The King's Jews: Money, Massacre and Exodus in Medieval England

In July 1290, Edward I issued writs to the Sheriffs of the English counties ordering them to enforce a decree to expel all Jews from England before All Saints' Day of that year. England became the first country to expel a Jewish minority from its borders. They were allowed to take their portable property but their houses were confiscated by the king. In a highly readable account, Robin Mundill considers the Jews of medieval England as victims of violence (notably the massacre of Shabbat haGadol when York's Jewish community perished at Clifford's Tower) and as a people apart, isolated amidst a hostile environment. The origins of the business world are considered including the fact that the medieval English Jew perfected modern business methods many centuries before its recognised time. What emerges is a picture of a lost society which had much to contribute and yet was turned away in 1290.

Table of Contents:
Introduction \ Chapter 1 : Colonisation and confinement \ Chapter 2 : Jews and the economy \ Chapter 3 : A community within a state? \ Chapter 4 : Saints and martyrs \ Chapter 5 : Christians and Jews \ Chapter 6 : Church and Synagogue \ Chapter 7 : The final phase

About the Author :
Dr Robin R Mundill is Honorary Research Fellow at the School of History at the University of St Andrews and Head of History at Glenalmond College, Perth. He is a member of the Jewish Historical Society of England. An expert on the Jews of  medieval England, he has written books and articles on the subject, and contributed to radio and television documentaries for the BBC and German broadcasters.

Review :
From the author of the acclaimed book on the expulsion of the Jews from England in 1290 we now have a lively account of the Jews of medieval England. From now on no one will have any excuse for not including Jews as an integral part of the history of Norman and Angevin England. The history of medieval English Jews was well-served by earlier scholars, but as more and more evidence has been sifted and as technical scholarship has blossomed over the last several decades, it also became clear that there was a pressing need for a comprehensive new synthesis. With Robin Mundill's eminently readable book this need is addressed head on. The arguments he offers and the insights he provides into the relations of Jews and Christians in medieval England will be the ones the next generation of scholars will have to engage if they are to make further progress on this exciting subject. Mundill's accomplishment is commendable, and his work will constitute a powerful stimulus to further research. Robin Mundill's new book is a very welcome addition to the all-too-short shelf of books dealing with the Jews of medieval England. It reflects Mundill's enviable familiarity with the manuscript and secondary sources, which he weaves into a praiseworthy overview of his subject, and presents a readable picture of how Jews lived in a medieval Christian milieu. Mention in Times Higher Education. Reviewed in Economic History Review The King's Jews is the product of much research and contains much information of interest and value. Even experts in the field will encounter characters and cases they did not know. The current volume [of this book], with maps and illustrations as well as glossary, abbreviations, details of money, extensive endnoters, manuscript sources, bibliography and index, summarizes in a vivid but basically sound fashion what is known about the Jewish immigration and the spread of the resultant settlements in England, the manner in which Jews made their living and some amassed extensive properties and huge capital, and the relationship between the monarch and the Jews. It is a sad and sorry tale but is well worth the retelling. There is no better guide than Robin Mundill ... It is a fascinating chapter in English history and Mundill does it full justice. '[A] fascinating vision of the Middle Ages ... lively and engaging.' ‘Mr Mundill gives us a good survey based on a mastery of surviving records.' ‘The author, who is well versed in both the primary and secondary sources of his subject, writes interestingly about the Jewish population... Overall, this is a useful book.' ‘The King's Jews is written with verve and enthusiasm, clarity and balance. It provides an excellent starting-point for those wishing to understand not only the factual, historical details of the Jew's lives, but also the complicated, intricate relationship they had with the communities from whom they would ultimately be expelled.' Robin Mundill's fine volume is an overview for the general reader of a great deal of innovative scholarship from the last twenty-five years on Christian-Jewish relations in England.