Jacob Mantino and the Royal Divorce

The role of Jacob Mantino in the difficult question of the Royal Divorce, involving politics, theology and, although indirectly, also the position of the Jews within Christianity, has not been fully clarified, due to the fact that the only sources mentioning him in this regard are documented by the correspondence of Richard Croke, an agent of the King Henry VIII, a notoriously secretive person and an oversuspicious diplomat. In reconstructing the larger and the more immediate contexts of Mantino’s involvement, especially his tormented relationship with Elijah Menachem Chalfan and the Christian Churchmen Egidio da Viterbo and Francesco Zorzi, it appears quite clear that his position was inspired by the utmost prudence, an abundant dose of realism and the persuasion that the interest of the Jews were best served by avoiding an open support to the King’s cause. This conclusion is in line with the more general attitude of Mantino, who strove an academic and social ascent without giving up his Jewish allegiance, a difficult exercise of acrobatics in the hard times he had to live in.