Hello and welcome to the Historic Royal Palace's podcast, the podcast that explores the history

and stories of our six palaces and the people whose lives have been shaped by them.

My name is Charles Farris and I'm a curator at the Tower of London. Today we're going to be

tackling a complicated subject which some listeners may find upsetting.

So please be aware that this episode contains themes of anti-Judaism, racial and religious persecution,

death and execution. The Tower of London holds a principal place in the complex story of

the coercion and coexistence of England's medieval Jewish community.

It is a place where medieval Jews sought refuge from anti-Jewish attacks,

but in contrast it was also a place of imprisonment, persecution and execution.

The tower was one of the main sites from which the expulsion of the Anglo-Jury took place in 1290,

seeing an entire community displaced on the orders of England's king at the time, Edward I.

More recent research has shown the true extent to which Jews and Christians coexisted at the Tower of London,

which has helped to give us a more nuanced picture of life for the medieval Jewish community in England.

It's a complicated history that hasn't received enough representation at the Tower of London.

But to help us explore all of this today, I'm joined by Dr Rory McClellan, who has recently

worked on the project at Historic Royal Palace that focused on the Jewish history of the Medieval

Tower of London.

Thanks for being here today, Rory.

Thanks for having me. Happy to be here.

And to help us lend some wider context on this subject, we're also joined by Professor Miri Rubin.

Miri is Professor of Medieval and Early Modern History at Queen Mary University of London, whose research focuses on the religious culture of Europe.

It's great to have you here today, Mary.

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