July 6
1189: Henry II, King of England, passed away. Compared to those who followed him to the throne, Henry’s treatment of his Jewish subjects was comparatively benign. (The emphasis is on “comparatively.”) Henry levied two special taxes on the Jewish community designed to finance the next Crusade to the Holy Land. The tax of 1188 included 60,000 pounds on the Jews of London, one fourth the community’s wealth. All the Christians of England were required to cough up a mere 10,000 pounds. Much to the consternation of some Church leaders, Henry discouraged Jews from converting to Christianity. The wealth of dead Jews became the property of the crown. These Jewish estates could be of such value that when Aaron of Lincoln passed away, “Henry found it necessary to set up a special branch of his Exchequer, named the Scaccarium Aaronis, with no function other than processing his immense estate.”
1189: Richard the Lionheart becomes King of England following the death of his father. His coronation would not take place until September at which time a delegation of Jews bringing gifts for the monarch would be denied access and be beaten by English officials. Richard did take action to protect his Jewish subjects when they were threatened. Unfortunately, Richard spent only the equivalent of one year of his ten year reign in England. During his absence, the Jews would suffer at the hands of English leaders including Richard’s brother and successor Prince, and later King, John
1253: Mindaugas is crowned king of Lithuania, reportedly the first ruler to hold this title. There was a Jewish presence in Lithuania at this time, since small numbers of Jewish merchants probably began arriving in Lithuania during the 12th century. They were followed by others of their co-religionists who were fleeing persecution brought on by the Crusades and the Black Death. Large number of Jews would not begin arriving in Lithuania until the frist decades of the 13th centuries when they were invited to settle there by Gediminas.