Dataset of Jewish Prisoners, Refugees, and Staff at the Tower

The dataset records every Jewish person who was held prisoner, sought sanctuary, or worked at the Tower in the medieval period. This totals 236 biographies. They range from anonymous refugees hiding out from the anti-Jewish riot at Richard I’s coronation in 1189, to Jewish workers at the Tower like the sergeant Jurnet of Abraham or the converted knight Henry of Winchester. Fifty-eight entries are anonymous, and 179 are of named individuals. Most entries are of people from London (37 entries), with Norwich (16) and Oxford (15) the next most common. Thirty-six were women, including Licoricia of Winchester, one of the most prominent female moneylenders in medieval England. The bulk of the entries, 225 out of 236, are of people imprisoned at the Tower. The most common crime they were accused of was coin-clipping. This accounts for 33 cases, and a further 110 probable ones. The next most frequent charge was tax arrears (23 entries). Other, less common charges include murder (8), hiding treasure (4), and handling stolen goods (3). Of the remaining 11 entries, 8 are of mostly anonymous sanctuary-seekers, hiding out at the Tower either during an anti-Jewish riot or in fear of one, and the last three entries are of Jewish people working at the Tower, two of whom were converts to Christianity.