The Queen's Man: Eleanor of Castile and Cok Hagin

Irwin, Dean

Abstract

Eleanor of Castile’s use Jewish debts to expand and consolidate her landholdings is well known. An under explored element of her activities relates to how Eleanor worked with individual Jews. Many of these relationships were formal, routine even. In contrast, she worked closely with Cok Hagin, a leading member of the London Jewry, throughout the 1280s. Cok is a curious case study in the context of loyalty because he is generally regarded as having been loyal to his patrons, who both supported and protected him, rather than his own community. When he was ‘excommunicated’ from the community in 1275, it was not a member of the Jewish community that spoke in his defence, but Robert Kilwardby, archbishop of Canterbury. Equally, in 1281 it was at Eleanor’s insistence, that he was appointed to the office of presbyter judaeorum (the highest office that a Jew in medieval England could occupy). Historians have been disparaging of this relationship, but the evidence suggests a close relationship, mirroring the bonds of loyalty which can be seen in Christian society. The relationship raises important questions about what it meant to be loyal as, or to, a Jew in medieval England. Equally, it necessitates addressing how Jewishness and Englishness intersected with each other and the concept of loyalty. Inherently, the language and rituals of loyalty is problematic in the context of Jewish-Christian relations, so this paper will work to see how well established traditions were amended (or not) in loyalty between Jews and Christians.

Citation

Irwin, D. (2024, April). The Queen's Man: Eleanor of Castile and Cok Hagin. Paper presented at Loyalty in the Medieval World, University of Lincoln

• Presentation Conference Type: Conference Paper (unpublished)
• Conference Name: Loyalty in the Medieval World
• Conference Location: University of Lincoln
• Start Date: Apr 5, 2024
• End Date: Apr 7, 2024
• Deposit Date: Apr 4, 2024
• Publisher URL: https://medievalloyalty.blogs.lincoln.ac.uk/