Jewish Community and Christians Thesis

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Ritual Murder Accusation at Blois

Ephraim Ben-Jacob wrote an article titled "The Ritual Accusation at Blois" during the "History of the Relationship" era. The excerpts from the book have been acquired from "A Book of Historical Records," and "The Jew Medieval World," pages 127 to 130. The writing of the article is precisely during the medieval era. The author started the article with questions like "What shall we say before God? What shall we speak? How can we justify ourselves?" He appears to claim and justification that "God must have found out our iniquity" (Rose 62).

In late May of 1171, the Jewish community living in Blois is massacred because they were believed to have carried out a ritual murder on a Christian child. This is the first blood rebel example within the European during this time. This act came soon after Jews living in Norwich had been accused of having crucified a Christian boy although the charges were dropped. The circumstances presented shows that the Jews and Christians did not relate when during this time even with the commonalities in their religious practices. Their differences fueled accusations between the two factions with the Jews accused of taking away Christians based on their faithful ritual of crucifixion.

When the alleged murder became a popular topic, the possibility of carrying out a mass execution at Blois became impossible. There was no proof that murder had been done since no missing child had been reported at the time. As a result, the accusation was unrealistic and based on rumored belief from among the Christian community. The Jews were accused of killing the Christian children in the form of sacrifice. The episode leading to the accusation happens three days before Easter Sunday. A Christina Servants happens to meet a Jewish man called Isaac Ben-Eliezer.

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The meeting takes place at Loire River near Blois. Isaac is carrying a load of tanned hides from Blois. One of the hides fell into the water and spooked the horse together with the rider. The servant went home and claimed he had seen a Jew throw a body of a child into a river. His words became the source of the rumor and the accusations that followed. However, the accusation is unworthy because it is based on false testimony (Rist 126).

While seeking to ascertain any action to be taken against the Jews, like a warranted arrest, the local ruler, Theobald requests for a testimony from whoever saw the incident. The Christians leaders wanted the ruler to take action. The witness was ordered to testify at a trial. The witness was placed in a boat with water. The boat failed to sink and this was taken as a sign that he was telling the truth. The method of justification is weird and cannot be considered as flawless. It was prone to errors although it was the only sure way of making people say the truth or make them liars before facing the consequences. In this case, the accused was guilty as the witness said the truth about him.

With the accused being guilty, the negotiations to salvage the situation by having a random payment were ignored. Close to thirty-three Jews were locked up in a room and set on fire. A few of the survivors, adults, were put in prison as children were given the benefit of doubt that they would convert to Christianity (Johnson 76). The Jews were better economically and controlled the economy in the region. The economic situation during this time….....

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