Medieval Period Papal Bull's Regulations Covered Jewish Essay

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medieval period papal bull's regulations covered Jewish behavior, lifestyle, and [clothing] living areas. What mentality? Catholic Church response gentile population time period?

Medieval period papal bulls and other regulations covered Jewish behavior, lifestyle, clothing and living areas

The medieval papal bulls issued regarding the Jews during the Middle Ages did occasionally protect Jewish rights, such as the bull in 1205 by Innocent III which issued the statement that Jews should not be forced to convert, a radical notion at the time. However, Jews were still prohibited from dining with Christians and owning Christian slaves, underlining their unequal status ("Bulls, Papal," Encyclopaedia Judaica, 2008). Other papal bulls seemed to feed the fires of anti-Semitism such as the 1218 bull of Honorarius III which forced Jews to wear clothing that marked them as separate from Christians and demanded that Jews pay a tithe (ten percent of their income) to the local church where they lived ("Bulls, Papal," Encyclopaedia Judaica, 2008).

Jews were effectively treated as 'the other' -- occasionally tolerated but never allowed to forget that they were strangers in a strange land, living in areas dominated by Christians. While officially Jews were citizens of the Roman Empire in the ancient world, Jews in Christendom "were treated under the law as resident foreigners.

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They lived under the protection of the King, yet this also meant that they were vulnerable to his whim" (Konop, Muller, & Risley, "Jews"). Sometimes Jews would be treated well when it economically benefitted the crown; other times Jews were used as scapegoats to divert the populace's attention in regards to unpopular policies of the king.

Because Jews could not take oaths or own slaves (serfs) they were cut off "from the feudal and manorial systems. Thus, the only occupations available to them were those of artisans, traders, or money lenders" (Konop, Muller, & Risley, "Jews"). Jews were also later excluded from the guilds, disenfranchising Jewish artisans. "These changes meant that Jewish traders and money lenders began to hold more important positions in society. And it was at this time -- when Jews' religious differences were compounded with growing social and economic influence-- that they began to be seriously persecuted" (Konop, Muller, & Risley, "Jews"). Poorer Christian members of medieval society resented Jews and directing commoner's hatred against social inequality against the Jews was….....

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