The Presbyter

Presbyter

Presbyter in the New Testament refers to a leader in local Christian congregations, then a synonym of episkopos...

 Judaeorum or Presbyter Judæorum was the chief official of the Jews of England prior to the Edict of Expulsion

Edict of Expulsion

In 1290, King Edward I issued an edict expelling all Jews from England. Lasting for the rest of the Middle Ages, it would be over 350 years until it was formally overturned in 1656...

. The office appears to have been for life, though in two or three instances the incumbent either resigned or was dismissed. Prynne, in his "Demurrer" (ii. 62), argues that the Presbyter Judaeorum was merely a secular officer in the Exchequer

Exchequer

The Exchequer is a government department of the United Kingdom responsible for the management and collection of taxation and other government revenues. The historical Exchequer developed judicial roles...

 of the Jews to keep the rolls of control, whereas Tovey ("Anglia-Judaica," pp. 53-63) argues that the use of "sacerdos" and "pontifex" as synonymous of the office shows its ecclesiastical character. There were only six of them between 1199 and 1290, the first known being Jacob of London

Jacob of London

Jacob of London was the first known Presbyter Judaeorum of the Jews of England; appointed to that position by King John in 1199, who also gave him a safe-conduct. He appears to have died in 1217, when Josce of London is mentioned as his successor...

, appointed in 1199; the next were Josce of London

Josce of London

Josce of London was an English Jew and the Presbyter Judaeorum, or Chief Rabbi, of the Jews of England from 1217 to 1237.Josce succeeded Jacob of London as Chief Rabbi on his death in 1217. This would imply that Josce was very wealthy, as only the wealthiest of the Jews obtained this position...

 (1217 - 1237), Aaron of York

Aaron of York

Aaron of York or Aaron fil Josce was a Jewish financier and chief rabbi of England. He was born in York before 1190 and died after 1253. He was probably the son of Josce of York, the leading figure in the York massacre of 1190.-Chief Rabbi:...

 (1237), Elias le Evesque (1237), Hagin fil Mosse (1257), and Hagin fil Deulacres (1281; appointed by the favor of Eleanor of Provence

Eleanor of Provence

Eleanor of Provence was Queen consort of England as the spouse of King Henry III of England from 1236 until his death in 1272....

; "Rymer Toedera," i. 591).

In the grant of Elias le Evesque the justices of the Jews were ordered not to issue any summons without the confirmation of the said Elias, from which it appears that the presbyter acted somewhat as a baron

Baron

Baron is a title of nobility. The word baron comes from Old French baron, itself from Old High German and Latin baro meaning " man, warrior"; it merged with cognate Old English beorn meaning "nobleman"...

 of the Jewish Exchequer; and it was distinctly stated that Hagin fil Mosse had been sworn into the Jewish Exchequer to look after the administration of justice on behalf of the king and to explain the king's laws. It is thus probable that the presbyter was a successor of the Jewish justices, of whom two are mentioned toward the end of the twelfth century.

Resources

• Jacobs, Joseph. "Presbyter Judæorum." Jewish Encyclopedia
  Jewish Encyclopedia
  The Jewish Encyclopedia is an encyclopedia originally published in New York between 1901 and 1906 by Funk and Wagnalls. It contained over 15,000 articles in 12 volumes on the history and then-current state of Judaism and the Jews as of 1901...
  
  . Funk and Wagnalls, 1901-1906, which contains the following bibliography:
• Papers of the Anglo-Jewish Association, pp. 178-179, 193, 262-271.