I think that was most typical when the party declaring the debt jubilee was the lender itself (e.g. the government), or when the lenders were despised by societ

I think that was most typical when the party declaring the debt jubilee was the lender itself (e.g. the government), or when the lenders were despised by society (e.g. Jews in mediæval Europe). A debt jubilee would not fly so well now when all of our pensions, retirements and endowments are tied up as … someone else's debt.