Ratified in 1215, the Magna Carta laid the foundation for the English constitution and inspired many modern ideas of civil rights and limited government. The document contained two clauses restricting Jewish creditors’ ability to collect from the estates of deceased debtors. Derek Taylor explains:
[T]hese clauses were [in part] aimed at the king himself. The reason lies in the peculiar relationship that existed between Jews and the crown. Jews and all they owned had come to be regarded as the property of the king. This meant that he could tax them at will and could seize the wealth of any Jew on his death—a clever arrangement, as far as the king was concerned, because it enabled him to share legitimately in the immense profits of [moneylending], a practice prohibited [to Christians] by the Christian church. So the clauses in the Magna Carta that restricted the Jews’ income from financial transactions also had the indirect effect of limiting the benefits the king could receive as the ultimate owner of Jews’ property.
But this bizarre relationship between Jewry and royalty was not without its benefits for Jews. The king offered his special protection to them. It was, after all, in his economic interest to do so. However, that protection could not always be relied upon.
In 1290, that protection was rescinded when the English monarchy expelled all the Jews from its lands.
Read more on Moment: http://www.momentmag.com/what-did-the-magna-carta-do-for-jews/