The accusation is known as “blood libel.” It was thought among English Christians that Jewish people needed the blood of Christian children for use in their religious rituals. Blood libel received mainstream attention in the case of Hugh of Lincoln, who was murdered at the approximate age of 8 years old. Hugh’s body was discovered in a well after the child had been missing for a month. Blame for the murder fell upon the Jewish people in the area. Although there had been other instances of Jews being accused of murdering a child this particular instance is significant because it marked the first time the English Crown acknowledged blood libel against Jews. The incident is referenced by Geoffrey Chaucer in Canterbury Tales.
The law at the time said that any assets belonging to a Jew who was convicted of a crime would become property of the King. So when King Henry III had 91 Jews arrested and 19 of them hanged for refusing to participate in the trial he became owner of the 19 dead Jew’s property. Two of the arrested Jews were pardoned and the remaining prisoners were sentenced to death, although they were released in the spring of the following year.
Hugh of Lincoln was viewed as a Christian martyr at the time and his shrine in the Lincoln Cathedral attracted many visitors to the site. The shrine has since been destroyed.
