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In this article, Simonetta Bernardi reviews evidence from legal records of the communes and ecclesiastical tribunals of the Marches of the Papal State, of cases involving members of the Jewish communities, from the fourteenth century to the issue of the papal Bull of 1555 ordering the confinement of the Jewish community in ghettoes. They show that prior to 1555 the Jews had enjoyed broad freedom to trade and participate in business, and did resort to the local courts to claim their rights, or alternatively were cited by Christian plaintiffs. The records suggest that while in some cases the Jews clearly suffered from prejudice and discrimination, the courts more commonly adopted a balanced and pragmatic approach, especially when this could be turned to the financial advantage of the local commune. It would appear that a Jewish litigant did have a reasonable prospect of getting satisfaction through the courts.
