| Title |
The image of the Infidelis in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania: a comparison of the trends in the creation of anti-Jewish and anti-Muslim stereotypes / |
| Authors |
Šiaučiūnaitė-Verbickienė, Jurgita |
| DOI |
10.1515/9783110346473-020 |
| ISBN |
9783110346473 |
| Full Text |
|
| Is Part of |
Fear and Loathing in the North. Jews and Muslims in Medieval Scandinavia and the Baltic Region / Ed. by Heß, Cordelia, Adams, Jonathan.. Berlin : Walter de Gruyter GmbH, 2015. p. 329-346.. ISBN 9783110346473 |
| Keywords [eng] |
socio-cultural development ; Grand Duchy of Lithuania ; Anti-Jewish stereotypes ; Anti-Muslim stereotypes |
| Abstract [eng] |
The factors that most influenced the formulation of anti-Jewish stereotypes were the late (in terms of European history) official Christianization of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania (1387) and the rapid cultural and social changes that occurred thereafter. The initial emergence of anti-Jewish stereotypes among society’s elite can be dated to the early sixteenth century. By the mid-sixteenth century, different forms of anti-Judaism (stereotypes, blood libel, and attacks) had penetrated all social strata. Among the burghers and in the Second Lithuanian Statute (1566), a besurmianin non-Christian group was legally distinguished. Muslim Tatars were incorporated into this group alongside Jews, including Karaites. In the GDL in the Middle Ages, Tatars were alternately associated with hostile acts against the state and with local Tatars, some of whom served in the GDL’s military. Oddly, the image of the Tatar as an enemy did not play a role in how local Tatars were evaluated. The image of these local Tatars was created very simply by adapting the ubiquitous anti-Jewish stereotypes and myths. As a result, a comparative study of Christian attitudes about different non-Christian groups in the GDL opens the way to a discussion not only about the spread of stereotypes, and their variations, adaptations, and local modifications, but also about the adjustments made to anti-Jewish stereotypes when assessing the Tatar community. In the context of European history, the spread of anti-Jewish and anti-Muslim stereotypes in the GDL should be seen as one of the youngest examples of the pan-European stereotypes that had already spread through Christian society for several centuries. |
| Published |
Berlin : Walter de Gruyter GmbH, 2015 |
| Type |
Conference paper |
| Language |
English |
| Publication date |
2015 |
| CC license |
|
