William of Norwich

Saint William (cult suppressed)
William depicted in St Peter and St Paul's Church, Eye, Suffolk (c. 1500)
Born	Norwich, Kingdom of England
Died	c.22 March 1144(1144-03-22) (aged 12) Thorpe Wood, Norwich
Venerated in	Folk Catholicism
Canonized	Never officially canonised.
Feast	26 March (removed from the Universal Calendar)
Attributes	Depicted holding nails, with nail wounds or undergoing crucifixion
Catholic cult suppressed	After the Congregation for the Causes of Saints

William of Norwich (died c. 22 March 1144) was an apprentice who lived in the English city of Norwich. He suffered a violent death during Easter 1144. The city's French-speaking Jewish community was blamed for his death, but the crime was never solved.

William became venerated as a Christian saint in Norfolk, when the priors of Norwich Cathedral promoted stories of his death in odium fidei "out of hatred of the faith". William is the first known example of a medieval blood libel.

The only detailed information about William is from the Norwich Benedictine monk Thomas of Monmouth, who wrote The Life and Miracles of St William of Norwich in 1150.