Blood Libel Mazzikin
Mythicly Plausible - this post is about a historical occurrence, but involves fantastical elements - demons.
Content warning - This post deals with the blood libel, an antisemitic trope that has harmed Jewish people for hundreds of years, even up to the current day. Antisemitism may be an issue that is personally felt for some members of your troupe. Make sure that people are ready to deal with potentially serious topics before introducing this to your saga. If you choose to incorporate this difficult topic into your saga be careful to not allow medieval Christians to escape responsibility for these crimes. Demons are used to place this story in Mythic Europe, but they are not mind controlling the Christians or forcing them to murder Jews. The Christians are doing that all on their own.
A blood libel is the accusation that Jewish people are murdering Christians as part of their religious ceremonies. Period blood libels accuse Jews of torturing children in the same manner that Jesus was tortured, with thorns, whips, and ultimately killing them by crucifixion. In some versions of the story the Jews drink the child’s blood.
Medieval blood libels began in the Stonehenge Tribunal in 1144. They spread to the Normandy Tribunal in 1171, and in 1220 would have been happening every few years in those two Tribunals as well as the Rhine Tribunal.
A blood libel typically followed the following pattern - a child disappears or was found murdered around the time of Easter. This leads the Christian population to accuse the local Jews of being responsible. From there things may proceed in two different ways.
Sometimes the Jews put on trial, typically a group of a dozen adult men. The men are tortured to generate confessions and then executed by burning. Some of the accused, or even the whole Jewish community, may be ransomed. Other Jewish communities gather money to pay the ransom and save the lives of some of the accused.
Sometimes the mob simply takes matters into their own hands. The Christians riot, attacking the Jewish community, murdering its members in the street or trapping them in buildings and burning them alive. Opportunistic Christians steal valuables from Jews after they have been murdered. These pogroms typically kill two dozen Jews, but some accounts describe one hundred and fifty Jews being murdered by the mob.
Mazzikin are the demons who accidentally started this movement, though it is the Christians alone who commit these crimes against the Jewish community. Mazzikin are invisible demons that can create greater or lesser dangers to humans. This Aramaic term, found in the Talmud, means "those who harm". Learned Jews can create amulets and hamsa that ward off the demons.
A certain clutch of Mazzikin started the blood libel craze of the 12th and 13th century. One day in early 1144 in Norwich England a Mazzikin killed a young boy, William, desecrating his body in a mockery of the crucifixion to needle the Christians of the town before they celebrated Easter. This base act of violence succeeded beyond the creature’s wildest dreams. The Christians of Norwich discovered the unfortunate William and were quick to point fingers at the local Jewish community. The accused Jews were placed under the protection of the local sheriff, and ultimately escaped harm.
But the Mazzikin of Norwich saw how a little bit of violence could lead to the murder of many. The demons, always lazy and looking for a shortcut, started to murder Christian children in other communities before Easter, and the Christians were quick to blame Jews. Over the next few years charges were brought and Jews unjustly executed, and in places riots erupted and led to the deaths of many innocent Jews.
Then, to the Mazzikin’s utter surprise, the crimes crossed over the northern France. The same pattern was happening there, a Christian child discovered and the Jews blamed. But no demon was responsible, it was the Christians doing it all on their own.
The blood libel movement has a life of its own now, with torture, unjust executions, and murderous pogroms an all too common occurrence across north west Europe.
Story Seed - The Nascent Pogrom
In a panic, Miryam, a Jewish mother, comes to the covenant. Her adult son has been accused of murdering a child, along with a dozen other respected members of her community. Tomorrow is Good Friday - she knows the stories - she knows that the Jewish Quarter will be attacked the next day, during a time of religious fervor. She has no one else to turn to, will the magi help? Are they willing to pay a ransom to the mundane authorities to save the condemned men? Will they defend the Jewish Quarter? If they choose to stay out of things, what happens next year, when the emboldened demons decide to kidnap a child from the covenant and murder him, placing blame again on the Jews?