Ransom of King John II of France

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The ransom of King John II of France was a major upheaval in medieval French history.

[edit] Jewish Persecution in France

From around 1147-1380, the Catholic Church was gaining its immense power.[citation needed] In France, the problem was even greater because of the strong antisemitism. The Jews in France were expelled and returned about 5 times, because in the Middle Ages, the Jews were used to pay for certain things that the kings would need. For example, in 1361, the Jews in France were used to pay for King John II’s ransom.[citation needed]

When the second crusade ended (1147-1149), French clergymen began to (frequently) make their sermons anti Semitic.[citation needed] In a city called Béziers, the Jews soon had to start paying a special tax every Palm Sunday. In 1171, the Jews of Blois were charged with murder. It was proposed that the Jews had killed Christian babies and sucked their blood out and used for their Passover feast.[citation needed] At this point, the Jews had become a scape goat again. 31 Jews in Blois were burned at the stake. In 1215, Pope Innocent III ordered for all Jews and Muslims (aka heretics) to wear distinctive clothing so they could be differentiated from the Christians, and, in a political move, the Jews were forbidden to hold public office. Then in 1227, all Jews were forced to wear badges and stay inside their homes.[citation needed](Thornton) Persecution was not far off.

In the times to come, the Jews would be expelled and persecuted. In 1240, the Jews were expelled from Brittany and the dispute over the Talmud had begun.[citation needed] But how can a book be put on trial? In the city of Paris, anything can happen in a court. A pig was even tried for murder.[citation needed] But in this city, it was guilty until proven innocent. Two years later, the Talmud was condemned and twenty four wagonloads of Jewish books were burned.[citation needed] (Weiner) Then in 1254, the Jews were expelled from France and their temples and properties were confiscated.[citation needed] A couple years later the Jews were readmitted.[citation needed] At the time of 1290, five thousand Jews were expelled from England and were admitted by the French dukes. There was, however, a reason for the re-admittance of the Jews.

It was the money. As in 1254 when their temples and properties were confiscated, the Jews were not banished, but a way to get money. If the Jews were expelled and all of their positions were left behind, its easy money. And you allow the Jews to return but you don’t return their belongings. There was another way.

In 1181, King Philip II of France imprisoned the wealthiest Jews of France releasing them only when they paid a huge ransom.[citation needed] This was anther way of milking the money out of the Jews. And in 1198, Richard the lion heart needed some quick cash. So he decided to allow the Jews of France to move in to his kingdom. (Wiener) He proceeded to extort and tax them extensively.[citation needed]

[edit] The Capture

In 1356, the Hundred Year’s War in Europe was in full swing. The English and the French were dueling it out on the battle field in a more specific, Battle of Portieres.[citation needed] The French were losing badly. Soon, King John II of France was in the hands of the English. (Paine) They had captured him and it seemed all hope was lost. Then in 1359, three years later, the English came to a compromise. They would release john if the French would pay a ₤700,000 ransom (today $1,228,366.50 USD).[citation needed] The French didn’t know what to do.

The French government had to find a way to come up with this massive amount of money. Charles V of France was in charge soon decided that it was in their best interest to allow the Jews to come back into France. (They had been banished previously) as the Jews came back into France, the government let them settle down and live there in small villages specifically built for them. Then the government started to tax the Jews heavily. Then the English released king John on parole. But they kept his son as to make sure that the French would pay his ransom.

The Jews paid king John IIs ransom for a period of over 20 years. Even though the taxes being brought onto the Jew was extremely high, the Jews stayed. Since the period of stay was about 20 years, and the pay was 700,000 and there were about 7,000 Jews allowed back in, the math calculates to it being that for every family, they had to pay one cent, that’s $0.01, every hour for a period of 20 years.

[edit] After Release

After king John was released, he was up to the task of finishing the ransom. One of John’s sons, Louis was a collateral hostage, so if john didn’t pay the ransom they would kill Louis. So King John felt obligated to fund his son’s ransom but that it was a matter of pride for him and his son. He felt that it was his duty to protect his son and make him come out alive, and also that he will pay the ransom in honor of him to show his love for his son. But things don’t always go the way they are planed, for thing were about to take a turn for the better, but then twist into for worse (Wake).[citation needed]

Soon after John had vowed to rescue his son, Lois did it instead. He escaped from the English and was home free. Ordinarily, you would think that the King would be happy. But he was not. He was depressing that he couldn’t raise the money to save his own son, even though his son was saved. He got depressed and died a few years later.[citation needed] (Matthew 49)

The Jewish people were a milti-use group of people. They helped Europe get through hard times through enforced economic support of the state. While it was amazing how this process was used, it was only available because the Jews had such high paying jobs that were “forbidden” by the Christians. The survival of the Kings in Europe depended on the heavy taxation of the Jews.