Between the Lines: Conversion, Circumcision, and Ritual Murder in Medieval Europe
Date: Mar 16, 2021 - Mar 16, 2021
Time: 7:30 p.m.
Sponsor: The Library
Location: Online
Category: Book Talks Library Events
PART OF BETWEEN THE LINES: AUTHOR CONVERSATIONS FROM THE LIBRARY OF JTS
An online discussion with Dr. Paola Tartakoff
Tuesday, March 16, at 7:30 p.m. ET
Join author and professor Paola Tartakoff of Rutgers University when she discusses her new book, Conversion, Circumcision, and Ritual Murder in Medieval Europe, which explores the “Norwich Circumcision Case” from multiple perspectives.
In England in 1234, Jews were accused of having abducted and circumcised a five-year-old Christian boy. As a result of this charge, Jews were executed, and Jewish homes were looted and torched. Christian accounts of this case have accused Jews of attempting to convert the boy or to crucify the boy to mock the crucifixion of Jesus.
Dr. Tartakoff’s analysis brings to light new data on Christian conversion to Judaism in medieval Europe. It explains links between accusations of circumcision and accusations of ritual murder, and it exposes the predicaments of children whose religious identities Jews and Christians contested. Through her investigation, Professor Tartakoff proposes a solution to the mystery surrounding the events of 1234.
Antisemitism Studies writes: “Tartakoff’s work is groundbreaking. She confirms the processes that shaped the idea of medieval conversion and its practices. She has uncovered its porosity, its cultural fluidity, its interactions, and its connectivity.”
This event is sponsored by The JTS Library. Dr. David Kraemer, Joseph J. and Dora Abbell Librarian and professor of Talmud and Rabbinics, JTS, will serve as moderator.
See more Between the Lines events
About Dr. Paola Tartakoff
Dr. Paola Tartakoff is Professor in the departments of History and Jewish Studies, and Chair of the Department of Jewish Studies, at Rutgers University, where she teaches courses on antisemitism, Jewish-Christian Relations, and Medieval Spain. Her new book, Conversion, Circumcision, and Ritual Murder in Medieval Europe was published by the University of Pennsylvania Press in 2020. Her first book, Between Christian and Jew: Conversion and Inquisition in the Crown of Aragon, 1250–1391, was published by the University of Pennsylvania Press in 2012. She is the recipient of fellowships from the Israel Institute for Advanced Studies, the European Institutes for Advanced Study, the Katz Center for Advanced Judaic Studies, and the National Endowment for the Humanities. Her research has appeared in journals including the Jewish Quarterly Review, Speculum, Jewish History, Medieval Encounters, and the Journal of Medieval Iberian Studies.
