Citizenship for the Jews was a different concept from that accorded to any Christian. It was limited in duration, it did not confer any rights to a civic position and it was susceptible to arbitrary withdrawal. The Jew was basically a stateless or “homeless” person. The subservience of the Jew was enforced by the Roman Catholic church, and the effect of the Jews’ limited rights and powers,was to create in later centuries, an inbred sense of mental inferiority, –which was often the opposite of reality.
Trade and craft occupations were governed by corporations and guilds to which the Jew was not admitted. Agricultural work was virtually debarred for the Jew because sales and leases of land were limited to 10 years, and from the 9th. century onwards Jews were not permitted to own lands.
Areas of residence for Jews was often limited ; they were sometimes excluded from cities and provinces because of jealousy prompted by the privileges granted to them by European princes, by commercial rivalry , by resentment arising through the indebtedness of borrowers, and even sometimes, by the misguided piety of the clergy. An example of the latter was the request of Eleanor, prompted by the church, for her son, Edward 1 i n 1275 to remove all the Jews from Marlborough, Gloucester,Worcester and Cambridge.
The Jews often needed protection by civil powers from baseless clerical allegations, such as well-poisoning and ritual murder of children, and the outbursts of excitable mobs.Protection was sometimes only gained by means of bribery. An understanding soon grew which thought that the Jews used bribery in all their business dealings.,- a concept which bred ill-will and suspicion.
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