THE making of a documentary film exploring the history of the Jewish blood libel in medieval Norwich, and the cathedral’s involvement in perpetuating it, has led the Chapter to comply with remove Nineteen Nineties information leaflets from the Chapel of the Holy Innocents.
The documents relate to the murder in 1144 of 12-year-old William of Norwich, which was blamed on the Jewish community. The myth gained ground when a Benedictine monk, Thomas of Monmouth, accused the Jewish people of murdering Christian boys in order that they may use their blood in ritual ceremonies. The libel spread to Europe, resulting in the persecution and massacre of the Jewish people.
Modern versions of the parable have recently resurfaced in Gaza.
Norwich Cathedral had a shrine to William, whose body was said to have been buried beneath the altar. It was destroyed on the Reformation, nevertheless, and within the Nineteen Nineties, the Chapel of the Innocents was re-dedicated to victims of abuse, persecution, and intolerance.
The particular objection to the leaflets was the best way through which William’s murder was linked with the slaughter of the innocents, as told in St Matthew’s Gospel.
Dr Oren Margolis, a historian on the University of East Anglia, told the Church Times on Tuesday: “We didn’t make any grievance as such, however the film brought longstanding disquiet into the open.
“The Dean saw that, and that has led us to an acknowledgement of the importance of working together on this. The cathedral is their place. Blood libel and anti- Semitism will not be problems that we have now, but that other people have; so it’s really essential that the moves are coming from the cathedral’s side.”
Two years ago, the Mayor of Norwich apologised for the town’s part within the spread of blood libel.
“The conversation has modified a lot since 30 years ago, when the document in query was drafted,” Dr Margolis said. “The conversation we’re going to have, starting next month, is to handle how the cathedral can best recognise the blood libel in a way that is acceptable and respectful.
“I consider the best way through which the film has prompted the Jewish community to be more articulate to be a very good news story.”
The powerful short film, about two small English cities within the shadow of the blood libel, is to be screened in the town on 4 December as a part of the British Jewish Life on Film event. A coda has been added to incorporate a bit on the beginning of this conversation with the cathedral.
The Dean of Norwich, the Very Revd Dr Andrew Braddock, said on Tuesday that the making of the documentary had brought long-held concerns to the surface.
“Jewish communities have never felt comfy with the best way the story of William has been told, not least since it didn’t give enough weight to the fact of the blood libel, and the terrible consequences that flowed from it in European history and beyond,” he said.
“What really troubled them was that putting the story of William into the context of a chapel dedicated to the Holy Innocents was making a parallel between William as an innocent boy who was killed allegedly by the Jews, with the story of the boys under two years old in Bethlehem being killed by a Jewish king, Herod.
“The members of the Jewish community which have rightly spoken out are very sensitive to the interpretation that might be placed on that, including its relationship to supersessionism.
“That’s a theological complexity, but what we would like to do in our work together is to create some interpretation which could be very clear in telling the story and the results. What happened in Norwich in 1144 is the start of the libel. We just have to own it as a part of our history — but in a way which makes it clear that today we work together as synagogue and cathedral, each committed to taking a shared stand against anti-Semitism in our own time.”
