Three Stories from Norwich cathedral: one true, one legend (sort of) and one fiction

Story Number 1: True: The Riots of 1272

Some of the monks were put to death by the rioters.

Every year in this period of history, a fair was held in Tombland on Trinity Sunday at which the prior had a given right to impose tolls on any sales. On 12th June 1272 a squabble broke out (almost definitely over these resented tolls) and at least one citizen was killed. This lead to an inquest which resulted in the city's coroner issuing warrants for some of the prior's men, 'wherever they be found.' The significance of this was that it implied they could be arrested within the grounds of the priory. This was an affront to the prior's jurisdiction and his inflated response was to excommunicated the citizens, shut the gates to the Close and send for mercenaries from Yarmouth with the intention that they would help defend the walls of the Close. Over the next few weeks men from the priory increased tensions by carrying out a raid on a local tavern and a house and firing from crossbow towards the city. Further agitation was caused by the fact the bishop at the time decided to shut himself away in his palace and not get involved.

The result was a three day riot in which some monks were killed and buildings were looted and set alight. The cloisters were damaged along with some of the cathedral. Within the Close several building were damaged or destroyed including a church and the bell tower and St Ethelbert's gate.

A short while before his death (16th November 1272) one of the last things Henry III did was to watch over the thirteen day trial of the citizens deemed responsible for the damage. Thirty citizens were condemned to death - some hanged and others dragged behind horses through the streets of Norwich until they died. Further punishment included a 3000 marks fine to be paid by the city over six years towards repairs and the sending of people from the city to beg the Pope for forgiveness. The prior was also incarcerated - so did not get away with it!

Story Number 2: Legend: St William of Norwich

From a screen in Loddon Church)

In the year 1144, a 12 year old apprentice from Norwich called William was lured from his home by the promise of better employment. A few days later a group of men (alleged to be Jews) were seen on Mousehold Heath with a body tied over a horse. Upon being discovered - they ran away and the boy's body was buried on the spot.

Nothing more would have happened if the parents of the boy had not started rumours that their son had been seen going into a house in the Jewish quarter of the city. At this time in history several stories of ritualistic killings (involving crucifixion) of Christian boys by Jews in mockery of the passion of Christ flared up in the spirit of the anti-antisemitism of the time (often caused by resentment of Jewish wealth and influence). This rumour gained momentum but initially the Bishop of Norwich at the time (Eborard) ignored these rumours.

That Easter a prior visited from Lewes and kindled interest in the boy. He begged for Eborard to allow him to take the body to Lewes where the 'martyr's' relics would attract pilgrims (and, of course, be of financial benefit to the priory as pilgrim's brought money). It was this prior's interest that eventually lead the monks and the bishop to be convinced of the boy's martyrdom and his body was exhumed and buried in the monk's cemetery. A chapel was also built at the site of William's initial burial - the foundations/earthworks of which can still be seen.

In 1150 a dream inspired Thomas of Monmouth - a Norwich Cathedral monk - to persuade the prior to exhume the boy's body again and place it in the monk's chapter house. This happened and pilgrim's started to flock to his grave. The volume of visitors started to disrupt the work in the priory so much that it was decided that the body needed to be moved again into the more suitable Jesus Chapel (known then as the Martyr's Chapel) and an altar dedicated to William was positioned next to the choir screen. At this point the sightings of miracles occurring near or around William's shrine had reached an average of one a week and the belief in his crucifixion and martyrdom was more fervent. Eventually the boy was canonised and his feast day (March 24th) was celebrated every year.

Story Number 3: Fiction: The Story told by the bosses in the Bauchon Chapel

The bosses in the Bauchon Chapel)

This story is told through the bosses on the ceiling in Bauchun Chapel but very much in random order. It was a popular medieval story linked (very loosely) to Chaucer's Canterbury Tale, 'The Man of Lawes.

An Emperor leaves his wife under the protection of his brother while he goes to war. Fearing the brother's inappropriate advances, the Empress imprisons him. When the Emperor returns, the brother wrongly accuses the Empress of making advances to him. The Emperor believes the brother and orders his wife to be killed.

A knight rescues her from death and takes her home to look after his young son. The knight's brother falls in love with the Empress but she rejects him. Through jealousy, he kills the child and puts a knife in her hand while she is asleep. As a punishment, the knight exiles her to a desert island where the Blessed Virgin teaches her how to cure leprosy using a plant. She is eventually rescued and sent back to the knight where she cures his brother who has developed leprosy because he confesses to his previous lies. She goes on to return to her husband and the same happens -she cures his brother upon his confession. However, at the end her old life is unappealing and she decides to enter a convent!