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Podcast: Today In History with The Retrospectors
Episode: Little Hugh and the Blood Libel
Description: Nine year-old ‘Little Hugh’ went missing in Lincoln on 31st July, 1255. A popular narrative emerged that local Jews (in fact gathering for a wedding) had kidnapped, tortured, and crucified him, perhaps even eating his blood; an antisemitic myth that persisted for centuries, only called out by the Church of England in 1955.A local Jewish man called Copin confessed to the crime (after being tortured), claiming to annually sacrifice Christian children. He was executed and over ninety other Jews were arrested. However, behind-the-scenes negotiations, possibly involving friars and the king’s brother Richard of Cornwall, saw most Jews quietly...