upon what
ground could they base their appeal when the trial
\ had been conducted in secret, and neither accuser
' nor witnesses were known to them? It is altogether
likely, too, that the tribunal did not leave them very
much time to institute proceedings for the revision
of the verdict. Between the passing of the sen-
tence and the last act of the auto-da-fe only a very
short interval elapsed.

CH. X. DISQUALIFICATION OF NEW-CHRISTIAN BISHOPS. 32I

Another measure of the Spanish court, calculated
to deprive the accused of the last hope of acquittal,
was approved by the pope. Baptized Jews, or new-
Christians descended from them, frequently held
bishoprics, and were naturally favorably inclined to
their unfortunate and persecuted brethren in race.
At the request of the Spanish court, the pope issued
a bull decreeing that no bishop, vicar, or member
of the upper clergy descended from a Jewish family,
whether paternally or maternally, should sit as a
judge in any court for the trial of heretics. From
this prohibition there was only a step to the condem-
nation of clergy of Jewish blood to the stake. Both
his own frame of mind and his political position now
inclined the pope to encourage the sovereigns in the
prosecution of their bloody work. He reminded
them that Jesus had established his kingdom on earth
solely by the extirpation of idolatry and the exter-
mination of idolators, and he pointed to the recent
victories which the Spaniards had gained over the
Moslems in Granada as the reward of heaven for
their efforts towards the purification of the faith —
that is to say, for the burning of new-Christians and
the confiscation of their goods.

Had his Holiness, Sixtus IV, not been infamous
as a monster of depravity, sensuality and unscru-
pulousness, who appointed boys that he had him-
self abused to bishoprics and the cardinal dig-
nity, and who bestowed no clerical office without
payment — as his contemporary, Infessura, the chan-
cellor of Rome, has recorded — his conduct with
regard to the Holy Inquisition would have been suf-
ficient to brand him with immortal infamy. Within
a short period he published the most contradictory
decisions, and did not take the trouble to veil his in-
consistency with the most flimsy pretense. Scarcely
had he proclaimed the utmost rigors against Juda-
izing heretics, and appointed a tribunal of appeals,
than he partly abrogated these bulls, and issued an*

322 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. X.

Other prescribing milder proceedings to the Inquisi-
tion, only to alter this policy in its turn.

The hated Marranos, among them the high-spir-
ited Juan de Seville, had exerted themselves to pro-
cure from the papal court a decree to the effect that
those who had undergone private penance in Rome
should not be submitted to the oppression and per-
secution of the avaricious king and his bloodthirsty
inquisitors, but should be regarded and treated as
orthodox Christians. At first the pope consented,
and issued a bull on August 2d, 1483, "to be held
in eternal remembrance and as guide for the
future," in which he especially directed that rigor
be tempered with mercy in dealing with the new-
Christians, seeing that the severity of the Inquisition
had overstepped the bounds of justice. The bull
enacted that all new-Christian who had confessed
their remorse to the confessor-general in Rome, and
had been assigned a penance, should not be pur-
sued by the Inquisition, and should have their trials
suppressed. It exhorted the king and queen, " by
the bowels of Jesus Christ," to remember that in
mercy and kindness alone may man resemble God,
and that, therefore, they might in this follow in the
steps of Jesus, whose peculiar attribute it was to
show mercy and to pardon. The pope permitted
this bull to be copied indefinitely, each copy to have
the authority of the original, in order that the papal
attitude with regard to new-Christians might be
made universally known. Sixtus concluded with the
statement that he issued this bull entirely of his own
motion, not in obedience to external influence, al-
though it was well known in high circles that it had
been bought with new-Christian gold. The sover-
eigns, however, would have nothing to do with
mercy or forbearance ; they desired the death of
the culprits and the possession of their property.
Nor was the pope really inclined to mild measures.
A few days later, on August 13th, he recalled this

CH. X. EFFORTS OF JUAN DE SEVILLE. 323

bull, excusing himself to the king for its tenor, and
said that it had been issued in too great haste. Such
was the consistency and infallibility of his Holiness,
Pope Sixtus IV !

In vain Don Juan de Seville, who had procured
the promulgation of the favorable bull, endeavored
to circulate it. He failed to find any clerical official
in Spain to copy and confirm it. He, therefore, ap-
plied to the Portuguese archbishop of Evora, who
caused it to be copied by his notary and recognized
as authentic. The Inquisition, however, was ex-
tremely suspicious of those who had sought and
obtained indulgences at Rome, and Don Juan de
Seville and his companions fell at length into its
hands, and were severely punished

Terrible though the tribunal had hitherto been ;
though many thousands of compulsory proselytes
and their descendants, during its three snort years
of existence, had been cast into the flames, left to
rot in its dungeons, driven from their country, or re-
duced to beggary, it was child's play compared with
what it became when placed under the control of a
priest whose heart was closed to every sentiment of
mercy, whose lips breathed only death and destruc-
tion, and who united the savagery of the hyena with
the venom of the snake. Until now the Inquisition
had been confined to southern Spain, to the districts
of Seville and Cadiz, and the Christian province of
Andalusia. In the remaining provinces of Spain it
had hitherto been unable to get a footing, in conse-
quence of the resistance offered to its introduction J
by the cortes. Through the opposition of the people,
the wicked will of the inquisitors Morillo and Juan
de San Martin had remained inoperative ; their up-
lifted arm was paralyzed by innumerable difficulties.
If here and there a few courts were heid in the re-
maining districts of Spain, they were isolated and
without organization, and were thus unable to furnish
each other with victims. King Ferdinand thus had

3^4 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. X.

not yet collected treasure enough, nor had the pious
Isabella beheld a sufficient number of new-Christians
writhing in the flames. For their joint satisfaction
they now persuaded the pope to appoint an inquisi-
tor-general who should constitute, direct, and super-
vise the several courts, that none of the suspected
Marranos might avoid their fate, and that the oppo-
sition of the populace might be broken down by
every species of terrorism. In cold blood, and with

N little interest even for the faith itself, the pope as-
sented; and in May, 1483, appointed the Dominican,
Thomas de Torquemada, hitherto prior of a mon-
astery in Segovia, inquisitor-general of Spain. There
are certain men who are the embodiment of good or
evil sentiments, opinions and principles, and fully
illustrate their extremest consequences. Torque-
mada was the incarnation of the Holy Inquisition

^ with all its devilish malice, its heartless severity, its
bloodthirsty ferocity.

" Out of Rome hath arisen a savage monster of
such wondrous shape and hideous appearance that
at the sound of its name all Europe trembles. Its
carcass is of iron, tempered in deadly poison, and
covered with scales of impenetrable steel. A thou-
sand venom-dropping wings support it when it
hovers over the terrified earth. Its nature is that
of the ravening lion and the snake of the African
desert. Its bite is more terrible than that of the
hugest monster. The sound of its voice slays more
speedily than the deadly glance of the basilisk.
From its eyes and mouth stream fire and ceaseless
lightnings. It feeds on human bodies, and its drink
is human tears and blood. It excels the eagle in
the speed of its flight, and where it broods its black
shadow spreads the gloom of night. Though the
sun shine never so clearly, the darkness of Egypt
follows in its track Wheresoever it flies, every
green meadow that it touches, every fruitful tree on
which it sets foot, withers and dies, With its de-

CH. X. TRIBUNALS IN THE GREAT TOWNS. 325

stroying fangs it roots up every herb that grows,
and with the poison of its breath it blasts the
circle in which it moves to a desert like that of
Syria, where no green thing grows, no grass-blade
sprouts."

Thus did a Jewish poet, Samuel Usque, himself
singed by its flames, depict the Inquisition.

The inscription which the poet Dante placed upon
the portal of Hell —

"All hope abandon, ye who enter here ! "

would have been even more suitable to the dungeons
of the Holy Inquisition, which the cruel energy of
Torquemada now established in nearly all the great
towns of Spain. He at once instituted three new
tribunals in Cordova, Jaen and Villareal (Ciudad-
Real), and, later on, one in Toledo, the capital of
southern Spain. The offices of the Inquisition were
entirely filled by him with hypocritical and fanatical
Dominicans, whom he made the tools of his will, so
that they worked like an organism with a single
head, ready at his word to perpetrate the most hid-
eous barbarities with a composure that cannibals
might have envied. In those days Spain was filled
with the putrefaction of the dungeon, the stench of
corpses, and the crackling of the flames in which
were burning innocent Jews, forced into a faith the
falsity of which was demonstrated by every action
of the servants of the church. A wail of misery
piercing bone and marrow went through that lovely
land ; but their Catholic majesties paralyzed the
arm of every man prompted by mercy to put a stop
to the butchery. At the court itself there sat a com-
mission on the affairs of Jewish Christians, of which
the inquisitor-general held the presidency.

Don Ferdinand wished to perpetuate the jurisdic-
tion of the Inquisition in his hereditary lands, in
order to fill his purse with the spoils of the new-
Christians setded there. During the assembly of

326 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. X.

the cortes at Tarazona, in April, 1484, he laid his
plans before his privy council, and canceled the
ancient privileges of the country, which had existed
from the earliest times, and which provided that no
native of Aragon, whatever his crime, should suffer
confiscation of his property. The inquisitor-general
accordingly appointed for the archbishopric of Sara-
gossa two inquisitors who rivaled himself in blood-
thirsty fanaticism, the canon, Pedro Arbues de Epila,
and the Dominican, Gaspard Juglar. A royal or-
dinance was now issued to all officials and nobles,
directing them to give every assistance to the in-
quisitors. The grand justiciary of Aragon, though
of Jewish origin, and other dignitaries, were obliged
to take an oath that they would spare no efforts to
exterminate the culprits condemned by the tribunal.

Torquemada, the very soul of the Inquisition, now
decided to publish a code for the guidance of the
judges, so that the net might be drawn as closely as
possible round his victims. The whole body of in-
quisitors was assembled to consider this design, and,
under the title of "Constitutions," issued, on October
29th, 1484, a code of laws, calculated to inspire the
utmost horror had no more been done than commit
them to paper. It has been asserted that the monkish
inquisitors merely copied the anti-Jewish enactments
of the councils under the Visigothic kings. It is true
that the decrees of Receswinth threatened with death,
by fire or stoning, all new-Christians convicted of
adherence to Jewish customs. The comparison is,
nevertheless, incorrect. For not the enactments
against heresy, but their enforcement, distinguishes
the "Constitutions" of the Inquisition as the most
hideous ever fashioned by human wickedness. It
was as though the most malicious demons had taken
counsel to discover how they might bring innocent
human beings to destruction.

One decree ordained a respite of thirty days for
those who of their own free will would tender con-

CH. X. " CONSTITUTIONS." 32/

fession of their relapse to Judaism. These were to
be spared all punishment and confiscation of goods
with the exception of a moderate fine. They were,
however, compelled to put their confession into
writing, to give exact answers to all questions put
to them, and especially to betray their fellow-offend-
ers, and even those whom they only suspected of
Judaizing tendencies. Those who confessed after
the expiration of the time of respite were to lose all
their property, even that which they had possessed
at the time of their falling away from Christianity,
and though it had passed into other hands. Only
new-Christians under twenty years old were ex-
empted from loss of property in the event of later
confessions ; but they were compelled to bear a
mark of infamy composed of flaming crosses, the
San Benito, upon their clothing, and to take part in
the processions and attend high mass in this guise.
Those whose remorse awakened after the appointed
day were indeed to receive indulgence, but they
were to remain branded for life. Neither they nor
their descendants were ever to hold any public office,
nor to wear any garment embroidered with gold,
silver or pearls, or made of silk or fine wool, and
they were condemned to bear the " fiery cross " for
ever. Should the inquisitors discover that the con-
fession of a penitent was insincere, it was their duty
to deny him absolution, to treat him as a recalcitrant,
and to consign him to the flames. If a penitent
made only a partial confession of his sins, he, too,
was condemned to death. The evidence against a
Judaizing Christian might, when not otherwise con-
venient, be taken through other persons. It was
not necessary to place this testimony before the
accused in full detail, but merely as an abstract. If,
in spite of the evidence laid before him, he main-
tained that he had never relapsed into Judaism, he
was condemned to the flames as impenitent. Incon-
clusive proofs of relapse brought against a Marrano

328 HISTORY OP THE JEWS. CH. X.

Stretched him upon the rack ; in case he confessed
under torture, he was submitted to a second trial.
If he then adhered to what he had confessed under
torture he was condemned ; if he denied it, he
underwent the torture again. In those cases in
which an accused person failed to answer to the
summons issued against him, he was condemned as
a contumacious heretic, i. e., his property was con-
fiscated.

In the face of such proceedings — the parody of a
trial — and the pre-determination on the part of the
judge to consider the accused guilty, how was it
possible for any Marrano to prove his innocence ?
The dungeon and the rack frequently made the
accused so indifferent to their fate and so weary of
life that they made confessions as to themselves,
their friends and even their nearest relatives which
appeared to vindicate the necessity for the Inqui-
sition. The trial of every new-Christian involved
others in apparent guilt, and brought new exami-
nations and new accusations in its train, thus furnish-
ing an ever-increasing number of victims to the
Holy Office.

The towns of the kingdoms of Aragon and
Valencia had from the first manifested the greatest
displeasure at the introduction of the Inquisition.
Up to this period they had been less despotically
governed than Castile, and were exceedingly jealous
of their freedom. Above everything the Aragonese
valued, as the apple of their eye, the privilege which
forbade the confiscation of goods even on account
of the gravest offenses. Now the officers of the
Inquisition were to be invested with unlimited power
over life and property. The new-Christians, who
held high offices and influential positions in Aragon,
were naturally eager to foment and increase the dis-
content. In Teruel and Valencia, in 1485, disas-
trous popular risings broke out against the Inquisi-
tion, and were quelled only after great bloodshed.

CH. X. CONSPIRACY AGAINST ARBUES. 329

The Marranos and those of Jewish descent did not,
however, surrender their project of paralyzing the
Inquisition in Aragon. Some of the highest digni-
taries of state were numbered among them ; as, for
example, Luis Gonzalez, royal secretary of state for
Aragon ; Alfonso de Caballeria, the vice-chancellor;
his brother, the king's major-domo; Philip Clemente,
chief notary ; and such high hidalgos as the Counts
of Aranda, together with many knights, among
whom were the valiant Juan de Abadia, whose sister
was burnt for heresy, and Juan Perez Sanchez,
whose brothers were at court.

As soon as the first victims fell under the Inqui-
sition in Saragossa, influential new-Christians
brought pressure to bear upon the cortes to induce
them to protest, both to the king and to the pope,
against the introduction of the tribunal into Aragon.
Commissioners were sent to the royal and papal
courts to effect in person the repeal of the ordi-
nances. They expected but little trouble in Rome,
for there everything was to be had for money. With
the king it seemed to be a matter of much greater
difficulty. Ferdinand remained obstinately fixed in
the resolution to exterminate the Jewish Christians
by means of the Inquisition, and to acquire their
property. When the commissioners sent news to
their friends in Aragon of the failure of their efforts,
Perez Sanchez conceived a plot to remove Pedro
Arbues, chief inquisitor for Aragon, in order to
cripple the activity of the Inquisition by terrorism,
and to force the king to give way. He imparted
his project to his friends, and many bound them-
selves to stand by him. In order to win over the
entire body of new- Christians, and to induce them
to stand firmly together, the leaders of the conspir-
acy laid them under contribution for the expenses
of carrying out the project. A hidalgo, Blasco de
Alagon, collected the money, and Juan de Abadia
undertook to hire the assassins, and to see that the

330 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. X

death of Arbues was achieved. This conspiracy
was joined by many distinguished persons of Jew-
ish descent in Saragossa, Tarazona, Calatayud,
Huesca and Barbastro.

Juan de Abadia procured two trustworthy men,
Juan de Esperaindo and Vidal de Uranso, with four
assistants, to accompHsh the death of the inquisitor
Arbues. The intended victim appears to have sus-
pected the plot, for he protected his body with a
shirt of mail and his head with a species of steel
cap. Before daybreak on the 15th of September,
1485, as he was entering the church with a lantern
to hear early mass, the conspirators followed him.
As soon as he had fallen on ihis knees, Esperaindo
struck him on the arm with his sword, while Vidal
wounded him in the neck. He was borne out of
the church bathed in blood, and died two days
later. The conspirators took instant flight. As
soon as the news of the attack on the chief inqui-
sitor spread in Saragossa it produced a violent
reaction. The orthodox Christians assembled in
crowds crying in tones of fury: "To the flames
with the Jew-Christians! They have murdered the
chief inquisitor ! " The Marranos would have been
massacred in a body there and then, had not the
royal bastard, the youthful Archbishop Alfonso of
Aragon, mounted his horse, and restrained the
crowd by an armed force, promising them the fullest
satisfaction by the severe punishment of the guilty
persons and their accomplices.

King Ferdinand made good use of the unfor-
tunate conspiracy in the establishment of the In-
quisition in Aragon. The sovereigns carried public
mourning for the murdered Arbues to the verge of
idolatry. A statue was consecrated to his memor).',
in honor of his services to religion and the exter-
mination of Jewish heretics. The Dominicans were
by no means displeased at the death of the chief
inquisitor. They were, in fact, in need of a martyr

CH. X. PUNISHMENT OF THE CONSPIRATORS. 33 1

to enable them to surround their tribunal of blood
with a halo of glory. They used every effort to
raise Pedro Arbues to the rank of saint or Christian
demi-god. It was not long before they fabricated
a divine communication from the sainted heretic-
slayer, in which he exhorted all the world to support
and carry forward the Holy Inquisition, and soothed
the scruples of the members of the tribunal, on
account of the enormous number of men they had
consigned to the flames, by assuring them that the
most honorable places in heaven awaited them as
the reward of their pious efforts.

The unsuccessful conspiracy of the Marranos in
Saragossa afforded a vast number of fresh victims
to the Christian Moloch. A few of the conspirators
made full confession, and so the inquisitors soon
had a complete list of the culprits. These were
pursued with redoubled vigor as Judaizing heretics
and enemies of the Holy Office. Those who had
borne a leading part in the conspiracy, as soon as
they fell into the hands of their judges, were dragged
through the streets of Saragossa, their hands were
hewn off, and they were then hanged. Juan de
Abadia escaped this dishonorable fate by killing
himself in prison. More than two hundred Jewish
Christians were burnt as accomplices, a yet greater
number were condemned to perpetual imprison-
ment, among them a high dignitary of the Metro-
politan Church of Saragossa, and not a few women
of gentle birth. Francisco de Sante-Fe also died at
the stake. Even those who had given shelter to
the conspirators for a brief period during their flight
were compelled to attend an auto-da-fe as penitents,
and lost their civil rights. How far the inhumanity
of the persecutors went is especially shown by one
of the punishments inflicted. A conspirator, Gas-
pard de Santa Cruz, had been successful in making
his escape to Toulouse, and there died in peace.
The Inquisition, not content with burning him in

332 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. X.

effigy, laid hands upon his son as an accomplice in
his father's flight, and condemned him to travel
to Toulouse to communicate his sentence to the
Dominicans of that city, and to desire them to ex-
hume the body of his father and burn it. The weak
son performed his disgraceful mission, and brought
back to Saragossa the certificate of the Dominicans
to the effect that the corpse of the father had been
dishonored on the prayer of the son.

Certain towns of northern Spain, such as Lerida
and Barcelona, still obstinately resisted the intro-
duction of the Inquisition. Their resistance proved
vain. The iron will of Fernando and the blood-
thirsty fanaticism of Torquemada overcame every
obstacle, and the papal court was obliged to give
its assent to every proposal. From that time forth
the number of victims continued to increase. On
the 1 2th of February, i486, an auto-da-fe was cele-
brated in Toledo with 750 human burnt-offerings,
while on the 2d of April in the same year, 900 vic-
tims were offered up, and on the 7th of May, 750.
On the i6th of August twenty-five Jewish heretics
were burnt alive in Toledo ; on the following day
two priests suffered ; and on the loth of December
950 persons were condemned to shameful public
penance. In the following year, when the Inquisi-
tion was established in Barcelona and on the island
of Majorca, two hundred Marranos suffered death
by fire in these places alone. A Jew of that time,
Isaac Arama, writes on this subject as follows : "In
these days the smoke of the martyr's pyre rises un
ceasingly to heaven in all the Spanish kingdoms
and the isles. One-third of the Marranos have per-
ished in the flames, another third wander homeless
over the earth seeking where they may hide them-
selves, and the remainder live in perpetual terror
of a trial." So the tale of victims grew from year
to year under the eleven tribunals which trans-
formed the fair land of Spain into a blazing Tophet,

CH. X, JEWISH BISHOPS. 333

whose flames soon reached and devoured the Chris-
tians themselves.

The pitiless persecution of the new-Christians had
its origin perhaps even more in the racial hatred
of the pure-blooded Spaniards towards the children
of Judah than in religious fanaticism. Persons of
Jewish descent, whom it was impossible justly to
accuse of heresy, w^ere included in the accusations
simply because they held high offices. They were
not permitted to enjoy any dignity or to exercise any
influence in the country. The inquisitor-general,
Torquemada, even laid hands upon two bishops of
Jewish blood, De Avila and De Aranda, so that, if
it were impossible to consign them to the flames, he
might at least expel them from their sees.

CHAPTER XI.

EXPULSION OF THE JEWS FROM SPAIN.

Friendship of Marranos and Jews — Torquemada demands of the
Rabbis of Toledo the Denunciation of Marranos — Judah Ibn-
Verga — Jewish Courtiers under Ferdinand and Isabella — Isaac
Abrabanel: his History and Writings — The Jews of Portugal
under Alfonso V — The Ibn-Yachya Brothers — Abrabanel's
Flight from Portugal to Spain — The Jews of Granada : Isaac
Hamon — Edict of Banishment promulgated by Ferdinand and
Isabella — Its Consequences — Departure from Spain — Number of
the Exiles — Decline in the Prosperity of Spain after the Banish-
ment of the Jews — Transformation of Synagogues and Schools
into Churches and Monasteries — The Inquisition and the Mar-
ranos— Deza, the Successor of Torquemada.

1483 — 1492 C.E.

The monster of the Inquisition, having poured out
its wrath on the new-Christians, now stretched its
arms over the Jews, and deHvered them to a miser-
able fate. The connection between the Jews and
the Marranos was too close for the former not to
be made to participate in the misfortunes of the lat-
ter. They were in intimate relations with each
other, were bound to each other by close, brotherly
ties. The Jews experienced heartfelt pity for their
unfortunate brethren, so unwillingly wearing the
mask of Christianity, and strove to keep them in
touch with the Jewish community. They instructed
Christian-born Marranos in the rites of Judaism,
held secret meetings with them for prayer, furnished
them with religious books and writings, kept them
informed of the occurrence of fasts and festivals,
supplied them at Easter with unleavened bread, and
throughout the year with meat prepared according
to their own ritual, and circumcised their new-born
sons. In Seville, in fact in the whole of Andalusia,
there were countless new-Christians, baptized at the

334

CH. XI. JEWS AND MARRANOS. 335

time of the furious attack upon the Jews by Ferdi-
nand Martinez, and later during the persecution of
1 391, so that it offered a good field for the activity
of Jews who were endeavoring to bring back turn-
coat brethren into the ranks of Judaism. One of
the most active in this work was Judah Ibn-Verga,
of Seville, Kabbalist and astronomer, who was held
in high estimation by the governor of Andalusia. The
king and queen intended to call the Inquisition into
existence here, and the first step was to separate
the Jews from Christians, especially new-Christians,
and to destroy every connecting link between them.
The cortes of Toledo insisted on the enforcement of
the stringent regulations — hitherto so frequently
evaded — for special Jewish (and Moorish) quarters,
but the strictly executed law of separation, made to
take effect all over the kingdom, could not sever the
loving relations existing between Jews and Mar-
ranos. In spite of all, the closest intercommunion
was maintained, only more secretly, more circum-
spectly. The greater the danger of discovery, the
the greater the charm of meeting, despite the Argus
eyes of priestly spies and their myrmidons, for mu-
tual solace and encouragement. These meetings of
the Jews and Moors, from the secrecy with which
they were conducted, and the danger attending them,
wore a romantic aspect. A loving bond of union was
thus created, which grew closer and stronger for
every effort to loosen it.

The fiendish Torquemada strove by every possi-
ble means to destroy these ties. As soon as he had
become grand inquisitor, he issued a command that
Marranos should present themselves for confession,
ordered the rabbis of Toledo to be convened, and
exacted from them an oath that they would inform
against new-Christians who observed Jewish rites
and ceremonies, and would excommunicate Jews
who refused to become witnesses against their own
people. They were threatened with heavy punish-

336 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. XI.

ment if they refused to take this oath (1485). What
a tragical struggle for the rabbis of Toledo ! They
themselves were to lend a hand to wrench their
faithful brethren from Judaism, and deliver them
over to Christianity, or, rather, to the stake ! Surely,
they could not be brought to this, and preferred
to suffer punishment ! Judah Ibn-Verga, ordered
by the inquisitors to deliver over pseudo- Chris-
tians who secretly clung to Judaism, chose to
leave his native Seville, and fled to Lisbon, where
he eventually died a martyr's death. Since the in-
quisitors could not attain their ends through Jews,
who, despite all measures, continued their secret
intercourse with new-Christians, they urged the king
and queen to issue a mandate for the partial expul-
sion of the Jews from Andalusia, especially from
Seville.

The Castilian and Aragonese Jews might have
known, from these sad events, that their sojourn
could not be of long duration ; but they loved Spain
too dearly to part from her except under compul-
sion. Besides, the king and queen often protected
them from unfair treatment. When they removed
to special Jewish quarters, Ferdinand and Isabella
were at great pains to shield them from annoyance
and chicanery. Moreover, under the rule of these
Catholic sovereigns there were Jewish tithe and tax
collectors, and, finally, the Jews relied upon the fact
that they were indispensable to the Christians. The
sick preferred to seek advice with Jewish physicians,
the lower classes consulted Jews on legal questions,
and even asked them to read the letters or docu-
ments which they received from the clergy. In ad-
dition to all this, it happened that, at the time
when Torquemada was casting his snares over the
Moors and Jews, the celebrated Abrabanel received
an important post at the court of Castile, and en-
joyed unlimited confidence. Under his protection
the Spanish Jews hoped to be able to defy the fury

CH. XI. ISAAC ABRABANEL. 337

of the venomous Dominicans. Abrabanel's favored
position at court, the geniahty of his character, his
affection for the Hebrew race, his love of learning,
and his tried wisdom, brought back the time of
Samuel Nagrela, and lulled the Jews with false
hopes.

Don Isaac ben Judah Abrabanel (born in Lisbon
1437, died in Venice 1509) worthily closes the list
of Jewish statesmen in Spain who, beginning with
Chasdai Ibn-Shaprut, used their names and posi-
tions to protect the interests of their race. In his
noble-mindedness, his contemporaries saw proofs of
Abrabanel' s descent from the royal house of David,
a distinction on which the Abrabanels prided them-
selves, and which was generally conceded to them.
His grandfather, Samuel Abrabanel, who, during
the persecution of 1391, but probably only for a
short time, lived as a Christian, was a large-hearted,
generous man, who supported Jewish learning and
its votaries. His father, Judah, treasurer to a
Portuguese prince, was wealthy and benevolent,
Isaac Abrabanel was precocious, of clear under-
standing, but sober-minded, without imagination
and without depth. The realities of life, present
conditions and events, he grasped with unerring
tact ; but what was distant, less obvious to ordinary
perceptions, lay veiled in a mist which he was un-
able to penetrate or dispel. The origin of Judaism,
its splendid antiquity, and its conception of God,
were favorite themes with Abrabanel from his youth
upward, and when still quite a young man he pub-
lished a treatise setting forth the providence of God
and its special relation to Israel. Philosophical
conceptions were, however, acquired, not innate
with him ; he had no ability to solve metaphysical
questions. On the other hand, he was a solid man
of business, who thoroughly understood finance and
affairs of state. The reigning king of Portugal,
Don Alfonso V, an intelligent, genial, amiable ruler,

338 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. XL

was able to appreciate Abrabanel's talents ; he sumi
moned him to his court, confided to him the con-
duct of his financial affairs, and consulted him on all
important state questions. His noble disposition,
his sincerely devout spirit, his modesty, far removed
from arrogance, and his unselfish prudence, secured
for him at court, and far outside its circle, the es-
teem and affection of Christian grandees. Abra-
banel stood in friendly intimacy with the powerful,
but mild and beneficent Duke Ferdinand of Bra-
ganza, lord of fifty towns, boroughs, castles, and
fortresses, and able to bring 10,000 foot-soldiers
and 3,000 cavalry into the field, as also with his bro-
thers, the Marquis of Montemar, Constable of Por-
tugal, and the Count of Faro, who lived together in
fraternal affection. With the learned John Sezira,
who was held in high consideration at court, and was
a warm patron of the Jews, he enjoyed close friend-
ship. Abrabanel thus describes his happy life at the
court of King Alfonso :

" Tranquilly I lived in my inherited house in fair Lisbon. God
had given me blessings, riches and honor. I had built myself stately
buildings and chambers. My house was the meeting-place of the
learned and the wise. I was a favorite in the palace of Alfonso, a
mighty and upright king, under whom the Jews enjoyed freedom and
prosperity. I was close to him, was his support, and while he lived
I frequented his palace."

Alfonso's reign was the end of the golden time
for the Jews of the Pyrenean Peninsula, Although
in his time the Portuguese code of laws (Ordena9oens
de Alfonso V), containing Byzantine elements and
canonical restrictions for the Jews, was completed,
it must be remembered that, on the one hand, the
king, who was a minor, had had no share in framing
them, and, on the other, the hateful laws were not
carried out. In his time the Jews in Portugal bore
no badge, but rode on richly caparisoned horses
and mules, wore the costume of the country, long
coats, fine hoods and silken vests, and carried gilded
swords, so that they could not be distinguished

CH. XI. JEWS UNDER ALFONSO V. 539

from Christians. The greater number of the tax-
farmers (Rendeiros) in Portugal were Jews. Princes
of the church even appointed Jewish receivers of
church taxes, at which the cortes of Lisbon raised
complaint. The independence of the Jewish popu-
lation under the chief rabbi and the seven provincial
rabbis was protected in Alfonso's reign, and in-
cluded in the code. This code conceded to Jews
the right to print their public documents in Hebrew,
instead of in Portuguese as hitherto commanded.

Abrabanel was not the only Jewish favorite at
Alfonso's court. Two brothers Ibn-Yachya Negro
also frequented the court of Lisbon. They were
sons of a certain Don David, who had recom-
mended them not to invest their rich inheritance
in real estate, for he saw that banishment was in
store for the Portuguese Jews.

As long as Isaac Abrabanel enjoyed the king's
favor, he was as a "shield and a wall for his race,
and delivered the sufferers from their oppressors,
healed differences, and kept fierce lions at bay," as
described by his poetical son, Judah Leon. He
who had a warm heart for all afflicted, and was
father to the orphan and consoler to the sorrowing,
felt yet deeper compassion for the unfortunate of
his own people. When Alfonso conquered the port
of Arzilla, in Africa, the victors brought with them,
among many thousand captive Moors, 250 Jews,
who were sold as slaves throughout the kingdom.
That Jews and Jewesses should be doomed to the
miseries of slavery was unendurable to Abrabanel's
heart. At his summons a committee of twelve rep-
resentatives of the Lisbon community was formed,
and collected funds ; then, with a colleague, he trav-
eled over the whole country and redeemed the
Jewish slaves, often at a high price. The ransomed
Jews and Jewesses, adults and children, were clothed,
lodged, and maintained until they had learned the
language of the country, and were able to support
themselves.

340 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. XI.

When King Alfonso sent an embassy to Pope
Sixtus IV to congratulate him upon his accession to
the throne, and to send him tidings of his victory-
over the Moors in Africa, Doctor John Sezira was
one of the ambassadors. One in heart and soul
with Abrabanel, and friendly to the Jews, he prom-
ised to speak to the pope in their favor and behalf.
Abrabanel begged his Italian friend, Yechiel of Pisa,
to receive John Sezira with a friendly welcome, to
place himself entirely at his disposal, and convey to
him, and to the chief ambassador. Lopes de Al-
meida, how gratified the Italian Jews were to hear
of King Alfonso's favor to the Jews in his country,
so that the king and his courtiers might feel flattered.
Thus Abrabanel did everything in his power for the
good of his brethren in faith and race.

In the midst of prosperity, enjoyed with his gra-
cious and cultured wife and three fine sons, Judah
Leon, Isaac and Samuel, he was disturbed by the
turn of affairs in Portugal. His patron, Alfonso V,
died, and was succeeded by Don Joao II (1481 —
1495), a man in every way unlike his father — stronger
of will, less kindly, and full of dissimulation. He
had been crowned in his father's lifetime, and was
not rejoiced when Alfonso, believed to be dead, sud-
denly re-appeared in Portugal. Joao II followed the
tactics of his unscrupulous contemporary, Louis XI
of France, in the endeavor to rid himself of the
Portuguese grandees in order to create an absolute
monarchy. His first victim was to be Duke Ferdi-
nand of Braganza, of royal blood, almost as power-
ful and as highly considered as himself, and better
beloved. Don Joao II was anxious to clear from his
path this duke and his brothers, against whom he
had a personal grudge. While flattering the Duke
of Braganza, he had a letter set up against him, ac-
cusing him of a secret, traitorous understanding with
the Spanish sovereigns, the truth of which has not
to this day been satisfactorily ascertained. He ar-

CH. XI. ABRABANEL IN SPAIN. 34 1

rested him with a Judas kiss, caused him to be tried
as a traitor to his country, sent him to the block, and
took possession of his estates and wealth (June,
1483). His brothers were forced to fly to avoid a
like fate. Inasmuch as Isaac Abrabanel had lived in
friendly relations with the Duke of Braganza and
his brothers, King Joao chose to suspect him of hav-
ing been implicated in the recent conspiracies. Ene-
mies of the Jewish statesman did their best to
strengthen these suspicions. The king sent a com-
mand for him to appear before him. Not suspect-
ing any evil, Abrabanel was about to obey, when an
unknown friend appeared, told him his life was in
danger, and counseled him to hasty flight. Warned
by the fate of the Duke of Braganza, Abrabanel fol-
lowed the advice, and fled to Spain. The king sent
mounted soldiery after him, but they could not over-
take him, and he reached the Spanish border in
safet}\ In a humble but manly letter he declared his
innocence of the crime, and also the innocence of
the Duke of Braganza. The suspicious t)Tant gave
no credence to the letter of defense, but caused
Abrabanel's property to be confiscated, as also that
of his son, Judah Leon, who was already following
the profession of a physician. His wife and chil-
dren, however, he permitted to remove to Castile.

In the city of Toledo, where he found refuge, Isaac
Abrabanel was honorably received by the Jews,
especially by the cultured. A circle of learned men
and disciples gathered round the famous, inno-
cently persecuted Jewish statesman. With the
rabbi, Isaac Aboab, and with the chief tithe-col-
lector, Abraham Senior, he formed a close friend-
ship. The latter, it seems, at once took him into
partnership in the collection of taxes. Abrabanel's
conscience pricked him for having neglected the
study of the Law in following state affairs and mam-
mon, and he attributed his misfortunes to the just
punishment of heaven. He at once began to write,

342 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. XI.

at the earnest entreaty of his new friends, an expo-
sition of the books of the earHer prophets, hitherto,
on account of their apparent simpHcity, neglected
by commentators. As he had given thought to
them before, he soon completed the work. Cer-
tainly, no one was better qualified than Abrabanel
to expound historical biblical literature. In addition
to knowledge of languages, he had experience of
the world, and the insight into political problems
and complications necessary for unraveling the Isra-
elitish records.

He had the advantage over other expositors in
using the Christian exegetical writings of Jerome,
Nicholas de Lyra, and the baptized Paul of Burgos,
and taking from them what was most valuable.
Abrabanel, therefore, in these commentaries, shed
light upon many obscure passages. They are con-
ceived in a scholarly style, arranged systematically,
and before each book appear a comprehensible
preface and a table of contents, an arrangement
copied from Christian commentators, and adroitly
turned to account by him. Had Abrabanel not been
so diffuse in style, and not had the habit of intro-
ducing each Scriptural chapter with superflous ques-
tions, his dissertations would have been, or, at all
events, would have deserved to be, more popular.
Nor should he have gone beyond his province into
philosophical inquiry. Abrabanel accepted the or-
thodox point of view of Nachmani and Chasdai,
merely supplementing them with commonplaces of
his own. He was not tolerant enough to listen to
a liberal view of Judaism and its doctrines, and ac-
cused the works of Albalag and Narboni of heresy,
classing these inquirers with the unprincipled apos-
tate, Abner- Alfonso, of Valladolid. He was no better
pleased with Levi ben Gerson, because he had re-
sorted to philosophical interpretations in many cases,
and did not accept miracles unconditionally. Like
the strictly orthodox Jews of his day, such as Joseph

CH, XI. ABRABANEL SPANISH MINISTER. 343

Jaabez, he was persuaded that the humiliations and
persecutions suffered by the Jews of Spain were due
to their heresy. Yet, did German Jews, wholly un-
touched by heretical philosophy, suffer less than
their brethren in Spain ? Only a brief time was
granted to Abrabanel to pursue his favorite study;
the author was once more compelled to become a
statesman. When about to delineate Judaean and
Israelite monarchs, he was summoned to the court
of Ferdinand and Isabella to be intrusted with the
care of their finances. The revenues seem to have
prospered under his management, and during his
eight years of office (March, 1484 — March, 1492)
nothing went wrong with them. He was very use-
ful to the royal pair by reason of his wisdom and
prudent counsel. Abrabanel himself relates that he
grew rich in the king's service, and bought himself
land and estates, and that from the court and the
highest grandees he received great consideration
and honor. He must have been indispensable, see-
ing that the Catholic sovereigns, under the very
eyes of the malignant Torquemada, and in spite of
canonical decrees and all the resolutions repeatedly
laid down by the cortes forbidding Jews to hold
office in the government, were compelled to intrust
this Jewish minister of finance with the mainspring of
political life ! How many services Abrabanel did for
his own people during his time of office, grateful
memory could not preserve by reason of the storm
of misfortunes which broke upon the Jews later ;
but in Castile, as he had been in Portugal, he was
as a wall of protection to them. Lying and fearful
accusations from their bitter foes, the Dominicans,
were not wanting. At one time it was said that the
Jews had shown disrespect to some cross ; at an-
other, that in the town of La Guardia they had
stolen and crucified a Christian child. From this
tissue of lies, Torquemada fabricated a case against
the Jews, and condemned the supposed criminals to

344 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. XI.

the stake. In Valencia they were declared to have
made a similar attempt, but to have been interrupted
in the deed (1488 — 1490). That the Castilian Jews
did not suffer extinction for the succor they afforded
the unfortunate Marranos, was certainly owing to
Abrabanel.

Meantime began the war with Granada, so disas-
trous for the Moors and Jews, which lasted with in-
tervals for ten years (1481 — 1491). To this the
Jews had to contribute. A heavy impost was laid
upon the community (Alfarda — Strangers' Tax), on
which the royal treasurer, Villaris, insisted with
the utmost strictness. The Jews were, so to say,
made to bring the fagots to their own funeral pyre,
and the people, adding insult to injury, mocked
them. In the province of Granada, which by pride
had brought about its own fall, there were many
Jews, their numbers having been increased by the
Marranos who had fled thither to avoid death at the
stake. Their position was not enviable, for Spanish
hatred of Jews was strongly implanted there ; but
their creed was not attacked, and their lives were
not in constant peril. Isaac Hamon was physician
in ordinary to one of the last kings of Granada, and
enjoyed high favor at court. One day a quarrel
arose in the streets of Granada, and the bystanders
implored the disputants to leave off in the name of
their prophet, but in vain. But when they were
bidden to give over in the name of the royal physi-
cian, they yielded. This occurrence, which testified
that Isaac Hamon was held in more respect by the
populace than the prophet Mahomet, roused certain
bigoted Mahometans to fall upon the Jews of Gra-
nada and butcher them. Only those escaped who
found refuge in the royal castle. The Jewish phy-
sicians of Granada came to the resolution henceforth
not to clothe themselves in silken garments, nor ride
on horseback, in order to avoid exciting the envy of
the Mahometans.

CH. XI. FALL OF GRANADA. 345

After long and bloody strife the beautiful city of
Granada fell into the hands of the proud Spaniards.
Frivolous Muley Abu-Abdallah (Boabdil), the last
king, signed a secret treaty with Ferdinand and Isa-
bella (25th November, 1491) to give up the town
and its territory by a certain time. The conditions,
seeing that independence was lost, were tolerably
favorable. The Moors were to keep their religious
freedom, their civil laws, their right to leave the
country, and above all their manners and customs,
and were only required to pay the taxes which hith-
erto they had paid the Moorish king» The rene-
gades— that is to say. Christians who had adopted
Islam, or, more properly speaking, the Moorish
pseudo-Christians — who had fled from the Inquisi-
tion to Granada, and returned to Islam, were to re-
main unmolested. The Inquisition was not to claim
jurisdiction over them. The Jews of the capital of
Granada, of the Albaicin quarter, the suburbs and
the Alpujarras, were included in the provisions of
the treaty. They were to enjoy the same indul-
gences and the same rights, except that relapsed
Marranos were to leave the city, only the first month
after its surrender being the term allowed for emi-
gration ; those who stayed longer were to be handed
over to the Inquisition. One noteworthy point, stipu-
lated by the last Moorish king of Granada, was that
no Jew should be set over the vanquished Moors as
officer of justice, tax-gatherer, or commissioner. On
January 2d, 1492, Ferdinand and Isabella, with their
court, amid ringing of bells, and great pomp and
circumstance, made their entry into Granada. The
Mahometan kingdom of the Peninsula had vanished
like a dream in an Arabian Nights' legend. The last
prince, Muley Abu-Abdallah, cast one long sad fare-
well look, " with a last sigh," over the glory forever
lost, and retired to the lands assigned to him in the
Alpujarras, but, unable to overcome his dejection, he
turned his steps towards Africa. After nearly eight

34^ HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. XI.

hundred years the whole Pyrenean Peninsula again
became Christian, as it had been in the time of the
Visigoths. But heaven could not rejoice over this
conquest, which delivered fresh human sacrifices
to the lords of hell. The Jews were the first to
experience the tragical effect of this conquest of
Granada.

The war against the Mahometans of Granada,
originally undertaken to punish attempts at en-
croachment and breach of faith, assumed the char-
acter of a crusade against unbelief, of a holy war
for the exaltation of the cross and the spread of the
Christian faith. Not only the bigoted queen and
the unctuous king, but also many Spaniards were
dragged by this conquest into raging fanaticism.
Are the unbelieving Mahometans to be vanquished,
and the still more unbelieving Jews to go free in
the land ? This question was too pertinent not to
meet with an answer unfavorable to the Jews. The
insistence of Torquemada and friends of his own
way of thinking, that the Jews, who had long been a
thorn in their flesh, should be expelled, at first met
with indifference, soon began to receive more at-
tention from the victors. Then came the considera-
tion that owing to increased opulence, consequent
on the booty acquired from the wealthy towns of
conquered Granada, the Jews were no longer indis-
pensable. Before the banner of the cross waved
over Granada, Ferdinand and Isabella had contem-
plated the expulsion of the Jews. With this end in
view, they had sent an embassy to Pope Innocent
VII, stating that they were willing to banish the
Jews from the country, if he, Christ's representa-
tive, the avenger of his death, set them the exam-
ple ; but even this abandoned pope, who had seven
illegitimate sons and as many daughters, and who,
soon after his accession to the papal chair, had
broken a solemn oath, was opposed to the expul-
sion of the Jews. Meshullam, of Rome, having

CH. XI. EDICT OF EXPULSION. 347

heard of the pope's refusal, with great joy an-
nounced to the Italian and Neapolitan communities
that Innocent would not consent to the expulsion.
The Spanish sovereigns decided on the banishment
of the Jews without the pope's consent.

From the enchanted palace of the Alhambra there
was suddenly issued by the "Catholic Sovereigns "
a proclamation that, within four months, the Span-
ish Jews were to leave every portion of Castile, Ara-
gon, Sicily and Sardinia under pain of death (March
31, 1492). They were at liberty to take their goods
and chattels with them, but neither gold, silver,
money, nor forbidden articles of export — only such
things as it was permitted to export. This heartless
cruelty Ferdinand and Isabella sought to vindicate
before their own subjects and before foreign coun-
tries. The proclamation did not accuse the Jews of
extravagant usury, of unduly enriching themselves,
of sucking the marrow from the bones of the peo-
ple, of insulting the host, or of crucifying Christian
children — not one syllable was said of these things.
But it set forth that the falling away of the new-
Christians into "Jewish unbelief" was caused by their
intercourse with Jews. The proclamation continued
that long since it would have been proper to banish
the Jews on account of their wily ways; but at first
the sovereigns had tried clemency and mild means,
banishing only the Jews of Andalusia, and punish-
ing only the most guilty, in the hope that these steps
would suffice. As, however, these had not pre-
vented the Jews from continuing to pervert the
new-Christians from the Catholic faith, nothing
remained but for their majesties to exile those who
had lured back to heresy the people who had indeed
fallen away, but had repented and returned to
holy Mother Church. Therefore had their majesties,
in council with the princes of the church, grandees,
and learned men, resolved to banish the Jews from
their kingdom. No Christian, on pain of confisca-

348 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. XI.

tion of his possessions, should, after the expiration
of a certain term, give succor or shelter to Jews.
The edict of Ferdinand and Isabella is good testi-
mony for the Jews of Spain in those days, since no
accusatioiis could be brought against them but that
they had remained faithful to their religion, and had
sought td maintain their Marrano brethren in it. A
legend relates that their majesties were embittered
against the Jews, because the Infante had found the
picture of a crucified Holy Child in an orange which
a Jewish courtier had given him.

The long-dreaded blow had fallen. The Spanish
Jews were to leave the country, round which the
fibers of their hearts had grown, where lay the
graves of their forefathers of at least fifteen hundred
years, and towards whose greatness, wealth, and
culture they had so largely contributed. The blow
fell upon them like a thunderbolt. Abrabanel
thought that he might be able to avert it by his
influence. He presented himself before the king
and queen, and offered enormous sums in the name
of the Jews if the edict were removed. His Chris-
tian friends, eminent grandees, supported his
efforts. Ferdinand, who took more interest in
enriching his coffers than in the Catholic faith, was
inclined to yield. Then the fanatical grand inquis-
itor, Torquemada, lifted up his voice. It is related
that he took upon himself to rush into the presence
of the king and queen, carrying the crucifix aloft, and
uttering these winged words: "Judas Iscariot sold
Christ for thirty pieces of silver ; your highnesses
are about to sell Him for 300,000 ducats. Here He
is, take Him, and sell Him!" Then he left the
hall. These words, or the influence of other eccle-
siastics, had a strong effect upon Isabella. She
resolved to abide by the edict, and, of bolder spirit
than the king, contrived to keep alive his enmity
against the Jews. Juan de Lucena, a member of
the royal council of Aragon, as well as minister,

CH. XI. THE POSSESSIONS OF THE EXILES. 349

was equally active in maintaining the edict. At the
end of April heralds and trumpeters went through
the whole country, proclaiming that the Jews were
permitted to remain only till the end of July to set
their affairs in order ; whoever of them was found
after that time on Spanish ground would suffer
death.

Great as was the consternation of the Spanish
Jews at having to tear themselves from the beloved
land of their birth and the ashes of their forefathers,
and go forth to an uncertain future in strange lands,
among people whose speech they did not under-
stand, who, perhaps, might be more unfriendly
towards them than the Spanish Christians, they had
to bestir themselves and make preparation for their
exodus. At every step they realized that a yet
more cruel fate awaited them. Had they been
able, like the English Jews at the end of the thir-
teenth century, and the French a century later, to
take their riches with them, they might have been
able to provide some sort of miserable existence for
themselves ; but the Jewish capitalists were not per-
mitted to take their money with them, they were
compelled to accept bills of exchange for it. But
Spain, on account of its dominant knightly and
ecclesiastical element, had no places of exchange
like those in Italy, where commercial notes were of
value. Business on a large scale was in the hands,
for the most part, of Jews and new-Christians, and
the latter, from fear, had to keep away from their
brethren in race. The Jews who owned land were
forced to part with it at absurd prices, because no
buyers applied, and they were obliged to beg the
Christians for even the meanest thing in exchange.
A contemporary, Andreas Bernaldez, pastor of Los
Palacios, relates that the most magnificent houses
and the most beautiful estates of the Jews were sold
for a trifle. A house was bartered for an ass, and
a vineyard for a piece of cloth or linen. Thus the

350 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. XI.

riches of the Spanish Jews melted away, and could
not help them in their day of need. In Aragon,
Catalonia and Valencia, it was even worse with
them. Torquemada, who on this occasion exceeded
his former inhumanity, forbade the Christians to
have any intercourse with them. In these provinces
Ferdinand sequestrated their possessions, so that
not only their debts, but also the claims which
monasteries pretended to have upon them were
paid. This fiendish plan he devised for the benefit
of the church. The Jews would thereby be driven
to despair, and turn to the cross for succor. Tor-
quemada, therefore, imposed on the Dominicans the
task of preaching Christianity everywhere, and of
calling upon the Jews to receive baptism, and thus
remain in the land. On the other side, the rabbis
bade the people remain steadfast, accept their trials
as tests of their firmness, and trust in God, who had
been with them in so many days of trouble. The
fiery eloquence of the rabbis was not necessary.
Each one encouraged his neighbor to remain true
and steadfast to the Jewish faith. " Let us be
strong," so they said to each other, " for our religion,
and for the Law of our fathers before our enemies
and blasphemers. If they will let us live, we shall
live ; if they kill us, then shall we die. We will not
desecrate the covenant of our God ; our heart shall
not fail us. We will go forth in the name of the
Lord." If they had submitted to baptism, would
they not have fallen into the power of the blood-
stained Inquisition ? The cross had lost its power
of attraction even for lukewarm Jews, since they had
seen upon what trivial pretexts members of their
race were delivered over to the stake. One year
before the proclamation of banishment was made,
thirty-two new-Christians in Seville were bound
living to the stake, sixteen were burned in effigy,
and 625 sentenced to do penance. The Jews,
moreover, were not ignorant of the false and deceit-

CH. XI. ABRAHAM SENIOR ACCEPTS BAPTISM. 35!

ful ways in which Torquemada entrapped his vic-
tims. Many pseudo-Christians had fled from
Seville, Cordova and Jaen, to Granada, where they
had returned to the Jewish faith. After the con-
quest of the town, Torquemada proclaimed that if
they came back to Mother Church, "whose arms
are always open to embrace those who return to
her with repentance and contrition," they would be
treated with mildness, and in private, without on-
lookers, would receive absolution. A few allowed
themselves to be charmed by this sweet voice,
betook themselves to Toledo, and were pardoned —
to a death of fire. Thus it came about that, in
spite of the preaching of the Dominicans, and not-
withstanding their indescribably terrible position,
few Jews passed over to Christianity in the year of
the expulsion from Spain. Among persons of note,
only the rich tax-collector and chief rabbi, Abraham
Senior, his son, and his son-in-law, Meir, a rabbi,
went over, with the two sons of the latter. It is
said that they received baptism in desperation,
because the queen, who did not want to lose her
clever minister of finance, threatened heavier perse-
cution of the departing Jews, if these did not submit.
Great was the rejoicing at court over the baptism
of Senior and his family. Their majesties them-
selves and the cardinal stood as sponsors. The
newly-baptized all took the family name of Coronel,
and their descendants filled some of the highest
offices in the state.

Their common misfortune and suffering devel-
oped among the Spanish Jews in those last days
before their exile deep brotherly affection and ex-
alted sentiments, which, could they have lasted,
would surely have borne good fruit. The rich, al-
though their wealth had dwindled, divided it fra-
ternally with the poor, allowing them to want for
nothing, so that they should not fall into the hands
of the church, and also paid the charges of their

352 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. XI.

exodus. The aged rabbi, Isaac Aboab, the friend of
Abrabanel, went with thirty Jews of rank to Portu-
gal, to negotiate with King Joao II, for the settle-
ment of the Jews in that country, or for their safe
passage through it. They succeeded in making tol-
erably favorable conditions. The pain of leaving
their passionately loved country could not be over-
come. The nearer the day of departure came, the
more were the hearts of the unhappy people wrung.
The graves of their forefathers were dearer to them
than all besides, and from these they found part-
ing hardest. The Jews of the town of Vitoria gave
to the community the Jewish cemetery and its apper-
taining grounds in perpetuity, on condition that it
should never be encroached upon, nor planted over,
and a deed to this effect was drawn up. The Jews
of Segovia assembled three days before their exodus
around the graves of their forefathers, mingling
their tears with the dust, and melting the hearts of
the Catholics with their grief. They tore up many
of the tombstones to bear them away as memorial
relics, or gave them to the Moors.

At last the day arrived on which the Spanish Jews
had to take staff in hand. They had been accorded
two days respite, that is, were allowed two days
later than July 31st for setting forth. This date
fell exactly upon the anniversary of the ninth of Ab,
which was fraught with memories of the splendor of
the old days, and had so often found the children of
Israel wrapped in grief and misery. About 300,000
left the land which they so deeply loved, but which
now became a hateful memory to them. They
wandered partly northwards, to the neighboring
kingdom of Navarre, partly southwards, with the
idea of settling in Africa, Italy or Turkey. The
majority, however, made for Portugal. In order to
stifle sad thoughts and avoid the melancholy im-
pression which might have moved some to waver
and embrace the cross in order to remain in the

CH. XI. EFFECT OF THE EXPULSION. 353

land, some rabbis caused pipers and drummers to
go before, making lively music, so that for a while
the wanderers should forget their gnawing grief.
Spain lost in them the twentieth part of her most
industrious, painstaking, intelligent inhabitants, its
middle class, which created trade, and maintained it
in brisk circulation, like the blood of a living organ-
ism. For there were among the Spanish Jews not
merely capitalists, merchants, farmers, physicians
and men of learning, but also artisans, armor and
metal workers of all kinds, at all events no idlers
who slept away their time. With the discovery of
America, the Jews might have lifted Spain to the
rank of the wealthiest, the most prosperous and
enduring of states, which by reason of its unity of
government might certainly have competed with
Italy. But Torquemada would not have it so ; he
preferred to train Spaniards for a blood-stained
idolatr)', under which, in the sunlight of the Lutheran
Reformation, pious men were condemned to chains,
dungeons, or the galleys, if they dared read the
Bible. The departure of the Jews from Spain soon
made itself felt in a very marked manner by the
Christians. Talent, activity, and prosperous civil-
ization passed with them from the country. The
smaller towns, which had derived some vitality from
the presenc£_o£the Jews, were quickly depopulated,
sank into insignificance, lost their spirit of freedom
and independence, and became tools for the increas-
ing despotism ofjhe Spanish kings and the imbecile
superstition of the priests. The Spanish nobility
soon complained that their towns and villages had
fallen into insignificance, had become deserted, and
they declared that, could they have foreseen the
consequences, they would have opposed the royal
commands. Dearth of physicians was sternly felt,
too. The town of Vitoria and its neighborhood
was compelled, through the withdrawal of the Jews,
to secure a physician from a distance, and give him

354 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. XI.

a high salary. In many places the people fell vic-
tims to quacks, boastful bunglers, or to the supersti-
tion of deceiving or self-deceived dealers in magic.
In one word, Spain fell into a condition of barbar-
ism through the banishment of the Jews, and all the
wealth which the settlement of American colonies
brought to the mother country only helped to render
its inhabitants more idle, stupid, and servile. The
name of the Jews died out of the country in which
they had played so important a part, and the litera-
ture of which was so filled with Jewish elements
that men of intelligence were constantly reminded
of them. Schools, hospitals, and everything which
the Jews could not or dared not take away with
them, the king confiscated. He changed synagogues
into churches, monasteries or schools, where the
people were systematically kept ignorant, and
trained for meanest servility. The beautiful syna-
gogue of Toledo, which Don Pedro's Jewish states-
man, Samuel Abulafia, had erected about a century
and a half before, was transformed into a church (de
neustra Senora de San Benito), and, with its Moor-
ish architecture, its exquisite columns, and splendid
proportions, is to this day a magnificent ornament
to the city. In the other cities and towns of Spain,
which live in the chronicles of Jewish history, in
Seville, Granada, Cordova, in densely-populated
Lucena, Saragossa and Barcelona, every trace was
lost of the sons of Jacob, or of the Jewish nobility,
as the proud Jews of Spain styled themselves.
Jews, it is true, remained behind, Jews under the
mask of Christianity, Jewish Christians, or new-
Christians, who had afforded their departing brethren
active help. Many of them had taken charge of
their gold and silver, and kept it till they were able
to send it on by the hands of trusted persons, or
had given them bills of exchange on foreign places.
These negotiations were often of no avail, for when
the fanatical king and queen heard of them, they

CH. XI. PERSECUTION OF THE MARRANOS. 355

sent for the treasure left behind, or sought to pre-
vent the payment of the checks.

Great as were the obstacles, the Marranos did
not cool in their zeal for their exiled brethren.
They pursued those guilty of inhuman brutality to
the wanderers with bitter hatred, and delivered
them over to the Inquisition — turning the tool
against its makers. At the instigation of the Mar-
ranos, the brother of Don Juan de Lucena, tlie
powerful minister of Ferdinand, was thrown into the
prison of the Inquisition, kept there under a strong
guard, and none of his relatives allowed to see him,
the minister, whose position exempted him from the
power of the Inquisition, having counseled the ban-
ishment of the Jews, and practically assisted in it,
and his brother having relentlessly confiscated the
property they had left behind. Torquemada com-
plained that Don Juan was persecuted by the new-
Christians on account of his faith. The Marranos,
now more than ever on their guard, lest they give
the slightest offense, had to cross themselves assidu-
ously, count their beads, and mumble paternosters,
while inwardly they were attached more than ever
to Judaism. Frequently their feelings outran their
will, they broke the bonds of silence, and this was
productive of heavy consequences. Thus a Mar-
rano in Seville, on seeing an effigy of Christ set up
in church for adoration, cried out, " Woe to him who
sees, and must believe such a thing!" Such ex-
pressions in unguarded moments naturally afforded
the best opportunity for inquiry, imprisonment, the
rack and autos-da-fe, not merely for the individual
caught in the act, but for his relatives, friends, and
everybody connected with him who had any prop-
erty. It had, moreover, grown to be a necessity to
the people, hardened by the frequent sight of the
death agonies of sacrificial victims, to witness a
solemn tragedy of human sacrifice now and again.
It is, therefore, not astonishing, that under the first

356 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. XI.

inquisitor-general, Thomas de Torquemada, in the
course of fourteen years (1485 — 1498) at least two
thousand Jews were burned as impenitent sinners.
He was so hated that he lived in constant fear of
death. Upon his table he kept the horn of a uni-
corn, to which the superstition of the time ascribed
the power of nullifying the effect of poison. When
Torquemada went out, he was attended by a body-
guard (Familares) of fifty, and two hundred foot-sol-
diers, to protect him from assault. His successor, the
second inquisitor-general, Deza, erected still more
scaffolds ; but it soon came to pass that the men of
blood butchered each other. Deza before his death
was accused of being secretly a Jew. When the
persecutions against the remaining Moors and Mo-
riscos, and against the followers of the German
reformer Luther, were added to those of the Mar-
ranos, Spain, under the wrath of the Holy Inquisi-
tion, became literally a scene of human slaughter.
With justice nearly all the European princes, and
even the parliament of Paris, bitterly blamed the
perverseness of Ferdinand and Isabella in having
driven out so useful a class of citizens. The sultan
Bajasid (Bajazet) exclaimed: "You call Ferdinand
a wise king, he who has made his country poor and
enriched ours ! "

CHAPTER XII.

EXPULSION OF THE JEWS FROM NAVARRE AND PORTUGAL.

The Exiles from Navarre — Migration to Naples — King Ferdinand I of
Naples and Abrabanel — Leon Abrabanel — Misfortunes of the
Jews in Fez, Genoa, Rome, and the Islands of Greece — The
Sultan Bajazet — Moses Kapsali — Spanish Jews in Portugal —
The Jewish Astronomers, Abraham Zacuto and Jos6 Vecinho —
The Jewish Travelers, Abraham de Beya and Joseph Zapateiro —
Outbreak of the Plague among the Spanish Jews in Portugal —
Sufferings of the Portuguese Exiles — Judah Chayyat and his
Fellow-Sufferers — Cruelty of Joao II — Kindly Treatment by
Manoel changed into Cruelty on his Marriage — Forcible Bap-
tism of Jewish Children — Levi ben Chabib and Isaac Caro —
Pope Alexander VI — Manoel's Efforts on Behalf of the Portuguese
Marranos — Death of Simon Maimi and Abraham Saba.

1492 — 1498 C.E.

The Jews of northern Spain, in Catalonia and
Aragon, who turned their steps to neighboring Na-
varre, with the idea of seeking shelter there, were
comparatively fortunate. Here at least was a pros-
pect of a livelihood, and a possibility of looking
round for other places of refuge. The Inquisition
had met with courageous resistance from the rulers
and the people of Navarre. When some Marranos,
concerned in the murder of Arbues, the inquisitor,
fled to this kingdom, and the bloodthirsty heresy-
mongers demanded that they be given up to the
executioners, the town of Tudela declared that it
would not suffer such unrighteous violence to peo-
ple who had sought its protection, and closed the
gates against their emissaries. In vain did king Fer-
dinand, who had an eye upon Navarre, threaten it
with his anger. The citizens of Tudela remained
firm. A Navarrese prince, Jacob of Navarre, suf-
fered for the shelter he gave to a hunted Marrano.
The inquisitors suddenly arrested, imprisoned and
sentenced him, as an enemy of the Holy Office,

3S7

35^ HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. XII.

to shameful exposure in a church, where his list of
offenses was publicly read out, and absolution
promised him only if he submitted to flagellation
from priestly hands. Several other towns of Na-
varre gave protection to the fugitives, and about
12,000 Castilian wanderers took up their quarters in
Navarre. Count of Lerin probably received the
greater number of these. But the Jews enjoyed
only a few years of peace in Navarre; for upon the
vehement urging of King Ferdinand, who followed
the fugitives with bitterest enmity and persecution,
the king of Navarre gave them the choice between
wandering forth again and baptism. The greater
number adopted Christianity, because there was
only a short time for preparation, and no time for
thinking. In the community of Tudela, so famous
for steadfast piety, 180 families submitted to bap-
tism.

Also those Castilian Jews were fortunate who, in-
stead of indulging themselves in the vain hope that
the edict would be recalled, did not stay until the
last day, but made their way, before the end of the
respite, to Italy, Africa, or Turkey. They did not
lack the means of getting away. The Spanish Jews
had such widespread repute, and their expulsion
had made so much stir in Europe, that crowds of
ships were ready in Spanish seaports to take up the
wanderers and convey them to all parts, not only
the ships of the country, but also Italian vessels
from Genoa and Venice. The ship-owners saw a
prospect of lucrative business. Many Jews from
Aragon, Catalonia and Valencia desired to settle in
Naples, and sent ambassadors to the king, Ferdi-
nand I, to ask him to receive them. This prince
was not merely free from prejudice against the
Jews, but was kindly inclined towards them, out of
compassion for their misfortunes, and he may have
promised himself industrial and intellectual advan-
tage from this immigration of the Spanish Jews.

CH.XII. KIND IKEATMENT IN NAPLES. ^9

Whether it was calculation or generosity, it is
enough that he bade them welcome, and made his
realm free to them. Many thousands of them landed
in the Bay of Naples (24th August, 1492), and were
kindly received. The native Jewish community
treated them with true brotherly generosity, de-
frayed the passage of the poor not able to pay, and
provided for their immediate necessities.

Isaac Abrabanel, also, and his whole household,
went to Naples. Here he lived at first as a private
individual, and continued the work of writing a com-
mentary upon the book of Kings, which had been
interrupted by his state duties. When the king of
Naples was informed of his presence in the city, he
invited him to an interview, and intrusted him with
a post, in all likelihood in the financial department.
Probably he hoped to make use of Abrabanel's ex-
perience in the war with which he was threatened by
the king of France. Whether from his own noble
impulses, or from esteem for Abrabanel, the king
of Naples showed the Jews a gentle humanity which
startlingly contrasted with the cruelty of the Spanish
king. The unhappy people had to struggle with
many woes ; when they thought themselves free of
one, another yet more merciless fell upon them. A
devastating pestilence, arising out of the sad condi-
tion to which they had been reduced, or from the
overcrowding of the ships, followed in the track of
the wanderers. They brought death with them.
Scarcely six months had they been settled on Nea-
politan soil when the pestilence carried numbers
of them off, and King Ferdinand, who dreaded a
rising of the populace against the Jews, hinted to
them that they must bury their corpses by night,
and in silence. When the pest could no longer be
concealed, and every day increased in virulence,
people and courtiers alike entreated him to drive
them forth. But Ferdinand would not assent
to this inhuman proceeding; he is said to have

360 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. XI 1.

threatened to abdicate if the Jews were ill-treated.
He had hospitals erected for them outside the
town, sent physicians to their aid, and gave them
means of support. For a whole year he strove,
with unexampled nobility, to succor the unfortunate
people, whom banishment and disease had trans-
formed into living corpses. Those, also, who were
fortunate enough to reach Pisa found a brotherly
reception. The sons of Yechiel of Pisa fairly took
up their abode on the quay, so as to be ready to
receive the wanderers, provide for their wants,
shelter them, or help them on their way to some
other place. After Ferdinand's death, his son,
Alfonso II, who little resembled him, retained the
Jewish statesman, Abrabanel, in his service, and,
after his resignation in favor of his son, took him
with him to Sicily. Abrabanel to the last remained
faithful to this prince in his misfortunes (January,
1494, to June, 1495).

After the conquest of Naples by the weak-headed
knight-errant king of France, Charles VIII, the
members of the Abrabanel family were torn apart
and scattered. None of them, however, met with
such signal misfortune as the eldest son, Judah
Leon Medigo (born 1470, died 1530). He had
been so well beloved at the Spanish court that they
were loath to part with him, and would gladly have
kept him there — of course, as a Christian. To
attain this end, a command was issued that he be
not permitted to leave Toledo, or that his one-year-
old son be taken from him, baptized immediately,
and that in this manner the father be chained to
Spain. Judah Abrabanel, however, got wind of
this plot against his liberty, sent his son, with his
nurse, "like stolen goods," secretly to the Portu-
guese coast; but as he himself did not care to seek
shelter in the country where his father had been
threatened with death, he turned his face towards
Naples. His suspicions of the king of Portugal

CH. XII. THE REFUGEES IN AFRICA. 361

were only too speedily justified. No sooner did
Joao hear that a relative of Abrabanel was within
his borders than he ordered the child to be kept as
hostage, and not to be permitted to go forth with the
other Jews. Little Isaac never saw his parents and
grandparents again. He was baptized, and brought
up as a Christian. The agony of the father at the
living death of his lost child was boundless. It
gave him no rest or peace to his latest hour, and it
found vent in a lamentation sad in the extreme. Yet
what was the grief for one child, compared with the
woes which overtook the thousands of Jews hunted
out of Spain ?

Many of them found their way to the nearest
African seaport towns, Oran, Algiers and Bugia.
The inhabitants, who feared that their towns would
be overcrowded from such a vast influx, shot at the
Jews as they landed, and killed many of them. An
eminent Jew at the court of Barbary, however,
addressed the sultan in behalf of his unhappy
brethren, and obtained leave for them to land. They
were not allowed to enter the towns, probably
because the pestilence had broken out among them,
too. They could only build themselves wooden
huts outside the walls. The children collected
wood, and their elders nailed the boards together
for temporary dwellings. But they did not long
enjoy even this miserable shelter, as one day a fire
broke out in one of the huts, and soon laid the
whole camp in ashes.

Those who settled in Fez suffered a still more
terrible lot. Here also the inhabitants would not
admit them, fearing that such an influx of human
beings would raise the price of the necessaries of
life. They had to encamp in the fields, and live on
roots and herbs like cattle. On the Sabbath they
stripped the plants with their teeth, in order not to
desecrate the holyday by gathering them. Starvation,
pestilence, and the unfriendliness of the Mahometan

362 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. XII.

people vied with each other in inflicting misery upon
the Jews. In their awful despair, fathers were
driven to sell their children as slaves to obtain
bread. Mothers killed their little ones that they
might not see them perish from the pangs of
hunger. Avaricious captains took advantage of the
distress of the parents to entice starving children on
board their vessels with offers of bread, and, deaf to
the cries and entreaties of the parents, carried them
off to distant lands, where they sold them for a good
price. Later, the ruler of Fez, probably at the rep-
resentation of the original Jewish inhabitants, pro-
claimed that Jewish children who had been sold for
bread, and other necessaries of life, should be set at
liberty.

The descriptions by their contemporaries of the
sufferings of the Jews make one's hair stand on
end. They were dogged whithersoever they went.
Those whom plague and starvation had spared, fell
into the hands of brutalized men. The report got
about that the Spanish Jews had swallowed the gold
and silver which they had been forbidden to carry
away, intending to use it later on. Cannibals, there-
fore, ripped open their bodies to seek for coin in
their entrails. The Genoese ship-folk behaved most
inhumanly to the wanderers who had trusted their
lives to them. From avarice, or sheer delight in
the death agonies of the Jews, they flung many of
them into the sea. One captain offered insult to
the beautiful daughter of a Jewish wanderer. Her
name was Paloma (Dove), and to escape shame, the
mother threw her and her other daughters and
then herself into the waves. The wretched father
composed a heartbreaking lamentation for his lost
dear ones.

Those who reached the port of Genoa had to
contend with new miseries. In this thriving town
there was a law that Jews might not remain there
for longer than three days. As the ships which

CH. XII. IN GENOA AND ROME, ^6$

were to convey the Jews thence required repairing,
the authorities conceded the permission for them to
remain, not in the town, but upon the Mole, until
the vessels were ready for sea. Like ghosts, pale,
shrunken, hollow-eyed, gaunt, they went on shore,
and if they had not moved, impelled by instinct to
get out of their floating prison, they might have
been taken for so many corpses. The starving
children went into the churches, and allowed them-
selves to be baptized for a morsel of bread ; and
Christians were merciless enough not merely to
accept such sacrifices, but with the cross in one
hand, and bread in the other, to go among the Jews
and tempt them to become converted. Only a
short time had been granted them on the Mole, but
a great part of the winter passed before the repairs
were completed. The longer they remained, the
more their numbers diminished, through the passing
over to Christianity of the younger members, and
many fell victims to plagues of all kinds. Other
Italian towns would not allow them to land even for
a short time, partly because it was a year of famine,
partly because the Jews brought the plague with
them.

The survivors from Genoa who reached Rome
underwent still more bitter experiences ; their own
people leagued against them, refusing to allow them
to enter, from fear that the influx of new settlers
would damage their trade. They got togedier
i,ooo ducats, to present to the notorious monster.
Pope Alexander VI, as a bribe to refuse to allow
the Jews to enter. This prince, himself unfeeling
enough, was so enraged at the heartlessness of
these men against their own people, that he ordered
every Roman Jew out of the city. It cost the
Roman congregation 2,000 ducats to obtain the
revocation of this edict, and they had to take in the
refugees besides.

The Greek islands of Corfu, Candia, and others

364 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. XIl.

became filled with Spanish Jews ; some had dragged
themselves thither, others had been sold as slaves
there. The majority of the Jewish communities
had great compassion for them, and strove to care
for them, or at all events to ransom them. They
made great efforts to collect funds, and sold the
ornaments of the synagogues, so that their brethren
might not starve, or be subjected to slavery. Per-
sians, who happened to be on the island of Corfu,
bought Spanish refugees, in order to obtain from
Jews of their own country a high ransom for them.
Elkanah Kapsali, a representative of the Candian
community, was indefatigable in his endeavors to
collect money for the Spanish Jews. The most
fortunate were those who reached the shores of
Turkey; for the Turkish Sultan, Bajazet II, showed
himself to be not only a most humane monarch,
but also the wisest and most far-seeing. He under-
stood better than the Christian princes what hidden
riches the impoverished Spanish Jews brought with
them, not in their bowels, but in their brains, and
he wanted to turn these to use for the good of his
country. Bajazet caused a command to go forth
through the European provinces of his dominions
that the harassed and hunted Jews should not be
rejected, but should be received in the kindest and
most friendly manner. He threatened with death
anyone who should illtreat or oppress them. The
chief rabbi, Moses Kapsali, was untiringly active in
protecting the unfortunate Jewish Spaniards who had
come as beggars or slaves to Turkey. He traveled
about, and levied a tax from the rich native Jews
"for the liberation of the Spanish captives." He
did not need to use much pressure ; for the Turkish
Jews willingly contributed to the assistance of the
victims of Christian fanaticism. Thus thousands of
Spanish Jews settled in Turkey, and before a gen-
eration had passed they had taken the lead among
the Turkish Jews, and made Turkey a kind of
Eastern Spain.

CH. XII. ISAAC ABOAB'S MISSION. 365

At first the Spanish Jews who went to Portugal
seemed to have some chance of a happy lot. The
venerable rabbi, Isaac Aboab, who had gone with
a deputation of thirty to seek perftiission from King
Joao either to settle in or pass through Portugal,
succeeded in obtaining tolerably fair terms. Many
of the wanderers chose to remain in the neighboring
kingdom for a while, because they flattered them-
selves with the hope that their indispensableness
would make itself evident after their departure, that
the eyes of the now blinded king and queen of
Spain would be opened, and they would then re-
ceive the banished people with open arms. At the
worst, so thought the refugees, they would have
time in Portugal to look round, decide which way to
go, and readily find ships to convey them in safety
to Africa or to Italy. When the Spanish deputies
placed the proposition before King JoSo II to re-
ceive the Jews permanently or temporarily in Por-
tugal, the king consulted his grandees at Cintra.
In presenting the matter, he permitted it to be seen
that he himself was desirous of admitting the exiles
for a pecuniary consideration. Some of the ad-
visers, either from pity for the unhappy Jews, or
from respect for the king, were in favor of granting
permission ; others, and these the majority, either
out of hatred for the Jews, or a feeling of honor,
were against it. The king, however, overruled all
objections, because he hoped to carry on the con-
templated war with Africa by means of the money
acquired from the immigrants. It was at first said
that the Spanish refugees were to be permitted to
settle permanently in Portugal. This favor, how-
ever, the Portuguese Jews themselves looked upon
with suspicion, because the little state would thus
hold a disproportionate number of Jews, and the
wanderers, most of them penniless, would fall a
heavy burden upon them, so that the king, not of
an amiable disposition, would end by becoming hos-

366 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. XII.

tile to all the Jews in Portugal. The chief men,
therefore, of the Jewish-Portuguese community met
in debate, and many gave utterance to the cruel
view that they themselves would have to take steps
to prevent the reception of the Spanish exiles. A
noble old man, Joseph, of the family of Ibn-Yachya,
spoke warmly for his unfortunate brethren ; but his
voice was silenced. There was no more talk of
their settling in Portugal, but only of the permission
to make a short stay, in order to arrange for their
journey. The conditions laid down for the Spanish
Jews were : Each one, rich or poor, with the excep-
tion of babes, was to pay a stipulated sum (eight
gold-cruzados, nearly one pound) in four instal-
ments ; artisans, however, such as metal-workers
and smiths, who desired to settle in the country,
only half of this amount. The rest were permitted
to stay only eight months, but the king undertook
to furnish ships at a reasonable rate for trans-
porting them to other lands. Those found in Por-
tugal after the expiration of this period, or not able
to show a receipt for the stipulated payment, were
condemned to servitude. On the promulgation of
these conditions, a large number of Spanish Jews
(estimated at 20,000 families, or 200,000 souls)
passed over the Portuguese borders. The king
assigned to the wanderers certain towns, where
they had to pay a tax to the inhabitants. Oporto
was assigned to the families of the thirty deputies,
and a synagogue was built for them. Isaac Aboab,
the renowned teacher of many disciples, who later
took positions as rabbis in Africa, Egypt and Pales-
tine, died peacefully in Oporto ; his pupil, famous
as a geographer and astronomer, Abraham Zacuto,
pronounced his funeral oration (end of 1492). Only
a few of his fellow-sufferers were destined to die a
peaceful death.

The feverish eagerness for discovering unknown
lands and entering into trading relations with them,

CH. XII. JEWISH ASTRONOMERS. 367

which had seized on Portugal, gave practical value
to two sciences which hitherto had been regarded
as the hobby or amusement of idlers and dilettanti —
namely, astronomy and mathematics, the favorite
pursuits of cultured Jews of the Pyrenean Peninsula.
If India, the land of gold and spices, upon which
the minds of the Portuguese were set with burning
desire, was to be discovered, then coasting journeys,
so slow and so dangerous, would have to be given
up, and voyages made thither upon the high seas.
But the ships ran the risk of losing their way on
the trackless wastes of the ocean. Venturesome
mariners, therefore, sought astronomical tables to
direct their way by the courses of the sun and the
stars. In this science Spanish Jews had the mastery.
A Chazan of Toledo, Isaac (Zag) Ibn-Said, had pub-
lished astronomical tables in the thirteenth century,
known under the name of Alfonsine Tables, which
were used with only slight alterations by the scien-
tific men of Germany, France, England and Italy.
As Joao II of Portugal now wished to send ships
to the Atlantic for the discovery of India by way of
the African sea-coast, he summoned a sort of astro-
nomical congress for the working out of practical
astronomical tables. At this congress, together
with the famous German astronomer, Martin Behaim,
and the Christian physician of King Rodrigo, there
sat a Jew, the royal physician, Joseph (Jose) Vecinho,
or de Viseu. He used as a basis the perpetual
astronomical calendar, or Tables of the Seven
Planets, which Abraham Zacuto, known later as a
chronicler, had drawn up for a bishop of Salamanca,
to whom he had dedicated it. Joseph Vecinho,
together with Christian scientists, also improved
upon the instrument for the measurement of the
altitude of the stars, the nautical astrolabe, indis-
pensable to mariners. By its aid Vasco da Gama
first found it possible to follow the seaway to the
Cape of Good Hope and India, and thus, perhaps,

368 HISTORY or THE JEWS. CH, XII.

Columbus was enabled to discover a new continent.
The geographical knowledge and skill of two Jews,
Rabbi Abraham de Beya and Joseph Zapateiro de
Lamego, were also turned to account by King Joao
II, who sent them to Asia to obtain tidings of his
emissaries to the mythical land of Prester John.

Although King Joao thus employed learned and
skillful Jews for his own ends, he had no liking for
the Jewish race : he was indifferent, or rather inim-
ical, to them directly they came in the way of his
bigotry. In the year in which he dispatched Joseph
Zapateiro and Abraham de Beya to Asia, at the
instigadon of Pope Innocent VIII he appointed a
commission of the Inquisition for the Marranos who
had fled from Spain to Portugal, and, like Ferdi-
nand and Isabella in Spain, delivered over those
who had Jewish leanings, either to death by fire or
to endless imprisonment. Some Marranos having
taken ship to Africa, and there openly adopted
Judaism, he prohibited, under penalty of death and
confiscation, baptized Jews or new-Christians from
leaving the country by sea. On the breath of this
heartless monarch hung the life or death of hun-
dreds of thousands of Jewish exiles.

Against those unfortunates in Portugal, not only
evil-minded men, but nature itself, fought. Soon
after their arrival in Portugal, a cruel pestilence
began to rage among them, destroying tliousands.
The Portuguese, who also suffered from the plague,
believed that the Jews had brought it into the
country; and, indeed, all that they had suffered, the
oppressive heat at the time of their going forth,
want, misery, and all kinds of devastating diseases,
may have developed it. A considerable number of
the Spanish refugees died of the plague in Portugal.
The population on this account murmured against
the king, complaining that the pestilence had fol-
lowed in the track of the accursed Jews, and estab-
lished itself in the country. Don Joao, therefore^

CH. XII. PORTUGUESE EXILES. 369

had to insist more strenuously than he otherwise
would have done upon the condition that all who
had settled in Portugal should leave at the expira-
tion of the eight months. At first he put ships
at their disposal, at moderate rates of transpor-
tation, according to his agreement, and bade the
captains treat their passengers with humanity, and
convey them whither they wished to go. But these
men, inspired by Jew hatred and avarice, once upon
the seas, troubled themselves but little about the
king's orders, since they had no need to fear com-
plaints about their inhumanity. They demanded
more money than had originally been bargained
for, and extorted it from the helpless creatures.
Or, they carried them about upon the waste of
waters till their stock of provisions was exhausted,
and then demanded large sums for a fresh supply
of food, so that at last the unfortunates were driven
to give their clothes for bread, and were landed
anywhere in a nearly naked state. Women and
young girls were insulted and violated in the pres-
ence of their parents and relatives, and disgrace
was brought upon the name of Christian. Fre-
quently these inhuman mariners landed them in
some desolate spot of the African coasts, and left
them to perish from hunger and despair, or to fall
a prey to the Moors, who took them prisoners.

The sufferings of the exiled Jews who left Por-
tugal in ships are related by an eye-witness, the
Kabbalist, Judah ben Jacob Chayyat, of a noble
and wealthy family. The vessel on which he, his
wife, and two hundred and fifty other Jews, of both
sexes and all ages, had embarked, left the harbor
of Lisbon in winter (beginning of 1493), and lin-
gered four months upon the waves, because no sea-
port would take them in for fear of the plague.
Provisions on board naturally ran short. The ship
was captured by Biscayan pirates, plundered and
taken to the Spanish port of Malaga. The Jews

g^ HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. XII.

were not permitted to land, nor to set sail again,
nor were provisions given them. The priests
and magistrates of the town desired to incline them
to the teaching of Christ by the pangs of hunger.
They succeeded in converting one hundred persons
with gaunt bodies and hollow eyes. The rest re-
mained steadfast to their own faith, and fifty of
them, old men, youths, maidens, children, among
them Chayyat's wife, died of starvation. Then, at
last, compassion awoke in the hearts of the Mala-
gese, and they gave them bread and water. When,
after two months, the remainder of them received
permission to sail to the coasts of Africa, they
encountered bitter sufferings in another form. On
account of the plague they were not permitted to
land at any town, and had to depend upon the
herbs of the field. Chayyat himself was seized, and
flung by a malicious Mahometan into a horrible dun-
geon full of snakes and salamanders, in order to
force him to adopt Islamism; in case of refusal, he
was threatened with death by stoning. These con-
tinuous, grinding cruelties did not make him waver
one instant in his religious convictions. At last he
was liberated by the Jews of a little town, and carried
to Fez. There so severe a famine raged that Chay-
yat was compelled to turn a mill with his hands for a
piece of bread, not fit for a dog. At night he and
his companions in misery who had strayed to Fez
slept upon the ash-heaps of the town.

Carefully as the Portuguese mariners strove to
conceal their barbarities to the Jews, their deeds
soon came to light, and frightened off those who
remained behind from emigrating by sea. The poor
creatures, moreover, were unable to raise the neces-
sary money for their passage and provisions. They,
therefore, put off going from day to day, comforting
themselves with the hope that the king would be
merciful, and allow them to remain in Portugal.
Don Joao, however, was not a monarch whose heart

CH. XII. JEWISH CHILDREN SENT TO SAN THOMAS. 37 1

was warmed by kindness and compassion. He main-
tained that more Jews had come into Portugal than
had been stipulated for, and insisted, therefore, that
the agreement be strictly carried out. Those who
remained after the expiration of eight months were
made slaves, and sold or given to those of the Por-
tuguese nobility who cared to take their pick from

them (1493)-

King Joao went still further in his cruel dealings
with the unhappy Spanish Jews. The children of
from three to ten years of age whose parents had
become slaves, he ordered to be transported by sea
to the newly-discovered San Thomas or Lost Islands
(Ilhas perdidas), there to be reared in the tenets of
Christianity. The weeping of the mothers, the sob-
bing of the children, the rage of the fathers, who tore
their hair in agony, did not move the heartless des-
pot to recall his command. Mothers entreated to
be allowed to go with their children, threw them-
selves at the kinor's feet as he came out of church,
and implored him to leave them at least the young-
est. Don Joao had them dragged from his path
"like bitches who had their whelps torn from them."
Is it to be wondered at that mothers, with their chil-
dren in their arms, sprang into the sea to rest united
in its depths? The Islands of San Thomas, whither
the little ones were taken, were full of lizards and
venomous snakes, and inhabited by criminals trans-
ported thither from Portugal. Most of the children
perished on the journey, or became the prey of wild
beasts. Among the survivors it happened that
brothers and sisters, in ignorance of their relation-
ship, married each other. Perhaps the king's barbar-
ity to the Jews must be accounted for by the bitter
gloom which mastered him at the death of his only
legitimate son.

After the death of Joao II, who sank in wretched-
ness into his grave (end of October, 1495), he was
succeeded by his cousin Manoel, a great contrast in

372 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. XH.

disposition to himself — an intelligent, amiable, gentle-
minded man, and a lover of learning. There seemed
some prospect of a better star's rising upon the rem-
nant of the banished Jews in Portugal. King Ma-
noel, finding that the Jews had remained in his king-
dom beyond the allotted time only from fear of many
forms of death upon the ocean, gave all the slaves
their freedom. The money which, beside themselves
with joy, they offered him for this, he refused. It is
true that his ulterior motive, as Bishop Osorius tells
us, was to win them over to Christianity by clemency.
The Jewish mathematician and astronomer, Abraham
Zacuto, who had remained in Lisbon, having come
thither from northern Spain, where he had taught
his favorite science even to Christians, was made
chief astrologer Zacuto served the king not merely
in the latter capacity. Although a man of limited
understanding, unable to rise above the superstition
of his day, he had sound knowledge of astronomy,
and published a work upon that science, besides
preparing his astronomical tables. He also invented
a correct metal instrument for measuring the altitude
of the stars, to replace the clumsy and inaccurate
wooden one used hitherto by mariners.

Under King Manoel, in whose reign Portugal's
domains were enlarged by acquisitions in India and
America, the Jews were able to breathe awhile. It
appears that soon after ascending the throne he
issued a command that the accusations against them
for murdering children should not be recognized by
courts of justice, since they were malicious, lying in-
ventions. Nor would he allow the fanatical preach-
ing friars to utter denunciations against them.

Very short, however, was the gleam of happiness
for the Jews under Manoel : the somber bigotry of
the Spanish court changed it into terrible gloom.
No sooner had the young king of Portugal mounted
the throne than their majesties of Spain began to
entertain the idea of marriage relations with him in

CH. XII. MANOEL AND ISABELLA. 3/3

order to turn an inimical neighbor into a friend and
ally. They proposed marriage with their younger
daughter, Joanna, who afterwards became notori-
ous on account of her jealous disposition and
her madness. Manoel lent a willing ear to the pro-
posal of an alliance with the Spanish court, but pre-
ferred the elder sister, Isabella II, who had been
married to the Infante of Portugal, and had soon
after become a widow. Isabella had strong repug-
nance to a second marriage ; buther confessor knew
how to overrule her objections, and made her be-
lieve that if she consented she would have oppor-
tunity to glorify the Christian faith. The Spanish
court had marked with chagrin and vexation that
the Portuguese king had received the Jewish and
Mahometan refugees, and King Manoel's friendly
treatment of them was a thorn in their flesh. Fer-
dinand and Isabella thought that by falling in with
the Portuguese king's wishes, they would attain their
end. They, therefore, promised him the hand of
their eldest daughter upon condition that he join
with Spain against Charles VII, and send the Jews
out of Portugal, both the native and the refugee
Jews. The conditions were very disagreeable to
King Manoel, who was on good terms with France,
and reaped great advantage from the wealth, en-
ergy, intelligence, and knowledge of the Jews.

He consulted with his lords and council upon this
question, fraught with such importance for the Jews.
Opinions upon it were divided. Manoel hesitated
for some time, because his noble nature shrank from
such cruelty and faithlessness. The Infanta Isabella
spoke the deciding word. She entertained fanatical,
almost personal hatred against the Jews. She be-
lieved or was persuaded by the priests that the mis-
fortunes and unhappiness which had befallen King
Joao In his last days were occasioned by his having
allowed Jews to enter his kingdom ; and, nour-
ished as she had been at the breast of supersti-

374 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. XII.

tion, she was afraid of ill-luck in her union with
Manoel if Jews were permitted to remain in Portu-
gal. What dreary lovelessness in the heart of a
young woman ! Irreconcilable strife of feelings
and thoughts was thus raised in the soul of King
Manoel. Honor, the interest of the state, human-
ity, forebade his proscribing and expelling the
Jews ; but the hand of the Spanish Infanta, and the
Spanish crown were to be secured only by the mis-
ery of the Jews. Love turned the balance in favor
of hate. When the king was expecting his bride
to cross the borders of his kingdom, he received a
letter from her saying that she would not set foot
in Portugal until the land was cleansed of the
*' curse-laden " Jews.

The marriage contract between Don Manoel and
the Spanish Infanta, Isabella, then, was sealed with
the misery of the Jews. It was signed on the 30th
of November, 1496, and so early as the 24th of the
following month, the king caused an order to go
forth that all the Jews and Moors of his kingdom
must receive baptism, or leave the country within a
given time, on pain of death. In order to relieve
his conscience, he showed clemency in carrying his
edict into effect. He lengthened the term of their
Sitay until the October of the following year, so that
they had time for preparation. He further ap-
pointed three ports, Lisbon, Oporto, and Setubal,
for their free egress. That he sought to allure the
Jews to Christianity, by the prospect of honor and ad-
vancement, was so entirely due to the distorted views
of the times, that he cannot be held responsible for
it; as it was, only a few submitted to baptism.

Precisely Manoel's clement behavior tended to
the greater misery of the Jews. Having ample time
to prepare for their departure, and not being forbid-
den to take gold and silver with them, they thought
that there was no need to hurrv. Perhaps the king
would change his mind. They had friends at court

CH. XII. CHILDREN BAPTIZED BY FORCE. 375

who were agitating in their favor. Besides, the winter
months were not a good time to be upon the ocean.
The majority, therefore, waited until spring. In the
meantime King Manoel certainly did change his
mind, but only to increase their fearful misery. He
was much vexed at finding that so few Jews had
embraced Christianity. Very unwillingly he saw
them depart with their wealth and their possessions,
and sought ways and means to retain them, as
Christians, of course, in his own kingdom. The
first step had cost him a struggle, the second was
easy.

He raised the question in council whether the
Jews could be brought to baptism by force. To the
honor of the Portuguese clergy it must be said that
they expressed themselves as opposed to this. The
bishop of Algarve, Ferdinand Coutinho, cited eccle-
siastical authorities and papal bulls to the effect
that Jews n\ight not be compelled to adopt Christi-
anity, because a free, not a forced, confession was
required. Manoel, however, was so bent upon
keeping *.he industrious Jews with him, that he
openly declared that he did not trouble himself
about lav;s and authorities, but would act upon his
own judgment. From Evora he issued (beginning
of April, 1497) a secret command that all Jewish
children, boys and girls, up to the age of fourteen,
should be taken from their parents by force on
Easter Sunday, and carried to the church fonts to be
baptized. He was advised by a reprobate convert,
Levi ben Shem Tob, to take this step. In spite of
the secrecy of the preparations, several Jews found
it out, and were about to flee with their children
from the "stain of baptism." When Manoel heard
it, he ordered the forced baptism of children to be
carried out at once. Heartrending scenes ensued
in the towns where Jews lived when the sheriffs strove
to carry away the children. Parents strained their
dear ones to their breasts, the children clung con-

37^ ---^HlSTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. XII.

vulsively to them, and they could be separated only
by lashes and blows. In their despair over the pos-
sibility of being thus for ever sundered, many of them
strangled the children in their embraces, or threw
them into wells and rivers, and then laid hands upon
themselves. " I have seen," relates Bishop Coutinho,
"many dragged to the font by the hair, and the
fathers clad in mourning, with veiled heads and cries
of agony, accompanying their children to the altar,
to protest against the inhuman baptism. I have seen
still more horrible, indescribable violence done them."
In the memory of his contemporaries lingered the
frightful manner in which a noble and cultured Jew,
Isaac Ibn-Zachin, destroyed himself and his children,
to avoid their becoming a prey to Christianity.
Christians were moved to pity by the cries and tears
of Jewish fathers, mothers and children, and despite
the king's commands not to assist the Jews, they con-
cealed many of the unfortunates in their houses, so
that at least for the moment they might be safe; but
the stony hearts of King Manoel and his young wife,
the Spanish Isabella II, remained unmoved by these
sights of woe. The baptized children, who received
Christian names, were placed in various towns, and
reared as Christians. Either in obedience to a
secret order, or from excessive zeal, the creatures
of the king not only seized children, but also youths
and maidens up to the age of twenty, for baptism.
Many Jews of Portugal probably embraced Chris-
tianity in order to remain with their children; but
this did not satisfy the king, who, not from religious
zeal, but from political motives, had hardened his
heart. All the Jews of Portugal, it mattered not
whether with or without conviction, were to become
Christians and remain in the country. To attain
this end, he violated a solemn promise more fla-
grantly than his predecessor. When the time of
their departure came closer, he ordered the Jews to
embark from one seaport only, that of Lisbon,

CH. Xli. PORTUGUESE JEWS PERSECUTED. 37/

although, at first, he had allowed them three places.
Therefore, all who wished to go, had to meet in
Lisbon — 20,000 souls, it is said, with burning grief
in their hearts, but prepared to suffer anything to
remain true to their convictions. The inhuman
monarch allowed them lodgings in the city, but he
placed so many hindrances in the way of their em-
barkation, that time passed by, and the day arrived
when they were to forfeit life, or at least liberty, if
found upon Portuguese soil. He had all who re-
mained behind locked in an enclosed space (os
Estaos) like oxen in stalls, and informed them that
they were now his slaves, and that he could do with
them as he thought fit. He urged them voluntarily
to confess the Christian faith, in which case they
should have honor and riches ; otherwise they would
be forced to baptism w^ithout mercy. When, not-
withstanding this, many remained firm, he forbade
bread or water to be given them for three days, in
order to render them more pliable. This means did
not succeed any better with the greater number of
them: they chose to faint with starvation rather
than belong to a religion which owned such followers
as their persecutors. Upon this, Manoel proceeded
to extreme measures. By cords, by their hair and
beard, they were dragged from their pen to the
churches. To escape this some sprang from the
windows, and their limbs were crushed. Others
broke loose and jumped into wells. Some killed
themselves in the churches. One father spread his
tallith over his sons, and killed them and himself.
Manoel's terrible treatment comes into more glar-
ing prominence when compared with his behavior to
the Moors. They, too, had to leave Portugal, but
no hindrances were placed in their way, because he
feared that the Mahometan princes in Africa and
Turkey might retaliate upon the Christians living in
their domains. The Jews had no earthly protector,
were weak and helpless, therefore, Manoel, whom

Z7^ HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH XII.

historians call the Great, permitted himself to
perpetrate such atrocities. In this fashion many
native Portuguese and refugee Spanish Jews were
led to embrace Christianity, which they — as their
Christian contemporaries relate with shame — had
openly scorned. Some, at a later period, became
distinguished Rabbinical authorities, like Levi ben
Chabib, afterwards rabbi in Jerusalem. Those
who escaped with their lives and their faith attrib-
uted it to the gracious and wondrous interposition
of God. Isaac ben Joseph Caro, who had come
from Toledo to Portugal, there lost his adult and
his minor sons ("who were beautiful as prin-
ces"), yet thanked his Creator for the mercy that in
spite of peril on the sea he reached Turkey. Abra-
ham Zacuto, with his son Samuel, also was in dan-
ger of death, although (or because) he was King
Manoel's favorite, astrologer and chronicler. Both,
however, were fortunate enough to pass through
the bitter ordeal, and escape from Portugal, but
they were twice imprisoned. They finally settled
in Tunis.

The stir which the enforced conversion of the
Jews caused in Portugal did not immediately sub-
side. Those who had submitted to baptism through
fear of death, or out of fove for their children, did
not give up the hope that by appealing to the papal
court they might be able to return to their own faith,
seeing that, as all Europe knew, Pope Alexander
VI and his college of cardinals, as base as himself,
would do anything for money. A witticism was
then going the rounds of every Christian country :

Vendit Alexander Claves, Altaria, Christum ;
Emerat ista prius, vendere jure pptest.

Rome was a market of shame — a hill of Astarte —
a mart of unwholesomeness — but there the inno
cent, also, could buy their rights. The Portuguese
new-Christians now sent a deputation of seven of

CH. xiL mangel's concessions. 379

their companions in misery to Pope Alexander, and
they did not forget to take a purse of gold with them.
The pope and the so-called holy college showed
themselves favorably inclined towards them, espe-
cially Cardinal de Sancta Anastasia took them under
his patronage. The Spanish ambassador, Garcilaso,
however, was instructed by their Spanish majesties
to oppose them. Despite his influence the affairs
of the Portuguese Jews must have taken a favorable
turn, for King Manoel decided to make concessions.
He issued a mild decree (May 30th, 1497), in which
he granted amnesty to all forcibly baptized Jews,
and a respite of twenty years, during which they
were not to be brought before the tribunal of the
Inquisition for their adherence to Judaism. It was
said that it was necessary for them first to lay aside
their Jewish habits, and accustom themselves to
the ways of the Catholic faith, for which they needed
time. Further, the decree ordered that, on the
expiration of this term, a regular examination should
be made of those accused of Judaizing practices,
and if the case was decided against them, their
goods should not be confiscated, as in Spain, but
given over to their heirs. Finally, the decree
ordained that those baptized physicians and sur-
geons who did not understand Latin might make
use of Hebrew books of reference. Practically this
allowed the enforced Christians to live in secret,
without fear of punishment, as Jews, and to retain
all their books. For, who, in Portugal, in those
days, could distinguish a book of medicine from
any other work in the Hebrew language? The
students of the Talmud could thus follow their
favorite researches and studies under the mask of
Catholicism. This amnesty benefited the Portuguese
Marranos, but not those who had immigrated into
Portugal, by a clause which Manoel had inserted out
of deference to the Spanish court, or, more particu-
larly, to the Spanish Infanta Isabella. For she in-

380 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. XII.

sisted that the Marranos who had fled out of Spain
into Portugal should be delivered over to the Moloch
of the Inquisition. In the marriage contract be-
tween the king of Portugal and the fanatical Isabella
(August, 1497), it was expressly set down that all
persons of the Hebrew race coming under condem-
nation of the Inquisition, who sought refuge in
Portugal, must leave within a month's time.

Thus many thousand Portuguese Jews became
pseudo-Christians, but with the firm resolve to seize
the first opportunity to get away, so that in a free
country they might openly practice a religion only
the dearer to them for all they had suffered for it.
Their souls, as the poet Samuel Usque writes, had
not been stained by the baptism imposed on them.
There were some Jews, however, who had refused
baptism with all their might. Among them was
Simon Maimi, apparendy the last chief rabbi (Ar-
rabi mor) in Portugal, a scrupulously pious man ;
also his wife, his sons-in-law, and some others. They
were closely imprisoned, because they would not for-
swear Judaism, nor observe the rites of the church.
To bring them to conversion, Simon Maimi and his
fellow sufferers, official rabbis, were most inhumanly
tortured. They were immured up to the neck in
their prison, and left for three days in this fearful
position. When they nevertheless remained firm,
the walls were torn down ; three had died, among
them Simon Maimi, whose conversion was most
important, because his example would have influ-
enced the others. Two Marranos imperiled their
lives to secure the corpse of the pious martyr, that
they might inter it in the Jewish burial-ground, al-
though it was strictly forbidden to bury the Jewish
victims of Christian sacrifice otherwise than by the
executioner's hands. A few Marranos secretly at-
tended their deeply-lamented saint to his last rest,
and celebrated a mourning service over his grave.
Manoel permitted the few remaining Jews to depart

CH. XII. THE LAST PORTUGUESE JEWS SET FREE. 38 1

not long after, probably on the death of Isabella, the
instigator of all his barbarities to the Jews. She
died at the birth of the heir to the thrones of Portu-
gal and Spain, August 24th, 1498, and the Infante
died two years later. One of the remnant dismissed
was Abraham Saba, a preacher and Kabbalist author,
whose two children were baptized by force and taken
from him. The companions of Simon Maimi and
his sons-in-law remained in prison a long time, were
afterwards sent to Arzilla, in Africa, there con-
demned to work at the trenches on the Sabbath,
and died at last a martyr's death.

Eighty years later, Manoel's great-grandson, the
adventurous king, Sebastian, led the flower of the
Portuguese people to fresh conquests in Africa. In
a single battle the power of Portugal was broken,
her nobility slain, or cast into prison. The captives
were carried to Fez, and there, in the slave-market,
offered for sale to the descendants of the barbarously
treated Portuguese Jews. The unhappy Portuguese
nobles and knights were, however, glad to be bought
by Jews, as they well knew the mild and humane
nature of the followers of the "God of vengeance."

CHAPTER XIII.

RESULTS OF THE EXPULSION OF THE JEWS FROM SPAIN
AND PORTUGAL. GENERAL VIEW.

Widespread Consequences of the Expulsion — The Exiles — Fate of
the Abrabanel Family — Leon Medigo — Isaac Akrish — The Pre-
eminence of Jews of Spanish Origin — The North-African States:
Samuel Alvalensi, Jacob Berab, Simon Duran II — The Jews of
Algiers, Tripoli and Tunis — Abraham Zacuto, and Moses Alash-
kar — Egypt : Isaac Shalal, David Ibn-Abi Zimra — The Jews of
Cairo — Selim I — Cessation of the Office of Nagid — Jerusalem —
Obadyah di Bertinoro — Safet and Joseph Saragossi — The Jews
of Turkey — Constantinople — Ehas Mizrachi: the Karaites — The
Communities of Salonica and Adrianople — The Jews of Greece
— Elias Kapsali — The Jews of Italy and the Popes: Bonet de
Lates — The Ghetto in Venice — Samuel Abrabanel and Benvenida
Abrabanela — Abraham Farissol- -The Jews of Germany and
their Sorrows — Expulsion of the Jews from Various Towns — The
Jews of Bohemia — ^Jacob Polak and his School — The Jews of
Poland.

1496 — 1525 C.E.

The expulsion of the Jews from the Pyrenean Pen-
insula, unwise as it was inhuman, forms in various
ways a well-marked turning-point in the general
history of the Jewish race. It involved not only the
exiles, but the whole Jewish people, in far-reaching
and mostly disastrous consequences. The glory of
the Jews was extinguished, their pride humbled,
their center displaced, the strong pillar against
which they had hitherto leant broken. The grief
caused by this sad event was shared by the Jews
in every country which had news of it. They
all felt as if the Temple had been destroyed a
third time, as if the sons of Zion had a third time
been condemned to exile and misery. Whether
from fancy or pride, it was supposed that the Span-
ish (or, more correctly, the Sephardic) Jews were
the posterity of the noblest tribe, and included
among them descendants in a direct line from King
363

CH. XIII. THE SPANISH FUGITIVES. 383

David; hence the Jews looked upon them as a kind
of Jewish nobility. And now these exalted ones
had been visited by the severest affliction ! Exile,
compulsory baptism, death in every hideous form,
by despair, hunger, pestilence, fire, shipwreck, all
torments united, had reduced their hundreds of
thousands to barely the tenth part of that number.
The remnant wandered about like specters, hunted
from one country to another, and princes among
Jews, they were compelled to knock as beggars at
the doors of their brethren. The thirty millions of
ducats which, at the lowest computation, the Spanish
Jews possessed on their expulsion, had melted away
in their hands, and they were thus left denuded of
everything in a hostile world, which valued the Jews
at their money's worth only. At the same period
many German Jews were driven from cities in the
East and in the West, but their misery did not equal
that of the Spanish Jews. They had known neither
the sweetness of a country that they could call their
own, nor the comforts of life ; they were more hardy,
or, at least, accustomed to contempt and harsh treat-
ment.

Half a century after the banishment of the Jews
from Spain and Portugal, we everywhere meet with
fugitives: here a group, there a family, or solitary
stragglers. It was a kind of exodus on a small
scale, moving eastwards, chiefly to Turkey, as if the
Jews were to approach their original home. But
their very wanderings, until they again reached
secure dwelling-places, and in a measure were set-
tled, were heartrending through the calamities of
every description, the humiliations, the contumely,
sufferings worse than death, that they encountered.

The ancient family of Abrabanel did not escape
heavy disasters and constant migrations. The father,
Isaac Abrabanel, who had occupied a high position
at the court of the accomplished king, Ferdinand I,
and of his son Alfonso, at Naples, was forced, on the

384 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. XIII.

approach of the French, to leave the city, and, with
his royal patron, to seek refuge in Sicily. The
French hordes plundered his house of all its valu-
ables, and destroyed a choice library, his greatest
treasure. On the death of King Alfonso, Isaac
Abrabanel, for safety, went to the island of Corfu.
He remained there only till the French had evacu-
ated the Neapolitan territory ; then he settled at
Monopoli (Apulia), where he completed or revised
many of his writings. The wealth acquired in the
service of the Portuguese and Spanish courts had
vanished, his wife and children were separated from
him and scattered, and he passed his days in sad
musings, out of which only his study of the Scrip-
tures and the annals of the Jewish people could
lift him. His eldest son, Judah Leon Medigo Abra-
banel, resided at Genoa, where, in spite of his un-
settled existence and consuming grief for the loss
of his young son, who had been taken from him, and
was being brought up in Portugal as a Christian, he
still cherished ideals. For Leon Abrabanel was
much more highly accomplished, richer in thought,
in every way more gifted than his father, and de-
serves consideration not merely for his father's, but
for his own sake. Leon Abrabanel practiced medi-
cine to gain a livelihood (whence his cognomen
Medigo) ; but his favorite pursuits were astronomy,
mathematics, and metaphysics. Shortly before the
death of the gifted and eccentric Pico de Mirandola,
Leon Medigo became acquainted with him, won his
friendship, and at his instigation undertook the
writing of a philosophical work.

Leon Medigo, in a remarkable manner, entered
into close connection with acquaintances of his youth,
with Spanish grandees, and even with King Ferdi-
nand, who had driven his family and so many hun-
dred thousands into banishment and death. For he
became the private physician of the general, Gon-
salvo de Cordova, the conqueror and viceroy of

CH. XIIL LEON MEDIGO. 385

Naples. The heroic, amiable, and lavish De Cordova
did not share his master's hatred against the Jews.
In one of his descendants Jewish literature iound
a devotee. When King Ferdinand, after the con-
quest of the kingdom of Naples (1504), commanded
that the Jews be banished thence, as from Spain,
the general thwarted the execution of the order,
observing that, on the whole, there were but few
Jews on Neapolitan territory, since most of the im-
migrants had either again left it, or had become con-
verts to Christianity. The banishment of these few
could only be injurious to the country, since they
would settle at Venice, which would benefit by their
industry and riches. Consequently the Jews were
allowed to remain a while longer on Neapolitan
territory. But to exterminate the Spanish and
Portuguese Marranos who had settled there, Ferdi-
nand established the terrible Inquisition at Bene-
vento. Leon Medigo for over two years was De
Cordova's physician (1505 — 1507), and King Ferdi-
nand saw him when he visited Naples. After the
king's departure and the ungracious dismissal of the
viceroy (June, 1507), Leon Abrabanel, having no-
where found suitable employment, returned to his
father, then living at Venice, whither he had been
invited by his second son, Isaac II, who practiced
medicine first at Reggio (Calabria), then at Venice.
The youngest son, Samuel, afterwards a generous
protector of his co-religionists, was the most fortu-
nate of the family. He dwelt amidst the cool shades
of the academy of Salonica, to which his father had
sent him to finish his education in Jewish learning.
The elder Abrabanel once more entered the political
arena. At Venice he had the opportunity of set-
tling a dispute between the court of Lisbon and the
Venetian Republic concerning the East-Indian colo-
nies established by the Portuguese, especially con-
cerning the trade in spices. Some influential sena-
tors discerned Isaac Abrabanel's correct political and

386 HISTORV OF THE JEWS. CH. XIII.

financial judgment, and thenceforth consuhed him
in all important questions of state policy. But suffer-
ing and travel had broken his strength ; before he
reached seventy years, he felt the infirmities of old
age creeping over him. In a letter of reply to Saul
Cohen Ashkenasi, an inhabitant of Candia, a man
thirsting for knowledge, the disciple and intellectual
heir of Elias del Medigo, Abrabanel complains of
increasing debility and senility. Had he been si-
lent, his literary productions of that time would have
betrayed his infirmity. The baited victims of Spanish
fanaticism would have needed bodies of steel and
the resisting strength of stone not to succumb to the
sufferings with which they were overwhelmed.

We have a striking instance of the restless wan-
derings of the Jewish exiles in the life of one of the
sufferers, who, though insignificant, became known
to fame by his zeal to raise the courage of the un-
fortunate. To Isaac ben Abraham Akrish, a Span-
iard, a great traveler and a bookworm (born about
1489, died after 1575), Jewish literature owes the
preservation of many a valuable document. Akrish
said, half in joke, half in earnest, that he must have
been born in the hour when the planet Jupiter was
passing through the zodiacal sign of the Fishes, a
nativity which indicates a wandering life. For,
though lame in both feet, he spent his whole life in
traveling from city to city, on land and on sea.
When a boy, Akrish was banished from Spain, and
at Naples he underwent all the sufferings which
seem to have conspired against the exiles. Thus he
limped from nation to nation, "whose languages he
did not understand, and who spared neither old men
nor children," until in Egypt, in the house of an
exile, he found a few years' rest. Who can follow
all the wandering exiles, with sore feet, and still
sorer hearts, until they somewhere found rest, or the
peace of the grave ?

But the very enormity of the misery they en-

CH. XIII. SPANISH-JEWISH DISTINCTION. 387

dured raised the dignity of the Sephardic Jews to a
height bordering on pride. That they whom God's
hand had smitten so heavily, so persistently, and
who had undergone such unspeakable sorrow, must
occupy a peculiar position, and belong to the spe-
cially elect, was the thought or the feeling existing
more or less clearly in the breasts of the survivors.
They looked upon their banishment from Spain as
a third exile, and upon themselves as favorites of
God, whom, because of His greater love for them,
He had chastised the more severely. Contrary lo
expectation, a certain exaltation took possession of
them, which did not, indeed, cause them to forget,
but transfigured, their sufferings. As soon as they
felt even slightly relieved from the burden of their
boundless calamity, and were able to breathe, they
rose with elastic force, and carried their heads high
like princes. They had lost everything except their
Spanish pride, their distinguished manner. How-
ever humbled they might be, their pride did not for-
sake them ; they asserted it wherever their wander-
ing feet found a resting-place. And to some extent
they were justified. They had, indeed, since the
growth of the tendency among Jews towards strict
orthodoxy and hostility to science, and since their
exclusion from social circles, receded from the high
scientific position they had held, and forfeited the
supremacy they had maintained during many centu-
ries; yet they far surpassed the Jews of all other
countries in culture, manners, and also in worth, as
was shown by their external bearing and their lan-
guage. Their love for their country was too great
to allow them to hate the unnatural mother who had
cast them out. Hence, wherever they went, they
founded Spanish or Portuguese colonies. They
carried the Spanish tongue, Spanish dignity and dis-
tinction to Africa, Syria, and Palestine, Italy and
Flanders ; wherever fate cast their lot they cher-
ished and cultivated this Spanish manner so lov-

388 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. XIIL

ingly, that it has maintained itself to this day in full
vigor among their descendants. Far from being ab-
sorbed by the rest of the Jewish population in coun-
tries which had hospitably received them, they con-
sidered themselves a privileged race, the flower and
nobility of the Jewish nation, kept aloof from others,
looked down upon them with contempt, and not un-
frequently dictated laws to them. This arose from
the fact that the Spanish and Portuguese Jews spoke
the languages of their native countries (which by the
discoveries and conquests of the sixteenth century
had become the languages of the world) with purity,
took part in literature, and associated with Chris-
tians on equal terms, with manliness, and without
fear or servility. On this point they contrasted
with the German Jews, who despised pure and
beautiful speech, the very thing which constitutes a
true man, and considered a corrupt jargon and iso-
lation from the Christian world as proofs of religious
zeal. The Sephardic Jews attached importance to
forms of all kinds, to taste in dress, to elegance in
their synagogues, as well as to the medium for the
exchange of thought. The Spanish and Portuguese
rabbis preached in their native tongues, and laid
great stress on pure pronunciation and euphony.
Hence their language did not degenerate, at least
not in the first centuries after their expulsion. " In
the cities of Salonica, Constantinople, Alexandria,
Cairo, Venice, and other resorts of commerce, the
Jews transact their business only in the Spanish
language. I have known Jews of Salonica who,
though still young, pronounced Castilian as well as
myself, and even better." This is the judgment of
a Christian writer about half a century after their
expulsion.

The contempt which even Isaac Abrabanel, mild
and broken though he was, entertained for the bar-
barous jargon spoken by German Jews is character-
istic. He was surprised to discover in a letter, sent

CH. XIII. SPANISH JEWS IN NORTHERN AFRICA. 389

to him by Saul Cohen of Candia, a native of Ger-
many, a finished Hebrew style and close reasoning,
and freely expressed his astonishment: "I am sur-
prised to find so excellent a style among the Ger-
mans (Jews), which is rare even among their leaders
and rabbis, however gifted they may be in other
respects. Their language is full of awkwardness
and clumsiness, a stammering without judgment."
This superiority of the Jews of Spanish descent in
culture, bearing, social manners, and knowledge of
the world, was appreciated and admired by other
Jews, especially by German Jews, with whom they
everywhere came into contact. Hence Spanish
Jews could presume to play the role of masters,
and frequently, in spite of their paucity of numbers,
they dominated a majority speaking other tongues.
In the century after their expulsion they are almost
exclusively the leaders ; the names of their spokes-
men are heard everywhere ; they furnished rabbis,
authors, thinkers and visionaries, whilst German
and Italian Jews occupied a humble place. In all
countries, except Germany and Poland, into which
they had not penetrated, or only as solitary indi-
viduals, the Sephardic Jews were the leaders.

The northern coast of Africa, and the inhabitable
regions inland, were full of Jews of Spanish descent.
They had congregated there in great numbers dur-
ing the century from the persecution of 1391 to
their total expulsion. From Safi (Assafi), the most
southwestern town of Morocco, to Tripoli in the
northeast, there were many communities, of vary-
ing numbers, speaking the Spanish language.
Though mostly hated, arbitrarily treated, and often
compelled by petty barbarian tyrants and the un-
civilized, degenerate Moorish population to wear a
disgraceful costume, yet prominent Jews found op-
portunities to distinguish themselves, to rise to
hiorh honors and acquire widespread influence. In
Morocco a rich Jew, learned in history, who had

390 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. XIII.

rendered important services to the ruler of that
country, was held in high esteem. At Fez, where
there existed a community of five thousand Jewish
families, who monopolized most trades, Samuel
Alvalensi, a Jew of Spanish descent, was greatly
beloved by the king, on account of his ability and
his courage, and so trusted by the populace that it
accepted him as its leader. In the struggle between
the two reigning families, the Merinos and the
Xerifs, he sided with the former, led one thousand
four hundred Jews and Moors against the followers
of the latter, and defeated them at Ceuta. A very
numerous Jewish community of Spanish descent
occupied the greater portion of Tlem^en.or Trem^en,
an important town, where the court resided. Here
Jacob Berab (born 1474, died 1541), fleeing from
Spain, found a refuge. He was one of the most
active men among the Spanish emigrants, and the
most acute rabbi of his age. At the same time, he
was a crusty, dogmatical and quarrelsome man, who
had many enemies, but also many admirers. Born
at Maqueda, near Toledo, Jacob Berab, after pass-
ing through many dangers, suffering want, hunger
and thirst, reached Tlem^en, whence he went to
Fez, the Jewish community of which chose him, a
needy youth, for their rabbi, on account of his
learning and sagacity. There he conducted a col-
lege until the fanatic Spaniards made conquests in
northern Africa, and disturbed the quiet asylum that
the Jews had found there.

The reduced community of Algiers was under
the direction of Simon Duran II, a descendant of
the Spanish fugitives of 1391 (born 1439, died after
1 5 10), a son of Solomon Duran, the rabbi with
philosophic culture. Like his brother, he was con-
sidered in his day a high rabbinical authority, and
the advice of both was sought by many persons.
Of as noble a disposition as his father, Simon Duran
was the protector of his co-religionists and the sheet-

CH. XIII. "SEFER YOCHASIN.' 391

anchor of the Spanish exiles who came within his
reach, for he shunned neither cost nor danger when
the reHgion, morals and safety of his compatriots
were in question. Fifty fugitive Jews, who had suf-
fered shipwreck, had been cast on the coast of Seville,
where the fanatical Spaniards, in accordance with
the edict, put them into prison, and kept them there
for two years. They were in daily expectation of
death, but finally they were pardoned — that is to
say, sold for slaves. As such they reached Algiers
in a deplorable condition ; but by the exertions of
Simon Duran they were redeemed for the sum of
seven hundred ducats, which the small community
managed to collect.

Two eminent Spanish Jews, the aged historian
and astronomer, Abraham Zacuto, and a younger
man, Moses Alashkar, found a refuge at Tunis.
Zacuto, who had taught mathematics and astronomy
to Christian and Mahometan pupils in Spain, and
whose published writings were widely read and made
use of, was nevertheless compelled to wander about
like an outlaw, and had only with difficulty escaped
death. He seems to have spent some quiet years
at Tunis, where he completed his more celebrated
than useful chronicle ("Sefer Yochasin," 1504),
history it cannot be called. It is an epitome of
Jewish history, with especial reference to the litera-
ture of the Jews. It has the merit of having pro-
moted historical research among Jews, but lacks
artistic arrangement and completeness. It is a mere
compilation from works accessible to the writer,
who has even failed to give a complete sketch of the
history of his own times, the sufferings of the Span-
ish and Portuguese Jews. Zacuto's chronicle was a
child of his old age and misery ; he wrote it with a
trembling hand, in fear of impending events, and
without sufficient literary materials. On this ac-
count it must be judged leniently.

A contemporary of Zacuto at Tunis was Moses

392 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. XIII,

ben Isaac Alashkar, as deeply learned a Talmudist
as his teacher, Samuel Alvalensi. He was a correct
thinker, and devoid of narrow one-sidedness. He
plunged into the dark labyrinths of the Kabbala,
yet, at the same time, raised his eyes to the bright
heights of philosophy — a mental misalliance possible
in those days. Alashkar even defended Maimuni
and his philosophical system against the charge of
heresy brought by obscurantists.

Terrified by the perils which the Spanish arms
foreboded to the Jews of northern Africa, Zacuto
and Alashkar, with many others, appear to have
quitted Tunis. They were but too well acquainted
with the cruelties practiced against Jews by the ultra-
Catholic Spaniards. The former went to Turkey,
where he died shortly after his arrival (before 15 15).
Alashkar fled to Egypt, where his extensive learn-
ing and wealth secured for him an honorable posi-
tion.

Egypt, especially its capital, Cairo, had become
the home of many Jewish-Spanish fugitives, who
had in a short time acquired an influence surpassing
that of the original Jewish inhabitants. On their
arrival, all the Jewish communities were, as of old,
ruled by a Jewish chief justice or prince (Nagid,
Reis). The office was then held by the noble and
rich Isaac Cohen Shalal, a man of upright character,
learned in the Talmud, who employed his wealth
and the high esteem in which he was held by all,
even including the Egyptian Mameluke sultan, for
the benefit of his community and the fugitives who
settled in their midst. He impartially promoted
deserving men of the Spanish immigration to offices,
whereby they gradually obtained paramount influ-
ence. The Spanish scholar, Samuel Sidillo (or Sid,
Ibn-Sid), a disciple of the last Toledan rabbi, Isaac
de Leon, highly venerated in his day on account of
his piety and his profound rabbinical knowledge,
found a refuge at Cairo. A Spanish fugitive who

CH. XIII. DAVID IBN-ABI ZIMRA. 393

acquired still higher distinction was David Ibn-Abi
Zimra (born 1470, died about 1573). A disciple of
the mystic Joseph Saragossi, he was rich in knowl-
edge and virtues, as well as in property and dis-
tinguished descendants, and he soon outshone the
natives, acquiring the reputation of being the highest
rabbinical authority in Egypt. Many other Spanish
rabbinical scholars found rest in Egypt ; to those
already named, including Jacob Berab and Moses
Alashkar, we may add Abraham Ibn-Shoshan, all
eventually becoming official rabbis.

Political changes in Egypt placed the Spaniards
at the head of the Jewish communities in that country.
The land of the Nile, together with Syria and Pales-
tine, whose conquest was so difficult a task for the
sultans of Constantinople, finally became the well-
secured prey of Selim I, who won a splendid victory
over the Mameluke sultan in a decisive battle not
far from Aleppo (15 17). His march from Syria to
Egypt was a triumphal progress. Selim spent the
summer of that year in remodeling the order of
things in Egypt, reducing it to a real dependency
of Turkey, turning it, in fact, into a province, ruled
by a viceroy, a pasha entirely devoted to him. Abra-
ham de Castro, a Jew of Spanish descent, was ap-
pointed by Selim master of the mint for the new
Turkish coinage, and, by his wealth and influence,
he acquired great weight among Turkish officials and
the Egyptian Jews. De Castro was very benevo-
lent; he annually spent three thousand gold florins
in alms, and in ever)' way took lively interest in the
affairs of his co-religionists.

Selim, or his viceroy, appears to have introduced
an entirely new order into the management of the
Eg\'ptian Jews. For ages a chief rabbi and judge
had ruled all the communities ; the person holding
the office had possessed a kind of princely power,
similar to that formerly exercised by the princes of
the exile in Babylon. The chief rabbi or prince

394 HISTORV OF THE JEWS. CH. XIII.

(Nagid) nominated the rabbis of the communities,
had the supreme decision of disputes among Jews,
confirmed or rejected every new regulation, was
even authorized to decree corporal punishment for
offenses and crimes committed by Jews under his
jurisdiction. From these functions he derived a
considerable revenue, but all this ceased with the
Turkish conquest. Every community was thence-
forth declared independent in the election of its
head, and allowed to manage its own affairs. The
last Jewish-Egyptian prince or chief rabbi was de-
posed from his dignity, and betook himself with his
riches to Jerusalem, where he became a benefactor
of its growing community. The office of rabbi of
Cairo was bestowed on the Spanish immigrant
David Ibn-Abi Zimra, on account of his upright
character, learning, benevolent disposition, and
chiefly, probably, on account of his wealth. His
authority rose to such a degree that he could ven-
ture to abolish a very ancient custom, which exces-
sive conservatism had dragged along from century
to century, like a dead limb. The Babylonian Jews
had more than eighteen hundred years before
adopted the Syrian or Seleucidan chronology
[Minyan Yavanim, Minyfin Shetaroth) , in memory
of the victory of the Syrian king Seleucus over the
other generals of Alexander the Great. The Syrian
empire and the Seleucidae had perished long ago,
Syria had by turns become the prey of Romans,
Byzantines, Mahometans, Mongols and Turks ;
nevertheless, the Babylonian and Egyptian Jews
had retained that chronology, employing it not only
in historical records and secular papers, but also in
the dating of documents of divorce and similar
deeds. Whilst the Jews of Palestine and of Europe
had gradually adopted other chronologies, as "After
the Destruction of the Temple," or " Since the Crea-
tion " {cEra muncil), the Babylonian and Egyptian
Jews so pertinaciously adhered to the Seleucidan

CH. XIII. ASCKNDENXY OF SEPHARDIC JEWS. 395

era as to declare invalid every letter of divorce not
so dated. Ibn-Abi Zimra abolished this antiquated
chronology, as far as Egypt was concerned, introduc-
ing in its stead the already accepted mode of reckon-
ing from the Creation, and his innovation met with
no opposition. The ascendency of the immigrant
Sephardic Jews over the majority of the original
community (the Mostarabi) was so great and so
well established, that the former, in spite of the ob-
jections of the latter, succeeded in the bold attempt
to abolish an ancient and beautiful custom, intro-
duced by Maimuni himself. The Mostarabian Jews
for more than three centuries had been accustomed
to have the chief prayer said aloud in the synagogue,
by the reader (Chazan), without themselves partici-
pating in it. But to the pious immigrants from the
Peninsula this custom, though promoting decorum
and devotion, appeared illegal, anti-Talmudic, if not
heretical, and they zealously set to work to abolish
it. Terrible sufferings had hardened the hearts of
the Sephardic Jews, and they were but too ready
to exercise the utmost severity in religious matters,
and slavishly to follow the letter. The rabbi, David
Ibn-Abi Zimra, was their leader.

During his term of office a great danger hovered
over the Cairo community. The fourth viceroy of
Egypt, Achmed Shaitan (Satan), harbored the de-
sign of severing Egypt from Turkey, and making
himself its independent master. Having succeeded in
his first measures, he proposed to the Jewish super-
intendent of the mint, Abraham de Castro, to have
his name placed on the coins. De Castro pretended
compliance, but asked for a written order. Having
obtained it he secretly left Egypt, and hastened to
the court of Solyman I, at Constantinople, to inform
the sultan of the treacherous design of the pasha,
which was thus frustrated. Achmed vented his rage
on the Jews, threw some of them, probably De
Castro's friends and relatives, into prison, and per-

396 HISTORY OF THE JEW$. CH. XIll.

mitted the Mamelukes to plunder the Jewish quarter
of Cairo. He then sent for twelve of the most
eminent Jews, and commanded them within a short
time to find an exorbitant sum of money, threaten-
ing them, in case of non-compliance, with a cruel
death for themselves and their families. For
greater security he retained them as hostages.
To the supplications of the Jewish community for
mercy and delay, the tyrant replied by more terrible
threats. In their hopelessness the Jews of Cairo
tnrned in fervent prayer to God. Meanwhile the
collectors had got together a considerable sum,
which they offered as a payment on account. But
as it scarcely amounted to the tenth part of Ach-
med's demand, his private secretary had the collec-
tors put in irons, and threatened them, and all the
members of the community, with certain death on
that very day, as soon as his master left his bath.
At the very moment when the secretary uttered
these words, the pasha was attacked in his bath by
Mahomet Bey, one of his vizirs, and some other
conspirators, and severely wounded. Achmed
Shaitan made good his escape from the palace,
but was betrayed, overtaken, cast into fetters and
then beheaded. The imprisoned Jews were set
free, and their community escaped a great peril.
The Egyptian Jews for a long period afterwards
commemorated the day of their deliverance (Adar
27th or 28th, 1524 — a Cairoan Purim, Furin al-
Mizrayim).

By the immigration of Spaniards and Portuguese,
Jerusalem and other Palestinian cities also obtained
a great increase of members to their congregations,
and considerable importance. Here, too, the immi-
grants in a short time became the social and
religious leaders. In the very brief period of seven
years the number of Jewish families in the Holy
City grew from scarcely seventy to two hundred,
and again within the space of two decades (1495-

CH. XIII. OBADYAH DI BERTINORO. 397

152 1 ), it rose from two hundred to fifteen hundred.
The influx of new settlers had largely augmented
the prosperity of the Jewish inhabitants of Jeru-
salem. Whilst formerly nearly all the members of
the community were in a state of destitution, three
decades afterwards there were only two hundred
receiving alms. And what is of greater importance,
morality was greatly benefited by the immigrants.
Jerusalem was no longer the den of robbers found
by Obadyah (Obadiah) di Bertinoro (1470 — 1520),
who had immigrated from Italy. The members
of the community were no longer harassed to death,
and driven to despair or voluntary exile by a rapa-
cious, tyrannical and treacherous faction ; harmony,
union, a sense of justice, and peace had found an
abode with them. There was indeed a show of
excessive piety, but it no longer flagrantly contrasted
with a revoltingly immoral mode of life. Obadyah
di Bertinoro, the gentle and amiable Italian preacher,
had greatly contributed to this improvement of the
moral tone of Jerusalem; for more than two decades
he taught the growing community, by precept and
example, genuine piety, nobility of sentiment and
relinquishment of barbarian coarseness. After his
arrival at Jerusalem, he wrote to his friends: "If
there were in this country one sagacious Jew, who
knew how to lead a community gently and justly,
not Jews only, but also Mahometans would willingly
submit to him, for the latter are not at all hostile to
the Jews, but full of consideration for strangers. But
there is not one Jew in this country possessing either
sense or social virtues ; all are coarse, misanthrop-
ical and avaricious." Bertinoro did not anticipate
that he himself would soften that coarseness, improve
the morals, mitigate that immorality, ennoble that
baseness. But his genial, amiable manner disarmed
evil, and healed the sores he had discovered, lamented,
and pitilessly exposed. Obadyah was the guardian
angel of the Holy City, he cleansed it from poUu-

398 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. XIII.

tion, and clothed it with a pure festival garment.
"Were I to attempt proclaiming his praise," writes
an Italian pilgrim to Jerusalem, "I should never
cease. He is the man who is held in the highest
esteem in the country; everything is done accord-
ing to his orders, and no one dares gainsay his
words. From all parts he is sought after and con-
sulted ; his merits are acknowledged by Egyptians
and Babylonians, and even Mahometans honor him.
Withal, he is modest and humble ; his speech is
gentle ; he is accessible to every one. All praise
him and say : He is not like an earthly being. When
he preaches every ear listens intently ; not the least
sound is heard, his hearers are so silently devout."
Exiles from the Pyrenean Peninsula supported him
in his humane work.

To the intervention of Obadyah di Bertinoro, and
of those who shared his opinions, probably were
due the excellent ordinances which the community
voluntarily imposed on itself, and for remembrance
graved on a tablet in the synagogue. They were
directed against the abuses which had crept in by
degrees. These ordinances included amongst others
the following decrees : In disputes between Jews, the
Mahometan authorities are to be applied to only in
the utmost necessity. The Jewish judge or rabbi is
not to be allowed to compel wealthy members of the
community to make advances for communal wants.
Students of the Talmud and widows shall not con-
tribute to the communal funds. Jews are not to
purchase bad coin, and, if they acquire any acciden-
tally, are not to pass it. The pilgrims to the grave
of the prophet Samuel are not to drink wine, for
men and women traveled together, the latter un-
veiled, and if the men had been excited by wine,
great mischief might have ensued.

The Holy City acquired still higher importance
by the immigration of Isaac Shalal, with his riches,
experience, and authority.

CH. XIII. JOSEPH SARAGOSSI IN SAFET. 399

Safet in Galilee, the youngest town of Palestine,
next to Jerusalem acquired the largest Jewish popu-
lation and considerable importance, which increased
to such a degree that Safet not only rivaled, but
excelled the mother-city. At the end of the fifteenth
and the beginning of the next century it sheltered
only some three hundred Jewish families, original
inhabitants (Moriscos), Berbers, and Sephardim.
It did not at first possess any eminent native ex-
pounder of the Talmud, who might have become a
leader. It owed its importance and far-reaching
influence to the arrival of a Spanish fugitive, under
whose direction the community' was strengthened.
Joseph Saragossi became for Safet what Obadyah
di Bertinoro had been for Jerusalem. Driven from
Saragossa, he passed through Sicily, Beyrout and
Sidon, in which latter place he resided for some
time, and finally reached Safet, where he settled.
Joseph Saragossi possessed a mild, fascinating
character, and considered it the task of his life to
preach peace and restore harmony in private and
communal life. Even among Mahometans he
worked in a conciliating and appeasing spirit, and
on this account he was loved and revered as an
angel of peace. At one time he wished to leave
Safet. The inhabitants fairly clung to him, and
promised him an annual salary of fifty ducats, two
thirds of which the Mahometan governor of the town
offered to furnish. Joseph Saragossi transplanted
the study of the Talmud to Safet, and also that of
the Kabbala, as he was an ultra-pious mystic.
Through him the hitherto untainted community be-
came a nest of Kabbalists.

In Damascus, the half-Palestinian capital of Syria,
there also arose, by the side of the ver)' ancient
Mostarabian community, a Sephardic congregation,
composed of fugitives, and numbering five hundred
Jewish families. Within a short time after their
arrival, the Spaniards built a splendid synagogue at

400 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. XIII.

Damascus, called Khataib. They speedily increased
to such a degree as to separate into several congre-
gations, according to the states from which they had
originally come.

The main stream of the Jewish-Spanish emigration
flowed towards Turkey in Europe ; the greater part
of the remnant of the three hundred thousand exiles
found an asylum in that country, where the inhabit-
ants did not take love as their watchword. The
sultans Bajazet, Selim I and Solyman I, not only tol-
erated the fugitive Jews, but gave them a hearty
welcome, and granted them the liberties enjoyed by
Armenians and Greeks. A Jewish poet enthusias-
tically described the freedom of his co-religionists
in Turkey. "Great Turkey, a wide and spreading
sea, which our Lord opened with the wand of His
mercy (as at the exodus from Egypt), that the tide of
thy present disaster, Jacob, as happened with the
multitude of the Egyptians, should therein lose and
exhaust itself. There the gates of freedom and
equal position for the unhindered practice of Jewish
worship are ever open, they are never closed against
thee. There thou canst renew thy inner life, change
thy condition, strip off, and cast away false and erro-
neous doctrines, recover thy ancient truths, and
abandon the practices which, by the violence of the
nations among whom thou wast a pilgrim, thou wert
compelled to imitate. In this realm thou art highly
favored by the Lord, since therein He granteth
thee boundless liberty to commence thy late re-
pentance."

The immigrant Jews at first enjoyed very happy
days in Turkey, because they were a godsend to
this comparatively new state. The Turks were
good soldiers, but bad citizens. The sultans,
frequently on bad terms with Christian states, could
place but indifferent trust in the Greeks, Armenians,
and Christians of other national creeds ; they looked
upon them as born spies and traitors, But they

CH. XIII, IMMIGRANT JEWS IN TURKEY. 4OI

could depend on the fidelity and usefulness of the
Jews. Hence they were, on the one hand, the busi-
ness people, and on the other, the citizen class of
Turkey. They not only carried on the wholesale
and retail commerce by land and sea, but were the
handicraftsmen and the artists. The Marranos
especially who had fled from Spain and Portugal
manufactured for the warlike Turks new armor and
firearms, cannons and gunpowder, and taught the
Turks how to use them. Thus persecuting Chris-
tianity itself furnished its chief enemies, the Turks,
with weapons which enabled them to overwhelm
the former with defeat after defeat, humiliation on
humiliation. Jewish physicians especially were held
in high esteem in Turkey ; they were for the most
part clever disciples of the school of Salamanca, and,
on account of their skill, higher education, secrecy
and discretion, were preferred to Christian, and even
to Mahometan doctors. These Jewish physicians,
mosdy of Spanish descent, acquired great influence
with grand sultans, vizirs and pashas.

Sultan Selim had for his physician in ordinary
Joseph Hamon, an immigrant probably from Gra-
nada. Hamon's son and nephew successively held
the same office. The son, Moses Hamon (born
1490, died about 1565), physician to the wise sultan
Solyman, on account of his skill and manly, deter-
mined character, enjoyed even higher reputation
and influence than his father. He accompanied the
sultan in his warlike expeditions, and brought back
from Persia, whither he had followed Solyman on a
triumphal progress, a learned man, Jacob Tus or
Tavs (about 1535), who translated the Pentateuch
into Persian. This version, accompanied by Chal-
dean and Arabic translations, was afterwards printed
at the expense of Hamon, who was justly considered
a protector of his brethren and a promoter of
Judaism.

The Jews were also in great request in Turkey

402 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH, XIII.

as linguists and interpreters, they having acquired
knowledge of many languages through their wan-
derings among foreign nations.

The capital, Constantinople, held within its walls
a very numerous Jewish community, which was daily
increased by new fugitives from the Peninsula, so
that it became the largest in Europe, numbering
probably thirty thousand souls, 't had forty-four
synagogues, consequently as many separate congre-
gations. For the Jewish community in the Turkish
capital and other towns did not form a close cor-
poration, but was divided into groups and sections,
according to their native places, each of which was
anxious to retain its own customs, rites and liturgy,
and to possess its own synagogue and rabbinical
college. Hence there w^ere not only Castilian, Ara-
gonese and Portuguese congregations, but still more
restricted associations. Cordovan, Toledan, Barcelo-
nian, Lisbon groups (Kahals), besides German
Apulian, Messinian and Greek. Every petty congre-
gation apportioned among its members the contri-
butions, not only for its worship, officials, the main-
tenance of the poor, its hospitals and schools, but
also for the taxes payable to the state. These latter
at first were trifling: a poll-tax on everyone subject
to taxation (charaj), and a kind of rabbinical tax
levied on the congregation, according to the three
different classes of property, of 200, 100 and 20
aspers. The family of the physician Hamon alone
was exempt from taxes.

At first the native Jews, who formed the majority,
had complete preponderance over the immigrants.
The office of chief rabbi, after the death of the
meritorious but unappreciated Moses Kapsali, was
held by Elias Mizrachi, probably descended from
an immigrant Greek family, who under the sultans
Bajazet, Selim I, and perhaps also under Solyman,
had a seat in the divan Hke his predecessor, and
was the official representative of the whole body

CH. XIII. ELIAS MIZRACHI. 4O3

of Turkish Jews. He deservedly held this post
on account of his rabbinical and secular knowl-
edge, and upright, impartially just character.
Elias Mizrachi (born about 1455, died between
1525 and 1527), a disciple of the German school,
and a profound Talmudist and strictly pious man,
was no enemy to science. He not only under-
stood, but taught mathematics and astronomy, gave
public lectures thereon, as also on the Talmud, and
compiled handbooks on these subjects, some of
which became such favorites as to be translated into
Latin. In his youth he was a Hotspur, and had a
feud with the Karaites in Turkey. But in his old
age he felt more kindly towards them, and employed
his weighty influence to avert a wrong which the
ultra-pious were about to inflict on them. A few
obscurantists, chiefly members of the Apulian con-
gregation at Constantinople, attempted to interrupt,
in a violent manner, the neighborly intercourse
which for half a century had existed bet\veen Rab-
banites and Karaites. They assembled the mem-
bers of the congregation, and, with the Sefer Torah
in their hand, excommunicated all who should
henceforth instruct Karaites, whether children or
adults, in the Bible or the Talmud, or even in
secular sciences, such as mathematics, natural
history, logic, music, or even the alphabet. Nor
were Rabbanite servants any longer to take service
with Karaite families. These fanatics intended to
raise an insuperable barrier between the followers
of the Talmud and those of the Bible. But the
majority of the Constantinople communit}' were
dissatisfied with this bigoted measure. The tolerant
Rabbanites of the capital held a meeting to frustrate
the plan of the zealots. But the latter behaved so
outrageously and with such violence, bringing a
fierce rabble provided with cudgels into the syna-
gogue where the consultation was to be held, that
the conveners of the meeting had no chance of

404 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. XIII.

being heard, and the act of excommunication was
carried by an insolent minority, in defiance of the
sound arguments and opposition of the majority.
Then Rabbi EHas Mizrachi openly and vigorously
opposed this unreasonable, illegal and violent pro-
ceeding, showing in a learned discourse how unjust
and opposed to the Talmud was the rejection of
the Karaites. He impressed on the zealots the fact
that by their intolerant severity they would bring
about the decay of the instruction of the young,
since hitherto emulation to surpass their Karaite
companions had been a great incentive to Rabbanite
scholars.

The Turkish Jews in those days had a kind of
political representative, an advocate (Kahiya), or
chamberlain, who had access to the sultan and his
great dignitaries, and was appointed by the court,
Shaltiel, otherwise an unknown personage, but said
to have been of noble character, held the office
under Solyman. With a population looking con-
temptuously on unbelievers, with provincial pashas
ruling arbitrarily, and with fanatical Greek and Bul-
garian Christians, instances of injustice and violent
proceedings against the Jews in the Turkish empire
were not of rare occurrence; on all such occasions
the Kahiya Shaltiel interposed on behalf of his co-
religionists, and, by means of money liberally spent
at court, obtained redress.

The community next in importance in Turkey was
that of Salonica (the ancient Thessalonica), which,
though an unhealthy town, possessed attractions
for the immigrants of Spain and Provence ; for this
once Greek settlement offered more leisure for
peaceful occupation than the noisy capital of Turkey.
Ten congregations at least were soon formed here,
the most of Sephardic origin. Eventually they in-
creased to thirty-six. Salonica, in fact, became a
Jewish town, with more Jews than Gentiles. A
Jewish poet, Samuel Usque, calls the town "a mother

CH. XIII. SALONICA. 4O5

of Judaism, built on the deep foundation of the Lord,
full of excellent plants and fruitful trees, such as are
found nowhere else on earth. Their fruit is glorious,
because it is watered by an abundance of benevo-
lence. The greatest portion of the persecuted and
banished sons from Europe and other parts of the
earth have met therein, and been received with lov-
ing welcomes, as if it were our venerable mother,
Jerusalem." Within a short period the Sephardic
immigrants acquired complete supremacy over their
co-religionists, even over the original community,
so that the leading language of Salonica became
Spanish, which German and Italian Jews had to
learn, if they wished to maintain intercourse with
the Spanish immigrants. The son of one of
the last Jewish-Spanish ministers of finance, Judah
Benveniste, had settled here. From his paternal
inheritance he had saved enough to possess a noble
library ; he was the standard around which his
heavily-tried brethren could rally. Representatives
of Talmudic learning were naturally found among
the sons of the Pyrenean Peninsula only, such as
the Taytasaks, a family of scholars, and Jacob Ibn-
Chabib, though even they were not men of the first
eminence. Spanish immigrants, such as the physi-
cians Perachyah Cohen, his son Daniel, Aaron Afia
(Afifius), and Moses Almosnino, also cultivated
philosophy and astronomy to some extent. But the
chief study was that of the Kabbala, in which the
Spaniards, Joseph Taytasak, Samuel Franco, and
others, distinguished themselves. Salonica in Tur-
key and Safet in Palestine in time became the chief
seats of Kabbalistic extravagance. Of less import-
ance was Adrianople, the former residence of the
Turkish sultans, though there also, as at Nicopolis,
communities in which the Sephardic element pre-
dominated were formed.

To the towns of Amasia, Broussa, Tria and Tokat
in Asia Minor, the Spanish fugitives furnished

<^ HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. XIII.

inhabitants. Smyrna, which later on had a large
Jewish population, was then of little importance.
Greece, however, could show some large communi-
ties. Calabrese, Apulian, Spanish and Portuguese
fugitives settled at Arta or Larta, by the side of the
original inhabitants, Rumelians and Corfuites. They
seem to have done well here, for we read that the
Jewish youth were much given to gayety and dancing,
thereby greatly offending the ultra-pious. Not un-
important communities existed at Patras, Negropont
and Thebes. The Thebans were considered very
learned in Talmudic lore. The rites of the com-
munity of Corfu were followed by the other Jews of
Greece. There was an important community at
Canea, on the island of Candia, belonging to Venice.
At their head were two famous families, the Del-
medigos, sons and relatives of the philosopher
Elias del Medigo, and the Kapsalis, connections of
the former chief rabbi of Turkey. Judah Del-
medigo (the son of the teacher of Pico di Mirandola),
and Elias ben ElkanahKapsali, finished their studies
under the same rabbi, Judah Menz, of Padua ; never-
theless, they were not at one in their views. As
both held the office of rabbi at Canea, there was
constant friction between them. If the one declared
anything to be permissible, the other exerted all
his learning and ingenuity to prove the contrary;
yet both were worthy men of high principle, and
both were well versed in general literature.

Elias Kapsali (born about 1490, died about 1555)
was a good historian. When the plague devastated
Candia, and plunged the inhabitants into mourning,
he composed (in 1523) a history of the Turkish
dynasty in a very agreeable Hebrew style, in lucid
and elevated language, free from pompous and bar-
barous diction. Kapsali merely aimed at relating
the truth. Interwoven with the Turkish narrative
was the history of the Jews, showing in gloomy
colors the tragic fate of the Spanish exiles, as he

CH. XIII. ELIAS KAPSALI. 4O7

had heard it from their own lips. Though in this
composition he had the subsidiary intention oi cheer-
ing the people during the continuance of the plague,
his work may serve as a sample of a fine Hebrew
historical style. It has, indeed, found imitators.
Kapsali forsook the dry diction of the chroniclers,
and as an historian was far superior to his prede-
cessor, Abraham Zacuto. Considering that Kapsali
was a rabbi by profession, and that in consultations
and the giving of opinions he was bound to make
use of a corrupt jargon, his work displays much
versatility and talent.

Italy at this period swarmed with fugitive Jews.
Most of those driven from Spain, Portugal and Ger-
many first touched Italian soil, either to settle there
under the protection of some tolerant ruler, or to
travel on to Greece, Turkey, or Palestine. Strangely
enough, among the masters of Italy the popes were
most friendly to the Jews: Alexander VI, Julius
II, Leo X, and Clement VII, were pursuing interests,
or devoting themselves to hobbies, which left them
no time to think of torturing Jews. The popes
and their cardinals considered the canonical laws
only in so far as they needed them for the extension
of their power or to fill their money-bags. Totally
oblivious of the decree of the council of Basle, which
enacted that Christians were not to consult Jewish
physicians, the popes and cardinals themselves chose
Jews as their physicians in ordinary. It appears
that, owing to the secret warfare, the intrigues and
the frequent use of poison, which, since Alexander
VI, had been rife in the curia, where every one
looked on his companion as an enemy, Jewish phy-
sicians were in favor, because there was no danger
of their offering a pope or cardinal a poisoned cup
instead of a salutary remedy. Alexander VI had
a Jewish physician, Bonet de Lates, a native of
Provence, who practiced astrology, prepared an
astronomical circle, and sent the pope the Latin de-

408 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. XII J.

scrlptlon thereof with a fulsome dedication. Bonet
de Lates afterwards became the favorite physician
in ordinary to Leo X, and influenced his conduct.
JuHus II had for his physician Simon Zarfati, who
in other respects also enjoyed his masters confi-
dence. Cardinals and other high princes of the
church followed their examples, and generally in-
trusted their sacred bodies to Jewish doctors, who
consequently were much sought after in Italy. Fol-
lowing the example of the popes, the northern
Italian cities received fugitive Jews, even pseudo-
Christians re-converted to Judaism, from Spain and
Germany, and admitted them to all the privileges
of free intercourse. Even the popes permitted
Marranos to setde at Ancona, notwithstanding
their having been baptized. The most important
communities in Italy were formed, after the an-
nihilation of the Jews of Naples, by an influx from
other countries into Roman and Venetian terri-
tory ; in the latter, Venice and the flourishing city
of Padua, in the former, Rome and the port of An-
cona, receiving most of them. Two opposite views
with regard to Jews swayed the council of the
egotistical Venetian republic. On the one hand, this
commercial state did not wish to lose the advantages
that Jewish connections might bring, though at the
same time it was loath to foster them, for fear of
offending the Levantine Jews, their co-religionists in
Turkey; on the other hand, the Venetian merchants
were full of trade envy against Jews. Hence the
latter were caressed or oppressed as the one or
the other party predominated in the Signoria.
Venice was the first Italian city wherein Jews resi-
ded which set apart a special quarter as a Ghetto
(March, 1516).

As a rule the immigrant Jews, Spaniards or Ger-
mans, obtained supremacy in Italy over native
Jews, both in rabbinical learning and communal
relations. The Abrabanels played an important

CH. XIII. SAMUEL ABRABANEU 4O9

part in Italy. The head of the family, Isaac Abra-
banel, indeed, was too much bowed down by age
and suffering to exercise much influence in any
direction. He died before Jewish affairs had as-
sumed a settled condition. His eldest son, Leon
Medigo, likewise made no impression on his sur-
roundings ; he was too much of a philosophical
dreamer and idealist, a poetic soul averse to dealing
with the things of this world. Only the youngest
of the three brothers, Samuel Abrabanel (born 1473,
died about 1 550) left his mark on his contemporaries.
He was considered the most eminent Jew in Italy,
and his community venerated him like a prince.
He alone inherited his father's financial genius, and,
after his return from the Talmudic college at Salon-
ica, appears to have availed himself of it, and to
have been employed in the department of finance
by the viceroy of Naples, Don Pedro de Toledo.
At Naples he acquired a considerable fortune, val-
ued at more than 200,000 zechins. He employed
his wealth to gratify the disposition hereditary in his
family to practice noble beneficence. The Jewish
poet, Samuel Usque, gives an enthusiastic description
of his heart and mind : " Samuel Abrabanel deserves
to be called Trismegistus (thrice great) ; he is great
and wise in the Law, great in nobility, and great in
riches. With his wealth he is always magnanimous,
a help in the sorrows of his brethren. He joins in-
numerable orphans in wedlock, supports the needy,
and redeems captives, so that he possesses all the
great qualities which make the prophet,"

To increase his happiness heaven had given him
a companion in life, the complement of his high
virtues, whose name, Benvenida Abrabanela, was
uttered by her contemporaries with devout venera-
tion. Tender-hearted, deeply religious, wise and
courageous, she was a pattern of refinement and high
breeding, qualities more highly esteemed in Italy than
in any other European country. Don Pedro, the

4IO HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. XIll.

powerful Spanish viceroy of Naples, allowed his sec'-
ond daughter, Leonora, to be on intimate terms with
Benvenida, that she might learn by her example.
When this daughter afterwards became Duchess of
Tuscany, she kept up her acquaintance with the
Jewish lady, and called her by the honored name of
mother. This noble pair, Samuel Abrabanel and
Benvenida, in whom tenderness and worldly wis-
dom, warm attachment to Judaism and social inter-
course with non-Jewish circles were combined, were
at once the pride and the sheet-anchor of the Ital-
ian Jews, and of all who came under their ben-
eficent influence. Samuel Abrabanel, though not
so well versed in the Talmud as his poetic wor-
shiper represents him to have been, was a friend and
promoter of Jewish knowledge. To fill the office of
rabbi at Naples, he sent for David Ibn-Yachya and
his young, courageous wife, who had fled from
Portugal (1518) ; and, as the congregation was
too small to pay his salary, Abrabanel paid it him-
self. In his house the learned Yachya lectured on
the Talmud, and probably also on Hebrew grammar.
He thus formed a center far Jewish science in south-
ern Italy. Christian men of science also resorted to
Abrabanel's house.

The chief seat of Talmudic or rabbinical studies
was at that time at Padua, where presided not Ital-
ians butimmigrantGermans. Judah Menz, of May-
ence, even at his great age of more than a hundred
years, exercised attractive power over studious dis-
ciples from Italy, Germany, and Turkey, as though
from his lips they would learn the wisdom of a time
about to pass away. To be a pupil of Menz, was
considered a great honor and distinction. After he
died, his son, Abraham Menz, undertook the direc-
tion of the college (1504 — 1526) ; but his authority
was not undisputed. The native Jews have in no
direction left names of note. The chronicles men-
tion some famous Jewish-Italian physicians, who also

CH. XIII. JEWISH PHYSICIANS IN ITALY. 4I I

distinguished themselves in other branches, such as
Abraham deBalmes (1521), of Lecce, physician and
friend of Cardinal Grimani. De Balmes possessed
philosophical knowledge, and wrote a work on the
Hebrew language, which was published with a Latin
translation by a Christian. Other Jewish physicians
of the same age were Judah, or Laudadeus de Blanis,
at Perugia, a worshiper of the Kabbala, and Obad-
yah, or Servadeus de Sforno (Sfurno, born about
1470, died 1 550), a physician of Rome and Bologna,
who, besides medicine, studied biblical and philo-
sophical subjects, and dedicated some of his Hebrew
writings with a Latin translation to King Henry II,
of France. But, as far as we are now able to judge
of these highly praised compositions, they are medi-
ocre, and the authors, even in their own times,
enjoyed but local reputation. It is certain that
De Balmes and Sforno are far beneath Jacob
Mantin , who, driven from Tortosa to Italy, there dis-
tinguished himself as a physician and philosopher,
leaving a famous name behind him. Mantin (born
about 1490, died about 1549) was a great linguist;
beside his native language and Hebrew, he under-
stood Latin, Italian and Arabic. He was a deeply
learned physician and philosopher, and translated
medical and metaphysical works from Hebrew or
Arabic into Latin. He was held in high esteem as
physician by a pope and the ambassador of Charles
V at Venice. But his learning was marred by his
iniquitous character ; envy and ambition led him to
commit wicked deeds, to accuse and persecute inno-
cent persons, even his own co-religionists.

In those days there lived in Italy a man, who,
though not distinguished by any brilliant achieve-
ment, was superior to nearly all his co-religionists
by a qualification better and rarer than literary
ability. He was gifted with common sense and a
fine understanding, which led him not to judge of
things by appearances, or from a limited point of

412 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. XIII.

view. Abraham Farissol (born 1451, died about
1525), a native of Avignon, for reasons unknown,
perhaps from want, had emigrated to Ferrara. He
supported himself by copying books, and also, it
would appear, by officiating as chorister at the syna-
gogue. Though he was in needy circumstances, and
confined within narrow surroundings, his perception
was acute, his horizon wide, and his judgment ma-
tured. Like most of his learned contemporaries in
Italy, he commented on the Bible, and his independ-
ence of thought in the midst of the dense credulity
of his time constitutes his claim upon pre-eminence.
He said of himself, "As regards miracles, I belong
to those of little faith." Farissol was the first Jewish
author who, instead of studying the starry firma-
ment, astronomy and astrology (to which Jewish
authors of the Middle Asjes were but too much in-
clined), turned his attention to investigate the con-
figuration and phenomena of our globe. He was
influenced to undertake these studies by the mar-
velous discoveries of the southern coasts of Africa
and India by the Portuguese, and of America by
the Spaniards. Penetrating mediaeval mist and the
deceptive illusions of fancy, Farissol saw things as
they actually are, and deeming it necessary to point
them out, he scoffed at ignorant men who, in their
pseudo-learned conceit, considered geography of
no account. He had to show conclusively that
the Book of books, the holy record of the Torah,
attached importance to geographical data, in doing
which he indicated a new point of view for the
comprehension of the Bible : it was not to be ex-
plained by allegories and metaphysical or Kabba-
listic reveries, but by actual facts and the plain
meaning of the words.

Farissol had access to the court of the duke of
Ferrara, Hercules d'Este I, one of the best princes
of Italy, who vied with the Medici in the promotion
of science. The duke took delight in his conver*

CH. XIII. ABRAHAM FARISSOL. 4I3

sation, and often invited him to discuss religious
questions with learned monks. It seemed as if
frequent religious disputations and intellectual en-
counters were to be renewed on Italian soil. Faris-
sol displayed philosophical calm, besides caution,
and forbearance for the sensibilities of his oppo-
nents, when touching upon their weak points. At
the request of the duke of Ferrara, Farissol wrote
down in Hebrew the substance of his discourses
with the monks, and reproduced it in Italian, to
give his opponents an opportunity for refutation.
But his polemical and apologetic work is of much
less value than his geographical writings, which he
completed in his old age, with one foot in the grave.
They display Farissol's clear mind, common sense
and extensive learninor,

o

The Italian Jews had at least the right of free
discussion with Christians. But as soon as they
crossed the Alps into Germany they breathed raw
air, politically as well as atmospherically. Few
Sephardic fugitives visited this inhospitable land.
The German population was as hostile to Jews as
the Spanish. True, the Germans had no occa-
sion to envy Jews on account of the position
and influence of Jewish magnates at royal courts,
but they grudged them even their miserable
existence in the Jews' lanes in which they were
penned up. They had been banished from some
German districts, from Cologne, Mayence and
Augsburg, and not a Jew was to be found in all
Suabia. From other parts they were expelled at
about the same time as from Spain. Emperor
Frederick III to his last hour protected those
outlawed by all the world. He even had a Jew-
ish physician, a rarity in Germany, the learned
Jacob ben Yechiel Loans, whom he greatly favored,
and made a knight. Frederick is said on his death-
bed to have strongly recommended the Jews to his
son, enjoining on him to protect them, and not to

414 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. XIII.

listen to calumnious accusations, whose falsity he
had fathomed. It appears that Jacob Loans also
enjoyed the favor of Emperor Maximilian, whose
lot it was to rule over Germany in very troublous
times. He transferred this favor to Loans' rela-
tives, for he appointed a certain Joseph ben Ger-
shon Loans, of Rosheim, in Alsace, as official repre-
sentative of all German Jews at the diet. This
Joseph (Josselman, Joselin) was distinguished neither
by his rabbinical knowledge, nor his position, nor
riches ; yet, to a certain extent, he was the official
representative of German Judaism. His most
striking qualities were untiring activity, when it was
necessary to defend his unfortunate co-religionists,
his love of truth, and fervent clinging to his faith
and people. Born 1480, died 1555, for half a cent-
ury he vigorously protected his co-religionists in
Germany, and became security for them when the
ruling powers insisted on special bail. The Jews,
therefore, praised and blessed him as their "Great
Defender."

But the very fact that the German Jews needed
a defender proves that their condition was not
easy. For Emperor Maximilian was not a man of
decided character, but was swayed by all kinds of
influences and insinuations ; nor did he always fol-
low his father's advice. His conduct towards the
Jews, therefore, was always wavering ; now he
granted, or at least promised, them his protection ;
now he offered his help, if not for their sanguinary
persecution, at least for their expulsion or humilia-
tion. At times he lent ear to the lying accusations
that the Jews reviled the host, and murdered infants,
falsehoods diligently promulgated by Dominican
friars, and, since the alleged martyrdom of young
Simon of Trent, readily believed. Hence, during
Maximilian's reign, Jews were not only expelled
from Germany and the adjoining states, but were
hunted down and tortured ; they were in daily ex-

CH. XIII. THE COMMUNITY OF NUREMBERG. 415

pectation of the rack, and of the martyr's death, so
that a special confession of sins was drawn up for
such cases, and the innocently accused, summoned
to apostatize, sealed their confession with death, and
joyfully sacrificed themselves for the One God.
When, either with the sanction or by the passive per-
mission of the emperor, Jews were banished, he felt
no compunction in confiscating their property and
turning it into money.

The emperor did not, indeed, expel the Nurem-
berg community, but for a pecuniary consideration
gave the citizens leave to do so. Yet Christians
presumed to reproach Jews with making money un-
justly, whereas only the rich did so, and then only on a
small scale. Immediately after the emperor's acces-
sion, the townsmen of Nuremberg appealed to him
to permit the expulsion of the Jews on account of
"loose conduct." This "loose conduct" was explained
in the indictment to be the reception of foreign
co-religionists, whereby the normal number of Jews
had been excessively increased in the town ; the
practice of inordinate usury; fraud in recovery of
debts, whereby honest tradesmen had been impov-
erished, and finally the harboring of rogues and
vagabonds. To stir up hatred against them, and
to confirm the Latin reading (i. e., the educated)
classes, in the illusion that Jews were blasphem-
ers, revilers of the host and infanticides, the rich
citizen, Antonius Koberger, had the venomous anti-
Jewish Fortalitium fidei of the Spanish Franciscan,
Alfonso de Spina, reprinted at his own expense.
After long petitioning, Emperor Maximilian at last
granted the prayer of Nuremberg, " on account of
the fidelity with which the town had ever served the
imperial house," abrogated the privileges enjoyed
by the Jews, and allowed the town council to fix a
time for their expulsion, stipulating, however, that
the houses, lands, synagogues, and even the Jewish
cemetery should fall to the imperial treasury. He,

4^6 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. XIII.

moreover, granted to Nuremberg the privilege of
being forever exempt from receiving Jews within its
walls (July 5th, 1498). The town council at first
allowed four months only for the exodus — and the
cultured, virtuous and humanity-preaching patrician,
Willibald Pirkheimer, afterwards so strong a pillar
of the Humanists, was then a member of the coun-
cil ! Upon the supplications of the unfortunate
people, the short reprieve was prolonged by three
months. But the Jews, summoned to the synagogue
by the sheriffs, had to swear to leave the town by
that time. At last, on March loth, 1499, the
much reduced community left Nuremberg, to which
it had returned after the Black Death.

At about the same time the Jews of other German
towns, Ulm, Nordlingen, Colmar, and Magdeburg,
were sent into banishment.

The community of Ratisbon, then the oldest in
Germany, was to fare still worse ; even then it heard
the warning voice to prepare for expulsion. Since
the inhabitants of that imperial city, through the dis-
putes with the Jews growing out of the false blood-
accusation, had suffered humiliation and pecuniary
loss at the hands of Emperor Frederick, the former
friendly feeling between Jews and Christians had
given way to bitterness and hatred. Instead of at-
tributing to the right cause the troubles and misfor-
tunes which had come upon the town by its attempted
secession from the empire, the citizens charged the
Jews with being the authors of their misfortunes,
and vented their anger on them. The priests, ex-
asperated by the failure of their plot against the
Jews, daily stirred up the fanaticism of the populace,
openly preaching that the Jews must be expelled.
The millers refused to sell them flour, the bakers,
bread ( 1 499) , for the clergy had threatened the trades-
people with excommunication if they supplied them
with food. On certain days Jews were not ad-
mitted into the market place, on others they

CH. XIIL THE JEWS OF PRAGUE. 4I7

were allowed to make their purchases only after
stated hours, when the Christians had satisfied their
wants. " Under severe penalties," imposed by the
senate, Christians were prohibited from making pur-
chases for Jews ; the former were to " secure the
glory of God and their own salvation " by being cruel
to the latter. The town council seriously discussed
applying to Emperor Maximilian to give his consent
to the expulsion of the Jews, allowing about
twenty-four families to remain. For a few years
more they were permitted to drag on a miserable
existence. Besides Ratisbon, only two large com-
munities remained in Germany, viz., at Frankfort-
on-the-Main and Worms, and even these were
often threatened with expulsion.

There were many Jews in Prague, but this town
was not in Germany proper ; Bohemia was counted
a private possession of the crown, under the rule of
Ladislaus, king of Hungary. The Bohemian Jews
were not too well off under him ; the Jewish quarter
in Prague was often plundered by the populace.
The citizens were sincerely anxious to expel the
Jews from Bohemia. But the latter had their pa-
trons, especially among the nobility. When, at a
diet, the question of the expulsion or retention of
the Jews arose, the decree was passed (August 7th,
1 501) that the crown of Bohemia was for all time
to tolerate them. If any one of them offended
against the law, he only was to be punished ; his
crime was not to be visited on the whole Jewish
community. King Ladislaus confirmed this decision
of the diet, only to break itver}- shortly after, for the
citizens of Prague were opposed to it, and spared no
pains to frustrate its fulfillment. They so strongly
prejudiced the king against the Jews as to induce
him to decree their expulsion, and to threaten with
banishment such Christians as should venture to inter-
cede for them. By what favorable dispensation they
remained in the country is not known. Though in

4l8 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. XIII.

daily expectation of expatriation, they grew recon-
ciled to having their habitation on the verge of a
volcano. A descendant of the Italian family of
printers, Soncinus, named Gershon Cohen, estab-
lished a Hebrew printing office at Prague (about
1503), the first in Germany, nearly four decade?
after the foundation of Hebrew printing offices in
Italy.

The Prague community does not seem to have
excelled in learning ; for some time not a single
scientific work, not even one on a Talmudic or rab
binical subject, issued from the press of Gershon
it merely supplied the needs of the synagogue,
whilst Italian and Turkish offices spread important
ancient and contemporary works. We find but
one rabbinical authority mentioned in those days :
Jacob Polak (born about 1460, died about 1530),
the originator of a new method of Talmud study, a
foreigner, and, with the exception of his namesake
Jacob Berab, in the East, the most profound and sa-
gacious Talmudist of his time. Curiously enough,
the astonishing facility of ingenious disquisition on
the basis of the Talmud (Pilpul), attributed to Polak,
which attained its highest perfection in Poland, pro-
ceeded from a native of Poland.

After Italy and Turkey, Poland was in those
days a refuge for hunted and exiled wanderers,
chiefly for those from Germany. Here, as well as
in Lithuania, united with Poland under one sov-
ereign, Jews enjoyed a better position than in the
neighboring lands beyond the Vistula and the Car-
pathians, though the monk Capistrano had for a
while interrupted the good understanding between
the government and the Jews.

Kings and the nobility were, to a certain extent,
dependent on them, and, when other interests did
not conflict, generally granted them privileges, be-
cause with their capital and commerce they were
able to turn the territorial wealth of the country

CH, XIII. THE JEWS OF POLAND, 4I9

into money, and to supply its inhabitants, poor in
coin, with the necessary funds. The farming of the
tolls and the distilleries were mostly in the hands of
Jews. It goes without saying that they also pos-
sessed land, and carried on trades. Against 500
Christian there were 3,200 Jewish wholesale dealers
in Poland, and three times as many artificers, in-
cluding workers in gold and silver, smiths and
weavers. The statute of Casimir IV, so favorable
to Jews, was still in force. For though, constrained
by the fanatical monk Capistrano, he had abro-
gated it, yet in view of the advantages that the
crown of Poland derived from the Jews, he re-en-
acted the same laws a lew years after. The Jews
were generally treated as citizens of the state, and
were not compelled to wear ignominious badges ;
they were also allowed to carry arms. After the
death of this politic king, two opponents arose
against them : on the one hand, the clergy, who
saw in the favored position of the Polish Jews an of-
fense to Christianity, and on the other, the German
merchants, who, long settled in Polish towns, had
brought with them their guilds and old-fashioned
prejudices, and hated the Jewish traders and arti-
ficers from sheer envy. United they succeeded in
prejudicing the successors of Casimir, his sons John
Albert and Alexander, against the Jews, so that
their privileges were abolished, and the Jews them-
selves confined to particular quarters, or even ban-
ished altogether from certain towns (1496 — 1505).
But the next sovereign, Sigismund I (1506 — 1548),
was favorably disposed towards them, and repeat-
edly protected them against persecution and expul-
sion. The strongest supporters, however, of the
Polish Jews were the Polish nobility, who hated the
Germans from national and political antipathy, and
therefore, both from policy and inclination, favored
the Jews, and used them as their tools against the
arrogant Germans. And since the nobles held the

420 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. XIll.

high official posts, the laws against Jews, to the
vexation of the clergy and the guilds, remained a
dead letter. Poland, therefore, was an asylum
much sought after by persecuted Jews. If a Jew
who had turned Christian, or a Christian, wished
to become a Jew, he could do so as freely in Poland
as in Turkey.

The rabbis were important agents for the crown.
They had the privilege of collecting the poll-tax
from the communities and paying it over to the
state. Therefore, the rabbis of large towns, ap-
pointed or confirmed by the king, became chiefs in
the administration of communal affairs, represented
the Jews before the crown, and bore the title of
chief rabbi. The rabbis retained the civil jurisdic-
tion, and were authorized to banish unworthy mem-
bers, and even to inflict the punishment of death.
But in Poland, the country which for several centu-
ries was to become the chief home of the Talmud
and the nursery of Talmudic students and rabbis,
which was long enveloped, as it were, in a Tal-
mudic atmosphere, there were no prominent Tal-
mudists at the beginning of the sixteenth century ;
it became the home of the Talmud only after the
immigration of numerous German scholars. Coming
from the districts of the Rhine and Main, from Ba-
varia, Suabia, Bohemia, and Austria, swarms of Jew-
ish families settled on the banks of the Vistula and
the Dnieper, having lost their fortunes, but bringing
with them their most precious possessions, which
they defended with their lives, and which they could
not be robbed of, namely, their religious convictions,
the customs of their fathers, and their Talmudic
learning. The German rabbinical school, which at
home had no breathing-space, established itself in
Poland and Lithuania, in Ruthenia and Volhynia,
spread in all directions, and, impregnated with Sla-
vonic elements, transformed itself into a peculiar, a
Polish school.

CH. XIII. GERMAN JEWS IN POLAND. 421

But the Jewish-German fugitives transplanted to
Poland not only the knowledge of the Talmud, but
also that of the German language, as then spoken ;
this they imparted to the native Jews, and it gradu-
ally superseded the Polish or Ruthenian tongue.
As the Spanish Jews turned portions of European
and Asiatic Turkey into a new Spain, the German
Jews transformed Poland, Lithuania, and the terri-
tories belonging thereto, into a new Germany.
For several centuries, therefore, the Jews were di-
vided into Spanish and German speaking Jews,
the Italian speaking members being too small in
number to count, especially as in Italy the Jews
were compelled to understand either Spanish or
German. The Jews settled in Poland gradually
cast off their German awkwardness and simplicity,
but not the language. They honored it as a pal-
ladium, as a holy remembrance ; and though in their
intercourse with Poles they made use of the lan-
guage of the country, in the family circle, and in
their schools and prayers, they adhered to German.
They valued it, next to Hebrew, as a holy language.
It was a fortunate thing for the Jews that at the
time when new storms gathered over their heads
in Germany, they found on her borders a country
which offered them a hospitable welcome and pro-
tection. For a tempest burst in Germany, which
had its first beginnings in the narrow Jewish circle,
but eventually drew on the Jews the attention of all
Christendom. An eventful, historical birth, which
was to change the face of European affairs, lay, so
to speak, in a Jewish manger.

CHAPTER XIV.

REUCHLIN AND THE TALMUD.

Antecedents of the Convert John Pfefferkorn — Pfefferkorn and the
Dominicans of Cologne — Hoogstraten, Ortuinus Gratius and
Arnold of Tongern — Victor von Karben — Attacks on the
Talmud and Confiscation of Copies in Frankfort — Reuchlin's
Hebrew and Kabbalistic Studies — The Controversy concerning
the Talmud — Activity on both Sides — Public Excitement —
Complete Victory of Reuchlin's Efforts in Defense of Jewish
Literature — Ulrich von Hutten — Luther — Revival of Hebrew
Studies.

1500 — 1520 C.E.

Who could have anticipated that from the German
nation, everywhere considered heavy and stupid,
from the land of lawless knights, of daily feuds
about trifles, of confused political conditions, where
everyone was both despot and slave, mercilessly op-
pressing his inferiors, and pitifully cringing to his su-
periors— who could have anticipated that from this
people and this country would proceed a movement
destined to shake European affairs to their center,
create new political conditions, give the Middle
Ages their death-blow, and set its seal on the dawn
of a new historical era ? A reformation of church
and politics, such as enlightened minds then dreamt
of, was least expected from Germany. Yet there
slumbered latent powers in that country, which only
needed awaking to develop into regenerating forces.
The Germans still adhered to ancient simplicity
of life and severity of morals, pedantic, it is true,
and ludicrous in manifestation ; whilst the leading
Romance countries, Italy, France and Spain, were
suffering from over-refinement, surfeit and moral
corruption. Because the Germans had retained
their original Teutonic dullness, the clergy could
not altogether succeed in infecting them with the

CH, XIV. GERMAN RELIGIOUSNESS AND MORALITY. 423

poison of their vicious teaching. Their lower
clerg\^ compared with that of other European
countries, was more chaste and modest. The in-
nate love of family life and genial association, which
the Germans have in common with Jews, pre-
served them from that moral depravity to which
the Romance nations had already succumbed. In
the educated circles of Italy, especially at the papal
court, Christianity and its doctrines were sneered
at ; the political power they conferred alone being
valued. But in Germany, where there was little
laughter, except in taverns, Christianity was treated
as a more serious matter ; it was looked upon as
an ideal, which had once been alive, and would live
again.

But these moral germs in the German race were
so deeply buried that it needed favorable circum-
stances to bring them to light, and cause them to
stand forth as historical potencies. However much
the Germans themselves may ignore it, the Talmud
had a great share in the awakening of these slum-
bering forces. We can boldly assert that the war
for and agfainst the Talmud aroused German con-
sciousness, and created a public opinion, without
which the Reformation, like many other efforts,
would have died in the hour of birth, or, perhaps,
would never have been born at all. A paltry grain
of sand caused the fall of an avalanche, which shook
the earth around. The instrument of this mighty
change was an ignorant, thoroughly vile creature,
the scum of the Jewish people, who does not de-
serve to be mentioned in history or literature, but
whom Providence seems to have appointed like
some noisome insect involuntarily to accomplish a
useful work.

Joseph Pfefferkom, a native of Moravia, was by
trade a butcher, and, as may easily be surmised, illit-
erate. His moral turpitude was even greater than
his ignorance. He committed a burglary, was caught,

424 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. XIV.

condemned to imprisonment by Count de Gutten-
stein, and released only at the urgent prayers of his
relatives, and on payment of a fine. It appears that
he hoped to wash away this disgrace with baptismal
water ; the church was not scrupulous, and received
even this despicable wretch, when at the age of
thirty-six he presented himself^ with wife and chil-
dren, to be received into Christianity (about 1505?).
He seems to have been baptized at Cologne ; at any
rate, he was kept and made much of by the ignorant,
proud and fanatical Dominicans of that city. Cologne
was an owls' nest of light-shunning swaggerers, who
endeavored to obscure the dawn of a bright day with
the dark clouds of superstition, hostile to knowledge.
At their head was Hochstraten (Hoogstraten), an
inquisitor or heretic-hunter, a violent, reckless man,
who literally longed for the smell of burning heretics,
and in Spain would have been a useful Torquemada.
His counterpart was Arnold of Tongern (Tungern),
a Dominican professor of theology. The third in
the coalition was Ortuin de Graes, of Deventer (who
Latinized his name to Ortuinus Gratius), the son of
a clergyman. Ortuin de Graes entertained so vio-
lent a hatred against Jews that it could not have
been due solely to religious zeal. He made it his
special business to stir up the wrath of the Christians
by anti-Jewish writings. But as he was too ignorant
to concoct a book or even a pamphlet, he surrounded
himself with baptized Jews, who had to supply him
with materials. A Jew, who, during a persecution
or for some reason, had become a convert to Chris-
tianity in his fiftieth year, and assumed the name of
Victor von Karben, though he had but little
Hebrew and rabbinical learning, was dubbed rabbi,
in order to give more weight to his attacks on Juda-
ism and to his confession of Christianity. It is not
precisely known whether Victor von Karben, who
sorrowfully stated that on his conversion he left his
wife, three children, brothers and dear friends, vol-

CH. XIV. PFEFFERKORN's FIRST PAMPHLET. 42$

untarily or by compulsion reproached the Jews with
hating Christians and reviling Christianit}'. He
supplied Ortuinus Gratius with materials for accusa-
tions against them, their Talmud, their errors and
abominations, which Ortuinus worked up into a book.
But Victor von Karben appears, after all, not to have
been of much service, or he was too old (born 1442,
died 151 5) to assist in the execution of a deep
scheme, destined to bring profitable business to the
Dominicans, the heresy-judges of men and writings.
But they needed a Jew for this purpose ; their own
order had not long before got into rather bad odor.
Pfefferkorn was the very man for them. He lent
his name to a new anti-Jewish publication, written in
Latin by Ortuinus Gratius. It was entitled " A
Mirror for Admonition," inviting the Jews to be con-
verted to Christianity. This first anti-Jewish book
with Pfefferkorn' s name dealt gently with the Jews,
even sought to show the groundlessness of the
frequent accusations with regard to stealing and
murdering Christian children. It entreats Christians
not to banish the Jews, nor to oppress them too
heavily, since to a certain extent they are human
beings. But this friendliness was only a mask,
a feeler put forth to gain firm ground. For the
Cologne Dominicans aimed at the confiscation of
the Talmudic writings, as in the days of Saint
Louis of France, This was distantly pointed to in
Pfefferkorn's first pamphlet, which endeavored to
throw suspicion on the Talmud, and adduced three
reasons to explain the stiff-necked unbelief of
Jews : their practice of usury, the fact that they were
not compelled to go to church, and their attachment
to the Talmud. These obstacles once removed,
Jews would throng to church in crowds. The pam-
phlet, therefore, admonished princes and people to
check the usury of the Jews, to compel them to at-
tend church and listen to sermons, and to burn the
Talmud. It admitted that it is not just to infringe

426 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. XIV.

upon the Jews' claim to their writings, but Christians
did not hesitate, in certain cases, to do violence to
Jews, and compared w^ith that the confiscation
of the Talmudic books was a venial offense. This
was the sole object of the pamphlet under Pfeffer-
korn's name. It was generally believed in Germany
that the Cologne owls expected to do a good stroke
of business ; if they could induce the ruling powers
to sequestrate all copies of the Talmud, Domin-
icans, as inquisitors, would have the disposal of
them, and the Jews, who could not do without the
Talmud, would pour their wealth into Dominican
coffers to have the confiscation annulled. Hence, in
the succeeding two years, still putting Pfefferkorn
forward as the author, they published several pam-
phlets, wherein it was asserted to be a Christian duty
to expel all Jews, like so many mangy dogs. If the
princes would not do so, the people were to take
the matter into their own hands, solicit their rulers
to deprive the Jews of all their books except the
Bible, forcibly take from them all pledges, above all,
see that their children be brought up as Christians,
and expel the adults as incorrigible rogues. It was
no sin to do the worst to' Jews, as they were not
freemen, but body and soul the property of the
princes. If they refused to listen to the prayer of
their subjects, the people were to assemble in masses,
even create a riot, and impetuously demand the ful-
fillment of the Christian duty of degrading the Jews.
The masses were to declare themselves champions of
Christ, and carry out his will. Whoso did an injury
to Jews was a follower of Christ; whoso favored
them was worse than they, and would hereafter be
punished with eternal suffering and hell fire.

But Pfefferkorn, Ortuinus Gratius and the Cologne
Dominicans had come too late in the day. Riots
for the killing of Jews, though they were no less
hated and despised than in the times of the cru-
sades and of the Black Death, were no longer the

CH, XIV. PFEFFERKORN S SECOND PAMPHLET. 42/

fashion. Princes were little disposed to expel the
Jews, since with them a regular revenue would
disappear. Zeal for the conversion of Jews had
considerably cooled down ; in fact, many Chris-
tians pointed scornfully at baptized Jews, saying
that they resembled clean linen : as long as it is
fresh the eye delights in it, after a few days' wear
it is cast aside as soiled. Thus a converted Jew,
immediately after his baptism, is cherished by the
Christians ; when some days have passed he is neg-
lected, avoided, and finally made sport of

The German Jews, dreading new dangers from
Pfefferkorn's zeal, endeavored to thwart him. Jew-
ish physicians, usually held in high favor at the
courts of princes, appear to have exerted their in-
fluence with their patrons to show the falsity of
Pfefferkorn's accusations, and to render them in-
effectual. Even Christians manifested their dissat-
isfaction with the machinations of the baptized Jew,
and loudly proclaimed PfeiTerkorn to be a worthless
fellow and a hypocrite, who was not to be believed,
his object being simply to delude the foolish, and
fill his own purse. He, therefore, published a new
pamphlet (March, 1509), which he impudently enti-
tled " The Enemy of the Jews." This venomous
libel reiterated all his former accusations, and
showed how the Jews, by charging interest on in-
terest, impoverished the Christians. He blackened
the character of Jewish physicians, saying that they
were quacks, who endangered the lives of their
Christian patients. It was, therefore, necessary to
expel the Jews from Germany, as Emperor Maxi-
milian had driven them from Austria, Styria and Ca-
rinthia ; or if allowed to remain, they were to be
employed in cleansing the streets, sweeping chim-
neys, removing filth and carrion, and in similar occu-
pations. But, above all, every copy of the Talmud,
and all books relating to their religion, the Bible ex-
cepted, were to be taken from them. In order effec-

428 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. XIV.

tually to carry out this step, house to house visitation
was to be made, and the Jews were to be compelled,
if necessary by torture, to surrender their books.
Ortuinus Gratius had a hand in the drawing up of
this pamphlet, too.

These venomous writings in German and Latin
were but means and preliminaries to a plan which
was to realize the hopes of the Dominicans of Co-
logne, the public burning of the theological books
of the Jews, or their conversion into a source of
profit. They urged Emperor Maximilian, who did
not easily lend himself to the commission of a- deed
of violence, to deliver the Jews, together with their
books and purses, to their tender mercies. For this
purpose they called in the aid of the bigotry of an
unfortunate princess.

Kunigunde, the beautiful sister of Maximilian and
favorite daughter of Emperor Frederick, in her
youth had been the cause of much affliction to her
aged sire. Without her father's knowledge she had
married his declared enemy, the Bavarian duke,
Albert of Munich. For a long time her deeply of-
fended father would not allow her name to be men-
tioned. When her husband died in the prime of
manhood (1508), his widow, perhaps repenting her
youthful error, entered a Franciscan convent at
Munich. She became abbess of the nuns of Sancta
Clara, and castigated her body. The Dominicans
hoped to turn to good purpose the gloomy character
of this princess. They furnished Pfefferkorn with
letters of introduction to her. With poisoned words
he was to detail to her the shameful doings of the
Jews, their blasphemies against Jesus, Mary, the
apostles and the church in general, and to demon-
strate to her that the Jewish books which contained
all these abominations deserved to be destroyed.
A woman, moreover a superstitious one, whose mind
has been dulled in convent walls, is easily persuaded.
Kunigunde readily believed the calumnies against

CH. XIV. EMPEROR MAXIMILIAN S MANDATE. 429

the Jews and their religious literature, especially as
they were uttered by a former Jew, who could not
but be acquainted with their habits and wickedness,
and who assured her that after the destruction of the
Jewish books all Hebrews would gradually be con-
verted to Christianity. Pfefferkorn easily obtained
from the bigoted nun what he wanted. She gave
him a pressing letter to her imperial brother, con-
juring him to put a stop to Jewish blasphemies against
Christianity, and to issue a decree that all their writ-
ings, except the Bible, be taken from the Jews and
burnt, lest the sins of blasphemy daily committed
by them fall on his crowned head. Furnished with
this missive, Pfefferkorn straightway went to Italy,
to the camp of the emperor.

The fanatical letter of Kunigunde and the calum-
nies of Pfefferkorn succeeded in extorting from Maxi-
milian a mandate, dated August 19th, 1509, giving
the baptized miscreant full power over Jews. He
was authorized to examine Hebrew writings any-
where in the German empire, and to destroy all
whose contents were hostile to the Bible and the
Christian faith. The Jews were enjoined, under
heavy penalties to person and property, to offer no
resistance, but to submit their books to Pfefferkorn's
examination. Pfefferkorn, with the emperor's au-
thority, returned triumphantly to Germany, to open
his campaign against Jewish books or Jewish purses.
He began his business, which promised profit, with
the community at Frankfort, then the most import-
ant of Germany, where many Talmud scholars,
consequently many copies of that work, besides
many rich Jews, were to be found. On Pfeffer-
korn's demand, the senate assembled all the Jews
in the synagogue, and communicated to them the
emperor's order to surrender their books.

In the presence of clergymen and members of
the senate, all prayer-books found in the syna-
gogue were confiscated. It happened to be the eve

430 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. XIV.

of the Feast of Tabernacles (Friday, September
28th). By his own authority, or pretending to hold
it from the emperor, Pfefferkorn forbade the Jews
to attend the synagogue on the day of the feast ; he
intended to hold a house to house visitation on that
day, for he was very anxious to get hold of copies
of the Talmud. The clergymen present, however,
were not so inconsiderate as to turn the feast of the
Jews into mourning, but deferred the search for
books till the following Monday. How did the
Jews act? That they dared protest against this
arbitrary proceeding proves that a new order of
things had arisen. No longer as formerly in Ger-
many did they submit, with the dumb submission of
lambs, to spoliation and death. They appealed to
the charters of various popes and emperors, granting
them religious liberty, which included possession of
their prayer-books and text-books. They demanded
a delay of the confiscation in order to appeal to the
emperor and the supreme court of judicature. The
directors of the community of Frankfort immedi-
ately sent a deputy to the elector and archbishop of
Mayence, Uriel von Gemmingen, in whose diocese
Frankfort was situate, to induce him to forbid the
clergy to co-operate in this injustice. When Pfef-
ferkorn began his house to house visitation, the
Jews protested so energetically that it had to be
deferred until the senate decided whether or not
their objection was to be allowed. The decision
of the sapient senate was unfavorable ; but when
the confiscation was about to be commenced, a
letter from the archbishop arrived, prohibiting the
clergy from lending Pfefferkorn any assistance. This
frustrated the scheme ; for the senators also with-
drew from the transaction as soon as they knew that
the highest ecclesiastical dignitary in Germany sided
with the Jews. The latter were not idle. For,
though they did not know that the powerful Do-
minicans stood behind Pfefferkorn, they suspected

CH. XIV. BISHOP URIEL VON GEMMINGEX, 43I

that persons, hostile to the Jews, used this spiteful
wretch to stir up persecution against them. They
at once dispatched a defender of their cause to the
emperor, and another to the German communities,
far and near, to appoint a general synod, to be
summoned for the succeeding month, to consider
what steps should be taken, and to raise funds.

Temporarily this unpleasant business seemed to
take a turn favorable to the Jews. The senate of
Frankfort remained passive, except in laying an
embargo on the packets of books belonging to Jew-
ish booksellers, and forbidding their sale. The
conduct of the archbishop was what benefited them
most. Either from a sense of justice — he was gen-
erally fair in his dealings — from a kindly feeling for
the Jews, from a dislike of Dominican heretic-hunt-
ing, or, finally, from jealousy of the emperor's in-
terference with his functions, in giving so miser-
able a wretch as Pfefferkorn spiritual jurisdiction in
his diocese, Uriel von Gemmingen took the part of
the Jews. He addressed a letter to the emperor
(October 5th), wherein he gently insinuated that
he was to blame for having given full powers
to so ignorant a man as Pfefferkorn, and asserted
that to his knowledge no blasphemous or anti-
Christian writings were in the possession of the Jews
of his diocese, and hinted that if the emperor abso-
lutely insisted on the examination and confiscation
of Hebrew literature, he must employ an expert.
He was so zealous on behalf of the Jews as to write
to Von Hutten, his agent at the imperial court, to
assist the Jews in laying their case before the em-
peror. In the meantime, not to betray his partisan-
ship, he invited Pfefferkorn to Aschaffenburg, and
informed him that his mandate from the emperor
was faulty in form, whereby it became ineffectual,
for the Jews would dispute its validity.

At this interview the name of Reuchlin was men-
tioned for the first time, whether by the archbishop

432 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. XIV.

or by Pfefferkorn is uncertain. It was suggested to
request the emperor to appoint Reuchlin and Victor
von Karben Pfefferkorn' s coadjutors in the exami-
nation of Jewish books. Pfefferkorn, or the Do
minican friars themselves, thought it necessary to
secure the co-operation of a man whose learning,
character and high position would render their pro-
ceedings more effective. Reuchlin, the pride of
Germany, was to be made their associate, so as to
disarm possible opponents. It was part of their
scheme, too, to throw discredit, in one way or an-
other, on the man whom obscurantists looked upon
with disfavor, and who, to their vexation, first stim-
ulated German and then European Christians in
general to study the Hebrew language. But by
these very artifices Pfefferkorn and his patrons not
only spoilt their game, but raised a storm, which in
less than a decade shook the whole edifice of the
Catholic Church. It was justly said afterwards
that the semi-Jewish Christian had done more
injury to Christianity than all the blasphemous
writings of the Jews could have done. John
Reuchlin assisted in making the transition from the
Middle Ages to modern times, and, therefore, his
name is famous in the annals of the sixteenth cent-
ury ; but in Jewish history also he deserves honor-
able mention.

John Reuchlin, of Pforzheim (born 1455, died 1522),
or Capnion, as his admirers, the students of the hu-
maniora, called him, with his younger contemporary,
Erasmus of Rotterdam, delivered Germany from the
reproach of barbarism. By their example and in-
citement they proved that, with regard to knowledge
of ancient Greek and Latin, a pure style and human-
istic culture in general, Germans could not only
rival, but surpass Italians. Besides his astonishing
learning in classical literature and his elegant diction,
Reuchlin had a pure, upright character, nobility of
mind, integrity which was proof against temptation,

CH.XrV. JOHN REUCHLIN. 433

admirable love of truth, and a soft heart. More
versatile than Erasmus, his younger colleague, in
preparing for and spreading humanistic and esthetic
culture in Germany, Reuchlin also devoted him-
self to the study of Hebrew to acquire mastery of
the language blessed by God, and thus emulate his
pattern, the Church Father Jerome. His love for
Hebrew grew into enthusiasm, when on his second
journey to Rome he became acquainted at Florence
with the learned youth, Pico di Mirandola, Italy's
prodigy, and learned from him what deep, marvel-
ous secrets lay hidden in the Hebrew sources of the
Kabbala. After that Reuchlin thirsted for Hebrew
literature, but could not quench his thirst. He could
not even obtain a printed copy of the Hebrew Bible.
Only in his mature age he found opportunities of
acquiring a more profound knowledge of Hebrew.
During his stay at Linz, at the court of the aged
emperor, Frederick III, he made the acquaintance
of the imperial physician and Jewish knight, Jacob
Loans; and this Jewish scholar became his teacher
of Hebrew language and literature.

Reuchlin devoted every hour that he could snatch
from his avocations at court to this study, and mas-
tered it so thoroughly that he was soon able to do
without a teacher. His genius for languages stood
him in good stead, and enabled him to overcome
difficulties. He endeavored to turn to speedy ac-
count the Hebrew learning acquired with such zeal.
He wrote a small work, "The Wonderful Word," a
spirited panegyric of the Hebrew language, its sim-
plicity, depth and divine character. "The language
of the Hebrews is simple, uncorrupted. holy, terse
and vigorous; God confers in it direct with men, and
men with angels, without interpreters, face to face,

as one friend converses with another," A

Jew devoted to the antiquities of his race could not
have spoken more enthusiastically. The work con-
sists of a series of discussions between an Epicurean

434 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. XIV.

philosopher, a Jewish sage (Baruchias), and a Chris-
tian (Capnion), and its object is to prove that the
wisdom of all nations, the symbols of pagan religions
and the forms of their worship are but misconcep-
tions and travesties of Hebrew truth, mysteriously
concealed in the words, in the very shapes of the
letters of the Hebrew tongue.

Reuchlin may have felt that his knowledge of
Hebrew still left much to be desired; he, therefore,
as ambassador of the elector palatine, whom he
represented at the court of Pope Alexander VI
(1498 — 1500), continued his study of Hebrew litera-
ture. Obadiah Sforno, of Cesena, then residing at
Rome, became Reuchlin's second teacher of Hebrew.
Thus the German humanist, already a famous man,
whose Latin discourses were the admiration of
Italians, sat at the feet of a Jew to perfect himself in
Hebrew, nor did he disdain to accept instruction
from a Jew whenever the opportunity offered, so
highly did he esteem the Hebrew language.

Being the only Christian in Germany, or we may
say in all Europe, sufficiently familiar with the sacred
language, Reuchlin's numerous friends urged him to
compile a Hebrew grammar, to enable the studi-
ously inclined to instruct themselves. The first
Hebrew grammar by a Christian, which Reuchlin
designated as "a memorial more lasting than brass"
(finished in March, 1506), was a somewhat poor
affair. It gave only the essentials of pronunciation
and etymology, together with a vocabulary, the im-
perfections of which need not surprise us, as it is the
work of a beginner. But the grammar produced
important results: it aroused a taste for Hebrew
studies in a large circle of scholars, who thenceforth
zealously devoted themselves to it ; and these studies
supplied a new factor towards the Lutheran Refor-
mation. A number of disciples of Reuchlin, such as
Sebastian Miinster and Widmannstadt, followed in
his footsteps, and raised the Hebrew language to
the level of Greek.

CH. XIV. REUCHLIN S PREJUDICE. 43$

But though Reuchlin went down Into the Jews'
lane to carry off a hidden treasure, he was at first
no less intensely prejudiced against the Jewish
race than his contemporaries. Forgetful of its former
glory, and blind to the solid kernel, because envel-
oped in a repulsive shell, Reuchlin looked on the
Jewish people as utterly barbarous, devoid of all
artistic taste, superstitious, mean and depraved. He
solemnly declared that he was far from favoring the
Jews. Like his pattern, Jerome, he testified to his
thorough-going hatred of them. At the same time
as his Hebrew grammar he wrote an epistle, in
which he traced all the misery of the Jews to their
blind unbelief, instead of looking for its source in
Christians' want of charity towards them. Reuch-
lin, no less than Pfefferkorn, charged the Jews with
blasphemy against Jesus, Mary, the apostles and
Christians in general ; but a time came when he
regretted this indiscreet lucubration of his youth.
For his heart did not share the prejudices of his
head. Whenever he met individual Jews, he gave
them his affection, or at least his esteem ; he prob-
ably found that they were better than Christians
represented them to be. His sense of justice did
not allow him to let wrong be done to them, much
less to help in doing it.

When Pfefferkorn and the Cologne Dominicans
approached Reuchlin, he was at the zenith of his
life and fame. High and low honored him for his
rectitude ; Emperor Frederick had ennobled him ;
Emperor Maximilian appointed him counselor and
judge of the Suabian League ; the circle of human-
ists, the order of free spirits within and without
Germany, loved, worshiped, almost deified him.
Though hitherto no shadow of heresy had fallen on
Reuchlin, who was on the best of terms with the
Dominicans, yet the friends of darkness instinct-
ively saw in him their secret enemy. His cultiva-
tion of science and classical literature, his anxiety

430 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. XIV.

for an elegant Latin style, his enthusiasm for Greek,
by which all Germany had been infected, and worse
than all, his introduction of Hebrew, his preference
for " Hebrew truth," for the Hebrew text over the
corrupt Latin Vulgate, which the church held as
canonical and unassailable, were considered by the
obscurantists as crimes, for which the Inquisition
could not, indeed, directly prosecute him, but which
secured him a place in their black book.

The order given to Pfefferkorn, the secret agent
of the Dominicans of Cologne, to implicate Reuch-
lin in the examination of blasphemous Jewish writ-
ings, as said above, was a cunningly devised trap. On
his second journey to the imperial camp, Pfeffer-
korn waited on Reuchlin at his own house, endeav-
ored to make him a confederate in his venomous
schemes against the Jews, and showed him the
imperial mandate. Reuchlin declined the proposal
somewhat hesitatingly, though he approved of de-
stroying Jewish libels on Christianity ; but he pointed
out that the emperor's mandate was faulty in form,
and that, therefore, the authorities would not will-
ingly enforce it. Reuchlin is said to have hinted
that, if invited to do so, he would interest himself in
the matter. Pfefferkorn, in consequence, applied to
the emperor for a second mandate, correct in form
and unassailable. But the Jews had not been idle
in endeavors to induce the emperor to revoke the
mandate and restore their books.

The community of Frankfort had appointed Jona-
than Levi Zion, a zealous member, to advocate their
case with the emperor. The community of Ratis-
bon also had sent an agent to the imperial court.
Isaac Triest, a man greatly beloved by the persons
surrounding the emperor, took great pains to frus-
trate Pfefferkorn's plans. The Jewish advocates
were supported by influential Christians, inckiding
the representative of the archbishop and the Mar-
grave of Baden. They first adduced the charters

CH. xrv. Maximilian's second mandate. 437

guaranteeing religious liberty, granted to the Jews
by emperors and popes, in accordance with which
even the emperor had no right to interfere with the
management of their private affairs, or to attack
their property in the shape of religious books. They
did not fail to inform the emperor that their ac-
cuser was a worthless person, a thief and burglar.
The Jewish advocates thought that they had attained
their end. The emperor had listened to their petition
in an audience, and promised them a speedy reply.
Their friendly reception led them to look for an im-
mediate settlement of this painful affair ; moreover,
it was a good omen that Uriel von Gemmingen,
their protector, was appointed commissary.

But they did not understand Maximilian's vacillat-
ing character. As soon as Pfefferkorn appeared
before him, armed with another autograph letter
from his sister, wherein the ultra-pious nun conjured
him not to injure Christianity by the revocation of
his mandate, the scales were turned against the
Jews. The emperor was in reality secretly piqued
that the despised Jews of Frankfort, in contempt of
his mandate, had refused to give up the books found
in their houses.

He thereupon issued a second mandate (Novem-
ber loth, 1509), wherein he reproached the Jews with
having offered resistance, and ordered the con-
fiscation to be continued. But he appointed Arch-
bishop Uriel as commissioner, and advised him to
obtain counsel from the universities of Cologne,
Mayence, Erfurt and Heidelberg, and to associate
with himself learned men, such as Reuchlin, Victor
von Karben, and the inquisitor, Hoogstraten, who
was wholly ignorant of Hebrew. With this mandate
in his pocket, Pfefferkorn hastened back to the scene
of his activity, the Rhenish provinces. Archbishop
Uriel appointed Hermann Hess, chancellor of the
University of Mayence, his delegate, to direct the
confiscation of Jewish books. Accompanied by him,

438 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. XIV.

Pfefiferkorn again repaired to Frankfort, and the
book-hunt began afresh. Fifteen hundred manu-
scripts, including those already seized, were taken
from the Frankfort Jews, and deposited in the town
hall.

Worse than the emperor's vacillating conduct was
the apathy shown by the large communities of Ger-
many in the appointment of delegates to a confer-
ence to discuss and frustrate the malicious plans of
Pfefferkorn, or rather, of the Dominicans. Smaller
communities had contributed their share towards the
expenses occasioned by this serious matter, but the
larger and richer communities of Rothenburg on the
Tauber, Weissenburg and Fiirth, on which the Jews
of Frankfort had counted most, displayed deplor-
able indifference. But when, in consequence of the
second mandate, Jewish books were confiscated not
only at Frankfort but also in other communities,
more active interest was manifested. First the
Frankfort senate was influenced in their favor. The
Jewish booksellers were accustomed to bring their
bales of books for sale to the spring Fair at Frank-
fort. Pfefferkorn threatened to confiscate these also,
but the senate of Frankfort refused to assist in the
measure, being unwilling to break the laws regulat-
ing the Fair. The Jewish booksellers, moreover, had
safe-conducts each from the prince of his own
country, protecting not only their persons, but also
their property. The archbishop maintained sullen
silence, but was inclined to favor the Jews. He did
not call together the learned men whom the emperor
had mentioned to examine the Jewish books, and did
no more than he could help. Many princes, also,
whose eyes had been opened to the ultimate results
of this strange confiscation, seem to have made rep-
resentations to the emperor. Public opinion was
particularly severe on Pfefferkorn. But he and the
Dominicans were not idle ; they endeavored to win
over the emperor and public opinion, and it is re-

CH. XIV. Maximilian's third mandate. 439

markable that the enemies of publicity should have
opened the mouth of that hitherto silent arbitress,
and rendered her powerful.

For this purpose there appeared another anti-
Jewish pamphlet, with Pfefferkorn's name on the
title-page, entitled, "In Praise and Honor of Em-
peror Maximilian." It blew clouds of incense into
the emperor's face, and regretted that the charges
against the Jews, from indifference and ignorance,
were so little noticed in Christian circles. It re-
asserted that the Talmud, the usury of the Jews, and
their facilities for making money, were the causes of
their obstinately refusing to become Christians.
Thus the Cologne Dominicans — always standing be-
hind Pfefferkorn — by means of public opinion again
attempted to put moral pressure on Maximilian.

But this public opinion must have spoken so
strongly in favor of the Jews, that Maximilian was
induced to take a step unusual for an emperor,
namely, in a measure revoke his former commands,
by directing the senate of Frankfort to restore to
the Jews their books (May 23d, 15 10), "till the com-
pletion of our purpose and the inspection of the
books." Great was the joy of the Jews. They had
escaped a great danger: not their religious books
only, so dear to their hearts, but their position in
the Holy Roman Empire had been at stake, since the
Dominicans, in case of success, would not have
stopped at the confiscation of books, but would
have inflicted new humiliations and persecutions.

But the Jews triumphed too soon ; the Dominicans
and their confederate and tool, Pfefferkorn, would
not so readily surrender the advantages already se-
cured. A. regrettable occurrence in the Mark of
Brandenburg supplied fresh energy to their machi-
nations, and a pretext for formulating an accusation.
A thief had stolen some sacred emblems from a
church, and when questioned as to the holy wafer,
he confessed having sold it to Jews in the Branden

440 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. XIV.

burg district. Of course, the thief was believed, and
the bishop of Brandenburg entered on the persecu-
tion of the Jews with fiery fanaticism. The elector
of Brandenburg, Joachim I, an ardent heretic-hunter,
had the accused brought to Berlin. The accusation
of reviling the host was soon supplemented by the
charge of infanticide. Joachim had the Jews tor-
tured, and then ordered thirty to be burnt. With
firmness, songs of praise on their lips, these martyrs
of Brandenburg met their fiery deaths (July 19th,
1 5 10), except two, who, with the fear of the stake
upon them, submitted to baptism, and suffered the
seemingly more honorable fate of being beheaded.
This is the first mention of Jews in Berlin and Bran-
denburg. The occurrence made a great stir in Ger-
many, and the Cologne Dominicans employed it to
induce the emperor to issue a new mandate for the
confiscation of Jewish books, seeing that to the Tal-
mud alone could be attributed the alleged hostility
of the Jews to Christianity. They sheltered them-
selves behind the same go-between; the bigoted
nun, the ducal abbess Kunigunde, to whom the dia-
bolical wickedness of the Jews, as revealed by the
above occurrence, was presented in most glaring
colors, was again to influence the emperor. The
Dominicans suggested to her how detrimental to
Christianity must be the fact that the host-reviling
and child-murdering Jews could boast of having had
their books restored to them by order of the em-
peror, who thus, to a certain extent, approved of the
abuse of Christianity which they contained. The
abbess thereupon fairly assailed her brother, and at
their interview at Munich besought him on her knees
to reconsider the matter of the Jewish books.
Maximilian was perplexed. He was loath to refuse
his dearly beloved sister what she had so much at
heart ; on the other hand, he was not highly edified
by Pfefferkorn's tissue of lies about the Jews. He
found an expedient to appear just to both parties.

CH. XIV. reuchlin's opinion. 441

He issued a new mandate, the fourth in this affair
(July 6th, 1 5 10), addressed to Archbishop Uriel,
directing him to resume the inquiry, but in another
form. The indictment was not to be considered as
proved, but was to be thoroughly investigated. The
archbishop of Mayence was to take the opinions of
the German universities named, and also of Reuch-
lin, Victor von Karben and Hoogstraten, to whom
the emperor sent a special summons in official form.
The final decision as to the character of the Jewish
writings was to be communicated to him by Pfeffer-
korn, the originator of the inquiry. The Jews had
reason to look forward with anxiety to the issue ;
their weal and woe depended on it.

It was fortunate for the Jews that the honest,
truthful Reuchlin, so enthusiastically prepossessed
for Hebrew and Kabbalistic literature, was asked to
give his opinion of Jewish literature. The Cologne
Dominicans, who had proposed him, thereby frus-
trated their own design, and as a further effect made
him the enemy of their hostile endeavors. As soon
as Reuchlin received the emperor's command, he set
to work to answer the question, "Whether it was
godly, laudable, and advantageous to Christianity
to burn the Jewish writings," whereby the Talmud
especially was meant. H is j udgment was extremely
favorable to the writings in question, nor did he miss
the chance of bestowing sundry side blows on the
vile instigator Pfefferkorn. Jewish literature, the
mistress of his heart, was to be charged as a culprit,
and should he fail to defend her with all the powers
of his mind ? Reuchlin's opinion is conceived in the
pedantic, heavy, juridical style then prevailing, but
does not lack ability. He started from the correct
point of view, that, in answering the question, the
Jewish writings were not to be treated in the ag-
gregate as a homogeneous literature, but that, ex-
cluding the Bible, they were to be divided into six
classes. The class of exegetic works, such as those

442 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. XIV.

by R. Solomon (Rashi), Ibn-Ezra, the Kimchis,
Moses Gerundensis and Levi ben Gershon, far from
being detrimental to Christianity, he declared to be
indispensable to Christian theology, the most
learned Christian commentators of the Old Testa-
ment having taken the best of their work from the
Jews, as from fountains whence flow the real truth
and understanding of the Holy Scriptures. If from
the voluminous writings of Nicholas de Lyra, the
best Christian exegetist, all borrowed from Rashi
were to be excised, the part left, which he himself
had composed, might be comprised in a few pages.
He, indeed, considered it a disgrace that many doc-
tors of divinity, from ignorance of Hebrew and
Greek, interpreted the Scriptures wrongly. The
class of Hebrew writings on philosophy, natural
sciences and the liberal arts were in no way distin-
guished from what might be found in Greek, Latin,
or German works. With regard to the Talmud,
against which the chief accusation was laid, Reuch-
lin confessed his inability to understand it ; but other
learned Christians understood no more of it than
they might learn from its accusers, including Pfeffer-
korn. He was acquainted with many who con-
demned the Talmud without understanding it. But
could one write against mathematics without having
knowledge thereof? He was, therefore, of opinion
that the Talmud was not to be burnt, even if it were
true that it contained libels on the founders of Chris-
tianity. "If the Talmud were deserving of such
condemnation, our ancestors of many hundred years
ago, whose zeal for Christianity was much greater
than ours, would have burnt it. The baptized Jews,
Peter Schwarz and Pfefferkorn, the only persons
who insist on its being burnt, probably wish it for
private reasons."

To defend Kabbalistic writings, and save them
from being burnt, was easy enough. Reuchlin had
but to point to occurrences at the papal court,

CH. XIV. DEFENSE OF JEWISH LITERATURE. 443

scarcely two decades ago. The learned and eccen-
tric Count Pico di Mirandola had aroused enthusi-
astic admiration for the Kabbala, maintaining that it
contained the most solid foundation of the chief doc-
trines of Christianity. Sixtus IV had caused some
of the Kabbalistic writings to be translated into
Latin. Reuchlin concluded his opinion by advising
that their books should not be taken from the Jews,
nor burnt, but that at every German university two
professors of Hebrew be appointed for ten years,
who might also be asked to teach modern, or rab-
binical Hebrew ; and thus the Jews might be led by
gentle means and by conviction to embrace Chris-
tianity.

Unquestionably, since Jews had been ill-used and
persecuted by Christians, they had not found so
friendly an advocate as Reuchlin, who declared him-
self in their favor in an official document, intended
for the chancellor of the empire, and the emperor
himself. Two points on which Reuchlin laid stress
were especially important to Jews. The first was,
that the Jews were citizens of the Holy Roman
Empire, and were entitled to its full privileges and
protection. This was the first stammering utterance
of that liberating word of perfect equality, which
required more than three centuries for its perfect
enunciation and acknowledgment. The mediaeval
delusion, that the Jews, by Vespasian and Titus'
conquest of Jerusalem, had become the bondmen of
their successors, the Roman and German emperors,
was hereby partly dispelled. The recognition that
Jews also had rights, which the emperor and the state,
the clergy and the laity must respect, was the first faint,
trembling ray of light after a long, dark night. The
second point, which Reuchlin emphasized more posi-
tively, was of equal importance: that the Jews must
not be considered or treated as heretics. Since they
stood without the church, and were not bound to hold
the Christian faith, the ideas of heresy and unbelief —

/|/|^ HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. XIV.

those terrifying and lethal anathemas of the Middle
Ages — did not apply to them.

Of what use this judgment of Reuchlin was to the
Jews, we discover by the decision of the faculties
consulted — faculties to whom the Talmud, of course,
was a book with seven seals. The Cologne Domin-
icans in a body, the theological faculty, the inquisi-
tor Hoogstraten, and the gray-haired convert Victor
von Karben, all mouthpieces of one mind, did
not trouble themselves to prove that the Talmud
was hostile to Christianity ; they assumed it, and,
therefore, quickly arrived at their decision, that the
Talmudic writings, and all others, probably of the
same stamp, were to be seized and burnt. But they
went further ; Hoogstraten, in particular, had the
assurance to say that the Jews should be indicted.
Experts were to extract and arrange heretical pas-
sages from the Talmud and other Jewish books;
then the Jews were to be questioned whether or not
they admitted the perniciousness of books contain-
ing such doctrines. If they admitted it, they could
raise no objection to have them committed to the
flames. If they obstinately persevered in treating
such passages as portions of their creed, the emperor
was to surrender them as convicted heretics for
punishment to the Inquisition.

The faculty of the university of Mayence delivered
a similar sentence, but went much further. They
pronounced not only all Talmudic and rabbinical
writings to be full of errors and heresy, but that
even the Scriptures must have been contaminated
and corrupted by them, especially in articles of faith,
wherefore these were to be taken from the Jews,
examined, and if their expectation was realized, the
Jewish Bibles were to be thrown into the flames.
This was a cunning device, because the Hebrew
text of the Bible does not agree with the Latin Vul-
gate, the work of bunglers, used by the church. It
was like arraigning an immaculate mother before

CH.XIV. THE HEBREW BIBLE THREATENED. 445

her degenerate daughter, and telling her that if she
did not adopt the vices of the latter, she did not
deserve to exist. And it was a clever trick on the
part of the Dominicans to get rid of the inconven-
ient Hebrew text, the " Hebrew truth," majestically
shaking its head at the childish trifling of clerical
interpretations. Had the theologians of Mayence
and Cologne succeeded in enforcing their views,
the Book received on Sinai, the words of the Proph-
ets, the Psalms, monuments of a time of grace,
would have been cast upon a blazing pyre, and a
bastard, the corrupt Latin Vulgate, substituted for
it. The Dominicans appear to have suspected that
the plain sense of the words of the Bible would
bring ruin upon them. Fortunately, the Cologne
Dominicans themselves defeated their cunningly
laid plan by an act of villainy.

Reuchlin had sent his opinion on Jewish literature
in a sealed packet, and by a sworn messenger, to
Archbishop Uriel, assuming that, being an official
secret, it would be opened and read only by the
archbishop and the emperor. But Pfefferkorn, who
believed himself to be on the eve of avenging him-
self on the Jews, had it open in his hand even be-
fore the emperor had read it. How this occurred
has never been cleared up. Reuchlin in plain words
denounced the Cologne priests as unscrupulous
seal-breakers. We ought almost to be grateful to
them for having dragged an affair, originally envel-
oped in official secrecy, into publicity, thereby call-
ing in another tribunal, and turning the peril of the
Jews into a peril to the church. They had grown
desperate over Reuchlin's opinion, because his voice
had great weight with the emperor and his advisers.
Therefore, the Dominicans, armed at all points, set
to work to publish a refutation of Reuchlin's defense
of the Jews and their books. It was written in
German to render the cause popular, and incense
the multitude so as to render it impossible for the
emperor to listen to Reuchlin.

44^ HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. XJV.

t This libel, entitled "Handspiegel," spread abroad
in thousands of copies, on a man so highly
placed and honored, a judge of the Suabian
League, a scholar of eminence, naturally caused
a great sensation. Since the invention of printing
it was the first furious attack on a dignitary^
and being written in German, every one could un-
derstand it. Reuchlin's numerous friends were
indignant at the insolence of a baptized Jew, who
pretended to be more sound in faith than a born
Christian in good standing. The Cologne Domini-
cans had permitted themselves to be guided by their
envenomed hatred rather than by prudence. Reuch-
lin was compelled to take steps against such attacks,
by which his honor was too deeply wounded for
silence. He hastened to the emperor, and com-
plained of Pfefferkorn, the rancorous calumniator,
the ostensible author of the " Handspiegel." The
emperor, by words and gestures, betrayed his indig-
nation, and quieted the excited Reuchlin by the
promise that the matter should be inquired into by
the bishop of Augsburg. But amidst the press of
business, in the confusion of Italian quarrels, the
emperor forgot Reuchlin, the mortification he
had suffered, and the redress promised him. The
Frankfort autumn Fair was approaching, at which
Pfefferkorn intended to offer for sale the remainder
of the copies, and nothing had been done for or by
Reuchlin.

Thus Reuchlin was compelled to make the
Talmud a personal question, to appeal to public
opinion, and thereby render the matter one of
almost universal interest. He prepared a defen-
sive and offensive reply to the " Handspiegel " for
the Frankfort Fair. At the end of August, or
beginning of September, 151 1, his controversial
pamphlet, entitled 'Augenspiegel" (or Spectacles,
a pair of spectacles being represented on the title-
page), which has acquired historical celebrity, made

CH. XIV. AUGENSPIEGEL." 447

its appearance. He designed to reveal to the
German public the villainy of Pfefferkorn and his
coadjutors, but unconsciously he revealed the
defects of the Christianity of his time. It was a
pamphlet which, we may say without exaggeration,
was equivalent to a great action. It was directed
against Pfefferkorn, and by implication against the
Cologne Dominicans, the patrons and instigators
of his calumnies. It relates in plain, honest lan-
guage the progress of the whole affair: how the
baptized "Jew" had made every effort to prove the
Talmud dangerous, desiring to have it burnt, and
had meant to turn Reuchlin to account in the matter.
He publishes the missives of the emperor and of
the archbishop addressed to him, and also his
" Opinion." He reports how Pfefferkorn by dishon-
est means obtained possession of the "Opinion,"
and misused it to concoct a libel, containing no less
than thirty-four untruths about him (Reuchlin).
The tone of the "Augenspiegel " expresses the
just indignation of a man of honor against a villain
who has set a trap for him.

What roused the indignation of Reuchlin most
was the charge that he had been bribed to write his
defense of the Talmud. With honest anger he pro-
tested that at no time during his whole existence
had he received from Jews, or on their behalf, a
single penny, or any other reward. No less hurt
was Reuchlin at the contempt expressed for his He-
brew scholarship, especially at the accusation that
he had not himself composed his Hebrew grammar.
His defense of the Jews is dignified. The scoundrel
Pfefferkorn had reproached him with having learnt
Hebrew from Jews, with whom, then, he must
have had intercourse in defiance of the canon law.
Thereupon Reuchlin says: "The baptized Jew
writes that Divine law forbids our holding commun-
ion with Jews ; this is not true. Every Chris-
tian may go to law with them, buy of or make pres-

44^ HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. XIV.

ents to them. Cases may occur where Christians
inherit legacies together with Jews. It is allowed
to converse with and learn from them, as Saint
Jerome and Nicholas de Lyra did. And lastly,
a Christian should love a Jew as his neighbor ; all
this is founded on the law."

It may be imagined what excitement was created
by Reuchlin's "Augenspiegel," written in German,
when it appeared at the Frankfort Fair, the
meeting-place of hundreds of thousands, at a time
when there was no public press, and everyone
readily lent his ear to a scandalous tale. To find
that so distinguished a man as Reuchlin would set
an accuser of the Jews in the pillory as a calumni-
ator and liar, was something so new and surprising
as to make readers rub their eyes, and ask them-
selves whether they had not hitherto been dozing.
The Jews greedily bought a book in which for the
first time a man of honor entered the lists on their
behalf, and with powerful voice stigmatized the
charges against them as calumnies. They rejoiced
at having found a champion, and thanked God that
He had not forsaken them in their tribulation.
Who would find fault with them for laboring in the
promulgation of Reuchlin's pamphlet ? But by
preaching against it in their pulpits, and by pro-
hibiting its sale as far as they could, bigoted priests
of the stamp of the Cologne Dominicans did most
to disseminate it. From all directions, in learned
and unlearned circles, congratulations were sent to
Reuchlin, with expressions of satisfaction that he
had so boldly and firmly settled the impudent Pfef-
ferkorn and his abettors.

With the publication and circulation of Reuchlin's
treatise, and his defense of the Talmud, commenced
a struggle which every day became more serious,
and at last assumed far greater proportions than the
subject justified. For the bigots, still in the full
power of their terrorizing might, did not hesitate to

CH. XIV. PFEFFERKORN PREACHES. 449

take up the challenge. Pfefiferkom's cause was
also theirs. Yet a man had dared step forward
boldly, not only to disapprove of the condemnation of
the Talmud, but also to declare that the persecution
of the Jews was unchristianlike ; and that they
ought, on the contrary, to be treated with sympathy
and love. What audacity ! It aroused in them
such virtuous indignation that they shot beyond the
mark, and committed such blunders that they dam-
aged their cause irreparably.

Pastor Peter Meyer, of Frankfort-on-the-Main,
who had not been able to obtain the prohibition of
the sale of the "Augenspiegel," made the second
mistake. He announced from the pulpit during ser-
vice that Pfefferkorn would preach on the eve of
the next " Feast of our Lady " against Reuchlin's
Jewish writings, and he exhorted the faithful to at-
tend in great numbers. Nothing could be more
fatal than this error. Pfefferkorn with his disagree-
able, repulsive face, distinctly Jewish features and
coarse, vulgar look, preach before a Christian con-
gregation in his Jewish-German jargon ! Each word
and each movement would provoke his hearers to
laughter, and drive away even sincere devotion.
Moreover, was it in accordance with Catholic law
that a layman, above all a married layman, should
officiate in the church? Not long before this a
simple shepherd had been sentenced to be burned
on account of unsanctioned preaching. To keep
the letter of the law Pfefferkorn preached on the
appointed day (September 7th, 151 1), not in the
church, but before the entrance, to a great crowd of
people. It must have been ver)'^ droll to see how
this ill-favored Jew made the sign of the cross over
believers, and spoke of the Christian faith in the
Jewish jargon. Pfefferkom's chief desire was to
make the Jews and their well-wishers detestable,
and to excite the hatred of his hearers against
them.

450 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. XIV.

Until now the chief mover of the whole scandal,
the venomous and malicious master heretic-hunter,
Jacob Hoogstraten, had kept behind the scenes, but
had sent his followers to the front one by one : first
Pfefferkorn, then Ortuinus Gratius and Arnold von
Tongern. Henceforth he stood in the foreground
himself, his insolent demeanor seeming to assume
that priests and laymen must all bow before him,
and sink under his frown in the dust, and that he
had the right to tread statutes and customs under
his feet. To save, by violent measures, the weak-
ened authority of the order, all Dominicans had to
make common cause, and apply their energy to
carry through the condemnation of Reuchlin and
the Talmud. The conflict spread over a wider area,
and became an affair of the whole order.

Authorized by the provincial of his order, Hoog-
straten, in his capacity as inquisitor, suddenly issued
(September 15th, 151 3) a summons to Reuchlin to
appear at Mayence within six days, at eight o'clock
in the morning, to be examined on the charge of
heresy and of favoring the Jews. On the appointed
day Hoogstraten, with a host of Dominicans, ap-
peared in Mayence ; they were confederates, chosen
to sit as judges in the commission. Hoogstraten
opened the session, acting at once as judge and
accuser. He had prepared an unassailable bill of
indictment against Reuchlin and the Talmud, and
taken the precaution to seek allies, so that he
might not stand alone in this weighty contest. Shortly
before, he had addressed letters to four universities,
begging them to express their opinion on Reuchlin's
book, "Augenspiegel," in accordance with his own
views, and all had fulfilled his expectations.

The accusation which he brought forward was, of
course, that which Pfefferkorn and Arnold von Ton-
gern had already made. It had for its basis : Reuch-
lin favors the Jews too much, treats "the insolent
people " almost as members of the church, and as

CH. XIV. HOOGSTRATEN. 45$

men on an equality with others, while his writings
savor too much of heresy. Hoogstraten, therefore,
instructed the court to pronounce sentence upon
Reuchlin's "Augenspiegel": that it was full of
heresy and error, too favorable to the unbelieving
Jews, and insulting to the church, and therefore ought
to be condemned, suppressed, and destroyed by fire.
One must not overlook the great difference between
a German and a Spanish inquisition court. Tor-
quemada or Ximenes would have made short work
of it, and condemned the book together with the
author to the stake. Hoogstraten was not too kind-
hearted for such a sentence ; but he dared not ven-
ture so far, because he would have had all Germany,
the ecclesiastical as well as the temporal rulers
against him.

General indignation was aroused at the injustice
of a trial carried on in violation of all rules. The
students of the Mayence University, not yet tainted
by the corruption of theology, their judgment not
warped by casuistry, and not influenced by foreign
considerations, loudly proclaimed their displeasure
at this shameless proceeding of the Inquisition. They
carried the doctors of jurisprudence with them, and
this induced other earnest men to interfere.

To the surprise of the Dominicans, the aged, ven-
erable Reuchlin appeared in Mayence, accompanied
by two respected counselors of the Duke of Wur-
temberg. The chapter now took great trouble to
effect a reconciliation. But Hoogstraten, who wished
to see smoke rise from the fagots, would agree to
nothing, and delayed the negotiations till the 12th
of October, the time when the final sentence would
be pronounced. The inquisitor commanded all the
ecclesiastics in Mayence to announce from the pul-
pit that everyone. Christian or Jew, if he would
escape punishment, must give up all copies of the
"Augenspiegel" to the flames. The people were
promised thirty days' indulgence, if they assembled

452 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. XIV.

on the appointed day at the church square to cele-
brate the auto-da-fe and increase its splendor. On
the 1 2th of October the place before the church in
Mayence was thronged with spectators — the curious,
the sympathetic, and the seekers after indulgence !
Decked out like peacocks, the Fathers and Brothers
of the Dominican order, and the theologians of the
universities of Cologne, Louvain, and Erfurt, strutted
along to the tribunal erected for them, and "the
earth trembled under their feet." Hoogstraten, till
now the accuser, again took his place among the
judges. They were about to pronounce the formula
of the curse, and have the fire kindled, when a mes-
senger hastily arrived, bringing a letter from Arch-
bishop Uriel, which turned them speechless.

Uriel von Gemmingen, like most bishops of his
time, was more worldly-minded than spiritual, and
had no canonical fanaticism against Jews. The pre-
sumptuousness of the Dominicans of Cologne and
their unjust proceedings against Reuchhn angered
him, too. Therefore, he issued a proclamation to the
commissioners selected from his chapter, ordering
that judgment be delayed for one month until a new
agreement might be arrived at. If they did not
consent, this letter deprived them of their privi-
leges as judges of the inquisitorial court, and every
thing hitherto decreed was null and void. Utterly
dumbfounded, the Dominicans listened to the notary's
reading of the document, which entirely frustrated
their schemes and machinations. Hoogstraten alone
boldly dared express his anger at the denial of their
rights. The other confederates slunk away ashamed,
followed by the jeers of the street boys, and the cry
of the men, "O that these Brothers, who wished to
outrage a just man, might be burnt at the stake."

If it Is true, as the Dominicans relate, that the
rabbis of Germany met in a synod in Worms, and
found In the defeat of the Dominicans who raged
against Reuchlin a sign of the downfall of the Ro-

CH. XIV. Leo X. 453

man (papist) hierarchy, they were certainly endowed
with prophetic vision. It was also said that Reuchlin
had secret intercourse with rabbis.

Reuchlin was by no means so situated as to be
able to triumph over his enemies and those of the
Jews. Though subdued for the moment, they were
certainly not vanquished. He knew their cunning
and malignity too well to give himself up to inactive
enjoyment of his victory. He knew that their perse-
cutions would only be redoubled in the future.
Therefore, he hastened to announce his appeal to
the pope, so that silence might be imposed from that
quarter on his embittered enemies. But Reuchlin
justly feared that with the vacillation and venality
of the Vatican his cause would go badly, if the in-
vestigation were conducted beyond the jurisdiction
of the pope by the Dominicans of Cologne. There-
fore, he sent a Hebrew letter to Bonet de Lates, the
Jewish physician of Pope Leo X, begging him to
plead for the pope's favor in his cause.

Leo, of the celebrated family of the Medici, about
whom his father had said that he was the wisest of
his sons, had succeeded to the papal chair only a
few months before. He was an aristocrat, more
interested in politics than in religion, a Roman pa-
gan rather than a Catholic priest, looking down with
contempt from his Olympian heights on theological
controversy as child's play. He only considered
how best to steer between the two warring states or
houses of Hapsburg and Valois, without endanger-
ing the temporal interest of the Roman Catholic
hierarchy. With candor that would surprise us to-
day, the pope ventured to say, "It is well known
how useful this fable of Christ has been to us and
ours ! " With him now rested the decision, whether
Reuchlin's " Augenspiegel " savored of heresy, and
whether he duly or unduly favored the Jews. Leo,
whose pontificate fell in a time when theological
questions threatened to embroil all Europe, perhaps

454 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. XIV.

knew less of them than his cook. Much, therefore,
depended on the light in which the conflict between
Reuchlin and the Dominicans was placed before him.
For this reason Reuchlin begged the physician Bonet
de Lates, who had access to the pope and care of
"the person of his Holiness," to win over Leo X, so
that the trial might not take place in Cologne or its
vicinity, where his cause would be lost. ReuchHn
laid all the circumstances before him: how Pfeffer-
korn and the Cologne Dominicans had conspired
against the Jews and the Talmud, and how only his
extraordinary efforts had saved the Talmud from
destruction. Had the Dominicans been able to get
hold of and read this letter, they could have brought
forward incontestable proof of Reuchlin' s friendli-
ness towards the Jews, for in it he wrote much that
he had publicly denied.

It is natural that Bonet de Lates brought all his
influence to bear in favor of Reuchlin. And it was
probably owing to his zeal that Leo so soon (No-
vember 2ist, 15 1 3) issued instructions to the bish-
ops of Speyer and Worms on the controversy be-
tween Reuchlin and Hoogstraten. Leo ordered that
they be examined separately or together, by the
bishops or by judges appointed by them, who, with-
out the intervention of any other tribunal, were to
pronounce judgment, to be accepted without appeal.
The bishop of Worms, a Dalburg, with whom
Reuchlin was on friendly terms, did not care to
accept the commission. So the young bishop of
Speyer, George, elector palatine and duke of Ba-
varia, appointed two judges, who summoned both
parties to appear within a month before the tribunal
in Speyer. Reuchlin came punctually, accompanied
by a procurator and friends. Hoogstraten, on the
other hand, trusting to the power of the Domini-
cans, did not present himself, nor send a competent
representative. The judges commenced the suit,
not with becoming energy, but with a certain half-

CH. XIV. A VERDICT FAVORABLE TO REUCHLIN. 455

heartedness, perhaps from fear of the revenge of
the Dominicans. The trial was spun out over three
months (January to April, 15 14).

Only after Reuchlin had written two German pa-
pers on the matter in dispute and the progress of
the proceedings, did the bishop deign to notice the
evidence and pass judgment, which was wholly in
favor of Reuchlin. He stated that the "Augen-
spiegel " contained not an iota of heresy or error,
that it did not unduly favor the Jews, that, there-
fore, Hoogstraten had slandered the author, and
silence should be imposed on him in this matter ;
that the writings might be read and printed by
everyone, and that Hoogstraten be charged with
the costs (ill Rhenish gold florins).

The Dominicans of Cologne gnashed their teeth,
stormed and raged at the issue of the suit, and used
every effort to overthrow the judgment of the apos-
tolic court. At that time, on account of the dis-
union in Germany, it was very difficult to put into
execution a judicial decree, and the Dominicans
were not inclined to lessen the difficulty when the
sentence was given against themselves. They
laughed at the bishop of Speyer, calling him a stu-
pid fellow. The notice of the verdict in Cologne
was torn down by the bold Pfefferkorn, Hoog-
straten had unofficially — that is to say, without
giving notice to the bishop of Speyer, then act-
ing as apostolic judge — appealed to the pope, al-
though he had scouted the idea of such an appeal
before. His hope of winning the suit against
Reuchlin and securing the condemnation of the
" Augenspiegel " was founded on the venality of
the Vatican. "Rome will do anything for money,"
he frankly said; "Reuchlin is poor, and the Domin-
icans are rich ; justice can be suppressed by money."
Hoogstraten could also count on the good will of the
cardinals, who inveighed against free inquiry. At
all events, they could be depended upon to drag out

45^ HISTORY OP THE JEWS. CH. XIV.

the suit so long that Reuchlln's means would not
suffice to meet the costs. Besides this, the Domin-
icans relied on obtaining from the universities, in
particular the leading one of Paris, the condemna-
tion of the "Augenspiegel," and using it to exert
pressure upon the pope. All Dominicans, Thomists
and obscurantists, both In and outside Germany,
made common cause to work the downfall of
Reuchlin.

This union of the Dominican party had the effect
of binding together the friends of learning, the ene-
mies of scholasticism, bigotry and church doctrine —
in one word, the Humanists — and inducing them
to take concerted action. Virtually a society of
Humanists, a Reuchlinist party, was formed in
western Europe, the members of which silently
worked for one another and for Reuchlin : " One
supported the other, and said to his comrade, Be
brave." "All we who belong to the ranks of learn-
ing are devoted to Reuchlin no less than soldiers to
the emperor." It was a formal alliance, which the
supporters of Reuchlin loyally adhered to. So, in
consequence of Pfefferkorn's bitter hostility to the
Jews and the Talmud, two parties were formed in
Christendom, the Reuchlinists and the Arnoldists,
who waged fierce conflict with each other. It was a
struggle of the dark Middle Ages with the dawn of
a better time.

Young Germany was working with all its might
on behalf of Reuchlin and against the bigots : be-
sides Hermann von Busche, and Crotus Rubianus
(Johann Jager), there was the fiery Ulrich von Hut-
ten, the most energetic and virile character of the
time. In fact, Hutten's energy first found a worthy
aim in the passionate feud between Reuchlin and
the Dominicans. Formerly his fencing had con-
sisted of passes in the empty air ; his knightly
courage and fiery genius had met only phantom
adversaries. Now, for the first time, the youth of

CH, XIV. ULRICH VON HUTTEN. 4$^

six-and-twenty had a clear perception of the relation
of things ; he saw a real enemy, to meet whom with
his knight's sword and the sharper weapon of his
intellect, in a life and death struggle, would be a
praiseworthy, glorious undertaking. To destroy
the Dominicans, priests and bigots, and establish
the kingdom of intellect and free thought, to deliver
Germany from the nightmare of ecclesiastical super-
stition and barbarism, raise it from its abjectness,
and make it the arbiter of Europe, seemed to him
the aim to toil for. As soon as Hutten was clearly
conscious of this, he worked ceaselessly for his
object, the first step towards its realization being to
help Reuchlin, the leader in the struggle for human-
ism, to gain the victory over his mortal foes. A
cardinal, Egidio de Viterbo, who delighted in the
Hebrew language and in the Kabbala, openly
sided with Reuchlin. He wrote to him, "The Law
(Torah) revealed to man in fire was first saved
from fire when Abraham escaped the burning fur-
nace, and now a second time, when Reuchlin
saved, from the fire, the writings from which the
Law received light, for had they been destroyed
eternal darkness would again have set in. So, exert-
ing ourselves for your cause, we are not defending
you, but the Law, not the Talmud, but the church,"
It is remarkable that the whole Franciscan order,
from hatred of the Dominicans, took up Reuchlin's
cause.

In almost every town there were Reuchlinists and
anti-Reuchlinists, whose mutual hatred brought them
at times to blows. The motto of one was, "Rescue
of the * Augenspiegel' and preservation of the
Talmud," and of the other, " Damnation and de-
struction to both." Involuntarily the Reuchlinists
became friends of the Jews, and sought grounds on
which to defend them. The adherents of the Do-
minicans became fiercer enemies to the Jews, and
sought out obscure books to prove their wickedness.

458 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. XIV.

The report of this contest spread through Europe.
At first limited to Germany, the controversy soon
reached both Rome and Paris. Hoogstraten and
the Dominicans worked with energy to have the
judgment of Speyer overthrown, in the latter place
by the greatest university, in the former by the
papal see, and to have Reuchlin's writings sentenced
to the flames. In both places they had powerful
and influential allies, who devotedly and zealously
worked for their party.

Reuchlin, although his suit had been lawfully won
in the apostolic court in Speyer, was forced to take
steps to counteract the appeal instituted by the
intrigues of his enemies. And his friends succeeded
in influencing the pope. Leo X appointed the car-
dinal and patriarch Dominico Grimani as judge of
the inquiry. It was well known that this ecclesias-
tical prince cultivated rabbinical literature, and, as
patron of the Franciscan order, hated the Domini-
cans, and took Reuchlin's side. Without doubt
prominent Jews were working in Rome for Reuch-
lin, but, like the German Jews, they had the good
sense to keep in the background, so as not to im-
peril the cause by stamping it as Jewish. Cardinal
Grimani issued (June, 15 14) a summons to both
parties, but in consideration of Reuchlin's advanced
years permitted him to send a representative, while
Hoogstraten had to appear in person. Furnished
with recommendations and a well-filled purse, the
inquisitor appeared in Rome with undiminished con-
fidence of obtaining a victory. What could not be
obtained in Rome for money ?

Reuchlin had nothing of the kind to offer ; he was
poor. He had not the magic wand which commands
the gold of bigoted women, nor the conjurer's for-
mula over father-confessors, who are apt treasure-
diggers. But there was no lack of recommenda-
tions from his friends and well-wishers. Emperor
Maximilian, who, much to his own regret, had orig-

CH. XIV. THE DOMINICANS DEFIANT. 459

inated all this disturbance, by lending ear to Pfeffer-
korn's stupidities and his sister's hysterical piety,
often interceded with the pope for Reuchlin. The
emperor wrote that he believed that the Cologne
people wished to prolong the controversy illegally
and through intrigue, in order to crush the excellent,
inoffensive, learned and orthodox Reuchlin ; that
what he had written (in favor of the Hebrew
Scriptures) had been written at the emperor's com-
mand, with a good object, and for the benefit of
Christendom.

But the Dominicans defied public opinion, the
commission appointed by the pope, and the pope.
They spoke of the pope as of a schoolboy under
their authority. If he did not give a decision in their
favor, they threatened to withdraw their allegiance,
and desert him, even risking a rupture with the
church. They went so far as to threaten that in case
Reuchlin proved victorious, they would ally them-
selves with the Hussites in Bohemia against the
pope. So blinded was this faction by revengeful
feelings, that from sheer obstinacy they would un-
dermine Catholicism. Nor did they spare the
majesty of the emperor; when they learned that
Maximilian had interceded for Reuchlin with the
pope, they heaped abuse on him.

The Dominicans built their hopes on the verdict
of Paris, the head of all European universities. If
this important school of divinity condemned Reuch-
lin's writings and the Talmud, then even the pope
would have to submit. Every influence was, there-
fore, brought to bear to obtain a favorable opinion
from Paris. In particular, the king of France, Louis
XII, was worked on by his confessor, Guillaume
Haquinet Petit, to influence the school of divinity
in favor of the Dominicans. The political events
which had set the German emperor and the French
king at variance were also brought into play. Be-
cause the emperor of Germany was for Reuchlin,

460 HIStORY OF THE JEWS. CH. XIV.

the king of France decided for the Dominicans and
against the Talmud. But this decision was not
easily obtained, for Reuchlin numbered many warm
friends in Paris. The consultation was prolonged
from May to the beginning of August, 15 14.

Many of the voters spoke in favor of Reuchlin
and at the same time expressed their indignation at
the unlawful proceedings ; but they were cried down
by the fanatics. Many French divines were guided
by the example of Saint Louis, who, at the instiga-
tion of the baptized Jew, Nicholas Donin, and by
command of Pope Gregory IX, had ordered the
Talmud to be burnt three centuries before. The
Parisian doctors, therefore, gave sentence that
Reuchlin's " Augenspiegel," containing heresy, and
defending with great zeal the Talmudic writings,
deserved to be condemned to the flames, and the
author to be forced to recant.

Great was the joy of the Dominicans, particularly
those of Cologne, over this judgment. They believed
their game to be won, and that the pope himself
would be forced to submit. They did not delay
in making known to the public this concession, so
hardly won, by means of another libelous pamphlet.

The lawsuit, allowed to lag in Rome, was wil-
fully delayed still more by the Dominicans. The
commission appointed had a close translation of
the '* Augenspiegel" prepared by a German in
Rome, Martin von Gronigen ; but the opposition
found fault with it. Numerous hindrances blocked
the progress of the suit, and at this stage cost
Reuchlin 400 gold florins. The Doniinicans had
hoped so to impoverish their adversary, the friend
of the Jews, that he would be incapacitated from
obtaining justice. The prospect of seeing Reuch-
lin's cause triumphant at Rome diminished. Reuch-
lin's friends were, therefore, anxious to create another
tribunal, and appeal from the badly advised or in-
timidated pope to public opinion.

CH. XIV. " EPISTOL^ OBSCURORUM VIRORUM." 461

During this tension of minds in small and great
circles, whilst high and low ecclesiastics, princes and
citizens, anxiously awaited news as to how the
Reuchlin lawsuit had ended, or would end in Rome,
a young Humanist (most likely Crotus Rubianus, in
Leipsic), wrote a series of letters, which, for wit,
humor and biting satire, had not been equaled in all
literature. The "Letters of Obscurantists" {Epis-
tola Obscurorum Virorum), published in 15 15,
in a great measure directed against the rascally
Ortuinus Gratius, laid bare, in the language of the
unpolished monks, their own baseness and inso-
lence, their astonishing ignorance, their lust, their
animosity and vileness, their despicable Latin, and
still more contemptible morality, the absurdity of
their logic, their foolish chatter — in short, all their
intolerable vices were made so evident, and de-
scribed so clearly, that even the half-educated
could comprehend. All Reuchlin's enemies, Hoog-
straten, Arnold von Tongern, Ortuinus Gratius,
Pfefferkorn, their accomplices, and the Paris Uni-
versity, were lashed with whips and scorpions, so
that no spot on them remained sound. This clever
satire, containing more than Aristophanian scorn,
made the stronger an impression as the Dominicans,
the Thomists, the Doctors of Divinity, revealed
themselves in their own persons, in their miserable
meanness, placing themselves, metaphorically speak-
ing, in the pillory. But it was inevitable that, in
deriding the bigots and the papacy, the whole tyranny
of the hierarchy and the church should be laid bare.
For, were not the Dominicans, with their insolent
ignorance and shameless vices, the product and
natural effect of the Catholic order and institution ?
So the satire worked like a corroding acid, entirely
destroying the already rotting body of the Catholic
Church.

The Jews and the Talmud were the first cause of
the Reuchlinist quarrel ; naturally, they could not be

462 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH, XIV.

left out of account in the letters of the Obscurantists.
So it happened that the much despised Jews became
one of the topics of the day.

A roar of laughter resounded through western
Europe at the reading of these satirical letters.
Everyone in Germany, Italy, France and England
who understood Latin, was struck with the form and
tenor of these confessions of Dominicans and scho-
lastics. Their awkward vulgarity, dense stupidity,
egregious folly, impurity of word and deed, stood so
glaringly in contrast with their presumed learning
and propriety, that the most serious men were moved
to mirth. It is related that Erasmus, who, at the time
of reading the letters, suffered from an abscess in
the throat, laughed so heartily that it broke, and he
was cured. The merry Comedy of the Fools put
Reuchlin entirely in the right, and the Dominicans
were judged by public opinion, no matter how the
pope might deal with them. All were curious to
know who could be the author. Some thought it was
Reuchlin himself, others Erasmus, Hutten, or one of
the Humanist party. Hutten gave the right answer
to the question as to the author: "God himself." It
appeared more and more clearly that so slight a cause
as the burning of the Talmud had taken a world-
wide significance, the will of the individual serving
only to further the interests of all. In Rome and
Cologne, far-seeing Reuchlinists discerned in it the
work of Providence.

Only the German Jews could not indulge in mer-
riment. The Dominicans had meantime worked in
anotherway to obtain their object, or at least to have
revenge on the Jews. Of what avail was it to the
Jews that some enlightened Christians, having had
their attention drawn to Judaism, were seized with so
great a predilection for it that they gave expression
to their new convictions in writing? Christendom as
a whole was irrevocably prejudiced against Jewish
teachings and their adherents. Erasmus rightly said,

CH. XIV. DANGER OF THE GERMAN COMMUNITIES. 463

" If it is Christian to hate the Jews, then we are true
Christians." Therefore, it was easy for their enemies
to injure them. Pfefferkorn had often pointed out
that there were in Germany only three great Jewish
communities, at Ratisbon, Frankfort and Worms,
and that with their extermination, Judaism in the
German kingdom would come to an end.

To bring about the expulsion of the Jews from
Frankfort and Worms, their enemies had discoverd
effective means. The young Margrave, Albert von
Brandenburg, hitherto bishop of Magdeburg, who
later attained melancholy renown in the history of the
Reformation, had been elected to the archbishopric
of Mayence. The enemies of the Jews, acting prob-
ably on a suggestion from Cologne, induced Arch-
bishop Albert to issue an invitation to religious and
secular authorities and to towns, principally Frank-
fort and Worms, to attend a diet in Frankfort, to
discuss how the Jews might be banished and never
be permitted to return. Obeying the invitation
(January 7th, 15 16), many deputies appeared. The
program was to this purport: All the estates
were to unite and take an oath to relinquish the
privileges and advantages derived from the Jews, to
banish all Jewish subjects and never, under any pre-
text, or for any term, permit them to return. This
resolution was to be laid before the emperor for his
confirmation.

The Jews of these places saw certain danger hang-
ing over their heads. If at other times the German
princes and rulers were disunited and indolent, in
the persecution of Jews they were always united
and energetic. Nothing remained for the Jews but
to send a deputation to Emperor Maximilian, and
implore him to grant them his favor and support
them against so malevolent a measure. The emperor
happily remembered that the Jews, even when ruled
by various great or petty rulers, were in reality the
servants of himself and the empire, and that their

464 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. XIV.

banishment would be an encroachment on his suze-
rainty. Maximilian hastened, therefore, to send a
very forcible dispatch to Elector Albert and the
chapter of Mayence, to the religious and secular
authorities, and to the towns (January, 1516), ex-
pressing his displeasure at their conference, and for-
bidding them to meet again at the appointed time.
So the Jews were for the moment saved. But the
archbishop of Mayence, or in his absence the chapter,
did not give up the pursuit of the desired object.
The enemies of the Jews, the friends of the Cologne
Dominicans, still hoped to turn the emperor against
them. But the hope was vain ; the Jews were not
banished for the present.

Reuchlin's lawsuit, although delayed by the
struggles of the two parties, whose time was taken
up in plotting against each other's intrigues, made
slow but perceptible progress. Hoogstraten, see-
ing that the commission would decide in favor
of Reuchlin, vehemently demanded a decision by
council, inasmuch as it was a question, not of law,
but of faith. Pope Leo, who did not care to be on
bad terms with either party, in opposition to his own
repeated command had to yield to a certain extent.
On the one side Emperor Maximilian and many
German princes insisted upon having Reuchlin de-
clared blameless and silencing the Dominicans; on
the other side the king of France and young Charles
(at that time duke of Burgundy), the future empe-
ror of Germany, king of Spain and America, used
threatening language towards the pope, demanding
that the matter be taken up seriously, and that
Reuchlin's book be condemned. Leo, therefore, con-
sidered it advisable to escape from this critical posi-
tion. He submitted the matter for final decision to
a court of inquiry, formed of members of the Lateran
Council, then in session. Thus the dispute about the
Talmud became the concern of a general council,
and was raised to the dignity of a European question.

CH. XIV. reuchlin's suit in abeyance. 465

The council committee finally declared in favor
of Reuchlin. Before Leo X could confirm or reject
its decision, Hoogstraten and his friends influenced
him to issue a mandate suspending the suit. This
temporizing exactly suited Leo's character and his
position between the excited rival parties. He hated
excitement, which he would have brought on himself,
if he had decided in favor of either party. He did
not wish to offend the Humanists, nor yet the bigots,
nor the German emperor, nor the king of France,
nor the ruler of Spain. So the suit was suspended,
and at any favorable opportunity could be taken up
again by the Dominicans. Hoogstraten had to
leave Rome in disgrace and dishonor, but he did not
give up the hope of winning his cause in the end.
He was a strong-willed man, who could not be dis-
couraged by humiliations, and so unprincipled
that falsehood and misrepresentations came easy
to him.

If Pope Leo believed that at his dictation the con-
flict would cease, he overestimated the authority of
the papacy, and mistook the parties as well as the
real issue involved. Feeling ran too high to be
quieted by a word from those in power. Neither
party wished for peace, but for war, war to the knife.
When Hoogstraten returned from Rome, his life was
in danger. Furious Reuchlinists often conspired
against him, and sought by polemical leaflets to ex-
asperate public opinion still more against the Domin-
icans. Hutten, since his mature judgment had
taken in the situation at Rome, was most eager to
bring about the downfall of ecclesiastical domination
in Germany.

The secret could be no longer kept, it was given
out from the hOuse-tops that there was dissension in
the church. Not their foes, but the provincial of
the Dominican order, Eberhard von Cleve, and the
whole chapter, represented in an official letter to the
pope that the controversy had brought them, the

466 HISTORY OF THE JEWS, CH. XJV,

Dominicans, into hatred and contempt ; that they
were held up to the mockery of all, and that
they — so very undeservedly! — were decried, both
in speech and writing, as the enemies of bro-
therly love, peace and harmony ; that their preach-
ing was despised, their confessional avoided,
and that everything they undertook was derided,
and declared to be only the result of pride and
meanness.

Meanwhile the contention between Reuchlin and
the Dominicans, especially Hoogstraten, developed
in another direction, and affected Judaism at another
point. The Kabbala formed the background of this
movement. Out of love for this secret doctrine,
supposed to offer the key to the deepest knowledge
of philosophy and Christianity, Reuchlin had wished
to spare the Talmud, because in his opinion it con-
tained mystical elements. The youthful Kabbala
became the patroness of the old Talmud. Reuchlin
understood but little of Kabbalistic doctrines, bu't
his eagerness for knowledge and his zeal spurred
him on to study. Moreover, the attack by his ad-
versaries upon his orthodoxy, honesty and erudition,
had made it an affair of honor for him to prove con-
vincingly that the Kabbala agreed with Christianity.
But he was unfortunate in the choice of his Hebrew
models. For a long time he sought a guide, until
chance brought him to the most confused source of
information: the foolish writings of the Kabbalist,
Joseph Jikatilla, of Castile, which the convert Paul
Riccio had lately translated into Latin. As soon as
Reuchlin heard of this literary treasure of Joseph
Jikatilla, he did not rest till he had obtained it, and
again set about proving that the Kabbala was in
agreement with Christianity.

Believing that the Kabbala reveals and confirms
the highest truths, the mysteries of Christianity,
Reuchlin composed a work on Kabbalist science, and
dedicated it to Pope Leo X, giving new emphasis to

CH. XIV. THE REFORMATION. 467

his contention that the Jewish writings, instead of
being burnt, should be cherished.

Reuchlin must have counted on the approval of
the pope, to whom he dedicated the work, for having
found new support for the tottering faith. He
hoped that Leo X would at length grant him peace
and rest by pronouncing judgment in the suit be-
tween himself and the Dominicans, which, though
suppressed, was persistently urged by the latter.
The Christianlike Kabbala was to be his intercessor
at the Vatican. He did not stand alone in his fool-
ish fondness for the secret doctrine. Not only the
cardinals but the pope himself expected to gain
much for Christianity by proper research into the
Kabbala.

As the interest in the Reuchlin controversy began
to flag, another movement started in Germany, con-
tinuing, as the other had begun, to shake the firm
pillars of the papacy and the Catholic Church, and
prepare the regeneration of Europe. The discus-
sion aroused by the Talmud created an intellectual
medium favorable to the germination and growth of
Luther's reform movement. Destined soon to be-
come a force in the world's history, even the Re-
formation arose from small beginnings, and needed
most powerful protection not to be nipped in the
bud. Martin Luther was a strong, straightforward,
obstinate and passionately excitable character, hold-
ing with tenacity to his convictions and errors. By ^
the opposition which he met, Luther finally came /
to the conclusion that each individual pope, conse- >
quently the papacy, was not infallible, and that the
b^sis of faith was not the pope's will, but the Scrip-
tural word.

The death of the old emperor, Maximilian, who
had been unequal to the task of grappling with the
theological perplexities called forth by himself, and
the election of a new emperor, spun out for half a
year, drew politics into the arena, and gave rise to

468 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. XIV.

a confusion in which the friends and foes of free
religious thought and of gloomy orthodox faith were
not distinguishable. Hutten and the Humanists
favored Charles V, in whose own country, Spain,
the Dominicans still had the upper hand, and where
the flames from the stake were still unextinguished ;
but he was opposed by the pope. The Reuchlinist
and the Lutheran cause, as it were, the Talmud and
the Reformation, were merged into each other. So
great a change had taken place that the electors
assembled to elect an emperor declared against the
obscurantists of Cologne and in favor of Reuchlin.

Instead of condemning the Talmud, Pope Leo X
encouraged the printing of the work. Thus, through
a movement incomprehensible to all its contem-
poraries, the unexpected took place : Reuchlin was
justified, and the Talmud was justified, and in a
measure favored by the pope. Indeed, Daniel
Bomberg, a rich Christian publisher in Antwerp, in
the same year brought out a complete edition of
the Babylonian Talmud in twelve folio volumes,
the model of all later editions.

A clever pantomime, which first appeared in
Latin or French, and was soon translated into Ger-
man, portrays Reuchlin as the originator of the
great and growing movement. It represents a
doctor, on whose back may be read the name of
Capnion (Reuchlin), throwing a bundle of straight
and crooked sticks on the stage, and then going
away. Another figure (Erasmus), having in vain
endeavored to put the bundle in order, shakes his
head over the chaos, and disappears. Hutten also
comes in. Luther appears in monk's dress, and
with a firebrand kindles the crooked twigs. An-
other figure, in imperial robes, strikes with its
sword the spreading fire, only giving it wider play.
At length comes the pope, who, wishing to ex-
tinguish the fire, seizes a vessel, and pours the oil
in it upon the flames, then clasps his hands on

CH. XIV. SPREAD OF THE REFORMATION. 469

his head, while the bright flames shoot up never
again to be stifled. Pfefferkorn and the Talmud
should not have been missing in this dumb shovv^
for they were the fuse that started the conflagra-
tion.

The situation was such that the slightest breath
made the flames leap up. Luther had gained firm-
ness and courage at the imperial diet of Worms,
and by his speech, revealing fearlessness, completed
the rupture with the papacy. Although urged by
his own bigotry, besieged by obscurantists and ex-
horted by princes, Emperor Charles was disposed
to condemn the reformer to the stake as a heretic,
yet pardy from consideration for Frederick, elector
of Saxony, partly from policy, hoping thereby to
hold the pope in check, he only declared him an
exile a month later. Meanwhile Luther was already
on his Patmos, the Wartburg, hidden and protected.
Whilst in solitude he worked at a German transla-
tion of the Bible, ultra- reformers overthrew church
regulations, altered the church services, did away
with masses and priestly decoration, abolished the
vows of monks, and introduced the marriage of
priests — that is to say, the priests publicly acknowl-
edged their former secret mistresses as their wives.
The time was ripe for the Reformation, and it took
firm hold of North Germany, Denmark and Swe-
den, extending to Prussia, Poland, and, on the other
hand, to France and even Spain, the country of
darkest and most bigoted ecclesiasticism and the
home of persecution. ZwingH, the reformer of
Switzerland, after much wavering, declared himself
against the papacy; so, in that country, too, where
there was more freedom of action than in submis-
sive Germany, the new church service was intro-
duced, the marriage of priests permitted, pictures
and crucifixes destroyed, and monasteries done
away with. A new order of things had set in ; all-
powerful Rome stood impotent before the new

470 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. XIV,

spirit. The enthusiasm of the Anabaptists began to
arouse pubHc feeling and transform all relations of
life.

At first, Luther's Reformation affected the Jews
but slightly. Catholics and innovators in every
town, especially in Germany, were so occupied with
fighting each other, that they had no leisure for the
persecution of Jews ; so there came a pause. Luther,
whose voice even then was more powerful than that
of the princes, at first defended them from numerous
accusations. In his plain-spoken and fervent way,
he said :

" This rage (against the Jews) is still defended by some silly theo-
logians, and advocated by them ; they declare insolently that the
Jews are the servants of the Christians, and subject to the emperor.
I beg you to tell me who will join our religion, be he the most ami-
able and patient of men, when he sees that they are treated so
cruelly and inimically, and not only in an unchristian way, but even
brutally. Most of the Passion preachers (in Holy Week) do nothing
but make the sin committed by Jews against Christ heavier and
greater, and embitter the hearts of believers against them."

In one of his works, the title of which, calculated
to startle their antagonists, ran, "Jesus was born a
Jew," Luther expressed himself against the indelible
hatred of the Jews still more sharply ;

"Those fools, the papists, bishops, sophists and monks, have hith-
erto so dealt with Jews, that every good Christian would rather have
been a Jew. And if I had been a Jew, and seen such stupidity and
such blockheads reign in the Christian Church, I would rather have
been a pig than a Christian. They have treated the Jews as if they
were dogs, not men ; they have done nothing but revile them. They
are blood-relations of our Lord ; therefore, if it were proper to boast
of flesh and blood, the Jews belong to Christ more than we. I beg,
therefore, my dear papists, if you become tired of abusing me as a
heretic, that you begin to revile me as a Jew."

" Therefore, it is my advice," continued Luther, "that we treat
them kindly. Now that we drive them by force, treating them de-
ceitfully and ignominiously, saying that they must have Christian
blood to wash away the Jewish stain, and I know not what more non-
sense,— prohibiting them from working amongst us, from living and
having social intercourse with us, forcing them to be usurers, how
can we expect them to come to us ? If we would help them, so
must we exercise, not the law of the pope, but that of Christian love
— show them a friendly spirit, permit them to Hve and to work, so
that they may have cause and means to be with us and amongst us."

CH. XIV. HEBREW STUDIED BY CHRISTIANS. 4/1

These were words which the Jews had not heard
for a thousand years. They show unmistakable
traces of Reuchlin's mild intercession in their favor.
Many hot-headed Jews saw in Luther's opposition
Jlo the papacy the extinction of Christianity and the
^Lunph of Judaism. Three learnedjews wenL to
Luther, and tried to convert him. Enthusiastic feel-
ings were aroused among the Jews at this unex-
pected revulsion, especially at the blow dealt the
papacy and the idolatrous worship of images and
relics ; the boldest hopes were entertained of the
speedy dov/nfall of Rome, and the approaching re-
demption by the Messiah.

But the Jewish religion gained much more by the
Reformation than the Jewish race. Despised before,
it became fashionable, so to say, in the early days
of the Reformation. Reuchlin had expressed the
modest wish that at the few German universities a
professor of the Hebrew language might be ap-
pointed. Through his zeal for Hebrew (he had
published, shortly before his death, a work on
Hebrew accents and prosody), and through the in-
creasing conviction that without this knowledge the
Bible must remain a sealed book, princes and uni-
versities sought teachers, and instituted Hebrew
professorships not only in Germany and Italy, but
also in France and Poland. The light, graceful,
classic muse, which had withdrawn many hearts from
the church, was more and more neglected, and the
serious Hebrew mother was sought out instead.
Young and old did not hesitate to seek Jews from
whom to learn Hebrew. A friendly connection was
formed between Jewish masters and Christian pu-
pils, to the intense vexation of bigots on both sides ;
and many prejudices died out by these means. The
principal teacher of the Christians was a grammarian
of German descent, Elias Levita (born 1468, died
1549). This poor man, who had to struggle for his
daily bread, laid the foundation of the knowledge of

472 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. XIV.

the Hebrew language. The plundering of Padua —
where, perhaps, he was born — brought him, by way
of Venice, to Rome, where Cardinal Egidio de Vi-
terbo, wishing to advance in his grammatical and
Kabbalistic studies, took him into his house, support-
ing him and his family for more than ten years. Not
only this church dignitary, but many other Chris-
tians of high position sat at Levita's feet. One was
George de Selve, bishop of Lavour, the French
ambassador, as learned as h^ was statesmanlike.
Against the reproach of some bigoted rabbis, Levita
defended himself by the remark that his Christian
pupils all were friends of the Jews, and tried to pro-
mote their welfare. On the inducement of his
patron, Egidio, he worked at a Hebrew grammar ia
the Hebrew language, the greater part of which was
translated into Latin by Reuchlin's pupil, Sebastian
Miinster. Elias Levita had not a mind of great
depth, nor did he propound a new theory on the
structure of the Hebrew language. He rigorously
adhered to the grammatical system of the Kimchis,
because he did not know their predecessors. His
usefulness consisted in his command over the whole
Scriptural vocabulary, his pedagogic skill, and his
gift of vivid presentation. Beyond the elements he
did not go, but they perfectly satisfied the wants of
the time. Only one deviation did Levita make from
the beaten track. Against the firm belief of the
time that the accents and the vowel signs in the
Hebrew Bible were of ancient origin, having been
revealed on Mount Sinai, or, at all events, intro-
duced by Ezra, he maintained that they had not
been known even at the time of the Talmud, because
they had been superfluous when Hebrew was a living
language. It can easily be imagined what a storm
this opinion raised. It at once upset all preconceived
notions. The bigots raised a cry against him as
though he had by his assertion disowned Judaism.
Elias Levita was, therefore, little liked by his brother

CH. XIV. TEACHERS OF HEBREW. 473

Jews, and associated more with learned Christians,
which brought much blame from the over-pious, and
produced evil consequences for his descendants.

He was not the only teacher of the Hebrew lan-
guage and literature to Christians. As before him,
Obadiah Sforno had given Reuchlin instruction in
Hebrew^ so at the same time as Levita, Jacob Man-
tino and Abraham de Balmes were engaged in in-
structing Christians.

Throughout Christendom there was a desire to
know the Hebrew language. The printers reckoned
on such good sales that in several places in Italy and
Germany, even where there were no Jews, new and
old Hebrew grammatical writings were published.
Everyone wished to know Hebrew and to under-
stand the Hebrew language and literature. Some
years before the representatives of the church had
considered the knowledge of Hebrew superfluous,
or even a pernicious evil touching on heresy; but
through the Reformation it became a necessary
branch of divinity. Luther himself learnt Hebrew
to be able to penetrate the meaning of the Bible.

The change of mind was most evident in France.
The Paris university, the leader of thought, had by
a majority condemned Reuchlin's " Augenspiegel"
in favor of the Talmud and Hebrew studies ; scarcely
six years later there was a professorship and a print-
ing press for Hebrew, and the confessor of King
Louis, William Haquinet Petit, though a Dominican,
the one whose slander had brought about the con-
demnation of Reuchlin's work, appeared as a patron
of Hebrew literature.

At his advice King Francis I invited the bishop of
Corsica, Augustin Justiniani, a man well read in
Hebrew literature, to come to France. This young
king felt, or at least showed, interest in learning and
also in the study of Hebrew. He invited Elias
Levita to come to France, and fill the professor-
ship of Hebrew there, probably at the instigation of

474 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. XIV.

his admirer, De Selve. One must take into consid-
eration what this signified at that time. In France
proper, for more than a century, no Jew had been
permitted to dwell, nor even to make a passing stay,
and now a Jew was invited, not merely to reside
there, but to accept an honorable post and instruct
Christians. What heresy ! Elias Levita, however,
declined this flattering proposal ; he would not have
felt at ease there as the only Jew, and to urge the
admission of Jews into France was not in conformity
with his character. Justiniani undertook the task of
introducing the study of Hebrew into France.

At the University of Rheims the French students
made attempts to speak Hebrew. As there were
not sufficient grammars, Justiniani had the wretched
Hebrew grammar of Moses Kimchi printed. Yet
more remarkable is it that in Paris, where three
hundred years previously the Jewish orthodox party,
with the help of the Dominicans, had burnt Maimu-
ni's religious philosophical work, "Guide of the Per-
plexed," the Dominican Justiniani now caused a La-
tin translation of the same to be published (1520).
Naturally, the Christian teachers of the Hebrew
language remained dependent on their Jewish mas-
ters ; they could not take a single step without them.
Paulus Fagius, a reforming priest and disciple of
Reuchlin, wishing to establish a Hebrew press in
Isny, called upon Elias Levita to go there. This
offer was accepted, for Levita was in difficulties, and
could find no publisher for his Chaldean and Rab-
binical dictionaries. Paulus Fagius was particularly
pleased with these works, because they appeared to
him to offer the key to the Kabbala, so much sought
for by Christian scholars.

Through the agitation by Reuchlin and Luther
the neglected science of the Bible was to a certain
extent cultivated. Judaism and Christianity are
both founded on the Sacred Writings, yet they
were quite strange to the followers of both religions.

CH. XIV. TRANSLATIONS OF THE BIBLE. 475

The glorious memorial of a much favored time was
so shrouded and surrounded with a network of
senseless explanations, so disfigured by these acces-
sories, that its full value was completely unknown.
Because everything was looked for in, and imported
into, the Holy Scriptures, the true meaning was not
discovered. To the Christian laity the Bible had
been inaccessible for a long time, because the papacy,
with instinctive fear, had forbidden its translation
into the vernacular. So the faithful knew only frag-
ments or isolated texts, and, owing to distorted inter-
pretations, these not always correctly. Even the
clergy were not familiar therewith, for they were ac-
quainted only with the Roman Catholic Latin version,
and in this the fundamental truths of the Bible were
confused by perversions and errors. It was, there-
fore, a work of great importance that occupied Luther
in his solitude on the Wartburg — the translation of
the Bible, the Old and New Testaments, into German.
For this purpose Luther had to learn Hebrew, and
seek information from Jews. To his contempo-
raries it seemed as if God's Word had for the first
time been revealed ; this clear voice they had never
before heard. A breath of fresh air was wafted
on men, when the ramparts were broken down
that had so long held its spirit imprisoned. Clas-
sical antiquity had. improved the taste of a small
circle. Hebrew antiquity rejuvenated the whole
generation, once more infusing love of simplicity
and naturalness. The Bible was soon translated
into all European languages ; the Catholics them-
selves were obliged to disregard the papal com-
mand, and render it into intelligible language for
the people's use. The Jews also felt the want of
the Holy Scripture in the vernacular. A translation
into Spanish was made in Ferrara, by a Marrano,
Duarte de Pinel, who had escaped from Portugal,
and called himself Abraham Usque as a Jew.

The demand for Hebrew Bibles was so great that

47<5 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. XIV.

Daniel Bomberg undertook the great work of pub-
lishing the Old Testament, with the commentaries
of Rashi, Ibn-Ezra, Kimchi, Gersonides, and others.
The sale of this rabbinical Bible was so rapid that
new editions were continually appearing.

CHAPTER XV.

THE KABBALA AND MESSIANIC FANATICISM, THE MARRANOS
AND THE INQUISITION.

Internal Condition of Judaism — Division in the Communities — The
Lack of Interest in Poetry — Historical Studies — Leon Medigo's
"Dialogues of Love" — Supremacy of the Kabbala — Messianic
Hopes — The Marranos and the Inquisition — Henrique Nunes —
The Traveler David Reubeni in Rome — Solomon Molcho — His
Relations with David Reubeni — Joseph Karo and his " Maggid "
— Clement VII — Molcho in Ancona and Rome — His Favor with
the Cardinals — Death of Molcho — The Enthusiastic Regard in
which he was held — Duarte de Paz — Paul III — Charles V and
the Jews — Emanuel da Costa.

ISCX) — 1538 C.E.

It is astonishing, yet not astonishing, that the surg-
ing movement, the convulsive heaving that shook
the Christian world from pole to pole in the first
quarter of the sixteenth century scarcely touched
the inner life of the Jews. Whilst among Chris-
tians a radical change took place, in thought,
customs, studies, and even in language ; whilst
their ancient customs and usages were rejected
or put aside in some places, and in others freshened
up ; in a word, whilst a new era started, everything
remained unchanged with the Jews. Having had
no " Middle Ages," they needed no new epoch.
They needed no regeneration, they had no im-
moral course of life to redress, no cankering corrup-
tion to cure, no dam to raise against the insolence
and rapacity of their spiritual guides. They had
not so much rubbish to clear away. It must not be
imagined, however, that within the pale of Judaism
all was bright. The refining and civilizing thoughts
of Judaism had not yet gained the upper hand. The
people were wanting in spiritualit}', their guides
in clearness of mind. Reliance on justification by

477

4/8 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. XV.

works and scholastic sophistry were prevalent also
among Jews. In the synagogue service spirituality
was missing, and honesty in the world of business.
The ritual retained all received from olden times,
and became filled with unintelligible elements, so
that, on the whole, it acquired an unattractive
character. Sermons were unknown in German con-
gregations and their offshoots ; at best, Talmudical
discourses, utterly unintelligible to the people, espe-
cially to women, and, therefore, leaving them cold
and uninterested, were delivered. The Spanish
and Portuguese preachers spoke in the beautiful
language of their country, but their sermons were
so full of pedantry that they were no more easily
understood by the laity.

The breaking up of Jewish congregations into
national groups was also a misfortune. The perse-
cution of the Jews had thrown into the large towns
of Italy and Turkey fugitives from the Pyrenees
and from Germany, who failed to unite themselves
with the existing congregations, yet did not amal-
gamate with each other. There were, therefore,
in many towns, not only Italian, Romanic (Greek),
Spanish, Portuguese, German, and, now and again,
Moorish (African) congregations, but of each almost
as many as there were provinces and towns in each
country. For example, in Constantinople, Adrlan-
ople, Salonica, Arta (Larta) in Greece, and many
other towns, there was a large variety of congrega-
tions, each of which had its own directors, ritual,
rabbi, academy, charities, its own prejudices and
jealousies. In the face of such division, nothing for
the public benefit or general good could be accom-
plished. The spiritual leaders, although generally
moral, and, as a rule, sincerely and fervently reli-
gious, humbled themselves before the rich members
of their congregation, witnessing Insolence and mis-
conduct without daring to reprove them.

Worse than this splitting up into tiny congrega-

CH. XV. INTEREST IN HISTORICAL RESEARCH. 479

tions was the faintness, the narrow-mindedness, the
self-abasement, not merely of German Jews, but of
the Sephardic exiles. Only when it was necessary
to die for the faith of their fathers did they show
themselves heroic and full of courage ; at other times
their activity was expended on petty concerns. No
new course was taken, not even at sight of the daily
changes of the Christian world. The few who
maintained themselves on the heights of science
kept to the beaten track, served but to level it still
more. The ruling idea was to elucidate old thoughts
and old thinkers, and to write commentaries, yea,
even super-commentaries. The Talmudists ex-
plained the Talmud, and the philosophical inquirers
Maimuni's "Guide." Higher flight of fancy and
greater spiritual insight were not possible. No
sound of real poetry came from the lips of those
nourished on it, not even a thrilling song of lamen-
tation, putting their grief into words. The only cir-
cumstance testifying to change of position and times
was interest in historical research, and that was
almost entirely confined to the Jews of Pyrenean
descent. The endless suffering which they had en-
dured, they wished to preserve for future genera-
tions. Present misery brought before them the
sorrows of early ages, and showed them that the
history of the Jewish race was one long course of
painful martyrdom.

Otherwise there was nothing new at this period.
Freedom of philosophical inquiry was not favored.
Isaac Abrabanel, the transmitter of the old Spanish
Hebrew spirit, found in Maimuni's philosophical
writings many heresies opposed to Judaism, and he
condemned the free-thinkinor commentators who
went beyond tradition. A Portuoruese fugitive,
Joseph Jaabez, laid on philosophy the blame for the
expulsion of the Jews from Spain and Portugal.
Free-thinking was the sin which had led Israel
astray ; thereon must the greatest restriction be laid.

480 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. XV.

A fresh spirit breathes in the philosophical work
of the talented Leon Abrabanel, or Medigo. Its
title, " Dialogues of Love " (Dialoghi damore), tells
the reader that it is not tainted with the insipidity of
commonplace philosophy. No one can better show
the elasticity of the Jewish mind than this scion
of the ancient noble family of Abrabanel. Torn
from a comfortable home, thrown into a strange
land, leading an unsettled life in Italy, his heart tor-
tured by gnawing pain for the living death of his
first-born, who had been snatched from him, Leon
Medigo had enough intellectual strength to immerse
himself in the Italian language and literature, and
reduce his scattered philosophical ideas to perfect
order. Hardly ten years after his flight from Spain
he might have passed for a learned Italian, rivaling
in style the polished writers of the Medici era, and
even excelling them in extent of learning. With
the same pen with which he wrote Hebrew verses to
his son, who was being educated in sham Christian-
ity in Portugal, admonishing him, "Remain con-
tinually mindful of Judaism, cherish the Hebrew
language and literature, and keep ever before thee
the grief of thy father, the pain of thy mother," he
wrote his " Dialogues of Love," the outpourings of
Philo's deep love for Sophia. This ostensible ro-
mance is the keynote of Leon Medigo's philosophi-
cal system, which sounds more like a philosophical
idyll than a logical system. There is more imagina-
tion than reality, and his reflections are suggestive
rather than true. Possibly Leon Medigo put his
deeper thoughts into a work, now lost, entitled the
" Harmony of Heaven." His " Dialogues of Love"
throughout was far removed from Judaism. Leon
Medigo paid high honor to " Hebrew truth," and
endeavored to uphold the scriptural doctrine of cre-
ation out of chaos, in opposition to the principles of
Greek philosophy, but he did not penetrate to the
true spirit of Judaism. Therefore his work was

CH. XV. POPULARITY OF THE KABBAIA. 48I

valued by Christians more than by Jews. The Ital-
ians were proud to see — it was the first time — phil-
osophical thought laid down in their own enthusi-
astically beloved language. The work became the
favorite reading of the educated class, and in the
space of twenty years went through five editions.

The Kabbala with its futilities soon took posses-
sion of minds no longer accustomed to strict logical
discipline, and in a measure it filled the void. In
the sixteenth century it first began to have sway
over men's minds. Its adversaries were dead, or
indisposed to place themselves in opposition to the
ideas of the age, only too strongly inclined to mys-
teries, paradoxes and irrational fancies. Sephardic
fugitives, Judah Chayyat, Baruch of Benevento,
Abraham Levi, Meir ben Gabbai, Ibn-Abi Zimra, had
brought the Kabbala to Italy and Turkey, and with
extraordinary energy won zealous adherents for it.
Also, the enthusiasm felt for the Kabbala by Chris-
tian scholars, such as Egidio de Viterbo, Reuchlin,
Galatino, and others, reacted upon the Jews. The
doctrine, they reasoned, must have some deep truth
in it, if it is so sought for by noble Christians.
Preacher-Kabbalists expounded the doctrine from
the pulpit, which had not been done before. On
questions of ritual the Kabbalist writings were con-
sulted, often as final authorities. No wonder that
typical elements of the Zohar crept into the liturgy,
conferring upon it a mystical character. With
bold presumption the Kabbalists asserted that
they alone were in possession of the Mosaic tradi-
tion, and that the Talmud and the rabbis must give
place to them. In this way the secret doctrine with
its tricks and fancies, which had hitherto unsettled
only some few adepts, became known amongst all
the Jews, and affected the sober minds of the peo-
ple. The opposition of the rabbis to this interfer-
ence in the ritual and religious life was rather weak,
as they themselves were convinced of the sanctity

4^2 HISTORY OF THE JEWS, CH. XV.

of the Kabbala, and objected to the Innovations only
in a faint-hearted way.

The empty Kabbala could not fail to arouse en-
thusiasm in empty heads. With the Zoharist mys-
tics, as with the Essenes, the expectation of the
Messiah was the center of their system. To further
the kingdom of the Messiah, or the kingdom of
Heaven, or the kingdom of morality, and to predict,
by means of letters and numbers, the exact time of
its advent, was the labor in which they delighted.
Isaac Abrabanel, although he did not favor the Kab-
bala, gave this Messianic enthusiasm his counte-
nance. The accumulated sufferings of the few
remaining Spanish and Portuguese Jews had broken
the spirit of many, and robbed them of their hope
of better times. The hopelessness and despair of
his people, which, if they spread, would further the
plans of the church, pained the faithful Isaac Abra-
banel, and in order to counteract this dangerous
tendency, he prepared three works, based upon the
Bible (principally the Book of Daniel) and Agadic
sayings, which, he believed, proved incontrovertibly
that Israel would have a glorious future, and that a
Messiah would unfailingly come. According to his
reckoning, the advent of the Messiah must of neces-
sity be in the year 1503, 5263 years after the crea-
tion of the world, and the end would come with the
fall of Rome, about twenty-eight years later.

The support given to Messianic calculations by
so thoughtful and respected a man as Isaac Abra-
banel, together with Kabbalistic fancies, seems to
have encouraged an enthusiast to predict the imme-
diate realization of Messianic ideals. A German,
Asher Lammlein (or Lammlin), appeared in Istria,
near Venice, proclaiming himself a forerunner of
the Messiah ( 1 502 ) . He announced that if the Jews
would show great repentance, mortification, contri-
tion and charity, the Messiah would not fail to come
in six months. The people's minds, prepared by

CH. XV. THE " YEAR OF PENITENCE." 483

suffering and the Kabballst craze, were susceptible
to such convulsive expectations. Asher Lammlein
gained a troop of adherents, who spread his proph-
ecies. In Italy and Germany he met with sympathy
and belief. There was much fasting, much praying,
much distribution of alms. It was called the "year
of penitence." Everyone prepared himself for the
beginning of the miracle. They counted so surely
on redemption and return to Jerusalem that exist-
ing institutions were wilfully destroyed. The sober
and thoughtful did not dare check this wild fanati-
cism. Even Christians are said to have believed in
Asher Lammlein's Messianic prophecy. But the
prophet died, or suddenly disappeared, and with him
the extravagant hopes came to an end.

But with the termination of the Lammlein "year
of penitence," the Jews by no means lost their hope
in the Messiah ; it was necessary to support them
in their misery. The Kabbalists did not cease
arousing this hope, ever and anon promising them its
wonderful realization. Thirty years later a more
important Messianic movement commenced, which,
by reason of its extent and the persons implicated
in it, was most interesting. The Marranos in Spain
and Portugal played the principal part in it.

These most unfortunate of all unfortunates, who
renounced the faith of their people, who in a meas-
ure estranged themselves from their own hearts,
who were compelled to observe church rites most
punctiliously, though they hated them in the depth of
their souls, yet despite all this were repelled by the
Inquisition and the hatred of Christians — these con-
verts suffered, without exaggeration, the tortures of
hell. The greater portion of them, in spite of all
their struggles, could not bring themselves to love
Christianity. How could they feel love for a creed
whose followers daily required the sacrifice of human
life, and on the slightest pretext sought victims
among new-Christians ? Under Deza, the second

484 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. XV.

Spanish chief inquisitor, almost greater horrors
were perpetrated than under Torquemada. He
and his tools, in particular Diego Rodriguez Lucero,
a pious hangman in Cordova, had committed so
many infamies that a good monk, Peter Martyr, pic-
tured the Inquisition thirty years after its origin in
glaring colors : "The archbishop of Seville (Deza),
Lucero, and Juan de la Fuente have dishonored this
province. Their people acknowledge neither God
nor justice. They kill, steal, and violate women
and maidens, to the disgrace of religion. The injury
and unhappiness which these servants of the Inqui-
sition have caused in my land are so great and
widespread that everyone must grieve." Lucero
(the luminous), called by his confederates, on account
of his horrible deeds, Tenebrero (the dark one),
brought destruction on thousands : he was insatiable
for the blood of Hebrew martyrs. " Give me Jews
to burn," is said to have been his constant cry. His
fanaticism degenerated into cannibalistic fury.

The officers of the Inquisition had their hands
full in consequence of his cruelty, and an ominous
disturbance was growing in Cordova. The principal
people of the place complained of the proceedings of
the inquisitor Lucero, and applied to the chief inqui-
sitor to have him removed from office. But Deza was
at one with him, and so the discontented knights,
nobles, donnas, priests and nuns, were all accused of
favoring Jewish heresy. The third chief inquisitor,
Ximenes de Cisneros, was forbearing towards old
Christians suspected of Judaizing, but condemned
not a few converts of Jewish and Moorish descent
to be burned. It was he who used threatening lan-
guage against Charles V, when he proposed grant-
ing the Spanish Marranos freedom of belief for a fee
of 800,000 gold crowns. He forbade his royal pu-
pil to tolerate the Jews, as Torquemada had forbid-
den it to Charles' ancestors. His successors were
not less orthodox, that is to say, not less inhuman

CH. XV. MARRANOS IN PORTUGAL. 485

Under them the victims were not Jews alone ; Chris-
tians suffered with them. The reform movement in
Germany was felt also in Spain. Luther's and Cal-
vin's onslaught on the papacy, on priestcraft and cere-
monies was brought over the Pyrenees through the
connection of Spain and Germany, and owing to the
nationality of Emperor Charles V. The emperor,
so troubled with the Reformation in Germany, em-
powered the Holy Office to proceed against Lutheran
doctrines in Spain, a most welcome task to the
bloodthirsty monster. Henceforth, Jews, Mahome-
tans and Lutheran Christians enjoyed equality ; at
every auto-da-fe martyrs of the three different reli-
gions perished together.

The Marranos in Portugal were differently placed
from those in Spain. King Manoel, who had by
force dragged the Jews to the baptismal font, in
order not to drive them to despair had pledged
iiis word that for twenty (or twenty-nine) years,
their faith should not suffer molestation at the
nands of the Inquisition. Relying on this promise
the Portuguese Marranos followed Jewish obser-
vances with less secrecy than those of Spain. In
Lisbon, where they mostly resided, they had a
synagogue, in which they assembled, the more regu-
larly as they outwardly complied with the Roman
Catholic rites, and, therefore, in their own place of
worship,, with much contrition, implored forgiveness
of God for their idolatry. The old instructed the
young in the Bible and the Talmud, and impressed
upon them the truths of Judaism, so as to guard
them against the temptation of unreserved accept-
ance of Christianity. The Portuguese Marranos
also had more freedom to emigrate, and left singly
or in numbers for Barbary or Italy, and thence went
on to Turkey. To check the emigration of the Mar-
ranos Manoel had issued an order that a Christian
could conclude an exchange or barter with a con-
vert only under pain of forfeiting his possessions, and

486 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. XV.

could buy real estate from him only by royal per-
mission ; moreover, that no Marrano, with wife,
children and servants, should leave the land without
a special license from the king. But orders of this
description were made only to be evaded. Spanish
Marranos had every reason to envy their fellows in
Portugal, and spared no trouble to escape beyond
the frontier of the land where the stake was ready,
and the fagots lighted for them. Very naturally
the vindictive Spanish government opposed them,
and induced Manoel to pass a law that no Spaniard
could step on Portuguese soil unless he brought a
certificate that he was not guilty of heresy.

The Portuguese Marranos, then, would have had
a tolerable existence if popular hatred of them had
not been so fierce. This unfriendliness after their
baptism shows that they were hated less as followers
of Judaism than as a different race, and an active,
industrious, superior class. The Christians' dislike
of them increased when the converts obtained the
right of pursuing a trade, of collecting church tithes,
of taking office, or even accepting ecclesiastical dig-
nities preparatory to entering one of the orders. At
first they showed their hatred by calling them insult •
ing names, " cursed convert of a Jew" {jfudceo Mat-
rano, conversd), till Manoel stopped this by law.
Bad harvests, which for many years had brought
famine into Portugal, now resulted in a plague, and
this added fuel to popular animosity. It was com-
monly said, " The baptized Jews are grain specula-
tors ; they make the necessaries of life dear, and
export grain to foreign countries." The person
most hated was a Marrano upstart, John Rodrigo
Mascarenhas, the farmer of taxes, and through him
all the Marranos incurred hatred.

This feeling was employed by the crafty Domini-
cans to gain the expulsion of the favorites of King
Manoel. They not only preached about the god-
lessness of the converts, but invented a miracle

CH. XV. MASSACRE OF PORTUGUESE MARRANOS, 487

outright to excite the fanaticism of the people. The
moment was opportune. The plague raged in Por-
tugal, and swept away thousands daily, while con-
tinued drought threatened another bad harvest. Of
these troubles, the Marranos alone were the cause,
at least so everybody said. The Dominicans loudly
proclaimed that, in one of their churches, in a mir-
ror attached to a cross, the Virgin Mary had ap-
peared in a glow of fire, and other astonishing
miracles had been seen in it. They were practiced
in such deceit. Many people flocked to the church
to behold the marvel. On a Sunday after Easter
(April 19th, 1506), the church was filled with devo-
tional gazers, among them Marranos, who were com-
pelled to attend.

A Dominican, in a passionate sermon, charged
the people collected in the church to murder the
accursed converts, because the king favored them ;
and two others, John Mocho and Fratre Bernardo,
walked through the street, bearing crosses, and,
crying " Heresy, heresy ! " The scum of the popu-
lace in the turbulent capital was aroused, and,
together with German, Dutch and French sailors,
took this opportunity to plunder. Thus nearly
io,ocx) people went through the town, and killed
Marranos, men, women and children, wherever they
found them, in the streets, in the houses, or in
hiding.

This, however, by no means ended the massacre ;
it continued two days longer. A German, who was
in Lisbon, reported : " On Monday I saw things
dreadful to say or write if one has not seen them."
Women with child were flung from the windows and
caught on spears by those standing underneath,
and their offspring hurled away. The peasantry
followed the example of the townspeople. Many
women and girls were violated in this fanatical
chase. The number of new-Christians slain is esti-
mated at between 2,000 and 4,000.

488 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. XV.

By this slaughter the fate of the Portuguese
Marranos was decided. The people were the more
embittered against them because they had gained
the favor of the king, and they longed for their ex-
termination. Their lives hung on the chance of
the continuance of the king's favor. Manoel de-
clared by proclamation (March, 1507) that converts
were to be treated as Christians, and that they
should be permitted to emigrate ; and by another
order, that for sixteen years more they should not
be liable to be arraigned before a tribunal for their
religious conduct. The Christian population re-
mained hostile to the converts, from racial antipathy
and from envy of their industrial success, and Manoel
himself was compelled to modify his attitude towards
them.

The condition of the Portuguese Marranos changed
under Manoel's successor Joao III (1522 — 1557),
the blockhead who brought about the ruin of his
country. As Infante he had been the declared
enemy of the new-Christians. At first he respected
his father's edict to place converted Jews on a par
with Christians, and to allow no trial to take place
regarding their religious" belief within the pre-
scribed time (1522 — 1524). For this indulgence the
Marranos had to thank the old counselors of Manoel,
who remembered the violent mode of their conver-
sion, and on the other hand appreciated how much
they had increased the prosperity of the little state.
For the Marranos were a most useful class on
account of their energy, their wholesale business,
their public banks, and their skill as armorers and
cannon founders. They were the' only ones, too,
possessed of a knowledge of medicine and physical
science and all pertaining to it. There were in
Portugal hardly any but Jewish, that is to say,
Marrano physicians. When, however, other influ-
ences were brought to bear on Joao, and he grad-
ually freed himself from these wise counselors, his

CH. XV. INQUIRY INTO MARRANO CUSTOMS. 489

fanatical detestation of the converts gained the
upper hand. Queen Catherine, a Spanish Infanta,
filled with admiration of the religious tribunal
of her country, and the bloodthirsty Dominicans,
envious of the power of their order in Spain, besieged
the king with complaints of the disgraceful and wicked
conduct of the Marranos towards the Christian
faith, and urged him to put a stop to the proceed-
ings of the Marranos by instituting an Inquisition.
Joao III thereupon commissioned George Themudo
to inquire into the life of the Marranos in Lisbon,
their headquarters, and to report to him upon it.
Themudo was probably not far from the truth when
he informed the king (July, 1524) that some Mar-
ranos observed the Sabbath and the Passover, that,
on the other hand, they joined in Christian rites and
ceremonies as little as possible, were not present at
mass and divine service, did not go to confession,
did not ask that extreme unction be administered
to the dying, were buried in unconsecrated ground,
not in a churchyard, that they had no masses said
for their departed relatives, and committed other
offenses of a similar character.

But Joao was not satisfied with Themudo's report ;
the Marranos were put under an espionage system,
A convert, an emigrant from Spain, named Hen-
rique Nunes, who afterwards received from the
church the honorary title Firme-Fe, w-as chosen by
the king to spy upon them. In the school of the
bloodthirsty Lucero he had acquired a fierce hatred
of the Marranos. and it was his ardent wish to see
the fagots kindled in Portugal. To him the king
gave secret instructions to insinuate himself into the
families of the converts, to associate with them as a
brother and companion in adversity, to observe them
and report upon all the information he could gain.
Blinded by fanaticism and hatred of his own race,
Nunes did not consider how contemptible a role,
that of a common spy, was allotted to him. He un-

4-90 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. XV.

dertook the work only too willingly, learned all the
secrets of the unhappy Marranos in Lisbon, Evora
and other places, and communicated all that he saw
and heard in letters to the king. He betrayed with
a brother's kiss those who showed him the hidden
corners of their hearts. He informed the king not
only that he found no Catholic prayer-books in their
houses, that they had no holy images among their
ornaments or on their plate, that they did not care
for rosaries and other things of that kind, but he
gave the names of the Jewish Marranos, making
hateful accusations against them. As soon as Joio
received the desired intelligence, he resolved to in-
troduce the Inquisition on the Spanish model into
his country, and secretly sent the trusty Nunes to
Charles V in Spain to learn something more about
it. The Marranos had got v^ind of this, and were
so furious with the treacherous spy, that two of them
followed him to punish his perfidy with death.
These were Diego Vaz, of Olivenga, and Andre
Dias, of Vianna, who were Franciscans, or disguised
themselves in monks' dress. They reached him
not far from the Spanish frontier, near Badajoz, and
killed him with sword and spear. They found let-
ters on him about the installation of the Inquisition.
The avengers, or murderers, as the orthodox Chris-
tians called them, were discovered, brought to trial,
stretched on the rack to betray their accomplices,
and finally condemned to the gallows. But the
traitor Nunes was regarded as a martyr, almost
canonized, and given the honorary title of " Firme-
F6" (Firm Believer).

One would have expected the fanatical king after
this occurrence to pursue with greater zeal his ob-
ject of establishing an Inquisition, so as to proceed
against the Jewish Marranos whose names he had
obtained from Nunes. The king did, indeed, insti-
tute a strict inquiry to discover the accomplices of
the two Marrano monks. Contrary to expectation

CH. XV. DAVID REUBENI. 49 1

Joao issued no restrictions against the Marranos.
Also the inquiry about the conspirators for Nunes'
death seems to have been intentionally protracted
as much as possible. Documents plainly say that
the king gave up the plan of establishing the Inqui-
sition. A chance, the boldness of an adventurer, ap-
pears in the first instance to have brought about
this favorable alteration in the mind of the weak,
vacillating king.

Coming from the far East, and emerging from
obscurity, appeared a man of whom it is hard to say
whether he was an impostor or a foolish fanatic, and
whether he intended to play the role of a Messianic
or of a political adventurer, but he caused a great
stir among Jews, affecting the Marranos in the ex-
treme West. David, an Oriental by descent, long
resident in Arabia and Nubia, suddenly appeared
in Europe in a peculiar character, and by means of
both fiction and truth started the wildest hopes.
He declared himself a descendant of the old Hebrew
tribe of Reuben, which, he alleged, still flourished in
Arabia in independence, and he claimed to be a
prince, the brother of a reigning Jewish king. He,
therefore, called himself David Reubeni.

Loving travel and adventure, he journeyed much
in Arabia, Nubia and Egypt, and came finally to
Italy. The report was that he had been sent by his
brother, who commanded 300,000 chosen warriors,
and by the seventy elders of the land of Chaibar,
to the European princes, especially to the pope, to
obtain firearms and cannon with which to fight the
Mahometan people, who hindered the union of the
Jewish race on both sides of the Red Sea, and to
assist the brave Jewish army to drive the Turks out
of the Holy Land.

David Reubeni's appearance and manner were
such as to inspire confidence. In both, there was
something strange, mysterious and eccentric. He
was of dark complexion and dwarfish in stature,

492 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. XV.

and so excessively thin that continuous fasts
reduced him almost to a skeleton. Possessed of
courage and intrepidity, he had at the same time a
harsh manner that admitted of no familiarity. He
only spoke Hebrew, and that in so corrupt a jargon
that neither Asiatic Jews nor those of southern
Europe understood him. He came to Rome (Feb-
ruary, 1524), and accompanied by a servant and
an interpreter, rode on a white horse to the Vatican,
and requested an interview with Cardinal Giulio, in
the presence of other cardinals. Pope Clement
also gave him audience, and accepted his creden-
tials.

Clement VII (1523 — 1534), one of the most excel-
lent popes, an illegitimate scion of the Florentine
Medicis, was sensible and kind, and earnestly de-
sired to see Italy freed from the barbarians, that is,
the Germans. But he reigned at a time when
Europe had lost its balance. On the one side
Luther and his Reformation, which gained ground
daily, threatened to undermine the papacy ; and on
the other, Charles V's powerful realm, Spain and
Germany with Burgundy and a part of America,
almost crushed Italy into servile dependence. If
Clement quarreled with the emperor, the latter
favored the Reformation, and set about restraining
the papal power. If the pope became reconciled to
him, the liberty of Italy was menaced. Thus, not-
withstanding his firm character, he was continually
wavering, and like most of his contemporaries had
recourse to astrology, in order to learn from the
stars what was beyond the wisdom of men.

To Pope Clement VII, David Reubeni seems to
have handed letters of introduction from Portuguese
captains or business agents, whom he may have
met in Arabia or Nubia. These credentials the
pope sent to the Portuguese court, and when they
were there declared trustworthy, David was treated
with the greatest distinction, and received all the

CH. XV. DAVID IN ROME AND PORTUGAL. 493

honors due an ambassador. He rode through
Rome on a mule, accompanied by ten Jews and
more than two hundred Christians. The plan of a
crusade against Turkey, by which the most danger-
ous enemy of Christianity would be driven out of
the Holy Land by an Israelitish army, attracted the
pope, because it promised to restore to him the con-
trol of military affairs, but its execution was thwarted
by the complexities of his position. Even the most
incredulous of the Jews could not conceal from
themselves the astonishing fact that a Jew was
treated with respect and politeness by the Vatican,
and were convinced that there must be at least a
grain of truth in David's report. . Roman and
foreign Jews pressed round him who seemed to
open a hopeful future to them. Senora Benvenida
Abrabanela, wife of the rich Samuel Abrabanel,
sent him great sums of money from Naples, a costly
silk banner embroidered with the Ten Command-
ments, and many rich garments. He, however,
played his part in a masterly manner, keeping the
Jews at a respectful distance.

At length a formal invitation came from the king
of Portugal, summoning David Reubeni to his court.
The latter left Rome, traveling by sea with a Jewish
flag on his ship. In Almeirin, the residence of king
Joao III near Santarem, where David arrived, like a
wealthy prince, with a numerous retinue bearing
beautifully embroidered banners, he was also treated
with the greatest honor, and a scheme was discussed
with him as to how the weapons and cannons could
be transported from Portugal for the Israelite army
in Arabia and Nubia. David's appearance in Por-
tugal seems to have changed the feeling towards
the Marranos, and Joao was persuaded to give up
the intended persecution of them. For so great an
undertaking Joao would need their support, their
money and their advice. If he wished for an
alliance with the Hebrew king and people, he must

494 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. XV.

not persecute the half-Jews in his own country. So
his zeal for the establishment of the Inquisition in
Portugal suddenly cooled. One can imagine the
astonishment and joy of the Marranos in Portugal,
when they understood that not only might a Jew be
admitted into Portugal, but that he was received at
court, and treated with respect. Thus, then, had
come the hour of deliverance of which they had so
long dreamed. Unexpected help had come to
them, freedom and deliverance from their anguish ;
they breathed again. Whether or not David Reu-
beni had declared himself the forerunner of the
Messiah, did not matter to the Marranos ; they
believed it, and counted the days to the time when
he would make them behold the new Jerusalem in
all its splendor. They pressed round him, kissed
his hands, and treated him as if he were their king.
From Portugal the supposed message of salvation
passed to Spain to the still more unfortunate Mar-
ranos there, who received it with ecstasies of joy.
These poor people had fallen into a morbid, eccen-
tric, irresponsible state of mind. Daily and hourly
they suffered torments of soul, through having to
join in religious customs which they abhorred with
their whole heart. It was no wonder that many of
them lost their mental balance, and became quite
mad. In the vicinity of Herrara, a Marrano maiden
proclaimed herself a prophetess ; fell into trances
and had visions ; declared that she had seen Moses
and the angels, and promised to lead her suffering
companions into the Holy Land. She found many
believers among the Marranos, and when this was
discovered, she was burned together with thirty-
eight adherents. Messianic expectation, that is,
redemption through a miracle, made the atmosphere
in which the Marranos breathed and lived. At the
news of the arrival of an ambassador from a Jewish
kingdoAi at the Portuguese court, a crowd of Span-
ish converts fled to Portugal to be near their sup-

CH. XV. MESSIANIC HOPES AROUSED. '495

posed redeemer. David, who enjoyed the privilege
of traveling about in Portugal, appears to have
behaved very circumspectly : he gave them no
promises, and did not encourage them openly to
acknowledge Judaism. He knew well that he was
walking on the edge of a precipice, and that one
expression, one act of his directed towards bring-
ing back new-Christians to Judaism might cost him
his life. Nevertheless, all eyes were fastened on
him ; all were aroused and excited by the wonder-
ful events which would certainly come to pass.

David Reubeni's appearance and the hopes it
awakened took strongest hold upon one noble, tal-
ented, handsome youth ; indeed, the whole course of
his existence was changed. Diogo Pires (born
about 1 501, died a martyr, 1532), whose glowing,
poetic imagination under more favorable circum-
stances might have accomplished much in the do-
main of the beautiful, became a tool in the hands of
the self-proclaimed envoy from Chaibar. Pires,
who was born a new-Christian, had acquired a good
education ; he understood and could speak Latin,
the universal language of the time. He had risen
to be royal secretary at a high court of justice, and
was a great favorite at court. With Hebrew and
rabbinic literature he must have been familiar from
his earliest youth, and he had been initiated into the
Kabbala, probably by one of the Marrano teachers.
At the time when David and his chimerical plans
made so much stir in Portugal, Diogo Pires was
completely possessed by wild dreams and visions,
all of which had a Messianic background. He has-
tened, therefore, to David, to ascertain whether his
mission was in accordance with these visionary rev-
elations. David Reubeni appears to have treated
him with coldness, and to have told him plainly that
his military embassy had nothing to do with Messi-
anic mysticism. But Diogo Pires fancied the cold-
ness of the alleged envoy to be owing to the circum-

49^ HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. XV.

Stance that he had not accepted the sign of the cov-
enant, and he forthwith proceeded to undergo the
dangerous operation of circumcision. The conse-
quent loss of blood laid him on a sick bed. David
was highly incensed when Pires told him of this, as
both of them would be in danger, if it came to the
king's ears that a Marrano had so emphatically and
openly declared himself a Jew ; for it would be
asserted that David had persuaded him to take this
course.

After circumcision Pires (who took the name of
Solomon Molcho) had yet more terrible visions,
owing presumably to his bodily weakness. Their
import always had reference to the Marranos and
their redemption by the Messiah. According to his
own account a strange being (Maggid), who com-
muned with him from Heaven in a dream, charged
him to leave Portugal and set out for Turkey. David
Reubeni also had advised that he should leave Por-
tugal with all speed, as the act of circumcision might
involve also David in danger, and frustrate his
schemes. Leaving Portugal cannot, then, have been
difficult for Marranos. Diogo Pires (or Solomon
Molcho) reached Turkey, and hoped for a Messianic
mission and a martyr's death.

A great sensation was made there by this enthu-
siastic, handsome young Kabbalist, the new Jewish
recruit. At first he gave himself out as a delegate
from David Reubeni, of whose good reception at
the papal and Portuguese courts rumors were cur-
rent even in the East, and had not failed to inflame
people's imagination. In Salonica, Joseph Tayta-
sak's Kabbalistic circle took possession of him, and
greedily listened to his dreams and visions. At
Adrianople Molcho converted to the Kabbala the
sober-minded Joseph Karo, who had left Spain when
a boy, and had hithei-to busied himself entirely with
Talmudic learning. Enthusiasm is infectious. Karo
fell into the same Kabbalistic enthusiasm as Molcho.

CH. XV. SOLOMON MOLCHO. 49/

He also had his dream-prompter (Maggid), who
taught him inelegant, mystical interpretations of
Scriptural passages, and revealed the future. He
was so faithful an imitator that, like Molcho, he lived
in the most certain expectation of being burnt at
the stake as a "burnt-sacrifice of a sweet savour unto
the Lord." Molcho inoculated his followers with a
longing for martyrdom. His captivating person,
pure enthusiasm, romantic disposition, past career,
astonishing knowledge of the Kabbala (though born
a Christian), everything connected with him, raised
up a host of adherents, who greedily listened to his
mystic utterances, and believingly accepted them.
He often preached, and words flowed like a torrent
from his lips. Gray-headed men went with ques-
tions to the youth, seeking explanations of obscure
verses of Scripture, or revelations of the future. At
the urgent request of his friends in Salonica he pub-
lished a brief abstract of his Kabbalistic sermons,
the substance of which was : The advent of the
Messiah is at hand ; his reign will begin at the end
of the year 5300 dating from the creation (1540).
The sack and havoc of Rome (May 5th, 1527), con-
firmed the Messianic hopes of Kabbalistic zealots.
Rome, the iniquitous Catholic Babylon, filled with
the spoils of the whole earth, was taken by storm by
German soldiers, mostly Lutherans, and was treated
almost as a hostile city by order of the Catholic
emperor, Charles V. The fall of Rome, according to
Messianic and apocalyptic principles, had been pre-
dicted as a sign of the Messiah's advent. Now
Rome had fallen. In Asia, Turkey, Hungary,
Poland, and Germany, hopes of the coming of the
Messiah were stirring in Jewish hearts, and were
associated with the name of Solomon Molcho, who
was to bring about their realization.

In Spain and Portugal the Marranos held yet
more firmly to their visions of Messianic redemp-
tion, and to David Reubeni, whom, with or without

498 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. XV.

his consent, they took for a forerunner of the Mes-
siah. Their illusion was so complete that they
boldly inaugurated enterprises which could only end
in death for themselves. Several Spanish Marra-
nos, condemned to the stake, had curiously enough
found a place of refuge in Portugal (in Campo-
Mayor), where they were suffered to remain unmo-
lested. A company of young people from among
them ventured to attack Badajoz, whence they had
fled, for the purpose of rescuing some Marrano
women languishing in the Inquisition dungeons.
Their irruption greatly alarmed the inhabitants, but
they succeeded in rescuing the unfortunate victims.
The incident made a great stir in both countries,
and led to most prejudicial results for the pseudo-
Christians. This occurrence, as well as the denun-
ciation of several Marranos for disrespect to an
image of the Virgin Mary, again induced the king
to consider the scheme of establishing a court of
Inquisition. David Reubeni's favor with the king
of Portugal was of brief duration. He was at first
received by JoSo III with extraordinary friendliness,
and often admitted to audience (when conversation
was carried on by means of an Arab and Portuguese
interpreter), and received the distinct promise that
eight ships and 4,000 firearms should be placed at
his disposal to enable his brother, the alleged king
of Chaibar, to make war upon the Turks and Arabs,
but the king gradually cooled down. Miguel de
Silva, Portuguese ambassador at the papal court while
David was at Rome, had held the alleged Jewish
prince of Chaibar to be an adventurer. He was
recalled to Portugal, and opposing the other coun-
cilors, who were deluded by David's daring charac-
ter, made strenuous efforts to deprive him of the
king's favor. Moreover, the homage so remarkably
and openly offered to him by the Marranos had
roused suspicion concerning him. Miguel de Silva,
intrusted with the commission to establish the In-

CH. XV. DAVID REUBENI LEAVES PORTUGAL. 499

quisition in Portugal, pointed out that the king him-
self, by favoring the alleged Jewish prince, plainly
fortified the Marranos in their unbelief, or adherence
to the Jewish cause. Then came the circumcision
and flight of the royal secretary, Diogo Pires (Solo-
mon Molcho). This occurrence gave great offense
at the Portuguese court, and it was insinuated to the
king that David had been his abettor.

Thus it came to pass that David Reubeni sud-
denly received orders to quit Portugal after he had
tarried there and been treated with distinction for
nearly a twelvemonth. Only two months' grace
before embarkation was granted him. The ship
that carried him and his retinue was cast away on
the Spanish coast, and David was taken prisoner
in Spain, where he was forced to appear before the
Inquisition. However, before that could take place,
Emperor Charles set him free, and David Reubeni
betook himself to Avignon, under papal jurisdiction.
As soon as King Joao broke with David Reubeni,
every reason for sparing the Marranos vanished.
The vacillating king was hard-pressed by the queen,
the Dominicans, and some of the nobles, to decide
on introducing the Inquisition. The bishop of Ceuta,
Henrique, formerly a Franciscan monk and a fanatical
priest, brought about the decision. In his diocese
of Olivenga five new-Christians were suspected of
Jewish practices. He made short work of them.
Without greatly troubling as to whether the tribunal
of the Inquisition was or was not sanctioned by the
pope, and legally established by the king, he pre-
pared stakes and fagots, and burnt the victims to
death, having condemned them without regular
trial (about 1 530). The people jubilantly applauded
him. and celebrated the murder of these Jewish-
Christians with bull-fights. Far from wishing to
hide his deed, Henrique boasted of it, and pressed
the king to commence in earnest the chastisement
of the heretical and sinful new-Christians. JoSo de-

5CX) HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. XV.

cided to address himself to Pope Clement respecting
the organization of commissions of inquiry in Por-
tugal.

But there were still some priests left from the
previous reign who loudly raised their voices against
this violent treatment of the Marranos. Two espe-
cially deserve to have their names made known to
posterity — Ferdinand Coutinho, bishop of Algarve,
and Diogo Pinheiro, bishop of Funchal. They had
been witnesses of the inhuman cruelties with which,
under Manoel, the Jews were driven to baptism,
and in no way could recognize them as Christians,
neither when there was question of punishing them
for relapsing into heresy, nor of intrusting them
with judicial power or spiritual benefice. Coutinho,
untiring in ridicule of the mistaken zeal of the
younger priests, reminded the king that Pope
Clement VII himself had not long before allowed
several Marranos to acknowledge Judaism openly
in the very city of Rome. This pope, convinced of
the injustice shown to new-Christians, with the con-
sent of the college of cardinals had given them an
asylum at Ancona, permitting them freely to confess
themselves Jews. In Florence and Venice also they
could live without molestation. Nay, the papal con-
sistory itself had given out that the Portuguese
Marranos were to be regarded as Jews. He con-
sidered, so Coutinho expressed himself in his
friendly consideration of the question, that instead
of the new-Christians, accused of outraging what
Christians hold sacred, the witnesses ought to be
punished for bearing false testimony. The new-
Christians should be won to the true faith only by
gentle means. At length the king decided to sub-
mit the question to the pope, who, should he sanc-
tion the establishment of the Inquisition, would at
the same time absolve him from the promises made
to the Marranos. The Portuguese ambassador at
.Rome, Bras Neto, received orders to obtain a bull

CH. XV. MOLCHO AT ANCONA AND PESARO, 5OI

to that effect from the pope. But what so easily, by
a stroke of the pen, had been conceded to Spain, cost
the king of Portugal many efforts and a struggle,
and he was never able fully to enjoy his Inquisition.
Now the weak hand of the amiable Kabbalist
Solomon Molcho seized the spokes of this revolving
wheel. From the East he had gone to Italy to ful-
fill the Messianic mission with which he was inspired,
or with which he was credited. He wished to speak
fearlessly before princes, in the capital of Christen-
dom, of the approaching redemption. At Ancona,
where he arrived with followers towards the end of
1529, certain malevolent persons, according to his
own story, persecuted him. They were in fact prudent
men, who were informed of his life in the East, and
feared that, as a result of his impetuous striving for
martyrdom, evil consequences would ensue for Jews
all over the world, or at least for the Marranos in
Italy, Portugal and Spain. Molcho, when cited, is
understood to have confessed fearlessly that he pre-
ferred Judaism because it taught the truth. The
bishop of Ancona discharged him as one of the Por-
tuguese Marranos to whom freedom of religious
confession had been allowed by the pope and the car-
dinals, but forbade him to preach against Christianity.
Molcho remained some time at Ancona, where his
preaching became very popular, even priests and
Christians of the higher classes coming to the syna-
gogue. However, he seems to have compromised
himself, and in consequence repaired to Pesaro with
the duke ofUrbino, Francesco Maria della Rovere I,
who thought a settlement of Marranos in his little
state would be advantageous. But there was no rest
for Molcho ; he burnt with impatience to be at Rome
to prepare the way for the coming of the Messiah,
though without any clear conception of what to do.
He waited for some prompting from on high, which,
he believed, could not fail him. In obedience to a
vision he abandoned his retinue at Pesaro, and set

S02 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. XV.

out alone on horseback for Rome. At the first sight
of the Eternal City his feelings overcame him, for
Molcho, like Luther, held Rome to be the seat of
anti-Christ ; he sank into fervent prayer, imploring
redemption and forgiveness of sin for Israel. A
voice broke in upon his prayer, predicting in verses
of the Bible, "Edom (Rome) shall be the heritage
of Israel, his foot shall be unsteady, but Israel will
gain the victory." In this mood he entered Rome,
and took up his abode at an inn kept by Christians.
He put on a tattered suit, blackened his face,
wrapped dirty rags around his feet, and leaving his
horse and clothes at the inn, he took his stand among
the tribe of beggars on the bridge over the Tiber,
opposite the pope's palace. This equipment was in
accordance with Messianic tradition, which had it
that the Messiah would tarry amongst the lepers
and ragged beggars of Rome, to be summoned
thence to triumph. For thirty consecutive days the
Portuguese enthusiast led this miserable existence,
neither eating meat nor drinking wine, but content-
ing himself with the scantiest and poorest fare, and
waiting for the prophetic ecstasy.

In this condition of bodily tension and mental
exaltation, Molcho fell into a deep sleep, and had a
confused dream, noteworthy because part of it was
afterwards fulfilled to the very letter. It was pre-
dicted in this vision that a devastating flood would
break over Rome and a northern country, and his
native land be panic-stricken by an earthquake, that
when he himself reached his thirtieth year he would
be raised to a higher degree, and clad in Byssus, be-
cause of his own free will he had devoted himself
to death. He would return to Rome, but leave
it again before the flood took place. Then the Holy
Spirit, the spirit of wisdom and understanding,
would rest on the Messianic king, the dead
would rise from the dust, and God give His people
glory.

CH. XV. MOLCHO AT ROME. 503

Next morning, enfeebled by his long mortification
and his troubled sleep, Molcho dragged himself
back to his inn, and rested. He laid aside his dis-
guise, and went out to hold converse with Jews
(February, 1530). Being still a complete stranger
in Rome, and in order to avoid the denunciation of
his opponents, he gave himself out as a messenger
from Solomon Molcho. In spite of this he was
recognized, and denounced to the Inquisition as a
seditious Marrano. He had some time previously
entered into intercourse with the pope and some of
the cardinals, to whom he predicted the flood. Cle-
ment VII, who for several years had been drinking
of the cup of sorrow, and experiencing humiliations
such as had fallen to the lot of few popes before
him, who had been forced to crown at Bologna his
deadly enemy, Charles V, as king of Italy and em-
peror of Rome ('February 2 2d — 24th, 1530), was
but too readily mclined to listen to dreams and
visions. Other unknown relations may have existed
between the pope and Molcho, in consequence of
which the latter was regarded with surprising favor
by the pope. Molcho had friends also among the
cardinals. Lorenzo Pucci, for example, grand peni-
tentiary of the papal see, who had taken Reuchlin's
part against the Dominicans, was attached to him.
Hence, while the papal police were lying in wait
for Molcho, at the gates of Rome, he escaped over
the walls, and hastened to the pope, from whom he
obtained a pontifical passport that guaranteed him
against harm.

Furnished with this, Molcho came back secretly to
Rome, and one Saturday suddenly appeared in the
chief synagogue, where, to the astonishment of all
present, he preached on a text taken from the pro-
phetical portion. His adherents in Rome increased
so largely that he preached in the synagogue every
Sabbath until autumn, without meeting with oppo-
sition. He inspired his hearers, yet seemed power-

504 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. XV.

less to disarm his opponents. Molcho was the
Jewish Savonarola. He spoke with unshakable cer-
tainty of his visions, and even announced to the
king of Portugal (through the ambassador, Bras
Neto) the earthquake which threatened Lisbon, so
that precautionary measures might be taken. Mol-
cho was himself so firmly convinced that the flood
would come to pass that, when the predicted time
approached, he went to Venice. Molcho and David
Reubeni, who meanwhile had returned from Avig-
non to Italy, again met face to face. They looked
at each other coldly and with amazement ; each ex-
pected miracles from the other. Each desired the
other to acknowledge his sublime mission. They
were both embarrassed. Molcho's eyes were
opened on this occasion to the true character of his
once-admired master. He no longer believed in
Reubeni's ignorance, but felt convinced that, Tal-
mudic and Kabbalistic learning not being in keeping
with his character as an Arabian prince, it was
assumed by him in order to deceive people. Molcho
even recanted his declaration that he was David's
emissary. " Before the God of heaven and earth I
proclaim the truth, that my circumcision and the
abandonment of my country were not counseled by
flesh and blood (David), but took place at the
express command of God." Molcho was a deluded
enthusiast, whereas David was an adventurer inten-
tionally deceiving others. After his unsuccessful
attempt to win over the king of Portugal and
Charles V to his schemes, David went to Venice
with the purpose of influencing the president of that
republic, which had close relations' with the East.
Remarkably enough he found sympathy there ; the
Venetian senate sent a man well acquainted with the
country to question him respecting his plan and
means of conquest in the East (1530).

Both Molcho and David were harassed by the
more temperate Jews, who apprehended danger for

CH. XV, PORTUGAL SUES FOR THE INQUISITION. 5O5

themselves and their religion. While at Venice
Molcho was poisoned by Jewish hands, and fell into
a dangerous illness.

Meanwhile the inundation of Rome predicted
really took place, transforming the city into a
stormy lake, and causing great havoc (October 8th,
1530). At the same time a brilliant comet ap-
peared, shooting out rays of light till the heavens
seemed about to open. In Portugal the earth shook
thrice, and the earthquake destroyed a number of
houses in Lisbon, many persons being buried beneath
the ruins (January 26th, 1531).

After the inundation of Rome, Molcho again
appeared in that city, where he was honored as a
prophet. The pope, to whom he had predicted the
calamity, seems to have lavished his affections upon
him, and he bestowed public marks of honor upon
him. The Portuguese ambassador. Bras Neto,
told him that if the king of Portugal had known
how favored a man in God's sight was Molcho, and
how well able to read the future, he would have per-
mitted him to dwell in his dominions. And this was
the moment when the ambassador received the
mandate from his sovereign to work secretly for a
bull from the papal see introducing the Inquisition
against the Marranos ! A more unfavorable time
could not have been chosen. The affair was laid
for decision before the grand penitentiary. Cardi-
nal Lorenzo Pucci. But the latter, as well as Pope
Clement, influenced by Solomon Molcho, strongly
opposed the proposal from the beginning. Pucci
straightforwardly said to the Portuguese ambassa-
dor, " The king of Portugal, like the king of Spain,
is more attracted by the Marranos' wealth than con-
cerned about the orthodoxy of their creed , let him
rather leave them free to live according to their own
law, and punish only those who, after voluntarily
embracing Catholicism, relapse to the Jewish faith."
For the moment Bras Neto was powerless. He

506 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. XV.

even feared Molcho's influence with the pope, and
kept his doings secret, lest anything come to the
ears of the Marranos in Portugal, and they supply
Molcho with money wherewith to bribe the pope's
retainers to work against the establishment of the
Inquisition.

All this time Molcho was untiringly persecuted
by his fellow-believers, more especially by his
enemy, Jacob Mantin, the learned but unscrupulous
physician and philologist. This revengeful man
came from Venice to Rome for no other purpose
than to cause the ruin of him whom he gratuitously
hated. He took the Portuguese ambassador fairly
to task for allowing a former Portuguese Christian,
who preached against Christianity, to remain at
liberty in Rome. As the ambassador would not
listen to him, Mantin carried his complaint to the
Inquisition. He procured witnesses from Portugal
who testified that Solomon Molcho had lived as a
Christian in Portugal, and managed to have him
cited before the congregation. Hereupon Molcho
exhibited his passport from the pope, trusting with
such support to remain unmolested; but the Inqui-
sitors tore It from his hands, and betook themselves
to the pope, to whom they represented how in-
decent it was that he should protect a scoffer at
Christianity. Clement replied that he needed Mol-
cho for a secret purpose, and requested that he be
left undisturbed. When the Inquisition showed
itself inclined to disregard his denunciation, Mantin
raised new points against Molcho He contrived
to get possession of the letter which some years be-
fore Molcho had written from Monastir to Joseph
Taytasak, respecting his past life and his return to
Judaism, translated it into Latin, and laid it before
the tribunal. As the letter undoubtedly contained
abuse against Edom, i.e., against Rome and Chris-
tianity, the Inquisition was forced to take notice of
it, and Clement also no longer dared set his face

CH. XV. THE PORTUGUESE INQUISITION ESTABLISHED. 507

against Mantin's denunciation. The congregation
now proceeded with the case, and sentenced Molcho
to be burnt to death. A funeral pile was built up,
and the fagots kindled. People came in crowds to
the place to witness the attractive sight. A wretched
victim brought thither in penitential shroud was
thrown without ceremony into the fire. One of the
judges informed the pope that the act of faith had
been completed by the offender's death. The judge
and the witnesses of the execution are said to have
felt no small astonishment when Solomon Molcho
alive was encountered in the pope's apartments.

It seems that Clement, to save his favorite's life,
foisted in some one else, who ascended the scaffold,
whilst Solomon Molcho was kept hidden in the
pope's chambers.

The pope himself communicated this fact to
the perplexed judge, enjoining silence in order
that Jews and Christians might not have fresh fuel
to feed their excitement. Solomon Molcho was
saved, but he dared no longer remain in Rome ;
that was plain even to him, and he begged the pope
to let him go. Escorted by a few faithful servants
of the pope, Solomon Molcho rode out of Rome at
night (February or March, 1531).

After Molcho's departure from Rome, especially
after the death of Cardinal Lorenzo Pucci (August,
1 531), a different feeling towards the Marranos
sprang up. A Portuguese agent obtained from the
pope, who was urged thereto by Emperor Charles
and the grand penitentiary, Antonio Pucci, the suc-
cessor to his uncle, the bull establishing the Inqui-
sition, so long prayed for (December 17th, 1531),
although Cardinals Egidio de Viterbo, Ellas Levita's
disciple, and Geronlmo de Ghinucci, had declared
against it. As though this mild-tempered pope were
ashamed of allowing his former proUgis to be per-
secuted, he bracketed the Lutherans with them.
He was careful, too, not to permit the fanatical

508 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. ' CH. XV.

Dominicans to acquire power over the Marranos.
The king's confessor, a Franciscan, the gentle-
minded Diogo de Silva, was appointed inquisitor
general of Portugal. Three tribunals were estab-
lished, at Lisbon, Evora, and Coimbra, with the
" Constitutions " of the Spanish courts introduced
by Torquemada, and improved, that is, made se-
verer, by his successors. After the king and the
gcandees had withdrawn their protection, the Por-
tuguese Marranos were in a far worse plight than
their Spanish brethren. The populace had long so
hated them that even otherwise upright Christians
turned informers, whereas in Spain spies hacl to be
specially hired for the purpose.

When the Inquisition began its execrable work
many of the Marranos naturally contemplated leav-
ing the country. But flight was not easy ; it was
with them as with their forefathers when they came
out of Egypt — the foe behind, the sea, with all its
dangers and terrors, in front. A law was made
(June 14th, 1532) strictly forbidding emigration to
Africa, not even excepting the Portuguese colonies.
Captains were warned, under penalty of death, not
to carry Marranos, and all Christians were prohib-
ited from buying real estate of new-Christians ;
these were not permitted to send their goods away
to foreign countries, nor effect exchanges at home.
Nevertheless, many of them prepared for emigra-
tion, in order " to flee from the land touched by the
poisonous serpent" (the Inquisition) ; but before
they could even set foot on board ship, they and
their wives and children were seized, and hurried
away to gloomy dungeons, whence they were
dragged to the stake. Others perished in the waves
of the sea before they could reach the vessel which
was to bring them to a place of safety. Many were
drawn forth from the most hidden retreats, and
burnt to death. Those who escaped from the claws
of this bloodthirsty monster found no relief in

CH. XV. CRUELTY OF THE INQUISITION. 5O9

Strange lands — they were imprisoned in Flanders,
arrested in France, unkindly received in England.
In addition to such torments many lost their for-
tunes, and, in consequence, their lives. Those who
reached Germany succumbed in extreme misery on
the Alps, leaving wives about to become mothers,
who, on cold and deserted roads, brought forth chil-
dren, and endured a new form of misfortune."

Nevertheless, the Marranos did not intermit their
attempts to escape, but prosecuted them with in-
creased caution. No other way out of their troubles
was left. Appeals to justice and humanity, and the
urging of their chartered rights and privileges, found
none but deaf ears in the cabinet.

Marranos who escaped to Rome made bitter com-
plaints to Pope Clement of the inhumanity with
which the Inquisition persecuted them and their
brethren, and urged that the king had obtained the
bull by fraud, inasmuch as the facts of the case had
not been set before the papal consistory in a proper
light. They especially complained that emigration
was prohibited, in direct opposition to the legal
equality which had been granted. Clement VII,
who regretted that he had issued the bull, to which
he had been forced, sympathized with their griev-
ances. He may have felt, too, that the fires of the
Inquisition, employed against those who were neither
Catholics nor willing converts, branded the Catholic
Church, and gave the Lutherans more material to
continue their hostile assaults, to depict it as blood-
thirsty and a just object of hatred. Moreover, he
was well aware that the Inquisition had been intro-
duced into Portugal only because Spain and his
arch-foe, Emperor Charles, desired it, with the ob-
ject of placing Portugal in an unequivocally depend-
ent condition. Hence Clement revolved a plan to
revoke the bull. At this time Solomon Molcho and
David Reubeni resumed their mystical activity, and
conceived the daring scheme of going to the em-

5 lO HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. XV.

peror at Ratisbon, where the Reichstag was then
assembled. With a floating banner, embroidered
with the letters "Machbi " (initials of the Hebrew
words of the verse, " Who is like unto thee among
the gods, O Lord"), they traveled from Bologna,
by way of Ferrara and Mantua, to Ratisbon. Em-
peror Charles gave them audience, and they prob-
ably pleaded the cause of the Jews earnestly. An
unwarranted and improbable report affirms that they
attempted to convert the emperor to the Jewish
faith. But they were not so heedless as to make
this attempt. They simply petitioned the emperor
to permit the Marranos to arm themselves, and,
joining the Jewish tribes, attack the Turks. Joslin
of Rosheim, who was also in Ratisbon, vainly
warned them not to make this request. The end
was that Charles put them both in chains (June —
September, 1532), and carried them fettered to
Mantua. The banner was left at Ratisbon. An
inquisition, at the emperor's wish, was set on foot at
Mantua, and Molcho was condemned to be burnt to
death for relapse and heresy. While the emperor
was diverting himself by triumphal processions,
festivals, hunting, plays, and all imaginable merry-
makings, the funeral pile of the Lisbon Marrano
was built up, and set on fire. They led him to the
place of execution with a gag in his mouth, for his
eloquence was so powerful and persuasive that em-
peror and tribunal feared its effect on the crowd.
He was, therefore, forced to keep silence. But when
the executioners were ready to throw him into the
blazing fire, a courier from the emperor arrived, re-
moved the gag, and asked him in the emperor's
name, whether he repented of his transgressions and
was willing to return to the bosom of the church; if
so, he should be pardoned. As might have been
expected, Molcho replied that he had longed to die
a martyr, "a burnt-sacrifice, of a sweet savour unto
the Lord," that he repented him of only one thing

CH. XV. MOLCHO'S DEATH. 511

— that he had been a Christian in his youth. Come
life, come death, he commended his soul unto God.
Then he was thrown into the midst of the flames,
and died with unshaken constancy.

Molcho was the victim of a phantasmagoria, a
delusion, into which, at feud with reality, he
allowed himself to fall. The rich gifts bestowed on
him by nature — a handsome person, glowing imagi-
nation, quick perception, ready enthusiasm — which
would have been steps on the ladder of fortune for
any character less fantastical, only served to ruin
him, because, swept into the vortex of the Kabbala,
he fondly hoped to accomplish the work of redemp-
tion. David Reubeni had not even the martyr's
crown. Charles carried him to Spain, and cast him
into a dungeon of the Inquisition, in which he was
still living three years afterwards. It appears that
he was at length put to death by poison. As a Jew,
the Inquisition had no power over him. But many
of the Spanish Marranos who had had intercourse
with him, and whose names he probably betrayed
on the rack, were burnt to death.

Enthusiasm for Molcho was so great that a mis-
taken faith was pinned to him, and various fictions
respecting him were invented. In Italy and Turkey
numbers believed that he had on this occasion, as
once before, escaped death. Some said that they
had seen him a week after his auto-da-fe ; others
gave out that he had visited his bride at Safet.
Joseph Karo, whose name was soon to be widely
known, longed for martyrdom like Molcho's. Even
the circumspect Joseph Cohen of Genoa, a careful
historian, averse to belief in miracles, was dazed,
and knew not what to think of the affair. An Italian
Kabbalist, Joseph of Arli, would not abandon the
hope that the time of the Messiah, as announced
and prepared by Molcho, would soon dawn on the
Jewish world. Molcho's death, according to him,
would soon find avengers. By a childish transpos-.

512 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. XV.

ing of the letters of two verses in Isaiah (Notaricon),
he predicted the downfall of the religion of Jesus
from various causes: Luther's agitation, the many
new sects springing up among Christians, the recent
sack of Rome, and the mutually inimical attitude of
the pope and the emperor.

The Kabbalist of Arli was ill-disposed towards
the pope, though unreasonably so, for he was cer-
tainly not guilty of Molcho's death ; on the contrary,
the pope had to look on while the emperor, to gain
his own ends, executed one, and imprisoned the
other, of his favorites. However, Clement seems to
have made a countermove. He strove to bring
about the revocation of the fatal bull authorizing the
institution of the Inquisition in Portugal, or at least to
make it less drastic in its effects. The Marranos
knew this.and made every effort to win the papal curia
to their side. As soon as they understood that Solo-
mon Molcho, their most successful advocate, was no
longer to be reckoned upon, they sent another
envoy to Rome, to bring their grievances before the
pope and defend their cause. This new advocate
of the Marranos, Duarte de Paz, was the very oppo-
site in character to Molcho: cool-headed, far re-
moved from any extravagance, cunning, calculating,
bold, and eloquent, initiated into all the trickery of
diplomacy, possessing profound knowledge of human
nature, and able to make use of men's foibles for
his own ends. Duarte de Paz for nearly eight years
looked after the interests of Portuguese new-Chris-
tians. He vi^as himself of Marrano descent, and as
a reward for his services to the Portuguese court in
Africa had obtained an important post and the con-
fidence of King Joao III. Chosen by the king to
perform a secret mission, and made a knight of the
order of Christ (styled also Commendatore) on the
day of his departure, he set out, not for the ap-
pointed place, but for Rome, to work for the Mar-
ranos. Duarte de Paz entwined the threads of his

CH. XV. THE INQUISITION SUPPRESSED. 513

intrigues so intricately that to this day it is impos-
sible to ascertain exactly whom he deceived,
whether the king or the Marranos. His clients, the
Marranos, kept him well supplied with money,
which, for good or evil, was almighty at the pope's
court. Duarte de Paz obtained substantial suc-
cesses in return for his pains and his presents.
Clement was convinced anew that most atrocious
injustice was done the new-Christians in demanding
Catholic orthodoxy from those who had been dragged
with brutal force to be baptized, and in denying
them liberty to journey beyond the confines of
Portugal. The pope issued an apostolical brief
(October 17th, 1532) stopping the proceedings of
the Inquisition until further notice. Duarte de Paz
continued his efforts in order to procure a general
pardon for all Marranos denounced or imprisoned.
It appears that intrigues were set on foot in favor
of the Marranos even at the court of Joio III. The
party in favor of the Inquisition worked for Spanish
interests, and, in view of the probability of the
king's remaining without issue, was eagerly bent on
making the Portuguese crown one with the Spanish.
On the other side, the national party, which sought
to preserve the independence of Portugal, seems to
have been against the Inquisition. Hence plotting
and counter-plotting continued for several years to
such an extent, that the inquisitor general, Diogo
de Silva (appointed by the pope himself), declared
that he would not undertake so great a responsi-
bility, and resigned his office. Duarte de Paz
obtained a second extraordinarily important brief
from Pope Clement. The pope recognized as fair
and legitimate the reasons urged by new-Christians
to justify their lack of attachment to the church.

" Since they were dragged by force to be baptized, they cannot be
considered members of the church, and to punish them for heresy
and relapse were to violate the principles of justice and equity With
sons and daughters of the first Marranos the case is different , they
belong to the church as voluntary members. But, as they have been

5 14 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. XV.

brought up by their relatives in the midst of Judaism, and have had
their example continually before their eyes, it would be cruel to punish
them according to the canonical law for falling into Jewish ways and
beliefs ; they must be kept in the bosom of the church through gentl*
treatment."

By this brief Clement VII abrogated the power
of the Portuguese Inquisition, ordered that denun-
ciation of Marranos should be carried before his own
tribunal, and granted to all a thorough absolution
or amnesty for past defection from the church. Those
languishing in the dungeons of the Inquisition were
to be set free, the banished allowed to return,
and those robbed of their goods to have them
restored. Clement declared, with the peculiar
untruthfulness of the papacy, from which even the
best popes were unable to free themselves, that he
had issued this brief of his own accord, without the
suggestion of the Marranos, although the whole
world knew the contrary, and counted up how many
scudi the see had received for the letter. Clement
also declared all who should resist this brief, clergy
as well as laity, to be under the ban, and urgently
pressed his envoy, Marco della Ruvere, to make it
known throughout Portugal. To do Pope Clement
VII justice, it must be said that he steadfastly de-
fended the cause of humanity towards the unhappy
Marranos against the bloodthirsty spirit of the
Christianity of his time, though it must be admitted
that other and not quite pure motives may have con-
duced to his action — viz., hatred of Charles V, who
upheld the proposal for a Portuguese Inquisition,
and greed for the sums of money paid him and his
retainers. The thought of delivering the Marranos
to the tender mercies of those bloody-minded
wretches in Portugal was not to be lightly endured.
Although the question had been thoroughly dis-
cussed, Clement appointed a commission, consisting
of the two neutral cardinals, De Cesis and Campeg-
gio, to consider the matter once more. The grand
penitentiary, Antonio Pucci, Cardinal de Santiquatro,

CH. XV. PAUL III FARNESE. ^IJ

could not be excluded, although a partisan of the
Portuguese court. Nevertheless, this commission
officially attested the perpetration of devilish atroci-
ties by the Inquisition against pseudo-Christians. In
consequence of their report, Clement VII (July 26th,
1534), feeling that his end was near, issued a brief
to the nuncio at the Portuguese court to press the
release and absolution of imprisoned Marranos.
There were about twelve hundred of them, and it
may be doubted whether this brief effected their
deliverance. Clement's death (September 25th,
1534) brought to naught his good intentions and
the Marranos' hopes.

Intrigues concerning the Inquisition were woven
anew under his successor, Paul III Farnese (1534 —
1549), at first to the prejudice of the Marranos,
though this pope belonged to the old school of
worldly-minded, diplomatic, by no means bigoted
princes of the church. He was a subtle schemer,
and paid more attention to earthly than to heavenly
powers. Paul III was specially well-disposed to
Jews. If a description by a narrow-minded bishop
(Sadolet of Carpentras) is true only to a small
extent, it still proves that this friendliness must have
been remarkable. " No pope has ever bestowed on
Christians so many honors, such privileges and
concessions as Paul III has given to the Jews. They
are not only assisted, but positively armed with bene-
fits and prerogatives." Paul III had a Jewish physi-
cian in ordinary, Jacob Mantin, who dedicated some
of his works to him.

As soon as Paul III had ascended the papal chair,
the king of Portugal deemed it most important to
procure a revocation of Clement's bulls and briefs
in favor of the Marranos, and opposed to the Inqui-
sition. But Duarte de Paz, the Marranos' advocate,
who had been given an aid in Diogo Rodrigues
Pinto, spared no effort to oppose the contemplated
change of policy. Gold also was not wanting.

5l6 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. XV.

Duarte de Paz, although apparently engaged in
a traitorous correspondence with the king, Don
Joao, offered Cardinal Santiquatro, the partisan of
Portugal, a yearly pension of 800 crusados, if he
would give his support to the Marranos. The pope,
diplomatically cautious as he was, and disinclined
to bind himself, decided at first (November 3d,
1534), that Clement's brief should not be promul-
gated. But when he learned that it had already
taken effect, he ordered the case to be again consid-
ered, and for that purpose named two cardinals,
Ghinucci and Simoneta, of whom the first decidedly
favored the Marranos, having published a work
in their defense. The result of their investigation
was that Paul III emphatically admonished the Por-
tuguese court to obey Clement VII's bull of absolu-
tion. He was decidedly opposed to the imprison-
ment of Marranos in inaccessible dungeons and
against the confiscation of their property. But the
Catholic kings of that day showed obedience to the
papal see only as long as it suited them and their
interest; so Joao III paid but small heed to the
pope's admonition. His envoy even advised him,
in order to carry on the Inquisition, to cut himself
adrift from the Romish Church as England had
done. A complete web of intrigues was spun over
this affair in Rome and Portugal. In Portugal the
court was on the one side, and the Marrano leaders,
Thome SarrSo and Manuel Mendes, with the papal
legate on the other — at Rome, Duarte de Paz and
Pinto, against or with the Portuguese ambassador
and against Cardinal Santiquatro.

Disgusted and wearied, Paul III, who did not
readily give up an intention once formed, issued a
new, decisive bull (October 2d, 1535), giving absolu-
tion to the Marranos, and protecting them against
all clerical and civil penalties for relapse and heresy,
provided that they would not be guilty of similar
offenses in future. The Inquisition in Portugal,

CH. XV. CHARLES V DEFEATS BARBAROSSA, ^tf

which for the sake of appearance could not proceed
without the authorization of the pope, was once
again arrested. The nuncio set to work energet-
ically, made the bull known throughout Portugal,
and carried matters so far, that even the inimically
disposed Infante Don Alfonso opened the prison
doors to free those whose release was so pressingly
recommended by Rome. Altogether there were
eighteen hundred Marranos liberated (December,

1535).

At first dazed as by a sudden blow, the Portu-
guese court later on set every lever in motion once
more to obtain sovereign power over the Marranos
and their property. It did not shrink from assassi-
nation to gain its ends. One day Duarte de Paz
was attacked on the high road by assassins, and left
lying there for dead, covered with fourteen wounds
(January, 1536). All Rome believed the murderers
to be hirelings of the Portuguese court. The pope
was greatly provoked at this crime, and sent physi-
cians to pay every attention to the procurator, who
eventually recovered. Nevertheless, with respect
to the Inquisition, the pope had to comply with the
wishes of the Portuguese court, which had at last
found out the right way to reach its goal. It had
recourse to the victorious Charles V, urgently re-
questing him to manage the affair. Just at that time
the emperor had fought a hard batde near Tunis
with the Mahometan Barbarossa, who, supported
by Turkey, had disquieted all Christendom. After
many struggles, the numerous host of Christians,
led by Charles himself, gained the day, and Barba-
rossa was defeated.

When Charles arrived in Rome after a triumphal
progress through Italy, he asked the pope, as a
reward of his victory for Christianity, to authorize
the Inquisition in Portugal Paul III did not yield
without a struggle. He always returned to the
contention that the Portuguese Marranos were

5l8 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH XV.

originally dragged by force to be baptized, and
that, therefore, the sacrament had no hold upon
them.

Unfortunately for the Marranos, their means for
satisfying the greed of the papal court for gold were
exhausted. Their advocate, Duarte de Paz, had
promised exorbitant sums for the frustration of the
Inquisition, and had misappropriated to his own use
part of the money intrusted to him. The pseudo-
Christians thus found themselves obliged, when
pressed for payment by the papal nuncio, to declare
that they were not in a position to redeem the exag-
gerated promises of Duarte de Paz. Moreover,
this commerce between the nuncio and Marranos
was betrayed, and the latter had to exercise yet
greater caution. Hence interest in the Marranos
gradually cooled down at the pope's court. As the
emperor put increasing pressure on Paul III to
authorize the Inquisition in Portugal, the pope at
last sanctioned the tribunal for the Portuguese do-
minions (May 23d, 1536). The pope, friend of the
Jews as he was, granted his sanction v/ith a heavy
heart, forced thereto by pressure from the emperor.
He added all sorts of restrictions, that for the first
three years the method of procedure in current civil
courts must be adhered to, i.e., open confrontment
with witnesses — at least as regarded that class of
Marranos which was not greatly esteemed — and that
the confiscation of condemned Marranos' goods
should take place only after the expiration of ten
years. Personally, the pope recommended gentle
measures in dealing with pseudo-Christians. Don
Joao's joy at the ultimate fulfillment of his heart's
desire was so great that he accepted the conditions.
But the concession was only a pretense ; in reality,
the same rigor was employed against the Portuguese
Marranos as against the Spanish, The admonition
published by the Inquisition, that it was everyone's
duty, under penalty of excommunication or a yet

CH. XV. THE PORTUGUESE INQUISITION RE-ESTABLISHED. 5 I9

more severe punishment, to denounce any Jewish
observances or expressions of the new-Christians,
differed in no respect from that pubHshed by the first
bloodthirsty Spanish inquisitor, Torquemada, In
November of the same year, after the expiration of
the thirty so-called days of grace, the bloody tribunal
began its revolting and abominable activity, once
again outraging and dishonoring human nature.
The Portuguese Inquisition was conducted with al-
most more cruelty than the Spanish, because, on
the one hand, its introduction had cost so much
trouble, and the public mind was thereby embittered ;
on the other, because the Portuguese Marranos were
more steadfast than their Spanish brethren, and
finally, because the common people supported the
Inquisition, and took part against the new-Christians.
Joao III even made them wear a distinguishing mark
to separate them visibly from other Christians.

They did not, however, accept their defeat inact-
ively, but rather set to work with all imaginable
energy to bring about a revocation of the bull.
The most subtle intrigues were again commenced
at the papal court. Duarte de Paz once more dis-
played his diplomatic skill. The Marranos raised
complaints of the cruel dealings of the judges, who
neglected to obey the pope's instructions. More
especially they complained that liberty to emi-
grate and dispose of their real estate was still
denied them.

In a memorial to the pope they ventured on al-
most threatening language :

" If your Holiness despises the prayers and tears of the Hebrew
race, or despite our hopes, refuses to redress our grievances, as would
beseem the vicar of Christ, then we protest before God, and witb
tears and cries that shall be heard afar off will we protest in the facu
of the universe, that our lives, our honor, our children, who are our
blood, our very salvation made the butt of persecution, we will
nevertheless try to hold ourselves aloof from the Jewish faith ; but if
tyranny ceases not, we will do what no one of us would else think of,
I. e., return to the religion of Moses, and abjure Christianity, which we
are made to accept by main force. We solemnly cry aloud that we

$20 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. XV.

are victims, by the right which that fact gives us — a right which your
Holiness recognizes. Leaving our native land, we will seek protection
among less cruel peoples."

The nuncio who had returned from Portugal,
knowing by long years of experience the position of
men and affairs, managed to convince the pope that
his sanction of the Inquisition was a mistake, and as
Paul III had only given way to momentary pressure,
a change of sentiment soon followed, and he repented
the step he had taken. He went so far as again to
submit his bull to a committee which was to examine
its legality. To this commission the Marranos'
friend, Cardinal Ghinucci, was elected along with
another of like mind, Jacobacio. They contrived to
prejudice the third member, the honest but narrow-
minded Cardinal Simoneta, against the Inquisition,
so that he begged the pope to right matters by the
revocation of his former bull. Another nuncio was
sent to Portugal, with authority within certain limits
to nullify the proceedings of the Inquisition against
the Marranos, to protect the latter, and particularly
to render easier their emigration from Portugal.
The pope sent a brief (dated August, 1537) after
the nuncio, empowering and, to some extent, encour-
aging all to give protection and assistance to the
accused Marranos — in fact, to do exactly what in
Portugal was held to be conniving at and participat-
ing in heresy. The king must have been consider-
ably puzzled. Here he was at length in possession
of a bull, a tribunal, a grand inquisitor and his col-
leagues— the whole apparatus of a slaughter-house
for the glory of God — and he might just as well have
had nothing at all.

An incident again turned the chances of the game
in favor of the king and the fanatics. One day
(February, 1539) a placard was discovered fastened
on the door of the Lisbon Cathedral : "The Messiah
has not yet appeared — Jesus was not the Messiah,
and Christianity is a lie." All Portugal was indig-

CH. XV. EMAKUEL t)A COSTA. 5^^

nant at such blasphemy, and a strict investigation
was set on foot to find out the offender. The king
offered a reward of io,ocx> crusados (ducats). The
nuncio also offered 5,000 crusados, as he, with many
others, was of opinion that this was a blow from
some enemy of the Marranos, designed to excite
the king's fanaticism to a higher degree, and to get
the nuncio into trouble. To turn aside suspicion the
new-Christians posted a notice on the same place —
"I, the author, am neither a Spaniard nor a Portu-
guese, but an Englishman, and though you raise
your reward to 20,000 crusados, you will not find me
out." After all, the writer turned out to be a Mar-
rano, one Emanuel da Costa. He confessed every-
thing when cited before the Inquisition. The civil
court then took him in hand, and put him on the rack
to make him name his accomplices. Finally, after
both hands had been cut off, he was burnt to death.
The Marranos foresaw evil consequences for them-
selves, and took to flight. The king made the best
of this opportunity to enforce the rules of the Inqui-
sition with increased severity and bloodthirstiness,
and to thwart the nuncio's efforts. The maddest
fanatics were at once elected inquisitors, to the great
anger of the pope and his nuncio. Joao Soares, whom
the pope himself once described as "not a learned,
but a most daring and ambitious, monk, with opinions
and ideas of the very worst kind, who takes pride
in his enmity to the apostolic see," was now given
unbounded power over the lives of the new-Chris-
tians, and his colleague was Mallo, an arch-foe of
the new-Christians. For the Marranos the state of
affairs grew worse every day. On three points the
pope showed immovable firmness : the Infante Don
Henrique must not remain grand inquisitor; Mar-
ranos accused of heresy should have the witnesses'
(that is, their accusers') names announced to them;
finally, after sentence is passed they should be allowed
recourse to the papal court of appeals. Indeed, PaulIII

522 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. XV.

caused a new bull to be drawn up (October 12th,
1539) — a supplement of that issued three years be-
fore— which throughout was of a favorable tenor to
new-Christians, and would completely have crippled
the Inquisition. But this likewise remained a dead
letter. After this, fires for the obstinate heretics
were kindled more frequently than ever, and more
victims were sacrificed (from ten to forty a year)
without permitting them to appeal to the pope.
The denounced and suspected Marranos filled the
prisons.

A contemporary poet, Samuel Usque, gives a
dreadful picture of the tortures of the Portuguese
Inquisition, which he himself had experienced in his
youth :

" Its institution deprived the Jews of peace of mind, filled their
souls with pain and grief, and drew them forth from the comforts of
home into gloomy dungeons, where they dwelt amid torment and sighs
of anguish. It (the Inquisition) flings the halter round their necks,
and drags them to the flames ; through its decrees they must see
their sons murdered, husbands burnt to death, and brothers robbed
of life ; must see their children made orphans, the number of widows
increased, the rich made poor, the mighty brought low, the nobly
born transformed into highway robbers, chaste, modest women housed
in lewd, ignominious dwellings, through the poverty and desertion in
its wake. It has burnt numbers to death, not one by one, but by
thirties, by fifties at a time. Not content with mere burning and de-
stroying, it leads Christians to boast of such deeds, to rejoice when
their eyes behold the members of my body (the sons of Jacob) burn-
ing to death in the flames, kindled with fagots dragged from afar on
men's shoulders. Those baptized against their will, steal about over-
powered with fear of this savage monster (the Inquisition) ; they turn
their eyes on every side lest it seize them. With ill-assured hearts
they pass to and fro, trembling like a leaf, terror strikes them sud-
denly, and they stay their steps lest it take them captive. When
they sit down together to eat, every morsel is lifted to their mouths in
anguish. The hour that brings repose to all .other beings only in-
creases their anxiety and exhaustion. At times of marriage and the
birth of children, joy and feasting are turned into mourning and dis-
quietude of soul. In fine, there is no moment not paid for by a
thousand deadly fears. For it suffices not that they make themselves
known as Christians by outward signs. Fire rages m their hearts,
their tortures are innumerable."

Is this an exaggerated description ? Did the
poet's imagination transform petty sufferings into

CH. XV. REPORT OF THE CARDINALS. 52$

the pains of martyrdom ? Every word of it is cor-
roborated by an assembly of cardinals, officially
gathered to investigate the proceedings of the Por-
tuguese Inquisition against the Marranos.

" When a pseudo-Christian is denounced — often by false witnesses
— the inquisitors drag him away to a dismal retreat where he is al-
lowed no sight of heaven or earth, and least of ail to speak with his
friends, who might succor him. They accuse him on obscure testi-
mony, and inform him neither of the time nor the place where he
committed the offense for which he is denounced. Later on he is al-
lowed an advocate, who often, instead of defending his cause, helps
him on the road to the stake. Let an unfortunate creature acknowl-
edge himself a true believing Christian, and firmly deny the trans-
gressions laid to his charge, they condemn him to the flames, and
confiscate his goods. Let him plead guilty to such and such a deed,
though unintentionally committed, they treat him in a similar man-
ner under the pretense that he obstinately denies his wicked inten-
tions. Let him freely and fully admit what he is accused of, he is
reduced to extremest necessity, and condemned to the dungeon's
never-lifting gloom. And this they call treating the accused with
mercy and compassion and Christian charity ! Even he who suc-
ceeds in clearly proving his innocence is condemned to pay a fine, so
that it may not be said that he was arrested without cause. The ac-
cused who are held prisoners are racked by every instrument of tor-
ture to admit the accusations against them. Many die in prison, and
those who are set free, with all their relatives bear a brand of eternal
infamy."

As the Inquisition grew more and more severe
and bloodthirsty, the Portuguese new-Christians
clung with increasing tenacity to the last anchor of
hope left — to the pope and their other protectors.
They had found a new advocate and mediator, who
gave promise of being more honest and energeti-
cally active on their behalf. The battle between the
Portuguese court and the papal see blazed up afresh.
It was war to the death, not for those imm»ediately
concerned, but for the miserable beings who, in spite
of self-repression, could not become reconciled to
Christianity, yet were notcourageous enough to suffer
for Judaism — who would give up neither convictions,
wealth, nor position. To influence the pope, or at
least those about his person against the Marranos,
the Infante and grand inquisitor Henrique had a list
of the delinquencies of the new-Christians made out

$24 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. XV.

and sent to Rome (February, 1542). The Marranos,
also, to wrest the weapons from their opponents*
hands, in Rome and elsewhere, and for all times to
refute the lying reports and statements of the Por-
tuguese court, drew up a bulky memorial (1544),
detailing their troubled lot, from the time of King
Joao II and Manoel, who forced them to accept
Christianity, until the most recent times, and veri-
fying their statements by documentary evidence — a
monument of everlasting disgrace to that age.

Yet these reciprocal indictments led to no settle-
ment. At length, when they saw that nothing would
stop the execrable activity of the Inquisition now it
had once been called into existence, the pope and
the Marranos felt how extremely important it was
for them to secure at least two concessions. First,
free right of emigration from Portugal for new-
Christians ; second, a general absolution (Perda5)
for those already denounced or imprisoned, provided
they would promise to give up their Jewish creed
and remain good Christians in the future. But these
were the very points on which the king and the Do-
minicans would not yield. As though in defiance
of the pope, the king issued an ordinance (July 15 th,
1547), that for three years longer no new-Christian
might leave Portugal without express permission or
payment of a large sum of money.

Paul III felt himself crippled. He might shudder
at the cruelties of the Portuguese Inquisition — the
vast sums which the Marranos spent on him and his
sycophants might be ever so much needed to aid in
carrying out his policy in Italy and in prosecuting
war against the Protestants, yet he dared not show
too stern a determination to thwart the court at Lis-
bon. He, too, was in the power of Catholic fanatics.
To fight the Protestant heretics and reinstate the
papal dignity, he had authorized the institution of
the order of Jesuits (1540), who inscribed their
banner with the watchword of the church militant

CH. XV. ARRAIGNMENT OF THE POPE. 525

He had agreed to the proposition of the fanatical
Pietro Caraffa for an Inquisition at Rome (1542),
Loyola and Caraffa now lorded it over Rome, and
the pope was only their tool. Moreover, the council
of Trent was to be convened to settle the standard
of faith, whereby the Protestants were to be humbled,
and their influence crushed. Paul III needed ardent
fanatical helpers to keep the lukewarm up to the
mark. Such men only Spain and Portugal could
furnish. In Portugal the most friendly reception had
been accorded the Jesuits. Thus the pope could
offer only mild opposition to the Portuguese court,
and proffer requests where he should have given
orders.

At the council. Bishop Balthasar Limpo was a
worthy representative of the fanatical king of Portu-
gal, and dared use language against the pope which
should have shown him clearly that he was no
longer master in his own house. The bishop
vehemently asked Paul III to sanction the Inquisi-
tion against relapsed new-Christians irrevocably,
and censured his sympathy with them. He justly
remarked :

"As Christians, and under Christian names, they leave Portugal by
stealth, and take with them their children, whom they themselves
have carried to be baptized. As soon as they reach Italy they give
themselves out for Jews, live according to Jewish ordinances, and cir-
cumcise their children. This takes place under the eye of the pope
and the papal see, within the walls of Rome and Bologna, and it
happens because his Holiness has granted to heretics the privilege
that in Ancona no one may molest them on account of their belief.
Under these circumstances it is impossible for the king to grant them
the right of free departure from the land. Perhaps his Holiness asks
it in order that they may settle in his states as Jews, and the papal
see derive advantage in that way. Instead of hindering the estab-
lishment of the Inquisition in Portugal, it should have been his Holi-
ness' duty to have introduced it long since into his own dominions."

The pope could have given answer to such
an harangue, had he possessed a clear conscience,
and in very deed and truth preached Christianity as
a religion of gentleness and humanity. But since
he had need of blind fanaticism to keep up obstinate

526 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. XV.

warfare with Protestantism, and on the outbreak of
the war against the latter had issued the murderous
bull ("Of the cross"), wherein Catholics, in the name
of the vicar of Christ, were called upon to ** smite the
Protestants to death," he could make no reply when
Limpo spoke. He was caught in his own trap. Yet,
he tried to save one thing, the Marranos' free right
of emigration from Portugal ; on this condition he
would give way to the Portuguese court. But new-
Christians wishing to depart from the land would be
required to give security that they would not emi-
grate to infidel countries, such as Turkey or
Africa. To this also Bishop Limpo gave a con-
vincing reply :

'• Does it, then, make any difference whether these heretics take
refuge under infidel governments, or come to Italy ? At Ancona,
Ferrara, or Venice, they are circumcised, and then go on to Turkey.
They have papal privileges, forsooth, so that nobody dare ask them
if peradventure they are Jews ! They wear no distinguishing marks,
and can go undisguised and free whithersoever they like, can observe
their ceremonies, and attend their synagogues. Oh, how many
attend these who were baptized in their youth in Portugal, or were
condemned to death, or burnt in effigy 1 Give them free right of emi-
gration, let them set foot in the land of the infidel, and they can
openly confess themselves as Jews. The king will never allow, no
theologian — do I say theologian ? — no simple Christian could advise
such a thing. Instead of his HoHness* exerting himself to insure the
safety of the secret Jews, let him increase the number of Inquisitions
in his own states, and punish not alone Lutheran heretics, but Jewish
heretics also, who seek refuge and protection in Italy."

Yet another circumstance compelled Paul III to
show a yielding disposition. Charles V, inspired
thereto by his victory over the Protestants (April,
1547), sought to set himself above the papacy, and
would have liked to see a new ritual established,
agreeable to Protestants as well as to Catholics.
This was tantamount to declaring war against the
pope. The latter was, therefore, forced to break
with the emperor, and that he might not stand un-
supported against so powerful a foe, Portugal and
the central Catholic states had to be won over to his
side. To conciliate Portugal he sent thither a special

CH. XV. PAUL IH SANCTIONS THE INQUISITION. 52/

commissary provided with bulls and briefs, wherein
he partially sanctioned the Inquisition, though re-
questing that it be used with mildness. Above all,
however, new-Christians accused of heresy and
so-called relapse were not to be sentenced, for the
present, but to be made answerable for their con-
duct in the future. Even then, for the first ten years,
the property of relapsed heretics was not to be
touched, but to descend to their heirs. He consented
to the restriction of Marrano emigration, so strenu-
ously insisted upon by the Portuguese court.

Prisons of the Inquisition at Lisbon, Evora, and
other cities were thrown open in obedience to the
pope's general absolution for new-Christians, and
eighteen hundred set at liberty (July, 1548). Soon
after this all the Marranoswere called together, and
forced to abjure their Judaizing tendencies. From
that moment only were they recognized as complete
Christians, and liable to be punished in case of
heretical transgression. The pope, in a brief, de-
sired the king to see that the tribunals deal merci-
fully even with the heretics, since they fulfilled Jew-
ish observances only from habit. Thus, throughout
his life, Pope Paul III took the part of the Marranos.
Nevertheless, they fell victims to their tragic fate.
It was cruel injustice to demand an open confes-
sion of Catholicism from them, when they protested
against it with all their hearts, and then to punish
them when detected in the performance of Jewish
rites or ceremonies. On the other hand, the state
could never allow a whole class of the population
outwardly belonging to the church to be left in a
certain sense free to hold the church in derision.
Justice certainly demanded that the Marranos should
have liberty of choice either to emigrate or confess
themselves genuine members of the church. But,
as the court acknowledged, their loss meant ruin
to the state, for the Marranos of Jewish descent
formed the most profitable class of the city popula-

5SS HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. XV.

tion. Their capital and far-reaching business trans-
actions increased the revenue, caused a general cir-
culation of money, and made raw materials im-
ported from the Indian and African colonies avail-
able. Without them the wealth of the whole country
would be capital idly and unprofitably stored.
Marranos were also the only artisans, and on
them depended industrial prosperity. Plainly, the
state could not afford to lose them, and, there-
fore, the king tried to turn them into good Chris-
tians by the terrors of the Inquisition, so as to keep
a certain hold on the profit and utility of their pres-
ence. He labored in vain. Every year fresh vic-
tims perished at the stake ; yet the survivors did
not become more faithful believers. The Por-
tuguese court, unlike the Spanish, never derived
enjoyment from the Inquisition. Portuguese new-
Christians, in spite of their confession, were not yet
true Christians, on whom the penalty of heresy
could legally, according to canonical laws, be
inflicted by the Inquisition. After Paul's death,
(November, 1549), Julius III was petitioned to give
absolution to the Marranos. Even the succeed-
ing popes, who favored reaction and persecution,
allowed the Portuguese Inquisition to continue more
as an accomplished fact than as a legal institution.
Half a century later, a pope (Clement VIII) con-
demned the judicial murders of the Inquisition, and
once more issued a general amnesty for condemned
Marranos.

CHAPTER XVI.

STRIVINGS OF EASTERN JEWS FOR UNITY. SUFFERING IN THE

WEST.

EfiEorts towards Unity — Jacob Berab proposes the Re-introdaction of
Rabbinical Ordination into Palestine — Successful Opposition of
Levi ben Chabib— Joseph Karo— His Connection with Solomon
Molcho and his Messianic Visions — Karo's Religious Code —
Converts to Judaism at the Era of the Reformation — Expulsion
of the Jews from Naples and Prague — Their Return to the latter
Town — Ur. Eck — Martin Luther and the Jews — Moses H anion —
Jewish Histories by Joseph Cohen, the Ibn-Vergas, and Samuel
Usque — Elegy of Samuel Usque — Reaction in the Catholic Church :
Loyola establishes the Order of Jesuits — The Censorship of
Books — Eliano Romano and Vittorio Eliano— Fresh Attacks on
the Talmud — Paul IV and his anti-Jewish Bulls — Persecution of
the Marranos by the Inquisition in Ancona — Joseph Nassi — The
Levantine Jews — Expulsion of the Jews from Austria and Bohe-
mia— Relations of Popes Pius IV and V to the Jews*

1538 — 1566C.K.

Every fresh column of smoke rising from the fires
of the Inquisition in Spain and Portugal drove Mar-
ranos, singly or in groups, far away to the East, to
Turkey, beyond the shadow of the cross. They no
longer felt safe even in Italy, since the popes, against
their own higher convictions, allowed themselves to
be overborne concerning the Inquisition. In Turkey
a little Jewish world was thus by degrees formed, on
which even the sultan's despotic rule did not en-
croach, however much individuals might be exposed
to arbitrary treatment. Here, as in Palestine, where
numbers and prosperity had raised them in their own
estimation, they could indulge in dreams of obtain-
ing some degree of independence, might strive for
national and religious unity, and hope to realize their
wild Messianic fancies. The career of the Mantuan
martyr, Solomon Molcho, did not fail to leave an
impression ; his words echoed in the ears of his
brethren. At Safet, the largest congregation in

530 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. XVI.

Palestine, where he had made a long stay, forming
intimate relations and awakening hopes, the fulfill-
ment of his Messianic predictions was looked for
even after his death. The completion of the round
number 5300 from the creation of the world (1540)
seemed to be a suitable year for the coming of
the Messiah. But the Messianic period, accord-
ing to then prevailing ideas, would not come sud-
denly; the Israelites had to do their part in preparing
the way. Maimuni, the highest authority, had taught
that the Messianic time would or must be preceded
by the establishment of a universally recognized
Jewish court of justice, or Synhedrion. Hence the
necessity was felt of having authorized and duly
appointed judges, such as existed at the time of the
Temple and the Talmud in Palestine, of re-introdu-
cing, in fact, the long-disused ordination (Semichah).
There was no hindrance to be feared from the Turk-
ish state. As it was, the rabbis had their own civil
and even criminal jurisdiction; but these rabbis (who
were also judges), being appointed by the commu-
nity, had not the warrant of authority required by
Talmudic rules. Obedience was given them, but
they also met with opposition. Authority was con-
ventional, not built on the foundation of Talmudic
Judaism. No unity of legislation and exposition of
the Law was possible while every rabbi was absolute
in his own congregation, not subject to some higher
authority. It was, therefore, a need of the times to
create a sort of religious supreme court, and where
should that be done but in Palestine? The sacred
memories connected with that country could alone
lend the dignity of a Synhedrion to a college of
rabbis. Teaching that was to meet with universal
acceptance could proceed from Zion alone, and the
word of God only from Jerusalem.

How excellent and necessary it was to re-intro-
duce the ordination of rabbis by a higher authority
had been discussed by many, but only one, the acute-

CH. XVI. ORDINATION RE-ESTABUSHED. 531

minded but obstinate and daring Jacob Berab, had
the energy to set about doing the thing. After much
journeying from Egypt to Jerusalem, and thence to
Damascus, Berab, in his old age, settled at Safet
He was in good circumstances, and, owing to his
wealth and intellect, enjoyed marked respect and
consideration. He determined to give a definite
direction to the aimless ideas floating in men's minds
with regard to the coming of the Messiah. This was
certainly a praiseworthy aim, but some little ambi-
tion was undoubtedly mixed up in his plan : to be him-
self the highest authority, perhaps the chief of the
Synhedrion in Palestine, and consequently revered
throughout the East, and even by the whole Jewish
•ace. The first step was difficult. Ordination could be
lawfully given only by those who themselves had
been ordained, and there had been no such for a very
long time. An utterance of Maimuni happily offered
ground for a new departure, viz., when wise men
gathered together in Palestine shall agree to ordain
one of their number, they have the right to do so,
and the ordained rabbi can also ordain others. At
that time no community in Palestine, in point of
numbers, could compare with Safet, which had grown
through frequent immigrations till it contained more
than I ,(X)0 Jewish families. Safet, or rather the
Talmudists of that city, therefore, had it in their own
hands, if they could only agree, to re-establish the dig-
nity of the Synhedrion, even in the face of opposition
from other congregations, because the Safet party
was in the majority. The officiating and non-offici-
ating rabbis of Safet, men without name or fame,
had far too high a respect for Berab's intellectual
power, Talmudic learning, and wealth, to gainsay his
proposition, or put any obstacle in his path. A hint
from him sufficed to bring together five and twenty
men ready to confer on him the dignity of an or-
dained judge and rabbi. Thus ordination was re-
established (1538), and the focus for a new Synhe-

^9 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. XVI.

drion determined. It rested with Jacob Berab to
ordain as many colleagues as he pleased. From
principles laid down in the Talmud he demonstrated
in a lecture the legality of the step, and confuted
every possible objection. One after another, Tal-
mudists in other congregations in Palestine an-
nounced their assent to this innovation. By this
step Berab and his followers thought that they had
reached the first stage of preparation for the Mes-
sianic age. In fact, this renewal of ordination, if
not able to bring about the Messianic times, might
very well have been the nucleus of Jewish unity. A
re-established Synhedrion in the Holy Land would
have had a grand sound in Europe, might have
exercised special attraction, and brought still more
immigrants to Palestine. Persecutions of Jews in
Italy and Germany, the war of extermination against
Marranos in Spain and Portugal, a thirst for what
was eccentric and out of the common in an age dis-
tinguished by strongly excited longing for the Mes-
siah, all this would have been sufficient inducement
to allure rich, educated Jews from western lands to
the East. With the help of their capital, and
founded on the authority of a Synhedrion, a Jewish
community having the character of a state might
have been organized, and Berab was the right per-
son to carry out so great a scheme with perseverance
— not to say stubbornness.

But difficulties immediately arose. It was to be
expected that if the congregation at Jerusalem and
its representatives were not consulted with regard
to an act so pregnant with consequences, there
would be danger that the whole arrangement would
be declared null and void, for the Holy City should
have the first vote in a matter of such weight for the
Holy Land. Jacob Berab saw this perfectly well,
and proposed, as the first exercise of his newly-
acquired dignity, to ordain the head of the Jerusa-
lem college of rabbis. Levi ben Jacob Chabib, who

CH. XVI. LEVI BEN CHABIB. 533

held that position, was born in Zamora, and was of
about the same age as Berab. As a youth, in the
times of forced baptism, under King Manoel, he had
become a pseudo-Christian, received a baptismal
name, made the sign of the cross, and performed
other ceremonies of the Catholic Church with a heart
full of despair. At the first favorable opportunity
he fled from Portugal, cast off his assumed garb of
Christianity, sought safety in Turkey, and finally
betook himself to Jerusalem. There, by virtue
of the wide range of his Talmudic learning, more
extensive than profound, he became as rabbi
the first person in the community. He deserved
its gratitude by caring for the physical and spir-
itual welfare of his congregation, especially for
piloting it through the disturbed state into which
it was in danger of falling afresh through the
new arrivals from various countries, who were dis-
inclined to submit to law and order. Levi ben
Chabib had also some knowledge of mathematics,
astronomy, and the calculation of the calendar. Be-
tween himself and Jacob Berab, with whom he had
lived for some time in Jerusalem, there was no
friendly relationship. On several occasions they
had come into collision, though Levi ben Chabib had
always behaved in a friendly, unassuming manner,
and avoided whatever might wound his opponent.
Their relations of late years had been more intimate,
but Levi ben Chabib could not forget how slightingly
Jacob Berab had treated him.

And now, as chief rabbi of Jerusalem, he was in-
vited to recognize the election of Jacob Berab as the
first lawfully ordained rabbi-judge, member of the
Synhedrion, and by his consent to approve of the
same. Jerusalem was thereby subordinated to Safet,
and he himself to Jacob Berab. This was a real
offense, for Berab had not thought it worth while to
ask the consent of the Jerusalem college beforehand,
but had haughtily made his innovation known through

534 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. XVI.

a decree, in which, by virtue of the dignity conferred
upon him, he designated Levi ben Chabib an or-
dained judge. At the same time he had made it
evident that disapproval from Jerusalem would dis-
turb him but little, since it could only be regarded
as the opposition of a minority to the majority at
Safet. The moment for taking an important step
towards Jewish unity had come, and it found Levi
ben Chabib, whose vote at all events was of import-
ance, wanting in magnanimity. Resentment gained
the upper hand ; he forgot that in earlier days it had
been also his desire to re-establish the ordination of
rabbis. As soon as a notification of the act at Safet
reached him, he immediately and emphatically de-
clared himself against the election. His antagonism
seems, however, to have found no response in Jerusa-
lem, for only one of his rabbinical colleagues, Moses
de Castro, adopted his view, the remainder acquiesced
in Berab's action. In Talmudical and rabbinical law
arguments could not fail to be discoverable against
the revival of ordination and the Synhedrion. Such
a confused host of opinions exists therein, that argu-
ments may be found for or against almost anything.
Berab and the electors obedient to his nod themselves
furnished their opponents with an objection. Rabbini-
cal Judaism is so thoroughly practical that it offers no
foothold for romantic enthusiasm and sentimentality.
The Jews of Safet dared not give utterance to their
underlying hope that through ordination the Messi-
anic time would be brought nearer. Though the
rabbis might be filled with Messianic hopes, such a
motive for the re-introduction of ordination would
have sounded too fantastic and ridiculous in their
own ears. Other plausible grounds were not just
then to be found. The calendar of festivals, which
had formerly been prepared by ordained members
of the college, had been fixed for a thousand years,
and could not now be meddled with. Other cases
where the Talmud required an ordained judge were

CH. XVI. OPPOSITION TO BERAB. 535

of too rare occurrence to permit that the necessity
of ordination be proved on that head. The people
of Safet, therefore, made the most of a reason meant
to appear practical and suited to the times, which
was nevertheless very far-fetched. Many Marranos
were to be found in Palestine who had been forced
during their outward assumption of Christianity to
commit what according to the Talmud were deadly
sins. With contrite hearts they repented of their
transgressions, and longed for forgiveness and atone-
ment— they had not given up the Catholic doctrine
of outward penance when they cast off the mask of
Christianity. Such forgiveness of sins, however
(Berab made it appear), could be theirs only when
the scourging prescribed by the Law (39 stripes)
was inflicted ; again, this punishment could be de-
creed only by a lawfully ordained college. Therein
lay the necessity for ordination.

If Levi ben Chabib was disposed to extend his
antipathy from the originator to the execution of his
work, there would be no difficulty in proving this
reason for the scheme invalid. Not content with
this, he brought forward a host of sophistries.
Jacob Berab had not expected such antagonism at
Jerusalem from Levi ben Chabib and his colleague,
Moses de Castro, because he credited them either
with less courage or more self-denial, and it embit-
tered him extremely. It was all the more painful to
him since their opposition was calculated to wreck
his whole undertaking. How could he hope to
prove it acceptable to Asiatic, European, and African
Jews, when Jerusalem, the Holy City, would have
none of it ? And without such acceptance, how
could he make it the central point of a re-organiza-
tion ? Besides, his life was in danger at Safet, prob-
ably through denunciation to the Turkish authorities,
who were willing to grasp at any opportunity to get
hold of his property. Berab had to leave Palestine
for a time. He consecrated four Talmudists, as

53^ HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. XVI.

Judah ben Baba had done in Hadrian's time, so that
the practice of ordination might not immediately fall
to the ground. These four were chosen not from
the elder, but from the younger rabbis, among them
Joseph Karo, the enthusiastic adherent of Solomon
Molcho and his Kabbalistic Messiahship, who en-
tered heart and soul into the ordination scheme.
Such preference, shown to younger and more pli-
able, if more gifted men, stirred up still more ill-will
in Jerusalem. The two rabbis of Palestine in the
epistles exchanged on the subject (written with a
view to publication) grew more and more bitter
against each other, so offensive indeed that the most
passionate excitement cannot excuse their language.
In reply to Levi ben Chabib's censorious remark ;
" One who is consecrated and ordained should have
not only learning, but holiness also," Jacob Berab
made a spiteful reference to Levi's compulsory adop-
tion of Christianity : " I have never changed my
name ; in the midst of distress and despair I kept
always in the way of the Lord." He upbraided Levi
ben Chabib with still having somewhat of Christian
dogma sticking to him. This thrust reached his
opponent's heart. The latter confessed that in the
day of forced baptisms in Portugal his name had
been changed, that he had been made a Chris-
tian, and that he had not been able to die for the
religion of his fathers. But he brought forward his
youth as an excuse ; he had not been twenty years
old, had remained a pseudo-Christian scarcely a
year, and he hoped that the flood of tears which he
had shed since then, and which he still shed, would
wipe out his sin before God. After this humiliation
Levi ben Chabib's violence against Berab knew no
bounds. He flung the grossest insults at him, and
declared that he hoped never more to meet him face
to face. Through this intemperate violence of the
chief rabbi of Jerusalem and Berab's death, which
followed immediately after (January, 1541), the sys-
tem of ordination fell to the ground.

CH. XVI. JOSEPH KARO. 537

Joseph Karo alone, one of the ordained, refused
to give in. This remarkable man, who later on had
so deep an influence on Jewish history (born 1488,
died 1575), when a child, was driven from Spain
with his parents. He early learned the bitter les-
sons of suffering, and after long traveling about,
came to Nicopolis in European Turkey. He studied
the text of the Mishnah so assiduously that he knew
it by heart. Later on Karo left Nicopolis to settle
at Adrianople, where, on account of his extraordi-
nary Talmudical learning, he was looked up to with
respect, and found disciples. In his thirtieth year
he undertook the gigantic work of furnishing Jacob
Asheri's Code with a commentary, authorities, and
corrections, to which he devoted twenty years of his
life (1522 — 1542). Twelve years more were spent in
a further revision (1542 — 1554). His imagination,
kept in entire inactivity by such a dry task, was fired
by the appearance of Solomon Molcho. That young
enthusiast from Portugal made so overpowering an
impression upon him, that Karo allowed himself to
be initiated into the tortuous mazes of the Kabbala
and to share Molcho's Messianic dreams. After this
time his mind was divided between dry rabbinical
scholarship and the fantastic ideas of the Kabbala.
He kept up a correspondence with Molcho during
the latter's stay in Palestine, and formed plans for
going thither himself. Like Molcho, he prepared
for a martyr's death, "as a burnt-sacrifice, an offering
made by fire, of a sweet savour unto the Lord," and
like Molcho, he had strange visions, which, accord-
ing to his belief, were inspired by some superior
being. This superior being (Maggid) was not an
angel, or an imaginary voice, but — oddly enough —
the Mishnah personified, who descended to him, and
generally at night whispered revelations, because he
had devoted himself to its service. Joseph Karo had
these visions (which he for the most part committed
to paper), not for a short period of time, but at in-

538 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH, XVI.

tervals, to the end of his Hfe, for nearly forty years.
Part of them were afterwards published, and it is
melancholy to see what havoc the Kabbala played
with the intellect of that day. The superior being
(or the Mishnah) laid the heaviest penances on Karo,
forbade him to indulge in meat and wine, and went
to the extent of prohibiting much drinking of water.
If he was guilty of any fault, sleeping too long, being
late at prayers, or slightly neglecting his study of
the Mishnah, the mother Mishnah appeared, and
made the most tender remonstrances. She certainly
made astonishing revelations to him. These pre-
dictions were far from being mere deceptions, but
were the promptings of a tumultuous epoch, or an
excited imagination, such as is found in the warm,
luxurious East oftener than in the cold, sober North.
Joseph Karo was so full of the thought that he
was called to play a part in Palestine, and die as a
martyr, during the time of preparation for the Mes-
siah as begun by Solomon Molcho, that he left
Adrianople. He stayed for some time at Salonica,
a place swarming with Kabbalists. At length, he
arrived in Safet, that nest of Kabbalists, with a com-
panion of like mind, Solomon Alkabez, a dull, spir-
itless writer, whose song of welcome for the Sabbath
bride (Lecha Dodi) has become more famous than
its author. At Safet, Joseph Karo experienced the
joy of seeing part of his fantastic dreams fulfilled ;
he was ordained by Berab as a member of the Syn-
hedrion. After Berab's death Karo dreamed of
nothing but his future greatness ; he was to bring
about ordination, and to be recognized by the sages
of Palestine and foreign countries as a patriarch
and leader of the Jews in Palestine. He would edu-
cate the best Talmudists, so that disciples of his
school only would be accepted. Everyone would
do him reverence as the holy likeness (Diokna Ka-
disha), and he would work miracles. Like Molcho,
he was to die a martyr's death, that the name of

CH. XVI. JOSEPH KARO'S CODE. 539

God might be hallowed ; but his resurrection would
soon afterwards follow, and he would enter into the
Messianic kingdom.

All these advantages and prerogatives were to
be won by a single achievement, which of itself
would make the Jews into one great people, and
gain him universal admiration. When his thor-
ough commentary on Jacob Asheri's Code was
completed, printed, published, and in circulation,
when he had elaborated a comprehensive code of
religious law grounded on that work, he would
surely be acknowledged as patriarch and lawgiver
in all Israel. His guardian angel had whispered to
him that he would be made worthy to train many
disciples and to see his writings printed and circu-
lated throughout Israel. Even the supernatural
worlds would ask, "Who is the man with whom
the King of kings is well pleased, the patriarch of
Palestine, the great writer of the Holy Land ? " He
would be enabled to publish his commentary, eluci-
dations, and decisions without fault or error.

Devoted piety, fantastical imagination, and some
degree of ambition inspired the author, who elabo-
rated, for the whole Jewish race, the final code of
religious law, destined to end all wavering, un-
certainty, and antagonism of opinion. Kabba-
listic enthusiasm combined with the Messianic
hopes excited by Solomon Molcho, and the cere-
mony of ordination administered by Berab, gave
Karo no rest, until by means of a comprehensive
written work he had accomplished these hopes, at
least so far as religious unity was concerned. Yet
several decades were to elapse before the Jewish
world received this gift, a colossal work which
required years for its completion, Joseph Karo's
astounding, incessant industry had to eke out lack
of genius. Such a work could be accomplished only
by religious devotion and inspiration united with a
fantastic imagination. Of all his lofty dreams one

540 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. XVI.

only was actually realized, that he would be chief
rabbi of Safet after Jacob Berab's death, and would
be acknowledged as a rabbinical authority, the lat-
ter coming about only gradually. But his authority
was not absolute ; he had a rival in Berab's best
disciple, Moses de Trani.

While the Jews of the East were rejoicing in a
measure of peace and independence, and were able
to indulge in Messianic speculations, and endeavor-
ing, although by mistaken means, to bring about
an ideal state of things, the Jews of the West were
subjected to fresh persecutions instituted against
them. The old accusations of their harmful influ-
ence upon mankind, their child-murder, their hostile
attitude towards Christianity, which had ceased for
a time during the excitement of the Reformation,
were again heard. The bigoted ecclesiastical policy,
espoused by those who sought to maintain their
position against the ever-increasing strength of
Lutheranism, reacted upon the Jews, and brought
fresh sufferings upon them, principally in Catholic
countries. To the old accusations was added a
new one, which prejudiced also Lutherans against
them. The Lutheran and Calvinistic Reformation,
which had extended into England and Poland, had
opened the eyes of many concerning religion and
Christianity, and led them to find much that even
the Reformers considered essentials of Christianity
to be false, mistaken, and blasphemous. The Bible
translated into most European languages gave
thoughtful readers an opportunity of forming a re-
ligious system for themselves differing wholly from
the dogmas of Rome, Wittenberg, or Geneva. In
reading the Bible the Old Testament came before
the New, and in the transition from one to the other
many perceived that much in the two was irrecon-
cilable ; that the doctrine of the unity of God in the
prophets was in direct contradiction to the doctrine
of the Trinity propounded by the Church Fathers.

CH. XVI. ANTI-TRINITARIANS. 541

Besides this, the Reformation had had in view not
only religious freedom, but also political deliverance
from the iron yoke of the princes, in whose eyes the
people were nothing, of importance only for the pay-
ment of taxes and the forced service of bondmen.
Now it struck not a few that the Hebrew Scriptures
make the people the source of all power, and con-
demn the despotism of kings, whilst evangelical
Christianity does not recognize a people, but only
humble believers, whom it exhorts to bow the neck
to the yoke of tyrants. The contrast between the
Old and the New Testament, the one teaching
active virtue toofether with a God-fearingf life, the
other glorifying passive virtue together with blind
faith, could not be overlooked by eyes sharpened
through deep research into the Bible.

Among the host of religious sects which the Refor-
mation called forth in the first decades, there arose
some which nearly approached Judaism, and whose
adherents were stigmatized by the ruling party as half-
Jews or Judaizers (Judaizantes, Semijudaei). These
found the doctrine of the Trinity a stumbling-block,
and maintained that God must be conceived as an
absolute Unity. Michael Servetus, an Aragonese,
perhaps instructed by Marranos in Spain, wrote a
pamphlet on the " Errors of the Doctrine of the
Trinity," which created a great sensation, and brought
him some faithful adherents ; but he was burnt at
the stake by Calvin at Geneva. The Reformers had
retained the fanatical intolerance of the Catholic
Church ! Notwithstanding this, a sect of believers
in the Unity (Unitarians, Anti-trinitarians) arose
which rejected the identification of Jesus with God.
In England, where Catholicism had been overthrown
only by the whim of a tyrant, Henry VIII, to gratify
his sensual desires, a religious-political party bei^an
to be formed, which proposed to take the Old Tes-
tament system of government and adapt it to Eng-
lish circumstances. It appeared to recognize only Old

542 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. XVI.

Testament types, and not to take any account of the
praying brethren and sisters of the New Testament.
Many kept the Sabbath as the day of rest appointed
by God, but with their windows closed. Some ec-
centric Christians conceived a predilection for the
Jews as the successors of the patriarchs, as the rem-
nant of that people whom God had once favored
with the fullness of His grace, as the direct descend-
ants of the great prophets, on this account deserv-
ing the highest respect.

Among the innumerable pamphlets appeared one,
a dialogue between a Jew and a Christian, in which
the grounds of the Christian dogmas wgvg over-
thrown by texts out of the Old Testament. Publica-
tions of this sort helped to make the Jews obnox-
ious to the Reformers, too. The adherents of the
new faith in a measure simulated hatred of Jews in
order to avert from themselves the suspicion that
they wished to undermine Christianity, and set up
Judaism in its place. The Jews, therefore, had ene-
mies on both sides, and were soon compelled to
relinquish the illusion that Catholicism was over-
thrown, and that the new religion was in sympathy
with them.

When the peasants of South Germany, Alsatia,
Franconia, and elsewhere, trusting too readily in
the evangelical freedom proclaimed by Luther, at-
tempted to throw off the yoke of their oppressors,
the few Jews in Germany found themselves between
two fires. On the one hand they were accused by
the nobility and the upper classes of supporting the
rebellious peasants and citizens with their money,
and egging them on; and, on the other, the peasants
attacked them as the confederates and abettors of
the rich and the nobility. The fanatical priest,
Balthasar Hubmaier, who had agitated the expulsion
of the Jews from Ratisbon, was the adviser of the
peasants of the Black Forest, and probably the
author of the twelve written demands (articles)

en. XVI. THE MARRANOS AT NAPLES. 543

which the peasants had proposed. Instead of be-
coming milder and more humane by his apostasy
from the Roman CathoHc, he became still more fana-
tical as an adherent of the Anabaptist faith. He
had no doubt excited the rage of the townspeople,
who wished to free themselves from their debts to
their Jewish creditors, and that of the peasants who
desired to enrich themselves with the property of
the Jews. The province of the Rheingau among
other things demanded that no Jew should be allowed
to remain in the district. The annals of the age of
the Reformation thus continue to present year after
year accounts of banishments, tortures, and restric-
tions. But, after all, times had improved. There
were no longer sudden attacks, massacres, wholesale
murders — simply expulsions, mere exile into pov-
erty. Only events of deep and far-reaching effect
can find a place here.

In Naples, where the Spaniards ruled, the ultra-
Catholic party had long tried to introduce the Inqui-
sition against the Marranos who resided there.
When Charles V returned from his victorious expe-
dition in Africa, this party tried to induce him to
banish the Jews from Naples, because the Marranos
were but strengthened in their unbelief by inter-
course with them But Donna Benvenida. the noble
wife of Samuel Abrabanel, who was held in high
respect by the Spaniards, so ardently entreated the
emperor to revoke the decree of banishment, and her
young friend, the daughter of the viceroy, so warmly
supported her request, that he could not refuse them.
It is also possible that Abrabanel's money may have
had something to do with it. But a few years after-
wards, Charles ordered the Neapolitan Jews to wear
the badge of shame on their dress, and in case of
transgression to suffer punishment in their person
and property, or leave the country. They chose
the latter alternative, probably by the advice of
Samuel Abrabanel. They probably realized that

544 HISTORY OF THE JEWS, CH. XVI.

persecution would not end there, but that it would
form the prelude to harsher treatment. But this
voluntary exile was turned into banishment, and
every Jew who should venture to show himself again
in Naples, was threatened with severe punishment
(1540 — 1541). Many turned their steps towards
Turkey, a few went to Ancona, under papal pro-
tection, or to Ferrara, under the rule of Duke Her-
cules II, who passed for a friend of the Jews. Those
who emigrated by sea suffered much hardship, and
many of them were taken by pirates, and carried to
Marseilles. The Marranos who were living there
did much for them, and King Henry II also treated
them humanely. As he could not keep them in his
country, he sent them in his ships to Turkey. Samuel
Abrabanel also left Naples, although he was offered
the exceptional license to remain there ; but he
refused to separate himself from the lot of his
unhappy co-religionists. He settled in Ferrara, and
lived there for about ten years. His noble wife,
highly respected by Leonora, the daughter of the
viceroy of Naples, now the Duchess of Tuscany,
survived him.

A year later, the Jews of Bohemia experienced a
milder, so to speak, more decent form of hatred.
There had been many fires in the towns, especially
in Prague. The Jews and shepherds were accused
of having hired incendiaries. The Jews were also
charged with having betrayed to the sultan the secret
preparations for war against the Turks. The Bo-
hemian diet therefore resolved to banish all Jews
from Bohemia, and King Ferdinand, brother of
Charles V, gave his assent. They were compelled
to start on their exile with all their belongings (Adar,
1542), for of the numerous Jews of Prague only ten
persons or families received permission to remain
there. Many of them found their way into Poland
and Turkey, then the two most tolerant countries.
The innocence of those who had suffered death, and

CH. XVI. THE BLOOD ACCUSATION. 545

of the banished Jews, was established in the course
of the same year. A few of the notables inter-
ceded for their recall, for they were more indis-
pensable than trade jealousy, fanaticism, and the
hatred of race would confess. Thus those who had
settled near the Bohemian frontier were able to
return to their home. But for this favor they were
obliged to pay a tax of 300 schock groschen, and
were ordered to wear a badge of yellow cloth as a
mark by which they might be distinguished.

At the same time two persons of exalted rank
and great influence, the one on the Catholic, the
other on the Protestant side, attacked the Jews so
mercilessly, that it is a marvel that they were not
exterminated to a man. The cause of provocation
in one instance was as follows : — About Easter, a
peasant boy, four years old, from the duchy of
Neuburg in Bavaria, was missed, and suspicions
arose that he was with the Jews. After Easter the
boy was discovered by means of a dog, and enemies
of the Jews pretended to see signs of Jewish tor-
ture on his body. Upon this the bishop of Eichstadt
caused certain Jews to be seized and dragged to his
residence that they might be tried, and sent a re-
quest to the neighboring princes to seize the Jews
in their domains. But the inquiry did not prove the
guilt of the Jews. On this occasion Duke Otto
Henry of Neuburg warmly espoused the cause of
the Jews, and exerted his influence to oppose the
bishop of Eichstadt. The latter moved heaven and
earth to have them banished at least, A courageous
writer, probably at the suggestion of the duke, boldly
defended the Jews against the prejudice of Chris-
tians in a pamphlet. This publication, "Little Book
about the Jews," the author of which was a Lutheran
pastor (perhaps Hosiander), for the first time placed
the whole falsehood and malice of the accusation of
the murder of Christian children in a clear light.
The author, who professed to have had much inter-

54^ HI^tORY OF THE JEWS. CH. XVI.

course with Jews, and to have become thoroughly
acquainted with their language, laws, and customs,
declared emphatically that a shameful injustice was
done to Jews by these perpetual accusations of
child-murder. The wealth and the pure faith of the
Jews were the reasons. On the one hand, avaricious
and cruel princes, or impoverished nobles or citizens,
who owed money to Jews, invented such tales in
order to be able to use violence against them ; and
on the other, such fables were invented by monks
and the secular clergy in order to make new saints
and fresh shrines for the encouragement of pilgrim-
ages. In the long period since the dispersion of the
Jews among Christians, no one had asserted, till
within the last 300 years, that they had murdered
Christian children. These idle tales had become cur-
rent only since monks and priests practiced so much
deception with pilgrimages and miraculous healings.
For the priests feared no one more than Jews,
because the latter disregarded human invention, and
understood the Scripture better than the priests,
who, therefore, persecuted the Jews to the utmost,
slandered them, and caused them to be hated. They
even wished to burn their sacred books. Therefore,
it was fair to assume that priests had invented the
story of the murder of the child in the province
of Neuburg. The author further points out that till
the third century the Christians were accounted
child-murderers and shedders of blood in the heathen
world. The confessions of Jews themselves, which
were quoted in confirmation of the accusations, had
been made under torture, and could not be received
as evidence.

Fanatical Catholic priests, especially the bishop
of Eichstadt, saw with indignation that Jews, in-
stead of being abhorred and persecuted, were glori-
fied in this book, and hastened to efface the impres-
sion. Dr. John Eck, so notorious in the history of
the Reformation, a favorite of the bishop of Eich-

CH. XVI. DR. ECK'S LIBEL. 547

stadt, was commissioned to write an answer, to
prove the crime of bloodguiltiness, and to defame
the Jews. This lawyer-theologian, with the broad
shoulders of a butcher, the voice of a seditionist, and
the disputativeness of a sophist, who had brought
the Catholic Church, which he intended to defend
against the Lutherans, into discredit by his vanity
and his intemperate habits, this unprincipled dispu-
tant gladly undertook to belabor the Jews. In 1541
he wrote a hostile reply to the above-mentioned
pamphlet, in which he set himself to prove " the evil
and wickedness brought about by Jews in all the
German territories and other kingdoms." He
revived the old accusations against baptized Jews,
patched together old wives' tales about the cruel
nature of the Jews, raked up the false stories about
Trent and Ratisbon uttered by Jews when under-
going torture, and added his own experiences to
them. Eck was so shameless as to bring proofs of
the cruelty of the Jewish character from the Old
Testament. To cast infamy upon them he even
slandered the Old Testament heroes held sacred by
the church. In verbose language and with a false
show of learning he maintained that Jews muti-
lated the children of Christians, and used their blood
in the consecration of their priests, to assist their
wives in child-birth, and to heal sickness ; and that
they desecrated the host. He exclaimed indignantly :
" It is a great mistake that we Christians leave the
Jews so much freedom, and grant them protection
and security." Probably on the petition of Jews
against these accusations, the emperor, Charles V,
renewed their privileges, and declared them innocent
of shedding the blood of Christians.

It is not edifying to find that Luther, the champion
against obsolete prejudices, the founder of a new
faith, agreed completely on the subject of Jews
with his mortal enemy. Dr. Eck, who, with the same
effrontery, had employed similar falsehood against

543 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. XVI.

himself. These two passionate opponents were of
one heart and soul in their hatred of Jews. Luther
had become gready embittered with advancing age.
He had lost much among his own followers by his
obstinacy and persistent caviling, had disturbed the
unanimity of those of the same way of thinking, and
in his own camp created a breach which caused in-
finite harm to the Reformation for several centuries.
His hard disposition had steadily gained the mastery
over his gentle religion and humility, and his monk-
ish narrowness could not at all comprehend Judaism
with its laws, which brought forth and developed not
the faith, but the morality and elevation, of man. He
became enraged when his colleagues, Karlstadt,
Munzer, etc., referred for example to the year of
Jubilee, and the enfranchisement of the slaves and
serfs. A pamphlet, in the form of a dialogue, in
which Judaism was involved in a contest with Chris-
tianity, probably written by a Christian, was now
sent to him ; this was too much for him. Could
Judaism be so bold as to think of measuring itself
againstChristianity! Lutheratoncesetaboutwriting
a passionate, stinging pamphlet, "Concerning the
Jews and their Lies" (1542), which, in spitefulness,
exceeded the writings of Pfefferkorn and Eck.

Luther began by saying that he had made up
his mind not to write anything further about Jews,
nor against them, but because he had learnt
that " this miserable, wicked people " dared entice
Christians to join them, he wished to warn weak-
minded men not to allow themselves to be be-
fooled. Luther's principal argument, in proof of
the truth of Christianity against the denial of the
Messiahship of Jesus by the Jews, is written in very
monkish style. Because the Christians, for more
than a thousand years, had robbed them of all the
rights of man, had treated them as evil beasts,
had trodden them under foot, lacerated, and slain
them; in a word, because they had fallen into dis-

CH. XVI. Luther's hatred of jews. 549

tress through the harshness of Christians, there-
fore, they must be rejected, and .the Saviour of the
world must have appeared L ' /'/^- - -

This is mediaeval Jpgic.^ But it exceeds the
limits of indulgence towards the peculiarities of a
strong character, when Luther, in his unchari-
tableness towards Jews, employs language such as
was usual with those who burnt Jews at the stake.
" Why should the Jews complain of hard captivity
among us ? " he says. " We Christians suffered per-
secution and martyrdom at their hands for nearly
3CX) years, so ttiat we might well complain that they
took us captive and killed us. And to this very day
we know not what devil brought them into our land "
(as if Jews_had not dwelt in some districts of what /
is now Germany long before Germans were there).
^''We did not bring them from Jerusalem ; besides
that, no one keeps them : the country and the roads
are open to them, let them return to their own land.
We will gladly give them presents, if we can but be
rid of them, for they are a heavy burden upon us,
a plague, a pestilence, a sore trial." Luther, like
Pfefferkorn and Eck, stated with malicious delight
how the Jews were often driven out by violence
"from France and recently from Spain by our beloved
Emperor Charles (an historical blunder); this year
also from the entire dominion of Bohemia, although
one of their securest nests was in Prague; also from
Ratisbon, Magdeburg, and many other places in
my time."

Without appreciation of the heroic patience
displayed by Jews in the midst of hostility, and
untaught by history, Luther did nothing but repeat
the lying accusations of the vindictive Pfefferkorn,
whose falsehood and villainy had been palpably
proved by the Humanists. In imitation of this
arch-enemy of the Jews he wrote that the Talmud
and the rabbis taugrht that it was no sin to kill the.
Goyim, that is, heathens .aLiid_jCj[ij:i

550 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. XVI.

oath to them, or rob and plunder them, and that
the one and only aim of Jews was to weaken the
Christian religion. It is incomprehensible that
Luther, who had taken the part of the Jews so
strongly in the heat of the Reformation, could repeat
all the false tales about the poisoning of the springs,
the murder of Christian children, and the use of
human blood. He also maintained, in agreement
with Eck, from whom in other respects he was so
widely divided, that the Jews were too prosperous in
Germany, and in consequence had become insolent.
What is to be done with this wicked, accursed race,
which can no longer be tolerated? asked Luther,
and he gave an answer to the question which shows
equal want of charity and wisdom. First of all
the reformer of Wittenberg recommended that the
synagogues be reduced to ashes, "to the honor of
God and of Christianity." Next, Christians were
to destroy the houses of the Jews, and drive them
i all under one roof, or into a stable like gypsies. All

I prayer-books and copies of the Talmud and the

fg Old Testament were to be taken from them by force
(as Luther's opponents, the Dominicans, had ad-
vised), and even praying and the use of God's name
(. were to be forbidden under penalty of death. Their

rabbis were to be forbidden to teach. The author-
ities were to prohibit the Jews from traveling, and
to bar the roads against them, so that they must stay
at home. Luther advised that their money be taken
from them, and that this confiscated wealth be
employed to establish a fund to maintain those Jews
who should embrace Christianity. The authorities
were to compel able-bodied Jews and Jewesses to
forced labor, and to keep them strictly employed with
the flail, the axe, the spade, the distaff and spindle,
so that they might earn their bread in the sweat
of their brow, and not live in idleness, feasting,
and splendor. Christians were not to show any
tender mercy to Jews. Luther urged the emperor

CH. XVI. LUTHER At)VISES VIOLENT MEASURES. $$t

and the princes to expel them from the country
without delay, and drive them back into their own
land. But anticipating that the princes would not
consent to such folly, he exhorted the clergy and
teacFers of the people to fill the minds of their
hearers with hatred of Jews. He observed that
if he had power over Jews, he would assemble
the best and most learned among them, and, under
penalty of having their tongues cut out, force
them to accept the Christian teaching, that there
is not c?ne God, but that there are ^Aree Gods.
Luther even stirred up the robber-nobles against
them. He had heard that a rich Jew was traveling
through Germany with twelve horses. This Jew was
known as the wealthy Michael, of Frankfort, the
protege of the Margrave of Brandenburg; if the
princes did not close the road against him and his
fellow-believers, Luther urged the robber-knights to
do so, for Christians might learn from his pamphlet
how depraved was the Jewish nation. These absurd
charges Luther ascribed to a worthless convert,
Anton Margaritha, the son of a rabbi of Ratisbon.
He had become a Catholic, and being punished on
account of calumnies, had turned Lutheran, and writ-
ten a foolish book against the Jews, and from this
book Luther had taken his unjust attacks upon them.
Shortly before his death he exhorted his hearers
itfa sermon to drive out the Jews:

" Besides all this you still hare the Jews, who do great evil in the
land. If they could kill us all, they would gladly do so, aye, and often
do it, especially those who profess to be physicians— they know all
that is known about medicine in Germany ; they can give poison to a
man of which he will die in an hour, or in ten or twenty years ; they
thoroughly understand this art. I say to you lastly, as a countryman,
if the Jews refuse to be converted, we ought not to suffer them, or
bear with them any longer."

In the reformer and regenerator of Germany,
then, the Jews had almost a worse enemy than in
the Pfefferkorns, Hoogstratens, and Ecks, certainly
worse than in the popes till the middle of the cent-

552 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. XVI.

ury. But few heeded the words of those wretches,
known to be sophists and Hars, while Luther's un-
charitable utterances were respected as oracles by
the Christians of the new faith, and but too well
followed out. As Jerome had infected the Catholic
world with his openly avowed hatred of Jews, so
Luther poisoned the Protestant world for a long
time to come with his Jew-hating testament. Prot-
estants became even more bitter against Jews than
Catholics had been. The leaders of Catholicism
demanded absolute submission to canonical law,
but on this condition granted them permission to
remain in Catholic countries ; Luther, on the other
hand, required their absolute expulsion. The popes
often issued exhortations to spare the synagogues ;
but the founder of the Reformation insisted upon
their desecration and destruction. It was reserved
for him to place Jews on a level with gypsies.
This difference arose from the fact that the popes
occupied the highest rank in life, and dwelt in Rome,
the metropolis of the world, the center of affairs in
the four quarters of the globe; thus they had no
eye for petty events, and usually left the Jews unnot-
iced because of their small importance. Luther, on
the other hand, who lived in a petty country town
and amidst narrow surroundings, listened to all the
gossip against Jews, judged them by the measure of
a country bumpkin, and reckoned up every farthing
that they earned against them. He, therefore, was
the cause of their being expelled by Protestant
princes. In Roman Catholic states the Dominicans
alone were their deadly enemies.

This hatred followed the Jews even into Turkey.
If there were neither Roman Catholics nor Protest-
ants, there were Greek Catholic Christians. Turks
and Greeks lived together in the towns of both
Greece and Asia Minor. The latter, who would
not give up their arrogance, but dared not display
it towards the ruling Turks, persecuted the Jews

CH. XVI. PERSECUTIONS IN TURKEY. 553

with silent hatred, and took advantage of every
opportunity to draw upon them the persecution of
the government. On one occasion some of them
gave rise to a persecution in the town of Amazia in
Asia Minor. They caused a poor Greek, who was
in the habit of associating with Jews, and had
been supported by them, to disappear, and then
accused some Jews of having murdered him. Here-
upon the Turkish cadis seized the accused, put
them to the torture, and forced them to acknowl-
edge the murder. They were hanged, and a re-
spected Jewish physician, Jacob Abi-Ayub, was
burnt (about 1545). A few days afterwards a Jew
recognized the Greek supposed to have been mur-
dered, induced him to tell how he had been made
to disappear, and brought him before the cadi. The
latter, justly incensed against the malicious Greek
accusers, had them executed. A similar accusation,
the falseness of which was brought to light, was
lodged against a Jew of the town of Tokat at about
the same time.

These cruel occurrences suggested to Moses
Hamon, Sultan Solyman's Jewish physician, to obtain
a decree from the sultan that an accusation against
Jews in Turkey of having murdered a Christian, and
other malicious calumnies, should not be brougrht
before the ordinary judges, but before the sultan
himself

Hatred against Jews, restrained in Turkey, raged
the more openly in Christian countries. The repub-
lic of Genoa for a long time had not suffered a Jew
to remain more than three days within its bounda-
ries. Notwithstanding this, fugitives from Spain or
Provence from time to time were received in the town
of Novi, near Genoa ; they went in and out of the
capital itself, and were suffered to remain there. In
the party differences between the patrician families,
the little community, repulsed by the one side, was
taken up by the other. Most of them were intelli-

SS4 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. XVt.

gent artisans, capitalists, or physicians. But again
the Dominicans stirred up the people against
them, and roused the professional jealousy of Chris-
tian physicians. Contrary to the wishes of Doge
Doria, the Jews were driven out of Genoa (April,
1550), and, heralded by the sound of trumpets, a
proclamation was made that henceforth no Jews
should be suffered. This expulsion from Genoa is
of importance, because a clever Jewish historian was
included in it, whose fate represents in miniature the
painful lot experienced by the Jewish race on a large
scale.

The vicissitudes in the life of the nations, as
well as the changes in the life of the Jewish people,
especially since their cruel expulsion from Spain and
Portugal, and the heardess persecution of the Marra-
nos, at length brought some clear-seeing Jews to the
conviction that history is not ruled by chance, but
that a higher hand guides it, bringing to pass destined
events by bloodshed and tears. Since the time of
the crusades, no century had been richer in change-
ful, almost dramatic, events than the sixteenth, when
not only fresh continents were discovered, but when
a new spirit began to prevail among mankind, striv-
ing after new creations, but always kept down by
the leaden weight of existing systems. This wealth
of occurrences taught a few thoughtful Jews, mostly
of Sephardic origin, to trace the work of Providence
in the apparently whimsical and irregular course of
universal and Jewish history. They considered his-
tory a comfort to that portion of mankind which had
been overthrown, overridden, and downtrodden by
the tumultuous course of events. And what race
stood in more need of consolation than the Jewish,
a martyr people apparently born only for sorrow,
always eating its bread in tears? Almost atone
and the same time, three enlightened Jews under-
took the task of studying history, and placing before
the Jewish reading world its brazen tables. These

CH. XVI. JOSEPH COHEN, HISTORIAN. 555

were the physician, Joseph Cohen, the learned Tal-
mudist, Joseph Ibn-Verga, and the poet, Samuel
Usque. All three began with the same fundamental
idea. The spirit of the prophets, which recognized
in the course of -historical events the fittest means
for instruction and improvement, had come upon
them, incontestably showing that Jews even in their
degradation are not like the gypsy rabble, neither
having nor knowing a history ; that, in fact, they
stood higher than those who wielded the scepter
and the sword, the rack and the club, for the subjuga-
tion of mankind.

The greatest of these historians was Joseph ben
Joshua Cohen (born at Avignon, 1496, died 1575).
His ancestors had come from Spain at the great
expulsion, his father Joshua emigrating to Avignon,
and thence moving to Novi, in Genoese terri-
tory. For a while he lived in Genoa, and was ex-
pelled thence. Joseph Cohen had studied medicine,
devoting himself both to the theory and the practice.
He appears to have been family physician to the
doge, Andrea Doria. His heart beat warmly for
his Jewish brethren, and he was zealous in his
endeavors to lighten their unhappy lot. He once
exerted himself to obtain the release of a father
and son, cast into prison by the heartless Gian-
nettino Doria, nephew and presumptive heir to
the doge. But he succeeded in delivering only the
father, the son did not escape till the stormy night
of Fiesco's conspiracy. At the last expulsion from
Genoa (1550), the inhabitants of the little town of
Voltaggio begged him to settle amongst them as a
physician, and he lived there for eighteen years.
But histor)' attracted him more than the practice of
medicine, and he began to search for chronicles in
order to write a sort of universal history in the form
of annals. He began with the period of the decline
of the Roman empire and the formation of the
modern states, and represented the course of the

55^ HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. XVI.

world's history as a struggle between Asia and
Europe, between the Crescent and the Cross ; the
former represented by the then powerful dominion
of Turkey ; the latter, by France, which had set up
Charlemagne, the first emperor of a^Christian realm.
He connected the whole of European history with
these two groups of nations. He included all the
events and wars of Christendom, and of the Maho-
metan countries in " The Annals of the Kings of
France and of the House of Othman," the title of
his historical work. In the history of his own times,
which he either witnessed himself, or obtained from
the experience of contemporaries, he is an impartial
narrator, and, therefore, his work is a trustworthy
source of information. The Hebrew historical style,
borrowed from the best books of the Bible, renders
his account most forcible. The Biblical language
and dramatic style give a charm to the work, and
raise it above the level of a dry chronicle.

Joseph Cohen introduced the history of the vari-
ous persecutions of the Jews at the different periods
when they occurred. His chief aim was to point out
the justice of God in the course of history, showing
how violence and cunning met with their desert, and
were cast down from the height attained. He sym-
pathized with the sorrows which he described ; there-
fore, he often wrote with intense bitterness.

Very different is another historical work of the
same period, upon which three generations, father,
son, and grandson, were employed. Judah Ibn-Verga,
Kabbalist and astronomer, a member of the distin-
guished Ibn-Verga family, related to the Abrabanels,
had noted down in a book some of the persecutions
which Jews had undergone in different countries
and at various times. Solomon Ibn-Verga, who had
witnessed the expulsion of the Jews from Spain and
Portugal, and who for a time had pretended to be a
Christian, and then emigrated to Turkey as a Mar-
rano, added several narratives to his father's notes.

CH. XVI. "SHEBET JEHUDA.' 557

He understood the Latin language, and so borrowed
and added fresh material from various Latin docu-
ments. His son, Joseph Ibn-Verga, who belonged
to the college of rabbis at Adrianople, completed
the work by adding some of the events of his own
times and the age immediately preceding, and then
published the whole under the title of "Judah's Rod
of Correction" (Shebet Jehuda). Joseph Ibn-Verga
was also learned in Latin, and incorporated many
narratives from Latin documents. This martyr-
ology of the Ibn-Vergas, then, is not a unit, but
a medley without plan or-order, destitute even of
chronological sequence. Imaginary conversations
between Jews and Spanish or Portuguese kings are
given as having actually taken place. But the He-
brew style is brilliant and graceful, without possess-
ing biblical coloring like that of the historical works
of Elias Kapsali and Joseph Cohen. Ibn-Verga
sought (towards the end of the first part) to show
the reason why the Jewish race, above all the Span-
ish Jews, were visited with so many intolerable trials,
and found it in the preference once shown for the
Jewish nation: "Whom God loves most He chas-
teneth most." But the chief sources of persecution
were to be found in the division between Jews and
Christians in the matter of food and drink, in the
revenge taken by Christians for the crucifixion
of Jesus Christ, in the offenses of Spanish Jews
against Christian women, in the envy of their riches,
and in the false oaths of which they were guilty.
Ibn-Verga did not conceal the faults of his race;
perhaps he exaggerated them. Joseph Ibn-Verga
added a heartfelt prayer about the numerous suf-
ferings which Israel had undergone, and was still
enduring, the last causing the first to be forgot-
ten. All the nations of the world were united in
hatred to this race ; all creatures in heaven and on
earth allied in enmity against it ; before a Jewish
child began to prattle it was pursued by hatred and

558 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. XVI.

scorn. "We are despised like the lowest worms ;
may God soon fulfill His promises to His people."
The most original of the three historians, as well as
of the three Usques, probably belonging to the same
family, was Samuel, who had no doubt fled from the
fire of the Inquisition in Portugal. He settled with
his relations in Ferrara. Like Solomon Usque,
known under his Spanish name of Duarte Gomez,
he was a poet, but his muse did not occupy herself
with foreign material, with imitations and adaptations,
but created something original and peculiar. The
brilliant and tragical history of the Israelite people
had great attraction for him; it did not exist merely
as a lifeless mass of learning in his memory, but
lived in his heart as a fresh bubbling spring from
which he drew comfort and inspiration. Biblical
history with its heroes, kings, and men of God, the
history subsequent to the Captivity,with its alterna-
tions of splendid victory and unhappy overthrow, the
history since the destruction of the Jewish rule by
the Romans, all the events and changes of these
three periods were present to Samuel Usque's mind.
The material gathered from many sources he trans-
formed by the breath of poetry into a long, most
touching lament and consolation in the Portuguese
language, not in verse, but in elevated prose, more
charming than a poetic garb. It is a conversation
of three shepherds, Icabo, Numeo, and Zicareo, the
first of whom laments with bitter tears the tragical
fate of Israel since its appearance on the scene of
history; the other two pour the balm of comfort into
the broken heart of the unhappy shepherd, and show
him that these sufferings are the necessary steps to
the attainment of a glorious goal. Samuel Usque
named this historical dialogue, "Consolation for the
Sorrows of Israel." By his vivid picture of the Jewish
past, he intended to give to the Portuguese fugitives
in Ferrara and elsewhere, who had again attached
themselves to Judaism, comfort in their great sor-

CH. XVI. SAMUEL USQUE. 559

row and suffering, and lead them to look forward to
a happy future.

He represented the Israelite nation now as a
mourning widow, wringing her hands in lamenta-
tion, and weeping day and night over the sufferings
of her sons during thousands of years ; now as a
prophetess inspired by God, clothed in a radiant
robe, whose eye pierces the darkness, and sees a
glorious future, and whose lips utter wisdom, and
pour balm on burning wounds. Though he was not
a regular historian, yet no one has represented the
principal features of Jewish history from the earliest
times down to his own with so much light and life
as Samuel Usque.

The external form of this historico-poetical dia-
logue is as follows : the shepherd, Icabo (or Jacob,
the representative of the Jewish nation), laments in
a lonely spot the misery of his flock, dispersed
throughout all parts of the world, humiliated, and
torn in pieces. "To what quarter of the globe shall
I turn and find healing for my wounds, oblivion of
my sorrows, and comfort in this grievous, heavy
torment? The whole earth is full of my misery and
my distress. I am like a poor, heavy-laden pilgrim
in the midst of all the riches and delight of favored
Asia. Amid the wealth of the gold of sun-burnt
Africa, I am an unhappy, starving, fainting exile.
And Europe, Europe! my hell upon earth! what
shall I say of thee, thou who hast adorned thy
greatest triumphs with the limbs of my flock ? How
can I praise thee, Italy, thou blasphemous and war-
like land ! Thou who hast fed upon the flesh of my
lambs like a ravenous lion ! Ye accursed pastures
of France, which did furnish poisoned grass for my
flocks to feed on ! Thou proud, rough mountain-
land of Germany, which hast taken my young, and
dashed them in pieces from the tops of thy wild
Alps ! And you sweet, fresh streams of England,
from you my flocks have drunk only bitter, brackish

560 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. XVI.

waters ! Hypocritical, cruel, bloodthirsty Spain, in
you voracious and ravening wolves have devoured,
and still devour, my fleecy flocks ! " The two shep-
herds, Numeo and Zicareo, attracted by the heart-
rending lamentations of Icabo, induce him by much
persuasion to tell them his sorrow, and thus obtain
relief for his burdened heart. But not without a
struggle does he bring himself to do this. He then
describes to his two friends the former splendor of
his flock, and thus brings before their eyes the pros-
perous days of Israel. Then he passes to the trials
which God's flock has had to endure. Icabo is at
length induced by gentle persuasion to relate the
history of his unhappy race in detail, first its adverse
fortunes, and its exile during the existence of the
first Temple; then, in a second dialogue, the bitter-
ness endured, and the exile till the second destruc-
tion of the Temple by the Romans ; and in a third
dialogue, the sufferings of his people during the long
exile; the first forced baptism which Sisebut, king
of the Visigoths, imposed upon the Jews of Spain ;
the expulsion of the Jews from England and France,
Spain and Portugal ; the horrors of the Inquisition,
which Usque had himself beheld ; and lastly, the
desecration of a synagogue at Pesaro (1552). In
this manner does Icabo (or Samuel Usque) go
through the long range of Jewish history. He con-
cludes this summary of sorrows thus :

" Scarcely hadst thou ceased to drink of the poisoned cup of the
Babylonians, which had well-nigh proved fatal to thee, O Israel,
when thou wast revived to endure the torments inflicted by the Ro-
mans; and when this double misfortune, which so cruelly tore thee
in pieces, was at an end, thou wert indeed still living, but fast bound
to suffering and misery, tortured by fresh pangs. It is the fate of all
created beings to experience change ; only not thine, for thy unhappy
lot is not changed, and has no ending."

The friends offer comfort and consolation to Ica-
bo. They say :

•• Sorrows, be they never so great and intense, have an object.
They have been partly incurred by a sinful life and by backsliding

CH. XVI. " CONSOLATION FOR THE SORROWS OF ISRAEL." $61

from God and are intended to serve for the correction and purifica-
tion of Israel. It is also a blessing that thy people is scattered abroad
among all the nations of earth, that the wicked may not succeed
in utterly destroying them. When the Spaniards drove thee out, and
burnt thy {seople, God ordained that thou shouldst find a country
ready to receive thee, where thou couldst dwell in freedom, namely,
Italy."

The enemies who treated Israel so unmercifully
were said to have received their punishment. The
poet said of the Spaniards that Italy had become
their grave ; of France, that Spain had been its rod
of correction ; of Germany, that the Turks were its
executioners, who made of it a wall against which to
direct their cannon ; and of England, that wild and
savage Scotland was a perpetual thorn in its side.
One great comfort was that all these sufferings, sor-
rows, and trials which came upon the Jewish race
were literally announced and precisely foretold by
the prophets. They had only served to elevate Israel,
and as the prophecies of evil were verified, so they
might trust that the prophecies of good would not
remain unfulfilled.

The dialogues end with comforting prophecies in
the feeling words of Isaiah. This edifying descrip-
tion served doubtless to sustain the Marranos in their
newly-recovered creed, and to endure sufferings of
every kind for it, even death itself.

Samuel Usque was of opinion that the sufferings
of the Jewish people were soon to decrease, and that
the long looked-for morning would soon follow the
darkness of night. But the church showed him that
this anticipation was ill-founded. He lived to see
fresh tribulations arise in his immediate neighbor-
hood, and a whole system of fresh persecutions put
into practice, which the Jewish historian, Joseph
Cohen, was able to record in his annals of Jewish
martyrdom. These fresh troubles had their origin in
the reaction which the Roman Catholic Church wrs
ardentlydesiroustoinstituteagainst the ever-growing
Reformation. Two men strove at almost the same

562 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. XVI.

time, quite independently of each other, to re-estab-
lish declining Catholicism, and thereby laid snares
in the way of the progress of the human race. A
Neapolitan, Pietro Caraffa, and a Spaniard, Ignatius
Loyola, both men of zeal, and ready to take the ini-
tiative, began with self-castigation, and ended by re-
ducing the minds and bodies of others to bondage.
The worm-eaten papacy, supposed to be crumbling
away beneath the laughter and derision of its oppo-
nents, for which its very friends had nothing but a
shrug of the shoulders, was raised by these two men
to a height greater almost than in the time of Inno-
cent III and his immediate successors, because it
rested, not on the tottering foundations of dreamy
belief, but on the firm ground of powerful conviction
and reckless determination. Caraffa, afterwards Pope
Paul IV, and Loyola, the founder of the order of
Jesuits, so powerful to this day, were very much in
earnest in impressing the minds of the faithful with
the belief in the supremacy of the papacy and the
pope's power to bind and to loose, both in heaven
and on earth, they themselves being firmly con-
vinced thereof. Caraffa re-established the discipline
of the church which had grown lax, increased its
severity, and placed a rod of iron in her hand. He
introduced into the Catholic world at large the means
which To rquemada, Deza, andXimenesde Cisneros
had employed in Spain to force Jews and Moors
to become members of the church, namely, the stake.
All who held a belief differing by so much as a hair's
breadth from the papacy were to abjure it, or be
burnt. Merciless force, which does not think, and
destroys all independent thought, was to restore
credit to the defamed church.

To regain possession of the minds which had
striven to emancipate themselves, and to keep them
in bondaore, the Inquisition thought it in the highest
degree necessary to watch the press. The press
had broucrht mischief and schism into the church

CH. XVI. CENSORSHIP OF THE PRESS. 563

(so thought Caraffa and his associates) ; the press,
then, must be gagged. Only what was approved
by the pope and his followers was to be printed.
Censorship of the press had been introduced by
previous popes, but as anything had hitherto been
obtainable by bribery, publishers had been able to
print and disseminate seditious works against the
existing church system, either with or without the
knowledge of the clergy appointed to control such
publications. The seditious controversial pamphlets
in the Reuchlin quarrel, the famous " Letters," Von
Hutten's shafts at the papacy, Luther's first pam-
phlets against the Romish Babylonian harlot, in-
flammable materials which, appearing in rapid suc-
cession, on all sides kindled the tow of which the
church tent was woven, were the result of negligent
censorship. This was now to be changed. The
censorship was henceforth intrusted only to priests
faithful to the papacy, and, either from conviction
or from instincts of self-preservation, they exercised
their office without leniency.

The Jews soon felt the effect of this fierce Catholic
reaction, for they had no sort of protection, and
owed their miserable existence only to neglect in
the enforcement of the canonical laws against them.
As soon as the church began seriously to put these
hostile decrees into execution, the existence, or at
least the peace, of the Jews was endangered. First
of all the question of the Talmud was again raised,
but not with the lukewarmness of forty years before.
At that time Pfefferkorn and the Dominicans of
Cologne could not hope to obtain a hearing before
the papal chair for their proposal to burn the
Talmud, but were obliged to have recourse to all
sorts of ruses in order to gain over the emperor to
their policy. Now a totally different spirit pre-
vailed. The universal harm caused by the Talmud
needed only to be hinted at by malicious converts
for a decree to be at once issued against it. By
such the fresh outcry against it was raised.

564 HISTORY OF THE JEWS, CH. XVI.

Elias Levita, the Hebrew grammarian, who had
lived for a long time in the house of Cardinal Egidio
de Viterbo, and had instructed many Christians in
the Hebrew language, both personally and by his
writings, and had also imparted to some a superficial
knowledge of the Kabbala, left two grandsons,
the children of his daughter, who were received in
Christian circles. One of them, Eliano, had learnt
Hebrew thoroughly, and was a proof reader and
copyist in several towns of Italy; his brother, Solo-
mon Romano, had traveled much in Germany,
Turkey, Palestine, and Egypt, and understood many
languages: Hebrew, Latin, Spanish, Arabic, and
Turkish. Eliano, the elder, had become a Christian
under the name of Victor Eliano, and was a priest,
later even a canon. Solomon Romano was so indig-
nant at this that he hastened to Venice to persuade his
brother to return to the bosom of Judaism. But
instead of converting, he himself became converted.
A Venetian patrician, much attached to the church,
set about bringing him over to Christianity, and what
he began, a Jesuit finished. Solomon Romano was
baptized (1551), and assumed the name of John
Baptista, to the great grief of his mother, who was
still living. He became a Jesuit and afterwards an
ecclesiastical writer, wrote upon the mysteries of the
Christian faith, a Hebrew and Arabic catechism, and
other similar works. This grandson of the gram-
marian Elias Levita, with two other converts, Joseph
Moro and Ananel di Foligno, not content with hav-
ing forsworn their religion, appeared before the
pope, like Nicholas Donin, to denounce the Talmud,
and repeated the same slanders, namely, that the
books of the Talmud contained abuse of Jesus, the
church, the whole of Christendom, and that they
hindered the conversion of the Jews in a body.
Julius III was by no means bigoted, least of all was
he inimical to Jews. But it no longer lay with
the pope to decide upon the Talmud; this task de-

CH. XVI. BURNING OP HEBREW BOOKS. 565

volved on the court of the Inquisition, that is to say,
on the fanatical Caraffa, and JuHus III was obhged
to approve and sign the decree laid before him by
the inquisitor general (August 12th, 1553) — another
proof of the emptiness of the boasted infallibility of
the papacy. Leo X had encouraged the printing of
the Talmud, and the third pope after him decreed
its destruction. The officers of the Inquisition in-
vaded the houses of tlie Roman Jews, confiscated
the copies of the Talmud and compilations made
from it, and burnt them with special malice on the
Jewish New Year's Day (September 9th), so that
the Jews might feel the grief at the destruction of
their sacred books the more keenly. The in-
quisitors did not wage war against the Talmud in
Rome only. Copies were burnt by hundreds of
thousands throughout the whole Romagna, in Fer-
rara, Mantua, Venice, Padua, and in the island of
Candia, which belonged to Venice. The officers of
the Inquisition in their fury no longer distinguished
between the Talmud and other Hebrew writings.
Everything that fell into their hands became a prey
to the flames; they even seized copies of the Holy
Scriptures. The Jews of all Catholic countries were
in despair; they were robbed by this confiscation of
the rabbinical books which contain the precepts
of a religious life, and in which there is no word re-
ferring to Christianity. They, therefore, appealed to
the pope to revoke the decree, or at least to permit
them the use of these harmless rabbinical writings.
Julius III agreed to this latter request, and issued a
bull (May 29th, 1554) that the Jews be compelled,
under pain of corporal punishment, to give up all
copies of the Talmud, but that the bailiffs be not
allowed to seize other Hebrew works, or vex the
Jews. Transgressors of this decree were to be
visited with severe ecclesiastical punishment. Hence-
forward all Hebrew books were subjected to inspec-
tion before they were published, lest they contain a

$66 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. XVI.

shadow of reproach against Christianity or Rome.
The censors were mostly baptized Jews, who thus
had the opportunity of tormenting their former
brethren in faith.

Matters became worse for the Jews after the death
of JuHus III, as the college of cardinals insisted that
all henceforth elected to the papacy should belong
to the strictest church party, if possible, be monks.
Cultivated dignitaries, interested in humanistic
studies, who loved the arts and sciences, if such there
still were, had fallen into disfavor.

Marcellus II, the first of the reactionary popes,
was succeeded in the papal chair by the bigoted
and fanatical Caraffa, under the name of Paul IV
(May, 1555 — August, 1559). He retained in old
age all the violence and passion of his youth,
and framed his policy accordingly. He hated not
only Protestants and Jews, but also the Spaniards,
the most useful tools of ecclesiastical fanaticism; he
termed them and the bigoted king, Philip II,
"worthless seed of the Jews and Moors." Soon
after his accession to the papal chair he issued a
bull, by which every synagogue throughout the
Papal States was ordered to contribute ten ducats
for the maintenance of the house of catechumens in
which Jews were educated in the Christian faith.
Still more severe was his second bull against the
Jews (July 1 2th, 1555), which enforced the can-
onical laws against them with great harshness.
They were to remain shut up in Ghettos, and were
to possess only one synagogue ; the rest were to
be destroyed. They were not allowed to employ
Christian servants, not even wet-nurses, and were
forbidden to have intercourse with Christians in
general. Every Jew was commanded to wear a
green cap, and every Jewess a green veil, even out-
side the precincts of the city. They were not to be
addressed as "Sir" by the Christian population.
They were forbidden to own real estate, and those

CH. XVI. POPE PAUL IV. 567

who had any were ordered to sell it within six
months ; thus they were compelled to part with
their lands, worth more than 500,000 gold crowns,
for a fifth of their value. But the severest blow was
that Jewish physicians were prohibited from attend-
ance on Christians, though so many popes owed
their health to them. Heavy penalties were attached
to the infringement of this edict. These cruel meas-
ures were carried out with extreme severity, and
confiscation of copies of the Talmud was not inter-
rupted. Thereupon, many Jews forsook Rome, which
had become so malicious towards them, and betook
themselves to more tolerant states, but they were
maltreated on the way by fanatical mobs. Those
who remained in Rome were treated in a most
undignified manner by the pope First it was said
that they had only made a feint of selling their lands,
and had executed sham deeds of sale, and for this
they were imprisoned ; next the pope announced
that those Jews who were not working for the com-
mon good should leave Rome within a given time.
When the terrified Jews asked for an explanation
of what was meant by " working for the general
good," they received the Pharoah-like reply, "You
shall know at the proper time."

Paul IV compelled them to do forced labor in re-
pairing the walls of Rome, which he desired to for-
tify against the Spaniards, of whom he had wilfully
made enemies. Once he, whom the Jews not un-
justly called Haman, impelled by his fierce enmity
against them, commanded his nephew to set fire
to all their dwellings under the veil of the darkness
of night. The latter was about to carry out the
order, though unwillingly, when he met the sensible
cardinal, Alexander Farnese, who advised him to
delay the execution of the inhuman deed that the
pope might have time to consider. The order was
revoked on the following day.

The fanatical Pope Paul IV thus ill-treated the

568 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. XVI.

Jews, but he raged with even greater fury against
the Marranos in his dominions. Many, compelled
to become Christians in Portugal, had found an asy-
lum in Ancona, and received an indemnity from
Pope Clement VII guaranteeing that they should
not be molested by the Inquisition, but might confess
Judaism. The next two moderate popes, Paul III
and Julius III, had confirmed this privilege to the
Marranos, convinced as they were that baptism,
enforced by violence, could have no sacramental sig-
nificance. The more violently the Inquisition now
introduced into Portugal proceeded against the
Marranos, like that in Spain, the more fugitives
took refuge in Italy. They settled, with the prop-
erty rescued, in Ferrara and Ancona, trusting in the
privileges assured to them by the head of Catholic
Christendom. But what did the vindictive Pope
Paul IV care for an assurance of safety granted by
his predecessors, and for a time tacitly recognized
by himself, if it was in opposition to his notion of
orthodoxy? His perverse spirit could not suffer
those to live as Jews who had been sprinkled with
baptismal water. Paul, therefore, issued a secret
order that all the Marranos in Ancona, already num-
bering several hundreds, should be thrown into the
dungeons of the Inquisition, a trial of their ortho-
doxy instituted, and their property sequestered
(Elul — August, 1555). This was a severe blow to
the Marranos, some of whom had been there for
half a century, and had lulled themselves into a
dream of security. Even those Marranos who were
Turkish subjects, and were dwelling only for a
short time in the flourishing seaport because of their
trade with the Levant, were included in the accusa-
tion of Judaizing, and imprisoned, and their goods
confiscated, as a matter of course. The furious
pope thuscutoffa considerable source of his revenue
at the moment when he was about to plunge into a
costly war with Spain.

CH. XVI. AMATUS LUSITANUS. 569

But very few Marranos succeeded in escaping
from die bailiffs of the Inquisition. They were all
received by Duke Guido Ubaldo, of Urbino, and
quartered in Pesaro, because he was then at enmity
with the pope, and thought to transfer the trade of
the Levant from Ancona to Pesaro by means of the
connection of the Marranos with Turkey. Duke
Hercules II, of Ferrara, also offered the Portuguese
and Spanish Jews, from whatever country they
might have fled, an asylum in his dominions, and
formally invited them thither (December, 1555).
Among those who escaped to Pesaro was a man
then held in high repute, the celebrated physician
Amatus (Chabib) Lusitanus (born 151 1, died 1568),
a sensible and intelligent man, a skillful physician, a
noted scholar, and a man of equal conscientiousness
and amiabiHty. As a pretended Christian he had
borne the name of JoSo Rodrigo de Castel-Branco.
He appears to have been driven from his home by
the introduction of the Inquisition into Portugal.
He had been for some time in Antwerp, then the
most important city of Flanders, afterwards visited
both Ferrara and Rome, but had permanently estab-
lished himself at Ancona (about 1549), where he
had openly assumed his family name of Chabib, and
Latinized it under the form of Amatus Lusitanus.
Although he openly professed himself a Jew, he was
frequently summoned to the courtof Pope Julius III
to attend him in sickness. Sufferers came to him
from far and near. The art of healing was to him
a sacred office, which he fulfilled with his whole soul
in the endeavor to prolong human life. Amatus
was able to take a solemn oath — by God and His
holy commandments — that he had always labored
purely for the welfare of mankind, had never con-
cerned himself about compensation, had never ac-
cepted valuable presents, had treated the poor with-
out fee, and made no difference between Jews, and
Christians, and Turks. Nothing ever hindered him

Sj6 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. XVI.

in his devoted calling, neither family considera-
tions, nor long distances. Amatus had many dis-
ciples of his art who were attached to him, and whom
he regarded as his children. In his young days he
had written medical works so highly esteemed that
they were often printed during his lifetime. The
greatest interest was excited by his seven "Cent-
uries" (each dealing with a hundred cases of ill-
ness), in which he minutely described his remedies
and their effect, and gave the characteristics of his
patients. These "Cures" procured for him very
extensive fame during his lifetime ; they were fre-
quently printed in Italy, France, Germany, and
even in Spain, and were used by other physicians as
text-books. Amatus received an invitation from the
king of Poland to come to his court in the capacity
of his private physician, an invitation which he did
not accept.

This benefactor of mankind, the ornament of his
time, was obliged to flee like a criminal from An-
cona to Pesaro, and afterwards to journey even
further, because he refused to make a ridiculous
confession of faith before the bloodthirsty Inquisi-
tion of Paul IV, and did not wish to expose himself
to the risk of death at the stake. More than a hun-
dred Portuguese Marranos, unable to flee, had to
pine in the dungeons of the Inquisition until their
sentence was announced to them. This was to the
effect that those who penitently made confession of
the Catholic faith should be set at liberty, but be
carried to the island of Malta, and forfeit all honors
and dignities. Sixty Marranos agreed to this hy-
pocrisy, but twenty-four of them, among them an
aged woman. Donna Maiora, remained firm in the
faith of their fathers, "The Lord our God is one
God," and were burnt at the stake (May, 1556).
Most of those to be transported to Malta escaped,
and took refuge in Turkey. A cry of horror was
heard from all Jews when the news of this shocking

CH. XVI. THE MARRANOS IN ANCONA. 5/1

catastrophe was spread abroad. The sentence was
as illegal as cruel, because, as has already been
said, the religious freedom of the Marranos in An-
cona had been solemnly confirmed by three popes
in succession. The Portuguese Marranos in Turkey
were completely stunned by this blow administered
to their fellow-sufferers. They bethought them-
selves of means by which to be revenged on the
insanely cruel pope. The peculiar position of the
Jews in this century made it possible for them to
entertain the idea of a struggle with their malicious
enemy in the chair of St. Peter. A union of all the
Jews of the East might furnish the means.

There lived at this time a noble Jewish lady, an
ornament to her sex and her people by her grace,
her intelligence, her character, and greatness of mind,
one of those beingrs whom Providence seems to
place in the world from time to time that the like-
ness of man to the Divine Image may not be quite
forgotten. Donna Gracia Mendesia was a name
which her Jewish contemporaries pronounced only
with admiration and love. Blessed with ample
means, which she expended wisely, and only for the
benefit of others and for the elevation of mankind,
she commanded an influence equal to that of a
princess, and reigned over the willing hearts of
hundreds of thousands. She was called the Esther
of her time. But what anguish of mind she was
obliged to endure before she dared openly to call
herself Gracia (Hannah) ! The waves of meanness
and wickedness surged around her, but could not
sully the purity of her soul. Born in Portugal
(about 1 510, died about 1568), of a Marrano family
named Benveniste, she was married under the Chris-
tian name of Beatrice to a rich participator in the
same unhappy fate, one of the house of Nassi, who
had taken the baptismal name of Francisco Mendes.
He had founded an extensive banking business,
branches of which extended through Flanders and

572 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. XVI.

France. The German emperor and ruler of two
continents, Charles V, the king of France, and many
princes besides, were debtors to the house of
Mendes. A younger brother, Diogo Mendes, was
head of the branch bank at Antwerp. When the
husband of Beatrice died (before 1535), leaving her
with one daughter named Reyna, and the terrible
Inquisition, introduced into Portugal, threatened
danger to her property and the lives of herself and
her child, she betook herself to her brother-in-law
at Antwerp, accompanied by a younger sister and
several young nephews. She furnished poor.Mar-
ranos with the means to flee from the fires of the
Inquisition. The sums which pseudo-Christians
paid to the emissaries and creatures of the pope to
frustrate the Inquisition, went through her hands
and her brother-in-law's. The Mendes family ac-
quired a high position in Antwerp, where there were
many Marranos. Mendesia's young, handsome and
clever nephew, Joao Miques, associated with the
first people in the city, and was much beloved by
Maria, ruler of the Netherlands, formerly queen of
Hungary, sister to Charles V.

Beatrice was by no means at ease in Antwerp.
Affection for the religion in which she had been born,
and which she was compelled to deny, and horror of
the Catholic faith forced upon her, made Flanders
just as hateful to her as Portugal. She longed for
a country where she could freely follow the impulses
of her heart, glowing with love to Judaism. She,
therefore, importuned her brother-in-law, the head
of the banking business, who had married her sister,
either to go to Germany, or elsewhere, with her, or
pay over her share of the property. Diogo Mendes
fixed a time for this removal, but died before it ar-
rived (1540 — 1546) ; he also left a widow and a
daughter, Graeia the younger. This was the begin-
ning of sorrowful days for Mendesia. She was rec-
ognized by her brother-in-law's will as the head of

CH. XVI. DONNA GRACIA MENDESIA. 5/3

the widely-extended business, but could not settle
the affairs of the house quickly enough to enable
her to follow the wish of her heart, and betake her-
self to some tolerant land, where she could openly
confess herself a Jewess. Besides, Charles V, in
his covetousness, cast an eye upon the large prop-
erty of the house of Mendes. An accusation was
made by the imperial attorney-general that the de-
ceased Diogo Mendes had secretly practiced Juda-
ism. It may also have become known that he had
supported the antagonists of the Inquisition by
word and deed. It was, therefore, decreed that the
whole of his property, being that of a heretic, should
be forfeited to the exchequer. The order was issued
that the goods and account-books of the house of
Mendesia be seized and sealed. But the widow Men-
desia succeeded in satisfying the avarice of the offi-
cials for the moment by bribes and the advance of a
large loan. But it was impossible for her to leave
Antwerp without exciting suspicion against herself
and endangering her property still more. Thus she
was obliged to remain there in great distress of
mind for more than two years, until the loan was
repaid by the emperor.

At length the hour of deliverance seemed to
be at hand, when she might leave Antwerp, and pro-
ceed to V^enice. A story circulated that her nephew,
Joio Miques, had fled to Venice with her daughter
Reyna, for whose hand several Christian noblemen
had sued. Perhaps this was a story sedulously
spread by the Mendes family so as to afford a pre-
text for their journey to Venice, and that no hin-
drance might be interposed. But this precaution
was not successful. After her departure, Charles V
again gave orders that her property, so far as it lay
within his dominions, should be seized, because the
sisters were secret Jewesses, and Mendesia the elder
(as she was called) was compelled to pay large sums
to avert this fresh calamity.

574 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. XVI,

But misfortune, greater than any that she had yet
experienced, was in store for her at Venice, from a
quarter whence she least expected it, namely, from
her younger sister. The latter, as reckless and
scatter-brained as the elder was prudent and sedate,
demanded her share of the property and her
daughter's, to do with as she pleased.

But Donna Mendesia neither could nor would
agree to this, she having been made sole manager
of the property, and also guardian of her niece, still
under age. Chafing at this guardianship, and prob-
ably guided by evil counselors, the younger sister
took a step which turned out to her own disadvan-
tage. She informed the Venetian government that
her sister was about to emigrate to Turkey, and take
with her all her wealth, there to resume her adher-
ence to Judaism, while she herself and her daughter
desired to remain Christians; and she asked the
Venetian authorities to assist her in obtaining pos-
session of her property, in order that she might
use it as a good Christian in Venice. The rulers
of Venice, seeing the prospect of a rich prize, did
not hesitate to take up the accusation, cited the
accused to appear before the legal authorities, and
arrested her to prevent her flight. Her ill-advised
or worthless sister also sent an avaricious, Jew-
hating messenger to France, to take possession of
the property there belonging to the Mendes family.
This envoy, thinking himself insufficiently pa'd for
his errand, denounced the younger sister also as a
secret Jewess, and the French court confiscated the
Mendes property in France. King Henry II also
held himself exempt from repaying his debt to the
family. The unfortunate Mendesia was meantime
endeavoring to divert these blows aimed at herself
and her property. Her nephew, Joao Miques, gave
liberal assistance to prevent losses and to set his
noble relative free. Either he or his aunt found
a way to induce Sultan Solyman to embrace their

CH.XVI. DONNA GRACIA IN FERRARA. 575

cause. Such immense riches were about to be
brought into his dominions, and the Venetian Re-
pubhc, which existed only by his forbearance, dared
deprive him of them ? That roused his fury. His
private physician, Moses Hamon, a Jew who hoped
to win the hand of the rich heiress Reyna for his
son, had disposed the sultan in favor of the Mendes
family. A special messenger of state (Tshaus) was
sent by the Porte to Venice, with instructions that
the imprisoned Marrano was at once to be set free
and allowed to depart unhindered for Turkey with
all her property. In consequence of this a differ-
ence arose between the court of Turkey and the
Republic of Venice, which afterwards led to animos-
ities. An important part was thus thrust upon this
poor lady against her will.

In the meantime she succeeded — no one knows
how — in finding a place of refuge in Ferrara under
the protection of the liberal-minded Duke Hercules
of Este, where she resided for several years (about
1549 to 1553) under her Jewish name, a blessing
and a comfort to her fellow-sufferers for their faith.
Here she was able for the first time to exercise
openly and freely her sublime virtue, her lively sym-
pathies, her generosity, her genuine piety — in a
word, all the nobility of her heart. Her wisdom
and prudence were of great service to the Marra-
nos in Italy. The poet Samuel Usque, who dedi-
cated his beautiful work to her, spoke of her with
enthusiasm and deep respect. He makes his Nu-
meo, who plays the part of consoler in the dia-
logues, utter among other grounds of consolation
for the sufferings of the Israelites, that they had
met with unexpected help from this good woman :

" Who has not seen Divine Mercy reveal itself in human form, as
it has shown, and still shows itself to thee a shield and defense against
thy wretchedness ? Who has not seen the heartfelt compassion of
Miriam over again in the sacrifice of her own hfe to save that of her
brethren ? Or the great wisdom of Deborah in ruling her fellow-men ?
Or the infinite virtue and holiness of Esther in protecting the defense-

5/6 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. XVI.

less ? Or the memorable exertions of the chaste widow Judith in
order to deliver the besieged from terror ? The Lord hath sent her
down in our days from the midst of His holy angels, and united every
virtue in one person, and for thy happiness it is that He hath placed
this soul in the lovely form of the blessed Jewess Nassi. She it was
who, at the beginning of the dispersion (of the Marranos), gave
strength and hope to thy perishing sons, made hopeless by their want
of means to escape the fire, and encouraged them to go forth on their
pilgrimage. With bountiful hand did she succor those who had
already set out on their wanderings in Flanders and other parts, and
who, weakened by poverty and overcome by the perils of the sea
passage, were in danger of getting no further, and strengthened them
in their need. She did not withhold her favor even from her enemies.
With her pure hand and her heavenly will has she freed most of this
nation (of Marranos) from the depths of endless misery, poverty, and
sin, led them into safe places, and gathered them together into obedi-
ence to the precepts of the true God. Thus did she become thy
strength in thy weakness."

The two editors of the Ferrara Spanish Bible,
Abraham Usque and Athias, who dedicated it to
"Her Highness the Senora Donna Gracia," de-
scribed her invaluable services in a few words :

" We desire to dedicate the translation to your Grace, as the person
whose deserts among our people will always occupy the foremost
place. May you • be pleased to accept it, to favor and protect it with
the spirit which has always favored those who have asked help of
you."

As she protected all three of the Usques, this
eulogy may sound partial from their lips ; but all,
even the most conscientious rabbis of the time, were
full of her praise, and wrote with equal enthusiasm,
if not elegance, of her virtues :

" The noble princess, the glory of Israel, the wise woman who
builds her house in holiness and purity, with her hand sustains the
poor and needy, in order to make them happy in this world, and
blessed in the world to come. Many are they whom she has rescued
from death, and Hfted up from the abasement of a worthless life,
when they were languishing in a dungeon, and were given over to
death. She hath founded houses wherein all may learn the law of
God. She has given to many the means whereby they may not only
live, but hve in plenty."

After Donna Gracia Nassi had become reconciled
to her sister, who probably saw that she endangered
herself by assuming an antagonistic attitude to-

CH. XVI. THE MENDES FAMILY IN CONSTANTINOPLE. 57/

wards Gracia, after she had seen her sister's child,
the beautiful young Gracia, betrothed to her nephew
Samuel Nassi in Ferrara, and after she had pro-
vided like a mother for all the members of her
family, she carried out her long-cherished intention,
and betook herself to the Turkish capital to escape
the many annoyances to which she was subject in
Christian territory. Her gifted nephew, Joao Miques,
who was betrothed to her daughter Reyna, and who
had undertaken long journeys to Lyons, Marseilles,
Rome, and Sicily on business affairs, had by his
adroitness prepared a good reception for her in
Constantinople. With skillful diplomacy, acquired
by intercourse with Christian statesmen, he obtained
a hearty recommendation to Constantinople from M.
de Lansac, the ambassador at the French court, with
whom the Mendes-Nassi family had been at enmity,
and so met with a favorable reception there. In
Constantinople, Joao Miques made open avowal
of Judaism, assuming the nameof Joseph Nassi, and
marrying his wealthy cousin Reyna. He did not go
thither alone, but took with him a great following of
500 persons, Spanish, Portuguese, and Italian Jews.
He made his appearance there as a prince ; his tact,
his knowledge of European affairs, and his wealth,
procured him an entrance into the court circle, and
secured the favor of Solyman. But his noble
mother-in-law remained the principal manager of the
large property of the family.

The Jewish inhabitants of Constantinople soon
felt the beneficent hand of Donna Gracia and her
son-in-law. They assisted the poor, established
houses of prayer and schools, and made endowments
for teachers of the Talmud. But their benevolence
was not limited to Spaniards and Portuguese, it
extended to Germans and beyond the city of Con-
stantinople.

When the news came that Pope Paul IV had im-
prisoned the Marranos of Anconawith the intention

57^ HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. XVI.

of burning them sooner or later, the heart of Donna
Gracia felt a terrible pang, as a mother when her
children are in misfortune, for she had taken them
all into her heart as her sons and brothers. She did
not give herself up to useless lamentation, but at
once joined with her son-in-law in taking active
steps for their relief. She first addressed herself to
Sultan Solyman, entreating him to demand that
at least Marrano Jews from Turkey, in Ancona on
business, be surrendered to him, and had the happi-
ness of seeing this request fulfilled. Sultan Soly-
man addressed a letter to the pope (March 9th,
1556) in the haughty tone which Turkish rulers, in
the consciousness of their power, assumed towards
the Christian princes, weakened by disunion. He
complained that his Jewish subjects had been un-
justly imprisoned, whereby his treasury had suffered
the loss of fully 4,000 ducats, besides a still greater
diminution of revenues on account of injuries to
Turkish Jews. The sultan insisted that the pope
should at once set at liberty all Turkish Marranos
in Ancona, and hinted that, in case his represen-
tation meet with an unfavorable reception, re-
prisals would be made upon Christians dwelling in
his dominions. Paul IV was most unwillingly com-
pelled to submit, set free the Turkish Jews, and
allow them to depart uninjured. The remainder,
who had no powerful partisan, were, as has been
said, burnt. The Jews resolved to be revenged on
the pope, and hoped for the active aid of Donna
Gracia and her son-in-law in accomplishing this
purpose.

Duke Guido Ubaldo, of Urbino, had received the
Marranos from Ancona in Pesaro, only because he
thought by this means to bring the Levantine trade
of the Jews to his own port. The community of
Pesaro, therefore, sent a dispatch to all the Turk-
ish communities which had commercial relations with
Italy, requesting that they no longer send their

CH. XVI. JEWISH TRADE WITH ANCONA AND PESARO. 579

goods to Ancona, but to Pesaro. The commerce of
the Turkish Jews was very considerable; everything
passed through their hands, they competed with the
Venetians, and sent out their own ships and galleys.
The Jewish Levantine merchants had hitherto made
Ancona the staple port for the wares shipped from
Turkey to Europe, in order to lessen the pre-
eminence of Venice. In the first ebullition of indig-
nation at the shameful deed of Pope Paul IV, many
of the Levantine Jews agreed to the proposal of the
Jews of Pesaro (Elul — August, 1556), and resolved
to punish him severely by entirely cutting off the
important source of revenue arising from the com-
merce of the Levant. But as this measure was
practicable only if all Jews trading with Italy were
privy to it, the participators in the arrangement at
first only agreed not to carry on trade with Ancona
for eight months (till March, 1557).

The Jews of Pesaro and the Marranos formerly
in the Turkish dominions, of course, made every
effort to effect a general movement to place the
pope and his seaport under ban. But the resident
Jews of Ancona, not Marranos, were afraid that
their interests would suffer injury by the removal of
the trade of the Levant to Pesaro, and they lost no
time in sending letters to the Jewish communities
in Turkey, entreating them not to make any bind-
ing agreement, because they would incur great
danger, owing to the passionate disposition of the
pope, who would certainly drive them into misery
if he learnt that the Jews intended to be revenged
on him.

All eyes were, therefore, directed towards Con-
stantinople, for thither the representatives of the
commercial towns of Salonica, Adrianople, Broussa,
Ancona, and the Morea had sent letters requesting
that the matter be well weighed, and their interests
regarded. Donna Gracia and Joseph Nassi, of
course, had the principal voice, and they were resolved

580 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. XVI.

from the beginning to punish the inhuman pope
severely. They had instructed their agents to send
the goods belonging to their house to Pesaro. The
Portuguese and some of the Spanish communities in
Turkey agreed to make a decided stand and prohibit
trade with Ancona under threat of exclusion from
Jewish commercial circles. But some opposition
was made in Constantinople itself, many of the
merchants fearing that their interests would be en-
dangered by the preference given to Pesaro. The
matter was, therefore, in the hands of the rabbis of
Constantinople. If they unanimously considered
that the port of Ancona was to be avoided out of re-
gard for the danger which threatened the Marranos
of Pesaro, their authority would fall into the balance,
and settle the question. Gracia and Joseph, there-
fore, influenced the rabbis, so that they decided to
pronounce against the pope.

Two rabbis, however, were opposed to this deci-
sion. As no unanimous decision was made in the
chief community of Constantinople, the Jewish mer-
chants of the other Turkish communities were spared
the imposition of restrictions upon their trade with
Ancona. In vain Donna Gracia, who regarded the
question as of the deepest interest, demanded an opin-
ion from the rabbis of the community of Safet, which
enjoyed the highest authority among the Jews of the
East, in the persons of its two representatives, Joseph
Karo and Moses di Trani. The ban of the rabbis
against Pope Paul IV was not put into action. Whilst
the rabbis were still consulting, that which Donna
Gracia and her adherents had been fearing to' their
great grief came to pass. Duke Guido Ubaldo, disap-
pointed in his expectation of seeing his port of Pe-
saro become the center of the Jewish Levantine
commerce, and attacked by the pope for his favor
towards Jews, ordered the Marranos to depart
from Pesaro (March, 1558). It must be accounted
a great merit in him that he did not surrender

CH. XVI. MARRANOS EXPELLED FROM PESARO. 58 1

them to the officers of the Inquisition. Most of the
exiles sailed eastward in hired ships ; but the pope's
naval police lay in wait for them, and they escaped
with difficulty. Some were taken prisoners, and
treated as slaves. The skillful and humane physi-
cian, Amatus Lusitanus, a Marrano, who had resided
for a short time in Pesaro, and then in Ragusa,
restoring many Christians to life and health, was
also obliged to quit Christian territory and take
refuge in the town of Salonica, almost entirely
peopled by Jews (1558— 1559). This same year
seems to have brought misfortune also to the Mar-
ranos of Ferrara, and the duke withdrew his protec-
tion from them, for the printing press of Abraham
Usque was closed, and Joseph Nassi's brother, Don
Samuel Nassi, was so badly treated by the duke,
that he was obliged to call in the intercession of the
Turkish court to enable him to remove to Constan-
tinople in peace. One threatening glance from the
infidel sultan had more effect upon Christian princes
than the voice of justice and humanity.

The nearer Paul IV approached the grave, the
more did he become incensed against the Jews.
Two baptized Jews, named Sixtus Senensis, and
Philip or Joseph Moro, at his command traveled
through the Jewish communities situated in the
Papal States and annoyed the Jews with their sedi-
tious sermons. The latter once forced his way into
the synagogue at Recanate on the Day of Atone-
ment (1558) with a crucifix, which the Jews regarded
as an idolatrous image, and with violence placed it
in the ark where the sacred Torah was kept. When
the Jews turned him out for this insult to their sanc-
tuary, he collected the furious mob round the house
of God, and two Jews who had laid hands on him
were seized and scourged by order of the chief
magistrate. Pope Paul IV was most enraged against
the Marranos and the Talmud. He tried to drive
the former out of their most secret hiding-places

582 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. XVI.

Many pseudo-Christians of Spain and Portugal,
unable to save themselves by flight, entered the
orders, and, so to speak, howled with the wolves to
escape being attacked by them. Paul IV, to whom
complaints were made that Jewish Christians had
joined the orders of monks, forbade them to receive
Jews as members.

He went yet more thoroughly to work with the
Talmud, of which not a copy was left in the Papal
States or throughout the greater part of Italy, own-
ers thereof being exposed to the heaviest penalty.
The schools, for the most part, were closed. Had
this condition of things become universal, great ig-
norance and stagnation would have spread among
Italian Jews, and facilitated the great object of the
pope — their conversion. But at this time a large
school and an asylum for the persecuted Talmud
arose in Cremona, a town of northern Italy, belong-
ing to Milan. A Talmudist, Joseph Ottolenghi, from
Germany, opened a school under the protection of
the governor of Milan, teaching the Talmud and
having rabbinical works printed. Every owner of
a copy of the Talmud sent it secretly to Cremona,
and thus very many were collected there, and thence
exported to Germany, Poland, and the East. This
scanty religious freedom the Jews retained also
under the Spaniards, who were compelled to carry on
war with Paul IV. After the pope had been obliged
to submit to a disgraceful peace, he planned to have
the Jewish writings in Cremona burnt. The Domin-
icans, who acted as the papal police, influenced the
people, so as to be able to exert pressure upon the
governor. Inflammatory papers were distributed
in Cremona calling upon the people to kill the Jews
(April 8th, 1559). A few days afterwards the gov-
ernor was urged by two Dominicans, one of whom
was Sixtus Senensis, a baptized Jew, to erect a pyre
on which to burn copies of the Talmud, because it
was said to contain nothing but blasphemies of Jesus.

CH. XVI. THE TALMUD BURNT. 583

The governor did not choose to give credence to the
accusations against the Jews without further confir-
mation, so two witnesses stood up against the Tal-
mud (April 17th), a baptized Jew, Vittorio Eliano,
grandson, by a daughter, of the Jewish grammarian
Elias Levita, and a worthless German Jew, Joshua
dei Cantori. By them the Spanish governor of Mi-
lan was convinced of the injuriousness of the Tal-
mud, and gave orders to his soldiery to make a
house to house search among the Jews of Cremona
and in the printing offices, to collect all the copies
they could find, and make a great fire of them.
Ten or twelve thousand books were burnt on this
occasion.

Vittorio Eliano, the malicious proselyte, very
nearly came to grief by this burning of the Talmud,
for the Spanish soldiery, having received orders to
wage war upon the writings of Jews, troubled them-
selves but little whether the contents were Tal-
mudical, or otherwise, and they very nearly burnt
the Zohar, the Kabbalistic text-book, the especial
favorite of the papacy. Since the enthusiasm of
Pico di Mirandola, still more of Reuchlin, Cardinal
Egidio de Viterbo, and the Franciscan Galatino, for
mysticism, the most orthodox of the Fathers and
Princes of the church believed firmly that the Kab-
bala contained the mysteries of Christianity. The
order of extinction issued against the Talmud, then,
did not touch the Zohar. In fact, it was precisely
under Pope Paul IV that it was first printed, with
the consent of the Inquisition, in Mantua. The
Kabbala was to rise out of the ruins of the Talmud.
Thus the printing of the book which caused more
permanent injury to Judaism than any blow hitherto
aimed at it was aided. From envy of the Mantuan
publishers, a Christian publisher, named Vincent
Conti, of Cremona, printed the Zohar at the same
time, because the sale promised very large profits in
Italy and the East, and he even offered to furnish

584 HISTORY OF THE JEWS, CH. XVI.

a larger book in order to cast suspicion upon the
Mantuan edition. The baptized grandson of Ehas
Levita, the venomous canon Vittorio Eliano, had
charge of this Cremona Zohar, and he did not hesi-
tate to write a boastful Hebrew preface to attract
buyers, and to have his own name mentioned in
connection with it. Whilst it was being printed, the
Spanish soldiers were searching for Jewish writings
in Cremona, and found two thousand copies of the
Zohar, which they were about to cast into the burn-
ing pile. Vittorio Eliano and his partners very
nearly lost their outlay and their profits, but another
convert, the above-named Sixtus of Siena, commis-
sioned by the papal Inquisition to help in destroying
the Talmud in Cremona, restrained the fury of the
Spanish soldiery, and rescued the Zohar. Thus the
Talmud was burnt, and the Zohar spared for the
time being. It was a wise instinct of the enemies
of the Jews which led them to spare this poisonous
spring in the hope that adherents of the Zohar
would the sooner renounce Judaism.

Spread abroad by the press, the Zohar came to
be considered a canonical book, and for some time
was as much quoted as verses from the Bible, and
treated on an equality with the Holy Scriptures
in all Hebrew works not strictly Talmudical. But
the love of the papacy for the Kabbala did not last
long. A few years later the Kabbalistic writings
were included in the catalogue of books to be burnt
(Index expurgatorius).

Paul IV's hatred of Jews and their writings
was not confined to Italy, but, nourished by the
fanatical spirit aroused by him, extended far and
wide. Baptized Jews were always the tools em-
ployed in these persecutions. One named Asher,
from Udine, brought accusations against Jewish
works in Prague, and the authorities confiscated
them one and all, even prayer-books, and sent
them to Vienna (1559). The Jewish ministers were

CH. XVI. JEWS EXPELLED FROM LOWER AUSTRIA. 585

obliged to repeat the prayers in the synagogue
by heart. A fire which broke out at about this time
in the Jews' quarter of Prague, and by which a great
number of their houses were reduced to ashes, dis-
played the fanatical hatred of Christians towards
them still more clearly. Instead of hastening to the
assistance of the unfortunate people, and joining
in their rescue, they threw helpless women and
children into the flames, and plundered the goods
of the Jews. And as if the measure of misfortune
were not full enough, Ferdinand I, chosen emperor
about a year before, commenced the expulsion of
the Jews from Bohemia and Prague in real earnest.

Emperor Ferdinand was, in reality, a mild prince,
who sincerely desired to maintain peace between
Catholics and Protestants, but he had an invin-
cible dislike to Jews. It was he who first intro-
duced the tickets of notification, or permits, for the
Jews of Austria, He made a regulation by which
every Jew resident in Austria who went on business
to Vienna, should at once on his arrival announce
himself to the marshal of the district, and state what
was his business, and how long he intended to re-
main in the place. To this restriction Ferdinand
added others, and at length commanded the expul-
sion of the Jews with their wives and children, their
servants and all their goods and chattels, from Lower
Austria. This decree of banishment was delayed
for two years, but they were finally compelled to
withdraw from the country.

Emperor Ferdinand destined the ancient com-
munity of Prague to the same fate. What may have
been the reason is either easy or difficult for us to
conceive, according to our way of thinking. The
congregation of Prague was in very evil repute
among other Jewish communities, being considered
low, unprincipled, violent, and quarrelsome. Such
fierce disputes arose regularly about the appoint-
ment of rabbis and the choice of the president, that

586 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. dH. XVI.

the chief rabbis of Germany and Italy, at the instiga-
tion of the emperor, were obliged to arrange a sys-
tem of election for the community of Prague. The
reason of this sad state of things was no doubt that,
on the recall of the Jews after the expulsion of
twenty years previously, only the worst, none of
the well-disposed, members had returned. Chris-
tians were, no doubt, very much overreached by
this rabble, but Christians of the lower class were
probably not better nor more conscientious. Chris-
tians treated their own brethren with the greatest
leniency, but required the practice of the strictest
virtue and uprightness from Jews. Discussions
about the second expulsion of Jews from Prague
were long carried on, for even the archdukes then
in the land were opposed to it; yet the banish-
ment took place (1561). The exiles were attacked,
and plundered by robber knights. But it was clear
then, as after the first expulsion, that the Christians
of Prague, or at all events the nobility, longed for
the Jews. Scarcely were they driven out when
steps were taken to recall them, and this policy was
favored by the princes.

But Emperor Ferdinand refused the request to
allow the Jews to return, on the ground, genuine or
assumed, that he had sworn to expel the Jews from
Prague, and could not break his oath. Thereupon
a noble Jew of Prague undertook a journey to Rome
to procure from the new pope, Pius IV (the Jew-
hating Paul IV was dead), the absolution of the
emperor from his oath.

This noble man was Mordecai Zemach ben Ger-
shon, one of the noted Soncin family of printers,
whose ancestor, Gershon, or Girolamo, Soncino,
founded not only beautiful Hebrew, but also Latin,
type, and published both rabbinical works and
Petrarch's poems. Members of this family with
great success carried on Jewish printing establish-
ments in several towns of Lombardy, in Constanti-

CH. XVI. JEWS RETURN TO BOHEMIA AND AUSTRIA. 587

nople, and in Prague. Although Mordecai Zemach
had borne gross insults to his honor from the people
of Prague, and his married daughter, a second Su-
sannah, had been accused of adultery by false wit-
nesses, and sentenced by cowardly rabbis, he yet
showed himself ready to make the greatest sacri-
fices for the good of the people of Prague. He un-
dertook the journey to Rome amidst many dangers
and difficulties for the purpose above stated, and his
exertions were crowned with success. The pope, at
that time invested with the power to bind and to
loose, relieved the emperor of his oath, and the lat-
ter felt his conscience lightened. His son Maximilian
(afterwards emperor) took the Jews of Prague
under his special protection, and thus the decree
of banishment was recalled. Jews were again
allowed to reside in Prague and a few other Bohe-
mian towns, and were also re-admitted to Austria.
But they had a troubled existence even under the
best of the emperors, such as Maximilian II and
Rudolph, for the official hand of the Catholic Church
was heavy upon them.

The first consistent representative of the fanatical
and persecuting Catholic Church, Pope Paul IV, was
dead (1559), and the people of Rome cursed his
memory and his system. The people flocked to the
Capitol as in the old times of the Roman Republic,
traversed the eternal city, set fire to the buildings
of the Inquisition, maltreated the Dominicans and
the bailiffs of that tribunal, tore down the arms of
the pope, destroyed his statue, and rolled its head
through the streets. With derisive laughter the
Romans looked on while a Jew placed the cap
that he and his brethren were compelled to wear on
the statue of the very pope who had issued the order
concerning it. But of what avail was this childish
rage against the dead ? The system survived its
supporter for centuries. The Jesuits and the strict
church party had got the upper hand in the Catholic

58S HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. XVI.

Church, and each pope, willingly or unwillingly,
was obliged to submit to them. It was under
Pope Pius IV, one of the best high priests of Rome,
that the principles of the council of Trent were
turned into decrees which enslave the minds of
Catholics to this very day.

A deputation of the Jews of Rome waited upon
the newly-chosen pope to do homage to him, and
described in touching words the sorrows which his
predecessors had brought upon them. Pius IV
promised them relief, and issued a bull for the Jews
of the Papal States (February 27th, 1562), which
was certainly to their advantage, but the milder regu-
lations only made the restrictions still remaining
appear the harsher. The introduction to the bull is
interesting, because it brings to light the hypocrisy
of the papal curia :

"The precepts for your conduct issued by my highly venerated
predecessor, out of his zeal for rehgion, have (as we are told) served
some who coveted your goods as a pretext for false accusations
against you, and have been interpreted contrary to the intention of
my predecessor, thus causing you to be vexed and disquieted. There-
fore, we decree, in consideration that Holy Mother Church grants and
concedes much to Jews in order that the remnant of them may be
saved, and in accordance with the example of our predecessors, " etc.

All that the new pope conceded, however, was
that Jews of the Roman dominions beyond the city
be allowed to doff their distinguishing mark, the
yellow cap, acquire land to the value of 1,500 ducats,
trade in other things besides old clothes, and hold
intercourse with Christians, but not to keep Chris-
tian servants. This was about all that one of the
best popes granted, or dared grant. More import-
ant to the Jews of Rome was the point that the ac-
cusations of transgressing the harsh laws of Paul IV
were not heard, as well as the charge of misdemea-
nor against those who had not given up their copies
of the Talmud. The Italian Jews also made an effort
to obtain from the pope the remission of the inter-
dict against the Talmud. But this question was in

CH, XVI. THE TALMUD SUBMITTED TO CENSORSHIP. 589

the hands of the cardinals and bishops sitting in the
council of Trent, and to carry out their object the
Italian communities chose two deputies (October,
1563). As the council only approved the list of
forbidden books previously made out in the papal
office, the opinion of the pope and those who sur-
rounded him served as a guide in the treatment of
Jewish writings. The decision of this point was left
to the pope, who afterwards issued a bull to the effect
that the Talmud was indeed accursed — like all
humanistic literature, including Reuchlin's "Augen-
spiegel and Kabbalistic writings" — but that it would
be allowed to appear if the name Talmud were
omitted, and if before its publication the passages
inimical to Christianity were excised, that is to say,
if it were submitted to censorship (March 24th,
1564). Strange, indeed, that the pope should have
allowed the thing, and forbidden its name ! He
was afraid of public opinion, which would have con-
sidered the contradiction too great between one
pope, who had sought out and burnt the Talmud,
and the next, who was allowing it to go untouched.
At all events, there was now a prospect that this
written memorial, so indispensable to all Jews,
would once more be permitted to see the light,
although in a maimed condition. The printing of
the Talmud was in fact undertaken a few years
later at Basle.

But even this sligrht concession was withdrawn
from the Jews of the Papal States when Pius IV was
succeeded by a pope who held gloomy, monkish,
intolerant institutions in hicrher esteem than human
happiness and human life, and who carried the ec-
clesiastical aims of Caraffa and his colleaofues to their
extreme consequence. Pius V (1566 — 1572) outdid
his pattern, Paul IV, in love of persecution and cru-
elty. This pope hated Jews no less than he hated
Swiss Calvinists and French Huguenots. They
soon felt the severity of the new ecclesiasticism.

590 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. XVI.

Three months after his enthronement (April 19th,
1566), Pius V confirmed in every respect the restric-
tions which Paul IV had imposed on Jews; he
even increased their severity, and disregarded the
amehorations of his predecessor as if they had never
been granted. The former regulations, then, were
enforced: exclusion from intercourse with Chris
tians, prohibition to own lands, or to carry on
any business except the trade in old clothes, com-
pulsion to wear the distinctive Jew badge, and the
refusal to permit more than one synagogue. But
these edicts were not issued against the Jews in the
Papal States only; they extended throughout the
whole Catholic world. For at that day, in a period
of spiteful reaction against Protestantism, the decrees
of the pope made a far different impression from
what they had produced previously, and found will-
ing executors. Thus days of sorrow were again be-
ginning for the Jews of Catholic countries.

Once more Joseph Cohen had to enter trials In
his "Annals of Persecution," once more to collect the
tears of his people in his "Vale of Weeping"
(Emek ha-Bacha) . The ecclesiastical tyrant, Pius V,
often gave the opportunity. Under the pretext that
the Jews of the Papal States had infringed his
canonical laws, he caused a number of them to be
thrown into prison, and their books to be collected
and burnt. The prosperous community of Bologna
was visited with especial severity, the blow being
aimed at their property. In order to have a legal
reason for robbery, confusing questions upon Chris-
tianity were put at a formal hearing before the
tribunal of the Inquisition; for example, whether
the Jews regarded Catholics as idolaters; whether
the forms of imprecation against the Minaeans, and
the "Kingdom of Sin" in the prayers referred to
Christians and the papacy, and especially whether
the story, in a work but little read, about a " Bastard,
the Son of an Outcast," was intended to refer to Jesus.

CH. XVI. THE JEWS EXPELLED FROM THE PAPAL STATES. 59I

A baptized Jew, named Alexander, had drawn up
the points of accusation, and the prisoners were
questioned upon them, under application of torture.
Some of them succumbed to the pain, and confessed
everything that the bloody tribunal asked them.
Only the rabbi of Bologna, Ishmael Chanina, had
the courage to declare even under torture, that if he
should confess anything during the unconsciousness
which might ensue from his sufferings, such confes-
sion would be null and void. As others, however,
had confessed to slanders uttered by Jews against
Christians, the papal curia had an excuse for its
robberies. The rich and the upper classes were
forbidden under the severest penalties to leave the
town. But this foolish prohibition awakened in the
minds of the Jews of Bologna the idea of leaving
the place entirely and forever. By bribing the
gatekeeper, they succeeded in escaping, with their
w^ives and children, from the net spread for them,
and fled to Ferrara. Pope Pius V was so incensed
against the Jews for this act, that he informed the
college of cardinals that all Jews were to be ex-
pelled from the Papal States. In vain some of the
church dignitaries protested, showing how the Jews
had been protected by the chair of St. Peter from
time immemorial, that it had indeed pledged itself
to shield the remainder of the Jews, in the hope
that they might be saved. In vain did the com-
mercial world of Ancona entreat the pope not to
ruin by his own deed the commercial prosperity
of the Papal States; his hatred of Jews stifled the
voice of common sense, of justice, and of inter-
est. The bull was issued (February 26th, 1569),
that all Jews in the Papal States, except those
of Rome and Ancona, should depart within three
months ; those who remained were to be reduced
to slavery, and undergo even severer punish-
ment.

There were at that time about 1,000 Jewish families

592 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. XVI.

and 72 synagogues in the Papal States, excluding
Rome, Ancona, and Bologna. In spite of the misery
which threatened them, almost all included in this
decree decided upon emigration, and only very few
became Christians. The exiles also suffered loss of
property, because they had not time to sell their
estates, and collect the debts owing to them. The
historian Gedalya Ibn-Yachya alone lost over 10,000
ducats by his debtors in Ravenna. The exiles dis-
persed, and sought protection in the neighboring
little states of Pesaro, Urbino, Ferrara, Mantua, and
Milan. The Jews of Avignon and Venaissin, the
only communities remaining on French territory since
the expulsion of the Jews from France two hundred
years previously, were also ordered to leave. The
reactionary princes of the church had long cast
malicious glances upon them, for they had been par-
ticularly favored by the officials of the Papal States
under the humanistic popes, Leo X, Clement VII,
and especially Paul III. The curia received its only
income from this district through their commerce.
The Jews of Avignon, Carpentras, and other towns,
owned great wealth and property of all kinds, and
held lands.

Most of the Jews of the Italian and French eccle-
siastical territories, like all expelled from Christian
countries, went to Turkey, and there met with the
kindest reception, if they were able to get so far
without being attacked and maltreated by the robber-
knights of the Order of Malta. It seemed almost as if
there were to be an end of Jews in Christian Europe.
Hatred, persecution, and banishment reigned every-
where. In Catholic dominions the fanaticism of the
papacy prevailed, and in Protestant countries the
narrowness of Lutheranism, sunk from its former
height to the level of a child's quarrel.

Both seemed to desire the enforcement of the oft
expressed thought of the arch-enemies of the Jews,
that Jews have no right to dwell in the West.

CHAPTER XVII.

THE JEWS IN TURKEY. DON JOSEPH NASSL

Joseph Nassi's Favor with Sultan Solyman — His Friendship for Prince
Selim — Hostility of Venice and France to Nassi — ^Joseph Nassi
restores Tiberias, and is created Duke of Naxos — The Vizir
Mahomet SokoUi — The Turks, at the Instigation of Nassi, con-
quer Cyprus — Rebellion against Philip II in the Netherlands —
Solomon Ashkenazi — Election of Henry of Anjou as King
of Poland — Ashkenazi negotiates a Peace between Venice and
Turkey — Gedalya Ibn-Yachya and Jewish Literature in Turkey —
Joseph Karo compiles the " Shulchan Aruch " — Azarya dei
Rossi — Isaac Lurya — The Jewish "Dark Age" — Spread of the
Kabbala — Lurya's Disciple, Chayim Vital Calabrese — Death of
Joseph Nassi — Esther Kiera and the Influence of Jewish Women
in Turkey.

1566 — 1600 C.E.

Again, as often before, the threads in the web of
universal history were so involved that it was im-
possible to annihilate the Jews of Christendom
even by systematic persecution. The sun, obscured
on the Jewish horizon by gloomy clouds in the
West, again rose bright in the East. Through a
favorable turn of affairs a time was beginning in
Turkey which, to the superficial observer, may seem
a brilliant epoch. A Jew, who would have been
burnt at the stakewithout ceremony in the countries
of the cross, occupied a very influential position in
the land of the crescent, rose to the rank of duke,
and ruled over many Christians. All the Jews in
Turkey, amounting to millions in number, rose with
and by him to a free and honorable station, the
envy of their despised and less numerous brethren
in Christian Europe. With rage the Jew-hating
Christian potentates saw their plans here and there
frustrated by Jewish hands, and their internal com-
plications rendered more and more involved and
entangled. The down-trodden worm might yet

sfa

594- HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. XVII.

become an annoyance to Its tormentors. Joseph
Nassi, or JoSo Miques, the outlawed Marrano of
Portugal, caused anxious hours to many a Christian
ruler and diplomatist, who were obliged to flatter
him in an abject manner, though they would have
struck him dead like a dog if he had been in their
power. The illustrious republic of Venice, the
mighty kingdom of Spain, the co iceited govern-
ment of France, and even the haughty papacy, all
saw themselves endangered by him.

Joao Miques, or Don Joseph Nassi, who had been
well recommended to the Turkish court by French
statesmen when first he entered Turkey, had become
yet more popular by his agreeable presence, his in-
ventive genius, his experience, and his knowledge
of the Christian countries of Europe and their polit-
ical situation. Sultan Solyman, who understood
men well, soon took him into favor. He formed
extensive plans for beginning a war with Spain and
aiding the Mahometans on the coast of Africa
against those who fed the stake. Joseph Nassi,
through his riches, and through the attachment of
his fellow-believers in Christian countries, was kept
well informed as to what was going on In Chris-
tian courts, and could tell the sultan the state of
political and military affairs, relieving the latter of
the necessity of employing spies, or of permitting
himself to be deceived by the Christian ambassadors
at his court. Don Joseph could assist him with
wise counsel, and thus as a Frankish bey soon
became a very important person in Constantinople
and was able to render material service to those of
his own religion. His importance Increased still
more by a fortunate chance. Hatred and jealousy
prevailed among the sons of Solyman, and the
father preferred the younger on account of his mili-
tary inclinations. The courtiers kept themselves
aloof from the disregarded prince, Selim, and did not
intercede with his father on his behalf. Only Joseph

CH. XVII. DON JOSEPH THE TURKISH FAVORITE. 595

Nassi pressed Selim's claims warmly on his father,
and when the latter wished to show his favor to his
son by making him a handsome present of 50,000
ducats in cash, and 30,000 in valuables, he chose
his Jewish favorite as the bearer of the gift to
Selim's residence in Asia Minor. The prince, over-
joyed both at the gift and at this proof of favor,
from that moment became very friendly towards the
messenger, and assured him of his life-long grati-
tude. He made a favorite and confidant of the
Jewish bey, and appointed him a member of the
life-guard (Mutafarrica), an honor to which even the
sons of Christian princes eagerly aspired, and to
which a large salary was attached.

The ambassadors from Christian courts saw with
vexation the growing influence of a Jewish favorite,
acquainted with all their plots, upon the future sul-
tan, and promulgated the falsest rumors about him.
They reported to their courts that Joseph Nassi was
leading the prince into all kinds of orgies and ex-
cesses, and was ruining him. The ambassadors of
Venice and of France were most hostile, because
he saw through their artful designs against the Turk-
ish court, and was able to frustrate them, and espe-
cially because he had private quarrels with them.
The government of Venice had imprisoned his
mother-in-law, deprived her of some of her property,
and also had treated him scornfully; the French
court owed an immense sum (150,000 ducats) to the
house of Mendes-Nassi, and did not think of repay-
ing it. The French ambassador was, therefore, very
eager for Joseph's ruin ; he wrote to Henry II, that
he should inform Sultan Solyman that Joseph Nassi
made it his business to acquaint the enemies of
France with all the negotiations carried on at the
Turkish court, and that being a Spaniard he did this
in the interest of Spain. But so far from punishing
him, Prince Selim and the reigning sultan took up
Joseph's cause, and urgently insisted that the court

596 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. XVII.

of France pay the debt owing their Jewish favorite.
Henry II and his successor raised an objection to
Joseph's well-founded demand, characteristic of the
— shall we say, Christian? — morality of the time.
They averred that both law and religion forbade the
king to repay the debt to his Jewish creditor, because
it was altogether prohibited for Jews to have business
dealings in France, and that all their goods could be
confiscated by the king. The sultan and his son
did not, of course, recognize this code of morals, and
insisted with a half-threat that Joseph Nassi should
be satisfied. Joseph Nassi rose so high in favor with
Sultan Solyman, that the latter gave him a tract of
land in Palestine, on the Sea of Tiberias, to restore
the city of Tiberias under his own rule, with the ex-
press privilege that only Jews should dwell therein.
The deed of gift was signed by the reigning sultan, by
Selim, the heir to the throne, and by his son Murad,
so as to render it valid in the future, and not liable
to dispute. Selim proposed to his father to reward
Joseph's services still further, and to make him sov-
ereign lord over Naxos and some other islands. But
the vizir, Mahomet Sokolli, a Christian renegade,
who watched the growing power of the Jewish
favorite with jealous eyes, seems to have worked
against this and to have upset the plan.

After Solyman's death, when Selim II entered his
capital to receive the homage of his subjects (1566),
and Joseph also presented himself to swear allegiance
to the new sovereign, he created him on the spot
Duke of Naxos, and of the Cyclades, Andro, Paro,
Antiparo, Milo, twelve islands in all, which he gave
him one after the other, and for which he had to pay
but a small tribute. He also granted him the collection
of the duties paid in the Black Sea on imported wines.

Thus a Jew was able to issue his commands in the
following grandiose style: "We, Dukeof theyEgean
Sea, Lord of Andro." Joseph did not reside in the
capital of his duchy, where he would have been too

CH. XVII. JOSEPH DUKE OF NAXOS. 597

far away from the center of affairs, but remained in
his handsome palace Belvedere near Constantinople,
and deputed the government of the islands to a
Spanish nobleman, a Christian named Coronello,
whose father had been governor of Segovia. Jeal-
ously as the Christian princes regarded this Jewish
duke, placed upon an equality with them, European
affairs were in such a condition that they were forced
not only to recognize, but even to flatter him. If
they wished to gain anything at the Turkish court,
they dared not ignore him, knowing how high
he stood in Selim's favor, and of how much weight
his opinion was in the divan. When an Austrian
embassy from Emperor Ferdinand I arrived in
Constantinople (after fresh victories gained by the
Turks in Hungary) to sue for peace, and win the
great dignitaries by gifts and annual subsidies,
it was charged to make terms also with Joseph of
Naxos. His bitterest enemies were obliged to dis-
semble their hatred. The two states which set them-
selves most to oppose him, namely, France and
Venice, felt the power of the Jewish duke severely.

The king of France declined to pay the debt con-
tracted with the Marrano house of Mendes and
transferred to Joseph. The latter easily procured a
firman from the sultan, by virtue of which he was
allowed to seize all ships carrying the French flag
which entered any Turkish harbor. Joseph of Naxos
sent privateers as far as Algiers to make a raid upon
French merchant vessels. At last he succeeded in
getting possession of several vessels in the port of
Alexandria, captured all the merchandise on board,
and sold it to pay the debt owing to him (1569).
The court of France raised a clamor, protested,
stormed, but all in vain ; Selim protected his favorite.
A coolness arose in consequence in the diplomatic
relations of the two countries, which was more
injurious to France than to Turkey.

The French ambassador at the Porte was, there

598 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH, XVII.

lore, very desirous to bring about the overthrow of
Joseph of Naxos. Not only was his own honor
concerned, but that of the French crown also. The
French had often boasted in the European cabinets
that their word had the greatest weight and influence
at the Turkish court, and that they were in a posi-
tion to lead the divan to determine upon war or
peace at will. And now it was proved that a gross
insult had been shown to the French flag by this
very court, and that France was not even in a posi-
tion to demand satisfaction from a Jew, the origina-
tor of the insult. The French ambassador, therefore,
directed his efforts to turning this overthrow into
triumph by compassing the fall of the influential
Jew. An opportunity soon presented itself in the
discontent of one of Joseph's agents. A Jewish
physician, named David or Daud, one of the physi-
cians in ordinary at the Turkish court, and also in
the service of the duke, considered himself slighted
and wronged by his superior, and a quarrel arose
between them. As soon as the French ambassador
got wind of this, he tried to fan the flame of dissen-
sion, promised Daud a sum of money and a place
as interpreter at the French embassy with a yearly
salary, and then entered into relations with him in
order to obtain secret information about Joseph of
Naxos. In his irritation Daud allowed himself to be
led into hasty expressions. He promised to furnish
the French ambassador with full proofs that Joseph
of Naxos had carried on a correspondence traitorous
to the Porte. He undertook to produce documents
to prove that Joseph sent daily information to the
pope, the king of Spain, the duke of Florence,
the Genoese republic, in short, to all the enemies
of the sultan, and kept them acquainted with every
thing that went on at the Porte. Delighted at the
opportunity of overthrowing the Jewish duke, he
informed the king of France and the crafty queen-
mother, Catherine de Medici, in cipher, that he

CH. XVII. FRANCE HUMBLED. 599

would soon be in a position to bring the powerful
enemy of French influence at the Turkish court to
the scaffold (October, 1569).

The Jewish duke was placed in a position of the
greatest danger, and with him probably all the Jews
in the Turkish empire. If Daud had been able to
push his hatred to the point of an open accusation,
if French money could have supported the in-
trigue, and if the grand vizir, Mahomet SokoUi, the
deadly enemy of Joseph, could have taken the
matter in hand, the latter would have been lost.
But the French ambassador thougrht it wise to treat
the matter as a secret for a time.

In spite of this secrecy, the intrigues of Daud and
the French ambassador were betrayed to Joseph
of Naxos, and he was able to be beforehand with
them. It was not difficult for him to convince
Sultan Selim that he had always served him faith-
fully, and that of all his courtiers, he had been most
sincerely attached to him. He obtained a decree
from the sultan by which the traitor Daud was ban-
ished for life to Rhodes, the criminal colony of the
Turkish empire. Either at the instigation of Don
Joseph, or by their own impulse, all the rabbis and
communities of Constantinople pronounced the se-
verest form of excommunication upon Daud and
two of his accomplices. The rabbinical colleges
of the largest Turkish communities, Joseph Karo
at their head, in ser\nle flattery joined them, with-
out first having convinced themselves of Daud's in-
nocence or guilt. The extraordinary efforts of the
French ambassador and court to procure the over-
throw of Joseph were thus a complete failure, and
left in the mind of the latter a feeling of only too
justifiable bitterness, which induced him to strive
the more to hinder and frustrate the diplomatic
schemes of France.

Joseph of Naxos dealt even more severely with the
state of Venice. Secret enmity prevailed between the

600 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. XVII.

Jewish duke and the republic, which both tried in
vain to conceal by compliments. Independently of
the ill-treatment which his mother-in-law had under-
gone at the hands of the Venetian government, it
had refused Joseph's request for a safe conduct
through its dominions for himself and his brother.
Selim, not very well disposed towards the Vene-
tians, was often urged by his Jewish favorite to put
an end to the long-existing peace between them, and
to set about the conquest of the Venetian island of
Cyprus. In spite of the disinclination of Mahomet
Sokolli, the first vizir, who was favorable to the
Venetians, the war was undertaken.

The sultan is said to have promised Joseph that
he should become king of Cyprus, if the enterprise
proved successful, and the duke of Naxos is said to
have kept a banner ready in his house, with the in-
scription, "Joseph, King of Cyprus." His European
alliances made this undertaking easy. Whilst Ma-
homet Sokolli was still raising difficulties about con-
senting to a naval war of this character, Joseph
received the news that the arsenal in Venice had
been destroyed by an explosion. Joseph and the
party in the divan which he had gained over for war
took advantage of the embarrassment thus caused
to the Republic of Venice, and persuaded the sul-
tan to allow the attacking fleet to sail at once. Ni-
cosia, one of the chief towns of Cyprus, fell at the
first assault, and the other, Famagusta, was closely
besieged.

In this instance, as often before, all Jews were
made answerable for the action of one. That
the Venetian government, at the outbreak of the
war, imprisoned all the Levantine merchants in Ven-
ice, for the most part Jews, and seized their goods,
was only natural in the barbarous state of inter-
course between one state and another. But that the
senate, at the instigation of the hostile doge, Luis
Mocenigo, came to the resolve (December, 1571)

CH. XVII. THE POWER OF THE TURKISH JEWS. 6oi

to expel all Jews from Venice, as fellow-conspirators
of Joseph Nassi and of the Turkish empire, was a
result of the race-hatred encouraged by Christianity.
Happily, things did not go so far. Notwithstanding
the endeavors of the fanatical pope, Pius V, to bring
about a league of the Christian states against Tur-
key, to organize a crusade against the so-called
unbelievers, and to drive the Turkish fleet from the
waters of Cyprus, the town of Famagusta was
obliged to yield to the Turkish commander, and so
the whole island fell into the hands of Turkey. The
Venetians were compelled to sue for peace, and they
placed their whole hope of obtaining it upon an in-
fluential Jew, who was to negotiate it. In spite of
the solemn determination of the Venetian senate
that no one should venture to say a word in favor
of Jews, they had to be tolerated, because it dared
not quite break with the Jews in Turkey.

The power of the latter was, indeed, so great that
they, generally the suppliants, were entreated for
aid by Christians. A serious rebellion had arisen
in the Netherlands against Spain and the morose
king, Philip II, who wished to introduce the bloody
tribunal of the Inquisition. The barbarous Alva
was trying to suppress apostasy and to lead back
the erring into the bosom of the Catholic church by
hecatombs of human being-s. The block was to
support the cross. In this extremity, the rebels
turned to Joseph of Naxos, who had dealings with
some of the nobility of Flanders from the time of
his residence there. Prince William of Orange, the
moving spirit of the rebellion, sent a private mes-
senger to Joseph of Naxos, entreating him to per-
suade the sultan to declare war against Spain, which
would necessitate the withdrawal of the Spanish
troops from the Netherlands. The Austrian em-
peror, Ferdinand, also condescended to address an
autograph letter to the Jewish duke in order to
obtain the favor of the Porte, increasing the grand

6o2 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. XVII.

vizir's envy. Sigismund Augustus, king of Poland,
who was hoping for an important service from the
Porte, also addressed him, gave him the title of
" Serene Highness," and, what was of greater im-
portance, promised favorable conditions to the Jews
in his country, to ensure Joseph's approval of his
plans.

We may almost say that the divan, or Turkish
council of state, under Sultan Selim consisted of two
parties trying to checkmate each other : the Chris-
tian party, represented by the first vizir, and the
Jewish, headed by Joseph of Naxos. Through and
besides him there were other Jews who, though only
in subordinate positions, exercised influence — the
men on the holders of office, the women on the
ladies of the harem. Sultan Selim's goodwill
towards Jews was so evident that a story became
current that by birth he was a Jew, foisted into the
harem as a prince, when he was a child. Even the
grand vizir, Mahomet Sokolli, although an enemy
of Joseph of Naxos and of Jewish influence, was
forced to employ a Jewish negotiator and to intrust
him with important commissions. The Venetian
envoy, ordered to work secretly against the Jews at
the Turkish court, himself assisted such a man in
obtaining influence,

Solomon ben Nathan Ashkenazi, who conducted
the diplomatic affairs of Turkey with Christian
courts for nearly thirty years, and who supplanted
Nassi, was an unknown personage in Constantinople
at the period when the duke of Naxos had a power-
ful voice in the divan. Descended from a German
family of Udine, he began to travel early in life,
and went to Poland, where he rose to be first physi-
cian to the king. On his removal to the Turkish
capital, he placed himself as a subject of the Vene-
tian republic under the protection of the diplomatic
agents of Venice. Solomon Ashkenazi understood
the Talmud, and was called rabbi, but displayed

CH. XVII. ELECTION OF A POLISH RING. €6$

greatest intelligence and skill in the niceties of diplo-
matic technicalides, the disentanglement of knotty-
questions, in negotiations, settlements, and com-
promises. For these qualities he had been esteemed
by successive Venetian agents in Constantinople.
The first minister of the Turkish court recognized
his diplomatic skill, attached him to his service, and
trusted him to the end of his life with such com-
missions as required tact, wisdom, and discernment
in their fulfillment. Whilst the Turkish arms were
raised against the Venetians, Solomon Ashkenazi
was beginning to weave the web for the future
treaty of peace.

Christian cabinets did not suspect that the course
of events which compelled them to side with one
party or the other was set in motion by a Jewish
hand. This was especially the case at the election
of the Polish king. The death (July, 1572) of the
last Polish king of the Jagellon family, Sigismund
Augustus, who left no heir, necessitated a genuine
election from an indefinite number of candidates,
and this put the whole of Europe, at all events the
cabinets and diplomatic circles, into the utmost ex-
citement. The German emperor, Maximilian II,
and the Russian ruler, Ivan the Cruel, were most
intimately concerned in the election, as neighbors of
Poland. The former did everything that he could to
insure the choice of his own son, and the latter boasted
that he or his son would be chosen king. The pope
plotted for a Catholic prince to be placed on the
throne of Poland ; otherwise it was to be feared
that the choice of a king in favor of the Reformation,
already on the increase among the nobles and the
townspeople of Poland, would strengthen the move-
ment, and that the country would free itself from
the papacy. On the other hand, the Protestant
countries of Germany and England, and. above all,
the adherents of the various sects of the new
church in Poland itself, felt the greatest interest

604 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. XVXI,

in securing the election of a sovereign of their
own faith, or at least of one not an aggressive
Catholic. To this was added the personal ambition
of a powerful French queen, who interfered with a
deft hand. The widowed queen, Catherine de Medici,
as clever as false, who believed in astrology, and
to whom it had been announced that each of her
sons should wear a crown, wished to procure a
foreign throne for her son, Henry of Anjou, so that
the astrological prophecy might not be fulfilled by the
death of her reigning son, Charles IX. She and
her son, the king of France, therefore, set every
lever in motion to place Anjou on the throne of
Poland. Turkey also had important interests and a
powerful voice in the election of the king of Poland.
A tangle of cabals and intrigues was developed by
the election. Each candidate sought to gain a
strong party among the higher and lesser nobility
of Poland, and also to gain the favor of the Porte.
Henry of Anjou seemed at first to have some pros-
pect of success, but this was imperiled by the bloody
massacre of St. Bartholomew, in France, in which,
at a hint from the king and the queen-mother, a hun-
dred thousand Huguenots, great and small — men,
women and children — were attacked, and murdered
(August 26th, 1572). Such barbarity, planned and
carried out in cold blood, had been unheard of in
European history since the murderous attack made
on the Albigenses in the thirteenth century by papal
command. The Lutherans and other adherents of
the Reformation in every country were completely
stunned by this blow. The candidates for the throne
of Poland sought to make capital out of it against
Anjou. So much the more the French candidate,
his mother, and his brother, were compelled to en-
deavor to gain over the Porte to their side. An
ambassador extraordinary was dispatched to Con-
stantinople with this object. So the choice of a king
of Poland rested with a Jew who was in the back-

CH. XVII. HENRY OF ANJOU, 60$

ground, for Solomon Ashkenazi governed the grand
vizir completely, and ruled his will, and he man-
aged foreign affairs in the sultan's name. Solomon
decided in favor of Henry of Anjou, and won
over the grand vizir to his side. When Henry
of Anjou, by a combination of favorable circum-
stances, was at last chosen almost unanimously
(May, 1573), the French ambassador boasted that
he had not been one of the last in bringrinor about
this election. But Solomon Ashkenazi ventured to
write as follows to the king of Poland, afterwards
king of France under the name of Henry III: "I
have rendered your majesty most important service
in securing your election ; I have effected all that
was done here " (at the Porte).

Great sensation was aroused throughout Christian
Europe when this Jewish physician and diplomatist
was appointed by the Porte to conclude the peace
which he had for several years been trying to bring
about with Venice, and thus to stand forth as a
person of the highest official importance. The Jew-
ish ambassador was not accepted without opposition
by the illustrious republic. The subject was eagerly
discussed in the senate, and the members of the
government were against him. But, on the one
hand, the grand vizir, Mahomet SokoUi, was resolved
upon it, because Solomon enjoyed his unreserved
confidence, and he wished through him to establish
diplomatic relations for other purposes. On the
other hand, the words of the Venetian consul, Mark
Antonio Barbaro, who repeatedly assured his state
that the Jewish diplomatist cherished the warmest
sympathy with Venice, made a great impression.
Under these circumstances, " Rabbi Solomon Ash-
kenazi," as he was termed, went to Venice in the
capacity of envoy extraordinary from Turkey. When
once he was acknowledged, the dignitaries of
the republic, the doge, and the senators, paid
him the greatest honor and attention, because

6o6 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. XVII.

the Turkish court was very sensitive on this
point, and would have regarded want of due respect
to its representative as an insult. Solomon was,
therefore, received in state audience at the doge's
palace, and there the act of peace between Turkey
and Venice was signed by him on behalf of the
former. The signoria showed him the most polite
attentions during his stay in Venice (May to July,
1574), and all the European ambassadors in Venice
paid him court.

Solomon was an angel of deliverance to his fellow-
believers in Venice. Their joy at the honor shown
by the authorities to one of their race was mingled
with anxiety and sorrow on account of threatened
expulsion. The doge Mocenigo had insisted upon
the fulfillment of the decree of banishment previ-
ously issued against the Jews. Many Jewish families
had already departed without waiting for the term
to expire. Solomon had arranged with Jacopo Sor-
anzo, the Venetian agent in Constantinople, to re-
ceive these unfortunates. On his return to Venice,
Soranzo at once brought the question of the Jews
to the consideration of the council of the doge and
the Ten. He made them understand the injury
to the republic which would arise by the expulsion
of the Jews. Those driven out of Spain and Por-
tugal had manufactured guns and other arms for
the Turks, and it would be a serious matter to make
enemies of a people who constituted a power in
Turkey. To maintain friendship with this country
would be the surest guarantee of peace, as neither
the pope nor Spain could be trusted. This earnest
appeal of Soranzo in favor of the Jews effected a
change in the disposition of the doge and the Dieci
(ten) towards them. The decree of banishment was
revoked (July 19th, 1573), and Solomon's presence
in Venice served to increase the joy of his fellow-
believers, as he obtained for them the promise that
they should never again be threatened with expul-

CH. XVII. SOLOMON ASHKENAZI. 607

sion. Loaded with honors and enriched by a gift
of ten pounds (weight) of gold, Solomon returned
to Constantinople, where his position became more
assured and his importance greater than ever. His
son, who was residing in Venice for his education,
was treated by the doge with the greatest consider-
ation.

In consequence of the influence of Joseph of
Naxos over Sultan Selim and of Solomon Ashkenazi
over the prime minister, Mahomet Sokolli, the foreign
Christian courts strove yet more earnestly to obtain
the favor of the Turkish Jews in Stambul. If one of
them wished to effect any object with the Porte, it first
of all sought a Jewish negotiator, because without this
aid there was no prospect of success. Even the
morose Philip II of Spain, that incarnate hater of Jews
and heretics, was obliged to turn to Jewish media-
tors in order to obtain peace with the Turks. The
position of the Jews in Turkey, and above all in the
capital, under the very eyes of their powerful pro-
tectors, was, therefore, extraordinarily favorable.
They were able to put forth all their powers freely,
and thus earned the wealth which then meant power,
as it does now. The wholesale trade and customs
dues were mostly in their hands ; they also carried
on wholesale shipping, and emulated the \^enetians.
They owned the largest and best houses, with
gardens and kiosks, in Constantinople, equal to
those of the grand vizir.

This prosperity, freedom, and security of the
Turkish Jews could not fail to produce an exalted
frame of mind, to open a prospect beyond the actual
present, and to stir up their minds to activity. The
mental fertility of the Spanish Jews, which brought
so much that is beautiful and true to the light of
day, was not exhausted or extinct in Turkey. The
taste for history and events outside the Jewish world
was not yet lost to them. Moses Almosnino, a
favorite preacher at Salonica, while on a visit to

6o8 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. XVII.

Constantinople to procure privileges for the com-
munity of Salonica, described life in the Turkish
capital, with its contrasts of glowing heat and be-
numbing cold, its astonishing wealth and terrible
poverty, its enervating luxury and severe privations,
its extravagant generosity and heartless greed,
exaggerated piety and callous indifference, which
followed one another abruptly, without any gradual
transition. In his Spanish w^ork on the " Contrasts
and Greatness of Constantinople," Almosnino de-
scribed the power and development of the Turkish
empire with the pen of a master. He had a taste
for the sciences and philosophy, and worked out his
sermons as well as his expositions of the Scriptures
in a scientific shape.

The physician, Samuel Shulam, likewise a Span-
iard by birth, also had a great taste for history. He
led a life of adventure until he was taken up by a
Jewish woman in Constantinople, named Esther
Kiera, in high favor with the sultana. He published
Zacuto's poor but useful chronicle at her expense
(1566 — 1567). This favorite of the court-Jewess
also translated from the Latin the interesting work
of the old Jewish historian Josephus against the
attacks of Apion, the Alexandrine enemy of the
Jews, being the first Jewish writer to make use of
it. The dark side of Jewish history, the thousand
years' martyrdom of the Jewish race, was at the
same time described by a more competent historian,
the now venerable Joseph Cohen, of Spanish de-
scent. His "Vale of Weeping " presents a long series
of mournful scenes, tortures, death, and distress in
every form, but he was enabled to conclude his his-
tory with the joyful tidings that the Venetians were
eager, if only from policy, to pay honor to and
distinguish a Jew, the Turkish ambassador Solomon
Ashkenazi.

Even Hebrew poetry bore some blossoms at this
period in Turkey, and although but autumn flowers,

CH. XVII. GEDALYA IBN-YACHYA. 609

showing traces of damp mists and a pale sun, they
form an agreeable contrast to the joyless wintry
waste of other regions and times. But we are more
interested in the originator of these efforts than in
the productions themselves. He was a certain Ibn-
Yachya of the Turkish branch of this widespread
family. This family preserved nobility of heart and
mind throughout a long line of generations. The
great-grandfather Jacob Tam, the grandfather Ge-
dalya Ibn-Yachya, the grandson Moses, and the
great-grandson Gedalya Ibn-Yachya II, with all col-
lateral branches, were without exception friends of
learning, and shared their property with the poor.
Moses Ibn-Yachya not only spent thousands of duc-
ats on sufferers at the time of the plague, but even ex-
posed himself to the risk of death in his attendance
upon the sick. His son Gedalya, a wise man and an
agreeable orator, imitated his father in all his virtues,
and by his love for poetry excelled him in gifts of
the mind. He formed a sort of school or circle of
poetry, that is to say, he assembled from time to
time, at his own expense, all those interested in
neo-Hebrew poetry, to recite their poems, and
urofed those at a distance to send him the fruit
of their muse in order to encouraL-e their zeal for
this beautiful but neglected art. Two poets dis-
tinguished themselves in this numerous circle, Je-
hu da Zarko and Saadio Longo. To them we may
add Israel Najara, the prolific versifier, living in Da-
mascus. It is true that the verses of these writers
do not contain much real poetry, and that the authors
deserve the name of poet only on account of the
smoothness and euphony of their style. As a mat-
ter of course this group of poets extolled Gedalya
Ibn-Yachya, their patron and protector, in their
verses.

The Jews of Turkey also wrote Latin verses in
the security and comfort of their present life. The
writers were, of course, immigrant Marranos, who

6lO HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. XVII.

had learnt the language of their oppressors in the
dungeons of Spain and Portugal. When the con-
scientious physician, Amatus Lusitanus, whose aid
had been sought alike by kings and beggars, and
who, on account of the intolerance of the reaction-
ary policy, emigrated from Italy to Salonica, and
there acquired new friends and admirers, fell a sac-
rifice to his devoted energy, and died of the plague,
one of his friends, the Marrano Flavio Jacopo de
Evora, composed a memorial to him in beautiful
Latin verses to the following effect :

He who so often recalled the breath well-nigh gone from the dying,
and was, therefore, beloved by kings and peoples, lies far from the
land of his birth, beneath the dust of Macedonia.

The exaltation of the Turkish Jews and their
contentment with their present condition imbued
them with thoughts of independence. Whilst the
Jews of Christendom had no such thought, and from
time immemorial considered themselves in a con-
dition of subjugation to their masters, the Turkish
Jews became familiar with the idea of regarding
themselves as independent men.

Joseph of Naxos long cherished the thought
of founding a Jewish state. The Jew and the states-
man in him yearned for this, and the enormous
wealth of his mother-in-law, over which he had con-
trol, was to serve him as the means for its execu-
tion. Even when a fugitive Marrano he had seri-
ously put before the Republic of Venice the request
that it give him one of its numerous islands, so that
he might people it with Jewish inhabitants. But
this was refused either on account of the narrow-
mindedness of the Christians or the fear of mercan-
tile competition. When later on Joseph stood high
in favor with Prince Selim, and also with Sultan
Solyman, he obtained from them, besides seven
villages, the ruins of the city of Tiberias, for a small
Jewish state to be peopled only with Jews. He sent
one of his agents to superintend the re-building of

CH. XVII. A JEWISH STATE PROJECTED. 6ll

Tiberias. The Turkish prince gave the pasha of
Egypt strict orders to assist the building in every
way. The Arab occupants of the neighboring
villages were compelled to render forced labor, and
the new and beautiful houses and streets of the city
of Tiberias were completed in a year. Joseph of
Naxos wished to make it a manufacturing town to
compete with Venice. He planted mulberry-trees
for the cultivation of silk-worms, and introduced
looms for the manufacture of silks ; he also imported
wool from Spain for the making of fine cloth.

Joseph does not seem to have directed his full
energy to the little Jewish state ; his plans were far
more extensive, and thus New Tiberias never
became an important place. He next endeavored
to obtain the island of Naxos as a dukedom,
together with the adjacent islands of the yEgean
Sea, and when he was fortunate enough to be
appointed duke by Sultan Selim, he thought no
more about peopling his litde island state with Jews ;
perhaps it was not practicable. His mind was next
set on becoming king of Cyprus. It is possible
that he might have transformed this island of the
goddess of beauty into a Jewish state had he ob-
tained possession of it, but his enemy, the grand
vizir, Mahomet Sokolli, prevented this. Thus his
dreams of founding an independent Jewish state
were dispelled. In reality, Joseph of Naxos did
nothing of lasting importance for Judaism. He
made various attempts, and then relaxed in his
endeavors, or misspent his means.

The fact that Jews occupied an exceedingly
favored position in Turkey for so long a period
did not result in correspondingly enduring pro-
gress. They did not produce a single great genius
who originated ideas to stimulate future ages, nor
mark out a new line of thouorht for men of aver-
age intelligence. Not one of the leaders of the
different congregations was above the level of me-

6l2 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. XVII.

diocrity. The rabbis and preachers were deeply-
learned in their particular subjects, but kept to the
beaten track, without making a new discovery or
bequeathing an original contribution, even in their
own department. Only one rabbi left to posterity
an epoch-making work, which even yet possesses
significance, disputed though it be ; but even this
work contained nothing new or original. Joseph
Karo, chief rabbi of the city of Safet, in Palestine,
completed, after many years of toil, a new book of
religious ordinances, the "Shulchan Aruch." Relig-
ious impulses, mystical fanaticism, and ambition,
had equal shares in the making of this book. For
Joseph Karo was still subject to strange visions : he
still believed that he would be recognized every-
where as the highest authority by the compilation
of his religious code, a norm for Jewish religious
life ; and that, by this means, he would accomplish
the revival of rabbinical ordination, in which Jacob
Berab had failed ; restore, in fact, the unity of Juda-
ism, and thereby hasten the coming of the Messiah.
He spent the whole of his life in collecting the vast
material, in weighing the pros and cons of argu-
ments, drawing conclusions and arranging them in
their proper places. By doing this he supplied a
serious want. There was no manual that embraced
the whole field of religious observance. As the
Talmud and the later religious codes to an even
greater extent favored differences of opinion upon
nearly every single point in matters of religion,
ritual, law and the marriage state, disputes con-
stantly occurred which led to altercation and divis-
ions in the communities, for it rarely happened that
two rabbis agreed upon any question that came up
for discussion. Each was able to adduce reasons
for or against any argument from the vast mass of
rabbinical literature.

It was this confusion and divergence of opinion
that Joseph Karo wished to check by means of his

CH. XVII. "THE SHULCHAN ARUCH." 613

new religious Code. He embraced the whole of
the vast field of Talmudic and rabbinical literature,
although his intellect could not master it. By birth
a Spaniard, he involuntarily preferred the views of
Spanish authorities to those of French and German
writers. Hence he allowed partiality to creep into
his compilation. As a matter of course, too, Karo
admitted various elements of mysticism, though
only sparingly, as if unwilling to place the Zohar
upon a level with the Talmud in matters of prac-
tical religious observance. He has embodied in
his Code excellent precepts in regard to sanctity,
chastity, brotherly love, morality, and honesty in
business, drawn from the Talmud and the rabbinical
writings ; but they disappear in a sea of casuistical
details and mere externals, in a patchwork of divis-
ions and subdivisions, of " ifs" and " buts." In this
work there appears an altogether different kind of
Judaism from that revealed on Sinai, announced by
the prophets, or even taught by Maimuni. But this
Judaism thoroughly suited the ideas of the Jews of
that period, and therefore Karo's Code was imme-
diately hailed with delight, disseminated, and re-
ceived as the infallible standard authority in Turkey,
throughout the East, in Italy, and even in Poland.

Thus religious life received a certain finality
and unity, but at the expense of spirituality and
freedom of thought. From Karo Judaism received
the form maintained up to the present time. His
dream was partially fulfilled. His rabbinical writ-
ings became the common property of Judaism, and
gave it religious unity. But he himself did not
become the leader and head, as the "Spirit of the
Mishna " had repeatedly promised him : he was
only honored as one authority among many others.
Still less did he restore the ordination of rabbi-
judges as members of a Synhedrion, or hasten in
any way the coming of the Messiah.

At that time there was a man in Italy, who not

6l4 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. XVII.

only surpassed all his Jewish contemporaries in his
spirit of inquiry and desire for truth, but who would
have been able to purify Judaism from the dross
of centuries of hardship, if the tendency of the
age had not run counter to this endeavor, or if he
had had greater courage in opposing it. Azarya
ben Moses dei Rossi (born at Mantua about 15 14,
died in 1578), descended from an old Italian family,
had buried himself so deeply in books, that his
body bore traces of severe suffering from over-study.
Feeble, yellow, withered, and afflicted with fever, he
crept about like a dying man. Yet in this living
corpse a powerful and healthy mind worked with
great activity. He had thoroughly mastered the
whole of Jewish literature, besides being well read
in Latin historical works, and he had also prac-
ticed medicine. At the same time he led a wan-
dering life. He dwelt for some time at Ferrara,
then in Bologna, had to leave that city in conse-
quence of the persecution and expulsion of the
Jews under Pius V, and finally settled again per-
manently in Ferrara. He held intercourse with the
greatest Jews, Christians, and Marranos of his age,
and was regarded by all with astonishment as a
marvel of learning. He did not allow the treasures
of his knowledge to lie dead within him, but let
them grow and spread luxuriantly. Ancient history
possessed special attraction for him. But even more
admirable than his vast reading was the use he made
of it. He was the first to bringr into contact and
connection with one another two provinces of liter-
ature which were far apart — the Talmud and its
offshoots, with Philo, Josephus, and the works
of the Church Fathers, proving the truth of histor-
ical narratives from the mouths of many witnes-
ses. Dei Rossi, too, was the only one not satis-
fied with the data of tradition ; he accepted nothing
as truth till he had subjected it to a searching
examination.

CH. XVn. AZARYA DEI ROSSI. 6l$

Chance brought to Hght the mental treasures of
Del Rossi. Ferrara, where, after leaving Bologna,
he had settled shortly before, had been visited by
a terrible earthquake (November i8th, 1570), and
the inhabitants were compelled to leave their ruined
and crumbling houses and seek places of refuge
outside the city. In one of the villages Dei Rossi
happened to meet a learned Christian, who was try-
ing to overcome the gloomy thoughts caused by
the earthquake by reading a Greek book of Jewish
antiquity. In conversation Dei Rossi became aware
that his co-religionists, even those possessed of some
culture, owing to their one-sided absorption in the
Talmud or obsolete philosophical writings, knew
nothing of their own brilliant literature of the period
of the Second Temple, whilst Christians resorted to
it to dispel melancholy thoughts. Encouraged by
his Christian friend, he determined to translate into
Hebrew the " Letter of Aristas," supposed to be
the discourse of a Greek king about the wisdom of
the Jews, in order to make it accessible to his fellow-
believers. He completed this task in tAventy days.
This was the first-fruit of his learning, and it led him
on to further undertakings. His principal work,
" Light of the Eyes," consists chiefly of parallel pas-
sages from Talmudic and profane sources upon the
same subjects. Dei Rossi's distinction rests upon
the fact that he did not adhere to tradition, but ap-
plied the methods of scientific inquiry to what the
multitude regarded as unassailable truths, and that
he used profane sources in elucidating them. The
actual results of this historical investigation, for the
most part, have proved unsound. Strong as Dei
Rossi was in removing obstructive rubbish, his power
of reconstruction was small.

The value of his efforts appears in its proper light
only if we compare them with the circumstances of
his time, or with the works of contemporary writers
on the same subject, as, for example, those of Ge-

6l6 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. XVll.

dalya Ibn-Yachya ; to these they form a complete
contrast.

A descendant of the Italian branch of the noble
Ibn-Yachya family, Gedalya inherited taste for
knowledge. He was born in 15 15, and died in 1587.
His wealth enabled him to satisfy his taste by col-
lecting a magnificent library. In his voluntary and
compulsory journeys in northern Italy — for he was
a preacher, and owing to the intolerance of the
popes had to lead an unsettled life — he had seen
and read much, both in sacred and profane literature,
but without independent judgment, without discrimi-
nation, and without appreciation of the essence of
truth. Ibn-Yachya's abbreviated " History of the
Jews," together with a chronicle of the world, called
"The Chain of Tradition," at which he worked for
nearly forty years, is a confused medley of authen-
tic historical narratives and mere fables. But in
spite, or perhaps because, of its legendary con-
tents, his book has found more acceptance among
Jews than the researches of Dei Rossi. When the
first edition of the latter's "Light of the Eyes"
found its way to Safet, the orthodox of that town
declared its contents to be heretical. Joseph Karo
commissioned Elisha Gallaico, one of the members
of his rabbinical college, to draw up an indictment,
to be distributed amongst all Jews, ordering Dei
t^oisi's work to be burned. The people of Safet
likewise had an inquisition. But Joseph Karo died
(in Nisan, i.e., April, 1575) before he had signed
the indictment. The Italian Jews were not so fanat-
ical as to condemn Dei Rossi, for they knew him to
be a pious and pure Jew. But the rabbis of Mantua
employed the procedure of Ben Adret concerning the
study of profane literature, that is, they forbade the
reading of Dei Rossi's works by young people un-
der twenty-five years of age. In consequence of
this semi-official sentence of heresy, the book exer-
cised but little influence upon the Jewish world of

CH. XVII. THE JEWISH "DARK AGE." 617

that day, or the generation immediately succeeding
it, and has been appreciated only in quite recent
times, when it created a new, enlightened view of
history in Jewish circles. But in the Christian
world Dei Rossi's work was noticed much sooner,
and was annotated, and translated into Latin.

How, indeed, could a sober, critical method of
inquiry have found favor in an age when the mystic,
dazing Kabbala was the first authority, bidding men
esteem blind credulity as the highest virtue, and
exciting visionary enthusiasm to the highest pitch
of fanatical intoxication ? The visions of Solomon
Molcho and Joseph Karo and their fond enthusiasm
about the Messiah were sober compared with the
excitement which reigned after their death, and cele-
brated a veritable witches' Sabbath. During the
last three decades of the sixteenth century the Kab-
bala gained sole mastery in Palestine, conjured up
apparitions, and encouraged orgies of mysticism.
It spread thence over the whole of Turkey,
Poland, Germany, and Italy, darkening and con-
fusing men's minds, having an evil influence even
upon their hearts, allowing no healthy thought
to appear, or branding such thought as heretical
and sinful. Once again, as in the early days of
Christianity, Galilee, especially the district of Safet,
became the scene of a host of evil spirits, of
people possessed with devils, which challenged
mystic exorcism, and revealed profound mysteries;
and it is impossible to say whether the possessed
appeared in consequence of the exorcisers, or the
latter of the former. It was a period of Kab-
balistic mania, coincident with profligacy and moral
degradation, and its victims despised not only the
sciences, but even the Talmud with its exhorta-
tions to sobriety. Then for the first time the Jewish
world entered on a "dark aee" of its own, with all
the appropriate credulity, while only the last traces
of such darkness were visible in Europe generally.

6l8 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. XVII.

This tendency was exaggerated by two men, who
by their fanaticism and visionary extravagance in-
fected a continually widening circle. These were
Isaac Lurya and his disciple Chayim Vital Cala-
brese.

Isaac Lurya Levi (born in Jerusalem in 1534, and
died 1572) was descended from a German family.
Left an orphan at an early age by the death of his
father, young Isaac came to Egypt, to the house of
a rich uncle, Mardochai Francis, a tax-farmer, and
began to study the Talmud. The dry study of the
Talmud, which filled the mind with voluminous
learning, unfruitful hairsplitting, and mere formulas,
yet failed to satisfy the wants of the heart, seems
to have become repugnant to Lurya, and to have
driven him to fantastic mysticism. He preferred
the awful loneliness of the Nile country to the noise
of the school ; abstraction in worlds of mysticism
and devout praying to working out intellectual prob-
lems. He was greatly attracted by the Zohar, which
had then been printed for the first time, and, widely
spread abroad, had become accessible to everybody.
The more familiar he became with the Kabbala
through his absorption in the sounding emptiness
of the Zohar, the more did he seek solitude, and
the less intercourse had he with men. He even
neglected his young wife, only visited his house from
Sabbath to Sabbath, and spoke little, that little being
only in Hebrew. Lurya is said to have spent several
years in solitude in this manner, and the result was
that like all whose reason is weaker than their imag-
ination, he became a confirmed visionary. The
mystic book, the Zohar, his constant companion in
this seclusion, aided in exciting his imagination.
Firmly convinced of its authenticity as the work of
Simon bar Yochai, and also of the divine character
of all the fantasies and follies therein revealed,
Lurya persisted in seeing in it high allusions and
profound wisdom. In his heated imagination he

CH. XVII. ISAAC LURYA. 619

even saw Elijah, the teacher of mysteries, face to
face.

But what did the prophet Elijah, or the Zohar, or
rather his own heated imagination, reveal to him ?
First he took the trouble to put system, unity, and
logical order into the confusion and intricacies of the
Zohar, as if connected thought could be expected in
the idle chatter of a half imbecile. The hermit of
Cairo sought to deduce from it how God had created
and ordered the world by means of the mystic num-
bers (Sefiroth), or how the Godhead revealed itself
in the forms of substances, or how it concentrated
itself within itself in order to project the finite nature
of created thinofs from its own infinitude. Thus he
evolved an extraordinarily complicated system of
powers and opposing powers, forces and counter-
forces, forms and degrees (Parsophin), in the four
spheres of Separation, Creation. Formation, and
Transformation ; and he clothed these empty ab-
stractions with such wondrous names, that he after-
wards complained, with reason, that no one could
understand his mystic system. Yet Lurya looked
upon this intricate and complex theory of the crea-
tion as only a kind of introduction to what seemed
to him a much more important and practical part of
the Kabbala. whereby the divine order of the world
(Olam ha-Tikkun) could be brought about. This
practical Kabbala of Lurya rests upon a not less
marvelous doctrine of souls, also based upon the
visions of the Zohar.

Our souls, he says, reflect the close connection
between the finite and the infinite, and. therefore,
have a manifold character. The whole of the soul
material to appear in temporal life was created with
Adam, but each soul, according to its higher or
lower degree, was fashioned in, from, or with the
first man, out of higrh or low oro-ans and forms. Ac-
cordingly, there are souls of the brain, the eyes, the
hands, and the feet. Each of these must be regarded

620 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. XVII,

as an effluence, or spark (Nizuz), from Adam. By
the first sin of the first man — for the Kabbala finds
original sin necessary for its fanciful creations — the
higher and the lower, the superior and the inferior
souls, good and evil, became confused and mingled to-
gether. Even the purest beings thereby received an
admixture of evil and the devilish element of the
"husk" (Kelifa). But the moral order of the world,
or the purification of the first man, cannot be brought
about till the consequences of original sin, the con-
fusion of good and evil, are obliterated and removed.
From the most evil part of the soul material emanates
the heathen world ; the people of Israel, on the other
hand, come from the good part. But the former are
not quite without an admixture of the original good,
while the latter are not free from an admixture of
the corrupt and demoniac. This imperfection gives
the continual impulse towards sin, and hinders the
chosen fragment of the human race from following
the law of God, the Torah. The Messianic period
will put an end to the disturbance of divine order
arising from the first sin, or abolish the disorder
which has since crept in, and will introduce, or see
introduced, the divinity of the world. Therefore, a
complete separation of good from evil must take
place, and this can only happen through Israel, if it
or each of its members will lose or cast away the
admixture of evil. For this purpose, men's souls
(especially those of the Israelites) have to wander
through the bodies of men and animals, even through
rivers, wood, and stones. The doctrine of the
transmigration of souls forms the center and basis
of Lurya's Kabbala, but he has a peculiar develop-
ment of the idea. According to this theory even
the souls of the pious must suffer transmigration,
since not even they are free from the taint of evil ;
there is none righteous upon earth, who does only
good, and sins not. In this way, Lurya solved the
difficulty, which former Kabbalist writers could not
overcome.

CH. XVII. TRANSMIGRATION OF SOULS. 621

But this separation of the good and evil elements
in the world's soul material, the expiation and oblit-
eration of original sin, or the restoration of the divine
order in Adam, would require a long series of ages,
owing to the impulse towards sin continually pres-
ent. There are, however, means of hastening this
process, and this was the really original doctrine
that Lurya enunciated. Besides the transmigration
of our souls, sinful and subject to demoniac forces
as they are, there is another mode of expiation, the
elevation or impregnation of the soul (Ibbur, super-
foetatio). If a purified soul has neglected various
religious duties here on earth, or has had no oppor-
tunity of fulfilling them, it must return to the earthly
life, attach itself to the soul of a living human being,
and unite and coalesce with it in order to retrieve
this neglect. Or again, the departed spirits of men
freed from sin appear again on earth to support
the weak and wavering souls w^hich cannot attain
to good by their own efforts, strengthen them and
lead them to the final goal. These pure spirits
combine with weaker souls still struggling, and
form a union with them, provided that they
have some affinity with one another, i. e., if they
originate from the same spark or organ of Adam,
since as a rule only similar (homogeneous) souls
attract each other, w^hile on the other hand dissim-
ilar (heterogeneous) souls repel each other. Ac-
cording to this theory the banishment and dispersion
of Israel have for their purpose the salvation of the
world or of men's souls. The purified spirits of
pious Israelites unite with the souls of men of other
nationalities in order to free them from the demoni-
acal impurities that possess them,

Isaac Lurya imagined a complete system of the
transmigration and combination of souls. It also
seemed to him important to know the sex of a soul,
for feminine souls are found in masculine bodies,
and vice versa, according to the transmigration and

622 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. XVII.

attraction in each case. It is especially important
in contracting a marriage to know whether the souls
of man and wife harmonize with each other in
respect of origin and degree. By means of this
secret the visionary of Cairo expected to solve the
other mystery, namely, how good spirits may be
conjured down from heaven, and in a measure com-
pelled to enter the bodies of living men, and thus
made to divulge revelations of the world beyond.
Hereby he believed that he held the key to the king-
dom of the Messiah and the reofeneration of the
world. Lurya also believed that he possessed the
soul of the Messiah of the branch of Joseph, and
that he had a Messianic mission. He saw spirits
everywhere, and heard their whispers in the rushing
of the waters, the movements of the trees and grass,
in the song or twittering of birds, even in the flicker-
ing of flames. He saw- how at death the souls were
set free from the body, how they hovered in the air,
or rose out of their graves. He held intimate inter-
course with the saints of the Bible, the Talmud, and
with the rabbis, in particular with Simon bar Yochai.
In short, Lurya was a ghost-seer and raiser of the
dead, a second Abraham Abulafia, or Solomon Mol-
cho, arousing hopes of the coming of the Messiah
by Kabbalistic jugglery, but with all this fanaticism
he was sober and sophistical. He introduced the
casuistry of the Talmud into the Kabbala.

In Egypt, Isaac Lurya found little or no favor
with his labyrinth of higher worlds and his theories
of creation and redemption. To realize his scheme
of redemption he migrated with his wife and child to
Safet, the Jerusalem of mysticism, where the mystic
doctrine flourished, and the Zohar, the spurious
work of Moses de Leon, was exalted to the same
level as the Law of Moses ben Amram. Almost the
whole college of rabbis and the chief leaders of Safet
were Kabbalists. This place was at the time a
flourishing city inhabited only by Jews. The mem-

CH. XVII. CHAYIM VITAL CALABRESE. 623

bers of the community knew little of oppression or
the cares of life, and so the Kabbalists could spin
mystical theories to their hearts' content. They felt
as safe under the favor that the Jewish Duke of
Naxos found with the sultan, as if in a state of their
own, politically independent. The Kabbalists had
gone so far in their imitation of Catholicism that
they had adopted auricular confession and the ador-
ation of martyrs. And this was the stage on which
Lur)'a, the creator of the new Kabbala, was to
originate new aberrations.

At first (about 1569), he appears to have re-
ceived little attention in the city of Kabbalists.
Only through his acquaintance and connection with
a still greater visionary, perhaps not quite so honest
as himself, did he become a person of consequence,
and infect ever^'one with his waking dreams. This
man was the Italian Chayim Vital Calabrese (born
1543, died 1620), whose father, a copyist of the
scrolls of the Law, had traveled to Palestine from
Italy. Vital had learned nothing thoroughly in his
younger days ; he had only gained a smattering of
the Talmud and mystic lore. He possessed a wild,
extravagant imagination, and a decided inclination
for adventure and sensation. For two years and a
half Vital had occupied his time with alchemy and
the art of making gold. From this mystic art he
turned to Lurya's Kabbala. It is not known which
of these two men first sought the other, but it is
certain that each, without wishing it, deceived the
other. Together they visited desolate places and
graves, particularly the grave of Simon bar Yochai,
the feigned author of the Zohar, in Meiron. This
was Lurya's favorite spot, because there he fancied
he could draw down upon himself the spirit of this
supposed chief of the mystics. Now and again
Lurya sent forth his disciple to conjure up spirits,
and for this purpose delivered to him certain for-
mulas made up of the transposed letters of the

624 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. XVII.

name of the Deity. Of course, evil spirits fled be-
fore Vital' s gaze, whilst good spirits attached them-
selves to him, and communicated their secrets.

It was Vital who spread sensational reports con-
cerning the extraordinary, almost divine gifts of his
master, and of his power over departed and living
souls ; doing so, it appears, with an artful calcula-
tion of effect and publicity. Lurya, once so isolated,
now found himself surrounded by crowds of visit-
ors ; Kabbalists, young and old, came to listen
to the new revelation. Several disciples attached
themselves to him, and he communicated to them
his confused thoughts, assigned to each the original
Adamite soul that dwelt in him, the transmigra-
tions which it had undergone before its present
corporeal existence, and its functions on earth. It
never occurred to these people, already enmeshed
in the Kabbalistic net, to doubt the truth of these
communications. The disciples that gathered round
him Lurya formed into two classes : the " initiated "
and the "novices."

Mystical conversations and notes, the inter-
viewing and summoning of spirits, formed the oc-
cupation of Lurya and his followers. In short,
Lurya was on the eve of founding a new Jewish
sect. On the Sabbath he dressed in white, and
wore a fourfold garment to symbolize the four
letters of the name of God. The underlying fact
of all his revelations and exertions was that he was
the Messiah of the race of Joseph, the forerunner
of the Messiah of David's line. This, however, he
only furtively hinted to his disciples. His delusion
was that the Messianic period would commence at
the beginning of the second half of the second
period of a thousand years since the destruction of
the Temple, i. e., in 1568.

The sudden death of the mystic, at the age of
thirty-eight, conduced still more to his glorification.
Death is wont to transfigure natures like his, and

CH. XVII. INJURIOUS EFFECTS OF THE KABBALA. 62$

veneration for them increases as years roll on. Widi
Eastern exaggeration, his disciples regarded him as
even more than a worker of wonders ; they called
him the " Holy and Divine," and sought, for their
own glory, to win adherents for him and his visionary
extravagances. They declared that, if Lurya could
only have lived five years longer, he would have im-
proved the world so effectually, that the Messianic
period would certainly have begun. Abraham Abu-
lafia, who had evolved a Kabbalistic medley from
his own consciousness, was declared a heretic, and
persecuted. Isaac Lurya, who had done the same
thing with the Zohar as a foundation, was almost
deified.

After Lurya' s death, Vital Calabrese came to the
fore. He immediately usurped a kind of authority
over his fellow-disciples, pretended that Lurya on
his deathbed had appointed him his successor, and, in
feigned obedience to a dying request of his master,
took away from them the written notes given them
by Lurya. Vital let it be understood that he was
the Messiah of the race of Joseph, However, some
disciples did not pay any attention to this, and forth-
with taught in various countries what they had re-
ceived from Lurya himself. This was especially
done by Israel Saruk in Italy, whither he had traveled.

The harm that the Kabbalistic doctrines of Lurya
caused in Jewish circles is inexpressible. Judaism
became surrounded with so thick a husk of mysticism,
that it has not even yet succeeded in entirely freeing
itself, and showing its true kernel. Through Lurya's
influence there was formed, side by side with the
Judaism of the Talmud and the rabbis, a Judaism of
the Zohar and the Kabbala. For it was due to him
that the spurious Zohar was placed upon a level
with, indeed higher than, the Holy Scriptures and
the Talmud.

The mysticism of Lurya laid stress upon an idea
which has been strangely neglected in Jewish circles.

626 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. XVII.

viz., devotion in prayer, but even this devotion
degenerated into Kabbalistic trifling. Every word
and every syllable of the ordained prayers was to
be meditated on devoutly, so that one might reflect
upon the worlds of the Sefiroth, the number of the
names of God hidden therein, and many other
things. Lurya's Kabbala certainly inculcated the
preservation of an unruffled disposition, and inter-
dicted dejection, or outbreaks of anger and ill-humor.
But this serenity, from its mystical setting, received
a touch of constraint and unpleasantness, like the
laughter of a madman. The Sabbath, with its
prayers and meals, forms the central point of Lurya's
mystic teaching. He looked upon it as the visible
representation of the world of the Sefiroth, as the
embodiment of the Divinity (Shechinah) in temporal
life, and all actions done or left undone on that day
had an influence upon the higher world. Lurya's
followers welcomed the Sabbath, " the mystic bride,"
with chanting, and for this purpose Lurya composed
Chaldaic songs full of obscure and meaningless
formulas. His Kabbala also introduced a second
Day of Atonement. The " Day of Hosannas," the
seventh day of the Feast of Tabernacles, was for-
merly observed as a day of festivity. Even Joseph
Karo did not venture in his code to attribute a
higher, mystical, religious function to this day.
Lurya's school first raised it, on the authority of the
Zohar, to the rank of a minor day of expiation, in-
troduced the practice of holding a mystic vigil the
previous night, and perceived in every leaf of the
willow branches, and in the seven-fold processions
round the scrolls of the Law, a.higher, mystical mean-
ing. In relation to morality, too, the mysticism of
Lurya had a corrupting influence. It demanded a
•' harmony of souls " as a condition of marriage, and,
therefore, whenever disagreement showed itself in
married life, it was said that the marriage was not a
vinion foreordained by the harmony of the Sefiroth.

CH. XVII. DEATH OF JOSEPH NASSI. 627

Kabbalists, therefore, separated from theii wives
in consequence of the smallest dissension in married
life, to seek out the harmonious soul predestined
for them. Thus divorce became frequent in Kab-
balistic circles. Kabbalists often left their wives
and children in the West, and, migrating to the
East, contracted a new marriage, or several new
marriages, and the children of the different mar-
riages knew nothing of one another.

These corrupting mystic doctrines did not remain
a dead letter, but were forthwith put into practice
by their adherents. Thus, the brilliance shed by
the Jewish Duke of Naxos and other influential Jews
at the Turkish court over their fellow-believers in
the East, came to resemble the light of the will-o'-
the-wisps that make the waters of a stagnant marsh
gleam with a flickering light. The religious stagna-
tion at the time was glaring indeed ; there was a
complete relapse into heathenism; and what was
worse, there sounded no warning voice which recog-
nized the mischief, or stigmatized, though ever so
feebly, the corruption as it really was. Perhaps the
feeling of complete security in which the Jews in
Turkey reposed under mighty protectors of their
own race had encouraged this religious disorder. In
any case, it did not decrease as this protection gradu-
ally disappeared, when the influence of Joseph of
Naxos ceased on the death of Sultan Selim in 1574.
His successor, Sultan Murad III (1574 — 1595), left
the Jewish duke in possession of his rank and offices
according to his father's dying request. But he no
longer had direct influence over the divan ; he was
supplanted by his adversary, the grand vizir, Maho-
met Sokolli, and his rival, Solomon Ashkenazi, and
could accomplish nothing without intrigues through
the agency of the harem. Joseph Nassi did not long
survive his partial disgrace; he died of calculus, on
August 2d, 1579, sincerely lamented by the Jews.
His accumulated treasures melted away even as his

628 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. XVII.

ambitious designs. The avaricious sultan, Murad,
who slept upon heaps of gold in order that they
might not be stolen from him, by the advice of Ma-
homet SokoUi confiscated all his property, ostensibly
to cover his debts. The widowed duchess, Reyna
Nassi, with difficulty retained her dowry of 90,000
ducats out of her husband's estate. This noble
woman, although she certainly did not possess the
spirit either of her mother, Donna Gracia, or of her
husband, determined like these to spend her wealth
in the interests of Jewish knowledge. She set up a
Hebrew printing press in her palace of Belvedere,
and afterwards in a village called Kuru-Gismu, on
the European side near Constantinople. But she
was misled by Joseph Askaloni, a business manager
devoid of all taste, to whom she had intrusted the
direction of her press, so that only writings of no
importance, which had far better have remained in ob-
scurity, were published in her establishment (1579 —
1598). And so this noble family of two men and
two women, renowned in their own time, left no
worthy or lasting memorial ; and their deeds,
prompted by the noblest intentions, have perished
in the stream of the ages.

Duke Joseph having disappeared from the scene,
the prestige of the Hebrew statesman, Solomon
Ashkenazi, the peacemaker between Turkey and
Venice, increased. But, much as he was able to
accompHsh by means of his diplomatic arts, he did
not, like Joseph of Naxos, stand in the forefront of
events as a Turkish dignitary, but rather remained
in the background as a wise and silent mediator.
Solomon Ashkenazi had no access to the sultan
himself, but only held secret intercourse with the
successive grand vizirs, whose right hand man he
was. The negotiations between Turkey and Spain
to procure a peace, or at least a modus vivendi, de-
sired as it was by both sides, owing to pride on
both sides, were delayed, broken off, and renewed.

CH. XVII. ESTHER KIERA. 629

These diplomatic discussions were conducted by
Solomon, who possessed greater qualifications for
that purpose than anyone else, and the matters in
dispute were partially brought to a conclusion by
him. He was particularly careful to maintain a
good understanding between the Porte and Venice,
and was on this account rewarded by the doge, his
sons being allowed to live in Venice at the expense
of the state.

Also Jewish women of wisdom and good sense,
having skill in medicine, gained great influence by
means of the harem under the sultans Murad III,
Mahomet IV, and Achmed I. Among these women,
Esther Kiera, widow of one Elias Chendali, specially
distinguished herself. She was a great favorite
with the sultana Baffa, herself the favorite wife of
Murad, who influenced politics under her husband
and afterwards during the reign of her son. If
a Christian state wished to gain any object at
the Porte, it had first to win over the Jewish go-
between, Kiera. The Venetians particularly knew
how to turn this fact to account. All ambitious
persons who aimed at attaining high office paid re-
spect to Kiera. and addressed her with flattery.
Naturally, she enriched herself by her secret power,
as did everyone in Turkey who, however strong or
weak he might be, formed one of the spokes in the
wheel of the state. She showed great interest in
her race, supported the poor and suffering, fed the
hungry, and comforted the sorrowful. Jewish sci-
ence was helped by her generous hand. Zacuto's
history, as mentioned before, was published at her
expense. Naturally her position excited envy.
Esther Kiera imprudently allowed herself to be
implicated in the appointment of cavalry officers,
first promising one man a high post and then be-
stowing it on another. The Turkish Spahis, the
proudest class of soldiers, took this treatment very
ill, plotted together, and demanded her head. The

630 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CM. XVII.

deputy grand vizir Chalil wished to save her and
her sons, and allowed them to take refuge in his
palace. But on the very steps Esther Kiera and
her three sons were seized by the Spahis, torn to
pieces, and their limbs hung upon the doors of the
favored magnates who had received their posts
through her influence.

Under Sultan Achmed I, another Hebrew woman,
the widow of the statesman Solomon Ashkenazi,
gained great consideration. She was so fortunate
as to cure the young sultan of the smallpox, which
shortly after his accession threatened his life, and
for which the Turkish physicians knew no remedy.
She was richly rewarded for nursing him back to
health. But such signs of favor towards Jews became
continually rarer in Turkey, and at last ceased
altogether, as the empire sank into enervation,
and each sultan became a Sardanapalus ; while
the harem, on the one hand, and the Spahis and
Janissaries, on the other, held the reins of power.
The glory of the Turkish Jews was extinguished
like a meteor, and plunged into utter darkness,
from time to time illuminated by fanciful visions.
Extortion, robbery, and open deeds of violence, on
the part of the pashas towards Jews, began to
occur daily, since they were now deprived of a
powerful protector at the Sultan's side. The center
of Judaism was shifted to another stage.

CHAPTER XVIIL

THE JEWS IN POLAND.

Condition of Poland — Favorable Situation of the Jews in that Country
— Anti-Jewish Party in Poland — The Jewish Communities —
Judaizing Poles — Studies of the Jews — The Talmud in Poland —
Solomon Lurya — Moses Isserles — The Historian, David Gans —
"Zemach David" — Supremacy of the Polish Authorities in
Rabbinical Matters — The Jewish Seminaries in Poland — The
Disputations at the Fairs — Chiddushim and Chillukim — Stephen
Bathori — His Kindness towards his Jewish Subjects — Sigis-
mund III — Restriction on the Erection of Synagogues — Jewish
Synods — Vaad Arba Arazoth — Mordecai Jafa — Christian Sects in
Poland — The Socinians or Unitarians — Simon Budny — The
Reformers and the Jews — Isaac Troki — " The Strengthening of
Faith."

1566 — 1600 C E.

Poland, which in this century had become a great
power by reason of its union with Lithuania under
the sons of Casimir IV, Hke Turkey, was the refuge
of the outlawed or persecuted. Canonical Chris-
tianity, with its love of persecution, had not yet
struck firm roots there ; and monarchical despotism,
encouraged by priests in its obstinate determination
to realize all its ends regardless of consequences,
could not prevail against the independent spirit of
the Polish nobility. The Starosts ruled unchecked
in their provinces, like the English and Scottish lords
and clans, and could ward off the encroachments of
royalty. The reformed faith, that is to say Calvin's
teaching, was readily received by the nobility and
the middle classes. Poland, therefore, in this century,
too, was a second Babylonia for the Jews, in which
on the whole they were protected from bloody per-
secutions, where some of them could attain to
respectable positions, and where they were allowed
to develop their individuality without restraint.
When the Jews were expelled from Bohemia, and

93H

632 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. XVIII.

turned their steps to Poland, they were kindly
received. Indeed, so highly appreciated were they,
that it was thought that the people could not do with-
out them. When, attracted by the favored position
of their brethren in Turkey, many prepared to
migrate thither, the king made every exertion to
retain them in his land either by persuasion or com-
pulsion. It mattered very little what were the king's
relations to them ; for whether he was kindly or
evilly disposed, the nobles protected those who dwelt
on their estates from all attacks, in as far as their
own interests were not injured thereby. Under
some kings, the Jews received favors, under others,
suffered restrictions, according as hostile or friendly
influences preponderated.

But there was a party in Poland hostile to the
Jews. It regarded with dissatisfied eyes their more
favored position in that country as compared with
the rest of Christendom, and endeavored to abro-
gate the statute of Casimir IV, still in force, giving
protection against unduly severe persecution. It
consisted, on the one hand, of the Catholic clergy
which regretted the absence in the Polish legislation
of canonical restrictions regarding Jews ; on the
other, of the German merchant and artisan class
which feared Jewish competition.

There exists no estimate of the number of Jews
in Poland at this time. It is said that there
were 200,000 adults. The community at Posen
numbered 3,000 members, and there were about
as many in Cracow, or rather in the suburb Kazi-
mierz, to which they had on a former occasion
been banished. The third community in point of
size was at Lublin, The Jews had many taxes to pay
under different heads. For this purpose, indeed,
they were received, and on this account tolerated in
the country, and protected by the kings and
the nobility, being almost the only ones in that
impecunious land who possessed money. For this

CH. XVIIL RELIGION AND CULTURE IN POLAND. 633

reason, also, the kings encouraged their commercial
enterprises. When Sigismund Augustus, soon after
his accession, negotiated for a prolongation of the
peace with the Russian Czar, Ivan IV, called " the
Terrible," he inserted the condition that the Jews of
Lithuania be allowed, as formerly, to freely carry
on trade with Russia. But Ivan absolutely refused
this condition ; he did not wish to see any Jews in
his realm. "We do not want these men," he said,
" who have brought us poison for our bodies and
souls ; they have sold deadly herbs among us. and
blasphemed our Lord and Saviour." A Judaizing
sect had been founded some seventy years before
by a Jew called Zacharias, to which sect even some
of the priests, and a metropolitan named Zosina
belonged. This proselytizing sect continued to exist
till the beginning of the sixteenth century, but its
adherents were severely persecuted when dis-
covered. On this account Jews were not allowed
in Russia.

In consequence of the Reformation, which had
made its way into Poland, a purer taste and a love
of science and literature had developed there. Polish
nobles fond of traveling brought back from Germany
an interest in these matters, and sent their sons to
study at the reformed universities of Wittenberg and
Geneva. Schools arose in Poland where Jewish
boys and youths were instructed together with
Christians. The Polish Jews, it is true, did not
devote themselves to science to a marked degree,
but they were by no means so devoid of it as their
German brethren.

Aristotle, that philosophical authority so familiar
to the Hebrew world and so closely akin to the
Hebrew spirit, found admirers also among Polish
Jews. Even Maimuni's philosophic and religious
writings found a few readers. Astronomy and medi-
cine, two favorite sciences of the Jews from time
immemorial, were studied also by Polish Jews.

634 MnjK:4'.. HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. XVIlI.

Generally speaking, they did not share the intellect-
ual degradation of the Jewish inhabitants of Ger-
many. Among them the study of the Talmud
received an impetus greater almost than in France
in the times of the Tossafist schools. Of all the
Jews in Europe and Asia those in Poland were the
last to become familiar with the Talmud ; as though
desirous of making up for lost time, they cherished
it with extravagant affection. It appeared as if the
deep secrets of the Talmud were to be rightly
understood and completely unraveled and appre-
ciated only in Poland. Comprehensive erudition
and marvelous insight were united in a surprising
manner in the Polish students of this book, and
everyone whom nature had not deprived of all talent
devoted himself to its study. The dead letter re-
ceived new life from the eager inspiration of the
Jewish sons of Poland ; in this land it exerted an
influence of great force, striking sparks of intellect-
ual fire, and creating a ceaseless flow of thought.
The Talmudical schools in Poland henceforward
became the most celebrated throughout the whole
of European Judaism. All who sought sound learn-
ing betook themselves thither. To have been edu-
cated in a college of the Polish Jews was of itself a
sufficient recommendation ; and all who did not
possess this advantage were considered inferiors.

The fame of the rabbinical schools of Poland was
due to three men : Shalom Shachna, Solomon Lurya,
and Moses Isserles. Solomon Lurya (born in Posen
about 1 5 10, died about 1573) came from a family of
German immigrants. Had he been born in a better,
a more intellectual epoch, he would have been one
of the makers of Judaism, perhaps another Maimuni.
But being the son of an age of decadence, he be-
came only a profound and thorough Talmud scholar,
in the higher sense of the word, not remaining satis-
fied with traditional data, but examining every single
point and weighing it in the golden balance of criti-

CH. XVIII. SOLOMON LURYA. 635

cal exactitude. To the thorough and critical inves-
tigation of the great field of the Talmud his whole
mental activity was devoted, and he possessed the
greatest natural qualifications for such critical work.
With his bold spirit of inquiry, ruthlessly subject-
ing everything to the severest examination, Lurya
in any other age would have gone beyond the Tal-
mud, if its contradictions had made themselves glar-
ingly apparent to him. But by this son of an age
of faith the whole book was regarded as an actual
continuation of the revelation made at Sinai, an
unassailable authority, which only needed to be
properly understood, or which wanted perhaps a
little rectification here and there, but as a whole
contained the truth. Lurya was a strongly marked
character, having all the acerbity and angularity
commonly associated therewith. Injustice, venality,
and hypocrisy, were so hateful to him, that he broke
out into what was sometimes imprudent excess of
zealous indignation. By reason of his distinct indi-
viduality and firmness, which he wished to assert
everywhere, Solomon Lurya offended and hurt the
vanity of not a few. He lashed in bitter terms
those Talmudical scholars whose actions did not
correspond to their teaching, and devoted themselves
to the study of rabbinical literature only for the sake
of discussion, or to gain a reputation. Hence he
made many enemies, and in his own time was more
feared than loved. In polemical discussion he was
reckless and unsparing, and very naturally brought
upon himself retaliation which only embittered him
the more. Then he complained of persecution, and
even of the ingratitude of his disciples, who, he said,
had turned against him, and looked at everything
in a gloomy light. He attacked the students of
the Talmud, because, he said, the ignorant were so
many and the possessors of knowledge so few, while
their arrogance continually increased, and no one
was content to take the position that properly be-

636 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. XVIII.

longed to him. No sooner was one of them or-
dained than he assumed the airs of a master,
collected a troop of disciples around him for
money, as people of rank hire a body-guard.
"There are," he complained, "gray-headed rabbis
with very little knowledge of the Talmud, who be-
have imperiously to congregations and to people of
real knowledge, excommunicate and re-admit mem-
bers, ordain disciples — all for their own selfish pur-
poses." Solomon Lurya extended the sarcastic
bitterness of his scorn to German experts in the
Talmud, " who, in the case of people of wealth and
authority, show indulgence towards the transgres-
sion of rabbinical precepts, while they spread evil
reports about men of moderate means and strangers
who are guilty of slight irregularities, such as going
about with uncovered head."

However, things were not so bad in Jewish
society as depicted by Lurya's bitter humor ; and
this is proved in the most conclusive manner by the
recognition that this morose faultfinder himself re-
ceived. Talmudical students, both young and old,
even in his lifetime, were full of admiration for his
achievements. While still betwixt youth and middle
age, he undertook his principal work of elucidating
and sifting Talmudic discussions with a view to
establishing religious practice, and he continued this
work up to the end of his life without completing it.
Solomon Lurya performed this task with more
thoroughness, clearness, and depth than his contem-
poraries and predecessors. But if he hoped, as it
appears he did, to put an end to all variety and con-
fusion of opinion, he made the same mistake as
Maimuni and others. He only contributed to fur-
ther entanglement of the knot. His numerous
other writings bear the same impress of thorough-
ness and critical insight, but he could not reach the
seat of the trouble any more than others who had
made the attempt ; it lay too deep.

CH. XVIII. MOSES ISSERLES. 63/

By reason of his critical faculty, Lurya laid stress
upon what his Polish and German fellow-students
neglected as too trifling — namely, on grammatical
correctness and precision in the distinction of the
forms of speech. On the other hand, he was a
declared enemy of scholastic philosophy. It ap-
peared to him to be dangerous and fatal to faith.

Another leading rabbi in Poland was Moses ben
Israel Isserles, of Cracow (bom in 1520, died lyar,
1572). The son of a greatly respected father,
who had held the office of president of the commu-
nity, he distinguished himself more by his precocity
and comprehensive learning than by striking mental
individuality. Inheriting so much property from his
family that he dedicated one of his houses as a syna-
gogue, Isserles was able to follow the bent of his
genius with ease and comfort, devote himself to the
Talmud, and make himself familiar with its mazes.
He soon gained such a reputation that, while still
almost a youth, he was nominated rabbi-judge in
Cracow. At thirty years of age he had embraced
the whole field of Talmudic and rabbinical literature
as thoroughly as Joseph Karo, a man double his
age.

Isserles also felt the need of collecting and giving
finality to the widely scattered materials of rabbini-
cal Judaism. But since Joseph Karo had forestalled
him by the compilation of his Code, it only remained
for him to rectify it, and comment upon it. For he
regretted the omission of several elements in that
work, especially the neglect of German rabbinical
authorities and customs. This continuation of Karo's
Code, or "Table," he called the "Mappa" or
" Table-cloth." As the Jews in Germany had always
been more scrupulous in their observances than
those elsewhere, the additions and supplementations
made by Isserles turned out to be burdensome. His
decisions immediately received recognition, and to
the present day form the religious standard, the

638 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. XVIII.

official Judaism, of the German and Polish com-
munities and those allied to them. It cannot quite
be said that he contributed to its ossification, for he
did not invent and introduce these burdens, but only
noted and codified them ; he followed the universal
tendency. If Isserles had not arranged them into a
religious code, some one else would have done so.
Isserles had taste also for other subjects besides
the Talmud, especially for astronomy. He produced
a commentary to Frohbach's astronomical work,
"Theorica." He likewise had an inclination for
philosophy, and pursued the subject rather deeply,
though only through the medium of Hebrew works.
Maimuni's "Guide" was his guide, too. On this
account he had to submit to a sharp reproof from
the proud Solomon Lurya. Isserles also had some
taste for history, which led him to induce one of his
disciples to occupy himself seriously with it. David
Gans (born in Westphalia in 1541, died in Prague
in 1 61 3) had come to Cracow when a youth in order
to study in the rabbinical academy there ; but his
natural taste for scientific subjects, history, geo-
graphy, mathematics, and astronomy, was involun-
tarily aroused by Isserles, who brought him up, and
guided his studies. Gans devoted himself to these
subjects, and made the acquaintance of two great
leaders in mathematics and astronomy, Kepler and
Tycho de Brahe. He wrote several works on these
subjects, of course in Hebrew. His chronicle
(Zemach David), consisting of annals of Jewish and
general history, has become celebrated. It was a
very great thing for a German Jew to have devoted
himself to studies outside of the ordinary track.
But one cannot call David's historical work great.
He introduced among Jews the dry, bare form of
historical narrative formerly employed by monks,
which at that time had already given place to a
more artistic method. However, unimportant as
David's chronicle is, it possesses some merit, because

CH. XVIII. A RABBINICAL TRIUMVIRATE. 639

it reminded those wrapped up in the study of the
Talmud that they were the last links of a long his-
torical chain. The want of appreciation of history
displayed by German Jews is indicated by the brief
inscription placed on Gans' tomb, while there were
no limits to the eulogies glorifying the memory of
some obscure rabbinical dignitary. The study of the
Talmud, prosecuted merely as an effort of memory,
won greater fame for its votaries than devotion to
any branch of science, however profoundly grasped.

The three great rabbinical lights, first both in
rank and in priority of time, Shachna, Solomon
Lurya, and Isserles, laid the foundation of the extra-
ordinary erudition of the Polish Jews. Any compli-
cated or generally interesting question, arising in
Germany, Moravia, Bohemia, even in Italy and Tur-
key, was submitted to them, especially to Isserles, for
final decision. The revoltingly vulgar actions of the
community at Prague, against which the local college
of rabbis was powerless, were brought before the
rabbis of Poland, and attacked vigorously by them.
Passionate disputes in Frankfort-on-the-Main, which
threatened to produce persecution or expulsion, were
settled, and a reconciliation effected from Poland.
Thus this rabbinical triumvirate founded a kind of
supremacy of Poland over the Jews of Europe,
acknowledged on all sides, and the Polish rabbis
maintained their position as leaders up to the end
of the eighteenth century.

The triumvirate, whose numerous disciples rivaled
each other in the study of the Talmud, gradually
caused nearly all Polish Jews to become familiar with
that book, and eligible for the rabbinical office. Even
in small communities of only fifty members there
were at least twenty Talmudical scholars, who in turn
instructed at least thirty pupils. Everywhere there
arose schools with rabbis at their head as teachers,
whose chief duty was to deliver lectures, everything
else being of secondary importance. Young men

640 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. XVIII.

crowded to these establishments, where they could
live free from care, their maintenance being defrayed
out of the treasury of the community, or by wealthy
private individuals. Children were put to the study
of the Talmud at a tender age, certainly to the detri-
ment of the natural development of their minds.
It was the highest honor to conduct a rabbinical
school, and their ambition was encouraged to strive
for this object. Supervisors were nominated to
watch over the industry of the students (Bachurim)
and the children. Gradually a kind of syllabus with
alternating themes, in use up to recent times, was
introduced for the lectures on the Talmud in the
summer and the winter term.

At the end of the term, the teachers and their
numerous pupils went to the great Polish fairs, in
summer to Zaslaw and Jaroslaw, in winter to Lem-
berg and Lublin. Thus several thousand students
of the Talmud met, and there ensued a lively inter-
change of remarks and subtle disputations upon the
subject-matter of rabbinical and Talmudic study.
Public disputations were held, in which anyone might
take part. The keener intellects received wealthy
brides as a reward for their mental exertions. Rich
parents took pride in having sons-in-law educated
in Talmudic schools, and sought for them at the
fairs. The Polish Jews, by reason of this fervent
zeal, acquired a Talmudic deportment, so to speak,
which showed itself in every movement and every
utterance, by ungraceful shrugging of the shoulders
and a peculiar movement of the thumbs. Every
conversation, whether of a perfectly indifferent nature
or even upon matters of business, resembled a dispu-
tation upon the Talmud. Talmudical words, desig-
nations, phrases, and allusions, passed into popular
speech, and were understood even by women and
children.

But this excessive study of the Talmud in Poland
was of no real advantage to Judaism. It was not

CH. XVIII. "CHIDDUSHIM " AND " CHILJ-UKIM." 64I

carried on in order to gain a proper understanding
of the book, but merely to find something unique,
rare, witty, striking, something to tickle the intel-
lectual palate. In these meetings of thousands of
students of the Talmud, masters and disciples,
teachers and pupils, at the great fairs, every indi-
vidual exerted himself to discover something new,
starding, and casuistical, bringing it forward only to
surpass all others, without caring whether it stood
the test of proof, or was only relatively true, but
merely to gain a reputation for sharp-wittedness.
The chief endeavor of the Talmudical students of
Poland was directed to bringing to light something
new in Talmudic criticism, or in inventing something
(Chiddush). The lectures of the heads of schools,
and of all rabbis, had only this object in view — to
set up something hitherto unsurpassed, to weave a
net of sophistical Talmudical propositions, and to go
still further in the process of incomprehensible hair-
splitting (Chillukim). Hence the whole trend of
Jewish thought in Poland was in a wrong direction.
The language of the Jews in particular suffered from
this cause, degenerating into a ridiculous jargon, a
mixture of German, Polish, and Talmudical elements,
an unpleasant stammering, rendered still more re-
pulsive by forced attempts at wit. This corrupt
speech, despising all forms, could be understood
only by Jews, natives of the country. Together
with their language the Polish Jews lost that which
really constitutes a man, and were thus exposed to
the scorn and contempt of non-Jewish society. The
Bible had fallen gradually into the background in
the course of development since the time of Mai-
muni; now in Poland knowledge of it was utterly
lost. If anyone occupied himself with it, it was
merely to derive the materials for wit, or false wit,
from its pages.

The circumstances of the time were such that the
Jews of Poland were able, to a certain extent, to form

642 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. XVIII.

an independent state within the Polish state. Seve-
ral kings in succession were favorable to them,
according them extensive protective privileges, and
seeing, as far as their power went, that these
rights were respected. After the death of the last
king of the Jagellon dynasty, Sigismund Augustus
(1572), the Jews of Poland profited by the elective
monarchy. Each newly-elected king above all
needed money, which could be supplied only by Jews;
or, he needed a party among the nobles, and this
order, in general devoted to the Jews, obtained a
preponderating influence as compared with the nar-
row-minded German middle class, hostile to Jews.

After a thirteen months' interregnum, occupied
by election negotiations and intrigues, the sagacious
prince of Transylvania, Stephen Bathori, gained the
Polish throne, not without the co-operation of the
Jewish agent, Solomon Ashkenazi, for Turkey had
supported his election. Not long after his accession,
he sent kind messages to the Jews, protected those
in Lithuania against false and calumnious accusation
of the murder of Christian children, and uttered his
conviction that the Jews conscientiously obeyed the
Hebrew law of not shedding human blood. His
reign of nearly twelve years (1575 — 1586) forms a
happy episode in the history of the Jews in Poland.
Stephen Bathori, moreover, did not allow the privi-
leges to remain a dead letter, but preserved them
in full force. He allowed Jews (in 1576) to carry
on all kinds of trade without restriction, even to buy
and sell on Christian holidays, desired that the
murder of a Jew, like the murder of a Christian, be
punished by death, and made the city magistracies
responsible for riots and injuries caused by Christian
mobs in synagogues, cemeteries, and at Jewish
funerals. The promoters of tumultuous attacks
upon Jews, which occurred chiefly in the half-German
city of Posen, were to be fined ten thousand Polish
marks, and the magistrate who had not done his

CH. XVIII. SIGISMUND III. 645

duty in protecting Jews was to be fined a similar
sum, Bathori's reign was not, however, free from
libelous attacks on the Jews. Where was there at
that time in Christian Europe a single country in
which the enemies of the Jews did not assail them ?
A Polish poet, Klonowicz, poured forth his scorn of
their trade, usury, and arrogance, in Latin verses;
the rulers, he said, robbed the Jews, only to be
robbed by them in turn.

In the long reign of Sigismund III (1587 — 1632),
the Swedish prince whose election gave a pretext
for internal dissensions and civil wars, the Polish
Jews fared better than might have been expected
from a pupil of the Jesuits and a zealous Catholic.
Although he caused dissenting Poles to be severely
persecuted, the Jews under his government were by
no means unhappy. At the diet in Warsaw (1592)
he confirmed the ancient privileges of Casimir, con-
sidered to be in their favor. However, Sigismund
III introduced one law, very disadvantageous to
Jews, and disclosing the ecclesiastical bent of his
mind. He ordained that the permission of the clergy
had to be gained to build new synagogues, a regu-
lation which, of course, rendered the practice of the
Jewish religion dependent on a church eager for
persecution.

Under this king the Jews in Poland introduced
(1586 — 1592) an institution which had not existed in
that particular form in Jewish history. It gave the
Polish communities extraordinary unity, firmness,
and strength, and hence secured respect both from
their members and outsiders. Hitherto it had
naturally come about that, at the meeting of rabbis
and heads of schools with their followers at the great
fairs, important questions were discussed, law cases
were settled, and general consultations took place.
The utility of such meetings may have become clearly
apparent, and given rise to the idea of arranging
regular conferences of the heads of communities, to

644 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. XVIII.

draw up final, binding decisions. Both leaders and
communities must have been actuated by a healthy-
spirit in agreeing to common action. The commu-
nities of the chief provinces, Little Poland, Greater
Poland, and Russia, were the first to unite in insti-
tuting conferences (Vaad) at regular intervals, to
take place at the great fairs of Lublin and Jaroslaw.
The communities sent delegates, learned men of
proved excellence, who had a seat and a vote in the
synod. They chose a president, who directed the
discussion of questions, and drew up a report of the
session. Disputes in the communities, questions of
taxation, religious and social regulations, the avert-
ing of threatened dangers, and help to brethren in
distress, were the main points treated by the synods,
and settled finally. The synods also exercised a
literary censorship by granting permission for cer-
tain books to be printed and sold, and refusing it in
the case of others which seemed to them harmful.
Probably the Lithuanian Jews were represented at
a later period, and the synods were called the Syn-
ods of the Four Countries (Vaad Arba Arazoth).
These conferences had a very beneficial effect : they
prevented long-standing dissensions, averted or
punished acts of injustice, kept alive a feeling of
union amongst the communities, directing them
towards common action, thereby counteracting
the narrowness and selfishness of merely local in-
terests, which so greatly encouraged the dismem-
berment and isolation of communities, as, for exam-
ple, in Germany. On this account the synod of
Polish Jews was respected even abroad ; and dis-
tant German communities or private individuals
who had any complaint to make, applied to these
supreme assemblies, certain to obtain relief. It is
to the glory of the men who, for nearly two hun-
dred years, presided over the synods, that their
names, worthy of the remembrance of posterity, re-
mained in obscurity, as though they had consciously

CH. XVIII. THE SYNODS OF THE FOUR COUNTRIES. 645

suppressed their individuality in favor of the com-
munity at large. Still less is known of the orig-
inators of this institution, who succeeded in the
difficult task of overcoming the anarchic tendency
of the people, as Jews and as Poles, and of indu-
cing them to subordinate themselves to one great
end. It is conjectured that Mordecai Jafa, a rabbi
from Bohemia (born about 1532, died 161 2), who
made many journeys, and suffered much sorrow,
was the organizer of these regular conferences.
He had been compelled, in his youth, to assume
the wanderer's staff. In this way he came to Ven-
ice; here he occupied himself in drawing up a relig-
ious code more convenient than that of Joseph
Karo. Apparently the search made by the Inqui-
sition for copies of the Talmud rendered his stay
in Venice unpleasant, and he again betook himself
to Poland. There finally he officiated as a rabbi,
first in Grodno, afterwards in Lublin, from about
1575 till the spring of 1592. In Lublin, one of the
great fair towns, many thousands of Jews used to
meet, and there were always undecided law-suits
and disputes to be settled. Mordecai Jafa may
very possibly have gained from this the idea of
transforming these chance synods into regular con-
ferences and of drawing up rules for them. His
authority was sufficient to gain acceptance for his
proposals, which satisfied an urgent need. When
he left Lublin in his old age to take up the office of
rabbi at Prague, the presidency of the synod seems
to have been occupied by Joshua Falk Cohen, the
head of a school at Lemberg (1592 — 161 6), whose
great academy was maintained by his rich and re-
spected father-in-law. The frequent meetings of
the Reformers in Poland, the Lutherans and Unita-
rians, with their respective sects, seem to have served
as a model for the Jewish assemblies. Only the
latter did not discuss hair-splitting dogmas, like the
others, but decided practical questions of daily life.

646 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. XVIIL

Poland and Lithuania, superficially considered,
presented the spectacle of a land honeycombed with
religious divisions, from which a new form of
Christianity was to arise. While in Germany the
reforming movement and the opposition to it was
subsiding, while the Titans who stormed the gates
of heaven were settling down into ordinary parsons ;
while the new church in its turn was entering upon
a process of ossification, and, after a short season of
youthful ardor, was falling into the feebleness of old
age ; the waves of religious and sectarian separa-
tion were only now rising in Polish countries, and
threatening a general inundation. The German
colonies in Poland had transplanted the Reformation
with them, and the Polish nobility thought it an im-
perative fashion to pay homage to this anti-papal
innovation. Christianity in Poland and Lithuania,
be it the new or the old church, was too young to be
firmly rooted ; and so the Reformation, finding litde
opposition, gained rapid admittance among the
nobles and the bourgeoisie almost to its own dis-
comfiture. Sigismund Augustus had allowed the
movement free play ; indeed, under the influence of
the Radziwills of Lithuania, who stood close to his
throne, he almost renounced the papacy altogether.
Thus Poland became a free state in the widest sense,
and an arena for the new teaching of the Augustine
monk of Wittenberg. Even those thinkers or
enthusiasts in Italy, Switzerland, or Germany, who
wished to push the religious movement, but were
persecuted either by the Catholics or the Reformers,
found kindly welcome and protection under the
Polish nobility, who were quite independent in their
own districts.

Thus arose a sect in Poland which, logically de-
veloped, might have given a fatal blow to Christianity
in general. The ashes of Servetus of Aragon,
burned at the stake in Geneva, the author of a
treatise, *' On the Errors of the Trinity," seem to

CH. XVIII. THE UNITARIANS. 647

have been the seed for fresh dissensions in the
church. A number of his disciples, Socinus, Blan-
drata, and Paruta, Italians of bold intellect, who un-
dermined the foundations of Christianity, and were
outlawed by Catholics and Reformers alike, passed
over the Polish frontier, and were allowed not only
to live there free, but also to speak freely. The
attacks of the Socinians or Pinczovinians (as this
sect, which flourished in Poland, was called) were
directed mainly against the Trinity as a form of
polytheism. Hence they received the name of
Unitarians or anti-Trinitarians. There arose a
swarm of sects who met at synodic conventions to
find grounds of union, but separated with still fur-
ther divisions and dissensions.

Among the Unitarians, or disbelievers in the
Trinity, were some who partially approached Juda-
ism, rejecting the veneration of Jesus as a divine
person. They were scoffed at by their various
opponents as " Half-Jews " (semi-judaizantes). To
the strictest sect of Unitarians in Poland belonged
Simon Budny, of Masovia, a Calvinist priest, who
founded a sect of his own, the Budnians. He died
after 1584. He possessed more learning than the
other founders of sects, and also had a slight knowl-
edge of Hebrew, which he had probably learned
from Jews. Simon Budny made himself famous by
his simple translation of the Old and the New
Testament into Polish (published at Zaslaw, 1572).
His intercourse with Jews is shown by his respect
for the universally despised Talmud.

Although the movement of religious reform in
Poland, in spite of the frequent synods, disputations,
and protests, did not penetrate very deep, it was
not without effect upon the Jews. They were fond
of entering into discussions with the leaders or ad-
herents of the various sects, if not to convert them
to Judaism, yet to show their own superiority in
biblical knowledge. Conversations upon religion

648 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. XVIII.

between Jews and "Dissenters" (as all Poles who
had seceded from Roman Catholicism were called)
were of frequent occurrence. A Unitarian, Martin
Czechowic (born about 1530, died 161 3), from
Greater Poland, a man of confused intellect, who had
passed through all the phases of the religious move-
ments of the day, and who finally became a schis-
matic, rejected the baptism of infants, and maintained
that a Christian could not undertake any office of
state. This Martin Czechowic had written a work
to refute the objections of the Jews to the Messianic
claims of Jesus, and had fought against the con-
tinued obligatoriness of Judaism with old and rusty
weapons. A Rabbanite Jew, Jacob of Belzyce, in
Lublin (1581), wrote a refutation, so effective that
Czechowic found himself compelled to justify his
thesis in a rejoinder.

Isaac ben Abraham Troki, of Trokl, near Wilna
(born 1533, died 1594), a Karaite, engaged still
more actively than Jacob of Belzyce in disputations
with the adherents of Polish and Lithuanian sects.
He had access to nobles, princes of the church, and
other Christian circles, was deeply acquainted with
the Bible, well read in the New Testament, and in
the different polemical, religious writings of his day,
and thus able to produce thoroughly accurate state-
ments. Shortly before his death (1593) Isaac Troki
collected the results of his religious conversations
in a work that was subsequently to serve as the
arsenal for destructive weapons against Christianity.
He entitled his work " The Strengthening of Faith."
He not merely answered the numerous attacks
made upon Judaism by Christians, but carried
the war into the camp of Christianity. With great
skill and thorough knowledge of his subject, he
brought into prominence the contradictions and un-
tenable assertions in the Gospels and other original
Christian documents. It is the only book by a Ka-
raite author worth reading. It certainly does not

CH. XVIII. " THE STRENGTHENING OF PAITH.** 649

contain anything specially new ; all brought forward
in defense of Judaism and against Christianity
had been far better said by Spanish authors of a
previous period, especially by the talented Profiat
Duran. Yet Troki's work had more success, for
books have a fate of their own. This book was
translated into Spanish, Latin, German, and French,
and gained still greater fame from the attacks upon
it by Christians. One of the dukes of Orleans un-
dertook to refute the onslaught of this Polish Jew
upon Christianity. And when Reason, awakened
and strengthened, applied the lever to shake the
foundations of Christianity and demolish the whole
superstructure, it was to this store-chamber that she
turned for her implements.

CHAPTER XIX.

SETTLEMENT OF JEWS IN HOLLAND. — FEEBLE ATTEMPTS AT

ENFRANCHISEMENT.

Revival of Catholicism — Decay in European Culture — Ill-treatment
of Jews in Berlin — Emperor Rudolph II of Austria — Diminution
in the Numbers of Italian Jews — Pope Gregory XIII — Confis-
cation of Copies of the Talmud — Vigorous Attempts at the
Conversion of Jews — Pope Sixtus V — The Jewish Physician,
David de Pomis — Renewal of Persecution by Clement VIII —
Expulsion from Various Italian States — The Censors and the
Talmud — The Jews of Ferrara — Settlement of Jews in Holland
—Samuel Pallache — Jacob Tirado and the Marranos in Am-
sterdam— Tolerant Treatment — The Poet, David Jesurun — Moses
Uri — Hebrew Printing in Amsterdam.

1593 — 1618 C.E.

The free spirit of the nations of Europe, which at
the beginning of the century had taken so bold a
flight, had broken the ancient bonds in which the
church had long held minds captive, and cast the
blight of doubt on the hitherto sacred authority of the
wearer of the Roman purple — this spirit, which
promised to bring the regeneration of civilized
humanity and political freedom, seemed in the
second half of the century to be utterly cast down.
The papacy, or Catholicism, had recovered from its
first feeling of terror, and collected itself. Extra-
ordinarily strengthened by the council of Trent, it
forged new chains to which the nations that had re-
mained faithful, willingly submitted. The order of the
Jesuits, restless and indefatigable champions, who not
only disarmed their opponents, but even drew them
over to their own ranks, had already reconquered
much lost ground by their widespread plots, and had
conceived new measures in order to win back with
double Interest what they had lost. Italy, a great
part of southern Germany and the Austrian provinces,

6S0

CH. XIX. THE REACTION. 6$ I

France — after long civil wars and convulsions, after
the blood-stained eve of St, Bartholomew, and the
murder of two kingrs — as also to a grreat extent
Poland and Lithuania, had once more become Cath-
olic, as fanatically Catholic, too, as Spain and Portu-
gal, the blazing hells of the Inquisition. In Lutheran
and reformed Germany another papacy had gained
the mastery, a papacy of dry formulas of belief, and
slavery to the letter of the law. The Byzantine
quarrel about shadowy dogmas and meaningless
words divided the evangelical communities into as
many sects and subsidiary sects as there were
points of discussion, and had a harmful influence
upon political development. Classical philology,
at first liberalizing and suggestive, was neglected,
owing to excessive belief in the Bible by the one
party and the sway of authority over the other,
and had degenerated into fanciful dilettanteism
or learned lumber. The study of the Hebrew
language, which for a time had kindled great enthu-
siasm, was similarly debased, or only carried on
superficially for the purposes of ecclesiastical wrang-
ling. The knowledge of Hebrew had always been
considered, at any rate was now thought, in ortho-
dox Catholic society, to be actual heresy. And the
same was still truer of rabbinical literature. The
learned Spanish theologian. Arias Montano, pub-
lished the first complete polyglot Bible in Antwerp,
at the expense of Philip II. He also compiled gram-
mars and dictionaries of the Hebrew and cognate
languages, in which regard was had to the older
Jewish expositors. He, the favorite of Philip II, who
had himself drawn up a list of heretical books, was
accused by the Jesuits and the Inquisition of favoring
heresy, suspected of secret conversion to Judaism,
and stigmatized as a rabbi. Thus, Europe seemed
to be actually making a retrograde movement, only
with this distinction — what had formerly been cheery,
naive credulity now became sinister, aggressive
fanaticism.

652 HISTORY OF tHE JEWS. CH. XIX.

Refined ecclesiasticism, resulting in the tension
which subsequently relieved itself in the general de-
structiveness of the Thirty Years' War, made the
sojourn of Jews, both in Catholic and Protestant
countries, a continual torture. Luther's followers in
Germany forgot whatLuther had so earnestly uttered
in their favor, only remembering the hateful things
of which, in his bitterness, he had accused them.
The Jews of Berlin and the province of Branden-
burg, for instance, had the sad alternative put before
them of being baptized or expelled. A Jewish
financier, the physician Lippold, favorite of Elector
Joachim II, and his right hand in his corrupt, finan-
cial schemes, examined and tortured on the rack by
Joachim's successor, John George, admitted, though
afterwards recanting, that he had poisoned his bene-
factor. The Jews were driven also out of Brunswick
by Duke Henry Julius. Catholic nations and princes
had no cause to reproach their Protestant opponents
with toleration or humanity in regard to Jews.

It was, in some respects, fortunate for the Jews
of Germany and Austria, that the reigning emperor,
Rudolph II, although a pupil of the Jesuits, educated
in a country where the fires of the stake were always
smoking, and a deadly enemy of the Protestants,
was not greatly prejudiced against Jews. Weak
and vacillating, he was not able to check the per-
secutions directed against them, but at least he did
not encourage them. He issued an edict to one
bishop (of Wiirzburg) that the Jews should not be
deprived of their privileges, and to another (of
Passau) that they should not be tortured on the
rack. But, in order not to be decried by his con-
temporaries or by posterity as a benefactor of
Jews, he not only maintained the heavy taxation of
Jews in his crown land, Bohemia, but from time
to time increased it. He also ordered the Jews to
be expelled from the archduchy of Austria within six
months.

CH. XIX. THE JEWS OF ITALY. 653

In this position, robbed by Catholics and Luther-
ans alike, trampled down or driven into misery,
barely protected by the emperor, but taxed under
the pretense of enjoying this protection, the ruin
and degradation of German Jews reached ever
lower depths. They were so sorely troubled by the
cares of the moment, that they neglected the study
of the Talmud, once their spiritual food.

The Jews of Italy fared even worse at this time,
and they, too, sank into misery and decay. Italy
was the principal seat of the malicious and inexora-
ble, ecclesiastical reaction, animated with the thought
to annihilate the opponents of Catholicism from the
face of the earth. The torch of civil war was hurled
from the Vatican into Germany, France, and the
Netherlands. And as the Jews, from the time of
Paul IV and Pius V, had been upon the list of here-
tics, or foes of the church, their lot was not to be
envied. With the loss of their independence, their
numbers also decreased. There were no Jews living
in southern Italy. In northern Italy, the largest
communities, those of Venice and Rome, numbered
only between 1,000 and 2,000 souls; the commu-
nity in Mantua had only 1,844; ^^^ in the whole
of the district of Cremona, Lodi, Pavia, Ales-
sandria, and Casalmaggiore, there dwelt only 889
Jews. Pius V, by nature a sinister ecclesiastic de-
lighting in persecution, who treated Jews as the
cursed children of Ham, was succeeded by Gregory
XIII (1572 — 1585), who had been skillfully trained to
fanaticism by the Jesuits and the Theatine monks.
As regards Jews, Gregory was a most consistent
follower of the cruelty of his predecessor. In spite
of repeated warnings, there were still many Chris-
tians in Italy, who, in their blindness, preferred
Jewish physicians of proved excellence, such as
David de Pomis, or Elias Montalto, to Christian
charlatans. Gregory was desirous of prohibiting
their employment. He renewed the old canonical

6S4 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. XIX.

law that Christian patients were not to be treated
by Jewish physicians ; not only visiting Christians
who transgressed this command with severe pen-
alties, but also punishing the Jewish physicians if
they ventured to prolong the life of a Christian
patient, or even alleviate his sufferings. His sever-
ity succeeded. Another of Gregory's edicts referred
not to one profession, but to the Jewish race in
general. He placed them under the Argus eye of
the Inquisition. If any of them maintained or taught
what was heretical, i.e., obnoxious to the church; if
he held intercourse with a heretic or an apostate,
helped him or showed him sympathy, he was to be
summoned by the Inquisition, and according to its
verdict was to be condemned to confiscation of his
property, the punishment of the galleys, or even
sentenced to death. If, then, a refugee Marrano
from Spain or Portugal was caught in Italy, and it
was proved that a brother Jew had given him food
or shelter, both might expect to be seized by the
inexorable arm of the Inquisition of Italy. The
anger of Pope Gregory XIII was poured forth also
against the Talmud. The Jews were once more
admonished to deliver up the Talmud and other
works suspected of being hostile to the church. The
Inquisitors and other spiritual authorities were ap-
pointed to institute search for these books every-
where. Anyone subsequently found in possession
of them, even after declaring that the offending
passages had been expunged, was rendered liable to
severe punishment. Pope Gregory XIII's most
zealous effort was directed to the conversion of Jews.
This pope, who most heartily encouraged the Jesuits
and their proselytizing school of thought, endowed
a propagandist seminary of all nations — the cur-
riculum included twenty-five languages — called the
"Collegium Germanicum," issued a decree that on
Sabbaths and holy days Christian preachers should
deliver discourses upon Christian doctrine in the

CH. XIX. GREGORY XIII AND SIXTUS V. 65$

synagogues, if possible In Hebrew, and that Jews
of both sexes, over twelve years of age, at least a
third of the community, must attend these sermons.
The Catholic princes were exhorted to support this
vigorous attempt at conversion. Thus an ordinance
of a half-mad, schismatic pope, Benedict XIII, issued
in a moment ofpassionate excitement, was sanctioned,
and even exaggerated in cold blood by the head of
the united Catholic church, thereby exercising reli-
gious compulsion not very different from the act of
Antiochus Epiphanes in dedicating the Temple of
the one true God to Jupiter. It is characteristic
of the views then prevailing, that the Jews were to
provide salaries for the preachers, in return for the
violence done their consciences! Like his prede-
cessor, Pius V, Gregory spared no means to win
over the Jews. Many allowed themselves to be
converted either from fear or for their advantage ;
for Gregory's edicts did not remain a dead letter,
but were carried out with all strictness and severity.
The consequence was that many Jews left Rome.

The condition of the Jews in Rome was appar-
ently altered under Gregory's successor, Sixtus V
(1585 — 1590), who rose from the position of a swine-
herd to the office of the shepherd of Catholic Chris-
tendom, and whose dauntless energy in the govern-
ment of the Papal States stamped him as an
original type of character. He allowed Jews to be
around him, and harbored Lopez, a Jewish refugee
from Portugal, who made various suggestions as
to the improvement of the finances. He went
still further; he issued a bull (October 22d, 1586),
which did away with almost all the restrictions made
by his predecessors. Sixtus not merely granted
Jews permission to dwell in all the cities of the
Papal States, but also allowed them to have inter-
course with Christians and employ them as assistants
in business. He protected their religious freedom
by special provisions, and extended to them an am-

656 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. XIX.

nesty for past offenses, i.e., for condemnations on
account of the possession of religious books. More-
over, he forbade the Knights of Malta to make
slaves of Jews traveling by sea from Europe to the
Levant, or vice versa, a practice to which these con-
secrated champions of God had hitherto been ad-
dicted. Pope Sixtus knew how to secure obedience
to his command when it became law, and the Jews
previously expelled now returned to the papal do-
minions. Under him the Jewish community at
Rome numbered two hundred members. Finally
he removed the prohibition which prevented Jewish
physicians from attending Christian patients. The
compulsory services instituted by his predecessor
were the only ordinances that Sixtus V allowed to
remain.

The permission, so important at that time, for
Jewish physicians to have access to Christian pa-
tients, was probably gained for himself and his col-
leagues, by the then celebrated physician, David de
Pomis (born 1525, died 1588). With medical
knowledge he combined linguistic acquirements, and
familiarity with Hebrew and classical literature,
writing both Hebrew and Latin with elegance. In
the course of his life he felt keenly the changes in
the papal policy. He lost all his property through
the hostile decrees of Paul IV, was kindly treated
by Pius IV, and allowed by way of exception to
practice among Christians in consequence of a
splendid Latin discourse delivered before the pope
and the college of cardinals. But he was again
subjected to irritating restrictions by Pius V, and
had to employ his skill in the service of petty,
capricious nobles. To dispel the unconquerable
prejudices against Jews, particularly against Jewish
physicians, De Pomis wrote a Latin work, entitled
•'The Hebrew Physician," which affords favorable
testimony to his noble mind and extensive culture.
With considerable eloquence De Pomis maintained

CH. XIX. DAVID DE POMIS. 6$^

that the Jew was bound by his religion to love the
Christian as his brother, and that a Jewish physician,
far from wishing to do harm to his Christian patient,
was wont to treat him with the utmost care and
solicitude. He enumerated various Hebrew physi-
cians who had attended princes of the church, car-
dinals and popes, had restored them to health, and
had received distinctions from them and from cities.
In conclusion, De Pomis adduced some proverbs
from the Talmud in a Latin translation, to show that
this much-calumniated book was not so harmful and
corrupt as enemies of the Jews asserted. This
apology for Judaism and Jewish physicians, dedi-
cated to Prince Francesco Maria of Urbino, the
elegant Latin style of which was highly praised by
an experienced critic of the time, appears to have
made an impression upon Pope Sixtus. De Pomis
must certainly have been intimate with him, as he
was allowed to dedicate to him his second important
literary work, a dictionary of the Talmud in three
languages.

The pope severely punished a Christian Shylock,
because he claimed a pound of flesh from a Roman
Jew as the result of a wager. This Christian,
named Seche, had wagered with a Jew, named
Ceneda, that St, Domingo would be conquered, and
on winning his bet he claimed the penalt}^ On liear-
ing of this, Sixtus condemned him to death, but
afterwards mitigated the punishment to banishment,
and allotted the same fate to Ceneda for wagering
his body, the property of his sovereign.

The favorable attitude of Sixtus towards Jews
encouraged them in the hope — to them a matter
of conscience, of life itself — that the prohibition
directed against the Talmud and the Hebrew
Scriptures would be removed forever. Under the
last two popes no copies of the Talmud had been
allowed to appear without causing the possessor to
incur the dangers of the watchful Inquisition. Nor

6S8 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. XIX.

was the possession of other perfectly harmless He-
brew works without risk, for as the Inquisitors and
clerical authorities did not in the least understand
them, they condemned all without exception as
inimical to the church, a category which afforded
ample room for denunciation. Whether the pos-
sessor of a Hebrew book should be condemned to
lose his property, or be sent to ihe galleys, de-
pended, in the last instance, upon the decision of
baptized Jews acquainted with rabbinical literature.
To escape these annoyances the communities of
Mantua, Ferrara, and Milan addressed a request to
Sixtus V to allow the Jews to possess copies of the
Talmud and other books, provided these works
were previously expurgated of the passages objec-
tionable to Christianity. They referred to the de-
cision of Pope Pius IV that the Talmud could not be
entirely condemned, but that it contained passages
worthy of censure, which were to be struck Out by
the censor's marks. A Jewish delegate, Bezalel
Masserano, had gone to Rome, provided with 2,000
scudi, in order to lay the request of the Jews at the
feet of his Holiness. It was granted in the bull of
October 2 2d, 1586. Sixtus allowed the reprinting
of the Talmud and other writings, though only
after censorship. For this purpose two commis-
sions were appointed, in which baptized Jews were
naturally included as experts. The Italian Jews
began to rejoice at being allowed to possess even
a mutilated Talmud. But scarcely had the commis-
sion arranged the conditions of the censorship
(August 7th, 1590), when the wise pope died, and
the undertaking, just begun, of reprinting the muti-
lated Talmud was at once discontinued.

The regard paid Jews by Sixtus V arose not
from any sentiment of justice, but from his pas-
sionate desire to amass treasure. "This pope bled
Christians from the throat," says his biographer,
"but he drew the blood of Jews from all their

CH. XIX. CLEMENT VIII. 659

limbs." They often found themselves compelled to
pay immense sums into the papal treasury.

With Clement VIII, however (1592 — 1605), the
system of intolerance, practiced by Paul IV, Pius V,
and Gregory XIII, once more came into vogue.
He repeated the edict of expulsion against the
Jews in the Papal States (February 25th, 1593), and
allowed them to dwell only in Rome, Ancona, and
Avignon. If a Jew were caught in any other papal
city, he was to expiate his offense by the loss of his
property and the penalty of the galleys. Clement
re-imposed the old restrictions upon the Jews in the
three cities mentioned, forbidding them either to read
or possess the Talmud and other rabbinical writ-
ings. The Jews, expelled from the Papal States,
seem to have been received by Ferdinand, Duke of
Tuscany, who assigned Pisa to them as a dwelling-
place (July, 1593). He allowed them to possess
books of every kind and of all languages, including
the Talmud, but the copies first had to be expurgated
according to the regulations of the commission insti-
tuted by Sixtus V. So great was the fanaticism of
the apostolic throne that even noble princes, like
Ferdinand de Medici, of Tuscany, and Vicenzo Gon-
zago, of Mantua, did not venture to relax it. Even
in places where, as a favor, the Jews were allowed
to possess expurgated books, they were exposed to
all kinds of annoyances and extortions. They had
to pay the censors, mostly baptized Jews, for the
mutilation of these writings, nor were they assured
that even then their books would not again be con-
fiscated, and the owners punished, merely because
some obnoxious word or other had remained un-
obliterated. Woe to those who rubbed out one of
the censors' marks ! To avoid being exposed to
vexation, Jews themselves laid hands upon their
sacred literature, and expunged not only everything
that referred to idolatry, but also everything that
glorified the Jewish race, or made mention of the

6^ HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. XIX.

Messiah and his future advent. As Italy, at that
time, was the chief market for printed Hebrew
works, the Jews in other countries received only mu-
tilated copies, from which open or covert protests
against Rome were completely obliterated.

Expulsion of the Jews from all Italian cities was
the order of the day in the reign of this pope. Thus
the Jews were expelled (in the spring of 1597) from
the Milan district, i.e., from the cities of Cremona,
Pavia, Lodi, and others, to the number of about a
thousand. They were forced to beg for shelter
in Mantua, Modena, Reggio, Verona, and Padua.
During their migrations, they were robbed by heart-
less Christians. The sword of the church hov-
ered for a time also over the Jews in Ferrara, a town
that had always been a safe refuge for them, and
even for the new-Christians from Spain, The ducal
race of De Este, whose representatives vied with
the Medici in magnanimity and culture, had died out.
The Jews of Ferrara felt themselves so identified
with the fortunes of this princely house, that they
offered public prayers in the synagogue on the occa-
sion of the severe illness of the thoughtful Princess
Leonore, whom two great poets have immortalized
by placing her in the glorified heaven of poetry.
She herself was a benefactress of Jews, and fre-
quendy protected them. But now the last repre-
sentative of the race, Alfonso II, had died without
heirs (1597), and, in opposition to his last wishes,
Ferrara was incorporated into the Papal States by
Clement VIII. The Jewish community, consisting
chiefly of Marrano refugees, was prepared to en-
dure banishment, as it could expect no mercy from
this pope. They only asked Aldobrandini, the
pope's relative, who had taken possession of Fer-
rara, to grant them a respite that they might make
preparations for departure. As Aldobrandini saw
that a great portion of the trade of the town was in
the hands of Jews, he had sufficient consideration

CH. XIX. THE NETHERLANDS. 66l

not to injure it, granted them permission to remain
for five years, and had this decree carried out in
spite of the fanatical wishes of Clement VIII, who
had hoped to banish them. No fugitive new-Chris-
tian, however, could now stop in Ferrara without
falling into the clutches of the bloody Inquisition.
Thus the last refuge in Italy for this class of Jews
was destroyed, and there was no longer any place
of safety for them in all Christendom.

It seems providential that the Jewish race, which,
at the end of the sixteenth century, had no longer a
footing, properly speaking, in Europe or Asia, under
Christianity or Islam, should have taken firm root
in the empire of their obstinate foe, Philip II, of
Spain, and should have been able from that vantage
ground to gain a position of equality. Indeed, in
the chain of causation it was the bloody Inquisition
itself which helped gain them freedom. Holland,
a land wrung from the sea, became for the hunted
victims of a horrible, refined fanaticism, a resting-
place where they could settle down, and develop
their national characteristics. But what changes
and vicissitudes they had to undergo before this
almost undreamed of possibility could become re-
ality ! The northwest corner of Europe had hither-
to been inhabited by only a few Jews. They suffered,
as did their brethren, under the extravagances of
excited fanaticism, were hunted down, and massa-
cred at the time of the crusades and the Black Death,
bearing all in silent obscurity and patience. When
the country, under the name of the Netherlands,
beneath the far-reaching scepter of Charles V, was
united to Spain, the Spanish principle of hostility to
Jews was transferred to it. The emperor issued
command after command that the Jews in the cities
of the Netherlands, small though their numbers
were, should be expelled. Every citizen was re-
quired to make known to the royal officers the
presence of Jews contrary to law. In consequence

662 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. XIX.

of the introduction of the Inquisition into Portugal,
several Jewish families had betaken themselves, with
all their wealth, industry, and skill, to the flourishing
cities of the Netherlands, Brussels, Antwerp, and
Ghent, in order to lead a religious life secure from
danger. The severe edict of Charles V, and his re-
peated command not to allow their presence, extended
to them. The magistrates duly fulfilled the com-
mands of their ruler in this matter, because they feared
that the presence of new-Christians would cause the
Inquisition to be introduced — an evil which seemed
to their anxious hearts to forebode great danger for
themselves.

The people of the Netherlands could not escape
the Inquisition. Although an appendage of Spain,
were they not surrounded by Lutheran heretics, and
did not these dwell in their very midst? So this
institution was to be introduced among them also.
This was one of the main causes of the revolt of the
Netherlands, and of that long-continued war, so
small in its beginnings, and so great in its results,
that rendered powerless the might of Spain, and
raised the tiny land of Holland to a power of almost
the first rank. It seemed as if from every head that
Alva struck off in the Netherlands, hundreds of
others sprang, as from the Hydra of old. It was a
matter of course that in this sanguinary struggle
which transformed the whole land into an arena of
battle, there was no place for Jews. Upon the
advice of Arnheim and Ziitphen, Alva had issued
an edict that if Jews were found there, they were to
be kept in custody until such time as he should pass
judgment upon them. It was well known what this
meant from his mouth.

The Portuguese Marranos, or new-Christians,
who, even in the third generation, could not forget,
and would not repudiate, their Jewish descent,
turned their eyes towards the Netherlands, now
wrestling for freedom, the more as the Inquisition

CH. XIX. SAMUEL PALLACHE, 663

was raging more furiously than ever, and dragging
them to the dungeon or the stake. Since the tirst
symptom of the decHne of Spain's fortunes, since
the collapse of the invincible Armada, by means of
which Philip II had thought to carry the chains of
actual and spiritual bondage not only to England,
but, if possible, to the ends of the earth, there had
arisen in the hearts of the pseudo-Christians, under
the iron rule of this tyrant, an eager desire for free-
dom. As Italy was closed to them by the perse-
cuting policy of the reactionary popes, their only
hope of refuge was in the Netherlands.

An eminent Jew, Samuel Pallache, sent by the
king of Morocco as consul to the Netherlands
(about 1 591), proposed to the magistrate of Mid-
delburg, in the province of Zealand, to receive the
Portuguese Marranos, and allow them religious
freedom. In return, they would develop the city
into a flourishing, commercial center by means of
their wealth. The wise city fathers would willingly
have agreed to this plan, but the war for religion
and freedom, so passionately waged against the two-
fold despotism of Spain, had made even the reformed
preachers fanatical and intolerant. They were op-
posed to the admission of Jews into Zealand.

But the Portuguese new-Christians did not aban-
don the idea of seeking security in the provinces of
the Netherlands already freed from the Spanish
yoke. They felt themselves drawn towards this
republic by mighty bonds ; they shared its fierce
hatred against Spain with its thirst for human sacri-
fices, and against its fanatical king, Philip II. The
great Protector, William of Orange, the soul of the
struggle for independence, had uttered the idea of
mutual toleration and friendly intercourse between
different religious parties, creeds, and sects. Al-
though this first germ of genuine humanity at first
fell to the ground, the Marranos clung to it as afford-
ing hope of release from their daily torments. A

(364 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. XIX.

courageous Marrano woman, Mayor Rodrigues, ap-
pears to have formed the plan of seeking a refuge
for her family in Holland. She, her husband, Gas-
par Lopes Homem, her two sons and two daughters,
and several other members of this rich and respected
family, were devotedly attached to Judaism, and
weary of the pretense of following Christian customs,
a pretense, after all, powerless to protect them from
the horrors of the Inquisition. When a ship sailed
from Portugal with a load of fugitive Marranos, un-
der the leadership of one Jacob Tirado, Mayor
Rodrigues intrusted to this vessel her charming and
beautiful daughter, Maria Nunes, and also her son.
The mother appears to have relied upon the magic
of her daughter's charms ; the extraordinary beauty
of Maria Nunes v;ras to serve as an aegis to these
wanderers, surrounded by dangers on all sides, and
secure to them a place of refuge. As a matter of
fact, her beauty was successful in averting the first
danger that threatened the party of refugees, con-
sisting of ten persons, men, women and children.
They were captured by an English ship making
raids upon vessels sailing under the Spanish-Portu-
guese flag, and were taken to England. Maria
Nunes so bewitched the captain, an English duke,
that he offered her his hand, thinking that she be-
longed to the rank of the Portuguese grandees;
but she refused this honorable offer, because she
wished to live as a Jewess. The beauty of the fair
Portuguese prisoner made so great a sensation in
London, that the virgin queen, Elizabeth, was curi-
ous to make the acquaintance of this celebrated
beauty, inaccessible even to the love of a duke.
She invited her to an audience, and drove with her
in an open carriage through the streets of the capi-
tal. Probably owing to the mediation of Maria
Nunes, the fugitive Jews were allowed to leave
England unharmed, and set sail for Holland. After
enduring a most stormy voyage, they were able to

CH. XIX. SETTLEMENT OF MARRANOS IN HOLLAND. 665

make for the harbor of Emden, where, as in the
rest of East Friesland, some few German Jews lived.

As soon as the Marranos became aware, by
Hebrew letters and other signs, of the presence
of brethren in this city, Jacob Tirado, the most emi-
nent among them repaired to Moses Uri Halevi,
who had the reputation of being a learned man,
and on whose house Hebrew characters had been
noticed. He discovered to him his own and his
companions' intention to give up pseudo-Christi-
anity, and to be received fully and, if possible, im-
mediately into Judaism. But Moses Uri had scru-
ples about taking such a decisive course, the appar-
ent conversion of Christians to Judaism, in a small
town, where nothing could long remain hidden.
He, therefore, advised the fugitives to betake them-
selves to Amsterdam, where greater toleration was
enjoyed, and promised to come to them with his
whole family, to remain with them, and instruct
them in Jewish doctrines. Accordingly, the Mar-
ranos, led by Tirado, arrived at Amsterdam (April
2 2d, 1593), sought an abode which would allow of
their remaining together, and were received back
into Judaism as soon as Moses Uri and his family
came to them.

Moses Uri and his son arranged a house of
prayer for the Marranos, and officiated as con-
ductors of the services. Great zeal was shown, not
only by Jacob Tirado, but also by Samuel Pallache,
the consul, and a Marrano poet, Jacob Israel Bel-
monte, come thither from Madeira,who depicted the
tortures of the Inquisition in verse, giving his poem
the appropriate title of "Job." The youthful com-
munity was strengthened in numbers and in stand-
ing by fresh arrivals. An English fleet, which,
under the Earl of Essex, surprised the fortress of
Cadiz, and inflicted serious injuries upon the Span-
iards (in the summer of 1596), conveyed several
Marranos to Holland, amongst them a man of

666 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. XIX.

great originality, not without importance for pos-
terity. Alonso de Herrera was descended from
Jewish and ancient Spanish families. His ancestor
was the great Gonsalvo de Cordova, the conqueror
of Naples for Spain. He himself was the Spanish
resident in Cadiz, and on the capture of this city
was taken prisoner by the English. On being lib-
erated he went to Amsterdam, became a Jew, and
adopted the name of Abraham de Herrera (wrongly
called Iriraj.

The Marranos in Amsterdam did not find the
practice of their religion altogether easy. When
this first Portuguese community was secretly cele-
brating its fourth Fast of Atonement (October,
1596), their Christian neighbors were surprised at
the secret meeting of disguised figures in one
house; they suspected treacherous assemblies of
Catholic conspirators, and denounced them to the
magistrates. Whilst the Jews were engaged in
prayer, armed men suddenly rushed into the house,
and spread terror amongst the assembled worshipers.
As most of them, mindful of the cruelties of the
Inquisition, and fearing a similar fate in Amsterdam,
tried to save themselves by flight, the suspicions of
the Amsterdam officials were increased. The latter
searched for crucifixes and wafers, and led Moses
Uri and his son, the leaders of the service, to prison.
However, Jacob Tirado, who was able to make him-
self understood in the Latin language, succeeded in
convincing the authorities that the assembly was not
one of papists, but of Jews who had fled from the
Moloch of the Inquisition. Moreover, that they had
brought much wealth with them, and finally that they
would induce many co-religionists to come from Spain
and Portugal with their riches, and thus give an im-
pulse to the trade of Amsterdam. Tirado's speech
made a great impression. The prisoners were re-
leased, and the terrified Portuguese Jews were able
to conclude the service of the Fast of Atonement.

CH. XIX. FIRST JEWISH SYNAGOGUE AT AMSTERDAM. 66/

Now that their religion was made known, they ven-
tured upon the step of petitioning the magistrate to
allow them to build a synagogue in which to hold
their religious services. After much consideration
the request was granted. Jacob Tirado bought a
site, and in 1598 built the first Jewish temple in the
north of Europe, called the "House of Jacob"
(Beth Jacob). It was consecrated amid the enthu-
siasm of the little community.

The favorable news about the Marrano colonists,
carried secretly to Spain and Portugal, afforded ad-
ditional inducement to emigration. Mayor Rodri-
gues Homem, the first promoter of this course, also
found an opportunity of escaping from Portugal and
joining her beautiful daughter, Maria Nunes (about
1598). She brought her younger son and daughter
with her; her husband had probably died before this
time. Simultaneously, barely escaping the Inquisi-
tion, another eminent family arrived from Portugal,
that of Franco Mendes, including the parents and
two sons, Francisco Mendes Medeiros, a cultured
literary man, who took the Hebrew name of Isaac,
and Christoval Mendes Franco, rich and benevolent,
who called himself Mordecai. Both played import-
ant parts in the Amsterdam community, but subse-
quently caused a division.

Philip II lived to see the two races whom he had
most savagely hated and persecuted, the Nether-
landers and the Jews, in a measure join hands to
destroy what he had created, for Holland derived
advantage from the Jewish settlers from Portugal.
Previously it had been one of the poorest states, and
the bitter, destructive wars had made the land still
poorer. The capital brought by the Marranos to
Amsterdam was very acceptable, and benefited the
whole country. The Dutch were now enabled to
lay the foundations of their prosperity by taking the
Indian trade out of the hands of the Portuguese,
who had been connected with Spain in an unprofit-

668 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. XIX.

able alliance. The capital of the fugitive Jews made
it possible to found great transmarine companies
and fit out trading expeditions, in which they par-
ticipated. The connections, too, of the Portuguese
Jews with their secret co-religionists in the Portu-
guese possessions in the Indies assisted the under-
takings of Dutch merchants.

Philip II died in September, 1598, a terrible warn-
ing to obstinate, unscrupulous despots. His body
was covered with abscesses and vermin, which made
him such an object of horror that his trembling
servants approached him only with disgust. The
great empire which he bequeathed to his feeble
son, Philip III, was likewise diseased. It was suc-
cumbing to its infirmities, and no longer possessed
influence in the councils of Europe. The reins of
government were loosened, and thus the new-Chris-
tians found it still easier to escape the clutches of
the Inquisition. They now had a goal to which to
direct their steps. An extraordinary occurrence
in Lisbon had excited the most lukewarm apostate
Jews to return to Judaism. A Franciscan monk,
Diogo de la Asumgao, of an ancient Christian family,
had become convinced of the truth of Judaism and
the falsity of Christianity by reading the Bible —
Bible reading has its dangers — and had openly ex-
pressed his convictions to the other monks of his
order. For what purpose had the Inquisition been
instituted, if it were to let such crimes go unpunished?
Diogo was thrown into a dungeon ; but it was not
necessary to extort confession, for he openly and
without reservation admitted his offense, love for
Judaism. The tribunal needed to put him to the rack
only to induce him to denounce his accomplices, he
having asserted that several of his fellow-monks
shared his convictions. Certain learned theologians
were charged to dissuade the apostate Franciscan
from his belief, and remove so dark a stain from the
order and Christendom in general ; but in vain.

CH. XIX. DAVID JESURUN. 669

Diogo remained true to his belief in the truth of Ju-
daism. After he had spent about two years in the
dungeons of the Inquisition, he was finally burnt
alive at a solemn auto-da-fe in Lisbon, in the presence
of the regent (August, 1603).

The fact that a Christian by birth, a monk to boot,
had suffered for the sake of Judaism, and had died
steadfast in faith, made a powerful impression upon
apostate Portuguese Jews, and impelled them to
return publicly to the faith of their fathers. The
Inquisition lost its terrors for them. They reverted
to Judaism, without heeding whether or not they
were rushing upon death. David Jesurun, a young
poet, a favorite of the Muses since his childhood,
on this account called "the little poet" by his ac-
quaintances, celebrated the burning of the martyr,
Diogo de la Asum^ao, in a fiery Portuguese sonnet:

" Thou wast the gold, buried in the dark vaults of the tribunal

of blood ;
And even as gold is purified from dross by flames.
So, too, by flames wouldst thou be purified.
Thou wast as the phcenix, renewing his life,
Disdaining to remain the slave of death.
Thou wast consumed in the fire,
Only to rise again from thine ashes,
A burnt-offering
Brought to God in the flames.

In heaven dost thou laugh at those who tortured thee ;
And no more art called Brother Diogo,
But Golden Phoenix, Angel, Sacrifice."

This eager young poet was fortunate enough to
escape the Inquisition, and hastened to Amsterdam.
He composed a powerful poem in Spanish on seeing
this city, which seemed to him a new Jerusalem.
Another young Marrano poet also reverted to Ju-
daism through the tragic death of Diogo, the Fran-
ciscan. Paul de Pina, a man of some poetic talent,
was inclined to religious enthusiasm, and was on the
point of becoming a monk. This step caused great
sorrow to his relative, Diego Gomez Lobato, at
heart faithful to Judaism, and he wished to hinder

670 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. XIX-

hlm from apostasy. When he was about to make
a journey to Italy, Diego, therefore, gave him a
letter, addressed to the celebrated Jewish phy-
sician, Elias Montalto, known as Felix Montalto
when professing Christianity. The letter was as
follows : " Our cousin, Paul de Pina, is going to
Rome to become a monk. Your Grace will do me
the favor to dissuade him."

If this letter had fallen into the hands of the
Roman or Portuguese Inquisition, it would have cost
both the writer and his correspondent their lives.
Elias Montalto endeavored to dissuade young De
Pina from his purpose and win him back to the
religion of his fathers. He seems to have succeeded
only in so far that De Pina abandoned his journey
to Rome, went off to Brazil, and then returned to
Lisbon. The martyrdom of Diogo de la Asum^ao
appears to have finally decided him against Chris-
tianity. He hastened to Amsterdam with the sad
news (1604), became an eager convert to Judaism,
and adopted the Hebrew name of Rohel Jesurun.
He became a most enthusiastic Jew, an ornament
to the Amsterdam community.

The loyalty to Judaism manifested by the Portu-
guese Marranos regardless of consequences natur-
ally swelled the numbers of the victims of the
Inquisition. Not long afterwards, one hundred and
fifty of them were thrown into gloomy dungeons,
tortured, and forced to confess. Even the regent of
Portugal hesitated to burn so large a number.
Moreover, the new-Christian capitalists had a certain
amount of power over the Spanish court, to which,
since the union of the two kingdoms, Portugal now
belonged. The court owed them large sums which
it could not pay in consequence of the increasing
poverty of both countries. The Marranos offered
to release Philip III from this debt, and give in
addition a present of 1,200,000 crusados (^120,000),
if the imprisoned Jews were pardoned. They also

CH. XIX. CLEMENT VIII PARDONS MARRANOS. 67 1

Spent 150,000 crusados to persuade the councilors
to make the king grant this favor. Hence the court
manifested an inclination to mercy, and applied to
Pope Clement VIII to empower the Inquisition to
deal mildly with the sinners on this occasion. The
pope remembered, or was reminded, that his prede-
cessors, Clement VII and Paul III, had granted
absolution to Portuguese Marranos. He did the
same, and issued a bull pardoning the imprisoned
Jews (August 23d, 1604). The Inquisition contented
itself with the hypocritical repentance of its prison-
ers. Several hundred of them, clad in the garb of
penitents, were led to the auto-da-fe at Lisbon (Janu-
ary loth, 1605), not, however, to mount the stake,
but to make public confession of their guilt, and be
condemned to deprivation of all civic rights. All, or
a large proportion, of those set free, repaired to their
new place of refuge. Among them was Joseph ben
Israel, who had thrice suffered torture, and escaped
with shattered health and the loss of his property.
He took with him his son Manasseh — or whatever
his name may have been as a pseudo-Christian — then
a child, subsequendy destined to fill a distinguished
role in Jewish history.

Moses Uri (born 1544, died 1620) at different
times received into the Hebrew faith two hundred
and forty-eight men, so greatly did the numbers of
the community at Amsterdam increase. They sent
to Salonica for a rabbi of Sephardic descent, by
name Joseph Pardo, who well understood the char-
acter of the semi-Catholic members of the commu-
nity. He put into their hands a book written in
Spanish, Christian rather than Jewish in tone. The
synagogue Beth Jacob, built by Tirado, no longer
sufficed for the accommodation of its worshipers,
and a new one had to be built in 1608, called "Neve
Shalom." It was founded by Isaac Francisco Mendes
Medeiros and his relatives. As the discoverers of
a new country regard every step they take in it,

6^2 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. XIX.

every new path into which they strike out, and every
person prominent in the enterprise, as important and
worthy of remembrance, so the young Amsterdam
communityjoyfully recorded everything that occurred
in their midst at the commencement of their career.

The arrival of Isaac Uziel (died in 1620) was a
piece of good fortune for this unique community.
Apparently of a family of refugees, this rabbi could
thoroughly sympathize with his companions in mis-
fortune at Amsterdam. He was a poet, grammarian,
and mathematician, but, above all, a preacher of
rare power and influence, the first who dared arouse,
with his mighty voice, theconsciencesof his hearers,
lulled to sleep by the practice of Catholic customs,
and warn them not to believe that they had pur-
chased indulgence or remission for their sins, follies,
and vices, by religious observances thoughtlessly
practiced. Isaac Uziel did not spare even the most
respected and powerful in the community, although
he thereby drew upon himself their hatred, which
went so far as to cause a split ; on the other hand,
he gained devoted followers, who celebrated him in
spirited verse.

In this manner religious union was encouraged
and faith strengthened among the Portuguese fugi-
tives, who had so degenerated in religious matters.
But as yet no arrangements had been made for
the proper burial of their dead. They were com-
pelled to bury them far away from the city, at Groede,
in northern Holland. By the endeavors of the lead-
ing members of the community, they succeeded in
obtaining a burial-ground, not too far from Amster-
dam, in Ouderkerk, near Muiderberg (in April,
1 614), at which they rejoiced greatly. The first
person buried there was Manuel Pimentel, or, by his
Jewish name, Isaac Abenacar, called "king of play-
ers" by the French king, Henry IV, who was in the
habit of playing with hini. Two years later, the body
of an eminent and noble man, Elias Felice Mont-

CH. XIX. PREJUDICES AGAINST THE AMSTERDAM JEWS. 6/3

alto, was brought from far off to be buried in this
peaceful spot. He had formerly professed Christi-
anity, but afterwards became a faithful Jew, was a
clever physician and elegant author, and lived in
Livorno, Venice, and finally in Paris as private phy-
sician to Queen Maria de Medici. He died in
Tours while on a journey with the French court,
on February i6th, 1616. The queen caused his
body to be embalmed, and taken to the cemetery
at Ouderkerk, accompanied by his son, his uncle,
and his disciple, Saul Morteira.

The Jews of Amsterdam were long compelled to
pay a tax, for every corpse, to the churches past
which the body was carried. On the whole, they
were at first not tolerated officially, their presence
was only connived at. They were distrusted as
Catholic spies in the service of Spain, plotting trea-
son disguised as Jews. Even when the authorities
and the population in general had become convinced
of their genuine hatred of Spain and Portugal, they
were still far from being recognized and tolerated
as an independent, religious body. For a short time
the synagogues were closed, and public worship
prohibited. Jewish refugees from the Spanish pen-
insula, on arriving in Havre, were thrown into prison.
This intolerance in the country destined to be the
first where religious freedom was to raise its temple,
was chiefly caused by the passionate conflict between
two parties of Reformers — the Remonstrants and
Contra-Remonstrants. The former were more gentle
in their exposition and practical application of Chris-
tianity than their opponents, the gloomy Calvinists,
Dutch Independents. In Am.sterdam the latter
party predominated and persecuted their opponents,
considered secret, treacherous adherents of Spain.
Although the Remonstrants had cause to try to
effect toleration for all sects, it was they who came
forward as the accusers of the Jews. They com-
plained to the chief magistrate of Amsterdam that

674 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. XIX.

all kinds of sects, even Jews, were tolerated in the
capital of Holland, they being the sole exception.

The governor. Prince Maurice of Orange, was
certainly favorable to Jews, but he could do nothing
against the spirit of intolerance, and the independence
of the cities and states. Consequently, even in Hol-
land the Jewish question came up for discussion, and
a commission was appointed for its settlement. Fin-
ally it was decided (March 17th, 161 5) that every city,
as in the case of Amsterdam, could issue a special
regulation about Jews, either to tolerate them, or to
expel them ; but in those cities where they were ad-
mitted, they were not to be forced to wear a badge.
Upon the repeated complaints of the Remonstrants,
the burgomaster, Reinier Pauw, laid before the coun-
cil (October 15th, 1619) the question as to what was
to be done in the case of the numerous fugitive Por-
tuguese Jews who had intermarried with the daugh-
ters of the land, thereby causing great scandal and
annoyance. Hereupon it was decided (November
8th), that intercourse between Jews and Christian
women, even prostitutes, was to be strictly forbid-
den. On the other hand, permission was granted
to Jews freely to acknowledge their religion.

As Amsterdam was not so wealthy as it after-
wards became, it could not do without Jews, who
had transferred to it their riches and their knowl-
edge of affairs. The old-established prejudices
against them disappeared more and more upon
closer acquaintance. The Jews from Portugal be-
trayed neither by their cultured language, their
demeanor, nor their manners, that they belonged
to a despised caste ; on the contrary, their carriage
was that of people of rank, with whom it was an
honor for many a Christian burgher to be ac-
quainted. They were, therefore, treated with a
certain amount of consideration. Their number
soon increased to four hundred families, with three
hundred houses in the city, and before long, a

CH. XIX. JEWISH SETTLEMENTS SOUCITED. 6/5

Hebrew printing press was set up in Amsterdam,
without lear of the Argus eye of the censor.

The prosperity of Amsterdam, caused by the in-
flux of Portuguese Jews, excited the envy of many
Christian princes, and they invited the Jews into
their dominions. Christian IV, king of Denmark,
addressed a letter to the Jewish Council of Amster-
dam (November 25th, 1622), asking them to en-
courage some of their members to settle in his
state. He promised them freedom of worship, and
other favorable privileges. The Duke of Savoy in-
vited Portuguese Jews to come to Nice, and the
Duke of Modena offered them the right of resi-
dence in Reggio, both granting them extensive
privileges. Thus, in the midst of the gloomy perse-
cution of Christendom, whose two religious factions
were drawing the sword against each other in the
Thirty Years' War, the Jews found pleasant little
oases, as it were, from which they could recover their
lost liberty, and gradually raise themselves from their
heavy bondage.

sfj~

CHAPTER XX.

THE DUTCH JERUSALEM AND THE THIRTY YEARS* WAR.

The Amsterdam Jewish Community — Its Wealth, Culture, and
Honored Position — Zacuto Lusitano — Internal Dissensions —
The Talmud Torah School — Saul Morteira, Isaac Aboab, and
Manasseh ben Israel — The Portuguese Congregation in Ham-
burg— The First Synagogue — Lutheran Intolerance — ^John
Miller — Jewish Colony in Brazil — The Chief Communities in
Germany— Persecution in Frankfort — Dr. Chemnitz — The
Vienna Congregation — Lipmann Heller — Ferdinand II's Zeal for
the Conversion of Jews — Influence of the Thirty Years' War on
the Fortunes of the Jews.

i6i8 — 1648 c.E.

The Jewish race during its dispersion of nearly two
thousand years may fitly be compared to a polyp.
Though it was often wounded and cut to pieces,
the parts severed from the whole did not die, but
began an independent existence, developed organ-
ically, and formed a new rootstock. Driven from
their original Palestinian home, the scattered mem-
bers of this peculiar national organism assembled
on the banks of the Euphrates and Tigris and in
the palm district of Arabia. Doomed to ruin there,
they emigrated to Spain with the Arabs, the most
cultured people of the Middle Ages, and became
the teachers of Europe, then plunged in barbarism.
Expelled thence, weakened in heart and numbers,
they proceeded eastwards, and, as again they found
no resting-place, they settled in the north, always
following advancing civilization. The admission
of Jews to Holland was the first quivering dawn
of a bright day after dense gloom. Amsterdam,
the northern Venice, in the beginning of the seven-
teenth century, had become a new center for Jews ;
they rightly named it their new, great Jerusalem.
In time this city became an ark of refuge for the
676

CH. XX. WEALTH OP THE AMSTERDAM JEWS. tjj

Jewish race in the new deluge. With every trial
conducted by the Inquisition in Spain and Portu-
gal on account of the Judaizing practices of the
Marranos, with every burning pile set ablaze for
convicted or suspected persons, the numbers of
the Amsterdam community increased, as if the fa-
natics aimed at depopulating and impoverishing
the Catholic countries to render the heretical states
of the Netherlands populous and wealthy. The
Amsterdam Portuguese community, consisting of
more than four hundred members, already possessed
three hundred stately houses and palaces in this
city, raised by them to a flourishing seat of com-
merce. Their capital enabled them to carry on
trade, for the most part on a large scale, and they
were interested in the East and West India Com-
panies, or conducted banking houses. But to usur)%
which made the Jews of other countries so hated,
they were sworn foes. The synagogue dues im-
posed upon themselves give an approximate idea
of the extent of their capital and trade. For every
pound of goods exported or imported by them they
were accustomed to pay a doit, and these taxes, ex-
clusive of those on the receipts of merchants inter-
ested in trading companies, amounted to 12,000
francs annually.

Not on account of their wealth alone did they
occupy a distinguished position in the new Batavian
seat of commerce. The immigrant Marranos be-
longed for the most part to the educated class ; in
Spain or Portugal, their unnatural mother country,
they had occupied positions as physicians, lawyers,
government officials, officers, or clergymen, and
were familiar with the Latin language and literature
no less than with belles-lettres, and were accustomed
to the usages of society. In the Netherlands, then
the most civilized part of Europe, humanistic culture
was in itself a recommendation. Hence, in Holland,
cultivated Jews had intercourse with educated Chris-

678 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. XX.

tians on terms of equality, and obliterated the pre-
judices against the Jewish race. Some of them ob-
tained a European reputation, and were connected
with personages of high rank. Abraham Zacuto
Lusitano (born 1576, died 1642), great-grandson of
Zacuto, the historian and astronomer, was one of the
most celebrated physicians of his time. He corres-
ponded with Frederick, prince of the Palatinate, and
his learned wife, the unfortunate couple that occu-
pied the throne of Bohemia for a brief space, and
was the cause of the Thirty Years' War. Zacuto's
praise was sounded in poetry and prose by Chris-
tian as well as Jewish professional brethren. The
Stadtholders of the Netherlands, princes of the house
of Orange-Nassau, Maurice, Henry, and William II,
like the founder of their race, William I, were well
disposed towards Jews, and treated them as citizens
with full rights. Even the Spanish and Portuguese
kings, the persecutors of the Marranos in their own
countries, condescended to show respect to the de-
scendants of their hunted victims, to confer appoint-
ments upon them, and to intrust them with consular
functions for their states.

The attachment of the Amsterdam Jews to their
re-adopted religion, purchased with so many dangers,
was deep, and was renewed at every accession of
fresh fugitives, and every report of the martyrdom
of their brethren on the burning pile of the Inqui-
sition. This devotedness was reflected in their
conduct, and embodied in verses composed in the
language of their persecutors.

Paul de Pina, or Reuel Jesurun, the poet, who
had once been on the point of becoming a monk,
composed for a sacred festival part songs in Portu-
guese, performed by seven youths to do honor to
the first synagogue (Beth-Jacob) in 1624. The
mountains of the Holy Land, Sinai, Hor, Nebo,
Gerisim, Carmel, and Zethim (Mount of Olives), in
melodious verses celebrated the excellence of the

CH. XX. BENEVOLEXCE OP THE AMSTERDAM COMMUNITY. 679

Jewish religion, the Jewish Law, and the Jewish
people. They praised the thousand merciful ways
in which God had led His people from the earliest
times to the present. The unity of God, the holi-
ness of the Law, and the expectations of the Messi-
anic age of grace, the more deeply felt by the Se-
phardic Marranos because they were newly acquired
and dearly gained convictions — these were the inex-
haustible themes of their poetry. But in the back-
ground of the splendid picture there always lowered
the dreadful dungeon, the priests of Moloch, and the
blazing flames of the Inquisition.

In this mood, exalted by the recollection of suffer-
ings and torture endured, the members of the Am-
sterdam community, with full heart and bountiful
hand, founded benevolent institutions of every de-
scription, orphan asylums, benevolent societies
(brotherhoods), and hospitals, such as were not in
existence in any of the older communities. They
had the means and the disposition. Their piety
was shown in charity and generosity. But, exalted
though their mood was, they were men with pas-
sions, and dissensions arose in the young commu-
nity. Many members, born and brought up in
Catholicism, brought with them and retained their
Catholic views and customs ; they thought that they
could combine them with Judaism. " Can one carry
coals in his bosom without singeing his clothes ? "
From childhood the Marranos had heard and seen
that one is allowed to sin, if from time to time he is
reconciled with the church. Catholic priests of all
ranks were at hand to effect the reconciliation, and
by ecclesiastical means ward off future punishment
from the sinner. In the eyes of most Marranos,
the rites and ceremonies of Judaism took the place
of the Catholic sacraments, and the rabbis of father-
confessors. They believed that he who conscien-
tiously observes Jewish rites, and in addition does a
few other things, may yield to his desires without

68o HISTORY OF THE JEWS! CH. XX.

forfeiting his soul's welfare. At any rate, the rabbis
could give him absolution. Hence the Marranos
led a life far from perfect, especially in point of
chastity. The first two rabbis of the Amsterdam
community, Joseph Pardo and Judah Vega, in con-
sideration of the circumstances were indulgent to
these weaknesses and shortcomings. But the third,
Isaac Uziel, did not restrain himself; with inexor-
able rigor he scourged the evil habits of semi-Jews
and semi-Catholics from the pulpit. This severity
wounded the attacked, but, instead of mending
their ways, they were angry with the preacher, and
several left the community and the synagogue, and
combined to found a new one (the third) in 1618.
At the head of the seceders was David Osorio ;
possibly he felt most deeply wounded by Uziel's se-
vere sermons. For the new synagogue (Beth Israel)
which the seceders erected, they chose David Pardo,
the son of Joseph Pardo, as rabbi and preacher.
He defended the acceptance of this office in the
new body, founded to some extent in defiance of
Isaac Uziel, by alleging that he wished to lessen
dissension. However, the tension lasted for twenty
years (161 8 — 1639).

Meanwhile German Jews, whom the ravages of
the Thirty Years' War had driven out of their
Ghettos, sought the asylum of Amsterdam, and
were admitted to its shelter. If the Amsterdam
Council had at first merely connived at the immi-
gration and settlement of Jews, at a later period
it decidedly furthered their admission, because it
perceived the important advantage which they
brought the state. The immigrant German Jews
naturally could not unite closely with the Portu-
guese community, because they differed, not only in
language, but also in demeanor and manners. A
wide chasm divided the Portuguese and the Ger-
mans of the same race and religion from each other.
The former haughtily looked down upon the latter

CH. XX. "TALMUD TORAH." 68l

as semi-barbarians, and the latter did not regard the
former as genuine Jews. As soon as a sufficient
number had assembled, the German Jews formed
a synagogue, with a rabbi of their own. Their first
chief was Moses Weil. The breach within the Por-
tuguese community was painfully felt. Jacob Curiel,
a distinguished man, afterw-ards resident of the Por-
tuguese court in Hamburg, by the greatest exer-
tions brought about a reconciliation, and not till the
union of the three synagogues in one single corpo-
rate body, in April, 1639, did the Portuguese com-
munity, by the harmonious co-operation of its pow-
ers, stand forth in all its splendor, and surpass all
its elder sisters in the three divisions of the globe.
The Amsterdam community in some points resem-
bled the ancient Alexandrian Jewish congregation.
Like the latter, it possessed great wealth, cultiva-
tion, and a certain distinction of character ; but, like
it, suffered from insufficient knowledge of Jewish
religious and scientific literature. Nearly all Mar
rano members had to commence to learn Hebrew
in advanced ag^e !

On uniting the three communities, for which
statutes were passed, the representatives took pains
to obviate this ignorance of Hebrew. They founded
an institute (Talmud Torah) in which children and
youths might have instruction in the useful branches
of Jewish theology. It was, perhaps, the first
graded institution of the kind among Jews. It con-
sisted, at first, of seven classes. Students could be
conducted from the lowest step, the Hebrew alpha-
bet, to the highest rung of the Talmud. It was at
once an elementary school and a college for higher
studies. Thorough Hebrew philology, elocution,
and modern Hebrew poetry were also taught there,
which was not usual in other Jewish schools. In
the highest departments, the first rabbis, or Chacha-
mim, at that time Saul Morteira and Isaac Aboab,
gave instruction. These two men, with Manasseh

68? HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. XX.

ben Israel and David Pardo, formed the first rab-
binical college. This richly endowed institute be-
came a nursery for the training of rabbis for the
Amsterdam community and its daughters in Europe
and America. From it pupils went forth who
labored in wider spheres ; among whom may be
mentioned, for the sake of contrast, the confused
Kabbalist Moses Zacuto and the clear-headed Baruch
Spinoza.

It was a misfortune for the Amsterdam com-
munity that its first spiritual guides, who exercised
remarkable influence, were possessed of only medi-
ocre talents, in some degree lacked mental poise.
With the vast resources which this first Dutch com-
munity had at command, with the fund of culture
characterizing its members, and their devotion to
Judaism, its leaders might have brought about
remarkable results, if they had possessed more inde-
pendence, profounder intellect, and greater genius.
The first Amsterdam rabbinical college had nothing
of all this. David Pardo appears to have been of
very little importance. Saul Levi Morteira (born
about 1596, died 1660) was not even a distinguished
preacher ; his colleagues, Aboab and Manasseh ben
Israel, far outshone him. His sermons, the only
printed productions of his literary activity, have a
philosophical complexion, but no depth of thought.
Morteira followed the broad, beaten paths, repeating
what had been thought and pointed out before him.
Even in rabbinical learning he had no mastery, and
was not considered an authority by contemporary
Talmudists. His colleague, Isaac Aboab de Fon-
seca (born 1606, died 1693), was even less distin-
guished. He, also, was a Portuguese by descent,
and, it seems, came to Amsterdam as a child with
his mother, who was fifty years old at his birth. He
was trained under Isaac Uziel, and acquired from
him pulpit eloquence, if that can be learnt. Aboab
became an excellent and beloved preacher. His

CH. XX. MANASSEH BEN ISRAEL. 6S$

Style of speaking has been very well described by
Antonio Yieira of Lisbon, a wise Jesuit, possessed
of goodwill towards Jews. When once in Amster-
dam, he heard Aboab and Manasseh ben Israel
preach, and when asked how he liked them, he re-
plied : "The one (Manasseh) says what he knows,
and the other knows what he says." But a well-
arranged, impressive, attractive sermon is not always
the fruit of solid knowledge and clear conviction.
At any rate, it was not with Aboab. In character
he was vacillating, submissive to the influence of
others, open to flattery, hence not independent. To
this man was given the control of the Amsterdam
community for nearly seventy years. Aboab was
superstitious like the multitude, and, instead of lead-
ing, was led.

Far more distinguished was Manasseh ben Israel
(born 1604, died 1657), a child of the Amsterdam
community, to which his father had come broken
down by the torture of the Inquisition, and robbed
of all his property. Young Manasseh, eager for
learning, was trained under Isaac Uziel, and while
his knowledge of the Bible and the Talmud did
not attain to perfect mastery, it was extensive and
ready. Directed by his personal circumstances
to the study of ten languages — including Portuguese
as his mother tongue, and Latin as the literary
language — Manasseh learnt to express himself in
speech and writing with more or less perfection in
all these languages and in an elevated style, A
ready speaker by nature, he educated himself as a
preacher, displaying all the lights and shadows of
his profession. He became a prolific writer, and,
though he died young, performed incomparably
more than his colleagues. In the case of this ami-
able man, who rendered essential ser\dce to Judaism,
we should not take the part of severe critics, nor
inquire how large a share enthusiasm and a cer-
tain vanity had in his work. But history is a stern

684 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. XX.

judge. What his contemporaries admired in Man-
asseh was not his profound intellect, nor his over-
powering, far-reaching greatness, but his quiet,
yielding, modest behavior, and his simple nature.
He correctly and briefly described himself without
under- or over-estimation : "I rejoice in the modest
though happy talent of being able to describe, with
a certain degree of order, the objects that the will
presents to the mind." He brought no great and
fruitful thoughts into the world, but fostered the in-
tellectual offspring of others, treating them as his
own. He knew rather than thought much. Al-
though familiar with profane literature and Christian
theology, he clung firmly not only to traditional
Judaism, as represented by the rabbinical system,
but also to the Kabbala, and, like his less educated
colleagues, regarded every v/ord in the Talmud and
the Zohar as a profound truth. Like others, Man-
asseh ben Israel was subject to superstitions, which
had a strong influence over him, and spurred on
his will.

Such was the character of the men called to guide
and instruct the young, ignorant, catholicizing, and
tractable Amsterdam community. Great power was
in their hand. Important affairs were discussed and
decided at the public sittings of the rabbis (Maamad)
with the trustees elected by the members. In re-
ligious matters the Chachamim alone decided, be-
cause the laity did not trust their own judgment.
The decisions of the rabbis were binding on the
members. Nobody might oppose them, because
the government had a despotic character. The
authorities allowed the board of trustees and the
college of rabbis full liberty to inflict spiritual pen-
alties on disobedient members. Of this liberty and
this power the leaders made only too extensive a
use. They had brought from Spain mischievous
zeal in maintaining the faith pure and uprooting
heresy. The Amsterdam rabbis introduced the

CH. XX. INFLUENCE OF THE AMSTERDAM COMMUNITY. 685

innovation of bringing religious opinions and con-
victions before their judgment-seat, of constituting
themselves a sort of inquisitional tribunal, and insti-
tuting autos-da-fe, which, even if bloodless, were not
less painful to the sufferers. The character and
organization of the largest Portuguese community
in Europe had a powerful influence on the course of
Jewish history. Branch communities were formed,
which took for their model not only the organization,
dignity, devoted piety, and benevolence, but also the
follies and perversities, of their mother. The second
community on Dutch soil was gradually formed at
Rotterdam. Two brothers, as pious as wealthy.
Abraham and David Pinto, laid the foundation of
this community, and elected as Chacham and prin-
cipal of the institute which they founded (Jesiba de
los Pintos), a young man, Josiah Pardo. son of David
Pardo, and son-in-law of Morteira, who, however,
did not distinguish himself.

In Haarlem, also, the Jews were on the point of
obtaining permission to settle. The Humanists
and favorers of toleration, like Joseph Scaliger, the
prince of philologists, were already rejoicing ; but,
in the end, intolerance prevailed, and nothing came
of the movement. Instead, Portuguese communi-
ties arose in North Germany beyond the sea, and
gradually in other cities of the Netherlands.

In Hamburg an important colony of the Amster-
dam community was next formed. But there were dif-
ficulties in overcoming German prejudices and Ger-
man pedantry. Against the advantages arising from
the settlement of wealthy and intelligent Jews, which
the Amsterdam people had quickly comprehended,
the Hamburg citizens struggled hand and foot. For
the fierce Lutherans it was an abomination to have
Jews in their midst. A Jewish jeweler named Isaac,
from Salzuflen, in Lippe, with twelve of his co-reli-
gionists, who were compelled to go in search of a
new home, made an attempt to settle in Hamburg.

686 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. XX.

He presented a petition to the senate to receive
them for twelve years, offering the sum of 9,000
marks and a yearly tax of 400 marks. The nego-
tiator, Isaac, exhaustively set forth all possible rea-
sons for the reception of Jews, and declared that
they were willing to submit to any conditions. He
adduced that Jews were tolerated not only in Catho-
lic, but also in evangelical countries, both in the
West, at Frankfort and Worms, and in northern
Germany, in Hanover, Minden, Hildesheim, Gottin-
gen, Norden, Dortmund, Hamm, Lippe, and Emden.
All was in vain. Hamburg, then delighting in
popish quarreling about orthodoxy and heresy, re-
fused a home to Jews.

It is curious that Hamburg, at the very time when
it so strongly opposed the temporary admission of
Jews, harbored some in its midst without being
aware of it. With these, under the mask of Por-
tuguese papists, orthodox Christians had daily inter-
course. Marrano fugitives had escaped from the
Inquisition, settled in the North German free Hanse
town, and passed as Portuguese "traders." Hear-
ing that their brethren in Amsterdam, with whom
they were in communication, openly professed Ju-
daism, and were tolerated, they also lifted their
mask, and wished to be recognized as Jews, but
continued to have their children baptized. The
strict Lutheran citizens raised a loud outcry, and
demanded of the senate that the wealthy Jews
who had been driven from Portugal and other
places should be got rid of, and not be tolerated.
But to this the senate did not like to accede ;
they felt shame at treating these Portuguese of
noble demeanor and intelligent character as va-
grants or Jews. To the secret Jews of Hamburg
there belonged at that time the beloved and much-
sought physician, Rodrigo de Castro (born about
1560 at Lisbon, died 1627 or 1628), who, in the vio-
lence of the pestilence, hastened with self-sacrifice

CH. XX. JEWS ADMITTED TO HAMBURG. 68/

to the bedsides of those stricken by the plague, and
saved the Uves of many. De Castro was also a
skillful physician for women, and won the favor of
the weaker sex, strong in sympathy and antipathy.
Able physicians were not numerous, especially
not in North Germany. Other "Portuguese," as
the disguised Marranos in Hamburg called them-
selves, and were called, possessed capital, or, as
agents, conducted important business for Spanish
or Portuguese houses. In short, it did not seem
practicable to send these Portuguese away. The
senate, therefore, at first put off the citizens with an
official denial that there were Jews among them ;
and afterwards admitted the presence of a smaller
number than was correct — about seven Portuguese
Jews " who have fire and smoke here," 2>., house-
holds. But the Lutheran clergy in Hamburg be-
haved most intolerantly, excited people against the
Portuguese Jews, and charged the senate with neg-
lect of duty. That body, which guarded only the
commercial interests, did not care to dispense with
the Jews, but being unwilling to burden its con-
science, or rather to incur the reproach of unchris-
tian feeling, turned from the Hamburg clergy — the
ministry' — to a higher court, the theological faculties
of Frankfort-on-the-Oder and Jena. The theological
grounds of which the senate availed itself for the
toleration of Jews are very ridiculous, and prove
the ossification of Lutheranism at that time. The
judgment of the Frankfort faculty proceeds upon
these grounds, and indulges the hope that the Por-
tuguese Jews — who for the sake of their convictions
had given up honors, fortune, and a beloved home —
would be converted to Christianity in Hamburg.
The decision of the Jena faculty looks as if a pro-
fessor of Dominican theology of a century before, in
the time of Hoogstraten, had written it, and as if
the index on the dial of history had stood still.
Like the intolerant papists, the Lutheran theological

6S8 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH, XX.

faculty wished to compel Jews to listen to Christian
preaching.

The senate, sufficiently protected on the ecclesi-
astical side by these two judgments, in February,
1 612, with restrictions growing out of the German
spirit or the German narrow-mindedness of that time,
granted the Portuguese Jews free residence in
Hamburg, avoiding a consideration of the conse-
quences on both sides with pedantic scrupulous-
ness. They really became protected Jews {Schutz-
juden), who had to pay an annual charge or
protection fee of 1,000 marks. They were not
allowed to have synagogues, or private religious
service according to Jewish customs, or to practice
circumcision, but they might bury their dead in a
cemetery of their own at Altona. There were then
in Hamburg 125 adults of Marrano descent, among
whom were ten capitalists, two physicians, and three
artisans. It was an important article in the agree-
ment that new-comers might obtain admission, "if
the high and wise council found their qualifications
of such a nature that it had no objection to take
them under its protection." Thus the young, semi-
tolerated Hamburg community grew from year to
year, and within a decade several capitalists were
added. The increase of the community through
the accession of such settlers, admitted openly as
Jews, no longer disguised as Portuguese, in 161 7
rendered necessary a fresh agreement with the
senate, enlarging their privileges in commercial
respects, but diminishing them in point of citizen-
ship. They could not possess houses or land, and
had to dispose of any they might own. Exception
was made in favor of the physician, Rodrigo de
Castro, in consideration of his faithful services of
many years, but even he could not bequeath his
house to an heir.

The more the Portuguese Jews, by their capital
and business connections, gained weight with com-

CH. XX. FIRST SYNAGOGUE AT HAMBURG. 689

mercial men in the senate, the more they broke
through the boundaries drawn by narrow-minded
legislation. When the bank at Hamburg, to which
this city owed its commercial prosperity, was founded
(1619 — 1623), no less than twelve Jewish capitalists
supported it with their funds and efforts, as the
Amsterdam Portuguese had done at the formation
of the Dutch companies trading beyond the sea.
The Portuguese Jewish settlers alone founded the
important trade of Hamburg with Spain and Portu-
gal. Hence they might assume that the senate,
which held the reins of government, would connive
at violations of the articles. They were especially
anxious to be permitted to assemble for public wor-
ship, and this was directly forbidden. Relying on
their indispensability, they quietly erected a syna-
gogue in about 1626. It was Elihu Aboab Car-
dozo who risked this venture. They named it Tal-
mud Torah, and appointed as Chacham, Isaac Athias,
of Amsterdam, a disciple of Isaac Uziel,

This probably simple synagogue, consisting of
two large rooms, caused wide dissension, and pro-
duced much bitterness. Emperor Ferdinand II, the
terror of the Protestants, indignant that the arch-
Lutheran city on the Elbe would not allow Catho-
lics to build a church, sent a threatening letter to
the senate, July 28th, 1627, because for the sake of
trade a synagogue was openly permitted to Jews,
while Roman Catholics were forbidden the exercise
of their religion. Nothing more was needed to ex-
cite the Lutheran fanatics. If free exercise of their
religion was granted to Jews, it must also be
granted to Catholics, and even to Calvinists, they
said. A frightful consequence indeed ! When the
ministry, or spiritual assembly, which had great
power in Hamburg, reproached the senate on ac-
count of the violation of articles in the agreement
with the Jews, and that body in turn arraigned
the Jews, the latter declared that they had no

690 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. XX.

synagogue, merely a place of meeting to read the
Law of Moses, the Psalms, the Prophets, and other
books of the Old Testament ; if they prayed there,
it was only for the welfare of the city and the gov-
ernment. The senate proceeded no further, because
the Jews threatened that, in case they were denied
the worship of God, they would leave Hamburg in
a body, and transfer their capital and business con-
nections to a neighboring place. That argument
prevailed. But the clergy demanded nothing less
than that a Christian rabbi be appointed to preach
Christianity to Jews in the synagogue, or else-
where. The physicians also viewed with indigna-
tion the popularity of their Jewish colleagues, and
sought to bring not only them, but Jews generally,
under suspicion, and stirred up the people against
them.

But the community grew in prosperity from year
to year, and the senate gladly received those who
came with capital and business connections. Even
if the descriptions by John Miller, the arch-foe of
the Jews, appear exaggerated, yet an idea may be
gathered from them of the wealth of the Portuguese
Jews of Hamburg, " They strut along adorned with
gold and silver, costly pearls, and precious stones.
At their weddings they eat and drink from silver
ware, and drive in such carriages as become only
persons of exalted rank, and, moreover, have out-
riders and a large following." The extremely rich
Texeira family, settled in Hamburg, lived in princely
luxury. The founder of this banking house, Diego
Texeira de Mattos, was called in Hamburg, like
Joseph of Naxos in Constantinople, "the rich Jew."
He was of Portuguese descent, bore a title of high
nobility, and had previously been Spanish resident
in Flanders. Over seventy years of age, he under-
w^ent the operation of circumcision in order to be-
come a Jew in reality. By means of his wealth, and
his connections with both the nobility and capi-

CH. XX. JOHN MILLER- 69I

talists, Diego Texeira could play the aristocrat. He
drove in a carriage lined with satin, and had liveried
servants.

The Portuguese Jews already had three syna-
gogues, the second builtby Abraham Aboab Falero,
the third by David de Lima. A German commu-
nity, also, had gradually assembled at Hamburg, and
built a house of prayer. And were the faithful fol-
lowers of Luther to behold it calmly, although al-
most on his death-bed he had ordered the Jews to
be treated as gypsies, and the tongues of the rabbis
to be cut out ? The Hamburg pastors could not
endure it, they pressed the senate, and stirred up
the citizens to withdraw even this small amount of
religious toleration. Among them stood forth an
arch-bigot, John Miller, senior at St. Peter's church,
a Protestant inquisitor and chief persecutor, an
abusive man given to scandal, who cast aspersions
upon his reverend brethren from the pulpit and in
libelous writings. With this virulent pastor, who
considered himself a pillar of Lutheran orthodoxy,
it was a matter of conscience thoroughly to hate
and humiliate the Jews. In writing and in talking,
in the pulpit and in the circle of his disciples, in
private conversation and in official addresses, his
favorite theme was the Jews and their humiliation.
Ever}''thing in the Jews vexed him : their joy and
feasting on Purim, their mourning on the anniver-
sary of the destruction of the Temple, their dress,
their friendship with Christians, and their funerals.
The bigot was not wrong on some points, as, for
instance, his censure of the hereditary failing of the
Portuguese Marranos, as illustrated in their mis-
conduct with Christian women, and of the way in
which some of them challenged Christianity. A
Jewish author (Jacob Jehuda Leon ?) had composed
a work entitled "Colloquium Middelburgense," a
Latin dialogue between a rabbi and a Christian on
the value or worthlessness of Christian doctrines, the

692 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. XX.

gospels, and the ecclesiastical writings, m which the
weak points of Christianity were laid bare. Miller
composed a defense, or rather a libel, entitled,
jfudaism, or the Jewish Doctrine, a full account of
the Jewish people's unbelief, blindness, and obduracy
(1644). This was dictated neither by the Holy
Ghost nor by Christian love. Luther's virulent
language against Jews seemed an undeniable re-
velation to the pastor. Out of it spoke Luther-
anism, pure and unadulterated, which had as little
heart as the popery attacked by it, and the essence
of which consisted of dry formulas of belief. Miller's
absurdity and uncharitableness are not his own ;
they are part and parcel of the corrupt Lutheran
church of the time. Three theological faculties, the
arch-Lutheran faculty of Wittenberg, and those of
Strasburg and Rostock, in reply to Miller's inquiry,
decided that Jewish physicians should never be ad-
mitted to Christian patients. Thus, in the face of
the seventeenth century, when the Thirty Years'
War was teaching toleration with an iron rod, the
leaders of Lutheranism were issuing a new edition
of the decrees of the Visigothic councils against
Jews. But, after all, times had changed. Christian
IV, king of Denmark, Schleswig and Holstein, next
to Gustavus Adolphus the champion of the Protest-
ants, to whom Miller dedicated his book, had ap-
pointed Benjamin Musaphia, a Jewish physician, his
medical attendant.

Even in Hamburg Miller's fanatical zeal did not
meet with great success. The citizens gradually got
accustomed to Jews, and learnt to respect them.
Some of them were appointed business agents or
residents even by high Catholic potentates. The
king of Portugal first appointed Duarte Nunes da
Costa, and then Jacob Curiel, as his agents, and
his Catholic majesty, Philip IV, elevated Immanuel
Rosales, a Jewish author of Portuguese descent, to
the dignity of count palatine. The Portuguese Jews,

CH. XX. BRA2IUAN COMMUNITIES. 693

in general more favorably situated than their Ger-
man brethren, felt so happy at Hamburg, that they
called it their "little Jerusalem."

A colony of the Amsterdam mother-community
was formed in Brazil, South America, discovered
and peopled by Portuguese, and a number settled
in the town of Pernambuco. Thither the Portu-
guese government had often transported Jewish
offenders, i.e., Marranos, whom it did not wish to
deliver to the burning-pile, together with prostitutes,
and other rabble. These disgraced Marranos as-
sisted the Dutch in conquering Brazil, which became
a Dutch colony, with a Stadtholder of its own, the
intelligent John Maurice, of Nassau (1624 — 1636).
Connections were immediately established between
the Amsterdam and the Brazilian community, which
threw off the mask of Christianity, and was almost
spoilt by the favor of the Dutch. The Jews at
Recife, near Pernambuco, called themselves "the
holy community " (Kahal Kados), and had a gov-
erning body consisting of David Senior Coronel,
Abraham de Moncado, Jacob Mucate, and Isaac
Cathunho. Several hundred Amsterdam Portuguese,
either by invitation, or of their own accord, sailed
to Brazil to form business connections with the
colony, and took with them the Chacham Isaac
Aboab. He was the first Brazilian rabbi, settling
probably at Recife. At Tamarica a community was
formed, which had its own Chacham, Jacob Lagarto,
the first Talmudical author in South America. Oi
course, the Brazilian Jews enjoyed perfect equality
of rights with other citizens, for they rendered the
Dutch essential services as advisers and warriors.
When the native Portuguese, who bore the yoke of
the Dutch impatiently, formed a conspiracy to get
rid of the Dutch authorities at a banquet in the
capital, and attack the colony bereft of government,
a Jew gave warning, and saved the colony from cer-
tain destruction. Later, in 1646, when open war

694 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. XX.

broke out between the Portuguese and the Dutch,
and the garrison of Recife, exhausted by famine,
was on the point of surrendering unconditionally,
the Jews encouraged the governor to brave resist-
ance.

A fanatical war of race and religion between the
Portuguese and the Dutch devastated fair Brazil,
and a famine ensued. The Jews vied with the
Dutch in suffering and bravery. Isaac Aboab, the
Chacham of the Brazil community, paints the suffer-
ings of the war, which he himself endured, in lurid
colors :

Volumes would not suffice to relate our miseries. The enemy
spread over field and wood, seeking here for booty and there for
life. Many of us died, sword in hand, others from want ; they now
rest in cold earth. We survivors were exposed to death in every
form ; those accustomed to luxuries were glad to seize mouldy bread
to stay their hunger.

At last, the States-General were compelled by
European wars to surrender the colony to the Por-
tuguese. The devoted zeal of the Jews for the polit-
ical welfare of the Dutch was a firm bond, never
afterwards dissolved, between them and the republic.
The toleration and equal position of Jews in the
Netherlands were ensured for ever.

Whilst the first ray of a better time glimmered in
Holland, the rest of Europe was still full of darkness
for Jews. In Germany especially, the Jew even in
the seventeenth century continued to be an outcast
for whom there was no sympathy. He was pelted
with mud, his beard was singed, and he was treated
almost worse than a dog. There were only three or
four important communities in Germany : Frankfort-
on-the-Main, with over 4,000 souls ; Worms, with
1,400; Prague, with 10,000 at most; and Vienna,
with 3,000 : the rest did not number many. Ham-
burg was still a young community. In the West
German free cities of Frankfort and Worms,
almost stronger antipathy to Jews prevailed than in

CH. XX. "JUDENSTATTIGKEIT." 6^5

Hamburg, having Its root in the narrow-mindedness
of the PhiHstine citizens and the guilds rather than
in religious antipathy. Both cities treated the Jews
within their walls as their "servi camerae," and ap-
pealed in all seriousness to a deed of Emperor
Charles IV, declaring that they had been sold to
them in person and property. When Portuguese
Marranos, wishing to remove from the Netherlands
to Frankfort, and raise it to a commercial center
of the first rank, like Amsterdam and Hamburg,
asked permission to build a house of prayer there,
the council roundly refused. The Jewish capitalists
then addressed themselves to the lord of Hanau,
and obtained very favorable terms.

The bitterness of the people of Frankfort against
their Jewish neighbors was crystallized in a most
revolting and absurd legislative enactment, entitled
"the permissive residence of Jews" (Judenstattig-
keit), and defining under what conditions or restric-
tions Jews might breathe the Frankfort air, or rather
the pestilential atmosphere of the Jewish quarter.
The city, chiefly Protestant, retained all the canoni-
cal restrictions introduced by the papacy for the pur-
pose of branding Jews, such as, prohibiting them from
having Christian servants or nurses, and requiring
them to wear an opprobrious badge. They were
treated exactly like criminals. Jews might not go
outside their quarter except for necessary business,
and two might not walk together, certainly not in
the neighborhood of the town-hall, and especially
not during Christian festivals or weddings, or if
princes were staying in the city. They were also
required to observe silence in their Ghetto, avoid
offending Christian ears with any shrill sound, and
see that strange Jews visiting them went to bed in
good time. In fact, they might not harbor any
strangers without the knowledge of the magistracy,
nor even admit a patient into their hospital. They
might not purchase food in the market at the same

696 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. XX.

time as Christians. Though their business was jeal-
ously restricted, they were forced to pay more taxes
than the Christian inhabitants. As they were obliged
to wear special badges on their clothes, so they were
required to have on their houses shields, with strange
figures and names, such as "the garlic," "the ass,"
"the green or white shield," "red shield," "black
shield." After these shield figures the inhabitants
were named, "The Jew N of the ass," "the Jew N
of the dragon." On the admission of a Jew, he was
obliged to promise on oath to obey these stupid and
heartless directions. Even this wretched existence
depended on the favor of the magistrate, for in one
paragraph the council reserved the power of depriv-
ing a Jew at any time of the right of residence. In
such case the individual or family had to leave the
city within a fixed space of time.

As the magistrate was empowered to deprive
a single Jew of the right of residence, he could
banish all from the city. This was inferred and
demanded by the citizens or the guilds at variance
with the council. They aimed at enlarging their
liberties by limiting the aristocratic power of patricians
in the magistracy, and they began with the Jews. The
reason was that the councilors, in return for the sub-
stantial gratitude of the Jews, were indulgent in the
administration of the laws issued against them ; else
they would not have been able to exist under the
pressure of opprobrium and the "permissive resi-
dence." But this indulgence of the magistracy to-
wards Jews was doubly hateful to the guilds. Hence
they strove by all possible means to bring about the
expulsion of the Jews from Frankfort. The Jews
had obtained assurance of their safety as a com-
munity by charter from the emperor, but the decrees
and threats of the emperor were little heeded at that
time. At the head of the discontented guild-mem-
bers stood the pastry-cook, Vincent Fettmilch, who,
with his workpeople, belonged to the Reformers, a

CH. XX. THE FKTTMILCH RIOT. 69/

sect excluded from civic honors, and who sought to
sate his fury against the Lutheran authorities by
taking vengeance on the Jews. He was a daring
man, who kept the councilors in awe, and openly
called himself "the new Haman of the Jews." He
was chosen by the citizens as their spokesman and
ringleader, and deserved this leadership, for he exe-
cuted his plans with much circumspection.

On an appointed day (27 Ellul = September,
1 61 4, new style), while the community was assem-
bled in the house of prayer, blow followed upon
blow and thrust upon thrust, mingled with furious
shouting, on the door of the Jewish quarter. There-
upon followed cries of anguish on the part of the
Jews, who rushed hither and thither in despair and
distracted flight. Bold youths and men seized
weapons to ward off assaults or die manfully. On
both sides fell the wounded and dead, until the su-
periority of numbers and the daring of the Fett-
milch party decided the victory. Then all through
the night until the next day followed plundering,
desecration, and destruction of sacred places with
brutal fury. The imperial commissioners could do
nothing to check the riot ; they were even com-
pelled to put up a notice that the murderous band
was not liable to punishment. Most of the Jews
not sheltered by philanthropic citizens awaited death
in trembling at the burial-ground, crouching together,
many of them in shrouds. The rabble purposely
left them in uncertainty as to the fate to which they
were destined — life, death, or banishment — so that
the Jews regarded it as a mercy from God when the
fisherman's gate was opened in the afternoon of
August 24th (new style), and they were allowed to
depart, 1,380 in number, but without property of
any kind. The advance of humanity, compared
with earlier ages, is seen in the circumstance that
compassionate Christians gave bread and other pro-
visions to those who departed utterly destitute, and

698 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH, XX,

the smaller towns and villages sheltered them, though
Fettmilch and the foes of the Jews had warned them
against receiving the exiles.

It was long before the Frankfort Jews obtained
satisfaction for these atrocious injuries. The magis-
tracy and Emperor Matthias were equally impotent.
Fettmilch's rabble for a whole year so tyrannized
over the council that it could do nothing for the Jews.
Some of the law faculties defended the robbers,
by issuing an opinion that their attacks on the prop-
erty of the Jews could not be regarded as theft, since
they had occurred in the daytime or by torchlight. It
was only by similar events at Worms that the end
of the Frankfort troubles was hastened.

There the bitterness against one of the oldest
German-Jewish communities, arising out of hatred
of Jews and trade jealousy, took a different course.
Not the guilds, but some members of the magis-
tracy urged the banishment of the Jews, and the
chief enemy of the Jews, instead of being a brutal
but straightforward workman, was a crafty advo-
cate and perverter of the law. Here, as in Frank-
fort, the chief motive was opposition to the magis-
tracy, but the guild-members acted with more reso-
lution and unanimity. The leader, adviser, and
director of the committee of citizens was a learned
lawyer. Dr. Chemnitz (Chemnitius), who thought
that by lawyers' tricks he would be able to effect the
banishment of the Jews with less danger than the
Frankfort people had incurred by brutal violence.
At first chicanery and insults of every sort were em-
ployed. The committee did not care to use vio-
lence, but strove to wear them out. It closed the
outlets of the city against them, hindered them from
purchasing food, drove their cattle from the mea-
dows, and would not permit milk for Jewish children
to be brought to the Jewish quarter.

After various movements, the Worms guilds, by
Chemnitz's advice, assembled unarmed in the market

CH. XX. JEWS RETURN TO WORMS AND FRANKFORT. 699

place to take counsel, and sent a deputation to the
Jews, ordering them "to retire from the city with
bag and baggage" within an hour. The deputation
reproached them with having caused the citizens to
be suspected by the emperor, with having excited
his hatred against them, and deprived them of every
means of obtaining justice. The magistrates pro-
tested, but without effect, and so nothing remained
for the Jews but to depart on the last day but one
of the Passover (April 20th, 16 15, new style). Fa-
naticism could not refrain from venting its fury on
the holy places of the Jews, from devastating the
synagogue which had stood for a thousand years,
desecrating the burial-ground, and breaking to pieces
several hundred tombstones, some of which gave
evidence of the high antiquity of the community.
The archbishop of Mayence and Count Louis of
Darmstadt granted residence to the exiles in small
towns and villages, and thus some of the exiles met
their suffering brethren of Frankfort.

But the rejoicing of the foes of the Jews in Worms
did not last long. The council, humiliated by the
committee of citizens, secretly negotiated with Fred-
erick, elector palatine, and, about ten days after the
expulsion of the Jews, he moved infantry, cavalry,
and cannon into the town, under the unavailing pro-
test of the committee, and this soon brought the
disorder to an end. Still it was nearly nine months
before the Worms Jews were re-admitted by order
of the elector palatine and the bishop of Speyer
(January 19th, 161 6, new style). Two months after-
wards, the Jews of Frankfort were led back, as in
triumph, with the sound of trumpets, and blowing
of horns, by the commissioners of the electorate of
Mayence and Darmstadt (Adar 20th = March loth).
Here the rioters were more severely punished than
at Worms, because they had caused destruction,
plundering, and bloodshed. Vincent Fettmilch, the
pastry-cook, the Frankfort Haman, was hanged, and

700 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. XX.

quartered, his house razed to the ground, and his
family banished. The city was fined 175,919 florins
by the emperor as compensation for the depre-
dations committed on Jewish property. In memory
of this extraordinary deHverance and honorable
restoration, not an every-day occurrence in the Ger-
man Empire, the Frankfort community appointed the
day of their return (Adar 20th) to be observed as
a feast-day, named Purim-Vincent, the day before
being kept as a fast in memory of their sufferings.

The old "permissive residence" of the Jews in
Worms and Frankfort was abolished by Matthias,
who introduced a new regulation, recommended by
the commissioners in 161 7. This new arrangement
still bore the impress of the Middle Ages. The old
restrictions of the Jews, as to dress, occupation and
movement, were retained, and, if possible, made more
severe in some respects. The Jews were still con-
sidered outcasts, even by the emperor of the Holy
Roman Empire and his councilors. "As they are
privileged by the emperor, the council is to protect
them, and no longer has the power to banish those
who have obtained * permissive residence.' " The
Frankfort Jews, re-admitted at that time, did not
need to renew their right of residence every three
years as before, and transmitted it to their descend-
ants. On the other hand, the number of Jews was
fixed at 500. Not more than six new families a year
could be granted "permissive residence," and only
twelve couples a year could get married. A further
restriction was that the Jews should not be called
citizens of Frankfort ; they were only hereditary
protected dependents of the council. In addition
to the old protection fee, there was a marriage and
an inheritance tax. The restrictions in the new
Jewish ordinance for Worms proved, if possible,
still more oppressive.

The banishment of the Jews from two cities of
western Germany, and their restoration had a favor-

CH. XX. JEWS PROTECTED BY THE EMPEROR. ^OI

able result for the German Jews. It was an advan-
tage to all German communities that the emperor
had emphatically insisted on, and by force of arms
confirmed, the safety of the Jews. Emperor Ferdi-
nand II, though a pupil of the Jesuits and a destroyer
of Protestants, confirmed the inviolability of the
Jews throughout the whole empire, especially in
Frankfort and Worms, when the citizens of these
places again thought of persecuting them. Hence
it came about, that the destructive, cruel Thirty
Years' War did not affect the Jews in Germany so
severely as might have been expected. Of course,
they did not fail to share the sufferings of the Ger-
man nation, which, divided into two camps, drew
the sword against its own breast, and made havoc
of its own land. The Jews, like the rest of the
population, had to submit to the plunderings and
ravagings which leaders of armies, such as Mans-
feld, Tilly, and Wallenstein, one after the other,
brought upon flourishing cities.

Many a Jewish community was destroyed by the
fury of war. But at least the Jews had nothing to
fear from the internal foe, and, in the seclusion of
their Ghettos, were perfectly secure from all attacks.
The Catholic generals had orders from the emperor
to spare the life and property of Jews, so that many
a Protestant could lodge, and save his property, in
the Jewish quarter. Before Wallenstein made the
discovery that war is supported by war, and that a
large army can obtain means for itself the war
carried on by Ferdinand II against the Protestant
half of Germany required much money, and the
imperial treasury had always been poor. But ready
money was chiefly in the iron chests of Jewish capi-
talists. Hence, the financial springs, the Jews, had
to be protected, if the war was to be carried on suc-
cessfully. Consequently, the emperor, acting with
careful consideration, impressed upon his generals
to spare the Jews from all the hardships of war, in-

702 ,,, HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. XX.

eluding the quartering- of troops. How dearly this
tender treatment cost the communities is not known.
The Bohemian Jews paid a considerable sum, and
bound themselves to contribute 40,000 florins a year
towards defraying the expenses of the war.

The court of Vienna invented another means of
making Jews contribute to the war. It appointed
Jewish capitalists as court Jews, granted them most
extensive freedom of trade, freed them from the
restrictions to which other Jews were subjected, even
from wearing the yellow badge, in a word, afforded
them and their families an exceptionally favored
position.

The Jewish community of Vienna enjoyed great
consideration during, or perhaps on account of, this
war. Through the indifference of Spain, the center
of Catholicism was transferred at that time from the
Manzanares to the Danube, from Madrid to Vienna.
The Jews, who by degrees re-assembled in Vienna,
in spite of repeated banishment by the emperors,
came into close relations with important European
affairs. Court Jews and Jewish physicians repaired
to Vienna with their retinue, i.e., persons depending,
or pretending to be dependent, upon them. The
Viennese Jews at that time were considered to be
exceedingly rich. As they lived scattered in various
quarters of the city, they felt the necessity of assem-
bling and having a common place for prayer. They
applied to the emperor, and he granted them a site
in what is now Leopoldstadt, released them from
the jurisdiction of the municipal authorities, and even
excused them from wearing the badge. At the very
time when Protestant Hamburg citizens were jeal-
ously on the watch that no synagogue be granted to
the Portuguese Jews, the arch-Catholic emperor
allowed them to build in his capital a new synagogue
with all its appurtenances (December, 1624). His
"liberated," i.e., privileged Jews were not required
to quarter troops, or to contribute to the expenses

CH. XX. LIPMANN HELLER. 703

of the war. The magistrates, of course, raised ob-
jections to the favor shown to Jews, and wished to
turn the whole "swarm of Jews" out of the city.
The court councilors, who desired to extort money,
gave the citizens to understand that, for 20,000
florins, they might enjoy the satisfaction of seeing
the Jews banished ; but at the same time, they whis-
pered to the Jews, that if they anticipated the pay-
ment of this sum, they might remain in Vienna.
Probably the Jews prevailed.

The united and prosperous community looked
about for a rabbinical leader, and, in February, 1625,
made happy choice of Lipmann Heller, an amiable
and learned man, at that time rabbi of Nikolsburg.
He was no brilliant personage, but his talents stand
out conspicuously from the dark background of the
time. He forms an exception to the rabbis of that
age, at least to those in Germany and Poland. He
not only occupied himself with Talmudic learning,
but was acquainted with branches of knowledge out-
side the rabbinical field. For instance, Heller had
studied other than Jewish literature, and understood
mathematics well. In the Talmudical department
he could not compare with contemporary Poles of
distinction, with Samuel Edles at Ostrog, Joshua
Falk at Lemberg, Joel Serkes at Cracow, and many
others. But if he was inferior to them in acuteness,
more properly, subtlety, he surpassed them in pro-
fundity and lucidity.

Heller (born 1579. died 1654) possessed a mild
nature, an attractive presence, and skill in speech,
and could, therefore, frequent Christian circles. Far
from the conceit which brooks no contradiction — a
failing of most representatives of rabbinical learning
in Poland — he prepossessed every one in his favor,
and won all hearts by his modesty. He is one of
those whom we involuntarily pity for having lived in
such barbarous times. In a better age they might
have labored with more success for Judaism. In his

704 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. XX.

thirtieth year, at the same age as Maimuni, he com-
pleted a gigantic work, a comprehensive commen-
tary on the Mishna (Tossafoth Yom-Tob, 1614 —
1 61 7). This involved a much greater amount of
work than his great predecessor, or Obadiah di
Bertinoro, had been forced to devote to it, if we take
into account how much the materials to be consid-
ered, examined, and tested, had increased in the
interval.

Having been summoned to Vienna to the post of
rabbi, he labored usefully for this young community.
He drew up its constitution, and for the short time
of his official career there was esteemed and be-
loved. With his peaceful disposition he should have
remained at Vienna instead of allowing himself to
be attracted by the seemingly superior qualities of
the Prague community, where vulgarity and base-
ness, envy and malice, still prevailed. For this cir-
cle Heller was most unfit, but he was attracted to
the Bohemian capital, where there was incompar-
ably more study of the Talmud, and where he could
hope to enjoy interchange of thought. Only too
soon he had occasion to regret his acceptance of
this office. As acting rabbi. Heller was president
of the commission which had the thankless task of
distributing the large yearly war tax of 40,000 tha-
lers among the members of the Prague community
and those of the country communities. With Hel-
ler's upright and pure character it may be assumed
that he acted with the utmost conscientiousness,
and that he did not knowingly overburden any-
one. Nevertheless, some members complained of
improper allotment, raised a quarrel in the commu-
nity, and collected a large following, who threatened
the commission with accusations. In vain did Hel-
ler raise his warning voice against the prevailing
dissension, speaking from the pulpit, now in mild,
now in severe terms. Contumacy combined with
envy, and the discontented party accused him and

CH. XX. HELLER ON TRIAL. 70$

the elders of the commission before the civil author-
ities of having with partiality spared the rich, and
laid the burden of the tax on the shoulders of those
with less means, compelling payment of the share
imposed by threats of excommunication, imprison-
ment, and other punishments. The accusations
against Heller must have been of a still more hate-
ful nature. The drift was that in one of his works
he had used offensive expressions against Christian-
ity. To give emphasis to their calumny, they re-
ported to a person close to the emperor, who prided
himself much on his theological knowledge, that
Heller had boasted in the hearing of the Stadt-
holder of Prague that he had beaten him in a dispu-
tation. At the same time the slanderers hinted that
the accused rabbi was in possession of much prop-
erty, which would fall to the imperial treasury in
case he was found guilty. To gratify their revenge
or their malicious spirit, the informers quite over-
looked the fact that by this means they might bring
on a persecution, not only of Prague Jews, but of
all German Jews.

Their slander met with only too ready a hearing.
A formal command from the emperor reached the
Stadtholder of Prague to have Rabbi Lipmann Hel-
ler sent in chains to Vienna. In view of the mili-
tary severity customary during the Thirty Years'
War even the innocent had the worst to fear. How-
ever, Heller was so highly esteemed even by Chris-
tian officials, that the head of police, who was charged
with his custody, behaved with extraordinary indul-
gence towards him, and he was allowed to travel to
Vienna merely on bail. On arriving he waited on
the chancellor, in order to learn particulars with re-
gard to the accusation brought against him. The
chancellor sternly alleged what led Heller to fear
the worst — that he had written against the Christian
religion. Thereupon Heller was put into prison,
confined with criminal offenders, and a commission

706 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. XX.

of clergy appointed to establish his guilt as a blas-
phemer. The sentence was that Heller properly
deserved death, but that the emperor was willing to
exercise mercy and allow the punishment of death
to be commuted to a fine of 12,000 thalers, to be
paid immediately, and that the incriminated writings
were to be destroyed, The Prague slanderers who
were not pleased with the sentence, did not rest till
the emperor deprived Heller of the office of rabbi
at Prague, and declared him unworthy to fill the rab-
binical office wherever the emperor's scepter held
sway. At last, after a confinement of forty days, he
was liberated, with the loss of his office and his
property, and without any prospect of an appoint-
ment elsewhere. The maligning of Lipmann Heller
was not altogether without consequences to the
Jews. The bigoted emperor and many of the clergy
who had been led to notice the bearing of Jews
towards Christianity conceived the idea of intro-
ducing in Vienna Pope Gregory XIII's plan of
preaching sermons for the conversion of Jews. The
emperor issued a decree in February, 1630, that
Jews be compelled to listen to conversion sermons
every Saturday morning between eight and nine,
at least 200 members of both sexes in equal num-
bers to be present, among them forty young Jews,
of from fifteen to twenty years of age. Every one
summoned to hear the preachers was to be fined
a thaler in case of absence, and a higher sum if
the offense was repeated. Sleepingandtalkingduring
the sermon were punished. The fines were to be
used in support of converted Jews. The conversion
of Jews was a matter that the emperor had at heart,
and he hoped much from these compulsory measures.
However, this plan was not easily carried out. The
court councilors, to whom the emperor committed
the matter, were not proof against bribery, and ful
lowed the Jesuits, who laid less stress on catching
Jewish souls than on the oppression of Protestants
and the increasing of their own power.

CH. XX. THE THIRTY YEARS* WAR. "JOf

The annals of the Thirty Years' War contain no
record of special sufferings of the Jewish race. It
seems almost as if Jews were better treated than
Christians. At least, in Mayence, the Swedes, who
resided there more than four years, from the end
of 1 63 1 to 1636, behaved more kindly to them than
to others. They wer'2 not greatly impoverished, for
they were able, three years after the departure of
the Swedes, to build a synagogue at Mayence, and
thus extend their community, a favor which it had
not been in their power to enjoy for more than 150
years. The Thirty Years' War ended, as is well
known, at Prague, on the very stage where it had
begun. The Swedish general besieged the city on
the Moldau, and had already captured one quarter.
But the inhabitants resisted bravely, and the Jews
were not behind the others, if not with arms, yet
with labor, in the trenches, and with extinguishing
apparatus. It was a Jew who brought intelligence
to the emperor from the besieged city in order to
obtain relieving forces. On account of their attach-
ment to the imperial family, the Bohemian Jews ob-
tained from Ferdinand III an extension of their rights,
which consisted in the privilege of residing in all
royal cities and domains, and in not being expelled
without the knowledge of the emperor. It may
be assumed that the Jews did not lose very much
by the devastating war. While the Christian popu-
lation was thoroughly impoverished, and had to con-
tend with want — the chief circumstance which in
duced the rulers to conclude the Peace of West-
phalia— the Jews had saved something. The booty
of many cities went through their hands, and, even
if they were exorbitantly taxed, and forced to pay
heavy sums, they still derived some gain. Hence it
came about that directly after the close of the Thirty
Years' War, when great numbers of their fugitive
brethren came from Poland through Germany, they
could be supported in a brotherly way by the Ger-

708 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH XX.

man communities ; for the Jews of Poland, for the
first time, were visited with a long-continued, bloody
persecution. The cup of suffering was not to pass
them by.

EUD OF VOL. IV.

INDEX.

Aaron (I) ben Joseph, the Elder,
fixes the Karaite prayer-book,

71-
Aaron (II) ben Elia Nicomedi, Ka-
raite philosopher, 95.
Abadia, de, Juan, plots against

Arbues, 329-331.
Abba-Mari ben Moses (Astruc En-

Duranl, leader of obscurantists,

27-32, 36-42, 50.
and the Tibbonides, 39 42.
Abenacar, Isaac (Manuel Pimen-

tel), Marrano in Holland, 672.
Abenhuacar. See Ibn-Wakar,

Samuel.
Abi-Ayub, Jacob, physician, 553.
Abner of Burgos. See Alfonso

Burgensis.
Aboab, Isaac, rabbi at Toledo, 341.
death, 366.
intercedes for Spanish exUes, 352,

, 365-
Aboab, Isaac, de Fonseca, rabbi at
Amsterdam, 681, 682-683.

in Brazil, 693.

quoted, 694.
Aboget, supposed manufacturer of

Black Death poison, 102.
Abrabanel, Isaac ben Judah, 409.

and the edict of banishment, 348.

and Yechiel of Pisa, 287.

as commentator, 341-343.

countenances Messianic specula-
tions, 482.

in Castile, 336-337, 341, 343-344.

in Corfu and Sicily, 384.

in Naples, ^59-360.

in Portugal, 337-339. 34 1-

in Venice, 385, 386.

opposes free thought, 479.

protects the Jews, 339-340.

quoted, 338, 388-389.
Abrabanel, Isaac, son of the pre-
ceding, physician, 340, 385.
Abrabanel, Judah Leon (Medigo),
son of Isaac Abrabanel I, 340,
341, 409.

and Gonsalvo de Cordova, 384-
385.

as author, 480-481.
flees to Naples, 360-361.
Abrabanel, Samuel (Juan de Se-
ville), 337.
accepts baptism, 169.
ambassador to Martin V, 219.
appointed to a state office, 138.
efforts for the culture of Castilian

Jews, 139-140.
intercedes for the Spanish Mar-
ranos, 322-323.
Abrabanel, Samuel, son of Isaac
Abrabanel I, 340, 385, 543,
at Ferrara, 544.
at Naples, 409.

promotes Jewish learning, 410.
Abrabanela, Benvenida, wife of
the preceding, 409-410.
honors David Reubeni, 493.
saves the Neapolitan Jews from
the Inquisition, 543-544.
Abraham, copyist, 74.
Abraham, son of Manessier de

Vesoul, 150.
Abraham ben Chiya, astronomer,

120.
Abraham of Granada, Kabbalist,

196-197.
Abudiel, Moses, officer at the Cas-
tilian court, 84, 85, 86.
Abulafia, agent of i erdinand and

Isabella, 313, 317.
Abulafia, Abraham ben Samuel,
Kabbalist, 4-8, 10, 11, 14, 19,
622,625.
his school accepts the Zohar, 20.
Abulafia, Joseph, Kabbalist, 2.
Abulafia, Levi, Kabbalist, 2.
Abulafia, Meir, Mai muni's adver-
sary, alluded to. 2.
Abulafia-Halevi, prominent family

of Toledo, 113, 116.
Abulafia-Halevi, Samuel ben Meir,
(AUavi), privado of Pedro the
Cruel, 116-12 1, 354.
builds synagogues, 1 19-120.
charged witn peculation, 121.
Abulafia-Halevi.Todrosben Joseph,
Kabbalist, 1-3, 52.

7IO

INDEX.

Abulhassan, of Morocco, makes war

upon Castile, 84.
Abamelik, Moorish general, 85.
Accusation of child-murder, 223,
261-262, 276-279, 298-307, 343-
344, 372, 440, 544-546, 642.
against Christians, 546.
by Eck, 547.

forbidden in Portugal, 372.
See also Blood-accusation.
Accusation of host desecration, 164-
165, 223, 261, 277, 306, 439-440-
Accusation of well-poisoning, 57-58,

101-106.
Achmed I, sultan, alluded to, 629,

630.
Achmed Shaitan, viceroy of Egypt,

conspires, 395-396.
Adolph of Nassau, emperor, 35, 36.
Adrianople, Karaites settle in, 269.

Spanish exiles settle in, 405.
Afia, Aaron, scholar, 405.
Africa, a refuge for Jewish exiles,

197, 318, 352, 389 392.
Agada, not authoritative, 214.

quoted, 242.
Agen, Jews of, massacred, 56.
Aguilar, Jews of, annihilated, 125.
Aix, Jews of, side with Abba-Mari,

Akrish, Isaac ben Abraham, Span-
ish exile, 386.
Alami, Solomon, quoted, 154-155,

204.
Alagon, de, Blasco, plots against

Arbues, 329
Alashkar, Moses ben Isaac, Tal-

mudist, 391-392) 393-
Albalag, Isaac, philosopher, al-
luded to, 24, 342.
Albassi, Jacob, translator of Mai-
muni, 60.
Albert 1 1, emperor, 263.

imprisons Jews, 223-224, 249.
Albert, duke of Bavaria, hostile to

Jews, 258.
Albert, of Brandenburg, influenced

against the Jews, 461-464.
Albert, of Munich, alluded to, 428.
Albi, Jews of, annihilated, 57.
Albo, Joseph, philosopher, 239, 243.
at the Tortosa disputation, 208,

214, 215.
author of controversial works,

233.
his work, 239-243.
Alboacin. See Abulhassan.
Albrecht, emperor, 35, 37.
and the Jews, 36.

asserts authority over the French
Jews, 47.
Alcala, academy at, 145.

Jews of, mocked at, 181.
Alcaldes appointed by the Jews of

Castile, 116.
Alcafiiz, Jews of, converted, 214.
Alcantara, Order of, 85 86.
Alcolea, Jews of, converted, 214.
Aldobrandini protects the Jews of

Ferrara, 660-661.
Aleman, Jochanan, Kabbalist, 291.
Alenu, prayer, maligned, 178.
Alexander, convert, accuses the

Jews of blasphemy, 591.
Alexander, of Poland, hostile to

Jews, 419.
Alexander VI, pope, 434.
and Bonet de Lates, 407.
censures the Roman Jews, 363.
favorable to Portuguese Marra-

nos, 378-379-
opposes the Spanish Inquisition,

319-
Alfarda, strangers tax, 344.
Alfonsine Tables, author of, 367.
Alfonso Burgensis (Abner- Alfonso,
Alfonso of Valladolid), apos-
tate, 81-83, 213, 342.
Alfonso de Cartagena, counselor of

Eugenius IV, 249 250.
Alfonso, Infante of Portugal, re-
leases Marranos, 517.
Alfonso, of Aragon, archbishop,

protects Marranos, 330.
Alfonso X, of Castile (the Wise),

anti-Jewish laws of, 194-195.
Alfonso XI, of Castile, and Alfonso
Burgensis, 83.
death, 113.

favorable to Jews, 75 76, 85, 86.
guardians, 52.
Jewish favorites, 79 81.
law of, renewed, 193.
war with Abulhassan, 84-8S.
Alfonso XII, of Castile, brother of

Henry IV, 278, 279.
Alfonso II, of Ferrara, alluded to,

660.
Alfonso II, of Naples, employs
Isaac Abrabanel, i6o, 383-384.
Alfonso V, of Portugal, alluded to,
340-
employs Jews, 137-339-
Alfonso of Valladolid. See Alfonso

Burgensis.
Algiers, Jews in. 390 391.
Jews settle in, 197-199.
Spanish exiles nee to, 361.

INDEX.

7"

Alguades, Meir, pbysician and
rabbi, 185, 190.
executed, 195-196.
translator of Aristotle's Ethics,

193-
Alkabez, Solomon, Kabbalist, 538.
Allatif. See Ibn-Latif, Isaac.
Allavi. See Abulafia-Halevi, Sam-
uel ben Meir.
Allegorizing of the Scriptiires, 23-

24.
Allorqui. See Joshua ben Joseph

Ibn-Vives.
Almosnino, Moses, historian, 405,

6 7 608.
Almoxarif, minister of finance, 75,

79, 138, 160.
Alsace, Jews of, outlawed or burnt,

107.
Altona, Jewish cemetery at, 688.
Alva imprisons Jews, 662.
in the Netherlands, 601.
Alvalensi, Samuel, favorite in Mo-
rocco, 390, 392.
Alvarez, Alfonso, de Villasandino,

satirist, 181.
Amadeus, of Savoy, imprisons Jews,

103.
Amazia, Jews of, persecuted, 553.
Amos, prophet, quoted, 177.
Amshel of Ratisbon, opponent of

Israel Bruna, 302.
Amsterdam, German Jews settle in,
680-681.
Hebrew education, 681-682.
Hebrew printing-press, 675.
Jews in, 665 685.
Jews under restrictions, 673-674.
morality of Jews, 679-680.
Portuguese Marranos settle in,

665-666.
powers of rabbis, 684-685.
synagogues, 667, 671, 680.
wealth and culture of Jews, 677-
678.
Anatoli, Jacob, Maimunist, 32.
defended, 41.

his sermons read and proscribed,
39, 40.
Ancona, a refuge for Jews and

Marranos, 408, 544.
Ancona, Marranos of, imprisoned,
568.
persecuted, 570-571.
Angiel, Kabbalistic term, 17.
"Annals of Persecution," by Joseph

Cohen, 590.
"Annals of the Kings of France and
of the House of Othman, The,"
by Joseph Cohen, 556.

Antiochus Epiphanes, alluded to,

655- .
Anti-Tnnitanans, 541 542, 647-648.
Anusim, converts to Christianity,
179-180. See Marranos, and
Conversions to Ch.nstianity.
Antwerp, Jews settle in, 662.
Aquet, charged with the manufac-
ture of poison, 104.
Aquinas, Thomas, alluded to, 183.
Aragon and the Inquisition, 319,

328-329.
Aragon, Jews of, buy protection,
172.
enjoy peace, 274-275.
loyal to their faith, 215.
persecuted, 77, 102-103, •70-
suffer through Ferrer, 206.
Aragon, Marranos of, 309.
Arama, Isaac, quoted, 332.
Aranda, counts of, oppose the In-
quisition, 329.
Aranda, de, bishop, expelled, 333.
Arbues, Pedro, inquisitor, 326.

plot against, 329-331-
Argentiere, Jews of, side with Abba-

Mari, 33.
Arias, Juan, bishop, instigates a

persecution, 279.
Aristotle, 66, 82, 93, 146, 232, 243,
290.
Ethics of, in Hebrew, 146.
studied by Polish Jews, 633.
Aries, Jews of, protected, 177.
Armleder, persecutors of the Jews,

97 9^-
Arnheim, counselor of Alva, 62.
Arnoldists, party of Jew-hattrs, 456.
Ar-Rabbi Mor, chief rabbi of Por-
tuguese Jews, 158-159. 380.
Arta, Jewish exiles in, 406.
Arzilla, Jewish slaves made at, 286,

339' 381-
Ascalona, Jews of, annihilated, 170.
Asher ben Yechiei (Asheri\ rabbi
of Toledo, 34-35, 37, 53, 86.
author of a Talmudic code, 51.
his descendants victims of perse-
cution. 169-170.
his family visited by the Black

Death, 113.
partisan of Abba-Mari, 37-38, 50
relaxes Talmudic laws, 37.
sons of. See Jacob ben Asheri,
and Jehuda Asheri.
Asher, of Udine, convert, denounces

Jewish works, 584-585.
Asheri. See Asher ben Yechiel. Ja-
cob ben Asher, and Jehuda
Asheri.

712

INDEX.

Ashkenazi, Solomon ben Nathan,
statesman, 602-607, 627-629
agent of Mahomet Sokolli, 602-

603.
and the Polish election, 604-605,

642.
and Venice, 605-606, 608.
rescues the Venetian Jews, 606-

607.
supplants Joseph Nassi, 627.
widow of, 630.
Asia Minor, Spanish exiles in, 405-

406.
Askaloni, Joseph, Hebrew publish-
er, 628.
Astorga, Jews of, baptized, 205.
Astruc En-Duran. SeeAbba-Mari

ben Moses.
Athias, editor of the Spanish Bible

translation, 576.
Athias, Isaac, rabbi at Hamburg,

689.
Aubriot, Hugues, prev6t of Paris,

protects the Jews, 151.
Auditeurs des Juifs, superintendents

over French Jews, 54.
"Augenspiegel," work by Reuchlin,
446-448, 450, 457.
approved, 455.

condemned by the University of
Paris, 460.
Augsburg, bishop of, desires to

possess Jews, 127-128.
Augsburg, Jews of, escape the Rind-
fleisch persecution, 36.
exiled, 249.
imprisoned, 163.
persecuted, no.
Austria, Jews of, accused as poison-
ers, no.
expelled, 585-586, 652.
persecuted, 36, 98, 223-224.
Auto-da-fe, the first in Spain, 317.
Averroes, alluded to, 82, 93, 94, 232,

290.
Avignon, Jews of, expelled, 592.
protected, 177.
side with Abba-Mari, 33.
Avila, Jews of, baptized, 205.
Kabbalistic center, 8 lo.
law of, 229.

religious discussion at, 140-14 1.
Avila, de, bishop, expelled, 333.
Avis, Grand Master of, 160. 161.
Ayllon. home of a Kabhalist, 8.
Azael, Kabbalistic term, 17.
Azriel, Kabbalist, 14.

Baal ha-Turim, See Jacob ben
Asheri.

Badajoz attacked by Spanish Mar-

ranos, 498.
Baff a, sultana, favors Esther Kiera,

629.
Bajazet (Bajasid) II, sultan, and

Jews, 356, 364, 400.
Balmes, de, Abraham, physician

and author, 411.
instructs Christians, 473.
Bamberg, council of, decrees Jew

badges, 555.
Ban against science, 39, 40.
Bandito, tortured on the charge of

poisoning, 104.
Baptista, John (Solomon Romano),

denounces the Talmud, 564.
Barbaro, Mark Antonio, Venetian

consul, 605.
Barbastro, conversions in, 214.
Barcelona, ban against science in,

40.
Jev's of, persecuted, 103, 171-172.
opposes the Inquisition, 352.
Barfat. See Isaac ben Sheshet

Barfat, and Crescas Barfat.
Barfat, Zarak, poet, 140.
Baruch, Kabbalist, 481.
Bashyasi, Menachem and Moses,

Karaites, 269.
Basle, authorities of, defend the

Jews, 105 107.
Basle, council of, 248, 249, 250, 251.
laws of the, and Casimir I V, 264.
proscribes the Jews, 245-246.
Basle, Jews of, burnt, 107.
"Bastard, A, the Son of an Outcast,"

anti-Christian work, 590.
Bathori, Stephen, of Poland, friend-
ly to Jews, 642.
" Battles of the Lord, The," work

by Gersonides, 92-93.
Bavaria, Jews of, accused of child-
murder, 545 546.
persecuted, 36, 98-99, no, 225,

253-254-

Beatrice (Britest, Infanta of Portu-
gal, and the succession in Cas-
tile, 158.

Beatrice, of Castile, and David
Negro, 161.

Bechinath ha Dath, work by Elias
del Medigo, 293.

Bechinath Olam, poem by Yedaya
Bedaresi 49.

Bedaresi, Abraiiam, poet, 42.

Bedaresi, Yedaya En-Bonet ben
AlDraham (Penini), poet, 26,
42-45, 49.
espouses the Tibbonide cause,
42-44.

INDEX.

n%

works by, 43, 49.
Behaim, Martin, astronomer, 367.
Bekashoth ha-Memin, poem by

Yedaya Bedaresi, 43.
Belgium, Jews of, persecuted, 112.
Bellieta, tortured on the charge of

poisoning, 104.
Belmonte, Jacob Israel, Marrano

poet, 665.
Belvedere, the Nassi palace, 597.

printing-press at, 628.
Ben Adret. See Solomon ben

Abraham ben Adret
Benavente, Jews of, baptized, 205.
Benedict XII,pope, friendly to Jews,

99
Benedict XIII (Pedro de Luna),
anti-pope, 200, 228, 239, 655.
at Peniscola, 217.
at the Tortosa disputation, 210-

213.
favors Paul Burgensis, 184, 190.
issues a bull against the Jews,

215-216.
plans the conversion of the Jews,
207.
Benevento, Inquisition at, 385.
Benfelden, council of, declares Jews

outlaws, 107.
Benjamin, friend of Immanuel Ro-

mi, 68.
Benjamin, of Tudela, alluded to,

127.
Benveniste, Abraham, Senior{Coro-
nel ), tithe-collector, accepts
Christianity, 351.
convenes a synod, 229.
friend of Isaac Abrabanel, 341.
holds office in Castile, 228.
negotiates a royal marriage, 280.
Benveniste, Judah, center of the

Salonica community, 405.
Benveniste, family of Gracia Men-

desia, 571.
Berab, Jacob, rabbi in northern
Africa, 390, 393, 418.
revives ordination, 531-536.
Berber princes, tolerance of, 197
Berlin, Jews of, persecuted. 652.
Bemaldez, Andreas, quoted, 349.
Bernard, of Siena, master of John

of Capistrano, 257.
Bernardinus, of Feltre, hostile to

Jews, 295-299.
Bernardo instigates Lisbon against

Marranos, 487.
Berne, Jews of, tortured, 104-105.
Berthold, bishop, hostile to Jews,
107.

Beth Israel, third s)magog^e in

Amsterdam, 680.
Beth Jacob, first synagogue in Am-
sterdam 667, 671.
Beya, de, Abraham, Portuguese

traveler, 368.
Beziers, Jews of, expelled, 48.
Bibago, Abraham, employed by

John II, of Aragon, 275.
Bible, the, allegorized, 23.

Christian doctrines in, 141-142.

commentary on, 70.

concordance of, 234-235.

Karaite interpretation of, 269.

polyglot, 651.

slandered, 547.

studied by Portuguese Marranos,

485.
studied in Spain, 91, 231.
study of, cultivated, 474-476.
translations of, 475, 576, 647.
translations not authoritative,

237-

Black Death, the, alluded to, iii,

112, 113, 127, 133, 135, 172.

attributed to the Jews, 100-106.

Black Prince, the, and the civil war

in Castile, 124, 125.
Blanis, de, Judah (Laudadeus), phy-
sician at Perugia, 41 1.
Blanche de Bourbon, wife of Pedro

the Cruel, 116-117, 121, 122.
Blandrata, religious reformer, 647.
Blood-accusation, 223, 227, 261-262,
298, 642.
by Eck, 547.

forbidden in Poland, 264-265.
See also Accusation of child-
murder.
Boabdil, last king of Granada, 345.
Bohemia, Jews of, banished, 544-

545-
pay a war-tax. 703.
persecuted, 98, 165-166.
privileges of, extended, 707.
Boleslav Pius, duke of Kalish,

friendly to Jews, in, 263.
Bologna, Jewish printing-house in,
289.
Jews of, tried. 590-591.
synod held at, 218, 219.
Bomberg, Daniel, of Antwerp, pub-
lishes the Babylonian Talmud,
468.
the Old Testament, 476.
Bonafoux, Vidal, partisan of Abba-

Mari, 28.
Bonastruc, Isaac, and Jewish immi-
grants in Algiers, 199.

7H

INDEX.

Bonfed. See Solomon ben Reuben

Bonfed.
Boniface VIII, pope, alluded to,

144.
Boniface IX, pope, forbids forcible

conversions, 173.
Bordeaux, Jews of, perish, 56.
Borgia, cardinal. See Alexander

VI.
Botarel, Moses, Messianic preten-
sions of, 197.
" Bow and Buckler," controversial

work, 238.
Brahe, de, Tycho, alluded to, 638.
Brandenburg, Jews of, accused,
439-440.
persecuted, 652.
Brazil, Jews settle in, 693.
Breslau, Jews of, accused of child-
murder, 261-263.
annihilated, 109.
Broussa, Spanish exiles in, 405.
Bruna, Israel, rabbi of Ratisbon,

300, 302-304.
Brunetta, of Trent, 297, 298.
Briinn, Jews of, banished, 263.
Brunswick, Jews of, expelled, 652.
Brussels, Jews of, killed, 112.

Jews settle in, 662.
Budnj, Simon, founder of a Chris-
tian sect, 647.
Buen-Giorno, David Bonet, and

Profiat Duran, 188-190.
Bugia, Spanish exiles flee to, 361.
Buia, Jews settle in, 197.
Bull (papal) against Jewish emi-
gration to Palestine, 274.
based on Innocent IV's, 165.
by Benedict XIII, 215-216.
by Clement VI, 173.
bv Clement VII, 507-508, 515,

'516.
by Clement VIII, 671.
by Eugenius IV, 250-252.
by Gregory XIII, 654.
by Julius III, 565.
by Martin V, 219-220, 226-227.
by Nicholas V, 253, 254. 287.
by Paul III, 516, 520, 526.
by Paul V, 566.
by Pius IV, 588, 589.
by Pius V, 591 592.
by Sixtus Iv, 311, 319,321,322,

323.
by Sixtus V, 655-656, 658.
Burgos, cortes of, hostile to Jews.

52, 124, 229.
Burgos, Jews of, and Pedro the
Cruel, 123, 124.

baptized, 205.
persecuted, 170.
Burgos, religious disputation at,

140.
Busche, von, Hermann, alluded to,

456.
Byron, quoted, 127.
Byzantine Empire, rottenness of.
267.
toleration of, 285.

Caballeria, de, Alfonso, opposes the
Inquisition, 329.

Cabrera, governor of the Alcazar of
Segovia, 283.

Cadiz, Marrano victims of the In-
quisition in, 317.
Marranos take refuge in, 313.
siege of, 665.

Cairo, Jews of, attacked, 396.
Karaite stronghold, 71.

Calabrese, Chayim Vital, Kabbalist,
618, 623.
Messianic claims of, 625.

Calatayud, conversions in, 214.

Calatrava, Grand Master of, exe-
cuted, 118.

Calixtus, pope, alluded to, 275.

" Calumniator, The," sobriquet of
Geronimo de Santa Fe, 217.

Campanton, Isaac ben Jacob, Tal-
mudist. 230.

Campeggio, cardinal, opposes the
Portuguese Inquisition, 514-

5.'5-
Candia, Spanish exiles in, 363-364,

406.
Cantori, dei, Joshua, hostile to the

Talmud, 583.
Capistrano. See John of Capis-

trano.
Capnion. See Reuchlin, John.
Capron, Ruy, alluded to, 278.
Caraffa, Pietro. See Paul IV.
Qar^a, Samuel, quoted, 137.
writes a commentary, 144.
Cardozo, Elihu Aboab, erects a

synagogue at Hamburg, 689.
Caro, Isaac ben Joseph, victim of

Portuguese persecution, 378.
Carpentras, Jews of, protected, 177.
Carrion, Jews of, pt-rsecuted, 170.
Casimir III, of Poland (the Great),

favors the Jews, 111-112,263.
Casimir IV, of Poland, bestows

privileges upon the Jews, 263-

26s, 419-
revokes the privileges of the Jews,

a66.

INDEX.

m

Caspe, Jews of, converted, 214.
Castel-Branco, de, Joao Rodrigo.

See Lusitanus, Amatus.
Castile, center of Jewish culture, 75.
civil war in, 11 8-1 19, 123-126.
cortes of, hostile to Jews, 229.
deficient in Jewish scholars, 86,
139-140.
Castile, Jews of, accused of prose-
lytizing, 157.
admitted to public employment,

228-229.
appoint their own alcaldes, 1 16.
attached to Pedro the Cruel, 114,

123, 124 125, 137.
baptized, 137, 205.
deprived of criminal jurisdiction,

157-
enjoy peace, 53, 113, 274 275.
hated, 138-139.
invested with criminal jurisdic-

diction, 155.
partisans of Maria de Padilla,ii7.
prominent at court, 51-53, 75-76,

84. 115 116, 138.
suffer during the civil war, 125,

136-137-
take part in debates, 140.
threatened, 84-86.
under Alfonso XI, 75-76.
under Henry III, 193.
under Juan II, 194, 251-253.
under Maria de Molina, 52.
under restrictions, 52, 139, 158,

203-204, 250, 278.
usurers. 80.
See also Spain.
Castile, M arranos of , 309.
Castro, de, Abraham, master of the

Egyptian mint, 303, 395.
Castro, de, Moses, rabbi at Jerusa-
lem, 534, 535.
Castro, de, Rodrigo, Marrano phy-
sician, 686-687, 688.
CataHna, of Castile, 217, 228, 275.
lays restrictions upon the Jews,

203-204.
relaxes the anti-Jewish laws, 205.
Catalina, of Lancaster, regent for

Juan II, of Castile, 193-194.
Catalonia, jews of. invested with
criminal jurisdiction, 155.
loyal to their faith, 215.
persecuted, 102-103, 112-113, 172.
"Catalonian grandees," 153.
Catechumens maintained by Jews,

566.
Catherine de Medici, and the Polish
election, 604.

alluded to, 598.
Catherine, of Portugal, hostile to

M arranos, 489,
Catholic reaction, the, 650-651.
Cathunho, Isaac, Jewish official at

Recife, 693.
Censorship of the press, 562-563.
Censorship of the Talmud, 658,

659 660.
Cervera, Jews of. attacked, 94, 103.
Cesis, cardinal, opposes the Portu-
guese Inquisition, 514 515.
Chabib, Levi ben Jacob, rabbi of
Jerusalem, 378, 532-536.
and Jacob Berab, 533-536.
Chacon, of Vitoria, employed by

Henry IV of Castile, 275.
" Chain of Tradition, The," by

Gedalya Ibn-Yachya, 616.
Chaldee, language of the Zohar, 12.
Chambery, center for the supposed

Black Death poisoners, 102.
Chanceller, assistant of Ar-Rabbi

Mor, 159.
Chanina, Ishmael, rabbi of Bolog-
na, 591.
Charisi, as a character in Imman-
uel Romi's works, 67.
translator of Maimuni, 61.
Charles IV, emperor, 164, 695.
and the Jews of Nuremberg. 110.
and the Jews of Worms, 108.
grants " servi camerae " to elect-
ors, 128.
protects Jews, 106.
punishes murderers of Jews, 109.
Charles V, emperor, and Clement
VII, 492.
and Luther, 469.

and the Jews of Naples, 543-544.
and the Jews of the Netherlands,

661-662.
and the Portuguese Inquisition,

507,509,517-518.
crowned emperor of Rome, 503.
favored by Humanists, 468.
has Molcho burnt, 5 10-5 11.
hostile to Marranos, 484.
in debt to the Mendes family,

572.
opposes Paul III, 526.
opposes Reuchlin, 464.
renews the privileges of the Jews,

547-
Charles IV, of France, alluded to, 77
Charles V, of France, 150.

and the Jews, 129, 131, 132, 133.
Charles VI, of France, and the
Jews, 174, 176.

7i6

INDEX.

Charles VII, of France, 373.

protects the Jews, 152.
Charles VIII, of France, alluded

to, 360.
Charles IX, of France, alluded to,

604.
Charles III, of Navarre, alluded to,

184.
Chasdai ben Abraham Crescas,
philosopher, 145-147, 149, 172,
208, 230, 239, 342.
appealed to, 150, 153.
articles of faith by, 193.
attacked by Paul Burgensis, 185.
describes the persecution of 1391,

172*
his view of life, 240.
imprisoned, 150, 155.
independence of, 146, 192.
philosophical work of, translated,

235-
philosophy of, 191-193.
treats of Christian doctrines, 187-

188.
Chasdai ben Solomon, 162.
denounces Chayim ben Galli-

papa, 149.
Chastelard, Jews of, tortured, 104.
Chatel, Jews of, imprisoned, 103-

104.
Chayim ben Gallipapa, rabbi, 148-

150.
Chayim, of Landshut, appoints Ju-

denmeister, 227.
Chayyat. Judah ben Jacob, Kabba-

list, 481.
describes the sufferings of the

Portuguese exiles, 369-370.
Chemnitz, Dr., and the Jews of

Worms, 698-699.
Chendali, Elias, husband of Esther

Kiera, 629.
Chesheb-Efod, history by Profiat

Duran, 191.
Chiddusli, Talmudic term, 641.
Chillo'i, Jews of, imprisoned, 103-

104.
confessions of, 108.
Chilluk, Talmudic term, 641.
Chinon, college of, dispersed, 48.

Jews of, persecuted, 57-58.
Ciiristian I V, of Denmark, and the

Jews, 675, 692.
Chronologies used by Jews, 394-

395-
Clement VI, pope, and Gersonides,

94. 103
forbids forcible conversions, 173.
protects the Jews, 103, 105.

Clement VII, pope, 407.
and Molcho, 503, 507.
and the Portuguese Inquisition,

S07-509» 5 13-514-
death, 515.

permits Marranos at Ancona, 500.
quoted, 513-514.
receives David Reubeni, 492-493.

Clement VIII, pope, and Portu-
guese Marranos, 528, 671.
expels the Jews, 659.

Clemente, Philip, opposes the In-
quisition, 329.

Cleve, von, Eberhard, in the Reuch-
lin quarrel, 465-466.

Closener, of Strasburg, historian,
quoted, 106.

Cohen, Aaron, describes the suffer-
ings of French exiles, 49.

Cohen, Daniel, scholar, 405.

Cohen, Gershon (Soncinus), printer
at Prague, 418.

Cohen, Joseph ben Joshua, of Ge-
noa, historian, 555-557, 608.
his chronicle, 555, 556, 557, 561.
on Molcho, 511.

Cohn, Joshua Falk, president of
the Polish synod, 645, 703.

Cohen, Moses, de Tordesillas, con-
troversialist, 141-142.

Cohen, Perachyah, physician, 405.

Cohen, Saul (Ashkenasi), disciple
of Elias del Medigo, 293, 386.
Hebrew style of, 389.

Cohen, Saul Astruc, physician,
108, 199.

Coimbra, Inquisition at, 508.

Colleges, Jewish, in France, 48.
See also Educational institu-
tions.

"Collegium Germanicum," propa-
gandist seminary, 654.

"Colloquium Middelburgense,"
controversial work, 691.

Colmar, Jews of, banished, 416.

Cologne, authorities of, defend the
Jews, 105-106, 108.
Jews of, expelled, 227, 413.
seat of Dominicans, 424. See
Chapter XIV.

Columbus, alluded to, 368.

" Concerning the Jews and their
Lies," pamphlet by Luther,

548-549-
Confiscation of Hebrew books, 437-

438,439,441,444-
advised by Luther, 550.
by Pfefferkorn, 429-431.
in Cremona, 582-583.

INDEX.

717

in Prague, 584-585.
in the Papal States, 565, 567.
under Gregory XIII, 654.
under Sixtus V. 657-658.
" Conflict of Duties," controversial

work, 238.
Conrad of Wintertur, defends the

Jews, 106, 108.
Conservateur, protector of the

French Jews, 130.
"Consolation for the Sorrows of
Israel," by Samuel Usque, 558-
561.
Constance, Jews of, persecuted, 105.
Constance, council of , 215, 218, 248.
condemns Vincent Ferrer, 217.
deposes Benedict XIII, 216.
elects Martin V pope, 219.
sentences Huss, 221.
Constantine, Jews settle in, 197.
Constantine, emperor, alluded to,

267.
Constantine Dragosses, alluded to,

267.
Constantinople, fall of, 267.
Jews of, 402-404.
Jews permitted in, 268.
Karaites settle in, 269.
Karaite stronghold, 69.
rabbis of, issue a ban aganist
Paul IV, 580.
" Constitutions," Inquisition code,
326 328.
in Portugal, 508.
Conti, Vincent, publisher, 583-584.
Contra-Reraonstrants, religious sect

in Holland, 673-674.
" Contrasts and Greatness of Con-
stantinople," by Moses Almos-
nino, 608.
Controversial literature, 231-238.
Conversions to Christianity, 48, 56,
107, III, 126, 137, 150, 169, 171,
172, 175, 177, 179, 191, 205, 206,
214,215, 224, 232-233,245-246,
247. 254, 262, 288, 2^,301, 334-
335- 361, 375-378, 380, 440, 570,
706.
Conversions, forcible, forbidden by

popes, 165, 173.
Cordova, Inquisition at, 325.
Jews of, persecuted, 169.
Marranos in, 484.
Marranos massacred in, 281-282.
Corfu, Spanish exiles in, 363 364,

384-
Coronel. See Benveniste, Abraham.
Coronel, David, Senior, official at

Recife, 693.

Costa, da, Emanuel, Marrano, 520-
521.

" Correction of the False Teacher,"
controversial work, 234.

Costnitz. See Constance.

" Counsels and Lessons," poem by
Santob de Carrion. 115.

Court Jews at Vienna, 702.

Coutinho, Ferdinand, bishop, de-
fends Marranos, 500.
opposes forced conversions, 375.
quoted, 376.

Cracow, Jews of, massacred, iii.
second Jewish community in Po
land, 632.

Creation, Kabbalistic term, 619.

Cremona, Jews of, expelled, 660.
Talmudic center, 582.

Crescas Barf at, imprisoned, 150.

Crescas, Chasdai. See Chasdai
ben Abraham Crescas.

Crescas Vidal, partisan of Abba-
Mari, 28-29.

Cretensis, Elias. See Del Medigo,
Elias.

" Crown of Israel," Toledo, 136.

Curiel, Jacob, Portuguese agent,
681,692.

Cusa, de, Nicholas, cardinal, hos-
tile to Jews, 255.

Cyprus, conquest of, 600-601.

Czechowic, Martin, Unitarian, 648.

Dafiera, Solomon, poet, 230.
Dalburg, bishop, alluded to, 454.
Damascus, exiles settle in, 399-400.
Daniel, book of, commented, 482.

interpretation of, 120.

prophecies of, 149.
Daniel, friend of I mmanuel Romi,66.
Dante compared with Immanuel

Romi, 65, 66, 67.
quoted, 325.
Daroca, conversions in, 206, 214.
Daud (David), physician, hostile to

Joseph Nassi, 598-599.
Dauphine, Jews protected in, 177.
David, king, as a character in Im-
manuel Romi's work, 67.
David, an immigrant, urges Jews

to go to Turkey, 271.
" Day of Hosannas " in Lurya's

system, 626.
Deckendorf (Deggendorf), Jews of,

massacred, 98-99.
Del Barco, Juan Lopez, Spanish

inquisitor, 312.
Del Medigo, Elias, classical scholar,

290-293, 386, 406.

718

INDEX.

relation to Judah Menz, 295.
Delmedigo, Judah, rabbi, 406.
Delia Rovere, Francesco Maria,

duke of Urbino, 501, 657.
Delia Ruvere, Marco, nuncio, 514.
Desfar, Juan, governor of Palma,

246.
Desmaestre, Bonastruc, delegate at

the Tortosa disputation, 208.
Deutz, Cologne Jews settle at, 227.
Deza, second inquisitor-general of

Spain, 356, 483-484-
Dias, Andre, assassin of Henrique

Nunes, 490.
" Dialogues of Love," virork by

Judah Abrabanel, 480-481.
Diego de Valencia, convert, 181.
Diokna Kadisha, holy likeness, 538.
Divorces among Kabbalists, 6^6-

627.
Dominicans denounce Jews and

Hussites, 222, 226.
in the Reuchlin-Pfefferkorn quar-
rel. See Chapter XIV.
plot to expel the Marranos from

Portugal, 486-488.
Doria, Andrea, doge, 555.

protects the Jews of Genoa, 554.
Doria, Giannettino, alluded to, 555.
" Doubts of the Religion of Jesus,"

controversial work, 235.
Duran. See Profiat Duran, Simon

ben Zemach Duran, Solomon

Duran, and Simon Duran II.
Du Guesclin, Bertrand, captain of

the "white company," 123, 124,

126, 137.

"Eben Bochan," controversial work,

142, 143.
Ecija, Jews of, persecuted, 170.
Eck, Dr. John, and the Jews, 546-

547-
Edict of Banishment from Spam,

347-348.
Edict of Grace, 31;.
Edles, Samuel, Talmudist, 703.
Edom, Christendom, 18, 506.
Educational institutions (Hebrew),

48, 133, »45. 410. 681, 685,
Efodi (Ephodaeus). See Profiat

Duran.
Efrati, Amram, alluded to, 162.
Egidio de Viterbo, cardinal, 564, 583.
and the Kabbala, 481.
disciple of Elias Levita, 472.
opposes the Portuguese Inquisi-
tion, 507.
quoted, 457.

Egypt, Jews in, 392-396.
Eisenach, Jews of, slaughtered, 109
Eleazar ben Joseph, martyr, 49.
Eliano Vittorio, grandson of Elias
Levita, convert, 564.

editor of the Cremona Zohar,584.

hostile to the Talmud, 583.
Elias Levita, Hebrew grammarian,

471 473-
grandsons of, 564.
invited into France, 473-474.
Elizabeth, of England, alluded to,

664.
Emden, Marranos in, 665.
Emek ha-Bacha, work by Joseph

Cohen, 590, 608.
" Emunoth,'' Kabbalistic work, 197.
En-Sof, Kabbalistic term, 14.
En-Zag Vidal de Tolosa, rabbi,

155-
" Enemy of the Jews, The," second

pamphlet by Pfefferkorn, 427.
England at war with Castile, 142.
Enns, Jews of, charged with host-
desecration, 223.
Enoch, book of, source for the Kab-
bala, 17.
"Epistolae Obscurorum Virorum,"

a satire, 461-462.
Erasmus, humanist, 432, 433.

quoted, 462-463.
Erfurt, Jews of, perish, 109.
Eschenloer, quoted, 262.
Escrivao, assistant of Ar-Rabbi

Mor, 159.
Eski-Crim, Karaite stronghold, 71.
Esperaindo, de, Juan, assassin of

Arbues, 330.
Estella, Jews of, persecuted, 77-78.
Esther (Esterka), wife of Casimir

the Great, 122.
Esther, book of, Spanish translation

of, 148.
Etampes, d'. Count, protector of

the French Jews, 130, 132.
Eugenius IV, pope, 253, 275.
approves of John of Capistrano,

257-258.
confirms the privileges of the

Jews, 249.
hostile to Jews, 229, 249, 250-252.
Evora, Inquisition at, 508.
Ezekiel, prophet, as a character in

Immanuel Romi's work, 67.
" Ezer ha-Emuna," controversial

work, 141.

Fagius, Paulus, establishes a He
brew press, 474.

INDEX.

719

Falaquera, Shem-Tob, philosopher,

24-

Falcos, Jews of, persecuted, 78.
Falero, Abraham Aboab, builds a

synagogue at Hamburg, 691.
Farnese, Alexander, cardinal, pro-
tects the Jews, 567.
Faro, count of, friend of Isaac

Abrabanel, 338.
Farissol, Abraham, geographer,

and controversialist, 411-413.
Father, Kabbalistic term, 19.
Ferdinand and Isabella, of Spain,
and Isaac Abrabanel, 343.
appoint an inquisitor-general, 324.
blamed for expulsion of the Jews,

356.
censured by Sixtus IV, 318-319.
decree the expulsion of the Jews,

346-348-
protect and employ Jews, 336.
treaty with Boabdil, 345.
See aiso Ferdinand II of Ara-
gon, and Isabella, of Castile.
Ferdinand I, emperor, and Joseph
Nassi, 597, 601.
banishes Jews from Bohemia,

544-545-
expels Jews from Austria and

Bohemia, 585-586.
Ferdinand II, emperor, and the

Hamburg Jews, 689.
introduces conversion sermons,

706.
levies a war-tax upon Jews, 701-

702.
Ferdinand III, emperor, extends

the privileges of the Bohemian

Jews, 707.
Ferdinand I, of Aragon (Infante of

Castile), regent of Castile, 194.
authorizes a disputation, 207.
lays restrictions upon the Jews of

Castile, 203-204.
made king of Aragon, 205, 206.
Ferdinand II, of Aragon, V, of

Castile (the Catholic), 284, 309,

384, 385-
approves of the Inquisition, 310-

3"-

his greed, 325-326.

his marriage, 280.

obtains the Inquisition for Ara-
gon, 319.

threatens Navarre, 357.

See also Ferdinand and Isabella,

and Isabella, of Castile, 340-341.

Ferdinand, of Braganza, friend^ of

Isaac Abrabanel, 338, 340-341.

Ferdinand IV, of Castile, advised

by Jews, 51.
Ferdinand I, of Naples, 287, 383.
receives Jewish exiles, 358-360.
Ferdinand, of Portugal, Jews under

158-1^9.
Ferdinand, of Tuscany, receives

exiled Jews, 659.
Ferrara, Jewish printing houses in,
289.
Jews of, endangered, 660-661.
Jews settle in, 544.
Marranos of, unfortunate, 581.
Ferrer. See Ibn-Labi, Vidal ben

Benveniste.
Ferrer, Vincent, 233, 239, 246, 296.
converts Jews, 214-215.
his character, 200-202.
in Aragon, 205-206.
opposed by Joao I, of Portugal,

218.
preaches against Benedict XIII,

216-217.
preaches Christianity in syna-
gogues, 204-205.
Ferrus, Pero, convert, ridicules

Jews, 181.
Fettmilch, Vincent, and the Jews of

Frankfort, 696 700.
Fez, Jews in, 390.

Marranos emigrate to, 179.
Spanish exiles settle in, 361.
Firme-Fe. See Nunes, Henrique.
Fiesco's conspiracy, alluded to, 555.
Flagellants persecute Jews, iii,

112.
Florence, commerce of, 285.

Jews of, protected, 297.
Foligno, di, Ananel, convert, de-
nounces the Talmud, 564.
Forli, synod held at, 218, 219.
Formation, Kabbalistic term, 619.
" Fortalitium Fidei," work by Al-
fonso de Spina, 277, 415.
" Fortress, The," controversial

work, 234.
Fraga, conversions in, 2 14.
France and Joseph Nassi, 597 599.
France, Jews of, and lepers, 57.
and the ban against science, 40.
banished, 46, 48, 175-177.
claimed as "servi camerae," 47.
fix the conditions of their return,

, 53-54, 129-131-
hardships of the, 48-50.
impoverished, 128-129.
massacred by the Shepherds, 55-

persecuted, 57-58, 151-152.

720

INDEX.

privileges extended, 54, 131-132,

150.
protest against Meir Halevi, 152-

153-
Talmudical studies, 133.
usurers, 174.
wear badges, 131.
France, southern (Provence), clergy

of, hostile to Jews, 132.
Jews of, persecuted, 53, 102-103,

173-
philosophers in, 87.
See also Provence.
Francis I, of France, patron of He-
brew learning, 473-474.
Franco, Christoval (Mordecai)
Mendes, Portuguese Marrano
in Holland, 667.
Franco, Nicolo, papal nuncio, 310.
Franconia, Jews of, expelled, 259-
260.
seat of the Rindfleisch persecu-
tion, 35-36.
Frankfort-on-the-Main, confiscation
of Hebrew books at, 429-431,
437-438, 439-
Frankfort - on-the-Main, Jews of,
burn themselves, 109.
expelled, 698.
in the seventeenth century, 694-

695.
mocked at, 299.
persecuted, 696-699.
threatened, 417, 463-464.
under restrictions, 700.
Frederick, elector of Saxony, pro-
tector of Luther, 469.
Frederick, elector palatine, alluded

to, 678.
Frederick III, emperor, 249, 416.
and the Jews of Ratisbon, 303-306.
Jewish favorite of, 224.
Jews under, 293, 294.
protects Jews, 413-414.
Frederick, the Valiant, archduke of
Austria, friendly to Jews, ui.
Freiburg, Jews of, 105-107.
Frohbach, alluded to, 638.
Funes, Jews of, persecuted, 78.
Furin al-Mizrayim, Cairo Purim,
396.

Galatino, and the Kabbala, 481, 583.
Galilee, Kabbalistic center, 617.
Gallaico, Elisha, indicts Azarya dei

Rossi, 616.
Gama, da, Vasco, alluded to, 367.
Gans, David, historian, 638-639.
Gaon o{ Castile, 230.

Garcilaso, Spanish ambassador, 379.
Gardien, protector of the French

Jews, 130.
Gascogne, Jews of, perish, 56.
Gematria, Kabbalistic term, 5.
Gemmingen, von, Uriel, elector and
archbishop, addresses Maxi-
milian I, 431.
appointed to examine Hebrew

books, 441.
imperial commissioner, 437.
interferes in the Reuchlin trial,

452.
opposes Pfefferkorn, 430, 431.
See Chapter XIV.
Geneva (lake), scene of a Jewish

persecution, 103-104, 105.
Genoa, commerce of, 285.
Jews of, banished, 554.
Spanish exiles in, 362-363.
German language cultivated by

Polish Jews, 421.
Germans in the Middle Ages, 422-

423-
Germany, cities of, re-admit Jews,

127-128.
Germany, Jews of, and the ban
against science, 40.
and the confiscation of Hebrew

books, 438.
in the seventeenth century, 694-

702.
intellectual decay among the, 96,

133-135, 227.
observe a fast day, 225-226.
oppose Pfefferkorn, 427.
persecuted, 96, 97, 98, 218.
poll-tax imposed on, 96-97, 166.
privileges confirmed, 219.
protected by emperors, 36, 98.
speak a jargon, 388-389.
under Emperor Frederick III,

293-294.
See also cities of Germany.
Germany, North, Jews of, few in

number, 111.
Germany, southern, Jews of,
charged with the blood-accu-
sation, 227.
treated with hostility, 258.
George, elector of Bavaria, and

Reuchlin, 454-455-
Gerlach, archbishop, obtains "servi

camerae," 128.
Gerona, seat of the Kabbala, i.

Jews of, massacred, 172.
Geronimo de Santa F6 (Joshua
Lorqiiil, convert, 200, 231, 233,
234. 238, 256.

INDEX.

7n

and the Tortosa disputation, ttyj^

208-209.
as the censor of the Talmud, 213.
called "The Calumniator," 217.
employed as a conversionist, 206,
207.

Gersonides. See Levi ben Gerson.

Gerundensis, Moses, alluded to, 442.

Gerundi. See Nissim Gerundi ben
Reuben.

Gerundi, En-Vidal Ephraim, al-
luded to, 162, 171.

Gesereth ha-Roim, massacre of the
Shepherds. 55-57.

Gesereth Mezoraim, the leper per-
secutions, 57 58.

Ghent, Jews settle in, 662.

Ghinucci, de, Geronimo, cardinal,
opposes the Inquisition, 507,
520.

Gibraltar demanded by Marranos
as a refuge, 282-283.

Gil-Nunjoz, bishop, imprisons Jews
of Palma, 246.

Glogau, Jews of, massacred, iii.

God-flesh (Dios-Came), Francisco
(Astruc Raimuch), conversion-
ist, 182.

Godfrey, of Wiirzburg, bishop,
expels Jews, 259-260.

"Golden Bull" promidgated at
Nurembei^, 128.

Gomez, archbishop, presides over a
religious discussion, 140.

Gomez, Duarte (Solomon Usque),
poet, alluded to, 558.

Gonsalvo de Cordova, 666.
favorable to Jews, 384-385.

Gonzago, Ludovico, duke of Man-
tua, alluded to, 287.

Gonzago, Vicenzo, duke of Mantua,
enforces regulations against the
Talmud, 659.

Gonzalez, Luis, secretary in Ara-
gon, and the Inquisition, 329.

Gonzalo de Santa Maria, son of
Solomon Levi, 216, 217.

Gospels, Four, in Hebrew, 143.

Goth a, Jews of, slaughtered, 109.

Gracian, Solomon, partisan of Ben
Adret, 45,

Granada, a refuge for Spanish
Marranos, 318
ally of Pedro the Cruel, 125.
Jews of, Arabic scholars, 60.
makes Jews prisoners, 126.
Marranos emigrate to, 179.
negotiates with Martinez, 86.
war in, 344-346.

Graes, de, Ortuin (Ortuinus Gra-

tius), Jew hater, 424-425, 450.
Gratino, Ezra, author of a com-
mentary, 144.
Gratius, Ortuinus (Ortuin de Graes),

Jew hater, 424-425. 450.
'' Great Defender," Jacob ben Ye-

chiel Loans, 414.
Gregory XI I L pope, attempts to
convert Jews, 654-655.
prohibits the employment of Jew-
ish physicians, 653-654.
Grimani, Dominico, cardinal, sum-
mons Hoogstraten, 458.
Groede, first Jewish burial place in

Holland 672.
Gronigen, von, Martin, translates

the '"Augenspiegel," 460.
" Guide of the Perplexed, " 479.
and the Roman Jews, 60.
attacked by Aaron ben Elia. 95.
Latin translation of, 474.
neglected, 143.

studied by Moses Isserles, 638.
Guido Ubaldo, duke of Urbino, and

the Marranos, 569, 578-582.
Guienne, lepers in, poison the water,

57-

Guilds opposed to Jews, 696-699.

Gunther, of Schwarzburg, and Em-
peror Charles IV, 109,- no.

Gustavus Adolphus, alluded 10,692.

Guttenstein, count, alluded to, 424.

Halevi, Elias, influences Karaites to

Rabbinism, 270.
Halevi, Moses Uri adviser of Por-
tuguese Marranos in the Neth-
erlands, 665. 666. 671.
Halevi, Samuel, ambassador to

Pope Martin V^ 219.
Halevi, Serachya, delegate at the

Tortosa disputation, 208, 212.
Hamburg, 686-693.
clergy of. opposes Jews, 687-688,

689-690.
first synagogue in, 689.
German Jews settle in, 691.
Portuguese Jews granted resi-
dence in. 688
Hamon, Isaac, physician in Gra-
nada. 344.
Hamon, Joseph, physician to Sxiltan

Selim I, 401.
Hamon, Moses, physician to Sultan
Solyman 1, 401 402.
intercedes for Gracia Mendesia,

575-
protects Turkish Jews, 553.

"ji:

INDEX.

Hanau, Portuguese Marranos in,

695.
" Handspiegel," work by Pfeffer-

korn, 446.
Hanover, Jews of. persecuted by the

flagellants, iii.
Haquinet, son of Manessier de Ve-

soul, 150.
" Harmony of Heaven," work by

Judah Abrabanel, 480.
Hartmann von Deggenburg, perse-
cutor of the Jews. 98.
Hebrew at the universities, 471,473,

474
" Hebrew Physician, The," work

by David de Pomis, 656-657.
Hebrew studies among Christians,

433-4.34, 47 1. 473- 651-
Hebron, occupations of inhabitants

of. 75.
" Hell of the Jews," Spain, 308.
Heller, Lipmann, rabbi at Vienna

and Prague, 703-706.
Henrique, bishop, burns Portuguese

Marranos, 499.
Henrique, Infante of Portugal,

grand inquisitor, 521. 523.
Henry, bishop of Ratisbon, hostile

to Jews, 301-302, 303, 304.
Henry II, of Castile (de Trasta-

mare, son of Alfonso XI, 114,

120, 169.
and the Jews, 124, 125, 137, 139,

140.
appoints Jews to offices, 138 156.
his war with Pedro the Cruel,

122-126.
Henry 1 1 1, of Castile, and Paul Bur-

gensis 185, 194, 196.
favorable to Jews, 190, 193.
Henry IV, of Castile, and the Jews,

274, 275 276, 279-281.
deposed, 278.

opposed to the Inquisition, 310.
plot against, 283.
Henry 1 1, of France, 411.
and Joseph Nassi, 595-596, 597-

599-
friendly to Jews, 544.
repudiates his debt to the Mendes

family, 574.
Henry III, of France (Henry of

Anjou), candidate for the Polish

throne, ^"04 605.
Henry IV. of France, alluded to, 672.
Henry, of Orange, favorable to

Jews, 678.
Henry Julius, of Brunswick, expels

the Jews, 652.

Hercules d'Este I, of Ferrara, patron
of Abraham Farissol, 412-413.

Hercules d'Este II, of Ferrara,
friendly to Jews, 544.
protects Gracia Mendesia, 575.

Hermandad, the, proscribes Jews,

251-
Herrera, Marrano martyr, 494.
Herrera, de, Alonso (Abraham),

Spanish resident in Cadiz, 665-

666.
Herrera, de, I edio, Marrano, 282-

283.
Hess, Hermann, appointed to direct

the confiscation of Hebrew

books, 437 438.
Hillel of Verona introduces a scien-
tific method among Italian Jews,

59-

Hinderbach, bishop, hostile to Jews,
298-299.

Historical studies promoted by per-
secution, 554-555-

" History of the Jews " by Gedalya
Ibn-Yachya, 616.

Hochmeister, rabbis in Franconia,

259-
Hochstraten. See Hoogstraten,

Jacob.
Holland, Jews plan to emigrate to,
283.
See also the Netherlands.
Holy Land. See Palestine.
Holy Roman Empire. See Ger-
many.
Holy Sepulcher, Church of the, al-
luded to, 272, 274.
Homem, Caspar Lof>es, Portuguese

Marrano, 664.
Homem, Mayor Rodrigues, Portu-
guese Marrano, emigrates to
Holland, 667.
sends her family to Holland, 664-
665.
Hoogstraten, Jacob,Dominican gen-
eral, 424.
appeals to Leo X, 45^-456.
appointed to examine mto Hebrew

books, 441, 444.
summoned to Rome, 458.
summons Reuchlin as a heretic,

450-452.
See Chapter XIV.
Hosiander, supposed author of " Lit-
tle Book about the Jews," 545.
" House of Jacob," first synagogue

in Amsterdam, 667, 671.
Hubmaier, Balthasar, enemy of the
Jews, 542-543-

INDEX.

723

Huete, Jews of, persecuted, 170.
Hungary, Jews of, emigrate, iii.

threatened by Turks, 268.
Huss, John, 221-222.
Hussite war against Catholicism,

222, 224-226.
Hussites aided by Jews, 222.

and the Jews of Ratisbon, 301.
Hutten, von, Ulrich, 468.

ally of Reuchlin, 456-457.

and the Dominicans. 465.

Jewish advocate at the imperial
court, 431.

quoted, 462.

Ibbur, Kabbalistic term. 620.
Ibn-Abi Zimra, David, Kabbalist,

481.
rabbi of Cairo, 393, 394-395-
Ibn-Albilla, David, philosopher, 91.
Ibn-Alfual, Joseph, translator of

Maimuni, 60.
Ibn-AImali, Nathaniel, translator of

Maimuni, 60.
Ibn-Askara, Chananel, Kabbalist,

74-

Ibn-Benveniste Halevi, Joseph ben

Abraham. See Joseph of Ecija.

Ibn-Chabib, Jacob, Talmudist, 405.

Ibn-Ezra, Abraham. 442. 476.

commented upon by Profiat Du-

ran, 191.
studied by Jews of Spain, 143- 144.
Ibn-Ezra, Kloses, poems of, in the

Karaite prayer-book, 71.
Ibn-Gaon, Shem Tob ben Abra-
ham, Kabbalist, 74.
Ibn-Gebriol, Solomon, 67, 230.
hymns of, in the Karaite prayer-
book, 71.
Ibn-Labi, Vidal ben Benveniste
(Ferrer), neo-Hebraic poet,23o.
at Tortosa, 207-208, 211, 214,

215.
translator of Aristotle, 193.
work by, 233-234.
Ibn-Latif, Isaac, Kabbalist, 3-4, 10.
Ibn-Musa, Chayim, controversial

writer, 235-237.
Ibn-Nagrela, Samuel, alluded to,

,^ 337-

Ibn-Nunez, Jacob, physician of

Henry IV of Castile, 275.
Ibn-Said, Isaac (Zag), publishes

the Alfonsine Tables, 367.
Ibn-Shaprut, Chasdai, sdluded to,

119.
Ibn-Shem Tob, Joseph ben Shem

Tob, controversial writer, 235.

holds office in Castile, 228-229.
philosopher, 243-244.

Ibn-Shem Tob, Shem Tob ben
Joseph, father of the preceding,
Kabbalist, 196, 197, 239.

Ibn-Shoshan, Abraham, rabbi in
Egypt, 393.

Ibn-Shoshan family visited by
Black Death, 113.

Ibn-Sid, Samuel, scholar, 392.

Ibn-Tibbon, Samuel, translator of
Maimuni's works, 32, 60.

Ibn-Verga, Joseph, historian, 557.

Ibn-Verga, Judah, Kabbalist and
historian, 335, 336, 556.

Ibn-V'erga, Solomon, Marrano his-
torian, 556-557-

Ibn-Wakar,Jehudaben Isaac, treas-
urer under Juan Emanuel, 52-

53- ,
Ibn-Wakar, Samuel (Abenhuacar),

physician of Alfonso XI, 76, ■»9,

80, 84.
offices of, 80, 81.
Ibn-Yachya, David, rabbiof Naples,

Talmudist, 410.
Ibn-Yachya family, 159, 609.
Ibn-Yachya, Gedalya, patron of

learning, 609.
Ibn-Yachya, Gedalya, grandson of

the preceding, historian, 592,

609, 615-617.
Ibn-Yachya, Joseph, delegate at

Tortosa, 208.
Ibn-Yachya, Joseph, intercedes for

the Spanish exiles in Portugal,

366.
Ibn-Yachya, Moses, philanthropist,

609.
Ibn-Yachya Negjo, favorites of

Alfonso V, of Portugal, 339.
Ibn-Yachya Negro, Judah, coun-
selor of Joao I, of Portugal,

218.
Ibn-Yaish, officer at the coart of

Castile, 84.
Ibn-Zachin, martyr, 576.
Ibn-Zarzal, Abraham, physician of

Pedro the Cruel, 116, 121.
I cabo, character in Samuel Usque's

work, 558, ^59.
Ikkarim, work by Joseph Albo, 239.
Ilhas perdidas, Jewish children at

the, 371.
Immanuel ben Solomon Romi,

poet, 63-69, 230, 280.
a representative of the Roman

congregation, 60.
compared with Dante, 65, 66, 67.

724

INDEX.

language and style, 63-64, 67 , 68.

" In Praise and Honor of Emperor

Maximilian," pamphlet by Pfef-

ferkorn, 430.

Index expurgatorius includes the

Zohar 584.
Innocent III. pope, alluded to, 244,

562.
Innocent IV, pope, deprecates forci-
ble baptism, 165.
Innocent VII, pope, 368.
opposed to the expulsion of Jews
from Spain, 346.
Inquisition, the, in Aragon, 319,
328-329.
in the Netherlands, 662.
resisted in Navarre, 357.
under Pope Paul IV, 568-571.
Inquisition, the Portuguese, 499-
500, 505, 513-528.
described, 522-523.
sanctioned, 518-519, 526-527.
Inquisition, the Spanish, and the
Marranos, 483-485.
at Benevento, 385.
at Seville, 312-314.
code, 326-328.
desired, 310.
first germs of, 256.
first Marrano victims of, 316-318.
judge of appeals appointed, 320.
statute ratified, 312.
tribunals multiplied, 325.
unpopular, 313.
"Investigation of Religion, The,"
work by Elias del Medigo, 293.
Isaac ben Jacob Campanton, Tal-

mudist, Gaon of Castile, 230.
Isaac ben Kalonymos (Isaac Na-
than), controversial writer, and
author of a Bible concordance,

234-2^5-
Isaac ben Moses. See Profiat Duran.
Isaac ben Sheshet Barfat (Ribash),
philosopher, 145-146, 147-150.
appealed to, 1^0, 153.
attacked by Simon Duran, 199.
imprisoned, 150, 15^.
quarrel with Chayim ben Galli-

papa, 148.
rabbi of northern Africa, 198-199.
Isaac ben Todros, Kabbalist, 74.
Isaac de Leon, last Toledan rabbi,

392-
Isaac of Accho, Kabbalist, 20.
Isaac of Salzuflen attempts to settle

in Holland, 685-686.
Isaac the Blind, supposed originator

of the Kabbala, 21.

Isaac T3Tnau compiles Jewish cus-
toms 134-135.
his rigidity, 227.
Isabella, of Castile, 309.
favors Marranas, 311.
influenced by Torquemada, 310.
marriage, 280.
party of, 279.
piety, 310.

queen of Spain, 284.
See also Ferdinand and Isabella,
and Ferdinand II of Aragon.
Isabella of Castile, wife of Manoel,
of Portugal, 374, 381.
cruelty, 376, 379-380.
unfriendly to Jews, 373-374.
Isaiah, prophet, as a character in
Immanuel Romi's work, 67.
prophecies of, 149.
quoted, 211.
Isaiah ben Abba-Mari, 162.
appoints his relatives to rabbi-
nates, 153.
invested with authority over
French Jews, 152.
Ishmael, the Mahometan world, 18.
Isny, Hebrew press at, 474.
Israeli II, Isaac ben Joseph, as-
tronomer, 51.
Isserlein, Israel, partisan of Israel

Bruna, 302, 103.
Isserles, Moses, ben Israel, Talmu-

dist, 634, 637-638.
Israel of Enns accused of host de-
secration, 223.
Italy, refuge for Marranos, 318.
Italy, Tews of, culture of, 288-289.
hold synods, 218.
number of, 653.
j petition Pope Martin V, 219.
under restrictions, 251, 253.
Italy, Jews settle in, 352, 407-413.

toleration of, 285-286.
Ivan IV, of Russia (the Cruel),
and the Polish election, 603.
hostile to Jews, 633.

Jaabez, Joseph, opponent of free

thought, 343, 479.
Jacob ben Asheri, son of Asher ben
Yechiel, Talmudist, 87-90.
his code commented upon by
Karo, 537.
Jacob ben Moses Molin Halevi
(Maharil), rabbi, 227.
arranges the ritual, 225.
compiles Jewish customs, 135.
Jacob ben Machir Tibbon (Profa-
tius), scientist, 30-31, 48.

INDEX,

725

and the ban against science, 42.
his ban against the proscribers of

science, 40-41.
Jacob, of Belzyce, controversialist,

648.
Jacob, of Navarre, executed, 357-

358.
Jacob, of Segovia, Kabbalist, 2.
Jacob Tam, alluded to, 609.
Jacopo, Flavio, poet, quoted, 610.
Jaen, Inquisition at. 325.

Jews of, imprisoned. 126.
Jafa, Mordecai, president of the

Polish synods, 645.
Jager, Johann fCrotus Rubianus),

author of the "Epistolae Ob-

scurorum Virorum," 456,46/.
Jargon, 388-^89.
Jaroslaw, meeting-place of Talmu-

dists, 640.
of the Polish synods, 644.
Jehuda ben Asheri, son of Asher

ben Yechiel. Talmudist, rabbi

of Toledo, 87-88, 90, 144.
Jehuda ben Asher 1 1 , heroism of,

170.
Jehuda ben Moses ben Daniel,

{Leone Romano), scholar, 60,

68-69, 289.
Jehuda Halevi, 67.
poems of, in the Karaite prayer-
book, 71.
Jerome, Church Father, alluded to,

83. 342, 433- 435» 552-
Jerusalem, growth of, 396-397.

Jews of, build a synagogue,

273-274-
of the Occident, 136.
occupations of inhabitants of, 74.
pilgrims visit, 73.
Spanish exiles settle in, 396-398.
Jesiba de los Pintos, Hebrew insti-
tute at Rotterdam, 685
Jesuits, order of, 524-525.
Jesurun, Reuel, ^Rohel Jesurun,
Paul de Pina\ poet, 669-670,
678-679.
Jesurun, David, poet, quoted, 669.
Jesus in the Old Testament, 141,

212, 256.
Jew badges, abolished by Pius IV,
588.
decreed by popes, 216, 250, 566,

590- ^
enforced, 54, 131, 138-139, 150,
255, 258, 266, 278, 519, 543, 545,
696, 702.
Jewish colleges in France dispersed,
48.

Jewish congregations autonomous,

40.
Jew quarters decreed by popes, 250,
566, 590.

in Spain, 203. 335-336.

in Venice, 408.
Jews aid Hussites, 222.

and Marranos, 334-335-

and the Black Death, 101-114.

and the Dutch in Brazil, 693-694-

and the Reformation, 470.

as artisans, 74-75-

as physicians, 275, 287, 407-408,
411,653-654, 692.

as printers, 289, 581.

declared outlaws, 107.

divided into national gjoups, 478.

emigrate to Turkey, 273.

granted to electors, 128.

hated by Luther, 547-552.

in the fourteenth century, 127.

in the Peasant War, 542-543.

in the Thirty Years' War, 701-702,
707-708.

indispensable to Christians, 127,
'37.263,353.

maintain catechumens, 566.

persecuted by the clergy, 163-164.

proscribed by the Council of
Basle, 245-246.

protected by Charles IV, 106.

scientific inquiry among, 479.

spiritual condition of, in the Mid-
dle Ages, 477-479-

under Emperor Sigismund, 248.

wanderings of, 676.

See also the various countries, etc.
Jikatilla, Joseph ben Abraham,

Kabbalist, 3, 6. 10, 466.
Joachim I, elector of Brandenburg,

persecutes the Jews, 440.
Joachim 1 1, elector of Brandenburg,

alluded to, 652.
Joao, Infante of Portugal, and Leo-
nora, 160.
Joao I, of Portugal, protects new-
Christians, 217-218.
Joao 1 1, of Portugal, 340, 373.

and Isaac Abrabanel, 341.

and Judah Abrabanel, 361.

and the Spanish exiles, 352, 365-
366, 370-371.

lays restrictions upon Marranos,
368.

summons an astronomical con-
gress, 367.

transports Jewish children, 371.
Joao III, of Portugal, and David
Reubeni, 493.

#

INDEX.

institutes a Jew badge, 519.
plans the Inquisition, 488-491,

499-500.
Joanna, of Castile, alluded to, 373.
Joanna, of Naples, hostile to Jews,

258.
Job, book of, paraphrased, 140.

poem by Belmonte, 665.
Jochanan, son of Matathiah Pro-

venci, rabbi, 152, 153, 162.
John II, duke of Brabant, and the

Jews, 112.
John II, of Aragon, Jews under,

274, 275.
John Albert, of Poland, hostile to

Jews, 419.
John George, elector of Branden-
burg, alluded to, 652.
John Maurice, of Nassau, stadt-

holder of Brazil, 693.
John of Capistrano, 249, 257-268,

276, 277, 296, 418, 419.
arouses hatred against Jews, 258-

263, 266-268.
employed by Nicholas V, 253.
in Poland, 265.
in Silesia, 260-263.
in southern Germany, 258-260.
John, of France, permits Jews to re-
turn to France, 128-129, US-
John XXII, pope, exiles Jews, 61.

opposed to a crusade, 55.
John XXIII, pope, character of,

201.
John of Valladolid, apostate, 140-

141, 209.
Jonah, rabbi of Vienna, no.
Joshua ben Joseph Ibn-Vives

(Joshua Allorqui). opponent of

Paul Burgensis, 186-187.
Joshua, father of Narboni, 94.
Jose ben Jose, Hebrew poet 67.
Joseph, son of Manessier de Vesoul,

convert, 150.
Joseph ben Abraham Ibn-Ben-

veniste Halevi. See Joseph of

Ecija.
Joseph ben Abraham Jikatilla,

Kabbalist, 3, 6, 10, 466.
Joseph ben Israel, father of Manas-

seh ben Israel, 671.
Joseph de Avila discovers the

spuriousness of t'le Zohar, 20.
Joseph, duke of Mantua, banishes

rabbis, 295.

ioseph, Karaite, 269.
oseph of Arli, Kabbalist, 511-512.
oseph of Ecija (Joseph ben Abra-
ham Ibn-Benveniste Halevi),

treasurer of Alfonso XI, 76, 79,

80, 8i, 83, 84.
Josephus, 614.

work of, translated, 608.
Joslin of Rosheim. See Loans,

Joseph ben Gershon.
Juan Alfonso de Albuquerque,

minister of Pedro the Cruel,

115, 117.
Juan de Espaiia (Juan the 01d),con-

vert, 233.
Juan de Lucena, executes the edict

of banishment, 348-349, 355.
Juan de Seville. See Abrabanel,

Samuel (I).
Juan Emanuel, regent of Castile,

favors Jews, 52-53.
Juan I, of Aragon, character of, 170.
Juan I, of Castile, and the Jews,

157. 158-
and the regent of Portugal, 160.
crowned, 156.

regent of Portugal, 161-162.
Juan II, of Castile, 193, 275, 277.
and the Jews, 228-229, 251 252.
complains of the Marranos, 256.
permits a synod to be held, 229.
restrictions laid upon Jews under,
203-204.
Judah, treasurer of Ferdinand of

Portugal, 159, 160, 161, 162.
Judah ben Baba, alluded to, 536.
Judah ben Moses Tibbon, opponent

of Abba Mari, 32.
Judah ben Yechiel (Messer Leon),
rabbi in Mantua. 289-290.
attainments and works, 289.
feud with Joseph Kolon, 295.
hostility to, 293.
Judah, Siciliano, poet, 60, 68.
" Judahs Rod of Correction,"
history by the Ibn-Vergas, 557-
558.
Judaism and the Reformation, 471-

476.
" Judaism, or the Jewish Doc-
trine,' by John Miller, 692.
Judenmeister, three rabbis in Ger-
man}', 227.
" Judenstattigkeit " residence of
Jews in Frankfort and Worms,
695 696.
abolished, 700.
Juderia Jew quarter, 169.
Juglar, Caspar, inquisitor, 326.
Julian, the Apostate alluded to, 267.
Julius II, pope, alluded to, 407, 408.
Julius 1 1 1, pope, and the Portuguese
Marranos, 528.

INDEX.

727

and the Talmud, 565.
Justiniani, Augustin, Hebrew
scholar, 473-474-

Kabbala, the, 1-23, 91, 196.
and Pope Sixtus IV, 292.
and Reuchlin, 466-467, 481.
Christian dogmas in, 291-292.
compared with the Talmud, 19.
Elias del Medigo on, 292.
in the East, 617-627.
studied by Pico di Mirandola,
291-292, 443.
Kabbalistic centers, i, 2, 399, 405,

538.
Kabbalistic customs, 56.
Kabbalistic terms, 4, 5, 6, 13, 14, 17,

18, 22, 572, 619, 620.
Kabbalistic works, 6, 10, 196, 197.
the Zohar, u-24.
translated, 443.
Kabbalists, i, 2, 3, 4, 6, 8, 10, 14. 20,
21, 74, 196, 197. 291, 335, 369,
381, 399, 405, 466, 481, 511, 538,
556, 618,623, 625.
Kahal Kados, the Recife Jewish

community, 693
Kahiya, advocate of Turkish Jews,

404.
Kalish, Jews of, massacred, iii.
Kalonymosben Kalonymos, satirist,

61 -63, 68.
Kalonymos ben Todros, partisan of

Abba-Mari, 34, 38, 39.
Kalmann, of Ratisbon, convert, 288.
Kalmann, an immigrant, ui^es

Jews to go to Turkey, 271.
Kapsali, Elias ben Elkanah, histo-
rian, 406-407, 557.
Kapsali, EHezer, influences Kara-
ites to Rabbinism, 270.
Kapsali, Elkanah, aids Spanish

exiles in Candia, 364.
Kapsali, Moses, chief rabbi of Tur-
key, 268-269, 402.
aids Spanish exiles, 364.
and Karaites, 270 271.
Karaism and Shemarya Ikriti,69.
Karaites, calendar, 70, 270.
converted to Rabbinism, 72.
dissensions among, 269 270.
establish pils^rim prayers, 73-74.
feud with Elias Mizrachi, 403-

404.
instructed by Rabbanites, 269-

271.
marriage laws, 70.
Karben, von, Victor, convert, 424-

425-

appointed to examine into He-
brew books 441, 444.
Kara, Avigedor, friend of Empero4

Wenceslaus, 166.
Karo, Joseph, 580, 599, 637.
and Molcho, 511, 537.
converted to Kabbalism, 496-497,

537-
his code, 539 612, 613.
his Maggid, 497, 537-539-
opposes Dei Rossi, 616.
oraained, 536, 537.

Kartiel, Kabbalistic term, 17.

Kaspi, Joseph, philosopher, 87, 91.

Kelifa (Kelifoth), Kabbalistic term,
17, 620.

Kepler, alluded to, 638.

Khataib, Spanish synagogue at
Damascus, 400.

Kiera, Esther, Turkish court Jew-
ess, 629-630.
patroness of Jewish learning, 608,
630.

Kimchi, David, alluded to, 476.

Kimchi, Moses, grammarian, 474.

Kimchis, the, alluded to, 442.

King, Kabbalistic term, 18.

Klausner, Abraham, compiles Jew-
ish customs, 134.

Klonowicz, Polish poet, 643.

Kodesh ha-Kodashim, work by Ibn-
Labi Ferrer, 234.

Kolon, Joseph ben Solomon, rabbi
of Mantua, 294-295.

Konigsberg, Jews of, burnt, iio-
iti.

Krems, Jews of, commit suicide, i lo.

Kunigunde, influences Emperor
Maximilian against the Jews,
428-429, 437 4 o.

La Asum9ao, de, Diogo, convert to

Judaism, 668 669, 670.
La Caballeria, de, Pedro, apostate,

231-
Ladislaus, of Bohemia, and the

Ratisbon Jews, 303.
Ladislaus, of Hungary, and the

Jews of Bohemia, 417.
and the Jews of Breslau, 262-263.
La Fuente, de. Juan, inquisitor, 484.
Lagarto, Jacob, first American

Talmudical author, 693.
La Guardia, Jews of, accused of

child-murder, 343.
Lammlein, Asher, forerunner of the

Messiah, 4S2-483.
Languedoc, Jews of, and the ban

against science, 40.

728

INDEX.

protected by the governor, 132.
Lansac, de, French ambassador,

577-
Larta, Jewish exiles in, 406.
Lateran Council (Fourth) and the

Reuchlin quarrel, 464.
Lates, de, Bonet, physician to popes,

407-408.
aids Reuchlin, 453-454.
Leather-arms. See Armleder.
Lecha Dodi, Sabbath song, 538.
Lemberg, meeting-place of Talmu-

dists. 640.
Leo X, pope, 407, 408, 592.
and Reuchlin, 452-453 465.
encourages the printing of the

Talmud, 468, 565.
Leo of Crema, alluded to, 287.
Leo Medigo. See Abrabanel, Judah

Leon.
Leo the Hebrew. See Levi ben

Gerson.
Leon de Bagnols. See Levi ben

Gerson.
Leon, Jacob Jehuda, controversial

author, 691.
Leon, Jews of, baptized, 205.
Leon, (Messer). See Judah ben

Yechiel.
Leonora d'Este, and Jews, 660.
Leonora de Guzman, mistress of

Alfonso XI, saves the Jews, 85,

"3-
Leonora, of Portugal, regent, plots

against Juan I of Castile, 161.
removes Jews from office, 160.
Lenoora, of Tuscany, and Ben-

venida Abrabanela, 410, 544.
Lepers accuse Jews, 57.
Lerida, Jews of, converted, 214.

massacred, 172.
Lerida opposes the Inquisition, 332.
" Letter of Aristas" translated by

Dei Rossi, 615.
" Letter of Warning," by Solomon

Alami, 154.
" Letters of Obscurantists," a satire,

461-462.
Levi, Abraham, Kabbalist, 481.
Levi, Astruc, delegate at the Tor-

tosa disputation, 208,214 215.
Levi ben Aoraham ben Chayim,

chief of the allegorists, 24-25,

takes refuge with Sulami, 28-29.

Levi ben Gerson (Gersonides, Leo

the Hebrew, Leon de Bagnols),

philo.sopher, 87, 91-94, 146, 147,

»97. 342, 442, 476.

and Pope Clement VI, 94, 103.
astronomer, and physician, 91 -92.
author of a methodology of the

Mishna, 92.
predicts the Messianic redemp-
tion, 120.
Levi ben Shem Tob, convert, 375.
Levi of Villefranche. See Levi

ben Abraham ben Chayim.
Levi, Solomon, (Paul Burgensis,
Paul de Santa Maria), convert,
182-190, 231, 256, 342.
favored by Pope Benedict XIII,

184, 190,
lays restrictions upon the Jews of

Castile, 203-204.
revives anti-Jewish laws, 194-195.
work by, 233.
Levita, Elias. See Elias Levita.
" Light of the Eyes," work by Dei

Rossi, 615, 616.
Lima, de, David, builds the third

Hamburg synagogue, 691.
Limpo, Balthasar, bishop, and Pope

Paul III, 525-526.
Lindau, Jews of, charged with the
blood-accusation, 227.
persecuted, 105.
Lipmann of Miihlhausen (Tab-

Yomi), scholar, 178.
Lippold, physician, tortured, 652.
Lisbon, port for exiles, 374, 376.
council of, hostile to the Jews,

160.
Inquisition at, 508.
Marranos massacred in, 487.
Lithuania, Jews of, enjoy peace,
418, 420.
the Reformation in, 646-648.
" Little Book about the Jews," pam-
phlet, 545-546, 547-
Liturgy Kabbalistic, 481.
Loans, Jacob ben Yechiel, physician
to Frederick III, 413-414.
teacher of Reuchlin, 433.
Loans, Joseph ben Gershon, and
Molcho, 510.
representative of Jews, 414.
Lodi. Jews of, expelled, 660.
Logrofio, Jews of, persecuted, 170.
Longo, Saadio, Hebrew poet, 609.
Lopes de Almeida, Portuguese am-
bassador to Rome, 340.
Lopez, Pedro, poet and chronicler.

quoted, 121, 122.
Lorqui, Joseph. See Geronimo de

Santa F^.
Lost Islands, Jewish children at the,
371-

INDEX.

m

Louis, duke of Bavaria, and the
Jews of Ratisbon, 301-302, 303.

Louis, duke of Landshut (the Rich),
persecutes Jews, 253-254.

Louis, emperor (the Bavarian), and

the Jews, 96, 08.
the

persecution of

sons of, favor

the Jews, no.
Louis, of Brandenburg, orders the

persecution of Jews, iio-iii.
Louis, of Darmstadt, protects Jews,

699.
Louis X, of France, recalls the

Jews, 53,54.
Louis XII, of France, and Reuch-

lin, 459.
Louis, of Hungary, and the Jews,

III.
Louis, regent of France, extends the

privileges of Jews, r5o.
Loyola, Ignatius, 525, 562.
Lublin,meeting-place of Talmudists,

640.
of the Polish synods, 644.
Lublin, third Jewish community in

Poland, 632.
Lucero, Diego Rodriguez, hangman

in Cordova, 484, 489.
Luna, de, Alvaro, minister of Juan

II, of Castile, 228, 251, 256.
Luna, de, Pedro. See Benedict

XIII.
Lunel, Jews of, accused of desecrat-
ing Christian symbols, 55.
expelled, 48.

side with Abba-Mari, 33.
Lusitano, Abraham Zacuto, physi-
cian, 678.
Lusitanus, Amatus (Joao Rodrigo

de Castel-Branco), physician of

Pope Julius III, 569-570.
death, 610.
leaves Pesaro, 581. ^,^

J^Uther. M?rtm, ^^^.^r^^y^^

advises conhscation Of -Hebrew
books, 550.

and the Jews, 547-552.

at Worms, 469.

maligns the Talmud, 549-550.

quoted, 470. "^

Lutherans and the Spanish Inquisi-
tion, 485.
Lurya, Isaac, Kabbalist, 618, 623-
627.

and Chayim Vital Calabrese, 623-
624.

effect of his teaching, 625-627.

his Messianic claims, 622, 624.

his system, 617-622.

Lurya, Solomon,Talmudist,634-637.
criticism of Jewish society, 635-
636.
Luzk, Karaites of, well treated by

Casimir IV, 265.
Lyra, de, Nicholas, 232, 342, 442.
admires Rashi, 185.
refuted, 237.

Maamad, rabbinical councils at

Amsterdam, 684.
" Maase Efod," Hebrew grammar

by Profiat Duran, 191.
Maccabees, the, and the biblical

prophecies, 149.
Macnault, Denys, convert, 175.
Madrid, cortes of, and usurers. 80.
Maella, Jews of, converted, 214.
Magdeburg, Jews of, banished, 416.

persecuted, in.
Maggid, dream-prompter, 496, 537-

538.
Maharil. See Jacob ben Moses

Molin Halevi.
Mahomet 1 1, sultan, and the Jews,

267-269.
Mahomet I V, sultan, alluded to, 629.
Maillotins, rising of the, 152.
Maimi, Simon, martyr, 380-381.
Maimonides. See Maimuni, Moses.
Maimuni, Abraham II, and the

Karaites, 72.
Maimuni, David, Nagid, 72.
Maimuni, Moses, 67, 93, 94, 146,
147, 192, 197, 239, 243, 290.
articles of faith by, 193, 240.
attacked by Aaron II, 95.
code of, 86, 88, 89.
defended, 41, 42, 43, 44, 392.
on Ordination, 530-531.
rationalizes the Scriptures, 23.
studied by Polish Jews, 633.
Maimuni's works and the Roman
Jews, 60.
commented, 191.
neglected, 143.
proscribed, 40.
Maiora, martyr, 570.
Majorca, French exiles settle on,
49, so.
Inquisition on, 333.
Majorca, Jews of, persecuted, 171,
246-247.
seek refuse in Africa, 197.
Mallo, inquisitor, 521.
Maimed, Jacob Anatoli's sermons,

32' 39. 40.
Malta, Order of, hostile to Jews,
592, 656.

730

INDEX.

Mamson, tortured on the charge of
poisoning, 104.

Manasseh ben Israel, rabbi at
Amsterdam, 682-684.

Manessier de Vesoul, receiver gen-
eral, 130, 132.
and the Jews of France, 129, 131-

132-
sons of, 150, 151, 152.
Manoel, the Great, of Portugal, and
the Marranos, 485, 486, 488.
converts Jews by force, 375-377.
friendly to Jews, 372-374.
issues an amnesty, 379.
Manrique, Inigo, mquisition judge

of appeals, 320.
Mansfield, general, alluded to, 701.
Mantin, Jacob, physician and phi-
losopher, 411, 515.
denounces Molcho, 506-507.
instructs Christians, 473.
" Mxppa," by Moses Isserles, 637.
" Mar Mar Jesu," anti-Christian

work, 215.
Marcellus II, pope, alluded to, 566.
Margaritha, Anton, convert, ma-
ligns Jews, 551.
Maria de Medici, alluded to, 673.
Maria de Molina, regent of Castile,

2, 52, 53-
Maria de Padilla, wife of Pedro the

Cruel, J16, 117, 122 123.
Maria of the Netherlands, alluded

to, 572.
Maroli, Menachem, Karaite, 269.
\ Marranos, (new-Christians, Anu-

sim) forced converts, 179 181.
and David Reubeni, 494-495.
and Jews, 334 335.
and the Inquisition, 310 313.
attacked in Castile, 280-283.
catechism of, 311.
conspire against Arbues, 329-331.
excluded from church offices, 321,

582.
flee to Navarre, 357-358.
help the Spanish exiles, 354-355.
■jinjure Judaism, i8i.
of Ancona, 408, 500.
of Ferrara, 581.
of Pesaro, 578-582.
petition Alexander VI, 378-380.
protected by Joao I, 218.
signs of, 315-316.
sufferings of, 483-490.
troublesome to the church, 255-

2^7.
- under Henry IV, of Castile, 276.
victims of the Inquisition, 314,

316-318, 323-325. 350. 351-

Marranos, Portuguese, and Clement
VII, 509.

and Paul III, 516-517, 519-520.

and Paul IV, 568.

as physicians, 488.

burnt, 499.

culture of, 674.

emigrate, 485-486.

forbidden to emigrate, 508-509.

imprisoned, 670-671.

in Hamburg, 686-693.

in the Netherlands, 662-675.

informed against, 489-490.

keep an agent at Rome, 512-513.

massacred in Lisbon, 487.

persecuted. 521-522.

refused by Frankfort, 695.

settle in Italy, 568-571.

sufferings of, 528.

under restrictions, 368.

useful citizens, 527-528.
Marseilles, Jews of, protected, 177.
Martin V, pope, 229, 249, 253.

and the Jews, 219-220, 226-227.
Martinez (Martin), Fernan, and
Joseph Pichon, 156-157, 193,

335-
Martmez, Gonzalo, favorite of

Alfonso XI, 83-86.
Mascarenhas, John Rodrigo, Mar-

rano tax farmer, 486.
Masserano, Bezalel, pleads for the

Talmud, 658.
Matathiah ben Joseph Provenci,

chief rabbi, 133, 152.
Matronita, Kabbalistic term, 18, 19.
Matthias, emperor, abolishes Ju-

denstattigKeit, 700.
Maurice, of Orange, favorable to

Jews, 674, 678.
Maximilian I, emperor, and Jews,

414-415, 428-429.
and the German Jews, 463-464.
and the Nuremberg Jews, 415-

416.
and the Pfefferkom-Reuchlin

case, 429, 437, 441, 458-459-
MaximiUan II, emperor, 587.

and the Polish election, 603.
Mayence, decisions of, 135.

exiles from, 294, 295.
Mayence, Jews of, banished, 413.

massacred, 109.
Medeiros, Francisco (Isaac) Men-

des, Marrano, 667, 671.
Medici, family of, alluded to, 289,

291.
Medicine, study of, allowed, 40.
Medigo, Leon. See Abrabanel,

Judah Leon.

INDEX.

;3i

Medina del Campo, cortes of, and

the Inquisition, 310, 313.
Jews of, burnt, 278.
Medina-Sidonia, Marranos take

refuge in, 313.
Medina-Sidonia, duke of, and Mar

ranos, 282 283.
Megadef, sobriquet of Geronimo

de Santa Fe, 217.
Meil Zedek. See Menachem of

Merseburg.
Meir ben Baruch Halevi, rabbi, and

the French Jews, 152-153.
compiles Jewish customs. 134.
Meir ben Gabbai, Kabbalist, 481.
Me.r of Rothenburg, 34. 37, 74.
Meir, son-in-law of Abraham Ben-

veniste, 351.
Meiri, rabbi of Perpignan, 26-27.
Meiron, Simon bar Yochai buried

in, 623.
Meles, Moses Iskafat, partisan of

Ben Adret, 44.
Meliza, poetical prose, 65.
Menachem ben Aaron ben Zerach,

rabbi of Toledo, 77, 144-145.
Menachem of Merseburg, Talmu-

dist, 227-228.
Mendes, Diogo, banker at Antwerp,

572, 573-
Mendes, Francisco, husband of

Gracia Mendesia, 571, 572.
Mendes, Manuel, Marrano, 516.
Mendes, Portuguese family in Hol-
land, 667.
Mendesia, Gracia (Beatrice), Mar-
rano philanthropist, 571 578.
at Antwerp, 572-573.
at Constantinople, 577.
at Ferrara, 575-577.
at Venice, 574-575-
eulogized by Samuel Usque, 575-

576.
protects the Ancona Marranos,

, 578, 579-580-

Mendeza, archbishop, prepares a

catechism for Marranos, 311.
Menz, Abraham, head of the Padua

college, 410.
Menz, Judah, Talmudist, 294, 406,

410.
and Elias del Medigo, 295.
Menz, Moses, Talmudist, in Posen,

294.
Merlo, de, Diego, member of the

Inquisition commission, 312.
Messianic pretenders, 7, 197. 482-

483-
Messianic prophets, 8-10

Messianic speculations, 7, 8-10. 18-
19, 120, 141, 471, 482-483, 494-
495- 497! 530, 534, 622, 624, 625.

Meshullam ben Jacob, patron of
learning, 30.

Meshullam, of Rome, 346-347.

Meyer, of Breslau, accused of host-
desecration, 261.

Meyer, Peter, partisan of PfeflFer-
korn, 449.

Michael, of Frankfort- "vnd Luther,

SSI-
Michael, the Old, Kara.ce, 269.
Middelburg refuses Portuguese

Marranos, 663.
Midrash of Simon bar Yochai, the

Zohar, 19.
Milan, Jews of, expelled, 660.
Milchamoth Adonai, work by Ger-

sonides, 92, 93.
Miliana, Jews settle in, 197.
Miller, John, and the Hamburg

Jews, 691-692.
quoted, 690.
Minim imprecated in Jewish prayers,

83-
Mmyan Yavanim, Seleucidan chro-
nology, 394-395-
Miques, Joao. See Nassi, Joseph.
" Mirror for Admonition," work by

Ortuinus Gratius, 425.
" Mirror of Morals," work by Solo-
mon Alami, 154.
Mistress, Kabbalistic term, 19.
Mizrachi, Elias, chief rabbi of Con-
stantinople, 402-404.
Mocenigo, Luis, doge, hostile to

Jews, 600-601, 606.
Mocenigo, Pietro, doge, protects

the Jews of Padua, 299
Mocho, John, arouses Lisbon

against the Marranos, 487.
Modena, duke of, invites Jews, 675.
Molcho, Solomon (Diogo Pires),
Marrano, 529-530, 622.
and David Reubeni, 495-496,504.
burnt, 510-511.
denounced, 503. 506-507.
in Italy, 501-507.
predicts the Messiah, 497.
saved by Clement VII. 507.
Molin, Jacob. See Jacob ben Moses

Molin Halevi.
Moncado de, Abraham, official at

Recife, 693,
Moncilla, Jews of, persecuted, 78.
Montpellier, Jews of, and free in-
quirv, 29-30, 31, 38-39, 41. 50,
compelled to wear a badge, 54.

732

INDEX.

expelled, 48,
Montano, Arias, publisher of a

polyglot Bible, 6^1.
Montalto, Elias (Felix), physician,

653, 670, 673.
Montemar, marquis of, friend of

Isaac Abrabanel, 338.
Montiel, battle at, 126, 136.
Moravia, Jews of, persecuted, 98.
Mordecai ben Hillel, martyr, 36.
Morenu, ordination of rabbis, 134.
Morillo, Miguel, inquisitor, 312, 323.
censured, 318-^19.
issues the Edict of Grace, 314-

315-
Moro, Joseph (Philip), denounces

the Talmud, 564.
proselytizer, 581.
Morocco, war with Castile, 84-85.
Jews in, 389-390.
Marranos emigrate to, 179.
Morteira, Saul Levi, rabbi at Am-
sterdam, 673, 681, 682, 685.
Moses ben Isaac (Gajo) da Rieti,

neo-Hebraic poet, 230-231,
Moses ben Joshua Narboni. See

Narboni.
Moses ben Nachman. See Nach-

mani.
Moses ben Shem Tob (Moses de

Leon), Kabbalist 3, 622.
author of the Zohar, 10-12.
forgery of, revealed, 20-21
Moses, of Trent, tortured, 298.
Moses, rabbi of Trent, 298.
Moses, treasurer under Maria de

Molina, 52.
Mostarabi, Egyptian Jews, 395.
Mucate, Jacob, official at Recife,

693-
Muley Abu-Abdallah (Boabdil),

last king of Granada, 345.
Munich, Jews of, persecuted, 110.
Miinster, Sebastian, disciple of

Reuchlin, 434, 472.
Murad III, sultan, and Joseph

Nassi, 627-628, 629.
Murviedro, Jews of, protected, 170.
Musaphia, Benjamin, physician to

Christian IV, 692.
Mutafarrica, life-guard, 595.

Nachmani (Moses ben Nachman),
28,71,75,208,238,242.
predicts the Messianic redemp-
tion, 120.
reputed discoverer of the Zohar,
20.
Nagid, chief of Egyptian Jews, 392.

Najara, Israel, Hebrew poet, 609.
Naples, Jewish printing house in,
289.
Jews of, banished, 543 544.
Jews settle in, 358-359.
Narboni, Moses ben Joshua (Maes-
tro Vidal), philosopher, 87, 93-

95. 342-
Nassi, Gracia. See Mendesia, Gra-

cia.
Nassi, Gracia, the younger, 572, 577.
Nassi, Joseph (Joao Miques), duke
of Naxos, 596-597, 611.
accused of treason, 598 599.
aids Gracia Mendesia, 574.
as a statesman, 595-602.
at Antwerp, 572-573.
end of his power, 627.
favorite of sultans, 577, 593-595
in Turkey. See Chapter XVII.
protects Marranos, 579 580.
receives Tiberias, 596-597, 611.
Nassi, .Reyna, daughter of Gracia
Mendesia, 572-573, 577.
patroness of Jewish learning, 628.
Nassi, Samuel, brother of Joseph,

577,581-
Nassir Mahomet, Jews under, 73.
Nathan, Isaac. See Isaac ben Ka-

lonymos.
Navarre, Jews of, persecuted, 77-78.
Jews settle in, 352.
Spanish exiles in, 357-358.
Navarro, Moses, rabbi of Portugal,

173-
Naxos, duke of. See Nassi, Joseph.
Nazarenes (Minim) imprecated in

Jewish prayers, 83.
Negro, David, Almoxarif, 160, 162.

rabbi of Castile, 161.
Negroponte, Spanish exiles in. 406.
Neo-Hebrew poetry, 67, 608 609.

in Spain and Italy, 230-231.
Netherlands, the, a refuge for the
persecuted, 661-662.
Inquisition in, 662.
Portuguese Marranos in, 662 675
stadtholders of, favorable to

Jews, 678.
See also Holland, and Amster
dam.
Neto, Bras, Portuguese ambassador

at Rome, 500-501, 505-506.
" Neve Shalom", second synagogue

at Amsterdam, 671.
New-Christians. See Marranos.
Nicholas V, pope, 275, 287.
appoints inquisitors, 256
approves of Capistrano, 257 258.

INDEX.

733

denounced, 267-268.

issues anti-Jewish bulls, 253, 254.

N'.cholas-Donin, alluded to, 213.

Nicopolis, exiles settle in, 405.

Niemerz, son of Casimir the Great,
112.

Nissim Gerundi ben Reuben, 144,
146, 149.
imprisoned, 150, 155.
preaches against Messianic spe-
culations, 120.

Nizuz, Kabbalistic term, 620.

N6feth Zufim, work by Messer
Leon, 289.

Nordlingen, Jews of, banished, 416.
murdered, 163.

Notaricon, Kabbalistic term, 5, 512.

Novak, Peter, bishop, and Capi-
strano, 260.

Novi, Jews settle in, 553-554.

Numeo, a character in Samuel
Usque's " Consolation," 558.

Nunes, Duarte, da Costa, Portu-
guese agent at Hamburg, 692.

Nunes, Henrique (Firme-Fe) in-
forms against Marranos, 489-
491.

Nunes, Maria, Marrano captured
by the English, 664-665. ;

Nuiiez, Alvar, officer of Alfonso XI, '■

79-
Nuremberg, diet at, promulgates

the " Golden Bull," 128.
Nuremberg, Jews of, expelled, 415-

416.
persecuted, 35-36, 110.
Nuremberg, synod at, 305.

Obadiah di Bertinoro, rabbi at Jeru-
salem, 279, 397-398, 399i 704-

Ocana, cortes of, discuss the Jewish
question, 279.
Jews of, persecuted, 170.

" Of the Cross," bull, 526.

Ojeda, de, Alfonso, and the Spanish
Inquisition, 310, 312, 317.

01am ha-Tikkun, Kabbalistic term,
619.

Old Testament. See Bible, the.

Olesnicki, Zbigniev, cardinal, and
the Jews, 265, 266.

OUigoyen, Pedro, instigates a per-
secution of the Jews, 77, 78.

Olmiitz, Jews of, banished, 263.

" On the Errors of the Trinity,"
work by Servetus, 646-647.

Oporto, a port for Jewish exiles, 374.

Oppenheim, Jews of, commit sui-
cide, 109.

Orabuena, Joseph, rabbi and physi-
cian in Navarre, 184.
Oran, Jews settle in, 197.

Spanish exiles flee to, 361.
Ordenajoens, Portuguese code, 338-

339- . ,

Ordination revived, 530-535.

Orleans, college of, dispersed, 48.

Osorio, David, founder of the third
synagogue in Amsterdam, 680.

Osorius, bishop, quoted, 372.

Otto Henry, of Neuburg, protects
the Jews, 545.

Ottolenghi, Joseph, Talmudist, 582.

Ouderkerk, burial place of the Am-
sterdam Jews, 672, 673.

Ouvidores, provincial rabbis or
judges in Portugal, 159.

Pablo Christiani, alluded to, 208,

246.
Pacheco, marquis of Villana. and
the Marranos of Segovia. 283.
arranges an anti-Jewish code, 278.
Padua, Jews of, 299, 408.
quarrel at the University of, 291.
Talmudic center, 410.
Palermo, Jews of, and Abraham

Abulafia, 7.
Palestine, conquered, 393.
culture in, 75.
emigration to, 74, 273, 274.
French exiles settle in, 49, 72.
Karaites of, converted to Rabbin-
ism, 72.
Spanish exiles settle in, 396-399.
under Egyptian rule, 73.
See also Jerusalem.
Pallache, Samuel, consul in the

Netherlands, 663.
Palma, Jews of, accused, 246-247.

persecuted, 171.
Palma, Marranos take refuge in,
282,283.
See also Majorca.
Paloma, Jewish martyr, 362.
Pamier, Jews of, protected, 176.
Pampeluna, Jews of, escape perse-
cution, 78.
religious discussion at, 142.
Pantomime on the Reuchlin quarrel,

468 469.
Papal States, Jews of, expelled, 591 -
592, 659.
under restrictions, 566 567.
Parchi, Estori, describes the suffer-
ings of the French Jews, 48-

49' 72-
Pardes, work by Bedaresi, 43.

734

INDEX.

Pardo, David, rabbi at Amsterdam,

680, 682, 685.
Pardo, Joseph, rabbi at Amster-
dam, 671, 680.
Pardo, Josiah, rabbi at Rotterdam,

685.
Paris, college of, dispersed, 48.

re-established, 133.
Paris, Jews of, persecuted, .51-152.
University of, against Reuchlin,
459-460.
Parsophin, Kabbalistic term, 619.
Paruta, religious reformer, 647.
Passau, Jews of, executed, 306.
Pascate, Jacob, messenger bearing

the Black Death poison, 102.
Pastoureaux, Shepherds, massacre

the Jews, 55-57.
Patras, Spanish exiles in, 406.
Paul III Farnese, pope, 592.
and the Portuguese Inquisition,
516, 518 519, 521-522, 526-527.
protects Portuguese Marranos,

516-517, 520, 527.
well-disposed to Jews, 515.
Paul IV Caraffa, pope, and Marra-
nos, 568, 582.
and the Jews, 566, 567, 581-582,
and the Talmud, 582-583.
ban against, 580.
death, 586, 587-588.
employs converts, 581, ^84.
establishes the Inquisition at

Rome, 525.
re-establishes church discipline,

562.
re-introduces censorship of press,

563-
sets free Turkish Jews, 577-578.

Paul Burgensis. See Levi, Solomon.

Paul de Santa Maria. See Levi,
Solomon.

Pauw, Reinier, burgomaster of Am-
sterdam, 674.

Pavia, tolerance in, 288.
Jews of, expelled, 660.

Paz, de, Duarte, advocate of Portu-
guese Marranos at Rome, 512-

513) 515 519-
Peasant War, the, and the Jews,

542-543.
Pedro IV, of Aragon, imprisons
Jews, 150.
petitioned^ by the Jews, 112-113.
revolt against, 102.
Pedro, the Cruel, of Castile, 1 13-126,

173-
and Blanche de Bourbon, 116,

and Samuel Abulafia, 116, 118-

121.
civil wars under, 118-119, 123-126.
counseled by Santob de Carrion,

"5-
employs Jews, 115-116.
favors the Jews, 113-114, 116,

121-122.
supported by Jews, 123, 124, 125.
Pedro de Toledo, viceroy of N aples,

409-410.
Pelka, son of Casimir the Great, 1 12.
Penini, pseudonym of Yedaya En-

Bonet Bedaresi, 42.
Pentateuch translated into Persian,

401. See also Bible, the.
Pernambuco, Jews settle in, 693.
Perpignan, center of enlightenment,

25i 33-34-
Pesaro, Marranos in, 501, 569-570,

578-582-
Pessach (Peter), convert, accuses

the Jews, 177-178.
Pestilence, the, in Fez, 361.
in Naples, 359-360.
in Portugal, 368, 487.
Peter Martyr, quoted, 484.
Petit, Guillaume Haquinet, oppo-
nent of the Jews, 459.
patron of Hebrew studies, 473.
Peyret, supposed manufacturer of

the Black Death poison, 102.
Pfefferkorn, Joseph, convert, 423-
424, 425-432, 435-442.
at Frankfort, 428-430.
pamphlets by, 425, 427, 439.
preaches, 449.

visits Emperor Maximilian, 428.
See Chapter XIV.
Philip IV, le Bel, of France, 2, 44,

47, 50» n^ 176.
decrees the expulsion of the Jews,
46-49.
Philip V, of France, and the Jews,

54,57,58-
inspires a crusade, 55.

Philip VI, of France, alluded to, 77.

Philip III, of Navarre, and the
Jews, 78.

Philip II, of Spain, 566, 651, 661,
663, 667, 668.
and the Turkish Jews, 607.
introduces the Inquisition into
the Netherlands, 601.

Philip III, of Spain, and the Mar-
ranos, 670-671.

Philip IV, of Spain, creates a Jew
ish count palatine, 692.

Philo, alluded to, 614.

INDEX.

735

Phineas, rabbi of Breslau, 262.
Phylacteries, Kabbalistic use of, 5.
Picho, Solomon, rabbi, 278.
Pichon, Joseph, Almoxarif, 138,

156, 157- , ,
Pico di Mirandola, 433, 583.
and the Kabbala, 291-292, 443.
taught by Del Medigo, 290-291.
Piedmont, French exiles in, 177.
Pieva di Sacco, Jewish printing

house in, 289.
Pilgrims, Karaite prayers for, 73-74.
Pilpul, a method of Talmud study,

418.
Pimentel, Manuel (Isaac Abena-

car ', Marrano in Holland, 672.
Pina, de, Paul (Rohel Jesurun),

669-670.
Pinczovinians, anti - Trinitarians,

647.
Pinel, de, Duarte. See Usque, Abra-
ham.
Pinheiro, Diogo, bishop, protects

Marranos, 500.
Pinto, Abraham and David, found

the Rotterdam community, 685.
Pinto, Diogo Rodrigues, Marrano

advocate at Rome, 515, 516.
Pires, Diogo. See Molcho, Solo-
mon.
Pirkheimer, Willibald, humanist,

416.
Pisa, council of, deposes Benedict

XIII. 206-207.
commerce of, 285.
Pius IV, pope, and the Bohemian

Jews, 586-587.
and the Jtws, 588.
Pius V, pope, 653.

hostile to Jews, 589-590.
Plato, alluded to, 66, 232.
Polak, Jacob, and the Pilpul, 418.
Poland, a refuge for Jews, 263, 420,

631-632,641-643.
election in, 603-605.
Jewish synods in, 643-645.
Poland, Jews of. culture of, 633-634.

enjoy peace, 418-421.
Poland, Reformation in, 646-648.
Pomis, de, David, physician, 653,

656-657.
Portaleone, di, Guglielmo, physi-
cian, 287.
Porteiro jurado, assistant of Ar-

Rabbi Mor, 159.
Portugal, a refuge for Marranos,

318.
asylum for Jews, 173.
Jews leave, 369.

[ Portugal, Jews of, under Alfonso V
338-339.
under Ferdinand, 158-159.
! Portugal, Spanish exiles in, 365-

I Posen, conflagration of, 263.

I first Jewish community in Poland,

' 632.

Jews of, attacked, 642.
Prague, confiscation of Hebrew

books in, 584-585.
Prague, Jews of, expelled, 585-587.
! persecuted, 164-165, 178.
I threatened with expulsion, 417-
I 418.

See also Bohemia.
1 Prester John, alluded to, 368.

Printing houses, Jewish, 289, 414,
1 418, 474, 581, 628.

I Privado, confidential counselor, 79,
116.
Procureur, collector of Jew taxes,

130. 132-
Profatius. See Jacob ben Machir

Tibbon.
Profiat Duran, a Marrano scholar,
188-190, 191, 238.
commentaries, history, and gram-
mar by, 190, 191.
his satire on converts, 188-195,

quoted, 190.
Protestant hatred of Jews, 552.
Provence, a refuge for French
exiles, 49,
and Spanish Marranos, 318.
Provence, Jews of, devotees of pro-
fane culture, 37.
persecuted. 102, 112.
protected, 177.
See also France, southern.
Prud' hommes, superintendents over

the Jews of France, 54,
Pucci, Antonio, cardinal, and the

Inquisition, 507, 514 515.
Pucci, Lorenzo, and Molcho, 503,
507.
and the Inquisition, 505.
Pulgar, Isaac, philosopher, 91,

satirizes Alfonso Burgensis, 82.
Purim, Cairo, 396.
celebration of, ridiculed, 185.
in Saragossa, 148.
Vincent, at Frankfort, 700.

Quemadero, place of burning, 314,

.317-
Quinon, Denis, receiver general of
Languedoc, 132.

11^

INDEX.

Rabbanites, feud with Karaites,
403-404.
in Jerusalem, 74.
instruct Karaites, 269-271.
Rabbinism, and Talmudical Juda-
ism, 89.
conversions to, 72.
criticised by Shemarya Ikriti,
6p.
Radzuvill, promoter of the Refor-
mation in Poland, 646.
Rafan, David, discovers the spuri-

ousness of the Zohar, 20.
Rahab, as a character in Immanuel

Romi's work, 67.
Raimuch, Astruc (Francisco God-
flesh), conversionist, 182.
Rashi, 442, 476,
admired by Christian writers, 185.
college of, dispersed, 48.
Ratisbon, diet at, denounces Nicho-
las V, 267.
hostile to Jews, 258.
Ratisbon, Jews of, appeal to Ladis-
laus of Bohemia, 303.
escape the Rindfleish persecu-
tion, 36,
exposed to a mob, 1 10,
persecuted, 300-307.
protected, 99, 305-306.
threatened, 254, 463-464.
under restrictions, 416-417.
Ravenna asks for Jews, 286.
Ravensburg, Jews of, charged with

the blood-accusation, 227.
Raymond dePenyaforte, Dominican

general, 77, 208, 245.
Receswinth, decrees of, 326.
Receveur-general, collector of Jew

taxes, 130, 132, 150.
Recife, Jews of, 693
Reformation, the, 467-470.
and Judaism, 471 476.
and the lews, 470.
effects, 540-541.

in Poland and Lithuania, 646-648.
Reggio, Jewish printing house in,

289.
Reis, chief of Egyptian Jews, 392.
Remonstrants, religious sect hostile

to Jews, 673-674.
Rendeiros, tax-farmers, 339.
Reubeni, David, and Charles V,

509 -5 " •
and Molcho, 495-496, 504.
at Avignon, 499.
at Rome, 492-493.
at Venice, 504.
his mission, 491-492

in Portugal, 493-500.
Reuchlin, John, humanist, 431-432.

and the Kabbala, 481, 466 467,
583-

appeals to Leo X, 453-454.

appointed to examine into He-
brew books, 441-443.

at Speyer, 454 455-

Hebrew scholar, 433-434, 471.

his anti-Jewish prejudices, 435.

honors bestowed on, 435 436.

quoted, 447-448.

refutes Dominican charges, 446-

447-
trial at Mayence, 450 452.
See Chapter XIV.
Reuchlinists, defenders of the Jews,

, 456,457-
Rheims, Hebrew studies at, 474.
Rheingau, the, Jews of, expelled,

.543-
Rhine, the, island in, scene of a per-
secution, 107.
Jewish communities on, mas-
sacred, 225.
Rhineland, the, Jews of, persecuted,

97. 107-
Ribash. See Isaac ben Sheshet

Barfat.
Riccio, Paul, convert, 466.
Rieti, da, Gajo. See Moses ben

Isaac da Rieti.
Rindfleisch, persecutor of the Jews,

35-36.
Robert of Anjou, king of Naples,
and Kalonymos ben Kalony-
mos, 61, 63.
and Shemarya Ikriti, 69, 70.
patron of learning, 59.
taught by Leo Romano, 68.
Roim, shepherds, 55-57.
Romano, Leone. See Jehuda ben

Moses ben Daniel.
Romano, Solomon (John Baptista),

denounces the Talmud, 564.
Rome, the oldest European Jewish
community, 61.
exiles at, 363, 408.
inundated, 505
Rome, Jews of, culture of, 58-60.
threatened, 61.
See also Italy.
Romi. See Immanuel ben Solo-
mon Romi.
Rosales, Immanuel, author, 692.
Rossi, dei', Azarya ben Moses,critic,
613-615.
opposition to, 616-617.
Rouelle, French Jew-badge, 131.

INDEX.

737

Roussillon, French exiles in, 49.

Jews of, devoted to science, 25.

Rotterdam, Jews settle in, 685.

Rottingen, Jews of, persecuted, 35.

Rubianus, Crotus (johann Jagerj,
author of the " Letters of Ob-
scurantists,'" 456, 461.

Rudolph II, emperor, and the Jews,
652.

Ruez, Juan, Spanish inquisitor, 312.

Saatz, imperial army at, 226.

Saba, Abraham, Kabbalist, 381.

Sabbation, a mythical river, 4.

Sadolet. bishop, quoted, 515.

Safet, Kabbalistic center, 74, 399,
405, 622-623.

ordination revived in, 531-532.
Spanish exiles in, 399.

Safi, Jews in, 389.

Sancta Anastasia, de, cardinal,
favorable to Marranos, 379.

St. Bartholomew, massacre, 604.

St. Gall, Jews of, persecuted, 105.

Salamanca. Jews of, baptized, 205.

Salonica, Kabbalistic center, 405.
Spanish exiles in, 404-405.

Salzring, place of execution in
Breslau, 262.

Samael, Kabbalistic term, 17.

Sambation, a mythical river, 4.

Samiel, Kabbalistic term, 17.

Samson ben Meir,partisanof Abba-
Mari, 38.

Samson of Sens denounces the
Karaites, 72.

Samuel, Kabbalist, 6.

Samuel, prophet, pilgrimages to
grave of, 398.

Samuel, treasurer under Ferdinand
IV, of Castile, 51.

San Benito, a garment, 317, 327.

San Martin, de, Juan, Spanish in-
quisitor, 312, 318-319, 323.

San Thomas, islands of, Jewish
children at the, 371.

Sanchez, Juan Perez, opposes the
Inquisition, 329.

Sancho IV, of (fasti le, employs
Todros Abulafia, 2.

Sancisa, sister of Pope John XXII,
hostile to Jews, 61.

Santa Cruz, de, Gaspard, conspira-
tor against Arbues, 331-332.

Santa F^, de, Francisco,conspirator
against Arbues, 331.

Santillano, de, Diego and Fran-
cisco, plead for the Inquisition,
311.

Santob (Shem Tob) de Carrion,

troubadour, 87, 114-115.
Saporta, Enoch, influences Kara-
ites to Rabbinism, 270.
Saragossa, celebration of Purim in,
148.
conversions in, 206, 214.
Inquisition at, 326, 329.
rising against the Marranos of,

330-
Saragossi, Joseph, Kabbalist, 393,

399-
Sariel, Kabbalistic term, 17.
Sarrao Thome, Marrano leader, 5 16.
Saruk, Israel, Kabbalist, 625.
Savoy, duke of, invites Jews, 675.

expelled, 294.
Savoy, Jews of, persecuted, 104,

2)8.

privileges, of, confirmed, 219.
Scaliger, Joseph, humanist, 685.
Schaflfhausen, Jews of, persecuted,

105.
Schutzjuden, protected Jews, 688.
Schwarz, Peter, convert, maligns

the Jews, 302, 443.
Schweidnitz, Jewish community of

Silesia, 260, 261.
Scotus, Duns, silluded to, 277.
" Scourge of the Jews," sobriquet

of John of Capistrano, 260.
Scriptures, the Holy. See Bible,

the.
Scrutinium Scriptuarum (Searching

the Scriptures), work by Solo-
mon Levi, 233.
Sebastian, of Portugal, in Africa,

381.
Sechel ha-Poel, in the Kabbala, 4.
" Sefer Yochasin," chronicle, 391.
Sefiroth, Kabbalistic term, 6, 13, 14,

17, 22, 619, 626.
Segovia, Jews of, baptized, 205.
prepare for exile, 352.
Marranos of, massacred, 283.
synagogue of, turned into a

church, 196.
Seleucidan chronology, 394-395.
Selim I, sultan, and the Jews, 393-

394, 400, 401, 402.
Selim II, sultan, and Joseph Nassi,

^ 594-595-

Jews under, 602.
Selve, de, George, disciple of Ellas

Levita, 472, 474.
Semichah, ordination, 530.
Sen Escalita. See Sulami.
Senensis, Sixtus, proselytizer, 58».

and the Talmud, 582.

738

INDEX.

rescues the Zohar, 584.
Senior, Abraham. See Benveniste,

Abraham.
Sens, college of, dispersed, 48.
Separation, Kabbalistic term, 619.
Sephardic Jews. See Jews of

Spain, Africa, Italy, and the

East.
Septuagint, not authoritative, 237.
Sepulveda, Jews of, persecuted,

278 279.
Serachya ben Shaltiel, promoter of

culture among Italian Jews, 59.
Serkes, Joel, Talmudist, 703.
Servetus, Michael, anti-Trinitarian,

541,6^6.
'•Servi camerae," coveted by pettv

rulers, 128.
Jews of France claimed as, 47.
protected by Charles of Luxem-
burg, 106.
under Louis the Bavarian, 96.
Setubal, a port for Jewish exiles,

374-
Seville, Inquisition organized in,

312-314-

Seville, Jews of, cause the Spanish
persecutions, 155, 157- 158.
persecuted, 167-169.

Seville, Marrano victims of the In-
quisition in, 317.
Marranos of, attacked, 282-283.

Seville, mayor of, opposed to the
Inquisition, 313.
synagogues of, turned into
churches, 169.

Seven Planets, Tables of the, by
Zacuto, 367.

Sezira, John, friend of Isaac Abra-
banel, 338, 340.

Sforno, Obadiah (Servadeus), phy-
sician, 411.
Reuchlin's teacher, 434, 473.

Sforza, Galeazzo, and Jews, 287,
296-297.

Shachna, Shalom, Talmudist, 634,

639-
Shalal, Isaac Cohen, Nagid, 392,

398-

Shalom, of Austria, compiles Jewish
customs, 134.

Shaprut, Shem-Tob ben Isaac, con-
troversialist, 142-143, 144.

Shaltiel, Jewish advocate in Tur-
key, 494.

" Shebet Jchuda," a history by the
Ibn-Vergas, 557-558-

Shemarya Ikriti, and the Karaites,
69-70, 71.

" Shield and Sword," controversial

work, 237.
Shulam, Samuel, historian, 608.
" Shulchan Aruch," code of Joseph

Karo, 539, 612-613.
Sibili, Astruc, denounces the Jews

of Palma, 246-247.
Siciliano, Judah, poet, 60, 68.
Sicily, opposition to the Inquisition

'".319-320.
Siddur Tefila, Karaite prayer-book,

71.
Sidillo (Sid), Samuel, scholar, 392.
Sigismund, emperor, 216, 218, 227.
and the Jews, 219, 248.
appoints rabbis, 227.
in the Hussite war, 225.
Sigismund III, of Poland, friendly

to Jews, 643.
Sigismund Augustus, of Poland
and Joseph Nassi, 602.
and the Reformation, 646.
protects Jewish trade, 633.
Silesia, Jews of, persecuted, 260-

263.
Silva, de, Diogo, inquisitor-general

of Portugal, S08, 513.
Silva, de, Miguel, opposes David

Reubeni, 498-499.
Simon bar Yochai, pretended authot
of the Zohar, 12-14, 15, 16, 18,
20, 21, 618, 623.
Simon ben Zemach Duran, rabbi
of Algiers, 199-200.
at Palma, 247.
controversial writer, 238.
Simon Duran II, rabbi of Algiers,

aids Spanish exiles, 390 391.
Simon of Trent, a supposed victim

of the Jews, 298-299, 414.
Simoneta, cardinal, opposes the

Portuguese Inquisition, 520.
Sixtus IV, pope, 340.
and Simon of Trent, 299.
and the Inquisition in Aragon,

319-
and the Spanish Inquisition, 311,

312, 318-319, 322-323.
friendly to Marranos, 320.
opposes Jewish church officers,

321-
votary of the Kabbala, 292, 443.
Sixtus V, permits the printing of
the Talmud, 658.
removes Jewish restrictions, 655-

659-
Soares, Joao, mquisitor, 521.
Socinians, anti-Trinitarians, 647
Socinus, religious reformer, 647.

INDEX.

739

SokoUi, Mahomet, vizir of Selim

II, and Joseph Nassi, 596 599.

611,627-628.

employs a Jewish negotiator, 602 .

partisan of Venice, 600.

Solis, de, Pedro, member of the

Inquisition commission, 312.

Solomon, king, as a character in

Immanuel Romi's work, 67.

quoted, 33.

Solomon, son of Manessier de Ve-

soul, 150.
Solomon ben Abraham ben Adret
rabbi of Barcelona, 7, 26. 49,

5f. 74. 75. ?'' 147-
attacked by Bedaresi, 42-44-
partisan of the obscurantists, 28-

30, 33- 34, 39. 42,50- .
pronounces a ban agamst the

Montpellier freethinkers, 38.
signs ban against science, 40.
Solomon ben Jacob, translator of

Mai muni, 60.
Solomon ben Reuben Bonfed at-
tacks Christian dogmas, 182.
neo-Hebraic poet, 230.
Solomon Duran, rabbi of Algiers,

controversial writer, 238, 390.
Solomon of Montpellier, prosciiber

of Maimuni. 27.
Solyman I, sultan, and Joseph
Nassi, 594.
conspired against, 395.
favorable to Jews, 400, 402,404.
intercedes for Turkish Jews ia

Ancona, 578.
protects Gracia Mendesia, 574-

575-
Soncino, Jewish printing house in,

289.
Soncino, Gershon, printer, 586.
Soranzo, Jacopo, Venetian agent in

Constantinople, 606.
Soria, cortes of, deprive the Jews of

criminal jurisdiction, 157.
Spain, exiles from, 357-364, 389-392.
first auto-da-fe in, 317.
Inquisition established in, 312.
See Inquisition.
Spain, Jews of, banished, 81, 347-
348.
controversial literature of, 231-238.
culture of, 37, 75, 387-389.
degeneracy of, 60, i:6, 87, 91, 143-

144, 153-155- 228.
employed by Ferdinand and Isa-
bella, 336.
enjoy peace, 274-276.
humbled by the civil war, 126.

in Africa, 197.
influenced by Asheri, 51.
invited to adopt the ban against

science, 40.
persecDtted in 1391, 166-173.
plan to emigrate, 283
prepare for exile, 349 -352.
send an embassy to Martin V, 219.
supposed to have caused the Black

Death, loi.
wealth of, 383.
Spain misses the Jews. 353-354.
See also Castile, Aragon, etc.
Spain, northern, Jews of, perse-
cuted, 53.
threatened, 103.
Spain, southern, Jews of, enjoy

peace, 53.
Spanish language cultivated by the

exiles, 387-388.
Speyer, decisions of, 135.

Jews of, persecuted, 107-108.
Spina, de, Alfonso, preacher, hostile

to Jews, 276-277.
Spinoza, Baruch, alluded to, 93, 682.
Sprinz, David, partisan of Israel

Bruna, 302.
Stein, inhabitants of, attack the

Jews of Krems, 1 10.
Strasburg, authorities of, defend the
Jews, 105-108.
Jews of, imprisoned, 108.
' Strengthening of the Faith, The,"

by Isaac Troki, 648-649.
Sturrn, Gosse, defends the Jews,

106, 108.
Suabia, Jews of, banished, 307, 413.

persecuted, 97, no, 163.
Sulami, Samuel, patron of Levi ol

Villefranche, 25 26, 29.
Sulchat, Karaite stronghold, 71.
Suson, de, Diego, victim of the

Spanish Inquisition, 317.
Swaber, Peter, defends the Jews

106, 108.
Swedes, the, and Jews, 707.
Switzerland, Jews of, persecuted,

104.
Synhedrion, Maimuni's teachings
on, 530.
value of a, 532.
Synods of the Four Countries. 643-

645.
Syria conquered by Selim 1, 393.

Tab Yomi. See Lipmann of Miihl-

hausen.
** Table-cloth," work by Moses is-

series, 637.

740

INDEX.

Talith, Kabbalistic use of, 5.
Talmud, the, and the Kabbala, 19.
burnt, 50, 55, 582-583.
confiscated, 565 566.
declared hostile to Christianity,

444-445-
defended, 234, 238, 442-443, 657.
denounced, 213, 425-426, 439, 549-
. 55°. 563 564-
interdicted by popes, 215-216, 251,

565-566, 659.
permitted by Sixtus V, 658.
permitted to appear under another

name, 589.
printed, 468, 589.
threatened, 141, 427-428.
used by controversialists, 142.
Talmud, study of the, by Karaites,
269.
by Portuguese Marranos, 485.
in Prance, 133.
in Germany, 96, 134, 227.
in Jerusalem, 74.
in Padua, 410.
in Poland, 420, 634-641.
in Prague, 418.
in Safet, 399.
in Spain, 86, 144, 229-230.
neglected, 653.
spread by Asheri, 87, 88.
Talmud Torah, Hebrew institute in

Amsterdam, 681-682.
Talmud Torah, Jewish synagogue

at Hamburg, 689.
Tam, college of, dispersed, 48.
Tam, Jacob, alluded to, 609.
Tamar as a character in Immanuel

Romi's work, 67.
Tamarica, Jews of, 693.
Tamarite, Jews of, converted, 214.
Tangier taken by Alfonso V, 286.
Targum, the, not authoritative, 237.
Tavs (Tus\ Jacob, translator of the

Pentateuch into Persian, 401.
Taytasak, Jacob, scholar, 496.
Taytasak, Joseph, Kabbalist and

Talmudist, 405, 506.
Tekanoth Shum, decisions of Spey-
er, Worms and Mayence, 135.
Ten tribes, supposed home of, 4.
Teneo, Jews settle in, 197.
Teruel opposes the Inquisition, 328.
Terza rima introduced into Hebrew

poetry, 65.
Testaments, Old and New, con-
trasted, 540-541. See also Bible,
the
Teutonic knights defeat Casimir
IV, 266.

Texeira, Diego, de Mattos, promi-
nent in Hamburg, 690-691.
Thebes, Spanish exiles in, 406.
Themudo, George, spies upon the

Portuguese Marranos, 489.
"Theorica," work by Frohbach, 638.
Thirty Years' War, the, and the

Jews, 701-702, 707.
Thuringia, Jews of, slaughtered,

109, 225.
Tibbon. See Jacob ben Machir,

and Judah ben Moses.
Tibbonides, party opposed to Abba-
Mari, 32-33, 50.
defend Maimuni, 41, 42.
issue a ban, 40-41.
Tiberias given to Joseph Nassi,

596, 610-61 1.
Tiberinus, Matthias, and Simon of

Trent, 298.
Tilly, general, alluded to, 701.
Tirado, Jacob, and Marrano fugi-
tives, 664-665, 666, 667.
Tlem9en, Jews in, 390.

Jews settle in, 197.
Tob-Elem, Joseph, author of a com-
mentary, 144.
Tobias, a physician of Trent, 297.
Todros, of Beaucaire, ally of Abba-

Mari, 31.
Tokat, Jews of, charged with mur-
der, 553.
Spanisli exiles in, 405.
Toledo, autos-da-fe at, 332.
Black Death in, 113.
Inquisition at, 325.
Toledo, Jews of, Arabic scholars,
60.
faithful to Pedro the Cruel, 124.
1 ^rsecuted, 118, 169.
buffer during the civil war, 126,

136-137.
uncultured, 140, 142.
Toledo, Kabbalistic center, i.
rabbis of, asked to betray Mar-
ranos, 335-336.
supposed center of poisoners, loi,

loa.
synagogue at, 119 120, 354.
Tongern, Arnold of, theologian, 424,

450.
Toro, fortress in Castile, 118.
cortes of, hostile to Jews, 138-139.
Jews of, baptized, 205.
Torquemada, de, Thomas, inquisi-
tor-general of Spain 324, 336,

343. 346. ,353'. 355-
appointed inquisitor, 319
expels Jewish bishops, 333.

INDEX.

74«

fears of, 356.

forbids Christians to help exiled

Jews 350.
influences Isabella of Castile,3io.
institutes Inquisition tribunals,

325-
publishes an Inquisition code,

326-328.
quoted, 348.

separates Jews and Marranos,
335-336.
Tostosa, Jews of, converted, 206.

religious disputation at, 207-216.
Tossafists, Talmud commentators,

133-

Tossafoth Yom-Tob, work by Lip-
mann Heller, 704.

" Touchstone," satire by Kalony-
mos ben Kalonymos, 62-63.

Toulouse, Jews of, converted, 48,
56.
massacred by the Shepherds, 56.
protected, 176.

Transformation, Kabbalistic term,
619.

Transmigration of souls by Lurya,
619 622.

Trani, di, Moses, rabbi at Safet,
540, 580.

'' Treatises of the Righteous Breth-
ren," an Arabic cyclopedia, 62.

"Tree of Life, The," Karaite philo-
sophic work, 95.

Trent, council of, and the Talmud,
589.
Jews of, charged with the blood-
accusation, 297-299.

Tria, Spanish exiles in, 405.

" Trial of the World," poem by Ye-
daya Bedaresi, 49.

Triana, the Inquisition in, 314.

Triest, Isaac, Jewish advocate at
the imperial court, 436-437.

Tripoli, Jews in, 389.

Troki, Isaac ben Abraham, contro-
versialist, 648-649.

Troki, Karaites of, well treated by
Casimir IV, 265.

Troyes, college of, dispersed, 48.

Tsiruf, Kabbalistic term, 5.

Tudela, Jews of, baptized, 358.
persecuted, 78.

Tudela refuses to give up Marra-
nos, 357.

Tunis, Marranos emigrate to, 179.

Turim (Tur), code of Jacob ben
Asheri, 88-90.

Turkey, a refuge for Jews, 271-273.
Jews in, 529.

Turkey, Jews of, commerce, 579.

culture, 607-610.

judicial autonomy, 330.

prosperity, 400 402, 593, 607.

spiritual condition, 627.
Turkey, Jews settle in, 352, 544.

Spanish exiles in, 364, 400-405.
Tuscany, Jews of, protected, 297.

Jews received in, 659.
Tyrol, the, Jews of, persecuted
297-299.

Ueberlingen, Jews of, chained with
the blood-accusation, 227.
persecuted, 105.
Ulm, conference at, 166.
Jews of, banished, 416.
Unitarians, 541-542, 647-648.
Universities, and the Reuchlin-Pfef-
ferkom case, 459-460.
and the confiscation of Hebrew
books, 437, 441, 444-445.
Uranso, de, Vidal, assassin of Ar-

bues, 330.
Urban V, pope, quoted, 126.
Usque, Abraham, and Gracia Men-
desia, 576.
press of, closed, 581.
translates the Bible, 475.
Usque, Samuel, historian, work of,
558 561.
quoted, 324-325, 380, 405, 409,
522. 575-576.
Usque, Solomon (Duarte Gomez),

poet, 558.
Usury countenanced in Italy, 286.
encouraged by Alfonso XI, 80.
in France, 174.

legislated against in Castile, 139.
Uziel, Isaac, rabbi at Amsterdam,
672, 680, 682, 683, 689.

Vaad Arba Arazoth, Synods of the
Four Countries, 643-645.

Valavigny, tortured on the charge
of poisoning, 104.

" Vale of Weeping," by Joseph
Cohen, 590, 608.

Valencia, count of, arranges an
anti-Jewish code, 278.

Valencia, Jews of, accused of child-
murder, 344.
converted, 171, 205, 206.
invested with criminal jurisdic-

diction, 155.
persecuted, 170-17 1.

Valencia, revolts against the Inqu>-
sition, 328.

742

INDEX.

Valladolid,cortes of, petition against
Jews, ii6.

against usurers, 80.
ValTadolid, Jews of, baptized, 205.

dispute witli Alfonso Burgensis,

83-
plundered, 125.
Valladolid, Marranos attacked in,

280.
Vayol, Hans, convert, maligns Is-
rael Bruna, 302, 303.
Vaz, Diego, assassin of Henrique

Nunes, 490.
Vecinho, Joseph, physician to Joao

11, of Portugal, 367.
Vega, Judah, rabbi at Amsterdam,

680.
Velasquez de Tordesillas, bishop,

arrests Jews, 195.
Venaissin, Jews of, expelled, 592.

protected, 177.
Venice, and Jewish emigrants, 274.
and Joseph Nassi, 599-601.
and Solomon Ashkenazi, 605-607.
commerce of, 285.
Jews of, in the Ghetto, 408.
protects the Jews, 297, 299.
Verdun, refuge for Jews, 56.
Viana, Jews of, persecuted, 78.
Vidal V Maestro). See NarlSoni.
Vidal ben Benveniste Ibn-Labi.
See Ibn-Labi, Vidal ben Ben-
veniste.
Vidal Menachem ben Solomon

Meiri, rabbi, 26-27.
Vieira, Antonio, quoted, 683.
Vienna, Jews of, blood-accusation
against, 223.
commit suicide, no.
during the Thirty Years' War,

702-703.
protected, 99.
Villadiego, Jews of, annihilated,

125-
Villareal, Inquisition at, 325.
Villaris, treasurer of Ferdmand and

Isabella, 344.
Viseu, de, Jose, physician, 367.
Vitoria, Jews of, prepare for exile,

352-
lacks physicians, 353.

Waldenses, alluded to, 222.

Weil, Jacob, partisan of Israel
Bruna, 302, 303.

Weil, Moses, German rabbi at Am-
sterdam, 68 1.

Weissenfels, delegates to synod of,
attacked, 163-164.

I Wenceslaus, emperor, and the Jews,
1 164-166.

"White Company," enlisted by

I Henry of Trastamare, 122, 123.

Widmannstadt, disciple of Reuch-

lin, 434.
William 1, of Orange, and Joseph
Nassi, 601.
friendly to Jews, 663, 678.
William II, of Orange, friendly to

Jews, O78.
Witold, duke of Lithuania, friendly

to Karaites, 265.
Wolfkan, of Ratisbon, and Simon

of Trent, 298, 304.
" Wonderful Word, The," work by

Reuchlin, 433.
Worms, decisions of, 135.
Worms, Jews of, commit suicide,
108-109.
in the seventeenth century, 694-

695.
persecuted, 698-700.
threatened, 463 -464.
Worms, synod at, 452-453.
Wurzburg, Jews of, persecuted, 35,

no.
Wycliffe, alluded to, 202, 221.

Ximenes de Cisneros, inquisitov
general, 484.

"Year of Penitence," preparation
for the Messiah, 483.

Yechiel of Pisa, banker, 286-287,
297. 340.
sons of, help Jewish exiles, 360.

Yedaya En-Bonet. See Bedfaresi,
Yedaya En-Bonet ben Abra-
ham.

Zacharias, founder of a sect, 633.
Zacuto. See Lusitano, Abraham

Zacuto.
Zacuto, Abraham, astronomer, 367,
407, 678.
astrologer to Manoel, of Portugal,

372, 378.
at funis, 391, 392.
chronicle by, 391, 608, 609.
pronounces the funeral oration
over Isaac Aboab, 366.
Zacuto, Moses, Kabbalist, 682.
Zacuto, Samuel, son of Abraham

Zacuto, 378.
Zahringen, council of, and the poi-
son made by Jews, 108.
Zamora, council of, hostile to Jews,
52-

INDEX.

743

Jews of, baptized, 205.

Zapateiro, Joseph, Portuguese trav-
eler, 368.

Zarfati, Isaac, quoted, 271-273.

Zarfati, Simon, physician, 408.

Zarfati, Solomon ben Abraham,
Talmudist, 144. 162, 171.

Zarko, Jehuda, Hebrew poet, 609.

Zarzel, Moses, poem by, 190.

Zaslaw,meeting-place of Talmudists,
640.

Zealand refuses Marranos, 663.

" Zeda la-Derech," work by Me-
nachem ben Zerach, 145.

Zemach ben Gershon, Alordecai, in-
tercedes for the Jews of Prague,
586-587.

Zemach David, chronicle by David
Gans, 638.

Zicareo, character in Samuel Us-
que's " Consolation," 558.

Zion, Jonathan Levi, Jewish advo-
cate at the imperial court, 436-

. 437
Zisca, Hussite hero, 225, 226.
Zofingen, Jews of. persecuted, 105
Zohar, the, Kabbalistic book, 11-24..
196, 622.

and Lurya's system, 618-619.

author, 12 14.

Christian doctrines in, 23.

doctrines of, 14-18.

Messianic speculations. 18-19.

on the Index expurgatorius, 584.

printed in Mantua, 583.

spuriousness, 20-21, 292.
Zosina, adherent of a Judaizing sect

633-
Zurich, Jews of. accused of poisoc

ing the wells, 105.
Ziitphen, counselor of Alva, 662.
Zwingli and the Reformation, 469.

Graetz DS

117

History of the Jews .G82 '

V.4