In the late Middle Ages, Europe saw the rise of one of its most virulent myths: that Jews abused the eucharistic bread as a form of anti-Christian blasphemy, causing it to bleed miraculously. The allegation fostered tensions between Christians and Jews that would explode into violence across Germany and Austria. And pilgrimage shrines were built on the sites where supposed desecrations had led to miracles or to anti-Semitic persecutions. Exploring the legends, cult forms, imagery, and architecture of these host-miracle shrines, "Pilgrimage and Pogrom" reveals how they not only reflected but also actively shaped Christian anti-Judaism in the two centuries before the Reformation. Mitchell B. Merback studies surviving relics and eucharistic cult statues, painted miracle cycles and altarpieces, propaganda broadsheets, and more in an effort to explore how accusation and legend were transformed into propaganda and memory. Merback shows how persecution and violence became interdependent with normative aspects of Christian piety, from pilgrimage to prayers for the dead, infusing them with the ideals of crusade. Valiantly reconstructing the cult environments created for these sacred places, "Pilgrimage and Pogrom" is an illuminating look at Christian-Jewish relations in premodern Europe.

About the Author
Mitchell B. Merback is associate professor of the history of art at Johns Hopkins University. He is the author of The Thief, the Cross and the Wheel and the editor of Beyond the Yellow Badge.


Book Information
ISBN 9780226520193
Author Mitchell B. Merback
Format Hardback
Page Count 416
Imprint University of Chicago Press
Publisher The University of Chicago Press
Weight(grams) 1899g
Dimensions(mm) 29mm * 22mm * 3mm