resulted in complaints about Jewish money- lending to “some rich Christian speculators”. 30
This included Eleanor, and thus was political, as this resulted in the complete outlawing of
Jewish money- lending. It can be judged, that Eleanor’s actions of usurping property from
Christians through Jewish money-lenders contributed to their 1290 expulsion, as it attracted
anger, tension and resentment.
The Pope, as head of the Catholic church, has always been a constant for people and
has served as an influential source of authority. Their ideas impacted Catholics… and English
Jews too. It can be concurred that their antisemitic notions contributed to the expulsion.
Pope Innocent III (1161-1216) is a key example. Eli Kavon writes that he was the most
powerful medieval pope and was also known for his glaring anti-Semitism. 31 He was
outraged to learn of Jewish money- lending in France as he claimed that this “ran counter to
the ideals of Christian theology” that believed that Jews, the supposed ‘Christ - killers’,
should instead be “humiliated wanderers who could not gain control over Christians”. 32
Pope Innocent wrote in response to this that the “Jews [had] become so insolent by means
of their vicious usury, through which they [extorted] not only usury but even usury on
usury”. 33 In 1215, he issued reformatory decrees, some of whom were directly aimed at
Jewish people. One was related to usury and stated that to ensure “Christians are not
savagely oppressed by Jews”. They were not to extort exorbitant interest from Christian
people, and if they did, they should be segregated. 34
30 Cockerill, p. 269. 31 Eli Kavon, Pope Innocent III: Theology vs. reality (2016), <https://www.jpost.com/opinion/pope-innocent-iii- theology-vs-reality-454796> [accessed 17 th November 2023] (para. 1 of 12). 32 Kavon, para. 4 of 12. 33 Kavon, para. 4 of 12. 34 The Papal Encyclicals Online, Fourth Lateran Council: 1215 (1215 A.D.), <https://www.papalencyclicals.net/councils/ecum12-2.htm#67> [accessed 20 th November 2023] (para. 75 of 79).
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