Legal Definitions - starr

A starr was a specific type of legal contract used by Jewish communities in medieval England. These historical documents primarily served to formalize agreements, often involving the release from a financial debt or other legal obligation.

A crucial aspect of a starr, established by King Richard I, was that it was only considered legally valid and enforceable if it was officially registered and stored in designated government archives. The most significant of these official repositories was located within the king's Exchequer at Westminster. This requirement ensured that these important agreements were formally recorded, providing a verifiable record and preventing disputes within the legal framework of the time.

• Example 1: Release from a Loan Obligation

  Imagine a scenario in 12th-century England where a Christian knight owed a substantial sum of money to a Jewish moneylender. After a period, the moneylender, perhaps due to a new agreement or a partial repayment, decided to formally release the knight from the remaining debt. To make this release legally binding and prevent any future claims, they would have drafted a starr. This document, detailing the release from the financial obligation, would then have to be deposited in an official repository, such as the king's Exchequer, to ensure its validity and official recognition by the crown.

• Example 2: Termination of a Property Lease

  Consider a Jewish merchant who had leased a plot of land from a local baron for a set number of years. If, for various reasons, both parties later agreed to terminate the lease agreement earlier than planned, they would formalize this mutual decision with a starr. This contract would explicitly state the release of both the merchant from their rental obligations and the baron from their landlord duties. For this early termination to be legally sound and recorded for posterity, the starr would need to be officially filed in one of the designated royal repositories.

• Example 3: Release of a Surety or Guarantor

  Suppose a Jewish individual acted as a guarantor for a loan taken by a neighbor from another lender. This meant they were legally responsible if the neighbor defaulted on the debt. Once the neighbor successfully repaid the entire loan, the guarantor would seek a formal release from their obligation. A starr would be created to document this release from their surety. By ensuring this starr was officially lodged in a royal archive, the guarantor would have irrefutable proof that their legal responsibility for the loan had been officially terminated, protecting them from any future claims related to that debt.