This talk revisits the links between medieval and modern antisemitism by discussing the fears generated in European Christian societies first by forced baptisms and later, by the granting of citizenship rights to Jews – two phenomena that threatened to dissolve clear and identifiable boundaries between Christians and Jews. It connects these fears to religious and economic changes across three epochs: the Middle Ages, the Counter-Reformation, and the post-Emancipation period. Overall, it shows how the expansion of private financial markets reproduced new and old antisemitic tropes by raising the specter of Jewish “invisibility.”

If you have any queries, please get in touch with Priscilla Lange at academic.administrator@ochjs.ac.uk

All welcome – refreshments to follow