Shakespeare 1401-1500

Few Jews Left

Jan 1, 1401

After the Black Death that occured in the 1300's, there were less than 10 Jewish people left. (Berel Wein) (Wikipedia)

Papal Bulls

Jan 1, 1401

The Papal Bulls were created by the Catholic Church to regulate Jews and deprive them of livelihood. There were many throughout the 1400's inlcluding special badges or clothes for the Jews, special taxes, forcing Jews to convert, etc. (Joel S. Panzer) (Special Papal Documents)

Richard Whittington

Oct 1, 1410

Richard Whittington who was the twice former Mayor of London asked for permission for a Jewish physcian, Sampson of Mirabeau, to come attend to his sick wife. Few Jews were granted the chance to come back to England, and it was always controversial. (Dr. Ariel Hessayon) (Compflight)

Henry IV

Dec 1, 1410

Shortly after Richard Whittingly obtained a licsense to have a Jewish doctor help his wife, Henry IV ordered a safe-conduct for an important Jewish doctor from Bolonga named Elias Sabot (Elijah ben Sabbetai). With him, the Jewish doctor brought 10 servents and Henry IV granted two years of royal protection. (Dr. Ariel Hessayon) (Wikimedia Commons)

Henry IV

Feb 1, 1412

Two years after Henry IV issued a safe-conduct to the Jewish doctor from Bologna, he naturalized another physician named David de Nigarellis of Lucca. Nigarellis was of Jewish origin and after his naturalization was made Warden of the Royal Mint. (Dr. Ariel Hessayon) (NPG.org.uk)

Portuguese Exploration

Jan 1, 1415

Prince Henry of Portugal set out to explore and find new trade routes. Prince Henry hired Jews to draw maps of the land they explored. Jews were forced into always looking for refuge and safety. The Jews maps were more descriptive than the maps drawn by Christians. (Aileen Gallagher) (Wikimedia)

Henry V

Jan 1, 1421

During Henry V's reign, an apothecary from Italy named Job came to England with his son, John, and settled. Both Job and John were naturalized, but only after being baptized. Both father and son were included in the five residents of the House of Jewish Converts that was recorded for 1421. (Dr. Ariel Hessayon) (Wikimedia)

Printing Press was invented

Sep 15, 1450

The invention of the Printing Press, Jews were able to preserve their Hebrew text and spread their religion all throughout Europe. Jews secretly worshiping in England could practice their religions with the printed material. (Printing, Hebrew) (George Baxter)

Edward Brampton

Jan 1, 1468

Duarte Brandão (Edward Brampton) was born around 1440 in a Jewish community in Portugal. Duarte emigrated to England in 1468 where he converted to Christianity in order to be accepted by the courts. During Duarte's settlement in England he changed his name to Edward Brampton. Brampton was known for being an adventurer, soldier and ship commander. Brampton was popular among England royalty and is primary example of how Jews felt obligated to convert to gain success in England. (Ariel Hessayon)(TS

Jews Killed

Jan 1, 1474

Approximately 360 Jews were killed in a massacre in Sicily, and in Segovia, Spain. There were many massacre events during the 1400's that resulted in the death of thousands of Jews. (Steve Peterson) (Auguste Maggete)

Spanish Inquistion

Sep 1, 1478

In Spain, anyone who was convicted of not following Christianity was murdered. England wasn't involved in the Inquistion, although were very brutal towards Jews if found. (The Inquistion) (http://chuma.cas.usf.edu/~swohlmut/latam/colonial.html)

Henry VIII

Jun 28, 1491

Henry VIII was on born in 1491 and is known for his divorce to Catherine of Aragon. It took years for the divorce to be granted, and Henry VIII used many Jewish Scholars to help the divorce be accepted by the courts. Out of the divorce came the start of the Church of England, which the Jews supoorted since it was seperate from the Roman Catholic Church. (Schoenberg, Shira) (royalcollection.org.uk)

Expulsion of Jews

Jan 1, 1492

Jews were expelled from Castile, Aragon and Sicily in 1492 followed by Portugal in 1497 and Navarre in 1498. The result of Jewish people being expelled led to a small-scale emigration back to England. (Dr. Ariel Hessayon) (wikimedia)

End of Spanish Jewry

Jul 30, 1492

The Jewish community was expelled from Spain, which included around 200,000 people. Jews were forced to convert to Christianity, Catholicism specifically. Jews secretly living in England converted to the Catholic religion and practiced Judiasm secretly. (Joseph Telushkin) (Julius Neumann)

Tudor England

Jan 1, 1494

The first evidence of Jewish people in Tudor England was in 1494. Under the ruling of Henry VIII and Edward VI, A small number of Jews from Spain and Portugal worshiped secretly in London and Bristol. (Berel Wein) (David Williamson)