Answer: From the beginning, Jewish people were under the protection of the crown. This meant they had a special relationship to the law: they were ‘servants’ of the king. They were administered by a special court, and did not have the same legal status as ordinary English people. On one hand, this provided a measure of protection for Jewish communities, but only so long as kings were willing to make good on this protection. The reign of Henry II (1152-89) is generally seen as a time when Jewish privileges were protected.
