Why Were the Jews Expelled From England in 1290?
The Edict of Expulsion issued by King Edward I on July 18, 1290 is one of the most — if not the most — significant events in Anglo-Jewish history as well as a tremendously important event in English history more generally. The exact reasons behind the decree, which was only reversed in 1657 by Oliver Cromwell, have been the subject of historical debate and the topic is, unsurprisingly, a controversial one.
However, in recent years the Edict of Expulsion, alongside other examples of Jews being expelled from various countries (such as France in 1394 and Spain in 1492), has been used to argue in favour of antisemitic sentiments. The logic appears to be that ‘if so many medieval countries persecuted and expelled Jews then they must have done something to deserve it’, the conclusion being that we should do the same (although whether an antisemite would admit that is another matter). The argument obviously makes no sense. There’s simply no logical link between many medieval states taking an action and that action being desirable in today’s world. At worst it’s a completely meaningless argument and at best it’s some kind of botched argument from popularity (a logical fallacy). In fact, since our morals have altered greatly since the Middle Ages, it’s safer to assume that a medieval consensus is probably morally questionable until shown otherwise.
Since the people making it rarely have anything else to say of any value, the argument should really end there. However, another element to consider is the reasons behind the treatment of the Jews and question if these medieval states’ attitudes were always, consistently negative towards them (note that the focus is on the state, not the general population). If we could show that the authorities of states such as England sometimes treated Jews favourably then we can challenge the assumption of the argument and show that the logic of ‘whatever all these states thought about Jews must be right if so many thought it’ is contradictory because the successive opinions of medieval states often conflicted with one another.
