The doctrine of transubstantiation was presented formally in Canon 1 of the Fourth Lateran Council of 1215, which was presided over by Innocent III. Transubstantiation, as explained explicitly in the canon, involved the replacement or transformation of one substance (the bread or the wine) by another (the body or the blood of Christ). This formal record of ‘orthodox’ eucharistic doctrine was the implicit target of much of Wyclif’s criticism of contemporary conceptions of material change in the host. It entailed necessarily for him that the substances of the bread and the wine had to have been annihilated, and that their accidents had therefore to exist without subjects. Many theologians had published versions of this theory, including Thomas Aquinas, but Wyclif’s metaphysical system could admit neither the possibility of annihilation nor the possibility of accidents existing without substantive subjects. He outlined his position in a late philosophical treatise, On the Externally Productive Power of God (1371/2), but its controversial potential ostensibly went unnoticed.

This chapter examines the Jewish community in Edwardian Leeds, by which time it was not just an immigrant community. The Aliens Act limited further mass migration and so the community grew naturally. It is shown how local institutions developed, such as synagogues and friendly societies. The chapter takes issue with the widespread belief, which underlay the 1917 anti-Semitic riots, that Jews were not contributing to the war effort. Numbers are provided of those Jews who served and died in the First World War. The importance of war memorials is stressed.

The chapter covers the first phase of social mobility when large numbers move from the Leylands to Chapeltown, exemplified in the opening of the splendid New Synagogue in 1932. There was insidious anti-Semitism in the barriers placed in the professions of medicine and law and it was a tribute to the determination and talent of many Jews that they were able to surmount them. The Battle of Holbeck Moor is cited as an important statement of Jewish resistance to the Fascism of Oswald Mosley. The chapter identifies the retail and other businesses which developed, including the crucially important factory of Montague Burton.

Wyclif’s political theory was defined by a basic concept, a theory of lordship (dominio) that began in God’s perfect governance of the created world and ended in his creatures’ just lordship over each other. This relationship between the divine and the human is introduced in On Divine Lordship, Wyclif’s first extended treatment of this topic, and he provides an extended analysis of lordship in the created world in its massive sequel, On Civil Lordship. He suggests there that civil lordship (such as that enjoyed by a monarch) presupposes natural lordship, which could exist only in a lord who was in receipt of God’s grace. The gift of grace, of course, was something of which its recipient could hardly be aware, but the likelihood of grace being bestowed upon a corrupt or unrighteous individual seemed less than negligible, which meant for Wyclif that neither popes nor ecclesiastics could wield authority with any certitude. Wyclif believed that the sinful nature of papal endowments effectively rendered the papacy ineligible to receive God’s grace, an idea that became prominent in his later writings.

This chapter explodes the myth that while Jews were active in culture and the arts, they were uninterested in sporting pursuits. A comprehensive review is provided of Jewish activity in a range of sports. For football there was important activity in the ownership of Leeds United and in rugby league in the sport’s administration. Leeds Jews achieved proficiency at county or even national level in golf, athletics, tennis and boxing. In amateur dramatics there was a distinguished history through the Proscenium Players (which launched many acting careers) and Limelight.

This chapter provides the definitive account of all the synagogues established in Leeds from the 1840s to the present day. Many of these were related to the places of origin of the congregants and their multiplicity exemplified the fragmentation of the Leeds community. The various burial grounds are identified and their origins and ownership clarified. A distinctive feature of Leeds was the fact that the mikveh (ritual bath for females) was provided by the local authority as part of the municipal swimming/bathing provision.

The chapter provides an overview of the book and its key themes. It identifies the importance of migration, urban history, economic success and social mobility. The authors have been encouraged to use a wide range of historical sources and make the book accessible to a wide readership