ciation of the Jews with London forms an important and
interesting chapter of ancient history. As has been justly pointed
out,[71] the history of the Jews in England is divided into two marked
sections by the dates 1290 and 1656; at the former period they were
expelled, at the latter they began to be readmitted. No trace has been
found of Jews in England prior to the Norman Conquest. Soon after the
Conquest, however, the Jews came from Rouen by special invitation of
William. They were introduced as part of a financial experiment of the
Norman kings. The need of large sums of ready money such as the Jews,
and the Jews only, could furnish was specially felt at this time. The
system of barter was going out of fashion, and money was required for
commercial operations. Stone buildings, too, were taking the place of
those of wood, and the new works involved a large outlay.

Money-lending on interest among Christians was expressly forbidden by
the canon law, and it was therefore from the frugal and careful Jews
alone that large sums of ready money could be obtained when required.
The author of the interesting article just referred to writes:--

"Though it is a moot point how far the money lent by the Jews
was actually the King's in the first instance, there is no
doubt that the Exchequer treated the money of the Jews as held
at the pleasure of the King. There was a special Exchequer of
the Jews, presided over by special Justices of the Jews, and
all the deeds of the Jews had to be placed in charge of
Exchequer officers, or else they ceased to be legal documents.
The Jews thus formed a kind of sponge which first drained the
country dry owing to the monopoly of capitalist transactions
given them by the canon law, and then were squeezed into the
royal treasury."

Although the Jews were useful, and indeed, in the conditions of social
life at that time, almost indispensable, they suffered many
disabilities. They were unable, from the very fact of their religion, to
enter the guilds founded on religious principles. Similarly they were
debarred from holding land, because their possession of would have put
into their hands spiritual benefices.

By the order of the Lateran Council of 1215 the Jews were compelled to
wear a distinctive mark on their clothing. In England this was made of
cloth in the shape of the two tables of the law.

The worst parts of the towns seem to have b