Woodcut of Jewish moneylender from The Sanctae Peregrinationes, 1486. In the Middle Ages, religion played a major role in driving anti-Semitism. Though not part of Roman Catholic dogma, many Christians, including members of the clergy, have held the Jewish people collectively responsible for killing Jesus, through the blood curse of Pontius Pilate in the Gospels, among other things. Local rulers and church officials closed many professions to the Jews, pushing them into marginal occupations considered socially inferior, such as tax and rent collecting and moneylending. Catholic doctrine of the time held that lending money for interest was a sin, and forbidden to Christians. Not being subject to this restriction, Jews dominated this business. The Sanctae Peregrinationes, or the Peregrinatio in Terram Sanctam, was the first printed illustrated travel book. |