The Jacob Barnet affair occurred in 1612 when a

Jew Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, religion, and community are highly inte ...

ish teacher by the name of Jacob Barnet was arrested and imprisoned by officials of the

University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate university, collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the List of oldest un ...

for changing his mind about being

baptised Baptism (from ) is a Christians, Christian sacrament of initiation almost invariably with the use of water. It may be performed by aspersion, sprinkling or affusion, pouring water on the head, or by immersion baptism, immersing in water eit ...

Background

Throughout the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...

and up until the 1850s the

required all students and the faculty staff to be

Christians A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the world. The words '' Christ'' and ''C ...

; following the

English Reformation The English Reformation began in 16th-century England when the Church of England broke away first from the authority of the pope and bishops Oath_of_Supremacy, over the King and then from some doctrines and practices of the Catholic Church ...

, they were required to be members of the established church (the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...

). In addition,

Edward I Edward I (17/18 June 1239 – 7 July 1307), also known as Edward Longshanks and the Hammer of the Scots (Latin: Malleus Scotorum), was King of England from 1272 to 1307. Concurrently, he was Lord of Ireland, and from 125 ...

's ban on Jews living in England remained in force until Cromwell overturned it. Nevertheless, a few visiting Jewish Hebrew teachers taught students at the university privately, or worked in the

Bodleian Library The Bodleian Library () is the main research library of the University of Oxford. Founded in 1602 by Sir Thomas Bodley, it is one of the oldest libraries in Europe. With over 13 million printed items, it is the second-largest library in ...

on Hebrew manuscripts. In 1609, the French

Huguenot The Huguenots ( , ; ) are a Religious denomination, religious group of French people, French Protestants who held to the Reformed (Calvinist) tradition of Protestantism. The term, which may be derived from the name of a Swiss political leader, ...

scholar

Isaac Casaubon Isaac Casaubon (; ; 18 February 1559 – 1 July 1614) was a classical scholar and philologist, first in France and then later in England. His son Méric Casaubon was also a classical scholar. Life Early life He was born in Geneva to two F ...

invited Jacob Barnet, an Italian Jew, to his home in

Drury Lane Drury Lane is a street on the boundary between the Covent Garden and Holborn areas of London, running between Aldwych and High Holborn. The northern part is in the borough of London Borough of Camden, Camden and the southern part in the City o ...

, London. During their time together, they discussed Jewish texts on various topics, and Barnet proved to Casaubon that Jesus had been buried in accordance with standard Jewish burial practice rather than (as argued by Cardinal Baronio) in a new way that became the method of Catholic burial. Casaubon thereafter employed Barnet as his secretary, and in 1610 the two of them came to Oxford.

Oxford

Barnet's personal qualities, as well as his erudition, meant that he was liked and respected by scholars at the university. While at Oxford, he decided to be baptised as a Christian, and told Casaubon of his decision; Casaubon told the

Vice-Chancellor A vice-chancellor (commonly called a VC) serves as the chief executive of a university in the United Kingdom, New Zealand, Australia, Nepal, India, Bangladesh, Malaysia, Nigeria, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, South Africa, Kenya, other Commonwealth of Nati ...

, who (like other members of the university) was pleased with Barnet's decision. Preparations were made for Barnet to be baptised at a grand service in the

University Church of St Mary the Virgin The University Church of St Mary the Virgin (St Mary's or SMV for short) is an Anglican church in Oxford situated on the north side of the High Street. It is the centre from which the University of Oxford grew and its parish consists almost excl ...

Barnet, however, did not attend the ceremony, having decided against converting; he left Oxford on foot. According to the 17th-century Oxford antiquarian Anthony Wood, Arthur Lake, the

Warden A warden is a custodian, defender, or guardian. Warden is often used in the sense of a watchman or guardian, as in a prison warden. It can also refer to a chief or head official, as in the Warden of the Mint. ''Warden'' is etymologically ident ...

New College, Oxford New College is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1379 by Bishop William of Wykeham in conjunction with Winchester College as New College's feeder school, New College was one of the first col ...

, sent pursuers after Barnet on foot and on horseback; Lake was one of the "learned Doctors" of the university whom Wood said had been "deceived" by Barnet's "tricks". Barnet was apprehended and taken back to Oxford, where he refused to be baptised. He was then detained in the unpleasant conditions of the Bocardo Prison. In the meantime, William Twisse, who was to preach at the service, changed his sermon to address Barnet's change of heart, demonstrating (according to Wood) "God's just judgment upon that perverse nation and people, whom he had given up to a reprobate sense even to this very day."

Aftermath

Casaubon was appalled by the treatment of Barnet and considered it a "violation of Christian ethics". He later said that he did not think that changing one's mind on such a matter of religion was a criminal matter. He appealed on Barnet's behalf to King James I, who issued a warrant for his release. Some months after his arrest, he was put on a ship to France and exiled. Later, Barnet was an adviser at the French court on Jewish matters.

References

{{Reflist, refs= {{cite web, title=The strange story of Jacob Barnet, author = Marcus Roberts , url = http://www.jtrails.org.uk/trails/Oxford/stories/c-230/the-strange-story-of-jacob-barnet/, access-date=2010-04-28 {{cite book, title=The history and antiquities of the University of Oxford, Volume 2, Part 1, year=2006, author= Anthony à Wood, John Gutch, url = https://books.google.com/books?id=YuxEAAAAYAAJ&q=barnet, page = 316 {{cite web, title=A Sketch Map of a Lost Continent: The Republic of Letters, author = Anthony Grafton, url = http://arcade.stanford.edu/journals/rofl/articles/sketch-map-lost-continent-republic-letters-by-anthony-grafton, access-date=2010-04-28 1612 in England History of the University of Oxford Antisemitism in England Religion in Oxford Christianity in Oxford Baptism Conversion of Jews to Christianity Jewish English history 1612 in religion Early modern Christian antisemitism