PHILIP°

PHILIP °, name of six kings of France.

philip ii or philip augustus, king of France from 1180 to 1223. All Philip's biographers agree that he detested the Jews, an attitude formed by stories he had heard in his childhood about Jews murdering Christian children. Soon after his accession, he ordered the imprisonment of all the Jews in the kingdom, and it was only in exchange for a large ransom that they were set free. Early in April 1182, in order to bolster the treasury before going to war, Philip ordered the expulsion of the Jews from his kingdom; Jewish real estate was confiscated and most of it sold on behalf of the royal treasury; synagogues were converted into churches (as was the case in *Paris and *Orleans); and debtors were absolved of their obligations to Jews on condition that they paid the treasury one-fifth of the monies owed. The king persecuted the Jews even beyond the borders of his kingdom: in 1190 he attacked in *Champagne the Jewish community of *Bray-sur-Seine (or Brie-Comte-Robert), putting to death almost 100 persons. When he authorized the return of the Jews to his kingdom in 1198, it was for purely financial reasons. At the same time as he guaranteed the Jews freedom to trade with Christians by forbidding priests to excommunicate those Christians who dealt with them, he also initiated the practice of assigning an official seal to every locality which contained an important Jewish community, for the purpose of regulating loans. An ordinance of February 1219 prohibited any loan to persons whose only source of income was their own labor. This was an attempt to put a stop to loans taken for personal consumption only; previously loans of this type were granted if paid back in three annual sums. Loans offered against pledges were not subject to compulsory registration, but the list of articles which could not be accepted in pledge was extended to cover not only church appurtenances but also agricultural tools and beasts of burden.

philip iii the bold, king from 1270 to 1285. Shortly after his accession, Philip followed the example of his father and predecessor, *Louisix, and in 1271 ordered his officers to enforce the wearing of the Jewish *badge. His father's policy is again reflected in an ordinance, probably issued in 1272, which prohibited the Jews from engaging in all kinds of moneylending and directed them either to pursue permitted commercial activities or to work with their hands. If there were any attempts by Jews to engage in agricultural work or handicrafts, these were in any event doomed in practice from 1280 when Christians were forbidden to enter into their service. The most disastrous of Philip's decrees from the socioeconomic point of view was that issued in 1283, forbidding the Jews to reside in smaller places.

philip iv the fair, king from 1285 to 1314. The various changes in Philip's policy toward the Jews were all motivated by the sole purpose of furthering the interests of the monarchy and the kingdom. Thus, asserting royal power and challenging the Church, in 1288 he reminded his officers that the number of charges for which the Jews could be tried by the ecclesiastical courts was very limited, and he called upon them not to collaborate in any unjustified prosecutions. However, in February 1291 he ordered the expulsion of all the Jewish exiles who had arrived from England and *Gascony: Since they had been stripped of all their belongings before they arrived, the kingdom could not derive any profit from them. On April 1 of the same year, seeking to strengthen the economic status of the large towns, he renewed the order prohibiting the Jews to live in the small localities. As a step toward legal standardization, on September 23 he dismissed all the special judges of the Jews. He took action against Jewish moneylenders on Jan. 31, 1292, but only in order to expropriate the debts owed to them. When Philip decided to protect the Jews from extortion and hindrances in their trade, his measure applied to the Jews owned by the king, for he wished to be the only one to profit from them. The practical reasons for the compulsory concentration of the Jews in special quarters put into force in 1294 were revealed in 1306. Philip's only decree that arose from religious scruples and carried no material advantage was that of 1299 directed against missionary efforts on the part of the Jews and "their blasphemies and evil spells."

The king's essentially mercenary interest in the Jews was finally manifested on June 21, 1306. An oral command called on John of Nogaret, John of Saint Just, and the seneschal of Toulouse to organize the arrest of all the Jews of the kingdom, the seizure of their belongings, and then their expulsion. A written order of the same day required all the prelates, barons, and officers of every degree to lend their assistance to these three persons in the execution of their mandate. The date had been fixed for July 22 and the secret was so well guarded that not one Jew escaped. The Jews had not even left the kingdom when Philip issued his regulations for public auction of their real estate. In the eventuality that treasures hidden by the Jews in these buildings might be discovered, such finds were reserved for the treasury. Claiming that there was a judicial distinction between the Jews of the king and those of the lords, some of the latter resisted the order to expel "their" Jews. The king easily overcame their objections by promising them the lion's share of the spoils. Immediately after the expulsion of 1306, a number of Jews were given safe-conducts to return to the kingdom in order to cooperate in the recovery of their debts. Subsequently they too were driven out in 1311. It has been said that by expelling the Jews, Philip committed not only an evil act but also made a bad bargain. The second part of this statement can hardly be substantiated: nine years later the Jews were once more to be found in France; they were again expelled in 1323, while the royal treasury continued, until 1325, to collect the debts due to the Jews which had been confiscated in 1306.

philip v the tall, king from 1316 to 1322. Of this king's few ordinances concerning the Jews, the first (April 1317) was the most favorable: it protected them against abusive imprisonment, guaranteed their right to dispose of their own estates, and exempted them from wearing the Jewish badge outside their homes. In the course of Philip's brief reign, three major events affected the situation of the Jews. During the uprising of the *Pastoureaux in 1320, the king, together with the ecclesiastical authorities, exerted his power to the utmost to protect the Jews. In 1321 the Jews of several localities were accused of having poisoned the wells and fountains in collusion with the lepers. Philip appointed a commission of inquiry on July 21 and numerous trials ensued – as well as massacres without even the travesty of a trial. An enormous fine – at first established at 150,000 livres and consequently reduced to 120,000 – was imposed on French Jewry. Finally, Philip decided on a new expulsion of the Jews from France, although this measure was not enforced until 1323, during the reign of his successor.

bibliography:

Philip Augustus: A. Cartellier, Philipp ii August, 4 vols. (Ger., 1899–1922); Baron, Social², index; E.J. de Laurière et al. (eds.), Ordonnances des Rois de France, 1 (Paris, 1723); vol. 11, indexes; H.F. Delaborde (ed.), Recueil des actes de Philippe Auguste, 3 vols. (1916–66). Philip iii the Bold: L. Berman, Histoire des Juifs de France (1937), 114ff.; Ordonnances des Rois de France, 1 (Paris, 1723), 312–3; vol. 12, 323. Philip iv the Fair: L. Lazard, in: rej, 15 (1887), 233–61; I. Loeb, in: Jubelschrift… H. Graetz, 1 (1887), 39–56 (Fr.), incl. bibl. notes; L. Berman, Histoire des Juifs de France (1937), 116–24; G. Saige, Juifs en Languedoc (1881), index s.v.Philippe le Bel; Ordonnances des Rois de France, 1 (Paris, 1723), index. Philip v the Tall: P. Lehugeur, Histoire de Phillippe le Long, 1 (1897), 428–35; B. Blumenkranz, in: Archives Juives, 6 (1969/70), 36–38; Ordonnances des Rois de France, 1 (Paris, 1723), index, s.v.Philippe le Long.

[Bernhard Blumenkranz]