Then there's the following (admittedly a couple of hundred years before
Chaucer):
"
Clifford's Tower:
Massacre at York (1190)
The site of Clifford's Tower, the keep of York's medieval castle, still
bears witness to the most horrifying event in the history of English Jewry.
On the night of 16 March 1190, the feast of Shabbat ha-Gadol, the small
Jewish community of York was gathered together for protection inside the
tower. Rather than perish at the hands of the violent mob that awaited them
outside, many of the Jews took their own lives; others died in the flames
they had lit, and those who finally surrendered were massacred and
murdered.
Understandably, this appalling event has become the most notorious example
of antisemitism in medieval England. Yet, it was by no means an isolated
incident, but rather the culmination of a tide of violent feeling which
swept the country in the early part of 1190.
"
-- I suspect this isn't irrelevant to how we (or Chaucer, indeed) intended
us to respond to The Prioress's Tale.
Robin Hamilton
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