For centuries, there have been rumors that various Jewish groups or individuals engaged in human sacrifices or ritual murder for religious purposes. This book analyzes the cultural and historical background to a notorious 1475 murder trial in Italy. A group of Jews were accused of murdering a young boy, later known as Simon of Trent, and using his blood for Passover rites. The accused were tortured and confessed to killing the boy, who was informally venerated as a saint by the Roman Catholic Church until the 1960s. Here for the first time in several decades the reader is presented this infamous case in a scholarly manner that aims to draw out facts and leave speculation behind. The use of a medieval case study helps to illuminate much needed scholarly scrutiny on a topic that has for too long been obfuscated or dismissed out of hand without serious inquiry. Students of Renaissance Italy, medieval Jewish history, and the Catholic Church will be well served by this book.
Description:
For centuries, there have been rumors that various Jewish groups or individuals engaged in human sacrifices or ritual murder for religious purposes. This book analyzes the cultural and historical background to a notorious 1475 murder trial in Italy. A group of Jews were accused of murdering a young boy, later known as Simon of Trent, and using his blood for Passover rites. The accused were tortured and confessed to killing the boy, who was informally venerated as a saint by the Roman Catholic Church until the 1960s. Here for the first time in several decades the reader is presented this infamous case in a scholarly manner that aims to draw out facts and leave speculation behind. The use of a medieval case study helps to illuminate much needed scholarly scrutiny on a topic that has for too long been obfuscated or dismissed out of hand without serious inquiry. Students of Renaissance Italy, medieval Jewish history, and the Catholic Church will be well served by this book.