Basing their conclusions on Latin documents historians have painted the Jewish
courts of medieval England as limited and haphazard affairs, their jurisdiction limited mostly
to family law. They have also assumed that rabbinic courts ceased their activity in England
after 1242. Hebrew rabbinic sources from the same period—some of which have never been
published—provide more detailed information. These sources describe several professional
courts staffed by learned scholars and adjudicating a range of legal issues. These courts existed
throughout the thirteenth century—until the Expulsion of 1290—and included some of the
leading rabbis in medieval England: Benjamin of Cambridge, Moses of London, and Moses’s
son Elijah Menahem. The London court of Rabbi Elijah Menahem in particular possessed significant
powers and utilized Elijah’s royal connections to enforce its rulings. Besides correcting
the scholarly perception of rabbinic courts in medieval England, this article demonstrates
how crucially important rabbinic texts and responsa are for historians as a source alongside
other types of medieval documentation.

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• Jewish Courts in Medieval England