Apr. 19, 1246

Canons decreed by the Council of Beziers [present-day France]: “§37.— Because the Jews severely oppress the Christians by the exaction of usury, in spite of the fact that usury was completely forbidden by God, therefore we caused the Provincial Council to provide that the Jews shall not receive immoderate usury from Christians. Should they continue to exact it, the Church shall compel them to restore it by excommunicating the Christians who have commercial or any other dealings with them. §38.— Nor shall they have Christian servants or nurses in their homes. Nor shall they offer meat for public sale on days when Christians abstain. Nor shall they be permitted to be superiors to Christians as bailiffs or in any other offices. Moreover, meat which they prepare, they shall sell privately in their own homes and not in Christian marketplaces. §39.— In order that Jews may be told apart from Christians, we decree and emphatically order that they shall wear a round sign in the center of their breast. Its circumference shall be one finger in width, and of the measure of one half a palm in height. §40.— Nevertheless we forbid them to work publicly on Sundays and on festivals, that they may not scandalize Christians, nor be scandalized by them. §41.— We desire and we command that during Holy Week, from the day of the Lord’s supper until the day of the Resurrection, none shall leave his house unless by reason of necessity. Prelates shall then have them guarded from molestation by Christians, especially during the said week. §42.— Moreover, we decree that each year, at the Feast of Resurrection, the Jews shall pay for each family six denars of Melgoriensian money as an offering to the parish churches. §43.— Furthermore, those Christians shall be excommunicated who because of illness, entrust themselves for healing to the care of Jews.”