The sun., 1902-01-26

ins his Ktng's dues Of tax or honey, or mar
shalling his troop OF burghers for the King
wars, their boats floating down the Thames
toward London, and paying the toll OF
hundred behring's In Lent-tide TO the Abbo'
OF Abingdon by the way
OF the taking Of Oxford by william the
Norman we know nothing. but no city bet
ter illustrates the Transformation OF Eng
land In tho hands Of it's new masters. the
/ sudden outburst Of industrial enort. tne
sudden expansion OF commerce and ac-
cumulation OF wealth which followed the
Conquest. The architectural glory OF the
town dates. In fact. from tho settlement OF
/ the Norman within It's walls. OXFORD
however. does more than illustrate the out
burst OF industrial and architectural enort,
| II does something toward explaining the
cause thereof. The most characteristic
result Of the Norman Conquest was tho
Jewish settlement planted in the very heart
OF the town, Here. as elsewhere, the
Jewry was town within a town, possessing
its own language, its own religion and law.
its peculiar commerce. Its peculiar dress.
The policy Of our foreign kings secured
each Hebrew settlement from the common
taxation, the common justice. the common
obligations, OF Englshm No city bailin
could penetrate into the square OF little
streets which lay behind the present Town
Hall; the Church itself was powerlesss
against the Synagogue that rose In naughty
rivalry beside the cloister Of St, Frides-
wide The picture which Scott has given us
In Tvanhoe' OF Isaac Of York, timid, silent.
crouohing under oppression. accurately
a. II represents our modern notions OF the
position Of his race during the Middle Ages.
is far from being borne out by historical
fact. In England, at least the attitude OF
the Jew In almost to the end 1.-THE latter part
Of the thirteenth century, an attitude OF
proud and even insolent defiance His ex-
tortion was sheltered from the common
law. His bonds were kept under the royal
seal. royal commission visited with
heavy penalties any outbreak Of violence
against these chattels' Of the king. The thun-
ders Of the church broke vainly on the yell
low gaberdne Of the Jew. In well-known
story Of Eadmer's the Red King actually
forbids tho conversion Of a jew. 70 the
Christian faith. II was a poor exchange
which would have robbed him Of a valuable
property, and given him only a subject
Green recognizes the fact that with the
Jewish settlement began the cultivation
Of physical science In Oxford. 'The
Hebrew instruction. the Hebrew books.
which he found among its rabbs, were
the means by which Roger Bacon pen-
etrated to the older world Of material
research A medical school which we
find established there and in high repute
during the twelfth century can hardly have
been other than Jewish: In the operation
for the stone which one Of the stories in the
Miracles OF st. Frideswide' preserves for
us. we trace the traditional surgery which
Is still common In the East. But IL is.
perhaps. In a more purely material way
that the Jewry at oxford most directly
influenced our academical history. There,
as elsewhere, the jew brought with him
something more than the art or science
which he had gathered at Cordova or Bag
dad; he brought with him the new power
Of wealth. The erection OF stately castles,
Of yet statelier abbeys which followed the
Conquest. the rebuilding OF almost every
cathedral or conventual church, marks
the advent Of the Jewish capitalist. No
one can study the earlier history Of our
great monastio houses without finding
the secret OF that sudden outburst OF
industrial activity to which we owe the
noblest Of our minister's in the loans OF the
Jew. The bonds Of many a great baron.
the relics Of many an abbey. lay pledged
for security In tho Star Chamber Of the
Jew result OF the Jews presence in
Oxford which bore more directly on the
future OF the town was discernible In
the remarkable development Of its do
nestic architecture. Green thinks that
to the wealth Of the jew. 20 his need Of pro-
lection against sudden outbursts Of pop
ular passion and very probably to the
greater refinement Of his social life, Eng
land owes the Introduction Of stone houses.
Tradition attributes almost every In
stance lin Englandl Of the earliest stone
buildings Of a domestic character 70 the
jew. and. where the tradition can be tested
as at Bury ST. Edmunds or Lincoln, II has
proved 20 be in accordance with the facts
In Oxford nearly all the larger dwelling
houses which were subsequently converted
into halls bore traoes of their Jewish origin
IN their names such a. hoy-ey's Hall,
I,ombards Jacobs Hall. II IL striking
proof Of the superiority ~ the Hebrew
dW ellings to the Christian houses around
thcm that each Of the successive town
halls Of the borough had before their
expulsion from England under Edward
! been houses ~ Jews such houses
we're abundant m tho town. not merely
in tho purely Jewish quarter u CanaK.
bui Ia the losser JeWry which sas scai
tered over the parish - ~ Aidaic aud
49, oaI hardly doub that tho abuu-
dano. ~ substantial buildings boz me to~n
a. a. 81 leasi one ~ the oautes sh'rh dr.x /
taaahers aud students silhin ns saih
Tho hrsi event uhaI LITE tho tYsu ~ /
OIfuid into hisiono prsninsno. u Hs
l.aE1s Sifh London Ito hafsrmsn' of /
ths b1fouEh sasm ~ have already eEisiad |
tssfpfe the uonqu.si. snd o. have Lo.l I
clus.iy tlniiad from tic hfsi with 10 n4sfg I
Is,~sfful sflild. the 'hasimsl' of 'ussf. |
n ants' q ths capital of.sA dssns u I
rf1lah.s u.si Ia both oasos tLs issilss .
isnafiHE thb nans fupfrsuntsd Nlasi tn /
.aisf lanEisaSs ~as Ahesn ~ ti.s mrrUiiaI.f |
, ilf - fiss tDsu ttis csHnr,flHH b. I
ss-n tiss tsu stlss snd fi.slf I4il4s 80 /
primarily una - tam 49, u.s aHI I
800 taHs nlHsilYflsnsI faua IIr I
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frn.slnf in asisiI b fi.si ~ hrfib ai.I H. .