This document fragment, from the British Library, and part of the International Dunhuang Project, is one of the oldest items of Jewish history in Britain. It was discovered by Sir Aurel Stein at Dandan-Uiliq in 1901. A group of his workmen were indulging in some independent ‘treasure-seeking’ after the completion of formal excavations at Dandan-Uiliq, the site of a former Buddhist monastery and Imperial garrison located to the northeast of Khotan between the Khotan and Keriya rivers in what is now the autonomous region of Xinjiang in China. While searching the debris left in the sand outside the broken east wall of an ancient dwelling-house, they came across a document which Stein described:

as it then presented itself, was a lump of thin brownish paper, so closely crumpled up that in the absence of proper appliances I found it quite impossible to attempt its opening and unfolding. Only where one edge of the paper could be partially loosened was I able to make out some characters which manifestly looked like cursive Hebrew.

The document was provisionally dated to the end of the eighth century when the site was abandoned, and this dating was confirmed by an analysis of the paper by Professor J. Wiesner which found that the structure was indistinguishable from the paper of Chinese documents found at Dandan Uiliq, dating from between 781 and 790.

The letter proved to be written in Judaeo-Persian, i.e. Persian written in Hebrew script. However since the beginning and end of each line was missing, there was only a limited amount of contextual information to be deduced (for an edition and translation see Utas, 1968 below). Mention of sheep trading and cloth indicates the document’s commercial nature and a reference to the author having written “more than 20 letters[1]” attests perhaps to a thriving trade. There is also an intriguing request for a harp required for instructing a girl how to play.

Text adapted from this post by Ursula Sims-Williams.

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British Library’s Hebrew collection

Cultural | Historical DocumentsPartially online

The British Library’s Hebrew collection is held within the British Library, Britain’s national library. It is open to researchers and contains a […]

This incredibly rare York document, from the Hull History Centre / Hull University Archives / Wickham-Boynton family, is a commodity bond produced following the implementation of the Statute of the Jewry (1275).

The document is an acknowledgement of debt: John Sybry son of Alan Sybry of York to Bonamious son of Jocey, a Jew of York, c.1285. A sack of good wool or 10 marks, whichever Bonamious chooses, in return for a certain sum given by Bonamious to John Sybry. It was to be paid at Purification (2 February 1285/6). Sir John de Thweng, lord of Corneburg, stands surety. The document was witnessed by Gervase Clifton then sheriff of York, John Sampson. Seal, armorial, damaged.

It includes a Hebrew endorsement on the dorse or reverse side of the parchment.

The Statute of the Jewry (Statutum de Judaismo, 1275) was a statute issued by Edward I of England in 1275. It placed a number of restrictions on Jews of England, most notably outlawing the practice of usury.

From Wikipedia:

“Since the time of the Norman conquest, Jews had been filling a small but vital role in the English economy. Usury by Christians was banned by the Catholic Church at the time, but Jews were permitted to act as moneylenders and bankers. That position enabled some Jews to amass tremendous wealth, but also earned them the enmity of the English populace, which added to the increasing antisemitic sentiments of the time, due to widespread indebtedness and financial ruin among the gentile population.

Edward I returned from the Crusades in 1274, two years after his accession as King of England, and found that land had become a commodity, and that many of his subjects had become dispossessed and were in danger of destitution. Jews traded land for money, and land was often mortgaged to Jewish moneylenders. In January 1275 Edward’s mother, the Queen Dowager Eleanor of Provence, expelled the Jews from all of her lands, a precursor to the Statute.

As special direct subjects of the monarch, Jews could be taxed indiscriminately by the King. Some have described the situation as indirect usury: the monarch permitting and encouraging Jews to practise usury and then taxing the profit. In the years leading up to the Statute, Edward taxed them heavily to help finance his forthcoming military campaigns in Wales, which commenced in 1277. One theory holds that he had exhausted the financial resources of the Jewish community when the Statute was passed in 1275.“

Jewish moneylending continued nevertheless, as this document testifies. Fifteen years later, in 1290, Edward I issued the Edict of Expulsion and Jews were expelled from England.

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Hidden Treasures: Celebrating the documents, photos and artefacts in British archives that tell the story of Jews in Britain

Hull History Centre

Communal Records | Historical Documents | Local HistoryNot online

The Hull History Centre is a partnership between Hull City Council and the University of Hull. It is open to the public […]

Victor Weisz’s Lamp Garden Cartoon

Letter from political cartoonist ‘Vicky’ to his wife • Hull History Centre

Menasseh Ben Israel’s petition to Oliver Cromwell

1655 petition for Jews to be allowed to set up places of worship

This grotesque cartoon from The National Archives is a detail from a 1233 receipt roll from Norwich. It depicts Mosse Mokke in league with the Devil and leaves little doubt about how the Jews of Norwich were viewed at the time (E 401/1565).

The receipt roll was for the heavy taxation (tallage) of Issac fil Jurnet in Norwich. Isaac is drawn as a three-faced devil at the top of the image. Another devil, named as Colbif touches Mosse Mokke, Isaac’s debt collector (in his identifying spiked hat), and Mosse’s wife Avegaye. All the Jews in the image were accused of charging excessive interest on loans. Mosse Mokke was executed for coin-clipping in 1240.

Once William I invited Jewish merchants into England after 1066, they became collective property of the crown. King John confirmed much earlier liberties for the Jews in 1207.

In return for such rights and protections, England’s rulers exploited the Jewish privilege to lend money at interest. Many early deeds suggest a largely productive business relationship between Jews and Christians. However, as the wealth of individual Jewish merchants grew, the crown targeted the entire community to fund warfare and to boost tax income. The wider population also followed this lead and agitated against the growing levels of debt owed to Jewish creditors. A deteriorating relationship between the two communities is suggested by the rise in reported anti-Semitic incidents from the 1230s onwards.

Read more about Medieval Jewish history seen through the prism of the National Archive’s collection in this fascinating blog by Dr Sean Cunningham.

Discover more Hidden Treasures

Hidden Treasures: Celebrating the documents, photos and artefacts in British archives that tell the story of Jews in Britain

The National Archives

Commercial | Family History | Historical Documents | Holocaust | ImmigrationPartially online

The National Archives are the official archive and publisher for the UK Government, located in Kew, South West London. They hold documents […]

‘Aaron, Son of the Devil’

A doodle from the margin of a legal document, 1277 • The National Archives

Menasseh Ben Israel’s petition to Oliver Cromwell

1655 petition for Jews to be allowed to set up places of worship