THERE was nothing more characteristic of a medieval Jewish settlement than its synagogue, where its members congregated to pray and study. No other medieval Jewish institution could be so strongly identified with Jewish identity and survival. The synagogue in the Middle Ages was an essential ingredient in Jewish life, without which no form of Jewish existence could be contemplated. Its establishment was the most fundamental condition for the settlement of Jews in any land throughout the ages.

THE CROWN AND THE SYNAGOGUE

Under both Islam and Christianity restrictions were set by law on the building of synagogues. Although these legal restrictions were often the formal causes for the harassment of Jews in periods of persecution, in general no Jewish community was ever left without a house for worship and study. Like other rulers, the Aragonese kings were well aware of the essential role the synagogue played in Jewish life. The closure of the synagogue meant the end of Jewish life in the area. The pro-Jewish policy pursued by the kings of the Crown of Aragon was reflected in their attitudes towards the synagogue. All general charters granted to Jewish communities contained implicit or explicit permission to have at least one synagogue in any Jewish settlement or aljama. All Jewish communities in the territories conquered in the course of the Reconquista in its thirteenth-century phase were allowed to retain their synagogues.

The decisions of the king-counts concerning synagogues were generally in accord with their favourable policy towards the Jews and should be interpreted in the wider context of their attitudes towards the Jewish community. The permission granted in August 1263 by Jaime I to Bonanat Salamo to establish a synagogue in one of his houses or anywhere else in the call of Barcelona cannot be isolated from the events that deeply affected the life of the community. The permission to install a scroll of the Law in a newly established ark could not have passed unnoticed when the Barcelona Disputation was still very fresh news. The king's permission could only have meant support and encouragement to a community that felt threatened by the religious pressure of the Dominican missionaries.