On 16 March 1190, one of the worst massacres of Jews during the Middle Ages in England took place. The city’s entire Jewish community was besieged at York Castle and faced starvation or forced conversion.
The exact reasons for the attack are unclear. It was motivated by several factors including very public disagreements between Christian and Jewish scholars, crusading fervour, resentment towards Jews over debts as well as, most perniciously, the blood libels of the 12th century. This early antisemitic conspiracy theory emerged in 1144 after the Jews of Norwich were falsely accused of murdering a Christian child, William, who was found stabbed to death in the woods. Other similar cases followed, first around England but later around Europe. Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales even include references to blood libel.
In a similar fashion to antisemitic attacks throughout history, the massacre at York was not spontaneous. There was pent-up resentment of the Jewish community stemming from the fact that two Jews from York travelled to London to attend the coronation of Richard I in 1189. Some months later, after the Sheriff of York had left, taking any pretence of law and order with him, a fire broke out in the city. Taking advantage of the chaos, crowds looted the house of a prominent Jewish family, killing everyone inside.
Following this episode, the Jews of York took shelter within the castle. 16th March coincided with the Sabbath meal before Passover, an important Jewish holiday marking the Exodus from Egypt. There were between twenty and 40 families in the castle. A crowd, including troops acting at the behest of the castle’s keeper, with whom trust had broken down, formed around the castle. The Jews were offered safe passage from the castle if they agreed to convert but all who took this option were immediately murdered. Realising that they could not hold out, the Jews decided to meet death together. The father of each family killed his wife and children before taking his own life. In total, 150 people were killed.
The episode at York marked the worst of the antisemitic attacks that were commonplace in medieval England, which culminated in Edward I expelling all British Jews in 1290. Now, a plaque at the base of Clifford’s Tower in York commemorates the massacre and daffodils (whose six-pointed shape mirrors the Star of David) are planted around it each year.
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English Heritage (n.d.). The Massacre of the Jews at Clifford’s Tower. [online] English Heritage. Available at: https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/cliffords-tower-york/history-and-stories/massacre-of-the-jews/.
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum (n.d.). Blood Libel. [online] encyclopedia.ushmm.org. Available at: https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/blood-libel.