Remembering England's Medieval Jews: Exploring Winchester, York and Norwich Seminar

Remembering England's Medieval Jews: Exploring Winchester, York and Norwich

The history of England’s medieval Jews is significant in its own right, and it is vital to the understanding of the political and social history of the region at the time. However, it has often been marginalised, and frequently overshadowed by other local narratives. The common explanation offered by museum and tourism services for this, is that there have been few archaeological discoveries of displayable quality. There are places where this chapter of history has been acknowledged, but they have tended to have an overtly negative focus, reflecting the post-Holocaust/Shoah trend in ‘dark tourism’; attracting visitors to sites historically associated with death and tragedy. The discovery of medieval burial sites, thought to be Jewish, promised a new impetus to medieval Jewish memory, as a result the knowledge that would have been gained from the study of these remains. But, this did not materialise as the sites were not fully excavated, remains were not securely identified as Jewish, and/or the excavations were not published. Issues were also raised about ownership and responsibility towards the remains. This lecture explores the local approach to medieval Anglo-Jewish memory through the case studies of Winchester, York, and Norwich. It will discuss how these cities have dealt with medieval Jewish memory, and specifically the discovery of medieval Jewish remains. It will explore the involvement of contemporary Jewish communities, and give insight into current developments in these cities.