The condition of the Jews in the Papal State
Michael the Great's Notepad
In the second half of the 13th century, the condition of the Jews residing in the Papal States worsened significantly. In 1257 a "shaman" was imposed on the Romans, i.e. a distinctive sign already prescribed in 1215 by the fourth Lateran Council: a piece of yellow cloth – in the shape of a circle – sewn on the dress for men, and two blue stripes sewn on the shawl for women. Later, the obligation to wear a red tabard over the dress was added (later replaced by a yellow hat), from which only doctors and community leaders were exempt. After the end of the Avignon captivity (1420), the papacy's policy oscillated between discriminatory measures and the granting of privileges. In 1432 Eugene IV established that Jews could only benefit from the rights provided for by the "ius commune", or by Roman law applied according to customary rules.
A decade earlier, Martin V had instead censored the inflammatory sermons of the Franciscans, because they risked hindering the conversion of the Jews, which had to be pursued with the most effective weapon of benevolence. The Franciscans will continue to paint them as a gangrene that would have corrupted the foundations of society. By promoting the birth of the first Monte di Pietà in Perugia (1462), they also attempted to oust them from the small loan market. Every money lender at the time had to have a license, the "inhibitio foenerandi", which prohibited anyone – except the papal chamberlain – from interfering in his affairs. In reality, with these licenses the interest, otherwise prohibited by canon law, was effectively legalized.
Unlike what happened in other regions of the peninsula, the Roman Jews were not – if not to a minimal extent – money lenders. They were mainly traders of grain and other foodstuffs; or artisans, particularly skilled in tailoring and in the production of fine lace. So skilled and competitive with the Christian fabric manufacturers, as to induce the latter to invoke the ban on them selling new clothes. In the same bull that ordered the opening of the ghetto, Paul IV fully granted the request of the tailors' guild. It in fact corresponded to the more general inspiration of his pontificate, in which economic restrictions were designed to force the process of conversion. Moreover, the eighty-year-old Pope Carafa had already heavily increased the tax pressure on the Jews in the past; and, as prefect of the Holy Office, he had ordered the burning of the books of the Talmud in Piazza Campo de' Fiori (September 1553).
As soon as the news of his death was heard, an angry crowd of believers instead burned the documents looted from the Inquisition archives. During his pontificate, popular discontent had in fact skyrocketed. The creation of the ghetto had broken a millenary balance, and an obtuse moralistic zeal had upset centuries-old lifestyles and customs. The accession to the Petrine throne of Pius IV de' Medici (1559-1565) was therefore welcomed with a sense of liberation, while in the "Avvisi" (the news magazines of the time) anonymous Romans – with their proverbial irreverence – they vented, mocking the oppressive asceticism of his predecessor: “The whores begin to go out in carriages again as before and more respected than before”.
But the Jews' hopes of regaining their ancient freedoms will quickly fade. Pius IV limited himself to loosening some constraints that weighed on their mercantile activities, but did not abolish the ghetto nor exempt them from wearing the yellow hat. Furthermore, Pius V (1566-1572) and Gregory XIII (1572-1585) forcefully relaunched Pauline rigorism. Sixtus V himself (1585-1590), although less intransigent on a doctrinal level, confirmed their status as "foreigners in their homeland". And it was precisely during his pontificate that the Jews began to compare the ghetto to the "ghet", the divorce document that the husband had to deliver directly into the hands of his wife. The Jewish community had been "divorced" from the Christian community; but, like every divorced woman, according to the law (“Halakhah”) she still had the right to educate and care for her children. The metaphor alluded to the true nature of what was at stake: the Church's challenge had as its objective not only religious belief, but the very social culture of the Roman Jews. It was therefore necessary to equip ourselves with a defensive strategy, capable of preserving Jewish identity without raising insurmountable barriers with the Christians.
Although they had no intention of granting full jurisdictional powers to the Jewish community , the popes tolerated the intervention of voluntary arbitration colleges, because it had proven to be a precious vehicle of social harmony. Freed from the literal interpretation of the laws, the arbitrator could resolve disputes of all kinds with compromises that did not have the final character of court decisions. More generally, the referee acted as a mediator between individuals and government bodies, along the lines of that institution of patronage (made up of networks of neighbors or friends) that was spreading in Renaissance cities. In the tiny Roman ghetto the concept of "shekunah" (neighborhood) was in fact very much alive and practiced. Even more relevant, as a hinge between the public and private spheres, was the "Sofer Meta" (city notary). The improvement of the "ars dictaminis" (notary art) is due to Isaac Piattelli, who had developed his techniques even before the birth of the ghetto. His work was similar to that of the lawyer and the investigating judge: he drew up contracts, listened to witnesses, wrote down the agreements in case of arbitration, compiled the most varied public documents. Without his pen the Jews would not have had any instrument to enforce agreements and decisions. And his pen invented a language, formulas and schemes which, while not denying the Jewish tradition, built cultural bridges with the Christian world. In the over six thousand notarial deeds (drawn up between 1535 and 1606) sifted by Stowe there are wills, registrations of marriages, divorces and adoptions, domestic disputes. Indirectly, many aspects of the more minute reality of the ghetto are also reported: theatrical entertainment, dancing and swimming lessons, games of chance, music and poetry competitions.
Around 1640 the cardinal vicar replaced the Jewish notaries with Christian notaries. Even if the members of some synagogues and some confraternities will try to renew it, the notarial art created by Isaac Piattelli will undergo an irreversible downward trend. If the sixteenth century had allowed the Roman Jews virtually sovereign spaces of self-government, the following century would be marked by the firm papal determination to restore the old canonical ordinances, in order to make the Jews more vulnerable and more willing to convert. The bull “Antiqua iudaeorum improbitas” (1581) had already brought charges of heresy, blasphemy and black magic under the aegis of the Inquisition. On the other hand, the enormous debt accumulated towards the Apostolic Chamber (the pontifical treasury ministry) and the closure of the loan banks (1682) will give a final blow to the relative well-being achieved with difficulty by the ghetto community. From then on, an economic decline began, both constant and rapid.
This is a machine translation from Italian language of a post published on Start Magazine at the URL https://www.startmag.it/mondo/la-condizione-degli-ebrei-nello-stato-pontificio/ on Sat, 09 Mar 2024 06:53:23 +0000.