William of Norwich
12th-century English boy whose murder was falsely blamed on the Jews of Norwich
William of Norwich
William of Norwich (c. 1132 – c. 22 March 1144) was an apprentice who lived in the English city of Norwich, and who was murdered during Easter 1144. The city's French-speaking Jewish community was blamed by some for his death, but the crime was never solved. William's case is the first known example of a medieval blood libel. The story of the boy originates from the writings of Thomas of Monmouth, a Benedictine monk and a member of Norwich Cathedral Priory, who wrote the hagiographical The Life and Miracles of St William of Norwich in 1150 to state the case for William's claim to sainthood. The priory enshrined William's relics within the cathedral. He was never formally canonised, and the cult surrounding William had faded into obscurity by the 16th century. His relics have since been lost, and almost nothing remains to be seen of the small isolated chapel dedicated to him on Mousehold Heath, reputedly situated close to where his body had originally been found.
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