Many of the chapters published in this volume were first delivered at a conference held in March 2010 at the University of York on ‘York 1190: Jews and Others in the Wake of Massacre’. We would like to thank Dr Hannah Meyer (Cambridge) and Dr Hugh Doherty (Oxford), who joined us in 2009 in planning the conference. Their influence can still be detected in several of the chapters.

The conference was supported financially by the British Academy. Generous further assistance was provided by The Jewish Historical Society of England (both the London and the Leeds branches), the Royal Historical Society and the Departments of English and History as well as the Centre for Medieval Studies at the University of York. Following the conference, the Leeds branch of the JHSE established an annual prize for student work on the history of Jews in Yorkshire (in any period). We would particularly like to thank Nigel Grizzard and Malcolm Saunders for their advice in developing the conference and ensuring that we could provide excellent hospitality for all our guests. The King's Manor and the hospitium of St Mary's Abbey proved ideal venues, while English Heritage provided access to Clifford's Tower with excellent stewardship for our groups. Under the direction of Professor Elisabeth Dutton (Fribourg), the Centre for Medieval Studies' own ‘Lords of Misrule’ enriched the event with their performance of the medieval Croxton Play of the Sacrament and Steven Berkoff's Ritual in Blood.