CHAMPAGNE (, ): A former province of France, now known as the
departments of Marne, Haute-Marne, Aube, and Ardennes, with part
of Seine-et-Marne, Yonne, Aisne, and Meuse. Jews settled in
Champagne as early as the Gallo-Roman epoch. They depended on
the protection of the counts governing the country, this
protection, however, being dearly bought. Often the Jews of
Champagne moved into adjacent countries, being unable to pay the
heavy taxes imposed upon them. To avoid this loss to the
treasury and to get "their Jews" back, the counts of Champagne
concluded treaties of extradition with the neighboring
countries. Such a treaty was concluded in 1198 between Count
Thibaud IV. and Philippe Auguste, and was renewed in 1201 by
Countess Blanche, the widow of Thibaud. The latter claimed the
extradition of a wealthy Jew named Cresselin, who sought refuge
at Paris from the extortions of the countess. In 1284 Champagne
was incorporated into the kingdom of France, and the fate of the
Jews of this province became that of all