An "absent Presence": An Internal History Of Insular Jewish Communities Prior To Expulsion In 1290

This thesis, based on a study based on the legal and popular documents regarding Jews and Judaism in thirteenth-century England, argues that the Expulsion of the Insular Jews in 1290 was not just a financial decision as has been argued in the past by other historians. Most historians focus on one or two aspects of the Insular experience or Expulsion, with fiscal reasons always in the forefront. This work covers and analyzes excerpts from various poems, chronicles, and martyrologies from popular literature and art to show the feelings and beliefs of the populace on Jews and Judaism in that time and place, an unprecedented use of available sources. The study makes use of methodologies such as economic analysis, oral tradition, and others in a synthetic schema that might otherwise be ignored in a more traditional survey of Insular Judaic history. Insular Judaic history is itself a branch seldom studied, with these or any methods.