BOOK XII. CONCERNING THE PREVENTION OF OFFICIAL OPPRESSION, AND THE THOROUGH EXTINCTION OF HERETICAL SECTS. (continued 2)

FLAVIUS ERVIGIUS, KING.

XXII. Where Anyone has a Jew in his Service, and a Priest Demands him, the Master shall not have a Right to Retain said Jew.

Where anyone of the laity has a Hebrew man or woman in his service, or under his protection, and by the exertion of his authority deprives them of the privilege of resorting at any time, to the bishop or the priest, or prevents them from going, for the sake of instruction, to ecclesiastics, on the days appointed for that purpose, he shall be excommunicated by the bishop, and be deprived of said slave which he attempted to restrain illegally, and for every slave so restrained he shall pay three pounds of gold to the king.

XXIII. All Restraint of and Control over the Jews shall be Vested in the Priesthood.

Those who are charged with the enforcement of our laws, and the infliction of punishment upon infidels, are earnestly exhorted to fulfil the duty imposed upon them by Divine authority; for the Holy Spirit, whose truth is coextensive with the world, has said “Priests shall sit in My judgment seat, and shall judge according to My laws and precepts.” We decree that, hereafter, priests shall observe whatever is included in our laws and that they shall not suffer a Jew to be protected by anyone in the practice of his rites, but that all such Jews shall be exempt from the favor of those by whom they are shielded; and that said priests shall diligently take measures to bring all Jews under the control of the Church, for the sake of their salvation, which is the duty of all Catholic ecclesiastics; and that it will be their earnest care not to grow lukewarm in the enforcement of any of our laws aforesaid.

XXIV. Concerning the Penalties to be Imposed upon Priests and Judges who Neglect to Enforce the Laws against the Jews.

The priests of our Holy Church must exercise due and pious care lest they be held responsible for the transgressions of the people. For what profit is there, where one is not punished for his own sin, but still can be punished for the sin of another? Therefore, to correct the negligence of such persons, we hereby decree that if any bishop, influenced by avarice or malice, should be lukewarm in the enforcement of the laws enacted against the Jews, to wit: that where any errors of that perfidious sect have been detected by him, or where he has received information of them, and it appears that he neglected to correct said errors, he shall be excommunicated for the space of three months, and shall forfeit a pound of gold to the royal treasury; and, if he should not have the means to make such pecuniary reparation, he shall be excommunicated for the space of six months; and, for the purpose of making amends for the negligence of said bishop, any other bishop who is zealous in the cause of God, shall have authority to correct the errors of said perfidious Jews, which the former bishop neglected to correct, as aforesaid. And if, through deceit, negligence, or lukewarmness, the other bishop should hesitate, or procrastinate, in discharging the duty imposed upon him, his inactivity shall be punished, and the errors of the perfidious Jews be corrected by order of the king. This rule shall also, in every respect, apply to, and be observed by, all other ecclesiastics, as well as bishops; that is to say, priests, deacons and clerks, upon any of whom the duty of restraining infidels has been imposed by the bishop. And all judges who are informed of such crimes, or who shall, themselves, discover them, and do not at once punish them, as prescribed by law, shall each pay a pound of gold to the public treasury, as has been provided in the case of bishops. Nevertheless, priests, judges or other officials who have been invested with authority, shall not be liable to the aforesaid penalties, if they can prove that they were prevented, by command of the king, from proceeding against the Jews.

ERVIGIUS, KING.

XXV. No Judge shall Presume to Investigate the Offences of the Jews without the Knowledge of an Ecclesiastic.

No judge shall decide a cause involving the transgressions of the perfidious Jews, unless an ecclesiastic be present, lest, by the acceptance of a bribe, the Holy Faith of the Church be stained by avarice; but, as is frequently the case, where no ecclesiastic is present, the judge is authorized to proceed without him. If, however, the bishop should be absent, whether near at hand, or at a distance, he may leave a priest to act in his stead, who will co-operate with the judge in the enforcement of these laws, without any remuneration whatever.

XXVI. Bishops shall be Immune from Punishment, when their Priests do not Inform them of Such Things as Should be Corrected.

As soon as the priests, deacons, or other members of the clerical order, and all judges, vested with authority, throughout the different provinces of the kingdom, ascertain that a body of Jews is within their jurisdiction, they must not delay to place said Jews under coercion and restraint, as required by our laws; and all errors which said Jews are unwilling to renounce, shall be brought to the knowledge of the king and the bishop, in order that they may be corrected; and if a Jew should give information of the same to the bishop, he shall not be subject to punishment for any similar offence of which he may be guilty. No bishop shall be liable to discipline for neglect, when notice of the offence was not given him by his subordinates.

ERVIGIUS, KING.

XXVII. Concerning the Mercy to be Shown by Princes towards Those who have been Truly Converted to the Christian Faith.

The foregoing laws having been framed by us with care and diligence, and having attempted in them to adapt the punishment to the guilt of the offender, as, for instance, where we have sentenced certain of them to lose their property, and be driven into exile, we now hereby reserve the following privileges of mercy for ourselves, and our successors, to wit: that if any Jew, after having been ensnared by the devil, should come to his senses, and profess belief in the Holy Trinity; and the priests or judges of the diocese or district in which he lives, should establish the fact by their testimony; and the works of said Jew should correspond with his professions; in such cases the prerogative of mercy may be exercised by ourselves, and our successors; that is to say, after the confession and oath of said Jew has been made, and the evidence has been submitted to the king, the latter shall have authority to return his property to said Jew, and to recall him from exile. If, however, any such Jew, after having professed himself to be a Christian, should return to the vomit of his error, he shall be condemned to punishment, without any hope of pardon; and said punishment shall be proportionate to the proof of his hypocrisy, and the degree of his guilt, and whether he undergoes a capital penalty, or one of less severity, no mercy shall, under any circumstances, be shown him.

XXVIII. Bishops shall Give to all Jews a Copy of this Book, which has been Published for the Purpose of Correcting their Errors; and their Confessions and a Record of their Conversion, shall be Deposited among the Archives of the Church.

The perversity of a deceitful mind is accustomed to make use of the pretence of ignorance, when it asserts that it has no knowledge of the law, and declares that it is exempt from punishment because it is ignorant of the New Testament. Now, for the purpose of removing this false and malicious excuse, we hereby order all bishops and priests to explain to the Jews within their jurisdiction, the decrees which we have heretofore promulgated concerning their perfidy; and also, to give them a copy of this book, which is ordinarily read to them publicly, in the congregations of the Church, and which they must always carry with them as evidence of their instruction. And if, after this book shall have been read to them publicly as aforesaid, or given into their hands, any of them should claim that he was not present when it was read, or should assert that he is ignorant of the laws contained therein, no excuse of his shall be thereafter received; but if, ever subsequently, he should be detected in the breach of any of said laws, under no circumstances shall he escape punishment for the same. And we add to this law, as being a necessary part of it that all written confessions and agreements which any Jew, at any time, has delivered to his priest, shall be carefully preserved by the latter, among the archives of his church, in order that it may be evidence against any Jew who may thereafter venture to resume the practice of his impious rites.