THE SEVENTH-CENTURY KINGDOM 129Just as the scope of this legislation grew during the period of the
kingdom, so too did its scale. It increased in its comprehensiveness,
its frequency and the violence of its tone as the years of the kingdom
passed, though its beginnings were by no means small. The earliest
series of laws from the Visigothic realm relating to the Jews may be
found in the Breviary of Alaric II, his interpreted abridgement of the
Theodosian Code, promulgated in 506.71 A number of regulations
that become increasingly familiar as they were reissued time and again
in the councils and law codes of the kingdom make their first appear-
ance in Visigothic legislation here. Intermarriage of Jews and Chris-
tians was banned. Jews were forbidden to hold public office, as they
were not to be permitted to possess positions of authority which they
could employ to inflict harm upon Christians. They were also prohib-
ited from building new synagogues, although they might repair their
old ones. Conversion of Christians by Jews was forbidden on penalty
of death and they were prevented from owning Christian slaves. These
last two laws are somewhat contradictory, as whereas the latter regu-
lation prohibits Jews from having slaves who were Christians, the former
forbids their Christian slaves being converted to Judaism. Such ambi-
guities are fairly typical of all late Roman and Early Medieval legisla-
tion, both in relation to Jews and in general. Here it is important to
note that the Visigothic monarchy in the Breviary is taking over Ro-
man imperial laws concerning the Jews, with only very slight modifi-
cations of its own introducing: much of the seventh-century legislation
is also little more than a repetition of the earlier Roman injunctions.
In such cases it is impossible to know to what extent these laws were
still enforced and held to be of value and to what extent they had in
practice become anachronistic. On the other hand, especially in the
second half of the century, much new legislation relating to the Jews
in the kingdom is introduced and this, whatever the uncertainties
about the practicalities of enforcement, clearly had contemporary
significance.
The third Council of Toledo of 589, that marked the end of
Visigothic Arianism, also saw the promulgation of the first laws of the
Catholic monarchy in respect of the Jews. At III Toledo, paralleling
civil legislation that was probably issued at the same time, the four-
teenth canon decreed that Jews were not to have Christian wives or
mistresses, that they were not permitted to buy Christian slaves and
that those they had who had been made to accept Judaism must now
be freed without indemnity. Finally Jews were again, as in the Breviary,