In the Shadow of the Tower: The Jews of Medieval London talk – London Archives

Join Dr Rory MacLellan to explore the story of the Jews of medieval London, their lives, their trials, and their expulsion.

Jews first settled in London in the years after the Norman Conquest, invited there from Rouen in Normandy by William the Conqueror himself. For two centuries, they lived in the very centre of the City. In the streets around the Guildhall, they worked, raised families, and went to synagogue, dwelling side by side with their Christian neighbours. It was not always easy, the Crown levied heavy taxes on the community, the Church preached against Christians interacting with Jews, and mass outbreaks of violence were not unheard of.

Using The London Archives’ collections, this talk will discuss Jewish daily life in medieval London, the rise and fall of the community, the trials it suffered, and its moments of triumph. From the neighbourliness that could exist between Jews and Christians, to both communities helping defend the Tower of London against siege in 1267 and the surprising story of a Jewish migrant from the Eastern Mediterranean, we will see that there was much more to the medieval Jewish story than the traditional story of persecution and moneylending.

Speaker Biography:

Dr Rory MacLellan holds a PhD in Medieval History from the University of St Andrews. From 2020 to 2022, he was a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at Historic Royal Palaces, studying the Tower of London’s medieval Jewish history. A specialist in the history of the crusades, late medieval Britain, and the Anglo-Jewry, his latest book Warrior Monks: Politics and Power in Medieval Britain follows the history of the Knights Hospitaller in British and Irish war and politics.