The Twelfth Council of Toledo

Visigothic King Erwig called a council on 9 January 681 the Twelfth Council of Toledo. Part of his reason was to have the bishops attending confirm his accession to the throne to replace Wamba as legitimate. The Council also declared laws created by Wamba null and void.

They then set about to revise the Visigothic Code that had been established in 654 by King Reccesuinth (seen here), called the Liber Iudiciorum, or "Book of the Judgements." That code had abolished the idea of treating Romans and Goths differently under the law and made rules for everyone to live by.

This code also contained canon law from the Catholic Church as well as secular laws. Some of the religious laws are attributed to the influence of Julian of Toledo, archbishop of Toledo (and implicated in the plot—if that is what it was—to replace Wamba with Erwig).

The Council affirmed the right of the archbishop of Toledo to approve all bishops across the entire Visigothic kingdom. (Once again suggesting Julian of Toledo's strong hand in these decisions.)

There were rules on penance, and the proper conduct for bishops and priests. Then it created 28 rules regarding Jews. (The illustration is a synagogue in Toledo.)

Erwig wanted what he called the "plague" of the Jews eradicated. He did change earlier laws to rule out execution, however. (The Eighth Council had declared a converted Jew who practiced his old religion would be put to death.) The goal was to convert them to Christianity. If they refused to convert, then they were prohibited from celebrating their religious feasts, following Jewish dietary laws, performing circumcisions, working on Sundays (Saturday was the Jewish sabbath), or marrying without a priest's blessing.

To assure this, Jews were monitored. They were prevented from leaving the country try, and required to "check in" regularly with a bishop. The Council ordered confiscation of Jewish property. If Jews had purchased anything of value from Christians, they had to re-sell it back at a lower price.

Catholics who aided Jews were fined.

Once converted, however, it was important to prevent them from reverting to their old customs. On Jewish holidays, converts were required to appear in public in places where the Jewish festivals were not being celebrated.

Centuries later, England had a slightly more accommodating way to deal with Jews who convert to Christianity. I'll tell you more tomorrow.