| Date | May 2021 | Marks available | 9 | Reference code | 21M.1.BP.TZ0.4 |
| Level | Both SL and HL | Paper | Paper 1 - first exams 2017 | Time zone | TZ0 |
| Command term | Examine | Question number | 4 | Adapted from | N/A |
Question
Source A John Gillingham, an historian specializing in medieval history, writing in the academic book Richard I (2002).
While celebrations went on inside the palace, a riot developed outside. Some Jews, bringing gifts for the new king, had tried to enter, but the Christian crowd at the gates would not allow it. They fell upon the Jews, killing some and wounding others. The trouble then spread to the city of London, where it continued throughout the night. Jews were killed, their houses robbed and burned down. Next day, Richard had some of the rioters arrested, three of them hanged. A Jew who in fear of his life had agreed to be baptized a Christian, Richard encouraged him to return to his religion. The king sent letters to every region ordering that the Jews should be left in peace … Despite his efforts, there were more anti‑Jewish riots in the next few months at Lynn, Norwich, Lincoln and Stamford. This wave of popular anti‑Semitism [anti‑Jewish feelings] reached its height at York in March 1190, by which time Richard had already left the country.
[Source: Gillingham, J. Richard I. Copyright © 1999 by John Gillingham. Reproduced with permission of The Licensor through PLSclear.]
Source B Ephraim of Bonn, a Jewish scholar, writing in a manuscript in the 1190s.
In the year 1190, a group of knights attacked the Jews, in the city of York, on the Great Sabbath [before Passover]. The Jews fled to the house of prayer. Here Rabbi Yomtob stood and slaughtered sixty souls, and others were also killed. Some there commanded that they should slaughter their only sons. The number of those killed and burned was one hundred and fifty souls, men and women. Their houses also the knights destroyed, stole their gold and silver and many splendid books, precious as gold. These they brought to Cologne and to other places, where they sold them to the Jews.
[Source: Roth, C., History of the Jews in England, Cecil Roth, Oxford University Press, Reproduced with permission of the Licensor through PLSclear.]
Source D Peter Dunn, an English illustrator, in a twentieth-century depiction of Clifford’s Tower, York, during the attack on the Jews in 1190. The Jews had fled to the tower for safety.
[Source: © Historic England Archive.]
Using the sources and your own knowledge, examine the view that there was limited protection for the Jews in England during the reign of Richard I.
Markscheme
Apply the markbands that provide the “best fit” to the responses given by candidates and award credit wherever it is possible to do so. The following material is an indication of what candidates may elect to write about in their responses. It is neither prescriptive nor exhaustive and no set answer is required. While it is expected that there will be coverage of at least two of the sources, candidates are not required to refer to all four sources in their responses.
Indicative content
Source A The source indicates that Christians attacked the Jews and Richard was unable to prevent this despite sending out letters to all regions of England.
Source B The source indicates that there was little protection of the Jews who saw their houses destroyed and their goods taken.
Source D The source suggests that there was no safe place for the Jews in York as anti-Jewish feeling was widespread in the population.
Own knowledge Candidates may consider the inability of the government to control popular anti-Jewish feeling, particularly once Richard was on crusade. They may also consider that, despite the fact that the Jews were under Richard’s special protection, they were still persecuted. They may argue that there was some level of protection as some Jews were helped to escape attacks. Legislation seemed not to provide protection as shown by the Exchequer of the Jews issued in 1194, which controlled some of the financial activities of the Jews such as loans and interest rates. Candidates may refer to the reaction of the government after the York massacre and mention the dismissal of the sheriff and the castellan.
Examiners report
It was again pleasing to find that the majority of candidates offered a response with some development for the fourth question. There was also continuity with previous sessions in that most responses were focused on the set question and had some reference to the sources to develop and support the analysis. For example, for Q12 many candidates effectively used the sources to argue that ideology played a key role and also evaluated other factors at play in influencing the foreign policies of Italy and Germany. For Q16 candidates also developed coherent arguments evaluating the effectiveness of non-violence in the African American struggle for civil rights. Nevertheless, as suggested earlier in this report, there were a sizeable proportion of candidates that seemed to have allowed too little time to develop an extended response. There were also a number of responses that lacked focus on the question, for example for Q12 rather than focusing on foreign policy, a few candidates discussed the influence of ideology on domestic policies. As with previous sessions, some responses tended to list the content of the sources without engaging with an analysis of the question. Many candidates did not synthesize knowledge of the case study into their response whereas a small minority wrote entirely from their own knowledge and did not refer to the sources.
