Murder on Good Friday (Lord Godwin Medieval Mysteries) - Hardcover

Conway, Sara

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1581821883 ISBN 13: 9781581821888

Publisher: Cumberland House Publishing, 2001

Synopsis

On Monday, March 30 in the year 1220, the day after Easter, in a field outside the town of Hexham in northern England, the body of a young child, Alfred, is discovered -- murdered. Lord Godwin, Bailiff of Hexham and in the service of the Archbishop of Canterbury, is summoned to the scene. Alfred has been strangled, but even more shocking are the wounds marking his body: his palms bear puncture wounds, as if iron nails had been drive through them, and his left side has been pierced with a knife. Godwin reckons that Alfred died on Good Friday.

Why would someone kill a child on Good Friday? And why would his body be marked in imitation of the crucifixion of Christ? Soon a rumor begins to spread that the Jews had murdered young Albert, and a mob seizes all the Jews in Hexham, an extended family of nine. Godwin's first task is to prevent the Jews' murder by the mob, his second to find the person guilty of the horrible murder.

A disillusioned and battle-weary ex-Crusader, Godwin sets out to find the murderer as a means of atoning for his part in the crusade -- and for coming back when his dearest friend and kinsman Aidan did not. Will he be successful? Will the Jews' lives be spared? Will the murderer be exposed? And will Lord Godwin ever discover -- wherever -- the forgiveness he seeks for failing to protect the life of Aidan?

About this title

From the Author

"Murder on Good Friday" draws on actual thirteenth-century events: accusations of ritual murder. In various towns throughout England, Jews were accused of murder in the suspicious deaths of young Christian boys. Skeptical royal justices often dismissed these charges, but, on occasion, Jews were found guilty and unjustly put to death. In some cases, the child murder victims were even venerated as saints, considered martyrs by their fellow Christians.

A mythology grew up where it was believed that Jews annually murdered a Christian boy by ritually crucifying him. Not unlike the mentality and hysteria that fueled the later witch trials, this phenomenon spread from England throughout the Continent and accusations continued well into the modern period. Today, in England's Lincoln Cathedral, one can still visit the tiny sarcophagus of little Saint Hugh. The Catholic Church no longer venerates him, but his tomb is a powerful testament to the fear and hatred of Jews, past and present.

About the Author

SARA CONWAY teaches ancient and medieval history at Edmonds Community College in Edmonds, Washington. She has earned undergraduated and advanced degrees in history from the University of Washington and lives in rural Kingston, Washiogton. "Murder on Good Friday" is her first book.

Edition details

• Publisher: Cumberland House Publishing
• Publication date: 2001
• ISBN 10: 1581821883
• ISBN 13: 9781581821888
• Binding: Hardcover
• Language: English
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 320