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The Life and Passion of William of Norwich gives a remarkable insight into life in a medieval cathedral city, brilliantly capturing the everyday concerns of ordinary people and focussing on the miraculous cures carried out at a shrine. But this was no ordinary shrine; fervent worshippers gathered around the burial-place where they believed that a boy was buried, a boy murdered by the Jews of Norwich. A chilling, highly significant document, The Life and Passion of William of Norwich is, as far as we know, the earliest version of what was to become the 'blood libel' which has haunted Europe ever since. Miri Rubin both superbly translates the book and in her introduction interprets the sequence of events that led to the monk Thomas of Monmouth's appalling narrative. The consequences of his fantasies have been incalculable.
About the author
Thomas of Monmouth; Edited with an Introduction by Miri Rubin
Summary
A new translation of a fascinating chronicle from 12th-century England
A work that holds a unique and terrible place in the history of anti-Semitism, The Life and Passion of William of Norwich gives a remarkable insight into daily life in a medieval cathedral city, while also documenting miracles at the shrine of William, a boy worshippers believed to be murdered by the Jews of Norwich. This was the earliest version of the “blood libel,” a horrible myth of ritual murder which has haunted Europe ever since.
For more than sixty-five years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,500 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.
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"The task of the translator is to make the wind not seen but felt. Miri Robinson accomplishes this in her translation...A readable edition rich with scholarship."
-Seth Lere, Times Literary Supplement
