Saturday, January 29, 2022

Licoricia of Winchester, Jewish businesswoman murdered in 1277

Recommendable! What a story! What a lady! Was she named after licorice?

"Winchester, a city near London that preceded it as the capital of England, plans to unveil a statue honoring a Jewish woman who ran a successful business and raised four children there until her murder in 1277. ...
A money lender, Licoricia’s clients included King Henry III and Queen Eleanor. Living in times of virulent antisemitism — her death preceded the 1290 total of expulsion of Jews from England by only 13 years — she had been jailed repeatedly before being murdered in a mysterious attack in Winchester. She was also widowed twice. ...
“The broader message is that we all benefit from letting women take an equal part in our society. It also holds up the fact that as she was Jewish she was persecuted in those times,” ...
The statue features the inscription: “Love thy neighbour as thyself” from Leviticus, in English and Hebrew. ...
Asser was Licoricia’s son from her second marriage to a wealthy Jewish divorcee called David of Oxford; at one point, a decade after her death, he was imprisoned in Winchester Castle while the king of England again sought to tax Jew. She also had three children with her first husband, Abraham of Kent, before he died in 1244.
Following his death, Licoricia was held prisoner in the Tower of London until a share of her husband’s estate was paid to the crown. It went to finance the rebuilding of Westminster Abbey ..."

"... Licoricia’s second marriage took place in 1242 to one of the wealthiest of all English Jews of that time, David of Oxford. In order to marry Licorica, David had to divorce his first wife, Muriel. A complex legal battle ensued ...
After the divorce and Licoricia’s marriage to David, she settled in Oxford ... There she assisted David in his business dealings. ...
Released in September 1244 [from prison], Licoricia returned to live with her family in Winchester. She immediately began to carry on with David’s business enterprises and started new ones of her own. She frequented King Henry’s court whenever he was in Winchester, dealing with members of his entourage as well as with the King himself, who aided her in some of her more questionable activities. ..."

England's one-time capital to honor Licoricia of Winchester, Jewish businesswoman murdered there in 1277 - Jewish Telegraphic Agency

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