The “Little Hugh” libel, circulated for the last seven centuries, was officially denounced here by the Mayor of Lincoln in his welcome to the members of the Jewish Historical Society who came to this city on a sight-seeing visit.
“This is perhaps the first occasion,” declared the Mayor, “on which the Municipality of Lincoln has been in contact with any Jewish body since the Middle Ages. Our city is, of course bound up in history with the story of ‘Little Saint Hugh,’ said to have been done to death by Jews for ritual purposes in 1255.
“That ‘Little St. Hugh’ existed,” he continued, “and that his dead body was discovered, there is, I presume, little doubt. But that he was done to death by the Jews for ritual purposes cannot be other than a libel, based upon the prejudice and ignorance of an unenlightened age. You will be glad to know that the Corporation have made this clear in the new guide book of the City which they have recently published.”
Speaking at the Shrine of “Little St. Hugh,” Canon J. H. Srawley, Chancellor of the Cathedral of Lincoln pointed out that the accusation against the Jews for ritual murder has lingered on since the Middle Ages. He was ashamed to say that these charges have been repeated in Germany during modern times.
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The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
