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Blood libel : on the trail of an antisemitic myth /

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Accusations that Jews ritually killed Christian children emerged in the mid-twelfth century, following the death of twelve-year-old William of Norwich, England, in 1144. Later, continental Europeans added a destructive twist. Jews murdered Christian children to use their blood. While charges that Je...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Teter, Magda (Author)
Format: Book
Language:English
Published: Cambridge, Massachusetts : Harvard University Press, [2020].
Subjects:
Blood accusation > Europe > History.
Christianity and antisemitism > Europe > History.
Anti-Jewish propaganda > Europe > History.
RELIGION / Judaism / General.
Table of Contents:
  • Introduction
  • From medieval tales to the challenge in Trent
  • The death of Little Simon and the trial of Jews in Trent
  • Echoes of Simon of Trent in European culture
  • Blood libels and cultures of knowledge in early modern Europe
  • Ashkenazi and Sephardic Jews respond to blood libels
  • "Who should one believe, the rabbis or the doctors of the church?
  • "Jews are deemed innocent in the tribunals of Italy"
  • The "enlightenment" Pope Benedict XIV and the blood accusation
  • Cardinal Ganganelli's secret report
  • Calculated pragmatism and the waning of accusations
  • Epilogue: The trail continues.