York, 1190 - Massacres that are Inaccurately Ascribed to Synagogues
York, England
16 March, 1190
Sometimes in the telling of history, certain elements become such a standard that they are added to the story even though there is no evidence. We sometimes find descriptions of a massacre set in synagogue, even though it took place elsewhere.
In March, 1190, 150 Jews were massacred in York, England. When riots began, the Jews of York were given royal protection and invited into the local castle for defense. The keep was surrounded by rioters and as the incensed rabble called for Jewish blood, the Jews inside decided that their best option was suicide. With the blessing of their spiritual leader, Rabbi Yom Tov, the men slew the women and children and then set fire to the wooden keep, thus ending their lives.
This event is reported by local non-Jewish sources, including William of Newburgh, the Chronicles of the Abbey of Meaux in East Yorkshire, and Roger of Howden. (History of York) The location of the massacre is not disputed.
Nonetheless, in a kinah prepared by Ephraim ben Yakov of Bonn, the suicide of the Jews of York is said to take place in a synagogue:
Why would Ephraim of Bonn place this massacre in a synagogue? It might be due to lack of information, a default setting of sorts for Jewish massacres of this period. Alternatively, it may have been a conscious decision on the part of the narrator, to evoke more sympathy or to tie the story in with other historic instances. A lot of the information we have for historical events in the Middle Ages come from works that were not intended as scholarly history, so it's not surprising that they don't meet the standards of modern journalism.
16 March, 1190
Sometimes in the telling of history, certain elements become such a standard that they are added to the story even though there is no evidence. We sometimes find descriptions of a massacre set in synagogue, even though it took place elsewhere.
In March, 1190, 150 Jews were massacred in York, England. When riots began, the Jews of York were given royal protection and invited into the local castle for defense. The keep was surrounded by rioters and as the incensed rabble called for Jewish blood, the Jews inside decided that their best option was suicide. With the blessing of their spiritual leader, Rabbi Yom Tov, the men slew the women and children and then set fire to the wooden keep, thus ending their lives.
This event is reported by local non-Jewish sources, including William of Newburgh, the Chronicles of the Abbey of Meaux in East Yorkshire, and Roger of Howden. (History of York) The location of the massacre is not disputed.
Nonetheless, in a kinah prepared by Ephraim ben Yakov of Bonn, the suicide of the Jews of York is said to take place in a synagogue:
"All fled to the house of prayer. Here Rabbi Yom-Tov stood and slaughtered sixty souls."Cecil Roth describes this kinah as "poignant, but not in every respect accurate." (A Hebrew Elegy on the York Martyrs of 1190) It should be noted that in another kinah, by Joseph of Chartres, the event is correctly described as taking place in a fortress.
Why would Ephraim of Bonn place this massacre in a synagogue? It might be due to lack of information, a default setting of sorts for Jewish massacres of this period. Alternatively, it may have been a conscious decision on the part of the narrator, to evoke more sympathy or to tie the story in with other historic instances. A lot of the information we have for historical events in the Middle Ages come from works that were not intended as scholarly history, so it's not surprising that they don't meet the standards of modern journalism.
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