The Murder of Licoricia of Winchester

the heart end Quote. Licoricea the Jewess, better known as Licorcia of Winchester, was one of the most powerful financial figures in England during her lifetime, having achieved great success as a money lender. History has seen a number of notable female lenders with great names, like Belast of Bristol and Cometisa of Cambridge, but none quite matched the prominence or success of Licoricea. Her clients ranged from King Henry the Third, who frequently received her at court, to blesser

nobles to even local women. To call her business an empire for its time would not be an overstatement. Influence and power, however, came with a price. There were multiple stays in the Tower of London several legal battles, a dangerous rise in anti Semitism, and ultimately, finally a tragic, bloody end. To this day, Licoricia's death remains an unsolved mystery, but through the record we can still put together the pieces of her life of intrigue. I'm Dana Schwartz and

this is noble blood. Before we can talk about Licurcia, let's talk a bit more generally about the history of Jews in England. Our earliest record of Jewish people arriving on English soil dates back to ten sixty six, when they were brought at the behest of William the First or William the Conqueror. Following his Norman conquest, William needed to borrow large sums of money in order to secure his position as king in England, and so he turned

to Jewish merchants from Ruan in his homeland of Normandy. Thus, England's first Jewish community settled in London, which became the country's main financial center, to assist with William's kingdom building. Because of their usefulness, they maintained a unique legal status where they were both protected and quote unquote owned by

the Crown. Fast forward a few centuries The twelve fifty three Statute of Jewelry affirmed that status that had been in place, explicitly stating quote, all Jews, wheresoever they may be in the realm, are of right under the tutelage and protection of the King. Nor is it lawful for any of them to subject themselves to any wealthy person without the King's license. Jews and all their effects are the King's property, and if anyone withhold their money from him,

let the King recover it as his own. I think it's also worth taking a bigger step back to talk about the history of Jews in finance. In medieval and Renaissance Europe, the Christian Church had an increasingly harsh stance against usury, or loaning money at interest, so Jewish people filled that gap and became money lenders. Across European countries, including England, Jews were permitted to engage in financial transactions with Christians, but they were barred from many other types

of business arrangements with them. On top of those restrictions, European Jews were typically not allowed to own farmland, work for the government, or join artisan guills, so money lending was often their best or only option, as usury was considered sinful by the Catholic Church, Jews gained the reputation of being greedy, dishonest, and all of the other adjectives that come to mind when you consider anti Semitic stereotypes

that persist to this day. That archetype is most famously embodied by Shylock, the villainous Jewish money lender in Shakespeare's Merchant of Venice, who is ultimately forced into conversion by the play's protagonist as atonement for his crimes. For reference, Jews were actually a expelled from England back in twelve ninety, so there actually would have been no Jews living openly

in England during Shakespeare's lifetime. In the thirteenth century, Licrosya's time, Jewish communities had expanded outside of London to other urban areas, including but not limited to Bristol, Canterbury, Oxford, and of

course Winchester. To get an idea of the size of these communities, the Jewish population of England as a whole was estimated to be about five thousand at its peak in twelve hundred, and it generally declined for years until the expulsion I mentioned in twelve ninety, when it would have been about two thousand. Jewish people typically lived closely to one another in these communities, in quarters quite literally called the Jewury. Some of these cities, including Winchester, still

feature a Jewry Street. Christians were legally prevented from living in Jewish homes as servants or as nurses, although the maid killed alongside Lcuricia Alice actually was a Christian woman. But even so, that law didn't mean there was no community between cultures. As you might imagine, there were periods of relative harmony and also periods of violent discord. When it comes to the latter types of periods, it's purported

that in Winchester, a series of blood libel claims. Blood libel being the notably false accusation that Jewish people murder Christians and especially Christian children, to use their blood in religious rituals in the twelve thirties led to the lynching of the local synagogue head in that same decade.

as Floria, Sephrania or Comtisa. While the name Licoricia follows suit, it appears that it wasn't a very popular choice, which luckily contributes to her life and career showing up more clearly in records. Speaking of records, the first documentation of Licarsia's life places her in Winchester in twelve thirty four, where she is mentioned twice in the close roles the

administrative records of the Royal Chancery. In one such record, we learn that the King has relieved a man of quote the interest of ten pounds, which Paytaiven and Licoriceia, Jews of Winchester, lent him. The second record is a letter addressed to the quote Jewish justices, this time ordering a man to repay the money he owes to two lenders.

The latter half of this record reads quote of the ten marks he owes Licoriceia, who was the wife of Abraham of Kent, he must repay the said Licoriceia two marks per annum at the previously stated intervals instruct the justices and the assigned custodian of the Jews that this should be recorded in the roles and made to happen. There are a few things we can unpack from those very brief records. First, we see the original appearance of

Licurcia's toponym of Winchester. For Christians, toponyms typically identified where they originated or where they were currently living, but for Jews they most likely indicated where their main place of business was. We also learned that Licorcia was already an established and successful businesswoman at this point, as ten pounds was not an insignificant sum. The second letter also notably tells us that Licursia was the wife of Abraham of Kent.

Perhaps contrary to popular belief, divorces actually were possible at this time. A little bit more on that later, but the specific phrasing here denotes that Licoricia was a widow. We don't know when the couple married or when Abraham died. There are no official records of birth, death, or marriage in the thirteenth century here, but we know they had three sons and a daughter together named Benedict Cockerel, Lumbard

and Billia. Records regarding Abraham are scarce, but we find him in Winchester in twelve twenty five, when he and five other men were accused of murdering a Christian child. It's unclear what the outcome of the trial was. The original record finds Abraham and another man guilty, but this is contradicted when that other man appears alive and well

on record in later years. In the seventeenth century, the historian William Prynne states that it was not six Jews on trial, but four, and that they were all acquitted. Whether Abraham was found innocent, or he was found guilty and his sentence was reversed, or he was found guilty and died by the noos, the twelve twenty five trial is our last record of his activity, and we know, because they're framing Licoricia as a widow, that he must

have died some time before twelve thirty four. Knowing more about Abraham could have helped us learn more about Licoricia, but were able to make inferences about her life through more generalized knowledge. Jewish women in money lending traditionally learnt the trade from their family or from their husband, and would often start out helping in the family business before

potentially branching out on their own. A rabbinical writer from the eleventh century remarked that it was common for men to appoint their wives as quote masters over their possessions, but there are also records of unmarried daughters who went into business with their mothers. Within the jewury business was often conducted through a family consortia, typically headed by a matriarch.

The local consortia would have presented an opportunity for individual women to get involved in money lending, as those consortia were known to have accepted extended family as well as outsiders as men. In her city, when Lecoricia was coming into her own the local matriarch was an older woman

named Shara of Winchester. While not related, Licursia did begin to do business with Schera's family In twelve thirty six, record of her lending to local minor gentry shows her partnering with Shara's son, Elias and his widowed sister in law, Billia. After the death of Billia's husband, Billia quickly became a successful lender in her own right, and we know she had a close working and likely personal relationship with Licoricea, who appears to have named her daughter after her likely friend.

Did Licoricea learn her trade from her parents, whoever they might have been, or did she take over her husband's dealings after his death like her friend Billia did. The former seems more likely, but were left to speculate either way. We can see a number of parallels in the lives

and careers of Licoricea and Billia. Through the end of the decade, they both continued to successfully grow their businesses in Winchester, to the point that by twelve thirty nine, Billia was paying the same tallente or taxation as the prodigiously successful Liquoricea. But the beginning of the next decade would bring major changes for both of them. In early twelve forty, Billia remarried and moved with her new husband to Bedford, where a newly permitted jewelry was being established.

Without Licoricea as her competition, Billia became the most prominent lender in her new city. We don't know how much the two women were able to keep in touch, but we know their respective sons often went into business together in later years, which I find adorable. As for liquor.

She remained in Winchester, where she too remarried. You can imagine that as a wealthy widow, Licoricia must have had her fair share of admirers and suitors, and as you might expect, the man she ultimately chose to settle down with for the second time wasn't just any old schmuck. He was David of Oxford, one of the six wealthiest

Jews in England. There is actually a surprising amount of documentation and research on David's life, but to sum it up for our purposes, he came from Lincoln, but moved to Oxford at the beginning of the reign of Henry the Third, likely to serve the growing university population there. He began to accumulate local property, but his businesses were so far reaching he paid taxes in several cities, and his clients typically belonged to the highest echelons of English society.

To give an idea of his wealth, David personally contributed nearly half of Oxford's total talent that was collected to finance the marriage of the King's sister Joan to King Alexander of Scotland. We can't say for sure whether his marriage to Lecrecia was a love match or a business deal, but no matter the couple's motivation, there was an obstacle they had to overcome before they tied the knot David's wife.

That's right, David was very much married when he courted Licrecia, and his wife, Muriel, appears to have been very against the dissolution of her marriage. Despite Muriel's wishes, David issued her a bill of divorce and things got marriage story levels of messy. The question of whether or not the divorce would be granted was decided by the beth Dean

or rabbinical court. The generals ants from the religious authority at the time was that it was improper for a man to divorce his wife without her assent, and the Beth din followed this philosophy when they favored Muriel in their ruling. What was David to do but call in a favor to help? An ordinance from August twelve, forty two reads quote the King to Masters Moses of London,

Aaron of Canterbury, and Jacob of Oxford, Jews greeting. We forbid you from henceforth holding any plea concerning David of Oxford and Muriel, who was the wife of the same. You are not to distrain him under any circumstances, either to take or retain her or any other woman as his wife. Know for a certainty that if you do otherwise, you will incur grave punishment. Muriel may have had the people on her side, but David had the actual King

of England. The divorce went through that August, and we can assume Licuricica and David tied the knot as soon as the following month. After all that, the marriage was ultimately faded to be short. David died in early twelve forty four. His passing left Licurcia a widow, yet again, this time caring for the couple's infant son, Asher, born in twelve forty three. Lcoricia's most immediate problem after her

husband's death imprisonment in the Tower of London. Historically, this would have been done as a safe guarding measure on occasions when the Crown was expecting to receive a large sum. Legally, all of a Jewish person's property was entitled to the king upon the person's death, though customarily the king only took one third very generous, so Lcuricia's imprisonment in this case would have been to prevent her from trying to run off with the money or possessions that the king

technically was owed. Of course, not every wealthy widow was imprisoned, so there's reason to believe the Crown saw Licoricia as a particular threat, or maybe there was something of David's the Crown particularly wanted. Licoricia remained in the tower for months while Quote six of the richer and discreeter Jews of England Willing or Nilling and quote were officially ordered

to oversee her business interests and inheritance. By September twelve, forty four, the estate was finally settled, and it was determined that the king was owed five thousand marks by some miracle, or more accurately, by her own negotiation skills. It appears Licoricea was able to maintain control over all of her husband's chattels and bonds, which normally would have been seized by the king as part of the deceased's estate. Released from the tower, Licursia was now the wealthiest Jewish

woman in the country. She returned to Winchester to care for her infant Asher. Her elder sons and her daughter, David of Oxford, had been involved in the King's personal financial activities, and now Licoricea took on those responsibilities. Whenever Henry was in Winchester or London, Licoricea could be found at court. Among the courtiers she maintained business with were

the King's brother in law and the King's cousin. Outside of court life, the Jewish community began to see Lecrosia as a representative, and they would bring her their concerns, sometimes asking for her to advocate to the King himself. On top of Licursia's originally successful businesses, she was now also in control of David's enterprises, so she managed the workload of two careers on her own, but eventually she brought her older son Cockerell into the fold as her

main agent, starting in twelve forty eight. That same year, one of Licrasia's clients, Sir Thomas de Charlecote, died. He was found drowned in a lake on his own estate, and it was alleged that he had been murdered by a group of servants, but the case was never actually investigated. What matters here is that two years earlier, Sir Thomas had renegotiated the terms of a loan he had originally

made with David of Oxford. The term of the loan was six years, and the total was to be paid by the estate in the event that he died before that time, which we know he did. In that situation, the creditor was legally entitled to take possession of the pledge, but a Jewish person in England was unable to permanently own the land. They could only possess it for a year and a half before selling it to a Christian

or restoring it to the heir. That year and a half period passed after Sir Thomas's death, and Licoricia was still in possession of the land. The King himself had given her approval to do so, using her unique status as a Jew to bypass the feudal laws of his own country. In twelve fifty King Henry officially granted Licracia an extension, but by twelve fifty two Thomas's heir took Licorcia to court. She defended herself in trial aggressively advocating

for her interests and attacking her accusers. The courts ultimately ruled in favor of the heir and ordered to pay rent for the time she had occupied the estate. This infuriated the King, who took the case to be retried in his own court on the ground that Jews were supposed to be answerable only to his personal jurisdiction. Licurasia was once again placed in the Tower of London for the duration of the retrial, while her son Cockrell continued

to collect profits from the estate. King Henry Hands selected five judges to try the case, headed by his own brother, the Earl of Cornwall. In a shocking downright Cain and abel Esque twist, the judges once again ruled in favor of the heir, and the Earl prevented his brother from

overturning their decision. Trying to save some face, Henry preempted the sentencing by ordering Licurcia to pay half a silver mark, a relatively sun The rest of the twelve fifties are a gap in our knowledge of Licrosia's life, as records from twelve fifty three to twelve sixty five were destroyed during a period of civil unrest, a period that included a revolt against Henry in twelve fifty eight that would

lead to the Second Baron's War. Civil war was dangerous for the Jews, who were seen as collectively royalists due to their financial ties to the crown. The flames of anti Semitism were stoked by the leader of the Baron's forces, Simon de Montfort, Earl of Leicester, who played into the public's fears of violence against Christians and their resentment about debts.

Truly a tale as old as time. While this rise in anti Semitism did have a body count, Licrosia and her family seemed to have remained safe when they started appearing again in records in twelve sixty five. Her son Benedict had already made a name for himself as a successful and respected businessman, as would Lcrosia's youngest son, Asher, more commonly referred to by his nickname sweet Man. In the twelve seventies, Benedict, Cockrell, and Asher all officially conducted

business as quote sons of Licoricea. Records about Licoricia herself during this time are scarce, but a twelve seventy six order calls for the Sheriffs of Wiltshire, Norfolk, Warwick, Hampshire, Surrey, Oxford and Bedford to quote produce the debts of Licoricia a fortnight after Saint John the Baptist, So she was still working and her business was far reaching. That brings

us to where we started with Licoricea's tragic end. On a spring day in twelve seventy seven, Licursia's daughter Billia found her mother and the family's made Alice dead by stab wounds. The scene was found in disarray, with locks broken off, coffers and strong boxes, and a collection of goods missing. Quote. She was Jewish, she was rich, and she was a woman, licorsia biographer Rebecca Abrams told the Religion News Service all three might have led to her death.

We know Licursia was litigious and made her fair share of enemies. Without evidence, however, we can only make assumptions. It's likely that her murder was vengeance, but it's just as likely that it was a robbery gone wrong. News of Licursia's murder spread across the country and beyond, even reaching Germany, where it was published in a Jewish crom Local speculation valued the goods in her home at the time of the break in at ten thousand pounds, but

that was certainly an exaggeration. Three men were initially named as suspects, but they were soon acquitted and blame instead turned to a poor saddler who had conveniently fled prior to the accusation. The inquiry found the man guilty and outlawed him, which didn't really matter as he was already gone. Cockrell and Asher didn't accept that verdict and unsuccessfully attempted

to reopen their mother's murder case a year later. Following Lcrasia's death, her sons continued to build their businesses, but tensions were rapidly building as the country ultimately headed towards the twelve ninety Edict of expulsion. When King Edward the First rose to power after his father's death in twelve seventy two, so Jewish people lost many of the protections, no matter how transactional they were, that had been in

place under Henry's rule. Edward increasingly demanded more money from lenders, going so far as to build a prison for those he considered too slow in their payments. These increasing demands led to the rise of coin clipping, illegally shaving metal from gold and silver coins. An estimated six hundred and eighty Jews were imprisoned on coin clipping in London alone, and an estimated ten times more Christians were arrested. In general.

The Tower of London could not keep up with the demand due to the ongoing renovations, ironically paid in part by Jewish taxation. Despite being named Keeper of the Queen's Gold only a few years prior Benedict of Winchester, Lcarsia's son was found guilty of coin clipping and hanged in London some time between twelve seventy eight and twelve seventy nine. He was one of an estimated two hundred and seventy nine Jews executed. Asher managed to avoid capital punishment, and

he continued doing business under increasing restrictions. But of course he and the rest of Lcoricia's children and grandchildren were expelled from the country with his fellow Jews in twelve ninety. There is no record of what happened to them afterward. In August twenty eighteen, more than seven hundred years after the expulsion, permission was granted to erect a statue of

Licoricea on jewelry Street in Winchester. The project was spearheaded by the Licurcia of Winchester Appeal, which fundraised for five years to build the monument, which they believed would inspire women, promote tolerance, and shine a light on an overlooked chapter in English history. King Charles, then the Prince of Wales, unveiled the statue in a ceremony in March of twenty

twenty two. Sculpted by the artist Ian Rank Broadly, who's best known for his statue of Diana, Princess of Wales at Kensington Palace, the monument shows Licresia holding a young asher's hand, appearing to walk down the street where her house and the city's thirteenth century synagogue once stood. On the plinth of the statue are words from the Book of Leviticus, love thy neighbor as thyself, engraved in both English and Hebrew. That's the story of Licursia of Winch.

She but keep listening after a brief sponsor break, to hear a little bit more about another cameo in the Tower of London during this time. If you thought two stays in the Tower of London was one too many, you'll be surprised to hear that Licoricea was actually imprisoned a third time. In twelve fifty nine, she was accused of stealing a ring from, of all people, her friend Bellia.

Licoricia's neighbor Vetta, accused her of the theft, and she was arrested and taken to the Tower to await investigation. A few months later, it was uncovered that, surprise, surprise, the thief was none other than Vetta herself, and Licoricea was released. That's all the information we have about that inctant.

But would you believe me if I told you there was actually a fourth stay for Licorica in the Tower of London in twelve sixty We know even less about this arrest, but it likely involved in overdue payment or an investigation into her business. It appears to have been another brief sojourn, and for Licoricia, business continued quite literally as usual. Noble Blood is a production of iHeartRadio and

Grim and Mild from Aaron Mankey. Noble Blood is hosted by me Dana Schwartz, with additional writing and research by Hannah Johnston, Hannahswick, Courtney Sender, Amy Hit and Julia Milaney. The show is edited and produced by Jesse Funk, with supervising prima Il Kaali and executive producers Aaron Manke, Trevor Young, and Matt Frederick. For more podcasts from iHeartRadio, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.