In recognition of Winchester’s important but lesser-known medieval Jewish community, the Cathedral are hosting a series of fascinating in-person and online talks examining, and oftentimes challenging, prejudices within interfaith Christian-Jewish relations. The talks are inspired by Licoricia: an important Jewish woman, prominent in Winchester’s community during the 13th century.
Thursday 30th June, 7pm : ‘Licoricia, her son, and other Jewish stories at the Tower of London’
Speaker: Rory MacLellan
The most significant standing remains of the Jewish history of medieval England is not a synagogue but a castle: the Tower of London. From 1189 to 1290, hundreds of Jews entered the Tower as prisoners, refugees, or workers, including Licoricia of Winchester and her son Benedict. At the same time, Jewish tax money funded the castle’s expansion, including the infamous Traitors’ Gate. This lecture will reveal some of these stories of imprisonment, sanctuary, persecution and even cooperation, when Jews and Christians fought together to defend the Tower from siege.
Rory MacLellan is a historian specialising in medieval religious history, particularly the crusades and the Anglo-Jewry. He was awarded his PhD in Medieval History by the University of St Andrews and recently completed a research project on the Tower of London’s Jewish history for Historic Royal Palaces.
Location: Online.
To book you can call 01962 857275, email Box.Office@winchester-cathedral.org.uk or pop into the cathedral before 4pm to buy your tickets directly from the Box Office (which can be found near the Welcome Desk).
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Photo Credit: The Licoricia of Winchester Appeal
Tuesday 3rd May, 7pm : ‘The Licoricia of Winchester Appeal, to and beyond the statue’
Speakers: William and Maggie Carver
William and Maggie Carver of the Licoricia of Winchester Appeal spoke at Winchester Cathedral about the project and its future plans. The statue, which can be found outside The Arc in Winchester, is in tribute to Licoricia who was a Jewish businesswomen in the 13th century who is an inspiration to us all today.
“The project went through a fascinating evolution from its inception eight years ago. It is a gateway to Licoricia, a Wintonian and the most important Jewish woman of medieval England, her community, and important lessons for today.” – William Carver
William and Maggie Carver talked not only about how the statue of Licoricia came into being, but also the charity’s plans for the future.
Maggie and William are active in interfaith work in Winchester. Maggie founded The Licoricia of Winchester Appeal charity in 2018 and Maggie and William work together to hold Winchester’s Mitzvah day.
William trained as a chartered accountant and holds and MBA from London Business School. He has held various positions in finance, banking and strategy, latterly running his own business, Carvercare and Mobility, a retail and online business serving the elderly and disabled.
Maggie’s career started in banking and strategy and since then has been mainly in the media sector, she is an experienced company director, having served on the boards of over 18 public, private and not-for-profit companies, and chaired 5 boards. She is currently interim Chairman of Ofcom.
All profits from the ticket sales of this lecture will be donated to The Licoricia of Winchester Appeal.
If you’re interested in learning more about Licoricia of Winchester, but can’t attend this lecture, you may be interested in registering your interest to purchase ‘Licoricia of Winchester: Power and Prejudice in Medieval England’ by Rebecca Abrams which is expected to be published on 9th May 2022. More info on The Licoricia of Winchester Appeal website.
Thursday 19th May, 7pm: ‘God’s Everlasting Word: Christian-Jewish Relations Today’
Speaker: Bishop of Lichfield, Rt Revd Dr Michael Ipgrave OBE
Dr Michael Ipgrave, the Bishop of Lichfield, delivers a poignant lecture on the challenges and opportunities for Christians in relating to Jewish people today. His work draws on the recent Church of England report, “God’s Unfailing Word: Theological and Practical Perspectives on Christian-Jewish Relations” – a study rooted in the belief that the relationship between Judaism and Christianity is a gift of God to the church to be received with gratitude, respect and care.
Dr Ipgrave is a leading expert in ecumenical and interfaith matters, having been awarded an OBE for services to interfaith relations in London. He is an Anglican priest who in 2016 was installed as the 99th Bishop of Lichfield, and has served in parishes in Japan, Leicester and South London. Dr Ipgrave currently chairs the trustees of the Council of Christians and Jews, and was Inter Faith Relations Advisor to the Archbishops’ Council and secretary of the Churches’ Commission on Inter-Faith Relations.
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Monday 30th May, 6pm (light refreshments from 5:30pm) : ‘The Role of Money in Medieval Christian-Jewish Relations’
Speaker: Anna Abulafia
The Role of Money in medieval Christian-Jewish Relations’ examines how Christian anti-Jewish stereotypes evolved in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries through the combination of Christian theological ideas about Judaism with the demands of a developing profit economy from the 1150s. I hope to show that deeper understanding of these economically, inspired stereotypes can help us recognise some aspects of modern-day anti-Semitism.
Anna Sapir Abulafia was born in New York, moving with her family to The Netherlands in 1967 where she completed her schooling and University studies in History at the University of Amsterdam. After moving to Cambridge, she became a Research Fellow first at Clare Hall (1981-6) and then at Lucy Cavendish College (1987-90) where she went on to be Fellow, College Lecturer and Director of Studies in History (1990-2015), serving as Graduate Tutor (1992 -6), Senior Tutor (1996 – 2002) and Vice-President (2002 – 2010). In April 2015, she was appointed to the Chair of the Study of the Abrahamic Religions in the Faculty of Theology and Religion in Oxford and became a Professorial Fellow of Lady Margaret Hall. In July 2020 she was elected a Fellow of the British Academy. The main focus of her research is the interaction of medieval Christianity and Judaism within the broad context of twelfth and thirteenth-century theological and ecclesiastical developments. Her books include Christian-Jewish Relations, 1000-1300. Jews in the Service of medieval Christendom (2011).
Location: The Stripe, University of Winchester.
Free parking is available in the Dytche (area ‘B’).
Book tickets here to attend in person/online.
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