A Tale of Ritual Murder in the Age of Louis XIV

The Trial of Rapha«l L©vy, 1669

By: Pierre Birnbaum, Arthur Goldhammer (Translator)

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Hardcover | 3 October 2012

At a Glance

Hardcover
192 Pages

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22.86 x 15.24 x 1.42

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In the late seventeenth century, France prided itself for its rationality and scientific achievements. Yet it was then that Raphael Levy, a French Jew, was convicted, tortured, and executed for an act he did not commit, a fiction deriving from medieval anti-Jewish myth: the ritual murder of a Christian boy to obtain blood for satanic rituals. When Levy was accused of the ritual murder, it was the first accusation of blood libel for a century. Levy's trial, however, became a forum for anti-Jewish accusations, and although the Holy Roman Emperor and a representative of King Louis XIV both tried to intervene, they were ignored by the parliament of Metz.

Pierre Birnbaum explores the cultural, political, and personal elements that led to the accusation and shows that the importance of this story goes beyond local history: at a critical moment in the construction of the nation-state, France was unable to impose its conception of law and order on local officials. Birnbaum reveals the echoes of Levy's trial in the Dreyfus Affair and suggests that, amid the contemporary retreat of the state and the accompanying explosion of prejudice and violence, it is time to remember the tragic fate of Raphael Levy.

Industry Reviews

"As a distinguished historian of Third Republic France, Birnbaum judiciously exposes how the Levy trial was used during the Dreyfus Affair ... For academic libraries for undergraduate studies." - Roger S. Kohn, Association of Jewish Libraries "Pierre Birnbaum, distinguished historian of Third Republic France, has recaptured a tale of 17th-century ritual murder in Lorraine which was cited as precedent by both accusers and supporters of Alfred Dreyfus 230 years later. Birnbaum describes the fabricated murder charges against the Jewish livestock-trader Raphael Levy and the epidemic of false accusation against the Jews of Metz for attacking an image of Christ at Eastertime, and reveals the political and economic tensions winding through the affair. A fascinating and deeply moving account of human resistance and mass fear." - Natalie Zemon Davis, University of Toronto "Pierre Birnbaum's riveting microhistory of a forgotten ritual murder case from the 1660s unearths the fraught relations between Jews and Christians in Metz over a century before the French Revolution. He also demonstrates convincingly that the case played a major role in the anti-Semitic propaganda surrounding the Dreyfus Affair. In his brilliant reconstruction, Birnbaum's study takes its place among other classic accounts of ritual murder and blood libel trials from the middle ages and modernity." - David Biale, UC Davis

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You Can Find This Book In

Non-Fiction History Regional & National History European History Specific Events & Topics in History Social & Cultural History Society & Culture Social Groups Social & Cultural Aspects of Religious Groups Jewish Studies Social Services & Welfare Crime & Criminology

Earliest Times to Present Day Early Modern History from 1450 to 1700 Religion & Beliefs Religion Religious Issues & Debates Religious Intolerance, Persecution & Conflict

Introduction: A Strange Encounter at Montigny-lès-Metz, February 2001	p. 1
"Metz Covers the State": The Royal Order, Witches, and Jews	p. 15
Neighborhood and Prejudices	p. 30
The Social and Mental Universe of the Jews	p. 46
The Myth of Ritual Murder	p. 60
The Trial of Raphaël Levy, New Herod	p. 91
Good Friday at Mayer Schwabe's: A Desecration of the Sacred Host?	p. 107
Popular Threats and Royal Alliance	p. 123
The Dreyfus Affair: A New Lévy Affair?	p. 136
Conclusion	p. 153
Notes	p. 157
Table of Contents provided by Ingram. All Rights Reserved.

A Tale of Ritual Murder in the Age of Louis XIV

The Trial of Rapha«l L©vy, 1669

At a Glance

Hardcover

Industry Reviews

Shipping

How to return your order

Defective items

You Can Find This Book In

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