William of Norwich

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William of Norwich (1132? - March 1144) was an English boy whose death was blamed on the Jewish community of Norwich in the first medieval example of blood libel against Jews. He was an apprentice tanner who regularly came into contact with Jews and visited their homes as part of his trade. Immediately after his death he was popularly venerated as a martyr and was soon regarded as a local saint in Norwich after miracles were attributed to him.

1 Anti-Semitism
2 Canonization
3 References
4 External links

[edit] Anti-Semitism

A Jewish community is thought to have been established in Norwich by 1135, although a man called 'Issac' is recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086. Most lived in a Jewish quarter or Jewry, located in what is now the Haymarket and White Lion Street. This is very close to Norwich Castle, a pattern seen in other towns which may have been for reasons of security. The Norwich community subsequently became one of the most important in England.

Anti-Jewish sentiment erupted in 1144, with William's death. His body was found upon Mousehold Heath, an extensive woodland to the North-East of Norwich that still exists. It has been speculated he may in fact have died either from ingestion of poisonous fungi or died of some sort of fit, however the local people, with leadership of the clergy, accused the Jews of torturing and murdering him. Only the intervention of the local sheriff, representing the king, saved the Jews from the mob. A long aftermath of accusations continued, reinforcing anti-Jewish stereotypes.

[edit] Canonization

The motive of the clergy, in particular William de Turbeville Bishop of Norwich 1146-1174 to establish a cultus were probably pecuniary. De Tubeville encouraged Thomas of Monmouth, a Benedictine monk who lived in Norwich to write The Life and Miracles of St. William of Norwich. Monmouth was contemporary to the events he describes. His Latin work written about 1173 is the source of all subsequent folk-lore and myth upon William of Norwich.

Before any attempt at an autopsy as to how the boy met his death, the Prior tried to get the body for Lewes Priory, for he realized that it might become an object ‘of conspicuous veneration and worship.’

[edit] References

James Parkes, The Jew in the Medieval Community: A study of his political and economic situation. Second Edition. New York: Hermon Press, 1976. p. 125
This article is based upon text (used with permission) from Aaron of Lincoln 1125-1186: the life and times of a Medieval Jew by Mae E. Sander.