An archa or arca (plural archae) was a mediaeval document repository, such as a chest, associated with the financial records of

Jews in England The history of the Jews in England goes back to the reign of William the Conqueror. Although it is likely that there had been some Jewish presence in the Roman period, there is no definitive evidence, and no reason to suppose that there was any ...

at the time. According to Jewish Communities and Records, UK, the archa was "an official chest, provided with three locks and seals, in which a counterpart of all deeds and contracts involving Jews was to be deposited in order to preserve the records." Similarly the Jewish Encyclopedia of 1906 describes an archa as a "repository in which

chirograph A chirograph is a medieval document, which has been written in duplicate, triplicate or very occasionally quadruplicate (four copies) on a single piece of parchment, with the Latin word ''chirographum'' (occasionally replaced by some other term) ...

s and other deeds were preserved." quoting C. Gross in ''Papers of the Anglo-Jewish Historical Exhibition'', pp. 182-190.

Worcester Worcester may refer to: Places United Kingdom * Worcester, England, a city and the county town of Worcestershire in England ** Worcester (UK Parliament constituency), an area represented by a Member of Parliament * Worcester Park, London, Engla ...

and

Winchester Winchester is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city in Hampshire, England. The city lies at the heart of the wider City of Winchester, a local government Districts of England, district, at the western end of the South Downs Nation ...

were two of the 26 Jewish centres of the time to have archae. The introduction of archae in Worcester was part of the reorganization of English Jewry ordered by

King Richard I Richard I (8 September 1157 – 6 April 1199) was King of England from 1189 until his death in 1199. He also ruled as Duke of Normandy, Aquitaine and Gascony, Lord of Cyprus, and Count of Poitiers, Anjou, Maine, and Nantes, and was overl ...

in light of the massacres of Jews that took place in 1189-1190 at, and shortly following, his coronation. These massacres resulted in a heavy loss of Crown revenue partly thanks to the destruction result of Jewish financial records by the murderous mob (in order to conceal evidence of debts due to the Jews). The archae were intended to safeguard the royal rights in case of future disorder. All Jewish possessions and credits were to be registered and several cities were designated as centres for all Jewish business operations and registration of Jewish financial transactions. In each centre, a bureau was set up consisting of two reputable Jews and two Christian clerks, under the supervision of a representative of the newly established central authority that became known as the

Exchequer of the Jews The Exchequer of the Jews (Latin: ''Scaccarium Judaeorum'') was a division of the Exchequer of Pleas, Court of Exchequer at Westminster, which recorded and regulated the taxes and the law-cases of the History of the Jews in England, Jews in England ...

See also

References

Further reading