Inscriptions: Robert of Reading
NEAR THIS STONE IN OSNEY ABBEY,
ROBERT OF READING,
OTHERWISE HAGGAI OF OXFORD,
SUFFERED FOR HIS FAITH
ON SUNDAY 17 APRIL 1222 A.D.
CORRESPONDING TO 4 IYYAR 4982 A.M.
This plaque, unveiled by the scientist and surgeon Professor Charles Seligman, is attached to the remains of Osney Abbey in Mill Street, and is shown in context below:
A young Deacon at the University of Oxford converted to Judaism and married a Jewish woman, and was burnt alive for heresy. The Oxford Jewish Heritage website states here that this martyr has been confused with Robert of Reading, who also converted in the 1270s and took the name Haggai.
This is one of three plaques installed by Oxford City Council in 1931 to mark events connected with the medieval Jewish presence in Oxford (see report in Oxford Mail here). The other two commemorate:
- The medieval Jewish Cemetery (by the Danby Gate at the Botanic Garden)
- The ancient Jewish synagogue (on the Town Hall)
Below: the remains of Osney Abbey in c.1830
