The Impact of the Crusades 131
raymond vI of toulouse complaining that the count was fostering the Cathar
heresy.159
In 1209 the Council of Avignon, summoned as part of the legate Milo’s plan to
encourage crusading activities against heresy, reiterated that Jews were to be
removed from the administration of public and private affairs and that they must
not employ Christians as servants.160 It threatened excommunication against
Christians who entered into commercial relations with Jews, forbade Jews from
exacting usury, and compelled them to remit usurious profits. That was in accord-
ance with Innocent III’s general crusading letter to the faithful, ‘post miserabile’
calling for the Fourth Crusade in 1198.161 Jews were now forbidden to work
in public on Sundays or festivals or eat meat on days of Christian abstinence—in-
dicating that the clergy believed that since Jews were ‘internal’ to Christian society
they must comply with Christian religious practices.
Then, following crusading successes in the south of France, the Council of
pamiers of 1212, called by Simon de Montfort and southern French prelates,
declared that, like heretics, no Jew should act as provost, bailiff, assessor, witness
in a law-suit, or legal representative. Yet, unlike heretics, he might bring testimony
against other Jews.162 It is even possible that, in accordance with the draconian
Third Council of toledo (589), Jews who had been baptized during the Albigensian
Crusade were to be compelled to remain Christian.163 As we shall discuss further
in Chapter Four, in 1215 Lateran Iv decreed not only that Jews should not extort
heavy and immoderate interest from Christians in general, but that they should
remit usury owed by crusaders.164 The Council of Narbonne (1227), which
determined that Jews be forced to wear a distinguishing badge—referring to stipu-
lations of raymond vII who, after his victory over Simon de Montfort in 1217,
had dispensed them from wearing it—also repeated that Jews should not receive
immoderate interest from Christians.165 The Council of paris, formally ending
the Albigensian Crusade in 1229, reiterated that Jews, like those suspected of
heresy, should not act as bailiffs, nor buy up state taxes, nor the taxes imposed on
cities, castles, or travellers.166 It is thus clear that one of the indirect outcomes of
papal authorization of the Albigensian Crusade was the formulation and reiter-
ation of decrees by the French Church concerning the proper treatment—and
restriction—of Jews in Christian society.
159 Mansi, vol. 22, cols 770–82; Grayzel, Vol. 1, p.302. See also Grayzel, Vol. 1, pp.302–3, footnote
1; Innocent III, ‘Si parietem cordis’, Grayzel, Vol. 1, p.124; Simonsohn, p.92.
160 Grayzel, Vol. 1, p.305, footnote 1. See X.5.6.13; 1 Comp., 5.5, p.55.
161 Mansi, vol. 22, col. 785; Grayzel, Vol. 1, p.304. See Grayzel, Vol. 1, p.305, footnote 3; X.5.19.12,
col. 814; Innocent III, ‘post miserabile(m) Hierusolymitanae’, Grayzel, Vol. 1, p.86; Simonsohn, p.71.
See dahan, Les intellectuels chrétiens et les juifs au moyen âge, p.116; Stow, Alienated Minority,
pp.222–3.
162 Mansi, vol. 22, col. 858; Grayzel, Vol. 1, p.304. See Grayzel, Vol. 1, p.305, footnote 1.
163 Grayzel, Vol. 1, p.311, footnote 1.
164 Tanner, Vol. 1, pp.265–6; p.269; Grayzel, Vol. 1, pp.306–8; p.312.
165 Mansi, vol. 23, col. 21; Grayzel, Vol. 1, p.316. See Grayzel, Vol. 1, p.317, footnote 3.
166 Mansi, vol. 23, col. 165; Grayzel, Vol. 1, p.320. See Grayzel, Vol. 1, p.321, footnote 2.