Belia of Winchester
Belia of Winchester (d. after 1273) was an English-Jewish businesswoman and moneylender.[1][2]
Belia was married to Deulebene (d. 1235) and became active in business as a widow.[3] Her mother-in-law Chera of Winchester (d. 1244) was also a prominent moneylender with business in Kent, Nottingham and Devon, and sometimes her business partner.[4] Belia became an important member of the Winchester community.
In 1241 Belia became the only woman in medieval England elected to be responsible for the Winchester hostage, her brother-in-law Elias, who was answerable for collecting the community's tallage.[5] She moved to Bedford after her second marriage to Pictavin of Bedford and established her business there.[6][7]
She is one of the more documented of many prominent women moneylenders in medieval England, alongside Licoricia of Winchester, Avigay of London; Belassez of Oxford; Comitissa of Cambridge; Floria, widow of Bonevie of Newbury; Floria, widow of Master Elias; Henne, widow of Aaron of York; Henne, widow of Jacob of Oxford; Milka of Canterbury and her daughter, Mirabel of Gloucester.[8][9]
References[edit]
- ^ Tallan, Cheryl and Emily Taitz. "Entrepreneurs." Jewish Women: A Comprehensive Historical Encyclopedia. 27 February 2009. Jewish Women's Archive. (Viewed on March 16, 2021)
- ^ Hillaby, Joe; Hillaby, Caroline (2013), Hillaby, Joe; Hillaby, Caroline (eds.), "Dictionary of Medieval Anglo-Jewish History", The Palgrave Dictionary of Medieval Anglo-Jewish History, London: Palgrave Macmillan UK, pp. 17–436, doi:10.1057/9781137308153_2, ISBN 978-1-137-30815-3, retrieved 20 January 2024
- ^ Taitz, Emily; Henry, Sondra; Tallan, Cheryl (1 February 2003). The JPS Guide to Jewish Women: 600 B.C.E.to 1900 C.E. Jewish Publication Society. ISBN 978-0-8276-0752-1.
- ^ Barton, Anne-Louise; Hill-Goulding, Elizabeth (15 May 2018). Secret Winchester. Amberley Publishing Limited. ISBN 978-1-4456-7186-4.
- ^ Jewish Culture and History. Frank Cass in conjunction with the Parkes Centre, University of Southampton. 2000.
- ^ Cavell, Emma (February 2021). "The Measure of Her Actions: A Quantitative Assessment of Anglo-Jewish Women's Litigation at the Exchequer of the Jews, 1219–81". Law and History Review. 39 (1): 135–172. doi:10.1017/S073824802000036X. ISSN 0738-2480. S2CID 232252121.
- ^ Hillaby, J. (15 August 2013). The Palgrave Dictionary of Medieval Anglo-Jewish History. Springer. ISBN 978-1-137-30815-3.
- ^ Meyer, Hannah (8 July 2021), "Licoricia of Winchester (d. 1277), financier", Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, doi:10.1093/odnb/9780198614128.013.369088, ISBN 978-0-19-861412-8, retrieved 20 January 2024
- ^ Brown, Reva Berman; McCARTNEY, Sean (2004). "David of Oxford and Licoricia of Winchester: glimpses into a Jewish family in thirteenth-century England". Jewish Historical Studies. 39: 1–34. ISSN 0962-9696. JSTOR 29780068.