JUDEIS DOTALICII REGINE: LES JUIFS DANS LES TERRES DU DOUAIRE DES REINES MÉDIÉVALES DE PART ET D’AUTRE DE LA MANCHE

The present contribution explores how Jews were key contributors to the dower revenues of the queens of France and England during the High Middle Ages. It argues that the distribution of dowers for the queens of France and England were so closely linked that the analysis of the Jews in the context of one dower is incomplete without consideration of the other. Drawing from sources including queens’ dower charters, marriage contracts, as well as lists of royal expenditures and Hebrew deeds of sale, it focuses on the administrative development of the “queen’s dower Jews” (Judeis dotalicii regine), a term appearing in France, and considers how it applies to the administration in England. Focusing solely on the financial aspects of the dower, instead of related aspects of lordship, this article demonstrates not only that Jews were a traditional source of revenue for the queen’s treasury, but also that the kings of France and England sometimes targeted and seized these dowers, in order to meet the financial needs of the kingdom, such as when the two kingdoms were at war with each other. By focusing on royal women, this article offers directions for further research on the question of seigneurial exploitation of medieval Jews in the Middle Ages.