The Murder of William of Norwich: The Origins of the Blood Libel in Medieval Europe
E.M Rose
Abstract
This book examines the ritual murder accusation (or blood libel), one of the most heinous charges against the Jews in the history of medieval antisemitism; it offers a radical new interpretation of its early history. It traces the origins to the circumstances surrounding the death of William of Norwich in 1144 and the text of the Life and Passion composed by the monk Thomas of Monmouth in 1150, in the period immediately following the English civil war, the Anarchy under King Stephen, and the Second Crusade. The charge arose as the result of a trial of an indebted knight, Simon de Novers, for k ... More
Keywords: ritual murder, blood libel, William of Norwich, Thomas of Monmouth, antisemitism. Second Crusade, English civil war, medieval, Jews, child murder, Anarchy
Bibliographic Information
| Print publication date: 2015 | Print ISBN-13: 9780190219628 |
| Published to Oxford Scholarship Online: August 2015 | DOI:10.1093/acprof:oso/9780190219628.001.0001 |
