WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Ceaseless

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

◈ The Medieval Heretic King is Too Good at Developing ◈

Chapter 24: The Jew

──────

Jews.

When people think of Jews, certain images often come to mind.

Heartless usurers without a shred of pity.

Leeches sucking the lifeblood of poor Christians.

Cold-blooded figures like Shylock from Shakespeare's play, demanding a pound of flesh in place of repayment.

But that was wrong. Completely wrong.

'Why are all Jews rich?'

They had not become wealthy because they were born greedy.

It was because all the poor Jews had died.

To live as a Jew in medieval Europe was to pay for one's life every single day.

Land to farm? They could not own any.

The right to join a guild? They had none.

The right to hold public office? Of course not.

The Bible taught, "Do not charge interest to your brother," so Christians could not lend money at interest.

That left Jews with only finance, or usury, the filthy sin Christians avoided.

If a lord issued an expulsion order because he was in a foul mood? They had to pay bribes.

If crusaders began a massacre for amusement as they passed through? They had to hire mercenaries to stop them.

If drought stirred unrest among the people? They had to pay enormous fines to clear themselves of accusations that they had poisoned the wells.

History was written in blood.

1096, the First Crusade.

The Jews of the Rhineland were slaughtered by people driven mad enough to shout, "Before we kill the heathens, let us cleanse the heathens among us!"

1348, the Black Death.

As a third of Europe's population died, people believed the false rumor that Jews had poisoned the wells. In Strasbourg alone, two thousand Jews were burned alive.

Money.

Without money, they died.

Poor Jews were stabbed to death by crusaders, burned at the stake during the Black Death, or starved to death.

Only Jews with money could extend their lives by the weight of their gold coins.

For hundreds of years, that simple and cruel truth had been carved into their genes.

So it was only natural that the Jews who had survived until now were wealthy. It was not the result of greed, but of desperate natural selection.

Ghetto.

A word for a Jewish quarter.

It was another prison within the city.

The air in Josefov, Prague's Jewish quarter, was heavier and fouler than the air outside.

The cramped alleys reeked of filth, while the old wooden houses packed tightly together looked ready to collapse at any moment.

The sun stood high in the sky, yet the streets held no life.

Children played quietly, and adults moved along the walls like shadows.

They never knew when a stone might come flying at them.

They never knew when an angry mob carrying torches might storm in.

Every one of them wore a piece of yellow cloth.

The Star of David. A mark of shame.

In 1215, at the Fourth Lateran Council, Pope Innocent III ordered Jews to wear identifying marks.

A piece of yellow cloth or a horned hat. It turned them from people into walking targets.

Abraham, the rabbi, sighed as he wiped the old synagogue door.

"...Lord, how long will You test us?"

The mood in Prague had been troubling lately.

A new king had been crowned. They said he had confiscated Church property, had even been excommunicated, and was known as The Heretic King.

Then it happened.

"Rabbi!"

The butcher came running over in an apron dripping with blood. His face was pale with terror.

"Rabbi! Have you heard? The Pope has excommunicated the king!"

"...I know."

Abraham nodded heavily.

"This is bad. Since the king has been excommunicated, he'll need someone to vent his anger on. Hasn't it always been that way? If there's a poor harvest, it's our fault. If disease spreads, it's our fault. Now they'll say the king going mad is our fault too!"

"Calm down. Nothing has happened yet."

"They say soldiers are gathering outside the city gates! How many of us will die this time... Oh, God!"

For Jews, a change of ruler had always been a source of terror.

A new king's first act to win public support was often to persecute the Jews.

It united public opinion, erased debts, and filled the treasury by seizing Jewish property. Three benefits from a single measure.

Abraham's wrinkled hands trembled.

'How many will die this time? How many bribes will we have to offer to survive?'

He had already spoken with the elders and begun collecting emergency funds. But it would never be enough to satisfy the king's greed.

Then it happened.

Boom. Boom. Boom!

Loud drums rang out from the entrance to the ghetto.

'They've come!'

Abraham dropped the rag in his hand. The Jews in the streets turned pale and fled into their homes. Windows slammed shut, and bolts slid into place with a clatter.

"Oh, Adonai..."

But Abraham did not run. No, he could not.

He was the rabbi. When the flock was led to slaughter, the shepherd had to offer his neck first.

Armed soldiers were already lined up in the ghetto square.

Banners bearing a two-tailed lion and a golden star fluttered in the wind. Before them stood a man in an ornate herald's uniform and a young knight.

The soldiers had not drawn their swords. They carried no torches.

Yet their silence was even more frightening.

"Let the representative of the Jews come forward!"

The herald shouted. Swallowing hard, Abraham stepped forward slowly, like a prisoner being led to the execution ground.

"I-I am... the rabbi here."

Abraham lay flat on the ground. The cold chill of the dirt touched his forehead.

"I bring the king's words. Listen well, all of you!"

The herald unrolled a scroll.

The Jews who had been hiding peered out through windows and door cracks, their eyes filled with terror.

'Is it an expulsion order? A confiscation of property? Or a massacre?'

Abraham squeezed his eyes shut. In his heart, he screamed for the children to be spared, at least.

But then.

"His Majesty Ulrich von Sternberg, King of Bohemia and rightful heir of Luxembourg, declares the following."

The herald began reading the royal decree.

"The Lord said, 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' This is the law above all laws, the commandment above all commandments."

Abraham frowned.

Here it came again. The usual words Christians recited before beginning a massacre.

They would say that Jews had killed Jesus and therefore did not deserve love, that they had to repent.

"But!"

The herald raised his voice.

"Looking back upon our long history, we Christians have failed to uphold that sacred commandment when dealing with Jews. We did not call you neighbors, nor did we treat you as brothers. We were hypocrites, sinners who violated the commandment."

"...?"

Abraham's eyes widened.

What had he just said?

Not that they were sinners... but that the Christians themselves were sinners?

"Therefore, I declare that the ghetto of Prague shall be closed from this day forth!"

Closed.

At that word, a woman hiding at the edge of the square screamed. They were being driven out. They would be cast into the wilderness to die.

But the herald's next words shattered their expectations.

"The walls that confined you shall be torn down. You are no longer prisoners of the ghetto, but free citizens of Bohemia."

"...What?"

A foolish sound slipped from Abraham's mouth.

"From this day forth, all restrictions on the movement and residence of Jews are abolished. Freedom of occupation is guaranteed. You may join guilds, own land, and be subject to the same tax laws as Bohemians."

"...!!"

Abraham's eyes grew so wide they looked ready to burst.

"Furthermore, the unjust poll tax and protection tax imposed upon you are abolished. You are no longer foreigners, but proud citizens of Bohemia and subjects under the protection of the king!"

The square fell silent, as though cold water had been thrown over it.

"Furthermore, the Crown shall directly protect the lives and property of Jews. Anyone who harms you or plunders your property because you are Jews shall be regarded as a traitor to the king and be beheaded!"

The proclamation ended.

But there were no cheers.

No applause.

A shock too great could sometimes make reality feel unreal.

Abraham stared blankly at the herald, his mouth hanging open. He could not understand.

Was it a trap? Did they intend to make them lower their guard, then kill them all at once? Or had fear driven him mad?

"U-um... sir..."

Abraham asked in a trembling voice.

"What exactly do you mean by that...?"

"Didn't you hear? I said you're free now."

János Hunyadi, standing beside the herald with a slouch, added as though it were a bother.

"It means you can tear down the gates of the ghetto and go out into the square to trade. Of course, you'll pay the same taxes as everyone else."

"F-free citizens...?"

Tears streamed down Abraham's face. They were not tears of joy. They came from the overwhelming fear and confusion of hope too unreal to believe.

For people treated like animals for hundreds of years, to suddenly be told they were human.

Rather than a miracle, it was a shock closer to violence.

One by one, the Jews watching through the windows opened their doors and stepped outside. Their faces bore the same expression as Abraham's.

Suspicion. Astonishment. And a faint, impossible hope beginning to bloom.

János approached Abraham, who still stood there with his mouth open, and tossed him the parchment bearing the royal decree.

"Take it. It's the king's promise."

Abraham accepted the parchment with trembling hands.

The royal seal was clearly stamped upon it.

"W-what is this...?"

"The king does not want your money."

János added, "What the king wants is your talent. Work for Bohemia. Then the king will be your shield."

János gave Abraham, still standing there in a daze, a light pat on the shoulder.

"What are you doing? Shouldn't you be cheering or something? This place is awfully quiet."

Only then did a suppressed sound, like a groan, burst from Abraham's lips.

"Ah... ah...!"

Whether it was a wail or a cheer, no one could tell. It was a sound boiling up from the depths of his soul.

The Heretic King's decree.

It was a true bomb that would shake Europe's order, more powerful than the Pope's Excommunication Edict.

The herald, royal guard, and young knight disappeared, leaving dust behind them.

Silence returned to the ghetto.

But it was different from the silence of death that had come before.

"Rabbi..."

Someone asked in a trembling voice.

"Could this... be a trap?"

"It must be a trap! They're trying to learn the extent of our property so they can confiscate everything at once!"

"But the king's seal..."

Abraham tightened his grip on the decree until the parchment wrinkled.

He had spent his entire life amid discrimination and contempt. He knew painfully well how deceitful the mercy and love Christians cried out about could be.

Was this real? Or was it the Lord's trial before He delivered an even greater despair?

Or perhaps... had the savior of the Jews, a second Cyrus the Great, truly appeared?

Abraham wiped away his tears.

Even he could not tell whether they were tears of overwhelming emotion or tears of fear for the upheaval to come.

Only one thing was certain.

No one in the ghetto would be able to sleep tonight.

"Everyone."

Abraham spoke in a hoarse voice.

"Gather the elders. And... we must bring out the ledgers we have hidden."

A chance that had come to his people for the first time in centuries.

For the first time, the old leader's eyes gleamed not like prey, but like a hunter's.

Footnotes:

Join our discord at https://dsc.gg/wetried