Christian Images and Jewish Desecrators: The History of the Allegation in Manuscript Illustrations

The lecture will lay bare the longevity of Jews doing violence to images of Christ in Christian Art, and will examine how allegations, judicial accusations as well as related charges launched within works of art affected Jewish individuals and communities. Ranging from works of art in the Byzantine Empire in the fifth century to early modern Europe at the end of the seventeenth, it will explore how this allegation was depicted and how it became more sophisticated over time.