Yesterday I made a passing reference to the biography I’m reading of Licoricia of Winchester. My mum and her sister were both born in Winchester, and it surprised me to realise that’s almost a hundred years ago!! However, it’s only within the last dozen or so years that I’ve ever visited the beautiful city and its cathedral. The last time we went, earlier this year, I saw a statue of Licoricia, a life-sized statue, which was erected on Jewry Street in 2022. My grandparents were living not far from that site, and I wonder what my grandma thought of being so close to Jewry street as she herself was half Jewish.
It’s not known when Licoricia was born, but she she’s first mentioned in 1234. She had four children, was a widow and a businesswoman – so probably she was in her twenties at least. She married her second husband, David, (who divorces his first wife to do so) , another wealthy entrepreneur but sadly he died two years later leaving her with another son. She must have been a most intelligent, strong-minded and canny person to be so successful in a time of great religious intolerance, people of the Jewish faith suffered particularly – especially if they were wealthy. She died in 1277, and fifteen years later her sons and grandchildren were forced to flee England. Tragically her death was not the natural passing of an elderly woman, she and her servant were murdered in her own home on Jewry Street. Even more tragically, she was found by her daughter Bella.
I’ve only read the first couple of chapters, but the details in ‘Licoricia of Winchester: Power and Prejudice in Medieval England’ by Rebecca Abrams, are absolutely fascinating, and the book is so well written.
https://licoricia.org/our-book/
My featured image was taken last year, sitting in the grounds of the cathedral in Winchester
Lois Elsden 