Download The Murder of William of Norwich: The Origins of the Blood Libel in Medieval Europe AudioBook Free
In 1144 the mutilated body of William of Norwich, a apprentice leatherworker, was found deserted outside the city's wall surfaces. The son bore disturbing indications of torture, and a tale spread that it was a ritual murder, performed by Jews, in imitation of the Crucifixion as a mockery of Christianity. The outline of William's story eventually gained currency way beyond Norwich, and the theory that Jews engaged in ritual murder became strongly rooted in the Western imagination. E. M. Rose's engaging book delves in to the tale of William's murder and the notorious trial that followed to uncover the origin of the ritual murder accusation - known as the "blood vessels libel" - in Western Europe in the centre Ages. Focusing on the precise historical context - 12th-century ecclesiastical politics, the position of Jews in Britain, the next Crusade, and the cult of saints - and suspensefully unraveling the reality of the case, Rose makes a robust debate for why the Norwich Jews (and specifically one Jewish banker) were accused of eradicating the youth and how the malevolent blood vessels libel accusation were able to take carry. She also considers four "copycat" cases, where Jews were in the same way blamed for the deaths of young Christians, and traces the adaptations of the storyline over time. In the centuries after its appearance, the ritual murder accusation provoked instances of torture, death, and expulsion of a large number of Jews and the extermination of hundreds of communities. Although no charge of ritual murder has withstood historical scrutiny, the concept of the blood vessels libel is so emotionally incurred and deeply rooted in ethnic memory that this endures even today. Rose's groundbreaking work, powered by fascinating individuals, a gripping narrative, and impressive scholarship or grant, provides clear answers as to the reasons the blood vessels libel emerged when it does and how it could gain such wide-spread approval, laying the foundations for enduring anti-Semitic misconceptions that continue to the present.
