William of Norwich

Saint William (cult suppressed)
Painting at the church of St. Peter and St. Paul, Eye, Suffolk, c.1500
"Martyr"
Born	(1132-02-02)2 February 1132 Norwich, England
Died	2 March 1144(1144-03-02) (aged 12) Norwich, England
Venerated in	Roman Catholic Church
Canonized	Never officially canonized.
Feast	26 March (removed from the Universal Calendar)
Attributes	Depicted holding nails, with nail wounds or undergoing crucifixion
Catholic cult suppressed	After the Congregation

William of Norwich (2 February 1132 – 22 March 1144) was an English boy whose death was, at the time, attributed to the Jewish community of Norwich. It is the first known medieval accusation against Jews of ritual murder.

William was an apprentice tanner who regularly came into contact with Jews and visited their homes as part of his trade. His death was unsolved; the local community of Norwich attributed the boy's death to the Jews, though the local authorities would not convict them for lack of proof. William was shortly thereafter acclaimed as a saint in Norwich, with miracles attributed to him.

William's story was told in The Life and Miracles of William of Norwich, a multi-volume Latin work by Thomas of Monmouth, a monk in the Norwich Benedictine monastery. Thomas started The Life in 1149/50; he completed volume 7 by 1173.Augustus Jessopp (1823–1914), one of the editors of the first printed edition of Thomas' work, describes Thomas as belonging to the class of those who are "deceivers and being deceived."

Since most information about William's life comes only from Thomas, it is difficult to distinguish the facts of the case from the story of martyrdom created around it by Thomas. Thomas wrote that William was born on 2 February 1132 to a local Anglo-Saxon couple, Wenstan and Elviva. He was apprenticed to a skinner and tanner of hides, often dealing with local Jews.

Shortly before his murder, William's mother was approached by a man who claimed to be a cook working for the Archdeacon of Norwich. He offered William a job in the Archdeacon's kitchens. William's mother was paid three shillings to let him go. William later visited his aunt in the company of this man. His aunt was apparently suspicious, and asked her daughter to follow them after they left. They were then seen entering the house of a local Jew. This was the last time William was seen alive; it was Holy Tuesday.