It’s unclear exactly when Meir Ben Elijah lived or died. Since he is speculated to have lived around the time when the Jews were expelled from England in 1290, scholars are uncertain whether he died during the expulsion, and, in that vein, whether his poems were written before or after the event. Nevertheless, he was titled “Meir of Norwich” for his association with the region. Meir’s collection of 22 poems was discovered in the middle of the 19th century in the Vatican archive in Rome.1,2 By now, this collection has been translated by Ellmann Crasnow and Bente Elsworth into an English collection title “Into the Light” – likely a pun for one of his poems titled, “Ode to Light.” In the poem, Meir recounts the suffering of his local community in Norwich, yet holds onto the belief that light will overcome the darkness of his times. This dichotomy of light versus darkness is prevelant throughout his entire collection, and is intimatly grounded in the troubling Jewish experience of in 13th century England.
Like Rabbi Halevi and Rabbi Moses Ibn Ezra, Meir’s poems are littered with Biblical language and references. His poetry also take after Halevi’s liturgical style in that they follow the Hebrew Poetical traditions of Germany, France and Spain1,2.
According to Literary Norfolk, a website dedicated to Meir of Norwich, “In his long poem about the Exodus we are told: ‘I am Meir, son of Rabbi Elijah from the city of Norwich, which is in the Isle called Angleterre’.” Although little is known about his life, Meir strongly asserts his identity within his writings. The physical documents of his work perserved extreme adversity, and were eventually miraculously salvaged. Similarly, the self-affirmations of his poems work to salvage his identity through trying times. His self-affirmations are tied to his place of origin, his familial ties, and, in following the Kinot tradition, of a longing for Israel. As his poem, Exodus, shows, his Jewish identity is commemorated in his poetry.
Literary Norfolk writes,
Throughout these poems, Meir deliberately incorporates his name and his identity. By doing so, he resists the exile forced upon him and his people. By declaring not only his name, but the name of his father and the land he calls home, Meir firmly roots himself, and refuses to be fully exiled. He also refuses to leave behind his family or his faith, as many other Jews did at this time in order to survive. These poems are not just a documentation of suffering and hardship, but a stark defiance of oppression.
Literary Norfolk.
Although mournful and aggrieved, his poems are rarely violent. “Ode to the Light”, even calls for mercy on his oppressors. Nevertheless, his “refusal to be forgotten” exhibits the opposite of meekness. Like Rabbi Halevi, Meir uses his writing to state and defend, or in Piyyotim terms, “Allelai” (book of Job, “cry out”) proof of Jewish identity and legacy.