Here's a short thread about a lie that kept killing for hundreds of years.
It's a lie that exists to this day, lurking in the shadows.
It's a lie that exists to this day, lurking in the shadows.
To the Christians of the 12th century, the world was quite literally out of the get them.
Plague, accidents, weather & fire were a constant threat.
In the shadows were ghosts, spirits, monsters, demons and little folk ready to ensnare souls.
Then there were the Jews.
Plague, accidents, weather & fire were a constant threat.
In the shadows were ghosts, spirits, monsters, demons and little folk ready to ensnare souls.
Then there were the Jews.
In many parts of Europe, it was Church doctrine that the Jews were the killers of Christ.
This placed the Jewish communities that existed in towns & cities under suspicion.
A community on the sidelines, mostly mmoneylenders, they were accused of all sorts of malfeisiance.
This placed the Jewish communities that existed in towns & cities under suspicion.
A community on the sidelines, mostly mmoneylenders, they were accused of all sorts of malfeisiance.
The lie I want to talk about is the 'blood libel'.
This was the idea that the Jews wanted the blood of Christian children for rituals.
Let's be clear right now - it was a complete lie, total garbage, a fabrication.
Yet it caught on.
This was the idea that the Jews wanted the blood of Christian children for rituals.
Let's be clear right now - it was a complete lie, total garbage, a fabrication.
Yet it caught on.
In the 12th century, in England, child murders (real or imagined) were blamed on Jewish communities.
The discovery of 'William of Norwich, 'Little Hugh of Lincoln's & 'Robert of Bury' led to pogroms.
The victims of a Norwich pogrom were thought to be found a few years back.
The discovery of 'William of Norwich, 'Little Hugh of Lincoln's & 'Robert of Bury' led to pogroms.
The victims of a Norwich pogrom were thought to be found a few years back.
Now, I want you to consider that there were some who, well, would benefit from these discoveries.
'Child martyrs' meant that shrines for pilgrims could be established.
Pogroms meant that debts could be wiped.
'Child martyrs' meant that shrines for pilgrims could be established.
Pogroms meant that debts could be wiped.
The 'blood libel' quickly spread to Europe. Children who turned up dead in France, Germany and Italy initiated pogroms and their own cults.
Two significant cases were Simon of Trent and Werner of Oberwesel.
Such was the violence, the church began to supress them.
Two significant cases were Simon of Trent and Werner of Oberwesel.
Such was the violence, the church began to supress them.
It took centuries of work to supress the blood libel throughout much of Europe. It wasn't until the 1960s that the Vatican actually managed to purge the last of these 'child martyrs' from their calendars.
On the fringes of Europe, pogroms directly inspired by the 'blood libel' occurred through the 17, 18th and 19th centuries in Poland, Russia and Ukraine.
Jews were being judicially accused of the 'blood libel' as late as the early years of this century. tabletmag.com/jewish-arts-an…
To this day you find the 'blood libel' promoted on social media by various white supremacists.
Last year, British Nazis laid a tribute at the shrine of Little Hugh of Lincoln in the cathedral.
Last year, British Nazis laid a tribute at the shrine of Little Hugh of Lincoln in the cathedral.
