[140] _i.e._, Little Esther. Some historians have doubted this story. They point out that Casimir’s demeanour towards the Jews was only of a piece with his conduct towards the lower classes of his subjects generally. He showed so great a regard for the rights of the despised serfs that he was called ‘the Peasant King.’ Again, it is certain that Casimir’s edict is dated 1343, and his connection with Estherka did not begin till 1350. On the other hand, Casimir’s one weakness was his passion for women, and the Polish historians say distinctly that Estherka gained great privileges from him for her people. Probably both explanations are correct. He granted the edict of 1343 from a sense of justice, and the monopolies of the Jews, later in his reign, at Estherka’s entreaty. [141] In 1820 a commemoration of this miracle took place in St. Gudule, when eighteen pictures were painted for the church, describing the entire action of the story, the tortures of the Jews being minutely depicted. CHAPTER XXIV. A.D. 1300-1400. THE JEWS IN SPAIN. Up to this time, as has been already remarked, the Spanish Jews had enjoyed a freedom from persecution which presents a favourable contrast to the monstrous wrongs and cruelties which they underwent in other lands. The fourteenth century witnessed the gathering of the storm which, in that which ensued, was to burst with such deadly fury on the devoted race; nor were they even now exempt from occasional foretastes of its visitation. At its outset Ferdinand IV., known in Spanish history as ‘the Summoned,’[142] a youth at that time under age, occupied the throne, but the administration of affairs was in the hands of his mother, the queen regent. It should be noted that, although the Jews still retained the rights and privileges accorded them by previous generations, they were fast becoming odious in the eyes of all classes. The _haute noblesse_ were jealous of the court favour which the Jews had so long enjoyed, and were seeking for an opportunity to oust them from it; the lesser nobles were deeply in their debt, and looked to a popular outbreak as the readiest mode of ridding themselves of their encumbrances; the priesthood were, as a rule, though with some noble exceptions, their bitter enemies, continually denouncing them to the people, as the causes of every national misfortune that befell them. This was partly due to religious bigotry, partly to their jealousy of the greater wealth and the superior medical skill of the Jews, which prevented them from acquiring the money and the influence over the people which a successful exercise of that profession would have ensured. As for the people, they were largely under the influence of the clergy, and readily believed the stories poured into their ears. Besides, the spectacle of the riches and luxury in which the Jews lived provoked at once their indignation and their rapacity.