Jews and the Growth of Urban Europe in the Early Middle Ages

Historians have cited the development of trade networks, the re-establishment of an artisan class and an increase in food surplus as contributing factors towards the re-establishment of old, and creation of new towns and cities after the year 1000 C.E. What is not mentioned; although slightly hinted, is a hidden factor which also led to this urban growth; namely the vast number of Jews who contributed to this vibrancy of the early middle ages. These Jews participated, through their choice in professions; namely banking and forming trading relationships with powerful nobles and rulers from the Iberian Peninsula to central Asia. Through their professions, the Jews of the early middle ages helped create an influx of commerce and prosperity that set in motion the process of regaining that sense of urbanity that had been lost with the decline of the Roman Empire.

With the rise of surplus; resulting from advances in agriculture and opening of trade routes after the year 1000 C.E., came an increase in wealth, the likes of which had not been seen since the peak of the Roman Empire. This would soon lead to the creation of a merchant banking class made up of book keepers and money lenders; who paid for building projects and private ventures of the upper echelons of medieval European society. Many of these bankers were Jews, who would help finance some of the great families and building projects of the middle ages. Usury (the act of charging interest on loans), was seen as being contradictory to Catholic doctrine because it involved the creation of something (money) out of nothing, which according to the Roman Catholic faith, was a power which was only possessed by God, making it heretical for Christians to be money lenders[1]. Although there were some Christian bankers, many more Jews slowly began to take up the profession. Jewish lenders had several advantages over Christian lenders which made them invaluable to medieval urban areas1. For instance, Jews preferred using "liquid" assets in the form of pawned items and cash rather then hard material wealth. Another factor which made Jewish lenders beneficial was (ironically) a Jewry law, which prohibited Jews from investing money on large amounts of land. With this law in place and many Jews already living in urban centers, they were almost immune to droughts, raids and famine which would have decimated the material wealth of their Christian counterparts; their immunity to these negative factors allowed the Jews to have better control over their money. Finally the strong family ties Jews kept with relatives in other areas allowed borrowers external sources of credit when the local economy was failing. It was because of these advantages that Jewish lenders were seen as important contributors to the growth of early medieval towns.

One town that saw considerable economic growth during the medieval period with the exclusive help of Jewish lenders was Perpignan (located in present day south eastern Spain). Perpignan was unique in that the Jewish community counted for 5 percent of the population and 80 percent of the Jewry were money lenders[2]. The families living within the Jewish community made a living for themselves off facilitating transactions not just with the upper classes, but with all classes of Christians; especially drapers and weavers2.

Although the case of Perpignan could be considered an exaggeration of the Jewish role in medieval European towns, it nonetheless shows how Jews helped facilitate the transaction of wealth to people who needed it the most. Whether it was a bishop who needed money to finance the building of a new church, or a peasant wishing to borrow a loan to pay rent, Jewish moneylenders played a crucial part in urban life and made them the preferred choice over their Christian banking counterparts (The Cahorsins), who were often looked down upon with suspicion rather then trust[3]. This idea cannot be summed up in better detail then in the way Florentine representatives would request specifically for Jewish merchants; "the financial distress the paupers experience [is because of] the absence of a Jewish lender".

Jewish moneylenders and bankers weren't the only non-gentiles who contributed to medieval urban life. From the ninth century throughout the medieval period, Jewish traders dominated trade routes from the Iberian Peninsula to central Asia. Trade networks connected by small out posts and towns brought the wealth and ideas of the East to the Europe and trade connections and economic resources from Europe to the East. For example, Jewish merchants from southern France would make frequent journeys to Byzantium and China with "Slaves"* along with furs and fabrics and returned with cartloads of "musk, aloe, wood camphor and other products"*.

Jewish traders were the catalysts for these exchanges and by looking through their records; one can see how important a role these merchants played in developing urban Europe. Jewish merchants had the ability to form strong working partnerships along family ties. This allowed for stronger control over certain trade routes as family members established trading posts along major ports of call, whose combined income would be sent to the main hub of the firm. This practice dates to the 6th century C.E, when Radanite trading families dominated roads leading into central Asia. Merchant Jacob b. Samuel makes the statement that his son and the son of his great aunt should continue to ply the family trade. The fact that Jacob's center of operation was located in Sicily; between the western tip of Italy and the North African city of Tunisia meant that he can use his family ties to control imports and exports to both Ashkenazim and Muslim territories[4]. These networks would play a vital role as they would help spread out the risk of transporting goods among several individuals; reducing the risk of loosing the entire shipment in a freak storm or attack by bandits through dividing it among firm partners2.

Seeing as many Jewish traders were living within or near the bounds of the Muslim (North Africa, Iberian Peninsula, the middle east) and Asian (India, central China) worlds, a wide variety of goods could be made available to the consumers of western Europe. One Tunisian Jewish merchant states that he had bought and sent: 200 brocade robes, 200 slips, 100 pounds of saffron, 264 pounds of cast copper (and a 13 pound crucible to weigh it in), eleven cloaks and several other materials such as raw copper and mercury. Although this merchant dealt with North African merchants, it isn't hard to imagine that a similar trader could bring such wealth into a western European town, port or city through distributing such rare commodities as silks, metals and jewelry and even incense used in Roman Catholic services2. Through easy access to navel and land trade routes and forming strong partnerships, Jewish merchants could bring a wide variety of rare items to the western world; generating wealth in European marketplaces while monopolizing Mediterranean trade. Although their mercantile power waned towards the end of the crusades, these intrepid merchants left their mark on European towns throughout the middle ages.

The influence of Jews on medieval urban life cannot just be seen through letters and ledgers, but also through architecture and urban planning. As a result of their reputations as trusted bankers and well established merchants, medieval towns throughout Europe sought to incorporate Jews into their town so as to generate wealth and commerce. Thus in his charter for the Jewish community in Speyer, the Bishop of writes "When I wished to make a city of my village of Speyer, thought that it would greatly add to its honor if I should establish some Jews in it"[5]. These Jewish communities (or calls)[6], were often walled in to keep Christian mobs from attacking the Jews; who were resented on account of their vast wealth, yet tolerated for the economic benefit they brought to the village. These walled communities can be seen in several towns throughout Europe to this day, especially in towns such as Prague and Barcelona6. The Jews living within the call had their own shops, schools, synagogues and hospitals. In addition to these necessary structures, the Jews had their own leadership, consisting of the local Rabbi who acted in the same position as the mayor of the city5. With their own leadership, the Jews were able to regulate their own taxes, create laws that adjusted to their lifestyle and almost live autonomously from the rest of the city; in short, the Jewish neighborhood in a medieval town was a virtual "city within a city". As mentioned before, these calls were often put in place by the local leading Christian secular or religious authority. Thus an interesting pattern forms, the Jewish call usually resides near the residence of a church, cathedral or palace. Thus the true aim of those such as the Bishop of Speyer can be seen, as the Jewish merchants and bankers who were established in these calls were often looked to for monetary loans to pay for civic and religious structures that would greatly improve the image of the town.

The impact of Jews on the development of medieval towns cannot be emphasized enough. It is through their financial transactions that princes and paupers could gain the necessary funds to fight a war or be reimbursed for a bad harvest. Jewish merchants also played a role in the development of early urban Europe through bringing in the wealth of the east in exchange for selling off the rich resources of the west thus stimulating trade routes around the Mediterannean Sea and the various silk roads leading to Asia. Finally they left an indelible mark in urban Europe through being admitted into Christian cities not as converts, but as economic saviors who through their chosen professions could bring about an era of growth and prosperity for a town. We often think of the medieval world as that separated by Christian and Muslim, lord and serf, however through careful research one can see the medieval world was just as influenced by the Jews as by Christians or Muslims.

Works CitedArkin, Marcus. Aspects of Jewish Economic History. 1st. Philidelphia: Jewish Publication Society of America, 1975.Bisson, Thomas, The Medieval Crown of Aragon (Oxford, 2003), pp. 77-78.Botticini, Maristella. "A Tale of "Benevolent" Governments: Private Credit Markets, Public Finance, and the Role of Jewish Lenders in Medieval and Renaissance Italy." The Journal of Economic History Mar 2000Groitein, S.D.. Letters of Medieval Jewish Traders. 1st. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1973.Halsall, Paul. "Matthew of Paris: The Usury of the Cahorsins, 1235." Medieval Sourcebook. 1998. Internet Medieval Sourcebook. 19, April 2008 .Kowaleski, Maryanne. Medieval Towns: A Reader. Toronto, Canada: Broadview Press, 2006

[1] Botticini, Maristella. "A Tale of "Benevolent" Governments: Private Credit Markets, Public Finance, and the Role of Jewish Lenders in Medieval and Renaissance Italy." The Journal of Economic History Mar 2000

[2] Arkin, Marcus. Aspects of Jewish Economic History. 1st. Philidelphia: Jewish Publication Society of America, 1975.

[3] Halsall, Paul. "Matthew of Paris: The Usury of the Cahorsins, 1235." Medieval Sourcebook. 1998. Internet Medieval Sourcebook. 19, April 2008 .

[4] Groitein, S.D.. Letters of Medieval Jewish Traders. 1st. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1973.5 Kowaleski, Maryanne. Medieval Towns: A Reader. Toronto, Canada: Broadview Press, 20066 Bisson, Thomas, The Medieval Crown of Aragon (Oxford, 2003), pp. 77-78.