Elias of London also known as Elijah ben Moses or Elias le Evesque, was Presbyter Judaeorum in 13th-century

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. He is not to be confused with Eliyahu Menachem of London, one of the

Rishonim ''Rishonim'' (; he, ; sing. he, , ''Rishon'', "the first ones") were the leading rabbis and ''poskim'' who lived approximately during the 11th to 15th centuries, in the era before the writing of the ''Shulchan Aruch'' ( he, , "Set Table", a ...

who lived from 1220-1284. Some of the below details, taken from the Jewish Encyclopedia article, may refer to Eliyahu Menachem.

Biography

Elias of London succeeded Aaron of York, represented

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

at the so-called " Jewish Parliament" at

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, Englan ...

in 1240, and in 1249 was allowed to have Abraham fil Aaron as his assistant.

Henry III of England Henry III (1 October 1207 – 16 November 1272), also known as Henry of Winchester, was King of England, Lord of Ireland, and Duke of Aquitaine from 1216 until his death in 1272. The son of King John and Isabella of Angoulême, Henry a ...

exacted from him no less a sum than £10,000, besides £100 a year for a period of four years. Elias headed the deputation which asked the king's permission to leave the country in 1253. In 1255 he was imprisoned as a surety for the

tallage Tallage or talliage (from the French ''tailler, i.e. '' a part cut out of the whole) may have signified at first any tax, but became in England and France a land use or land tenure tax. Later in England it was further limited to assessments by the ...

of the Jews, and two years later he was deposed from office, being succeeded by his brother Hagin (Hayyim). In 1259, according to

Matthew Paris Matthew Paris, also known as Matthew of Paris ( la, Matthæus Parisiensis, lit=Matthew the Parisian; c. 1200 – 1259), was an English Benedictine monk, chronicler, artist in illuminated manuscripts and cartographer, based at St Albans Abbey ...

, he was said to have been converted, and confessed to having prepared

poison Poison is a chemical substance that has a detrimental effect to life. The term is used in a wide range of scientific fields and industries, where it is often specifically defined. It may also be applied colloquially or figuratively, with a broa ...

for certain of the English nobles; but in 1266 he was again treated as a Jew, and compensation to the amount of £50 was granted him for losses he had incurred during the Barons' war. He still remained one of the most important Jews of London in 1277, being one of the few who were granted permission to trade as merchants though they were not members of the Gild Merchant. He appears to have been a

physician A physician (American English), medical practitioner (Commonwealth English), medical doctor, or simply doctor, is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through th ...

of some note, for his aid was invoked by

Jean d'Avesnes John of Avesnes (1 May 1218 – 24 December 1257) was the count of Hainaut from 1246 to his death. Life Born in Houffalize, John was the eldest son of Margaret II of Flanders by her first husband, Bouchard IV of Avesnes. As the marriage of Marga ...

Count of Hainault The Count of Hainaut (; ; ) was the ruler of the county of Hainaut, a historical region in the Low Countries (including the modern countries of Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg and parts of northern France and western Germany). In English-la ...

, in 1280, and he obtained permission to visit the count in that year. At Elias' death an inquest made upon his estate declared him to be possessed of personal property to the value of 400 marks, and of houses of the yearly rental of 100 shillings. These his widow, Fluria, was permitted to retain on payment to the king of 400 marks. One of his houses appears to have been located on Sporier Street, near the

Tower of London The Tower of London, officially His Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress of the Tower of London, is a historic castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, which is separa ...

, and at the expulsion in 1290 was granted to the prior of

Chicksands Chicksands is a village in the Central Bedfordshire district of Bedfordshire, England, and part of the civil parish of Campton and Chicksands, whose population in 2007 was estimated to be 2,510. By the 2011 census the figure was accurately placed ...

. Elias was an expert in Jewish law, being summoned before the king to decide questions. A responsum of his is quoted in one of the manuscripts of the "

Mordechai Mordecai (; also Mordechai; , IPA: ) is one of the main personalities in the Book of Esther in the Hebrew Bible. He is described as being the son of Jair, of the tribe of Benjamin. He was promoted to Vizier after Haman was killed. Biblical acco ...

".See A. Berliner, "Hebräische Poesien Meïrs aus Norwich," p. 3, London, 1887

Sources

Jewish Encyclopedia bibliography: Prynne, Short Demurrer, part ii., sub annis; Jacobs, in Papers of the Anglo-Jew. Hist. Exh. pp. 22, 45, 49-51; M. Paris, ''Chronica Majora'', v. 398, 441, 730; Select Pleas of the Jewish Exchequer, ed. Rigg, pp. xxxiii., 86, 88, 130, London, 1902; Jacobs, in R. E. J. xviii. 259.G. J. {{Rishonim Court Jews 13th-century English rabbis 13th-century English medical doctors Medical doctors from London Medieval Jewish physicians of England English Orthodox Jews Rabbis from London