The 11th and 12th centuries, from William the Bastard’s conquest in 1066 to the death of Henry II in 1189, have been described as a golden age for Anglo-Jewry. For over a century they were protected as ‘the King’s Jews’, flourishing both intellectually and economically. Their international connections and intellectual tradition placed them at the centre of an explosion of learning in Europe. But was it really so good for the Jews?

Professor Nick Barratt is an author, broadcaster and historian best known for his work on BBC’s Who Do You Think You Are. He is an honorary associate professor of public history at the University of Nottingham, and Director of the University of London’s Senate House Library, as well as a teaching fellow at the University of Dundee. He has previously written on subjects as diverse as the story of Greater London, the Titanic, and Stalin’s first mole in Whitehall.

Claudia Gold is the pen name of Claudia Rubenstein, Director of Jewish Book Week. She writes historical non-fiction. Her latest book, King of the North Wind, is a biography of Henry II.

Nick Vincent is a Professor of Medieval History at the University of East Anglia, specialising in the 12th and 13th centuries with a particular current focus on the Magna Carta. He is a Fellow of the British Academy.

Dominic Selwood is a columnist for the Daily Telegraph, and occasionally writes for The Spectator and other newspapers and magazines. He is the author of a number of bestselling history books and thrillers, including the Ava Curzon cryptothrillers. He speaks at schools, universities, literary festivals, learned societies, and institutions like the British Museum, as well as appearing on television and radio news and documentaries. He has a masters degree from the Sorbonne and a doctorate from Oxford, both in medieval history. He a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society and the Society of Antiquaries. He lives in London with his wife and two children.