A custom was instituted in the city of Thoulouse by Charlemagne, that at
Easter any Christian might give a box on the ear to a Jew, wherever he
chanced to meet him, as a mark of contempt for the nation, which had, at
that season, crucified the Saviour of mankind. This usage, scandalous in
itself, was sometimes, through zeal, practised with great violence. It
is stated that the eye of a poor Jew was forced out, on that side of the
head whereon the blow was given. In the course of centuries this cruel
custom was commuted for a tax, and the money appropriated to the use of
the church of St. Saturnin.[157] Accounts of the prevalence of this
custom in our own country are related in the _Every-Day Book_, vol. i.
[157] Miss Plumptre.
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