Trent 1475: Stories of a Ritual Murder Trial

A detailed account of the 1475 blood libel in Trent, based on a German manuscript from 1478-79 and other archival sources. Stresses the role of Bishop Johannes Hinderbach in staging the inquest, tortures, forced conversions, and the executions of Jews accused of murdering the Christian child, Simon, canonized as a victim of Jewish ritual murder. Remarks on the convergence of antisemitism in the actions of secular and ecclesiastical authorities, and in the anti-Jewish representations created by the elites and the populace. Emphasizes that the Trent blood libel represented the central link in a chain of similar trials and of polemics within the Catholic hierarchy surrounding the trials. The confessions extracted under torture aimed to "confirm" the Christian image and conception of Jewish rituals, and its symbolism of the alleged ritual Jewish sacrifice of Christian boys.