On the other hand it was an exclusive right of the Jews to lend out money on interest for notes of hand or mortgages, which was strictly forbidden to the Christians of the middle ages by the Pope and Emperor. Thus naturally the whole of the money dealing came into the hands of the Jews. And by the high interest which they received--especially on short loans--they must rapidly have acquired great wealth. But this boundless right was not secure against sudden attacks, both Pope and Emperor sometimes took the liberty of giving the creditor a dispensation from the payment of the interest, nay even of the capital. Thus they became the financiers of the olden time in both great and little traffic, the richest persons in the country, in spite of monstrous imposts. But this opulence stimulated still more the hate and covetousness of the multitude. In the early part of the middle ages they appear to have been seldom persecuted by Christian fanaticism. But after the Crusades, the declining Church and the populace of the towns vied with each other in seeking their lives and treasure. A tradition which continues up to the present day was brought forward against them. They were supposed to poison wells, to introduce the plague, to murder Christian children, use their blood at their Passover, and feed on their hearts; and to whip the consecrated host with rods, &c. Persecutions, plundering of houses, and extensive murders were almost periodical. Christianity was forced upon them by the sword, torments, and imprisonment, but usually in vain. No warlike people ever withstood brutal violence, with more heroic courage than this defenceless race. The most magnanimous examples of enduring heroism are mentioned by Christian writers themselves. Thus it went on during the whole of the middle ages, and still in the sixteenth century we find the Sovereigns endeavouring to fill their empty coffers from the money bags of the Jews, and the populace still storming their houses, as in the wild Jewish outbreak at Frankfort-on-Main in 1614. Some great scholars, physicians, and natural philosophers among them, acquired a repute which spread through all the countries of Europe, inspiring even Christians with involuntary respect, but these were rare exceptions.