When Prince Edward returned from his victorious campaign in Wales, he was so poor that he could not pay the arrears which he owed to the troops, and unwilling to disband men whom he foresaw his father’s cause would require, the king fixed on the expedient of presenting him with the Jews――the king of the Romans must have got, by this, all he wanted from them¹――with a new privilege, viz., that of having all writs of judicature, which had been formerly sealed by the justices of the Jews, sealed by the chancellor of the exchequer, the profits of which were to be paid to the prince. Edward, however, did not keep them long in his grasp; being in want at once of ready cash, he assigned them with his father’s consent and signature, for two years to the Catercensian merchants. No more did the latter keep them long, for Edward was soon after accused of a conspiracy against his father; the king therefore seized upon the Jews――a trick of olden times in royal trade. ¹ See p. 282. The battle of Lewes is another melancholy memorable event in the history of the Jews in this country. This battle, as all of you must be aware, terminated in the complete discomfiture of the king’s party. The common people being disbanded and out of employment, betook themselves to persecute the unfortunate Jews. They pretended that that people conspired with the king’s party to destroy the barons and the good citizens of London; which they thought gave them a right to plunder that defenceless people wherever they were found. They began with London, and the conduct of the metropolitans was soon followed by the inhabitants of other places. Lincoln, Northampton, Canterbury, and many other towns in the kingdom became the scenes of plunder and persecution. The London Jews were placed in imminent danger, and in all probability, those who survived the massacre of Montfort and John Fitz-John, would have shared the fate of their five hundred, or seven hundred, brethren, who perished there. But the constable of the tower opened the gates, to afford them a timely refuge. The king, in conjunction with the barons, endeavoured to quell these riots, and issued letters patent to the mayor and sheriffs of London, and to the persons put under authority in all those places where outrages were committed, to suppress all sorts of disorders; and as peace had been established throughout the kingdom, the Jews should share in that peace. A proclamation was therefore to be published, for the Jews to return peaceably to their homes. Few, indeed, must have been the number who found homes. It was also announced that any molestation offered to the Jews would subject the offender to the danger of life and limb.