Toward a Definition of AntisemitismToward a Definition of Antisemitism offers new contributions by Gavin I. Langmuir to the history of antisemitism, together with some that have been published separately. The collection makes Langmuir's innovative work on the subject available to scholars in medieval and Jewish history and religious studies. The underlying question that unites the book is: what is antisemitism, where and when did it emerge, and why? After two chapters that highlight the failure of historians until recently to depict Jews and attitudes toward them fairly, the majority of the chapters are historical studies of crucial developments in the legal status of Jews and in beliefs about them during the Middle Ages. Two concluding chapters provide an overview. In the first, the author summarizes the historical developments, indicating concretely when and where antisemitism as he defines it emerged. In the second, Langmuir criticizes recent theories about prejudice and racism and develops his own general theory about the nature and dynamics of antisemitism. |
Contents
Majority History and Postbiblical Jews | 21 |
Tradition History and Prejudice | 42 |
AntiJudaism as the Necessary Preparation | 57 |
Doubt in Christendom | 100 |
Judei Nostri and the Beginning of Capetian | 137 |
The Change in Jewish | 167 |
Defense Against Doubts | 197 |
Detector of Ritual Murder | 209 |
Ritual Cannibalism | 263 |
Historiographic Crucifixion | 282 |
Medieval Antisemitism | 301 |
Toward a Definition of Antisemitism | 311 |
Abbreviations | 353 |
Acknowledgments | 401 |
| 413 | |
The Knights Tale of Young Hugh of Lincoln | 237 |
Other editions - View all
Common terms and phrases
accusation of ritual Ambrose anti-Judaism antisemitism appeared attitudes barons beliefs bishop blood blood libel Blumenkranz body canon Cecil Roth characteristics chimerical assertions Chris Christ Christian Chronicle church conception crucified crucifixion crusaders culture death disbelief doubts ecclesiastical enforce England evidence explanation exploited faith fantasy France Fulda Germany Grayzel Gregory Henry historians historiography Hugh human Ibid individual ingroup Jewish history Jewish serfdom Jewish status Jews John Judaic religiosity Judaism Judei Juifs killed king kingdom Lexington Lincoln London lords Louis magnates major massacres Matthew Paris medieval menace Middle Ages miracles moneylending monks nonrational nonretention Norwich obvious outgroup papal Paris Peter Peter the Venerable prejudice protect provision rational empirical Ratramnus reference religiosity religious ritual cannibalism ritual murder Roman royal serfs servi social authority society stabilimentum status of Jews symbol Theobald Thibaut tion twelfth century usury Visigothic William William of Norwich xenophobic xenophobic assertions York