anti-Judaism and anti-Semitism 49anticlericalism The term and notion of anticlericalism
was coined to name a condition that existed in the Middle
Ages and actually first came into use in the 19th century in
response to the perceived baneful influence of the medieval
and contemporary clergy on public affairs. Anticlericalism
can assume the value of a clear distinction between church
and state. Negative feelings about the malignant influence
of the clergy first seriously crystallized in the West during
the time of the GREGORIANREFORM, in the 11th century.
From then on numerous open manifestations of hostility
to ecclesiastical structures, the hierarchy, the pope, the
clergy, and particular clerics appeared in the polemics such
conflicts spawned.
The laity evolved higher expectations of clerical con-
duct based on the conduct expected by the reformers
within the church. When the clergy failed to live up to
these standards, as defined by the papacy, the laity
became much more critical of the clergy in general. Some
went so far as to link the validity of the sacraments to the
moral state of the ministering priests. They deserted
churches and parishes and even refused to pay tithes,
which were supposed to comprise one-tenth or more of
the income of Christians and were fundamental to the
support of the parish system and its clergy. The protesting
laity were naturally soon declared heretics by the church.
Many clerics themselves, moreover, appear in the ranks
of these “heretics.” Alienation from and criticism of
the role and conduct of the clergy were common in many
accusations of heresy between the 11th and the mid-14th
century. Some also questioned the mediation of priests
between this world and GOD.
There might have been much more skepticism among
Christians than the surviving sources reveal. In satirical
literature such as the FABLIAUXof the 13th century, priests,
bishops, monks, and mendicant friars were frequently
portrayed as ignorant, sexually active. and seducers of
married women. Again it is unclear whether these stories
represent reality or were meant as edgy criticism of clerical
mores. Mystical movements in the later Middle Ages
also engendered doubt about the need for such a highly
developed clerical system and the institutions supporting
it. The individual Christian might relate well to God and
gain salvation without clerical intervention except perhaps
in the priestly sacramental role in the Eucharist. Even that
clerical role was questioned by some.
Further reading:Robert I. Moore, ed., The Birth of
Popular Heresy (London: Edward Arnold, 1975); P. A.
Dykema and Heiko A. Oberman, Anticlericalism in Late
Medieval and Early Modern Europe(Leiden: Brill, 1993).
anti-Judaism and anti-Semitism Religious hostility
toward JEWS, or anti-Judaism, developed throughout the
Middle Ages and took different forms in different times
and places. Anti-Semitism is a 19th-century political
expression with explicit and strong racial overtones.
Anti-Judaismis religiously based and can describe better
the medieval attitudes of the church and many Christians.
There was often a gap between the official attitude of the
church and that of the volatile Christian populace. Chris-
tian polemics were expressed in treatises with titles like
“Against the Jewish People.” Christian theologians
approved of the survival of the Jewish people as perma-
nent reminders of the circumstances of the Passion of
Christ and as living representatives of the historical truth
of the Scriptures. In doing so they reaffirmed the respon-
sibility of the Jews for the crucifixion and the stubborn-
ness and misfortune of those who would not recognize
Christ as the Messiah. The church fathers had developed
these ideas, and the papacy used them to define a place
for the Jews within CHRISTENDOM. At some moments
popes claimed to be, and acted with various levels of
effectiveness as, the protectors of the Jews.
From the 11th century, Jewish communities were
physically threatened by the pressures of a more harsh
and active popular anti-Judaism. At the time of the first
of the CRUSADES IN1098, there was a change from the
traditional, popular attitudes of tolerance and indiffer-
ence. The route of the crusaders was marked by attacks
especially against German Jews in spring 1096. At the
time of the preaching of the Second Crusade in the
1140s, there were forced conversions and more massacres
in ENGLAND and northern FRANCE. This anti-Judaism
soon took on the form of accusations of RITUAL MURDERS
and profaning of consecrated hosts (the HOSTdesecration
libel), a reenactment of the crucifixion of Christ’s body.
These accusations had dire consequences for the condi-
tion of Jews living in the West.
Frequently renewing the protection granted by Pope
Calixtus II (r. 1119–24) and showing occasional concern
for the protection of Jewish communities, the papacy,
however, ultimately hardened its position against them.
From the 13th century onward, conciliar legislation
spread and reaffirmed anti-Judaic canons of early councils
to segregate Jews. The Fourth Lateran Council in 1215
tried to limit Jewish lending to Christians, to obligate Jews
to wear distinctive signs on their clothing, and to prevent
them from holding public office. To these restrictions were
added the condemnation of the TALMUDbetween 1239
and 1248 and the requirement of attendance at Christian
sermons by a bull of 1278. These burdens represent a
marked deterioration in Jewish-Christian relations that
extended into England, France, and GERMANYin the 13th
century and then in the 14th century into the formerly
more tolerant Iberian Peninsula and Italy. This in turn led
to the expulsions of Jews from England in 1290, France
in 1394, and then the Spain of FERDINANDII and ISABELI
in 1492.
Further reading: Anna Sapir Abulafia, Christians
and Jews in Dispute: Disputational Literature and the Rise
of Anti-Judaism in the West (c. 1000–1150)(Aldershot:
Ashgate, 1998); Robert Chazan, Medieval Stereotypes and