Domus Conversorum

Last updated

Domus Conversorum
Domus conversorum.jpg
The Domus Conversorum, from a 13th-century sketch by Matthew Paris

The Domus Conversorum ('House of the Converts'), later Chapel of the Master of the Rolls, was a building and institution in London for Jews who had converted to Christianity. It provided a communal home and low wages. It was needed because, until 1280, all Jews who converted to Christianity forfeited their possessions to the Crown. [1]

Contents

It was established in 1232 by Henry III. With the expulsion of the Jews by Edward I in 1290, it became the only official way for Jews to remain in the country. At that stage there were about eighty residents. By 1356, the last one of these died. Between 1331 and 1608, 48 converts were admitted. The warden was the Master of the Rolls. [2]

The building was in Chancery Lane. No records exist after 1609, but, in 1891, the post of chaplain was abolished by Act of Parliament and the location, by then known as the Rolls Chapel which had been used to store legal archives, became the Public Record Office. The site is today home to the Maughan Library of King's College London.

"Domus Conversorum" was sometimes used also to describe the living quarters of lay brothers in monasteries.

The Domus Conversorum in Oxford

A Domus Conversorum was built in Oxford. The building was demolished in 1750.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eleanor cross</span> Any one of a series of monuments to Eleanor of Castile in England

The Eleanor crosses were a series of twelve tall and lavishly decorated stone monuments topped with crosses erected in a line down part of the east of England. King Edward I had them built between 1291 and about 1295 in memory of his beloved wife Eleanor of Castile. The King and Queen had been married for 36 years and she stayed by the King’s side through his many travels. While on a royal progress, she died in the East Midlands in November 1290. The crosses, erected in her memory, marked the nightly resting-places along the route taken when her body was transported to Westminster Abbey near London.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Crypto-Judaism</span> Secret adherence to Judaism

Crypto-Judaism is the secret adherence to Judaism while publicly professing to be of another faith; practitioners are referred to as "crypto-Jews".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Public Record Office</span> National archive service of the United Kingdom from 1838 until 2003

The Public Record Office, Chancery Lane in the City of London, was the guardian of the national archives of the United Kingdom from 1838 until 2003, when it was merged with the Historical Manuscripts Commission to form The National Archives, based in Kew. It was under the control of the Master of the Rolls, a senior judge. The Public Record Office still exists as a legal entity, as the enabling legislation has not been modified.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of the Jews in England</span>

The history of the Jews in England goes back to the reign of William the Conqueror. Although it is likely that there had been some Jewish presence in the Roman period, there is no definitive evidence, and no reason to suppose that there was any community during Anglo-Saxon times. The first written record of Jewish settlement in England dates from 1070. The Jewish settlement continued until King Edward I's Edict of Expulsion in 1290.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Edict of Expulsion</span> 1290 anti-Jewish decree by Edward I of England

The Edict of Expulsion was a royal decree issued by Edward I on 18 July 1290 expelling all Jews from the Kingdom of England, the first time a European state is known to have permanently banned their presence. The date was most likely chosen as it was a Jewish holy day, the ninth of Ab, commemorating the destruction of Jerusalem and other disasters that the Jewish people have experienced. Edward told the sheriffs of all counties that he wanted all Jews expelled before All Saints' Day that year.

The History of Marranos in England consists of the Marranos' contribution and achievement in England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of the Jews in England (1066–1290)</span>

The first Jews in England arrived after the Norman Conquest of the country by William the Conqueror in 1066, and the first written record of Jewish settlement in England dates from 1070. Jews suffered massacres in 1189–90, and after a period of rising persecution, all Jews were expelled from England after the Edict of Expulsion in 1290.

History of European Jews in the Middle Ages covers Jewish history in the period from the 5th to the 15th century. During the course of this period, the Jewish population gradually started shifting from the Levant to Europe, primarily Central Europe dominated by the Holy Roman Empire or Southern Europe dominated by the Iberian kingdoms. As with Christianity, the Middle Ages were the period when Judaism became mostly insignificant in the Middle East, and a front-of-mind part of Europe.

Elias of London also known as Elijah ben Moses or Elias le Evesque, was Presbyter Judaeorum in 13th-century England.

The Presbyter Judaeorum was the chief official of the Jews of England prior to the Edict of Expulsion. The office appears to have been for life, though in two or three instances the incumbent either resigned or was dismissed. Prynne argues that the Presbyter Judaeorum was merely a secular officer in the Exchequer of the Jews to keep the rolls of control, whereas Tovey argues that the use of "sacerdos" and "pontifex" as synonymous of the office shows its ecclesiastical character.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St Olave's Church, Old Jewry</span> Former church-site in London

St Olave's Church, Old Jewry, sometimes known as Upwell Old Jewry, was a church in the City of London located between the street called Old Jewry and Ironmonger Lane. Destroyed in the Great Fire of London in 1666, the church was rebuilt by the office of Sir Christopher Wren. The church was demolished in 1887, except for the tower and west wall, which remain today.

This timeline of antisemitism chronicles events in the history of antisemitism, hostile actions or discrimination against Jews as members of a religious and/or ethnic group. It includes events in Jewish history and the history of antisemitic thought, actions which were undertaken in order to counter antisemitism or alleviate its effects, and events that affected the prevalence of antisemitism in later years. The history of antisemitism can be traced from ancient times to the present day.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Liberty of the Rolls</span>

The Liberty of the Rolls was a liberty, and civil parish, in the metropolitan area of London, England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Old Jewry</span> Street in the City of London, England

Old Jewry is a one-way street in the City of London, the historic and financial centre of London. It is located within Coleman Street ward and links Poultry to Gresham Street.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Maughan Library</span> Main academic and research library of Kings College London

The Maughan Library is the main university research library of King's College London, forming part of the Strand Campus. A 19th-century neo-Gothic building located on Chancery Lane in the City of London, it was formerly the home to the headquarters of the Public Record Office, known as the "strong-box of the Empire", and was acquired by the university in 2001. Following a £35m renovation designed by Gaunt Francis Architects, the Maughan is the largest new university library in the United Kingdom since World War II.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of the Jews in Wales</span>

The history of the Jews in Wales begins in the 13th century. However, after the English conquest of Wales (1287-1283), Edward I issued the 1290 Edict of Expulsion expelling the Jews from England. From then until the formal return of the Jews to England in 1655, there is only one mention of Jews on Welsh soil.

Events from the 1230s in England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chancery Lane</span> London street in the ward of Farringdon Without

Chancery Lane is a one-way street that forms part of the western boundary of the City of London. The east side of the street is entirely within the City, whilst the west side is in the City of Westminster south of Carey Street and the London Borough of Camden north of that street. The route originated as a 'new lane' created by the Knights Templar from their original 'old Temple' on the site of the present Southampton Buildings on Holborn, in order to access to their newly acquired property to the south of Fleet Street sometime before 1161.

The Church's Ministry Among Jewish People (CMJ) is an Anglican missionary society founded in 1809.

The Exchequer of the Jews was a division of the Court of Exchequer at Westminster which recorded and regulated the taxes and the law-cases of the Jews in England and Wales. It operated from the late 1190s until the eventual expulsion of the Jews in 1290.

References

  1. Robin R. Mundill (16 May 2002). England's Jewish Solution: Experiment and Expulsion, 1262–1290. Cambridge University Press. p. 100. ISBN   978-0-521-52026-3.
  2. Records of the Master of the Rolls and the Rolls (Chapel) Office, National Archives

51°30′54″N0°06′40″W / 51.5149°N 0.1111°W / 51.5149; -0.1111