The first regular account we meet respecting the Jews in England is during the reign of William Rufus, who, according to the unanimous testimony of historians, seemed to have a mind capable of rising above the superstition and ignorance of the age in which he lived, although not sufficiently enlightened to receive the glorious light of the Gospel; and owing to the distorted exhibition of Christianity by the teachers of the same, he almost fell into infidelity, and from the consistent conduct of the Jews, he was led to believe that Judaism was at least as good as Christianity. He went therefore so far as to summon a convocation at London of Christian bishops and Jewish rabbies, for the express purpose of discussing the evidences of their respective creeds; and the king swore by St. Luke’s face――a favourite oath of his majesty――that if the Jews got the better in the dispute, he would embrace Judaism himself. The Jewish disputants seemed to stand their ground with vigour, for the Christian champions appeared rather apprehensive of the result. At the conclusion, as it is generally the case in public controversy, both parties claimed the victory. The former added, however, publicly that they were overthrown more by fraud than by force of argument. The Christians claimed the victory in consequence of a tremendous thunder-storm and a violent earthquake. All this, however, produced but little effect on the king’s mind. The conduct of Rufus towards the Church, and his frequent disagreement with the clergy, rendered him an object of dislike to the monkish writers, who were the principal historians of this period. The following is recorded of him by Hollingshed, and if true, his conduct was certainly chargeable with no small measure of guilt:――