Harold of Gloucester

Our next example of the accusation of blood libel is Harold of Gloucester. As with similar cases of "child martyrs," the body was found and the search was on for the perpetrator. Harold's was the second significant case in the timeline of English Jewry.

Harold's body was found floating in the river after having disappeared on 21 February in 1168. Benedictines claimed that he had been spirited away by Jews and kept until 16 March, when they tortured and killed him. They claimed that marks on the child's body showed that he had been subjected to a crown of thorns and a crucifixion.

As it happens, there were a number of Jews who were not residents of Gloucester who had gathered there to celebrate a brit milah, a bris, the ritual of circumcision for a newborn. The temporary increase in the Jewish population leant credence to the idea that Harold was kidnapped for a special ritual. Accounts of the incident made by Christian writers place it during Easter, but the dates don't line up with Easter in 1144.

This incident, although it endured (see the illustration for evidence that modern merchandising has not "let it go"), did not cause as big a stir as that of Little Saint Hugh of Lincoln. There is no record of any Jews being arrested, much less tried, convicted, or executed. Also, there was no royal involvement, as there was with Hugh when Henry III was consulted on the case. Just as Hugh's death may have been played up in order to create a shrine for Lincoln Cathedral and draw worshippers and donations, the incident of Harold's death might have had an additional, "practical" facet. Accusations against the Jews may be why the Jews of Gloucester made loans to Richard "Strongbow" de Clare for the conquest of Ireland.

After Harold but before Hugh there was Robert of Bury, whose death spawned a full-fledged cult of worship. I'll tell you that story next time.