Leaving behind the fictitious Jew of Christian tales, we will focus on what Jews themselves wrote about Christian images, allegations of Christian image desecration and how the Jewish communities of Europe fared with the ubiquity of Christian imagery in their daily lives. Drawing on rabbinic responsa, illuminated manuscripts and other texts, we will reveal the social and structural perceptions held by medieval and early modern Jews with which they countered the allegations. We will also uncover the deep-seated hostility they harbored towards Christian imagery.
