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... The period I will be discussing with you today is England and Venice in the late 16th century. It is the time when Queen Elizabeth 1st was ruling, Shakespeare was writing his great masterpieces and the Jews were being persecuted for their religious differences.
In the 16th century the situation for the Jews was not good. Jews had been banned from England since the early 14th century so by the 16th century the population of Jews in England was tiny. ... The Jews that remained and survived were made to renounce their faith although they did continue to practice their religion. ... They were hated and feared by most of the Christian population. The Christian church taught that Jews should be hated because they rejected Christ, ‘Christ killers’ and believed that they deserved to wander the earth forever. ... Ordinary Christians believed that Jews needed to drink Christian blood. This myth led to the belief that ‘Jews murdered Christian children during their feast of Passover and used their blood in the baking of unleavened bread.’ Jews were also accused of poisoning wells because apparently ‘the Jews superior hygiene and diet made them less likely to contract the plague’. ... It was entitled ‘Of Jews and their Lies’. In the book Luther refers to the Jews as ‘truly stupid, blind fools’, ‘miserable, blind, and senseless people’ and makes suggestions on what should be done to those who don’t convert to Christianity.
Approximate Word count = 1033
Approximate Pages = 4.1
(250 words per page double spaced)
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