Legal Definitions - capitula de judaeis

Capitula de Judaeis is a historical Latin term referring to specific legal provisions and administrative practices in medieval England concerning Jewish communities. It encompasses two primary aspects:

• Laws and Regulations: These were statutes, decrees, or royal ordinances specifically enacted to govern the lives, activities, and rights of Jewish people within the kingdom.
• Inquiries by Royal Justices: This also refers to sets of questions posed by traveling royal judges (known as justices in eyre) during their circuits. The purpose of these inquiries was often to assess the financial contributions Jewish individuals or communities would be required to pay to the Crown in exchange for royal protection and the right to conduct business.

These measures often reflected the discriminatory policies prevalent in medieval England, serving both to regulate Jewish life and to generate revenue for the Crown.

Examples:

• Imagine a royal decree issued in 13th-century England that prohibited Jewish individuals from holding public office or from owning land outside of designated urban areas. This decree, which specifically targeted and restricted the social and economic activities of the Jewish population, would be considered an example of capitula de Judaeis because it represents a specific law enacted by the Crown to govern their lives.

• Consider a scenario where a royal justice visits a provincial town and convenes a special session. During this session, Jewish merchants and moneylenders are summoned and presented with a series of detailed questions designed to ascertain their wealth, the value of their businesses, and the extent of their financial transactions. Based on their answers, the justice then levies a specific, often substantial, sum that each merchant must pay to the king to continue operating their business and ensure their safety under royal authority. This process of questioning and assessment for taxation and protection falls directly under the historical meaning of capitula de Judaeis.

• Suppose a new set of rules was introduced requiring all Jewish lenders to register their bonds and contracts with a royal official and pay a significant fee for each transaction. Furthermore, these rules might specify that any disputes involving these contracts must be heard exclusively in royal courts, with a portion of any recovered debt going directly to the Crown. This combination of specific legal requirements for business activities and financial obligations, enforced by royal authority, exemplifies the capitula de Judaeis as both a set of restrictive laws and a mechanism for royal revenue generation from Jewish communities.