Seventh Partida, Title XXIV: Concerning the Jews
Translator’s Note: This is a translation of Las Siete Partidas (c. 1265), the legal code compiled under King Alfonso X of Castile. Title XXIV of the Seventh Partida deals with the legal status, rights, and restrictions imposed on Jewish communities living under Christian rule. The text reflects medieval Castilian law and theology and is presented here as a historical document. All footnoted manuscript variants (from the Royal Academy and Escorial manuscript traditions) are noted in brackets where significant.
Preamble
Jews are a type of people who, though they do not believe in the faith of Our Lord Jesus Christ, have always been tolerated by the great Christian lords to live among them. Now, having spoken in the preceding title of diviners and others who claim to know things yet to come — which amounts to a kind of contempt of God, presuming to equal Him in knowledge of His acts and mysteries — we wish here to speak of the Jews, who contradict and revile that wondrous and holy act which He performed when He sent His son, Our Lord Jesus Christ, into the world to save sinners. We shall show: what the word “Jew” means and whence it takes its name; why the Church and the great Christian lords have allowed them to live among Christians; how they ought to conduct their lives while living among Christians; what things they may not practice or do according to our law; which judges may compel them for crimes committed or debts owed; how Jews must not be coerced into becoming Christians; what benefit a Jew gains by becoming a Christian; what penalty those who harm or dishonor converts shall suffer; what penalty Christians shall receive for becoming Jews; and what penalty Jews shall receive for causing their Moorish slaves to convert to their faith.
Law I
What the word “Jew” means, whence it takes its name, and the reasons why the Church and the great Christian lords have allowed them to live among them.
A Jew is one who believes and holds the Law of Moses as the letter of that law sounds, who is circumcised, and who observes the other things that law commands. The name derives from the tribe of Judah, which was the most noble and most valiant of all the tribes; furthermore, it had the privilege that the kings of the Jews were to be chosen from that tribe, and in battle, men of that tribe always struck the first blows. The reason why the Church, the emperors, the kings, and the other princes have suffered Jews to live among Christians is this: that they should live as though in perpetual captivity, as a reminder to all people that they descend from the lineage of those who crucified Our Lord Jesus Christ.
Law II
How Jews ought to conduct their lives while living among Christians; what things they may not practice or do according to our law; and what penalty those who act against this shall incur.
Jews must live quietly and without causing harm among Christians, keeping their own law but not speaking ill of the faith of Our Lord Jesus Christ which Christians observe. They must likewise take great care not to preach or seek to convert any Christian to Judaism by praising their own law and reviling ours; and whoever acts against this shall die for it and forfeit all his property.
Because we have heard that in certain places Jews have committed — and continue to commit — on Good Friday an act of mockery of the Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ, by stealing children and placing them on a cross, or by making wax images and crucifying them when they cannot obtain children: we hereby command that if rumor henceforth arises in any place within our dominion that such a thing has been done, and if it can be proven, all those found to have taken part in that act shall be arrested, brought before the king, and after he has learned the truth, he shall order them all to be put to death most ignominiously, however many they may be.
We also forbid any Jew from daring to leave his quarter on Good Friday; rather, they shall remain confined there until Saturday morning. If they act against this, we decree that for any harm or dishonor they may then receive from Christians, they shall have no recourse to compensation whatsoever.
Law III
That no Jew may hold any office or dignity that would allow him to coerce Christians.
In ancient times the Jews were greatly honored and held great privileges above all other peoples, for they alone were called the people of God. But because they were ungrateful to the One who had honored and privileged them, and instead of honoring Him they dishonored Him by giving Him a most shameful death upon the cross, it was just and right that for so great an error and wickedness they should lose the honor and privilege they had held. And so, from the day they crucified Our Lord Jesus Christ onward, they have never had a king or a priest of their own, as they had before.
The emperors who were formerly lords of parts of the world held it to be good and just that, for the treason they committed in killing their Lord, they should therefore lose all the honors and privileges they had held — such that no Jew should ever again hold an honored position or public office by which he might coerce any Christian in any manner.
Law IV
How Jews may have a synagogue among Christians.
A synagogue is a place where Jews make their prayers. Such a building may not be newly erected in any place within our dominion without our command. However, those that existed in former times, if they should fall into disrepair, may be restored and rebuilt on the same ground where they previously stood, without enlarging them, raising them higher, or adorning them with paintings. Any synagogue built otherwise shall be forfeited by the Jews and given to the principal church of the place where it was built.
Because a synagogue is a house where the name of God is praised, we forbid any Christian from daring to break into it, or to remove or take anything from it by force — except that if some malefactor should take refuge therein, he may lawfully be seized by force and brought before the justice. We also forbid Christians from stabling animals there, lodging in synagogues, or causing any disturbance to Jews while they are within making prayer according to their law.
Law V
How Jews may not be coerced on the Sabbath day, and which judges may compel them.
Saturday is the day on which Jews say their prayers and rest in their homes, doing no trade or business of any kind. Because they are bound by their law to observe such a day, no person should summon them or bring them to court on it. We therefore command that no judge shall coerce or compel Jews on the Sabbath day to appear in court for any debt, nor arrest them, nor cause them any other grievance on such a day; for the other days of the week are ample for compelling them and demanding of them such things as by right may be demanded. Any summons issued to them for that day, Jews are not bound to answer; likewise, any sentence given against them on that day, we command shall have no force.
However, if a Jew should strike, kill, steal, or rob on that day, or commit any other similar offense for which he deserves punishment in body or property, then judges may indeed detain him on the Sabbath.
We also decree that all claims Christians have against Jews, and Jews against Christians, shall be heard and decided by our judges of the places where they reside, and not by the elders of the Jewish community. And just as we forbid Christians from bringing Jews to court or aggrieving them on the Sabbath, so we decree that Jews, whether in person or through their agents, may not bring Christians to court or aggrieve them on that same day.
Furthermore, we forbid any Christian from daring to arrest or wrongfully harm any Jew on his own initiative, whether against his person or his property; rather, if he has a complaint against a Jew, let him seek redress in court before our judges. And if anyone be bold enough to seize or rob anything from them, he shall be required to restore it twofold.
Law VI
How Jews who become Christians must not be coerced; what benefit a Jew gains by becoming a Christian; and what penalty other Jews shall incur who harm or dishonor converts.
No force or compulsion must be applied in any manner to any Jew to make him become a Christian; rather, Christians must seek to convert them through good examples, through the words of the holy scriptures, and through kind persuasion — for Our Lord God neither desires nor accepts service done to Him by force. Likewise, if any Jew or Jewess wishes of his or her own free will to become a Christian, the other Jews must not obstruct or prevent them in any way. If any Jews should stone, wound, or kill such a person for wishing to become a Christian, or after he has been baptized — if this can be proven or established — we command that all the killers and those who counseled such a killing or stoning shall be burned. If they did not kill the person but only wounded or dishonored him, we command the judges of the place where this occurred to compel the perpetrators of the wounding and dishonor to make full amends, and moreover to give them such punishment as the judges see fit for the offense committed.
We further command that after any Jews have become Christians, all persons within our dominion shall honor them; and no one shall dare to reproach them or their lineage for having been Jews, in the manner of an insult. They shall enjoy their property and goods, sharing with their brothers and inheriting from their fathers and other kinsmen, just as if they were still Jews; and they shall be eligible for all the offices and honors that other Christians hold.
Law VII
What penalty a Christian who becomes a Jew shall incur.
Should any Christian be so unfortunate as to turn Jew, we command that he be put to death for it, just as if he had turned heretic. We likewise decree that his goods shall be disposed of in the same manner as we have prescribed for the goods of heretics.
Law VIII
How no Christian man or woman may dwell in the house of a Jew.
We forbid any Jew from daring to keep a Christian man or woman in his household in domestic service, though he may employ them to work and tend his rural estates outside the town, or to guard him on the road when he must travel through a dangerous place.
We also forbid any Christian man or woman from inviting any Jew or Jewess to eat or drink together, or from accepting such an invitation from them, or from drinking wine made by their hands.
We further command that no Jew shall dare to bathe together with Christians. We also forbid any Christian from receiving medicine or a purge made by the hands of a Jew; however, a Christian may receive it on the advice of a knowledgeable Jew, provided that it is prepared by the hands of a Christian who understands its ingredients.
Law IX
What penalty a Jew who lies with a Christian woman shall incur.
Jews who lie with Christian women commit a very great and daring offense; and therefore we command that all Jews against whom it is henceforth proven that they have done such a thing shall die for it. For if Christians who commit adultery with married women deserve death for it, much more do Jews deserve it for lying with Christian women, who are spiritually betrothed to Our Lord Jesus Christ by reason of the faith and baptism they have received in His name. As for the Christian woman who commits such an offense, we hold that she too shall not go unpunished; and therefore we command that whether she be a virgin, married, widowed, or a woman of ill repute who gives herself to all, she shall receive the same penalty that we declared in the last law of the title concerning Moors, which a Christian woman must receive who lies with a Moor.
Law X
What penalty Jews shall incur who hold Christians as slaves, or cause their captives to convert to their faith.
Jews must not buy or hold as their slaves any men or women who are Christians. If anyone acts against this, the Christian shall be restored to freedom and shall owe nothing of the price that was paid for him, even if the Jew did not know him to be a Christian when he purchased him. But if the Jew knew the person was a Christian at the time of purchase and afterward used him as a slave, the Jew shall die for it.
We also forbid any Jew from daring to convert to Judaism his male or female captive, even if they be Moors or people of some other foreign nation. If anyone acts against this, the slave or slave-woman who has been made a Jew or Jewess shall be immediately freed and removed from the power of the one who owned him or her. Furthermore, if any Moors who are captives of Jews should convert to Christianity, they shall be immediately freed thereby, as is shown in the Fourth Partida of this book, in the title on liberty, in the laws that speak to this matter.
Law XI
How Jews must wear a distinguishing mark so that they may be recognized.
Many errors and unseemly things occur between Christians and Jews, between Christian women and Jewish women, because they live and dwell together in towns and dress one like the other. To prevent the errors and evils that might arise from this, we hold it good and hereby command that all Jews and Jewesses living within our dominion shall wear a certain distinguishing mark upon their heads, of such a kind that people may plainly recognize who is a Jew or a Jewess. If any Jew should not wear that mark, we command that he shall pay ten gold maravedís each time he is found without it; and if he has not the means to pay, he shall receive ten lashes publicly for it.
Source. Internet Archive – Translated by Claude.AI. End of Title XXIV: Concerning the Jews (Seventh Partida, Siete Partidas of Alfonso X of Castile, c. 1265)