Trudy Gold
The Jews in England’s Green and Pleasant Land

Trudy Gold - The Jews in England’s Green and Pleasant Land

- So Trudy, what I’m going to just say we’re going to do today, The Jews in England’s Green and Pleasant Land. And welcome to everybody. We have a lot of people online now, almost a thousand.

• Okay, good evening, everyone. And it’s good to be back in England’s Green and Pleasant Land in many ways. I had a very interesting email from Debbie Myers from South Africa pointing out to me, how many important anniversaries there are today. The first thing I want to mention though, before we get onto this, the question, the question some of you may be asking is, why have we switched to mediaeval history for a while? And it’s because we all believe that, you know, history is not a series of random events. And by understanding the past, it’s much easier to understand the present. And also that incredible quote of Santayana, “Those of us who do not learn the lessons of history are doomed to repeat them.” And England’s Green and Pleasant Land is actually really me being very ironic because the period I’m going to talk about today is anything but pleasant for the Jews. And one of the issues that I’ve been thinking about more and more and more, we live in such uncertain times, and we all know why the times are uncertain, because any of us who have studied history will know that when there is economic, social, and dislocation, and you add to that a pandemic, people are frightened and people become tribal, and they look for a scapegoat.

And one of the interesting aspects is why is the Jewish community so surprised that again, we are being singled out, not just by those in society, but actually other victim groups. Now, I don’t want to run away with paranoia because I don’t believe actually that it is dangerous, although I know some of you online will disagree with me on that. But what I want to say is this, that maybe by learning some of the lessons of the past, we can do something about today and about the future. My own personal comment on this is that I do not believe sticking plasters ever work. I really believe that what is needed is a long, slow process of education. And that is not just for us and our own people. Because one of the, and I’ve mentioned this to you online, it’s probably my hobby, but one of the things that troubles me more than anything else is how little so many of our young people know about their own heritage. And when you don’t know and you hear all the adverse criticisms, you wonder and you worry. So I really believe we’ve got to educate our own young people, but also all sorts of education programmes in the outside world, but not a quick fix solution. Well, that’s the end of my little bit of passion for the evening. But going back to Debbie Myers, she pointed out to me, what an important event, what an important date, Tuesday the 9th of November is. And in fact, of course when I thought about it, I was going to mention Kristallnacht to you because this is the night, of course, the night of the smashing of the glass. November the ninth to 10th, 1938, 83 years ago, my friend Anita can still remember it, when the death of Vom Rath, he was the German, he was a member of the German negation in Paris at the hands of a young Jew, Herschel Grynszpan.

Herschel Grynszpan wanted to bring the world’s attention to the plight of his people. It led to the estate pogrom and one of the most terrifying mites that precursor of the Holocaust. But it’s not just that terrible event we should think of, we should also think of the Beer Hall Putsch. And ironically, tomorrow is the birthday of Martin Luther. Now, there are one or two other events that happened on the 9th of November. And I was thinking perhaps every month, very quickly I can list the important events because of course it was Operation Magic Carpet in 1949, the Great Airlift into Israel. It’s also the day where Chaim Weizmann died, the wonderful president of Israel. And one of the arguments that one can have without the great character of both Weizmann and of course Bangorian, would there have actually been a Jewish state? And of course I know for some of you online, we have to also bring Jabotinsky into it. We have to bring in Begin. And one of the things I also found fascinating, at certain times in history, we have great people have come to Big Four, and this is really a time when we desperately need great people. It’s also the date of the fall of the Berlin War, incredibly important in history. Was it a good thing? Was it a bad thing? I’m not going into that argument. Also, on the 10th of November, 1975 was the United Nations vote on Zionism equating Zionism with racism.

Just think about it, the state was created in 48. By 1975, the UN voted that Zionism was a form of racism, much more on that next year. Anyway, the lessons of history, let’s go back to England’s Green and Pleasant Land. And one of the reasons we decided that we would take England as really our benchmark for looking at the mediaeval communities is that in England, it’s totally circumscribed. They come in in 1066, they leave in 1290. And what is fascinating is that in many ways, England was the first to really ramp up, ramp rent, rent sharp persecution against the Jews. Just think about it. We’ve already looked at the first blood libel against the Jews, that terrible accusation. It’s the first country to enact the wearing of the Jew badge. I’ll be talking about that later on. And also, it’s the first country in Europe to expel the Jews. So this week, I’m going to be looking at the first settlement. And next week, I’m going to be actually looking about where they went. And then I’ll plan, William and I are sort of trying to hold the history together. And as I’m sure you will realise, our other wonderful colleagues then look at their disciplines off it. And then, we will be going back to the Jews of Holland, England, and you’ll see which way we’re going as we go towards the end of the year. But we left it really with Henry II. So Judy, can we start looking at the slides please? Now that’s what I did for you. And I mentioned to you that some of my South African friends tell me that they had to study this at school as well, the kings of England. And I’d been rather naughty, I’ve from 1066, but I stopped at Edward I, because he was the one who expelled the Jews.

And I mentioned to you that Edict of Expulsion, it was given on Tisha B'Av, but the Jews had to be out of the country by Walpurgis Night, the night of the witches, 31st of October, there could be no Jew in England for All Saints’ Day. Please don’t forget this period, I’m looking at people lived under a religious worldview, and one of the main motifs of history is the clash between church and state. When William yesterday said John was secular, I think he went a little bit too far. John didn’t necessarily take the overweening power of the church because he wanted the power of the king. And the same certainly was true of Henry II. And with these characters, of course, in a way, Jewish history is inside out history because William sets the scene. And then what I look at is how the Jews fit into history. So we already, can we see a, so here you have the map of England, and of course no Jews north, further north than I must, Lancaster, there’s a small community in Newcastle there. And also you will see Jews on the Welsh ports. And I’m trying to, there certainly wouldn’t have been any Jews north of Newcastle. And the reason there would be Jews in Newcastle, of course, is because the ports, you’ve got to look at the ports and what is the role of Jews in England at this time? Remember they are the king’s Jews. And when the king is strong, they are successful.

They’re there because they are useful to the English economy. They are the debt collectors. They are to an extent the tax farmers. They are traders. And in fact, when Wendy and I and some friends, when we were in Baku, we took an amazing day out to have a look at a Fire Temple, which was on the caravan route. And this is a route that of course goes from where? It goes through the whole of the Middle East, the Fertile Crescent. It links up into Baku. And where does it finish up? It finished up in China in Kaifeng. And we know, and I mentioned this to you last time, in 1066 when there were, the population of London was about 40,000, mainly living in mud hearts. There were already a million people in Kaifeng. And who do you think were on the caravan routes? Jewish traders, particularly from Persia, they’re called the Radhanites. And they were very involved in the running of the roots through to the east. Now what did they bring back? Well, it doesn’t take much imagination, does it? Just think of the silks. Think of the furs. Later on, of course, through to India, think of the jewels, and more important, the spices that were needed for cooking. And of course later on, it’s going to be particularly after Columbus and the discovery of the sea. If you think through the cape of good hope, the sea root to India, that’s when cooking is really going to change. And it’s fascinating to actually look at social history. So the Jews are important. I went to visit a girlfriend of mine a couple of years ago, and she lives just inside the Welsh border. And she took me to a little port town and she’d done some work for me, and found that there were three Jews living in that town. Why, of course? Because they were traders. And that’s the important thing about the Jews.

And I also mentioned to you, they would’ve spoken Norman French. William talked a lot about language and it’s very, very important. But what the Jews would’ve spoken was Norman French. And we’ve already looked at a Jewish code of education. And we also know that under the reign of William Rufus, the Jews fared pretty well. Basically, when the king was strong and not too much under the sway of the church, things were fine. And then of course we had the terrible civil war. And then of course the ascension to the throne of the extraordinary Henry II. And can we see his face please, Judy? There he is, Henry II. And I started talking about him. And I know that William has, I beg your pardon, Dennis looked up the line in winter, that amazing film, which is partly, of course, you know, it’s mainly fiction. But we do know that the 18-year old Henry married the 30-year old Eleanor of Aquitaine. We also know that he was one of the most intelligent, well-read kings that this country has certainly had in the mediaeval period. And he encouraged scholarship. And above all, he tried to break the power of the church. He believed in the strength of England. And can we see the next slide please, Judy? That is Thomas Becket.

Thomas Becket was Henry’s closest friend. And when the post of Archbishop of Canterbury was vacant, he gave it to Becket because he believed that Becket would be on his side against the power of Rome. However, Becket, who had been a rabble-rouser, a rouser with the king, he took his duties seriously. And it led to a terrible dissension in the country. The Pope, it’s fascinating because Henry got so cross with the Roman Catholic Church, he actually threatened to become a Muslim. And we know that Jewish and Muslim scholars came to his school, his court, I talked about this last week. His court was a mecca for all sorts of English, not just English, but continental scholars. And we know that Jews would’ve come from Spain, they would’ve come from the southwest of France to the court. And also, they’re dealing with Anglo-Jewry. It’s a time of relative prosperity for the Jewish community. We know that because of course, Henry wasn’t just kind, he, for the sake of being kind, he wanted money from his Jews. For example, we’ve already discussed how Aaron of Lincoln, and can we have the next picture please, Judy? Oh, there’s the extraordinary Eleanor of Aquitaine who lived well into her eighties. She was quite a character. The problem is we don’t actually have that much information about it. A lot of it is fantasy. King of the North Wind, I would recommend to you on the life of Henry II. It’s a real rollicking tale. They of course had far too many children and the tragedy of Henry. In many ways, he was a great king.

But the tragedy was he and Eleanor, after the birth of her youngest son, John, there was a complete falling out. She was very wealthy in her own right. That’s probably why he married her. Forget the romance. She’d first been married to the King of France. She’d given him three daughters. They managed to have the marriage annulled. And she was the greatest prize in Europe because she was the heiress to Aquitaine. And through her, and remember, the Norman Kings already had land in Normandy and in France, they controlled nearly half of France. So after John was born, the couple really go their own way. And she’s finally imprisoned by him. And she’s not going to be released until really after Henry’s death. And what is fascinating also is this great man who was a law giver, who kept his country safe, who was a great warrior king and a great thinker. And yet when it came to his own family, the quarrels, they went to war with each other. And it’s not really resolved until after his death, and even then, not. So, can we go on to the next slide please? That’s the house of Aaron of Lincoln. Aaron of Lincoln was the richest Jew in England at the time of Henry’s reign. And you’ll notice of course, a stonehouse. Why stonehouse? Is there an awful lot safe that you know? Stonehouse, if you think we’ve already discussed the burning of the wooden houses, which housed the debts. Stonehouses and Aaron of Lincoln, not only did he endow nine separate building projects, actually I’m talking about separate abbeys. He also was the main financier of Lincoln and Peterborough cathedrals and the great church of St. Albans.

So he was the richest man in England. And you will recall that when he died, he left a hundred thousand pounds. Henry, it was too much for Henry and Henry seized it. Usually, money owing to Jews, the debts were left to their heirs because the king took a percentage, but it was too much. But then the fortunes of history, the majority of that money was lost at sea, always left behind, was 15,000 in debt from the church, which of course Henry collected. He also had imposed a Saladin tax. In 1188, you’ve got to remember also what’s going on in the outside of England in international affairs. This is the great period of conflict between Christianity and Islam. And in 1167, I beg your pardon, 1187, the great Muslim conqueror, Saladin, had managed to rest Jerusalem from the Crusader kingdom. Now this is, to the Christians, this is terrible. I’ve said this to you before, and I think one of the reasons it’s important to study history, you need to know that for near a thousand years, there was this terrible clash of ideologies between Christianity and Islam. And the role of the Jew is fascinating. It’s really inside out, inside out history. The Jew is operating in the world of Christianity, operating in the world of Islam. When things become too hot, they move.

As we looked at, when we looked at what was happening to the Jews in the period of the Medici, when of course the world of Islam became much more hospitable. So when you’re looking at Jewish history, it’s very important to have those atlas and look at how empires rise and fall, and where Jews are safe. And it brings to mind that incredible book by Yuri Slezkine. And please read it. It’s called the Jewish 20th Century. And I’m repeating his analysis. He said, “In a way, if you think about the 20th century, what’s it about? It’s about people becoming mobile, multidisciplined, having many, many jobs, international. In fact, it’s about people needing to become Jewish.” And maybe, all this history that I’m talking about, because underneath it all is the uncertainty. All this history is about what? It’s kind of in a way, preparation for modernity. Now, let’s be very careful here. When the Saladin tax was issued in 1188, this is because what the Crusader kingdom, they came to Henry asking for his help. Now Henry had no intention really of going on a crusade, but he had ordered the murder of Thomas Becket. I’m sure many of you would have seen dramatised versions of Becket, there’s oui, there is John Oui. There is also T. S. Eliot, Murder in the Cathedral. The whole notion of whether Becket really wanted to be martyred because if you are murdered in the name of the Almighty, you ascend totally to heaven. Becket had become a saint. And in his reign, of course, because he’s sanctified in Henry’s reign, Henry paid penance at Canterbury. He allowed himself to be flagellated. He had to give into the power of the church. And this is one of the great tensions, Henry, the great law giver who really rules England. Now, Henry allowed the Jews to govern themselves. This is the point. They were there because they were, if you like a milch cow, they paid a huge amount of the Saladin tax. The general population paid a 10%. Jews had to pay a quarter of their movable goods in tax. And so they’re there, but they are wealthy.

Those Jews who are there, they are the debt collectors, they are the money lenders. So they are a wealthy community and the king takes a percentage. So it’s in his interest to keep them safe and to keep them in England in his reign. So to keep them safe, they are allowed to practise their own laws through Jewish law. If there was a dispute between Jew and non-Jew, wouldn’t go to the sheriff, they would go to the bet din. And this is William of Newburgh. He’s a very important chronic love. And this is what he had to say, “By an absurd arrangement, they were happy and renowned far more than Christians and swelling very impudently against Christ through their good fortune, did much injury to Christians.” Now, think about this. This is the way the story of the Jews is reported in the Christian world. It’s in the history. It’s extraordinary because it’s written in Latin and it’s really the story of the reign of Henry. And he’s being attacked because he has been reasonable to the Jews. And of course in his reign, the Jewish community spread.

The beginnings of quite a large community in Exeter, Bedford, Ipswich. So Henry’s court, Henry was a mecca for wealth and power, and the Jews were safe. But, and I should have mentioned that when the Saladin tax was actually imposed, what had happened was back in 1185, the patron miraculous of Jerusalem, remember, he’s just lost. Jerusalem has just been lost to the Muslims. He visited Henry to offer him the keys to the Latin Kingdom. Please go to Jerusalem, please go to Jerusalem, take a crusade. Now a little more about William of Newburgh. He was a 12th century historian. Now what is fascinating, of course he is an Augustinian canon. So everything he writes is written through the eyes of the church. And at this period of history, you know, the Jews were seen as if you like, almost devilish. And I think it’s very important to remember people who have dealings with Jews saw them as people. I’m not, I’m not, but the image in the Christian Church at this particular period was one of animosity and it’s all going to blow. He writes, obviously after Henry’s death, and it’s also, the history of, it’s very important. It’s the historical Rerum Antiquarum, and it’s the main source for all sorts of mediaeval stories, including all sorts of primitive beliefs like animated corpses is very parallel to the belief in vampires, witches. And as later on as he writes this, he writes this at the end of the 12th century, he’s very critical of King John.

And he does have a very general discussion of the kings of England. He’s very, he’s considered by some the first critical historian. Now this is the point, that’s from the point of view of English history. From the Jewish point of view, it’s very, very damaging. There are lots of folkloric accounts, he talks about Green children. It’s about myths and legends and superstitions, which also gives you, I think an idea as to why unless they were forced to. Jews are not going to want to be much part of the general population. This is one of the issues. And I really think that you know, the lessons of history. When did Jews want to acculturate and assimilate? Well, we are soon going to have the festival of Hanukkah. Think about Hanukkah. Greek culture was seductive, Roman culture was seductive. And then I would suggest to you up until the modern period and the European Enlightenment, the majority of Jews would’ve been pretty sure that their culture was superior. Remember we looked at that code of education, that extraordinary code of education that says a teacher can only cope with 10 children, except in of course in the land, in the land of Israel where the air is pure, a teacher can take 25. I mean, it is so forward thinking. So, would they really want to be part of the outside world? But then everything is going to change and that is because a new king descends the throne of England. And that is Richard the Lionheart. Can we see the next slide? Now, Richard the Lionheart. Richard, the staff of Dreams and Legends, you’ll see his statue by Parliament Square. He is considered to be one of the great kings of England. When Henry died, his eldest son predeceased him and his third son, Richard becomes king of England.

They’re still very attached to the possessions in Normandy. And the majority of the plan, antagonists are actually buried in Fontevrault. And if you get the chance to visit, it’s quite an extraordinary place. And that of course is where Eleanor is buried and many of the other kings of this particular period because it’s important to remember England was also an offshoot for them. So here you have the statue in Parliament, and it’s fascinating if I can be a little bit mischievous, this statue of King Richard, the Lionheart, in his reign, we’re going to see the worst pogrom in mediaeval history happening under Richard. Not his fault, by the way. I’m going to talk about that in a minute. But the point is, when one thinks of how we view the past and what statues we smash and what statues we add a little bit of education to, I think is much more important. I just thought in a very cynical ironical Jewish way, I would point to you this great English king who is the great hero, those of you who love adventure films, I can’t imagine how many films have been made of Robin Hood. I know that David Pima looked at Ivanhoe. This is all the period of Richard, the Great Knights, Robin Hood, who is the Robert Barron, who has gone the, the Robert Barron of what? He hides in the woods to, with a whole gang of outlaws. But he’s the good guy. He’s protecting the people while Richard is at crusade because he loves Richard, he steals from the rich to give to the poor, the legend of Robin Hood.

And they’re all waiting for the return of good King Richard. But actually, Richard was one of the worst kings England ever had. He was never here. He went on crusade. He didn’t understand, he was really a warrior king. Was he as educated as his father? I think not. I think what he really liked was plunder and fighting. He was a very war-like king. So, he was born in 1157. He took the throne in 1189. He is also buried at Fontevrault. Maybe one of the reasons he’s popular is of course he’s the archetypal mediaeval monarch. He was very close to Eleanor of Aquitaine. He was her favourite son and he was brought up mainly at her court. And Eleanor’s quite interesting in, but she’s interesting in so many ways. But at the court where he was brought up, it was the court of the trooper doors, the courtly love. Think where Aquitaine is. Think about the southwest of France. I mentioned already the rift between John, between Eleanor and Henry. Henry, if those of you who love the legends of history, Henry took Rosamund Clifford as his mistress. And there’s wonderful troubadour poetry about her as well. And she returned to Aquitaine with Richard. I’m talking about Eleanor. And as I said, he was educated in troubadour culture of Languedoc. And in 1172, he had already taken over Eleanor’s inheritance. He’d been involved with his older brother in a war against his father. Those troublesome song, sums of Henry II. In 1187, he is completely caught up in crusading faith and further, and he makes a solemn vow that when he becomes king, he will free Jerusalem from Saladin. And when he becomes king, one of the first things he does is to actually take Eleanor out of captivity.

Now here you see the portrait of Saladin and I think I’ll just, I will be referring to him time and time again, because he’s not, not only is he a fascinating character, he’s a great symbol for the Arabs today. His dates were 1137 to 1193. This is why we need to look at mediaeval history. He was a Sunni Muslim, he was occurred and he was the birth first sultan of both Egypt and Syria. He founded a whole dynasty and he managed to defeat the Fatimid Caliphate of Egypt and creates this huge empire. He controls the hijabs. Now those of you who know their history will know that Jazz is also what is today called Saudi Arabia, which means that he is the guardian of what? Of Mecca and Medina. He controlled Yemen, he controlled south Anatolia, really Asian Turkey. What he did is interesting because the area we’ve just been to is really the clash of empires. And he’s going to hold the holy mosques of Mecca and Medina until his dynasty is defeated in 1517 by the Ottomans. And of course it’s the Ottomans that we talked about the past couple of weeks. It’s the Ottomans who actually were very good to the Jews in that particular period. His aim, he had an aim too. He wanted to use the crusades to unite the Arabs and the Muslims. Remember, he’s a Sunni, Sunni, Shia, all the different sets between Islam, all the different caliphates, the war against Christianity.

How would you call the people together? You give them a common enemy. And the common enemy is of course Christianity. Why should the crusaders have a kingdom in what is DA Islam? Now I’m going to talk about something that’s very important now, and I think a lot of you already know it. When the followers of Muhammed spreads, they came out of the hajjes within a hundred years of Muhammed’s death. We dated at the start of Islam from his journey from Mecca to Medina in 622 of the common era. Within a hundred years, they created the largest land empire the world had known up to that time. It was larger than the empire of the Romans. And what he, they he, when the conqueror, Omar, conquered Jerusalem from the Christians, it was laid down how Islam dealt. Pagans should be converted by the sword. Jews and Christians are people of the book, they are dhimmis, they are subject peoples. And ironically, because Christianity is also a monotheistic religion, Jews fared far better under the Muslims then Christians if Islam felt secure. But basically, Jews and Christians are dhimmis. They pay a land tax, they pay a body tax, and Islam is superior. And this is the important point I’m coming to, no, no dhimmi, be it Christian or Jew can rule in DA Islam. Right now, this man, Saladin, unites the Arabs against the Christians, the Crusades. And because of him, it stays with the Fatima Dynasty in Egypt until 1517. And then of course, it’s conquered by the Ottoman Empire, which stays in power until 1918.

You know, it’s important to look at these empires because a hundred years, about a hundred years ago, at the end of the First World War, the whole stability of Europe in many ways was shattered. The Habsburg Empire was destroyed. The Russian Empire revolution and destruction, the Ottoman Empire destroyed. And really this is the centre of Europe and the Middle East. And it’s fascinating because in the ensuing hundred years, we still haven’t sorted it out. And it was actually fascinating to be with Wendy in Baku in the Caucasus because they, of course, part Ottoman, part Persian, part Habsburg, where on earth do the lines go? And just to give you a little more up to date, the eagle of Saladin, his great banner is the Egyptian eagle. It is the symbol and it’s the coat of arms of Egypt, Iraq, Palestine. And since the Arab Revolution of 1952, King Farouk is destroyed. It’s the symbol of Arab nationalism. It’s anti-western today, anti-western, anti-imperialist. And it’s the national symbol of war. And in the years between 1958 and 1961, when Egypt and Syria became one nation, the United Arab Republic, it was the symbol. But Saladin was himself an extraordinary man. Yes, he was a warrior, but he was also a scholar. He was a law giver. He was an extraordinary man. And this is what the Chronicles say, “It is equally true that his generosity, his piety, devoid of fanaticism, that flower of liberality and courtesy, which had been the model of our old Chronicles, won him no less popularity in Frankish in Syria than the landers of Islam.”

You know, even in the Crusader kingdoms, they still admired Saladin. And the story goes that he had a doctor and that one of his doctors was in fact Maimonides. So, and the story is that Richard was wounded. This is a nice scene, but Saladin sent in Maimonides to Richard to cure him. And he got, Richard offered Maimonides a position back at the English court, but Maimonides actually stayed with Saladin. It’s a story, but I think it’s rather a nice story. Can we go on, Judy, please? Okay, I’m going back now. Actually, let’s, do we want to keep that picture in front of us while I talk about it? Yeah, I guess so. Okay, so having said that they have decided to go to war, Richard, so you need to know that there’s a huge upswing of crusader further in the court. Richard has made the decision, he’s going on crusade. There is a particularly fanatical pope, Innocent III. Innocent III had already ran a crusade in the south of France against the Albigenses. He wants now to take back Jerusalem. And he also wants to usurp power from the princes. What do the princes get out of it? They get blood. They get booty. Just imagine, and I’m going to go through the countries that actually went on the third crusade, just to give you a notion because I think it’s very important because this is how Christianity could unite against the, the Popes would try and unite the Christians against a common enemy. So it’s known as the king’s crusade. And it’s going to last from 1189 to 1192. And as I said, it’s financed by the Saladin tithe. And Richard, of course is going to lead the English contingent. Philip of France, the king of France, the king of Burgundy, the king of Swabia.

Why am I giving you all these names? Because it’s important that you understand just how big this is. Leopold of Austria, the king of Bohemia, the king of India, the kings of Bardon, Hochstein, Prince Gejza of Hungary. This is going to be very important later on, because this is the borderlands between Islam and Christianity. And later on, Hungary is going to be under the spell of the Ottomans, right up until 1683, okay? The ruler of Brandi, Frederick Barbarossa, the great prince of Germany who actually drowned in 1190 on his way to the crusade. And of course, the 11-time crusader states, because there is a crusader state. Saladin hasn’t taken, he’s taken Jerusalem, but he hasn’t taken all the lands around Syria, et cetera. This is the Crusader kingdom, which is run by Guy of Lusignan and his great rival there is Conrad of Montferrat. I really advise you to read about this because it is a fascinating theory. In fact, I think even better than that, I should, I have a friend who’s a real expert on this and I think it’ll be interesting for you. The King of Tripoli, the King of Armenia. Now also the military orders, the Knights Templars, the Hospitallers, the Teutonic Knights. Now, and of course William’s already talked about the Knights Templars because they are the bankers, and they were set up to protect the crusaders. So it’s a very, very important, it’s a very, very important adventure. But this is where we come to the Jews. Richard has announced he’s going on crusade. There’s already a huge amount of resentment about the taxes.

And when Richard is crowned, I actually, I’m going to read. I think what I should do is actually read an extract from William of Newburgh, Historia rerum antiquarum, which I’ve already referred to. “Richard is crowned in the cathedral. There have come together for the solemn anointing of a Christian Prince from all quarters of England, not alone Christian nobles, but likely, but likewise, the chief of the Jews.” Now remember they’d been favoured by his father. “For these enemies of truth, fearing that the good luck they had under the former king might be less favourable to them under the new, brought first fruits, most decorates and honourable, and hoped to find favour either to the multitude, equal to the multitude of their gifts. Some Jews mixed amongst the crowd. Whereas a certain Christian, being as I said, indignant struck a Jew with his palm and so drove him away from the entrance, thus recalling the king’s edict.” The edict was that the rumour was going around, that the Jews were not allowed in. “And many being excited by the example drew the Jews away with insults and arising a disorderly crowd came up, and believing that the king had commanded such treatment, relying on the authority of the king, rushed on the crowd of the Jews.

Now they had come through with two, with the rest two nobles of york, Joss Ga and Benedict of whom the first escaped, but the other was caught as he fled. He was compelled to confess Christ, and being led into the church, baptised on the spot. In the meantime, a pleasing rumour spread with rapidity through all London, namely that the king had ordered all the Jews to be exterminated. And soon, a huge mob of disorderly persons both from the city as well as those who in the ceremony of the king run up all armed breathing, sort slaughter and spoiled against the people by God’s judgement , hated by all.” This is the chronicler. Remember, there is a massacre going on here. “Then the Jewish citizens of whom a multitude is known to dwell in London.” Think about old Jewry. “Together with all those who had flocked together from all parts withdrew into their own houses. These houses were surrounded by the roaring people and were besieged from nine o'clock till sunset as they could not be broken into owing to their strong build.” Jews were building stone houses. “And because the madmen had had not tools, fires were thrown on and a terrible fire quickly broke out, which was fatal to the Jews as they stroke to put it out, and offered the aid of light to the raging Christians. And so it goes on, much blood was shed, but soon the lasts after booty burned higher and brought on a replacement of slaughter. And Albigenses got the better of cruelty.

The greedy raged, bet took itself to stripping the houses and snatching the riches. But this in turn made Christians oppose Christians for each envy the other, what the other might have seized.” And so it goes on. And this is how he finishes, “God doubt was arranging those who had stood forth as the ministers of divine vengeance against blaspheming infidels should not suffer human justice on that account. For the reason of the heavenly example, demanded that those blasphemers who in the time of the preceding reign, Henry, have been too stiff next and haughty towards Christians should be humbled at the beginning of the successor. But the prince guaranteed peace to the Jews by an act edict after the slaughter, but as will be narrated in its place. They did not enjoy this long heaven’s judgement demanding the pride of this blaspheming people should be chastised forever.” So that’s how the most important chronicler of the period actually talked about the most appalling massacre. And the rumours spread from town to town. Benedict, one of the two Jews, he came originally from York. And on his return to York, he was set upon by him a mob. It spreads from town to town. Richard was absolutely furious because this is against the contra pacem, have I got it right? Contra pacem regis, against the peace of the king. Viet armies contra pacem regis, force in arms against the peace of the king. And this to him is appalling.

And not only that, if they’re destroying the property, he takes a percentage of the debts anyway, so it’s not at the instigation of the king. This is because the king’s going on crusade. And let me go further because of course, the most appalling massacre happens in York. The sheriff of York had gone on crusade, so there is, if you like, an interregnum who is looking after the interests of the people who the king protects. They are the King Jews. So what happens? We know quite a lot about this. There are four nobles who are up to their necks in debt, the local gentry, Richard Malebisse, William Percy, Marmaduke Darrell, and Philip de Falkenberg, they are the main instigators. And what they do is they attack the Jews of York. They go into Benedict’s mansion, he’s been killed, they destroy it, they take all the property out of it, and they incite the mob. There is a sort of hermit, a holy man who wants to attack the mob, wants to, who is leading the mob. The Jews take refuge in Clifford’s tower, which after all belongs to, it’s the fortification of the king, but the mob obeying and the hermit who’s leading the crowd, evidently stones are thrown from the Jews inside the tower and it kills the hermit. And this makes the mob even more incensed. And what is the date? It’s Friday, March the 16th, 1190. It’s Shabbat HaGadol, the Great Shabbat before Passover. You see, Passover and Easter. This happens time and time again. You whip the mob up through religiosity.

This is why I said to you right at the beginning, what we need is a long, slow process of education. Because this image of the Jew, as the demon, as the devil is so deep in Christian folklore and in the Christian world, that it’s, it would take a lot to eradicate it. And I think that’s why you have all these conspiracy theories. Look, I really do not believe that, the majority of people think Jews are demons, but there is a negative stereotype that’s as far as I’m going to go. And that’s what we have to work on. They have to understand where it comes from. And the problem is it comes from religiosity, which is a real problem because Christianity is also a religion of love. Now it’s interesting because the church is suggesting that they have a proper, I’ll talk about now, I’ll talk about that next week when I have time. But they are trying, the English clergy now are really trying to do something about these terrible, what they see as blights on their records. On the other hand, there are many clergy who are violently anti Israel. And I’m going to say that because I believe that to be the truth. And so the problem still goes on. Is it the words of Howard Jacobson again, “When will they ever forgive us, the Holocaust?” That’s a very, very complicated thing to say, I know, but I know a lot of you will know exactly what I’m talking about. So from Richard’s point of view, it’s completely, it’s completely against his interests.

Now the fate of the Jews of York, I am actually going to read now from a man who had a huge impact on Jewish history because of a son. I’m going to read from Isaac D'Israeli. Isaac D'Israeli is a fascinating character. Isaac D'Israeli, whose father I mentioned him last week. His father came from Livorno and had built up quite a fortune in the straw bonnet business. He made enough money that his son Isaac didn’t have to work. He was a very gentle mild man. He became part of the literary circles in London and he wrote the curiosities of English literature. And of course, his eldest son is the extraordinary Benjamin Disraeli. But Isaac D'Israeli was fascinated by the Jewish past. And actually, if you go to Houston, and you look at Disraeli’s library, you’ll find an awful lot of books on Jewish subjects that Disraeli knew so much about the Jews. I’ve also already read to you his notion of Sidonia from of course his book, Coningsby. But here you have Isaac D'Israeli who chose to convert his children. He never converted by the way, he became a member of the reform, the first reform synagogue.

But he converted his children because he wanted them to have the world question mark. So I’m now reading to you a 19th century account from the D'Israeli family based on the Chronicles of William of Newburgh. “When Richard I descended the throne, the Jews to conciliate the royal protection brought their tributes. Many had hasten from remote parts of England and appearing at Westminster of the court and the mob imagined that they had leaked to bewitched His Majesty. A rumour spread rapidly through the city that in honour of the festival, the Jews were to be massacred. The populace at once eager of royalty and riot pillaged and burnt their houses and murdered the devout, the devoted Jews. The people of York soon gathered to imitate the people of London. The alarmed Jews hastened to them to Jocenus, the most opulent of the Jews who conducted them to the Governor of York Castle and prevailed on him to afford them an asylum for their persons in effect. The castle had sufficient strength for their defence, but a suspicion arising that the governor who often went out, intended to betray them, they one day refused him entrance. He complained to the sheriff of the county and the chiefs of the violent party who stood deeply indebted to the Jews united with him.

Orders were issued to attack the castle. The cruel multitude united with a soldiery, felt such a desire of slaughtering those that they intended to despoil, that the sheriff repenting of the order.” This is not the original sheriff, remember he’s gone on crusade. “Revoked it, but in vain fanaticism and robbery, once at loose was satyri their appetite for blood and plunder. The attacks continued till at length the Jews perceived, they could hold out no longer. And a council was called to consider what remained to be done in the extremity of the danger. When the Jewish council was assembled, the Haham rose and addressed them in this manner. Men of Israel, the God of our ancestors is omniscient and there is no one who can say, why doest thou this? This day he commands us to die for his law, for that law which we have cherished from the first hour it was given, which we have preserved pure throughout our captivity in all nations. And for which, because of the many consolation it’s given us and the eternal hope it communicates, can we do less than die? Death is before our eyes and we have only to choose an honourable and easy one. If we fall into the hands of our enemies, which you know we cannot escape, our death will be ignominious and cruel. It is therefore my advice that we allude their tortures, that we ourselves should be our own executioners and that we voluntarily surrender our lives to our Creator. God seems to call for us, but let us not be unworthy of that call. Having said this, the old man sat down and wept.”

And we know that the rabbi actually was a man called Yongto, Rabbi Yongto of Yi. They brought their rabbis from France, remember? “The assembly was divided in its opinions against, again the Rabbi rose and spoke these few words in a firm and decisive tone, my children, since we are not unanimous in our opinions, let those who do not approve of my advice depart from this assembly. Some departed, but the greater number attached themselves to their venerable man. They now employed themselves in consuming their valuables by fire. And every man fearful of trusting to the timid and irresolute hand of the women first destroyed his wife and children and then himself. Jocenus and the rabbi alone remained. Their life was protracted to the last that they might see everything performed according to their orders. Jocenus being the chief Jew was distinguished by the last mark of human respect in receiving his death from the consecrated hand of the age rabbi, who immediately after performed the melancholy duty on himself.” And that I’m afraid is the massacre at York. And just to finish, “All this was transacted in the death of the night. In the morning, the walls of the castles were seen wrapped in flames and only a few miserable and accusing unanimous beings, unworthy of the sword were viewed on the battlements pointing to their extinct brethren.

When they opened the gates of the castle, these men verified the prediction of their late rabbi for the multitude bursting through the solitary courts found themselves defrauded of their hopes, and in a moment avenge themselves on the feeble riches who knew not how to die with honour.” Oh, that’s so tough. And that’s Isaac and that’s interesting. It’s Isaac D'Israeli. They committed Kiddush HaShem, the sanctification of the name Masada Kiddush HaShem. The one area where the taking of life is permitted in Judaism. And basically, this is the beginning of the end for Anglo-Jewry. And although I’m going to talk, you know, they’re going to stay in England till 1290, they had their heyday under Henry II. Richard is going to return. But isn’t it fascinating? And I’ll talk about that on Thursday. But isn’t it fascinating? This is the king who is in Parliament Square who is seen as the great king who leaves his country really to anarchy. And yet he’s the stuff of legends. He’s the stuff of Ivanhoe, he’s the stuff of Robin Hood.

Good King Richard. He was probably one of the worst king, as I said before, he’s probably one of the worst kings England never had. If you think in terms of the stability of the nation, he would be careful. He was not the one who had anything to do with this. This is the greedy mob, this is the greedy nobles whipped up Passover, Easter. And when there is no law, this is what happened. So the story, a really dark chapter in Jewish history and that’s why I began this whole series on Anglo-Jewry with Max Nordau’s quote. Remember he said there in 1897, “There is only one country in the world that is free from the taint of anti-Semitism.” Fascinating. But don’t forget, it’s also the country that took D'Israeli to be the prime minister of the party of the Aristocrats at the height of the British Empire. So England is a complicated story. Anyway, I think I better stop there and let’s have a look at the questions, okay? Okay, Wendy, shall I look at the questions now?

• Please, thank you.

Q&A and Comments:

• Okay. Does Mr. Corbin know you are being ironic? Irony, huh? Yes, Thelma, it is the anniversary of Christmas, right?

• Trudy.

• Yes.

• Comment about what you said about the church. I think many religious Christians do believe in the state of Israel.

• Oh, yes.

• [Wendy] There’s a contradiction there.

• Yes. Unfortunately, I think this is something we really should have a debate on, Wendy, because the, certainly the Bible belt in America, they want the Jews to go back to the land. No, I didn’t say these Christians didn’t believe in Israel. They’re not supportive of Israel. They want the Jews to go back to the land for the battle of Gog and Magog because that will proceed The Coming of Jesus.

• That’s right.

• So it’s such a co, in fact, it’s such a complicated story. It’s very difficult to, you know, be even on this. I think we should have a debate, don’t you?

• I think it depends. I think it depends on, you know, previous prejudice or belief systems or education goes back to what you said. Education.

• Yeah.

• [Wendy] Because many…

• Go on, sorry.

• Sorry, many of the Africans from the, I know certainly in Switzerland there was a Church of Zion and they were very strong supporters of Israel. I just wanted to just throw that in.

• Oh yes, yes. It’s a very, it’s a complicated picture. Of course, Wendy, you’re right. Now Stephen Massel, the date was the anniversary of induction of the Weimar Republic. That was the underpinning of the prior organisation of Christal. Yes, very good points, Stephen.

Remain addressing social envy should be part of the curriculum. Yes, of course, Remain. Because envy, look, antisemitism isn’t just about, well I should call it anti Judaism. Anti Judaism isn’t just part of theology. Of course not. The Jews have pushed into an economic role, which does lead to envy. And also I think because we have had such a difficult, extraordinary history, ‘cause in some ways it’s an extraordinary history. But the fact that we survived for 2000 years has meant us, has meant that we have become quite mobile. And many of us in our own ways are quite entrepreneurial. Because I was talking to someone about epigenetics, which is a whole area, but let’s leave that, I dunno enough to discuss it with you.

Oh, this is from when I took English history in the early sixties in Toronto. We also had to learn the list of English royalty.

Q: Jennifer, why did the Middle Ages become known as the Dark Age?

A: The dark ages are actually the area before the Middle Ages, but revisionist history is saying they’re not so dark. It’s really from the fall of Rome. The old theory was that with the fall of Rome, literacy was lost for a long time. And that sort of signals the dark ages. But it’s quite, it’s much more complicated than that, because of course you have the venal bead in England. And I should mention, when I lecture on Thursday, I’m going to be talking about the creation of Oxford and you know, really the early Renaissance.

The book on Henry the seventh, it’s called King of the North Wind. It’s actually written by my daughter, Claudia Gold. So I shouldn’t advertise it, except it is a very good book.

Q: Were there any Jews in England during the Roman era?

A: Jackie, good point. There was no Jewish settlement, but they did find some Maccabean coins in Cold War. You know, people that would be the sea routine and corn of Kowa, the tin mines. And it’s possible that traders would’ve come here, but there wasn’t settlement. That’s the point.

Didn’t my monies work? Yeah, we, Saladin. Yes.

Q: This is Barrington Black. Can I recommend Dan Jones book, Power and Thrones?

A: Thank you very, very much. You know, this is what I love about our group. Everybody’s got something to come to bring.

Richard never enters Jerusalem. Yes, of course not. You know the crusade, I’ll be talking about that next week. The crusade full fails, doesn’t it, Richard?

If you think about it, Adrian. Yes, and Salactin, the courtly, the courtly prince allows Christians to enter Jerusalem as pilgrims.

Q: Can I recommend Simon Sebag Montefiore’s book, Jerusalem?

A: He’s brilliant on all the areas. If the Egyptian eagle is the symbol, it’s not the symbol of anti-war, it’s the symbol, it’s the single symbol of Arab nationalism.

This is from Jackie. I’ve heard that one of the reasons that Islam was able to spread so quickly across from the Hajjs was because of the countries and people were devastated and weakened by the plague of Justinian in an early pandemic. Yes, that would, that is probably a very important course because when you are feeling very low, when there’s been horror around you and everything is dark, and also what sort of comfort do the pagan god’s offer? And along comes a belief system which has a moral code, believe and you will be saved. It’s seductive. One of the areas. And that’s why Wendy and I talk so often about bringing psychology into this because we have to think about what motivates people, don’t we?

Q: Is there a theory that Richard was gay and wanted to go on a crusade, but he wouldn’t be stuck in France living with a, having a wife and kids.

A: Ricky, I’ll be talking more about Richard next week. Oh, was he gay? Wasn’t he gay? There’s lots of rumours that he had an affair with Philip Augustus of France. He certainly, his wife didn’t have any children. He married Berengaria of Navarre. But he did have an illegitimate child. Who knows? Was he heterosexual? Who knows? There’s lots of stories. Certainly what he preferred to be was fighting on crusade.

Q: What were the years of the crusades?

A: Arlene, that’s a huge question. This is the third crusade. The first crusade was in 1096. There were seven crusades. So actually, I’m going to bring in an expert to talk about them all. I think it’s important.