Poisoned wells: Accusations, persecution, and minorities in medieval Europe, 1321-1422

During the first outbreak of the Black Death, members of several European minority groups were subjected to organized arrest, investigation, and even execution. The social dynamics that triggered, supported and justified this wave of persecution were propelled by the infamous allegation that Muslims, Christian lepers, paupers, beggars, and, most notably, Jews, conspired to poison water sources in order to spread disease and undermine the ruling Christian elite. Poisoned Wells focuses on this accusation as a critical chapter in the history of the persecution of European minorities. It explains the origin of these allegations in the thirteenth century, how they gained popularity before and during the Black Death, and why they declined in the fifteenth century. By untangling the dynamics of the waves of violence triggered by well-poisoning claims, the book proposes a new understanding of popular and formal reactions to the Black Death, and hence of the history of minorities and their marginalization in late medieval Europe"-- Provided by publisher