Isaac of Norwich

Isaac of Norwich or Isaac ben Eliav was a Jewish-English financier of the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. He was among the Jews imprisoned by King John of England in 1210. It is possible that at this time a house of his in London fell into the hands of the king and was afterward (1214) transferred to the Earl of Derby. He was by far the most important Jewish moneylender at Norwich in the early years of Henry II; the majority of the items in a daybook of that place now preserved at Westminster Abbey refer to his transactions. In the "Shetarot" Isaac is referred to as "Nadib" or "Mæcenas". He appears to have died before 1247. A caricature of him appears in an issue of the Exchequer, 17, Hen. III. (1233), which represents him as being tortured by a demon and expresses the contemporary Christian view of his rapaciousness. The accompanying caricature represents Isaac as three-faced, probably in allusion to the wide extent of his dealings. He is depicted wearing a crown and observing a scene where two other Jews, Mosse Mok and a woman named Abigail, are being tortured by demons, apparently under his supervision. The scene has been suggested to be similar to a miracle play, with the drapery representing the stage and the architectural adornment the cloister of a church; such plays are generally performed in churches; however, it is likely that the scene is the Tower of London, where Jews were imprisoned and tried. The document, which was on display in the 2019 museum exhibition Jews, Money, and Myth, is said to be the world's oldest antisemitic caricature.