Abstract
The Medieval Period saw the eruption of witch trials across the European Continent. Amid these witch hunts, Jews became a consistent target for accusations of demonic and heretical acts. Preceding the Medieval Period, Jews in the Greco-Roman world were established as sickly and violent people. Anti-Semitic stigmatization influenced the feminization and demonization of the Jewish body in the Medieval period. Christians characterized Jews as feminine through the accusation of male menstruation, which also allowed for the connection of Jews to menstrual-related magic. Furthermore, Jews were associated with the celestial body Saturn, deeming them capable of ritual cannibalism. This manifested in the routine accusation of Jews committing ritual murder and cannibalism known as The Blood Libel. Christians connected supposed ritual murder by Jews to Passover celebrations, male menstruation, the recreation of Christ’s Crucifixion, and magical potions. In addition to The Blood Libels, Jews were accused of being in league with the devil and having devilish bodily characteristics such as horns and goatees. Demonic femininity, cannibalism, pacts with the devil, and sorcery are all accusations that both Jews and gentile witches were tried for in Medieval Europe. For both Jews and gentile witches, these accusations often ended in execution via fire. In this study, I demonstrate how, beginning in the Medieval Period, European society systematically persecuted Jews and Witches as related, and sometimes identical, entities.
Presenters
Maya FitchStudent, Museum Studies, University of Central Oklahoma, Oklahoma, United States
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
2023 Special Focus—Religion in the Public Sphere: From the Ancient Years to the Post-Modern Era
KEYWORDS
Judaism, Witchcraft, Antisemitism, Trials, Medieval, Gender, Menstruation, Europe
