1190 Attacks on the Jews in England

On 16th March 1190 at York [Map] the Jewish population sought protection from violence in Clifford's Tower. The tower was besieged by the mob. The Jewish men killed their wives and children, after which they set fire to the wooden keep. Those who did escape were murdered.

On 18th March 1190 at Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk [Map] fifty-seven of the Jewish population were murdered.

Flowers of History by Roger of Wendover 1190. Of the dreadful slaughter of the Jews at York. In the same year, during Lent, that is, on the 15th of March, the Jews of the city of York, to the number of five hundred, besides women and children, through fear of an attack on the part of the Christians, by permission of the sheriff and the governor of the castle, shut themselves up in that fortress [Clifford's Tower], and when the garrison required them to give up possession of it, they refused to do so. On this refusal, repeated attacks were made both by day and night, and at length the Jews after reflecting, offered a large sum of money for their lives, but this was refused by the people. Then one of them skilled in the law, rose and addressed his com- panions thus, "Oh, men of Israel, hear my counsel. It is better, as our law instructs us, to die for our law than to fall into the hands of our enemies." This being agreed to by all, each head of a family came with a sharp razor, and cut the throats first of his wife, sons, and daughters, and after- wards of all his family, and threw the dead bodies, which they considered as sacrificed to devils, on the Christians outside the castle; they then shut themselves up in the king's house, and setting fire to it, both living and dead were burned together with the buildings. After this the citizens and soldiers burned the Jews' houses, with the papers of their debtors, but retained their money for their own use.

Flowers of History by Roger of Wendover 1190. Of the massacre of the Jews in sundry places. In this same year, many persons throughout England who were about to journey to Jerusalem, determined previous to their departure, to cause a rising against the Jews. This first broke out at Norwich, where the Jews, as many as could be found, were slain in their own houses; some few, however, escaped, and took refuge in the castle at that place. After this, on the 7th of March [1190], many were slain at Stamford on market day; on the 18th day of March fifty-seven were said to have been slaughtered at St. Edmund's; thus, wherever the Jews were found they were slain by the hands of the crusaders, except those who were protected by the municipal officers. But we must not believe that such a massacre of the Jews was pleasing to wise men, since it is written, "Do not kill them, lest my people should forget."

Chronicum Anglicanum by Ralph Coggeshall. For at York, more than four hundred Jews had taken refuge in the royal fortress [Clifford's Tower] to escape the persecution of the Christians, who had gathered there for the county assembly. Nevertheless, they were besieged and fiercely attacked by certain knights and citizens of the aforementioned city. When they could no longer withstand the assaults of their besiegers and all hope of escape was lost, they voluntarily brought upon themselves a wretched death out of fear of a more dreadful fate. They chose to perish by mutual slaughter rather than be savagely and disgracefully butchered by their persecutors' fury. Now, among them was a man of advanced age and well-versed in Mosaic law, whom they called Rabbi. All, from the least to the greatest, listened to him. He encouraged them to accept such a horrific manner of death through exhortations and by citing the exemplary teachings of the forefathers in the Old Law. And so, nearly all of them, except for a few who later pretended to convert to belief in the Lord Jesus, obeyed his urging. Taking up a knife, he cut the throats and arteries of each one, having first thrown their wealth into the filthy water that ran below. At last, he likewise took his own life in the same manner. Thus, the enemies of the Christian name left their bodies unburied, exposed to dogs and birds, while their souls were consigned to eternal torment in the flames of Hell.

Nam cum apud Eboracum quadringenti et eo amplius Judæi in munitione regia inclusi haberentur, ob persecutionem Christianorum, qui tunc ad comitatus convenerant, declinandam, nihilominus tamen a quibusdam militibus et prædictæ urbis civibus sunt obsessi et acrius expugnati. Cumque assultus expugnantium diutius ferre non possent, et jam omnis spes evadendi sublata fuisset, miserabilem mortem dirioris mortis metu voluntarie sibi ipsimet accersierunt, eligentes potius mutua cede deperire quam persequentium rabie truculentius atque impudentius jugulari. Erat autem quidam inter eos natu major et in lege Mosaica instructior, quem Rabi cognominabant, cui omnes auscultabant, a minimo usque ad maximum, qui eosdem ad tam horribile genus mortis exhortationibus et exemplari doctrina patrum in Veteri Lege præcedentium, animaveret. Cumque fere omnes, exceptis quibusdam paucis, qui se postmodum in Dominum Jesum credere simularunt, ejus hortatui obtemperarent, ille, arrepto cultro, incidit fibras gutturis singulorum cum arteriis, projectis prius eorum pecuniis in aqua ccenulenta, que subtus decurrebat, ac tandem semetipsum simili morte jugulans. Sicque inimici Christiani nominis cadavers inhumata canibus et avibus exposuerunt; animas vero gehennalibus flammis in perpetuum cruciandas tradentes.

Images of Histories by Ralph Diceto. On the seventeenth day before the Kalends of April [16th March 1190] at York, as it is said, almost five hundred were put to death, wounding one another with mutual blows; for they preferred to be struck down by their own people rather than perish by the hands of the uncircumcised.