13. 11 Anti-Semitic riots in England in 1190 led to 150 Jews in York committing mass suicide rather than face an angry mob
Tensions between Jews and Christians in England increased in the 12th century in the aftermath of the William of Norwich case (above). Much of this came down to the simple fact that many Christians owed money to Jewish lenders – medieval Catholics were forbidden from usury (money-lending) by religious law, whereas Jews were not, and hence made up the vast proportion of lenders in Europe. Resentment at the interest due on loans combined with antisemitic propaganda and the Church’s teachings on their sinfulness to put Jews at serious risk from not only their debtors but society at large.
To make things worse, in 1189 the great Crusader Richard the Lionheart was crowned King of England, and a false rumour spread that he had ordered the massacre of his Jewish subjects. The Jews of York were given sanctuary at York Castle, but when they locked themselves in a tower out of fear of the bloodthirsty mob surrounding it, the castle’s garrison sought that very antisemitic rabble’s help in getting the tower back. Things inevitably got out of hand, and most of the terrified Jews committed suicide when the wooden tower was set ablaze, rather than face their foes.