The Life and Passion of William of Norwich (Penguin Classics)

A new translation of a fascinating chronicle from 12th-century EnglandA work that holds a unique and terrible place in the history of anti-Semitism, The Life and Passion of William of Norwich gives a remarkable insight into daily life in a medieval cathedral city, while also documenting miracles at the shrine of William, a boy worshippers believed to be murdered by the Jews of Norwich. This was the earliest version of the “blood libel,” a horrible myth of ritual murder which has haunted Europe ever since. A fascinating surviving chronicle from 12th-century England which holds a unique and terrible place in the history of anti-Semitism The Life and Passion of William of Norwich gives a remarkable insight into life in a medieval cathedral city, brilliantly capturing the everyday concerns of ordinary people and focussing on the miraculous cures carried out at a shrine. But this was no ordinary shrine; fervent worshippers gathered around the burial-place where they believed that a boy was buried, a boy murdered by the Jews of Norwich. A chilling, highly significant document, The Life and Passion of William of Norwich is, as far as we know, the earliest version of what was to become the 'blood libel' which has haunted Europe ever since. Miri Rubin both superbly translates the book and in her introduction interprets the sequence of events that led to the monk Thomas of Monmouth's appalling narrative. The consequences of his fantasies have been incalculable. This translation of a 12th-century English chronicle gives insight into daily life in a medieval cathedral city, while also documenting miracles at the shrine of William, a boy worshippers believed to be murdered by the Jews of Norwich. This was the earliest version of the "blood libel," a horrible myth of ritual murder which has haunted Europe ever since