The Murder Of William Of Norwich: The Origins Of The Blood Libel In Medieval Europe, Rose - B+

                                           This splendidly intriguing book is about the genesis of a hideous mistruth that added to the maltreatment of Jews in Europe.  The 'blood libel' - the idea that Jews tortured and murdered young Catholics as part of a black ritual- began in the late 12th century. A knight in Norwich was prosecuted for the murder of a Jewish money-lender and his defense was that his creditor had participated in the murder of a young monk, William of Norwich.
                                           William was a teen-age-monk whose body was found in a forest outside of Norwich in 1144. He died during a time of intense violence amidst a civil war. His death was relatively uneventful until the trial six years later.   In the interim,  Europe experienced the unsuccessful Second Crusade. Crusades were a time of financial strain. It was expensive for knights to fund their adventures, and when those adventures failed, the financial consequences could be onerous. It was impossible to repay debts without booty from overseas.  The murderer was Simon De Nover and his victim was a Jewish lender known as Deulesalt. Simon was defended by the Bishop in a trial before King Stephen and a council of Lords and Barons. Bishop Thurbe did what grandstanders and miscreants do today; he didn't defend the knight; he attacked the victim. He asked for a postponement so that the victim's role in the death of William could be investigated.  A tired monarch adjourned the case and it was never recalled.  Thus ended the matter until Brother Thomas, with the enthusiastic encouragement of Bishop Thurbe, began the efforts to build the cult of William of Norwich. He published 'The Life and Passion of St. William of Norwich' (amazingly the book in its entirety survived into modern times in the local library)  as part of a process to provide the Norwich Cathedral priory with its own patron saint.  William's story was contrived from whole cloth for local reasons, but he actually gained some traction on the continent and further afield in England. For purely political reasons, the blood libel was used in Gloucester to extract funds from Jews for the invasion of Ireland, in Blois in northern France by the local count to martyr dozens and confiscate their wealth, and at Bury St. Edmunds to expel Jews.  The tall tale was well received by contemporary Catholics. In Paris, Philip II, King of France, used a ritual murder accusation to consolidate power, confiscate wealth and expel the Jews from his territory.
                                         The author asserts that these few decades saw the first assignation of guilt to a people and not an individual, and that the events in Blois marked a significant turning point. Prior to then, Jews were mostly tolerated. Afterwards, they could be burned as heretics.  This book is very, very well-written. A deep dive into medieval Catholicism, Judaism, judicial and political processes is not an easy topic. Rose pulls it off.