Saint William (cult suppressed) | |
|---|---|
 William depicted in St Peter and St Paul's Church, Eye, Suffolk (c. 1500) | |
| Born | Norwich, Kingdom of England |
| Died | c.22 March 1144 (aged 12) Thorpe Wood, Norwich |
| Venerated in | Folk Catholicism |
| Canonized | Never officially canonised. |
| Feast | 26 March (removed from the Universal Calendar) |
| Attributes | Depicted holding nails, with nail wounds or undergoing crucifixion |
Catholic cult suppressed | After the Congregation for the Causes of Saints |
William of Norwich (died c. 22 March 1144) was an apprentice who lived in the English city of Norwich. He suffered a violent death during Easter 1144. The city's French-speaking Jewish community was blamed for his death, but the crime was never solved. William's case is the first known example of a medieval blood libel.
The only detailed information about William is from Thomas of Monmouth, a Benedictine monk and a member of Norwich Cathedral's Priory, which took possession of his relics. William was promoted as a Christian saint by the Priory. They commissioned Monmouth to write the hagiographical The Life and Miracles of St William of Norwich in 1150 to state the case for William's claim to sainthood. However, he was never formally canonised, and the Priory's claims were largely ignored by the people of Norwich: "There is not a single extant calendar from the vicinity, other than those from the priory itself, that includes a commemoration of William."[1]
- ^ Rose, E.M., The Murder of William of Norwich: The Origins of the Blood Libel in Medieval Europe, p.98, Oxford University Press (2015)