User:Antihistoriaster/york

The York Massacre of 1190 was a pogrom against the Jewish population of York, England on March 16, 1190, the Saturday before Passover (Shabbat HaGadol). Jewish elegies refer to the event as "the most notorious anti-Jewish atrocity" in English history.

Background
Prior to the Norman Conquest in 1066, there was no organized Jewish community in England.

England played virtually no role in the first two Crusades. After Richard the Lionheart succeeded Henry II as King of England in 1189, he immediately began raising funds for the Third Crusade.

Coronation of Richard I
When representatives of England's Jewish community arrived at Westminster Abbey with gifts for the new king, they were refused admission. Following this, riots started and mobs threw rocks at the Jewish representatives. A (false) rumor was spread, alleging that King Richard had ordered the destruction of the English Jewish population. When mobs discovered that the stone homes of Jewish families were difficult to penetrate, they instead burned the straw roofs. The riot lasted a full twenty-four hours, with some Jewish people choosing to commit suicide rather than be forcibly baptized into Christianity. Thirty Jewish people were slain at the coronation, and the wealthiest Jew of York, Benedict, was mortally wounded.