New Jorvik
Sep. 9th, 2010 08:19 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
merig00Once upon a time there was a walled city called Jorvik. Anglo-Norman kings periodically moved their courts to Jorvik, so a tall tower was built in York (as it became known in the 13th century). In the 9/11 of medieval Britain, this tower went down in flames.
...The keep of York's castle bears witness to the most horrifying event in the history of English Jewry. On the night of 16 March 1190, the small Jewish community of York was gathered together for protection inside the tower.
...After the death of Henry II, a protector of England's Jews, in July 1189, Richard Coeur-de-lion was crowned at Westminster. When a Jewish deputation appeared at Westminster Abbey with rich gifts on behalf of all the communities in the realm, they were refused admission. The humiliated representatives of Jewry were hooted by the palace guards; the mob without proceeded to throw stones at them. A false rumor spread that the king had ordered the destruction of the Jews. Unable to penetrate into their strongly fortified stone houses, the populace set fire to the straw roofs of the dwellings. Many who essayed to escaped were ruthlessly butchered; others, among them Jacob of Orleans, slew themselves when the alternative was baptism. A few Jews, however, saved themselves by this alternative; one of these [was] the rich Benedict of York [who later recanted before the king]. The chief justice and some noblemen, whom the king sent to quell the disorder, were forced to withdraw. The king, on learning what had happened, had three of the participants hanged. He let it be understood that the Jews must not be molested and had proclamation made to that effect throughout England and his French dominions. Scarcely, however, had Richard crossed the Channel to join Philip Augustus in the Crusade, when riots broke out afresh.
...In March 1190, a band of men broke into the house of the late Benedict of York, killing his widow and children, setting the house on fire, and carrying away Benedict's treasure. Several dwellings were set on fire [in addition to Benedict's house]. The alarmed Jews, with their leader Joseph, sought shelter in the royal castle. One day the warden happened to be gone; the Jews were apprehensive lest he might hand them over to the besieging mob, and so they denied him admission. The warden called in the aid of the sheriff of the country; Richard Malebys, a noble deeply in debt to the Jews, commanded the siege. The hapless Jews were short of rations; surrender spelled baptism or death by torture.
http://ddickerson.igc.org/cliffords-tow
...Trapped in the castle, the Jews were advised by Rabbi Yomtob of Joigney to kill themselves rather than convert; Joseph began by slaying his wife Anna and his two children, and then was killed by Yomtob. The father of each family killed his wife and children, and then Yomtob stabbed the men before killing himself. The handful of Jews who did not kill themselves surrendered at daybreak on March 17, leaving the castle on a promise that they would not be harmed; they were also killed. In the aftermath the wooden tower was burnt down. The massacre wiped out the city's entire Jewish population, estimated at 150 men, women and children. The ringleader Richard Malebisse and his accomplices went to the cathedral where they burned documents stored for safekeeping. These specified details of money they owed to the Jews. Malebisse escaped to Scotland. Richard I introduced a system whereby all debts held by Jews were duplicated to the Crown. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yom_Tov_of
...Today there are few Jews living in the city of York. Once a year a group of Chassidim conducts a remembrance service on the site and that of a former Jewish burial ground which is now underneath a supermarket car park. In the 1980s when this was built it was claimed that no records existed to suggest the area had ever been a large medieval Jewish cemetery. This is somewhat surprising given that the area was long known as Jewbury.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/relig
...In 1978, a plaque was laid at the site of the massacre in a religious service attended by the Chief Rabbi, the Archbishop of York and a descendant of Richard de Malebys, the leader of the mob who carried out the massacre. The ecumenical ceremony was intended to heal wounds and herald a new era for York, removing the stigma attached to the city. Little progress has been made. Devout Jews travelling on the East Coast Main Line still take care not to eat as they pass through York, as this would contravene the cherem still associated with the city. The issue of York's Jewish heritage has been highlighted by the contentious plan to construct a shopping centre in the area surrounding York Castle. Plans for Coppergate II have outraged the international Jewish community. Perhaps for Jews across the world, plans to surround a legendary pogrom site with a shopping centre could only have been conceived in one place - York. http://www.bbc.co.uk/legacies/immig_emi
People can build shopping centers, car parks, and mosques wherever they want, but it is remembered what happened in York in 1190 and 1978. What happened in New York will also be remembered. Perhaps it is not that new, after all.
Source
...The keep of York's castle bears witness to the most horrifying event in the history of English Jewry. On the night of 16 March 1190, the small Jewish community of York was gathered together for protection inside the tower.
...After the death of Henry II, a protector of England's Jews, in July 1189, Richard Coeur-de-lion was crowned at Westminster. When a Jewish deputation appeared at Westminster Abbey with rich gifts on behalf of all the communities in the realm, they were refused admission. The humiliated representatives of Jewry were hooted by the palace guards; the mob without proceeded to throw stones at them. A false rumor spread that the king had ordered the destruction of the Jews. Unable to penetrate into their strongly fortified stone houses, the populace set fire to the straw roofs of the dwellings. Many who essayed to escaped were ruthlessly butchered; others, among them Jacob of Orleans, slew themselves when the alternative was baptism. A few Jews, however, saved themselves by this alternative; one of these [was] the rich Benedict of York [who later recanted before the king]. The chief justice and some noblemen, whom the king sent to quell the disorder, were forced to withdraw. The king, on learning what had happened, had three of the participants hanged. He let it be understood that the Jews must not be molested and had proclamation made to that effect throughout England and his French dominions. Scarcely, however, had Richard crossed the Channel to join Philip Augustus in the Crusade, when riots broke out afresh.
...In March 1190, a band of men broke into the house of the late Benedict of York, killing his widow and children, setting the house on fire, and carrying away Benedict's treasure. Several dwellings were set on fire [in addition to Benedict's house]. The alarmed Jews, with their leader Joseph, sought shelter in the royal castle. One day the warden happened to be gone; the Jews were apprehensive lest he might hand them over to the besieging mob, and so they denied him admission. The warden called in the aid of the sheriff of the country; Richard Malebys, a noble deeply in debt to the Jews, commanded the siege. The hapless Jews were short of rations; surrender spelled baptism or death by torture.
http://ddickerson.igc.org/cliffords-tow
...Trapped in the castle, the Jews were advised by Rabbi Yomtob of Joigney to kill themselves rather than convert; Joseph began by slaying his wife Anna and his two children, and then was killed by Yomtob. The father of each family killed his wife and children, and then Yomtob stabbed the men before killing himself. The handful of Jews who did not kill themselves surrendered at daybreak on March 17, leaving the castle on a promise that they would not be harmed; they were also killed. In the aftermath the wooden tower was burnt down. The massacre wiped out the city's entire Jewish population, estimated at 150 men, women and children. The ringleader Richard Malebisse and his accomplices went to the cathedral where they burned documents stored for safekeeping. These specified details of money they owed to the Jews. Malebisse escaped to Scotland. Richard I introduced a system whereby all debts held by Jews were duplicated to the Crown. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yom_Tov_of
...Today there are few Jews living in the city of York. Once a year a group of Chassidim conducts a remembrance service on the site and that of a former Jewish burial ground which is now underneath a supermarket car park. In the 1980s when this was built it was claimed that no records existed to suggest the area had ever been a large medieval Jewish cemetery. This is somewhat surprising given that the area was long known as Jewbury.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/relig
...In 1978, a plaque was laid at the site of the massacre in a religious service attended by the Chief Rabbi, the Archbishop of York and a descendant of Richard de Malebys, the leader of the mob who carried out the massacre. The ecumenical ceremony was intended to heal wounds and herald a new era for York, removing the stigma attached to the city. Little progress has been made. Devout Jews travelling on the East Coast Main Line still take care not to eat as they pass through York, as this would contravene the cherem still associated with the city. The issue of York's Jewish heritage has been highlighted by the contentious plan to construct a shopping centre in the area surrounding York Castle. Plans for Coppergate II have outraged the international Jewish community. Perhaps for Jews across the world, plans to surround a legendary pogrom site with a shopping centre could only have been conceived in one place - York. http://www.bbc.co.uk/legacies/immig_emi
People can build shopping centers, car parks, and mosques wherever they want, but it is remembered what happened in York in 1190 and 1978. What happened in New York will also be remembered. Perhaps it is not that new, after all.
Source
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Date: 2010-09-10 02:21 am (UTC)