by Mayv 'SpearBourne' Amaia

Created on: October 28, 2009   Last Updated: August 21, 2011

The massacre at Clifford's Tower, in York, England, took place over two days, 16-17 March 1190. It was part of a series of riots during the reign of King Richard I, and is one the darkest hours of mediaeval Jewish history.

To fully appreciate what happened that Shabbat ha-Gadol, the sabbath before Pesach (Passover), one should understand the general atmosphere and events occurring in the latter part of the twelfth century in England.

By the 1170s, during the reign of Richard's father, Henry II, there were two main incentives for establishing a Jewish community in York.

First, York Castle, of which Clifford's Tower is a part, could, in times of danger, be used to protect the community.

Second, and perhaps more significantly, Jewish money-lenders were quite well-equipped to satisfy the rising demand of York's lords, gentry, and religious houses for financial credit.

King Henry II had himself set a precedent around 1164 when he began engaging their services. They were to become a great source of wealth for the English Crown, not just as lenders, but as targets of relentless taxation.

When Henry, a protector of England's Jews, died in July 1189, his son, Richard "Couer de lion" (Lion heart), succeeded him.

The day Richard was crowned at Westminster Abbey, leaders of England's Jewish communities arrived to pay homage and present lavish gifts to the new king. But as Richard saw himself not just as a king, but as a Christian Crusader, he had barred any Jews from attending.

There may have been a superstition in those days against non-Christians being present at such a holy ceremony. The group was thus refused admission to the banquet following the coronation.

 Already humiliated, they were hooted at by palace guards and stones were thrown at them by the crowd outside. There also apparently arose a false rumour that Richard had ordered the Jews to be killed. This spread from Westminster to the City of London.

The mob began attacking Old Jewry, a street in the City of London's Coleman Street Ward. They vainly attacked the strongly fortified stone houses all day, then began setting fire to their straw roofs that night.

Any who tried to escape were beaten, robbed, and burned. Some sought sanctuary in the Tower of London. Others, rather than be tortured or forcibly baptised, committed suicide, including Jacob of Orleans, one of the most learned men of the age.

Among those who saved themselves by being baptised was Benedict of York, an agent of Aaron of Lincoln, a prominent

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