The Eternal Jew: 1937 German poster. In his hands are "Zuckerbrot und Peitsche", or "cookies and knout", an allusion to a saying similar to that of "carrot and stick".

Anti-Semitism (alternatively spelled antisemitism) is hostility towards or prejudice against Jews (not, in common usage, Semites in general — see the Scope section below). This happens on an individual level and goes on to the institutionalized prejudice and persecution once prevalent in European societies, of which the highly explicit ideology of Adolf Hitler's National Socialism was the most extreme form. Download high resolution version (600x837, 98 KB) This work is copyrighted. ... Download high resolution version (600x837, 98 KB) This work is copyrighted. ... Semitic is an adjective which in common parlance mistakenly refers specifically to Jewish things, while the term actually refers to things originating among speakers of Semitic languages or people descended from them, and in a linguistic context to the northeastern subfamily of Afro-Asiatic. ... Adolf Hitler (April 20, 1889–April 30, 1945) was the Führer und Reichskanzler (Leader and Imperial chancellor) of Germany from 1933 to his death. ... National Socialism redirects here. ...

Some forms of anti-Semitism include:

• Racist anti-Semitism, a kind of xenophobia. Some people perceive Jews as people of a racially distinct origin from other peoples, and claim that discrimination on the basis of such distinctness is valid.

• Religious anti-Judaism. Like other religions, Judaism has faced discrimination and violence from people of competing faiths and in countries that practice state atheism. Unlike anti-Semitism in general, this form of prejudice is directed at the religion itself, and so does not affect those of Jewish ancestry who have converted to another religion. Laws banning Jewish religious practices may be rooted in religious anti-Semitism.

• Socio-economic anti-Semitism rooted in the alleged disproportionate success or influence, relative to their numbers within the general population, that individual Jews have achieved in a variety of occupations, including finance, politics, the media, academia, the law, medicine, and science.

An African-American drinks out of a water cooler designated for use by colored patrons in 1939 at a streetcar terminal in Oklahoma City. ... Xenophobia denotes fear of strangers or of the unknown and comes from the Greek words ξένος (xenos), meaning foreigner, stranger, and φόβος (phobos), meaning fear.The term is typically used to describe fear or dislike of foreigners, but racism in general is sometimes described as a form of xenophobia. ... Religion—sometimes used interchangeably with faith or belief system—is commonly defined as belief concerning the supernatural, sacred, or divine, and the moral codes, practices, values, and institutions associated with such belief. ... Judaism is the religious culture of the Jewish people. ... State atheism is the official rejection of religion in all forms by a government in favor of atheism. ...

Etymology and usage

Cover page of Marr's The Way to Victory of Germanicism over Judaism, 1880 edition

The word antisemitic or antisemitisch was probably first used in 1860 by the Jewish scholar Moritz Steinschneider in the phrase "antisemitic prejudices" ("antisemitischen Vorurtheile"). Steinschneider used this phrase to characterize Ernest Renan's ideas about Semitic racial traits. These ideas about "Semitic races" , and how they were inferior to "Aryan races", became quite widespread in Europe in the second half of the 19th century. Especially the Prussian nationalistic historian Heinrich von Treitschke did much to promote this form of racism. In Treitschke's writings Semitic was practically synonomous with Jewish. When the political writer Wilhelm Marr coined the German word Antisemitismus in 1879, its meaning was identical to Jew-hatred or Judenhass. The new word antisemitism was used merely to make Jew-hatred seem rational and sanctioned by scientific knowledge. However, it was never intended to eliminate the concept of hatred towards Jews based on the Christian conspiracies and legends so popular with the general population. In his book, "The Way to Victory of Germanicism over Judaism" (1879), Marr took up secular racist ideas of Arthur de Gobineau's "An Essay on the Inequality of the Human Races" (1853, though direct influence is debatable). Marr's book became very popular, and in the same year he founded the "League of Anti-Semites" ("Antisemiten-Liga"), the first German organization committed specifically to combatting the alleged threat to Germany posed by the Jews, and advocating their forced removal from the country. Book cover of Wilhelm Marrs Der Weg zum Siege des Germanentums über das Judentum, 1880 This image has been released into the public domain by the copyright holder, its copyright has expired, or it is ineligible for copyright. ... Book cover of Wilhelm Marrs Der Weg zum Siege des Germanentums über das Judentum, 1880 This image has been released into the public domain by the copyright holder, its copyright has expired, or it is ineligible for copyright. ... Moritz Steinschneider ( March 30, 1816, Prostějov (Prossnitz), Moravia - 1907) was the Austrian bibliographer and Orientalist. ... Ernest Renan (February 27, 1823 - October 12, 1892) was a French philosopher and writer. ... Heinrich von Treitschke (September 15, 1834 - April 28, 1896), German historian and political writer, was born at Dresden. ... Wilhelm Marr (1819-1904) was a German agitator and theorist, who coined the term anti-Semitism as a euphemism for the German Judenhass, or Jew-hate. Marr was an unemployed journalist, who claimed that he had lost his job due to Jewish interference. ... 1879 was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... 1879 was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... This article concerns secularity, that is, being secular, in various senses. ... Joseph Arthur Comte de Gobineau ( July 14, 1816 - October 13, 1882) was a French aristocrat who became famous for developing the theory of the Aryan master race in his book An Essay on the Inequality of the Human Races ( 1853- 1855). ... An Essay on the Inequality of the Human Races by Joseph Arthur Comte de Gobineau is an early and significant work defining the concept of Scientific racism and White supremacy. ... 1853 was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ...

So far as can be ascertained, the word was first printed in 1881. In that year Marr published "Zwanglose Antisemitische Hefte," and Wilhelm Scherer used the term "Antisemiten" in the "Neue Freie Presse" of January. The related word semitism was coined around 1885. See also the coinage of the term "Palestinian" by Germans to refer to the nation or people known as Jews, as distinct from the religion of Judaism. 1881 was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ... Wilhelm Scherer (April 26, 1841 - August 6, 1886), German philologist and historian of literature, was born at Schönborn in Lower Austria. ... Semitism can refer to: Philo-Semitism semitic language semitic people This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... 1885 is a common year starting on Thursday. ... The term Palestine and the related term Palestinian have several overlapping (and occasionally contradictory) definitions. ... Judaism is the religious culture of the Jewish people. ...

Scope

The term anti-Semitism has normally referred to prejudice towards Jews alone, and this was formerly the only use of this word for more than a century. It does not traditionally refer to prejudice toward other people who speak Semitic languages (e.g. Arabs or Assyrians). Bernard Lewis says that "Anti-Semitism has never anywhere been concerned with anyone but Jews."[1] The Semitic languages are the northeastern subfamily of the Afro-Asiatic languages, and the only family of this group spoken in Asia. ... The Arabs (Arabic: عرب ʻarab) are an originally Arabian ethnicity widespread in the Middle East and North Africa. ... Assyrians are a Christian Syriac-speaking minority inhabiting northern Iraq, northeastern Syria, southeastern Turkey and northwestern Iran, some of whom also identify themselves as Aramaeans, Syriacs and Chaldeans. ... Prof. ...

In recent decades some have argued that the term should be extended to include prejudice against Arabs, since Arabic is a Semitic language; these arguments are commonly made in the context of accusations of Arab anti-Semitism. This usage has not been widely adopted, one example is October 16/17, 2004 statement by Ralph Nader in Counterpunch: "There is, as you always ignore, aggressive anti-Semitism against defenseless Arabs in many places in the world..."[2] The Arabs (Arabic: عرب ʻarab) are an originally Arabian ethnicity widespread in the Middle East and North Africa. ... 2004 is a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Ralph Nader Ralph Nader (born February 27, 1934) is an activist attorney who opposes the power of large corporations and has worked for decades on environmental, consumer rights, and pro-democracy issues. ... Counterpunch is a biweekly newsletter published in the United States which covers politics from a radical left-wing point of view. ...

Some question the usefulness of applying the term more generally to all Semitic groups on the basis that there are few instances of prejudice against both Arabs and Jews to the exclusion of other races or nationalities, and in fact many more instances of antagonism between Jews and Arabs than of a specific bias against both groups together. Lewis writes "the term Semite has no meaning as applied to groups as heterogeneous as the Arabs or Jews." And, as has been pointed out by Neil J. Kressel, "In any event, nothing is gained from applying the anti-Semitism label to anti-Arab discrimination, abhorrent in its own right, except to confuse matters and take attention away from anti-Jewish hostility" [3].

However, James Zogby argues that both Arabs and Jews have been subject to the same prejudice and uniformly treated by Western society as alien and hostile, viewed as prone to conspiracy, and seen as usurpers of Western wealth and threats to Western civilization. Zogby draws parallels between political cartoons depicting Jews as the fat grotesque banker and Arabs as the obese oil sheik. He argues that efforts to counter anti-Semitism must be broadened to include the "other anti-Semitism" so that the same outrage displayed toward anti-Jewish bigotry will occur for anti-Arab and anti-Muslim stereotypes. [4] James J. Zogby, PhD, is the president of the Washington, D.C. based Arab American Institute (AAI), founded in 1985, which conducts policy research and engages in political advocacy for the Arab American community. ...

In March 2005, European Monitoring Centre on Racism and Xenophobia (EUMC) came up with working definition: "Antisemitism is a certain perception of Jews, which may be expressed as hatred toward Jews. Rhetorical and physical manifestations of antisemitism are directed toward Jewish or non-Jewish individuals and/or their property, toward Jewish community institutions and religious facilities." In addition, such manifestations could also target the state of Israel, conceived as a Jewish collectivity. Antisemitism frequently charges Jews with conspiring to harm humanity, and it is often used to blame Jews for "why things go wrong." [5]

Despite the use of the prefix "anti," the terms Semitic and Anti-Semitic are not antonyms. To avoid the confusion of the misnomer, many scholars on the subject (such as Emil Fackenheim of the Hebrew University) now favor the unhyphenated term antisemitism. Yehuda Bauer articulated this view in his writings and lectures: (the term) "Antisemitism, especially in its hyphenated spelling, is inane nonsense, because there is no Semitism that you can be anti to." [6], also in his A History of the Holocaust, p.52) Antonyms (from the Greek words anti = against and onoma = name) are word pairs that are opposite in meaning, such as hot and cold, fat and thin, and up and down. ... A misnomer is an incorrect or misleading name for a thing. ... Emil Fackenheim (June 22, 1916 – September 18, 2003) was a noted Jewish philosopher and rabbi. ... The Hebrew University of Jerusalem (האוניברסיטה העברית בירושלים) is one of Israels biggest and most important institutes of higher learning and research. ... Yehuda Bauer Yehuda Bauer (born 1926) is an historian and scholar of the Holocaust. ... A hyphen ( - ) is a punctuation mark. ... Semitism can refer to: Philo-Semitism semitic language semitic people This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ...

An alternative term, "Judeophobia", stands for fear or irrational hatred of Jews. It was invented by Leon Pinsker and first appeared in his 1882 pamphlet Autoemancipation (text). As a professional physician, Pinsker preferred the medical term because he was convinced that pathological, irrational phobia may explain this ancient hatred: The term Judeophobia (also, Judaphobia) stands for fear or irrational hatred of Jews. ... Leon Pinsker (1821-1891) was a physician, a Zionist pioneer and activist, and the founder and leader of the Hovevei Zion movement. ... 1882 was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... The term phobia, which comes from the Greek word for fear (φόβος, fobos), denotes a number of psychological and physiological conditions that can range from serious disabilities to common fears to minor quirks. ...

"Judeophobia is a variety of demonopathy... this ghost is not disembodied like other ghosts but partakes of flesh and blood, must endure pain inflicted by the fearful mob who imagines itself endangered... To sum up then, to the living the Jew is a corpse, to the native a foreigner, to the homesteader a vagrant, to the proprietary a beggar, to the poor an exploiter and a millionaire, to the patriot a man without a country, for all a hated rival."

Historical forms of anti-Judaism

Prejudice against Jews can be traced back to the Graeco-Roman period and the rise of Hellenistic culture. Most Jews rejected efforts to assimilate them into the dominant Greek (and later Roman) culture, and their religious practices, which conflicted with established norms, were perceived as being backward and primitive. Gaius Cornelius Tacitus, for example, writes disparagingly of many real and imagined practices of the Jews, while there are numerous accounts of circumcision being described as barbarous. This is the current collaboration of the week! Please help improve it to featured article standard. ... This article is about the historian Tacitus. ... Circumcision is the removal of some or all of the prepuce (foreskin). ...

Throughout their diaspora, Jews tended to live in separate communities, in which they could practice their religion. This led to charges of elitism, as appear in the writings of Cicero. As a minority, Jews were also dependent on the goodwill of the authorities, though this was considered irksome to the indigenous population, which regarded any vestiges of autonomy among the local Jewish communities as reminders of their subject status to a foreign empire. Nevertheless, this did not always mean that opposition to Jewish involvement in local affairs was anti-Semitic. In 411 BCE, an Egyptian mob destroyed the Jewish temple at Elephantine in Egypt, but many historians argue that this was provoked by anti-Persian sentiment, rather than by anti-Semitism per se — the Jews, who were protected by the imperial power, were perceived as being its representatives. Jewish diaspora (Hebrew: Tefutzah, or Galut, exile) refers to the dispersion of the Jewish people throughout the world. ... Elitism is a belief or attitude that an elite— a selected group of persons whose personal abilities, specialized training or other attributes place them at the top of any field (see below)— are the people whose views on a matter are to be taken most seriously, or who are alone... Marcus Tullius Cicero (January 3, 106 BC – December 7, 43 BC) was an orator and statesman of Ancient Rome, and is generally considered the greatest Latin prose stylist. ... Centuries: 6th century BC - 5th century BC - 4th century BC Decades: 460s BC 450s BC 440s BC 430s BC 420s BC - 410s BC - 400s BC 390s BC 380s BC 370s BC 360s BC 416 BC 415 BC 414 BC 413 BC 412 BC - 411 BC - 410 BC 409 BC 408... Iran (a. ...

The enormous and influential Jewish community in the ancient Egyptian port city of Alexandria saw manifestations of an unusual brand of anti-Semitism in which the local pagan populace rejected the biblical narrative of the Exodus as being anti-Egyptian. Accordingly, a number of works were produced to provide an "Egyptian version" of what "really happened": the Jews were a group of sickly lepers that was expelled from Egypt (see Manetho, Apion). This was also used to account for Jewish practices — they were so sickly that they could not even wander in the desert for more than six days at a time, requiring a seventh day to rest, hence the origin of the Sabbath. It was these charges that led to Philo's apologetic account of Judaism and Jewish history, which was so influential in the development of early church doctrine. Ancient anti-semitic tales were also picked apart in Josephus Flavius' pamphlet Against Apion. Antiquity and modernity stand cheek-by-jowl in Egypts chief Mediterranean seaport For other uses, see Alexandria (disambiguation). ... For other uses of the name, see Exodus (disambiguation) Exodus is the second book of the Torah (the five books of Moses) and also the Tanakh (the Hebrew Bible) and Christian Old Testament. ... Manetho or Manethon of Sebennytos, (ca. ... Apion, Greek grammarian and commentator on Homer, was born at the Siwa Oasis, and flourished in the first half of the 1st century AD. He studied at Alexandria, and headed a deputation sent to Caligula (in 38) by the Alexandrians to complain of the Jews. ... Philo (20 BCE - 40 CE) was an Hellenized Jewish philosopher born in Alexandria, Egypt. ... Josephus, also known as Flavius Josephus (c. ...

Prejudice against Jews in the Roman Empire was formalized in 438, when the Code of Theodosius II established Christianity as the only legal religion in the Roman Empire, although already as early as 305, in Elvira, a Spanish town in Andalusia, the first known laws of any church council against Jews appeared. Christian women were forbidden to marry Jews unless the Jew first converted to Christianity. Jews were forbidden to extend hospitality to Christians. Jews could not keep Christian concubines and were forbidden to bless the fields of Christians. In 589, in Christian Spain, the Third Council of Toledo ordered that children born of marriage between Jews and Christians be baptized by force. A policy of forced conversion of all Jews was initiated. Thousands fled, and thousands of others converted. [7] The Roman Empire is the term conventionally used to describe the Ancient Roman polity in the centuries following its reorganization under the leadership of Octavian (better known as Caesar Augustus). ... Events February 15 - The Codex Theodosianus, a collection of edicts of Roman law, is published. ... Theodosius II Flavius Theodosius II (April, 401 - July 28, 450 ). The eldest son of Eudoxia and Arcadius who at the age of 7 became the Roman Emperor of the East. ... Motto: Dominator Hercules Fundator Andalucía por sí, para España y la humanidad (Andalusia for herself, for Spain, and for humanity) Capital Seville Area  â€“ Total  â€“ % of Spain Ranked 2nd  87 268 km²  17,2% Population  â€“ Total (2003)  â€“ % of Spain  â€“ Density Ranked 1st  7 478 432  17,9%  85,70... Concubinage is either the state of a couple living together as lovers with no obligation created by vows, legal marriage, or religious ceremony, or the state of a woman supported by a male lover who is married to, and usually living with, someone else. ... Events October 17 - The Adige River overflows its banks, flooding the church of St. ...

Judaic traditions extend for centuries BCE, and are the historical predecessor for the religions of Christianity and Islam, both of whom hold some Judaic traditions and texts as sacred, though differ in aspects that are central to each distinct branch of religion. BCE is a TLA that may stand for: European Central Bank in some Romance languages (e. ... Christianity is the worlds largest religion. ... Islam  listen? (Arabic: al-islām) the submission to God is a monotheistic faith, one of the Abrahamic religions, and the worlds second largest religion. ...

Hence Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, each took different course in terms of beliefs, as well as traditional customs; each creating a separate and distinct culture, from the parent Judaism. Those who held to traditional Judaic belief were considered "deniers" of the newer beliefs and traditions, in much the same way that some religions consider people of other religions to be denying the truth.

Anti-Judaism in the New Testament

Christian theological anti-Semitism was stimulated by the New Testament's replacement theology (or supersessionism), which taught that with the coming of Jesus a new covenant has rendered obsolete and has superseded the religion of Judaism. It was believed that "the perfidious Jews", as a people, were responsible for the death of Jesus. A number of Christian preachers, particularly in the Middle Ages and Renaissance, additionally taught that religious Jews choose to follow a faith that they actually know is false out of a desire to offend God. The New Testament, sometimes called the Greek Testament or Greek Scriptures is the name given to the part of the Christian Bible that was written after the birth of Jesus. ... Supersessionism is the traditional Christian belief that Christianity is the fulfillment of Biblical Judaism, and therefore that Jews who deny that Jesus is the Jewish Messiah fall short of their calling as Gods Chosen people. ... Judaism is the religious culture of the Jewish people. ... This 11th-century portrait is one of many images of Jesus in which a halo with a cross is used. ... By Region: Italian Renaissance Northern Renaissance -French Renaissance -German Renaissance -English Renaissance The Renaissance was an influential cultural movement which brought about a period of scientific revolution and artistic transformation, at the dawn of modern European history. ...

Examples of passages in the New Testament that are seen as anti-Semitic, or have been used for anti-Semitic purposes:

Jesus said to them [i.e., the "Jews"], "You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father's desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and has nothing to do with the truth, because there is no truth in him. . . . He who is of God hears the words of God; the reason why you do not hear them is you are not of God." (John 8:44-47)

You stiff-necked people, uncircumcised in heart and ears, you always resist the Holy Spirit. As your fathers did, so do you. Which of the prophets did not your fathers persecute? And they killed those who announced beforehand the coming of the Righteous One, whom you have now betrayed and murdered, you who received the law as delivered by angels and did not keep it. (Acts 7:51-53)

Behold, I will make those of the synagogue of Satan who say that they are Jews and are not, but lie -- behold, I will make them come and bow down before your feet, and learn that I have loved you. (Revelation 2:9).

Most biblical scholars hold that verses like these reflect the Jewish / Christian tensions that were emerging in the late first or early second century, and do not originate with Jesus (for whom such a distinction would have been incomprehensible). A similar relic within Jewish tradition would be the Eighteen Benedictions, which include disguised curses against Christianity. Today, the major Christian denominations de-emphasize verses such as these, and reject their use by anti-Semites. The Gospel of John is the fourth gospel in the sequence of the canon as printed in the New Testament, and scholars agree it was the fourth to be written. ... The Acts of the Apostles (Greek Praxeis Apostolon) is a book of the Bible, which now stands fifth in the New Testament. ... For information on the last book of the New Testament see the entry on the Book of Revelation. ...

Anti-Semitism in the Middle Ages

In the Middle Ages there were many reasons for prejudice against Jews in Europe. The most obvious reason is religious persecution. However, this does not explain why violence increased greatly during the High Middle Ages, so other more complex reasons have been put forth by scholars. The Middle Ages formed the middle period in a traditional schematic division of European history into three ages: the classical civilization of Antiquity, the Middle Ages, and modern times, beginning with the Renaissance. ... The cathedral Notre Dame de Paris, a significant architectural contribution of the High Middle Ages. ...

In the Middle Ages a main source of prejudice against Jews in Europe was religious. The Catholic Church taught that the Jewish people were collectively and permanently responsible for killing Jesus (see Deicide). The power of Christianity was very strong in the Middle Ages, and Jews were a direct affront to Christian beliefs. The Middle Ages formed the middle period in a traditional schematic division of European history into three ages: the classical civilization of Antiquity, the Middle Ages, and modern times, beginning with the Renaissance. ... The Roman Catholic Church believes its founding was based on Jesus appointment of Saint Peter as the primary church leader, later Bishop of Rome. ... Deicide literally means God-killing (Latin Deus, God + -cida, killing) and usually refers to the execution of Jesus by crucifixion. ...

Among socio-economic factors were restrictions by the authorities, local rulers and frequently church officials who closed many professions to the Jews, pushing them into marginal occupations considered socially inferior, such as local tax and rent collecting or moneylending, a necessary evil due to the increasing population and urbanization during the High Middle Ages. This provided support for claims that Jews are insolent, greedy, engaged in usury, and in itself contributed to a negative image. Natural tensions between creditors (typically Jews) and debtors (typically Christians) were added to social, political, religious and economic strains. Peasants who were forced to pay their taxes to Jews could personify them as the people taking their earnings while remaining loyal to the lords on whose behalf the Jews worked. Usury (from the Latin usus meaning used) was defined originally as charging a fee for the use of money. ...

The demonizing of the Jews

From around the 12th century through the 19th there were Christians who believed that some (or all) Jews possessed magical powers; some believed that they had gained these magical powers from making a deal with the devil. See also Judensau, Judeophobia. (11th century - 12th century - 13th century - other centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 12th century was that century which lasted from 1101 to 1200. ... Alternative meaning: Nineteenth Century (periodical) (18th century — 19th century — 20th century — more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 19th century was that century which lasted from 1801-1900 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Devil is the name given to a supernatural entity who, in most Western religions, is the central embodiment of evil. ... Judensau (German for Jewish swine) is a derogatory and dehumanizing imagery of the Jews that appeared around the 13th century in Germany and some other European countries. ... The term Judeophobia (also, Judaphobia) stands for fear or irrational hatred of Jews. ...

Blood libels

Main articles: blood libel, list of blood libels against Jews Blood libels are allegations that a particular group kills people as a form of human sacrifice, and uses their blood in various rituals. ... List of blood libels against Jews. ...

On many occasions, Jews were accused of a blood libel, the supposed drinking of blood of Christian children in mockery of the Christian Eucharist. According to the authors of these blood libels, the 'procedure' for the alleged sacrifice was something like this: a child who had not yet reached puberty was kidnapped and taken to a hidden place. The child would be tortured by Jews, and a crowd would gather at the place of execution (in some accounts the synagogue itself) and engage in a mock tribunal to try the child. The child would be presented to the tribunal naked and tied and eventually be condemned to death. In the end, the child would be crowned with thorns and tied or nailed to a wooden cross. The cross would be raised, and the blood dripping from the child's wounds would be caught in bowls or glasses. Finally, the child would be killed with a thrust through the heart from a spear, sword, or dagger. Its dead body would be removed from the cross and concealed or disposed of, but in some instances rituals of black magic would be performed on it. This method, with some variations, can be found in all the alleged descriptions of ritual murder by Jews. Blood libels are allegations that a particular group kills people as a form of human sacrifice, and uses their blood in various rituals. ... The Eucharist is either the celebration of the Christian sacrament commemorating Christ’s Last Supper, or the consecrated bread and wine of this sacrament. ...

The story of William of Norwich (d. 1144) is the first known case of ritual murder being alleged by a Christian monk. It does not mention the collection of William's blood for any purpose. The story of Little Saint Hugh of Lincoln (d. 1255) said that after the boy was dead, his body was removed from the cross and laid on a table. His belly was cut open and his entrails removed for some occult purpose, such as a divination ritual. The story of Simon of Trent (d. 1475) emphasized how the boy was held over a large bowl so all his blood could be collected. Simon was regarded as a saint, and was canonized by Pope Sixtus V in 1588. The cult of Simon was disbanded in 1965 by Pope Paul VI, and the shrine erected to him was dismantled. He was removed from the calendar, and his future veneration was forbidden, though a handful of extremists still promote the narrative as a fact. In the 20th century, blood libel stories have appeared a number of times in the state-sponsored media of a number of Arab nations, in Arab television shows, and on websites. William of Norwich (1132? - March 1144) was an English boy who was supposedly ritually murdered by Jews. ... Hugh of Lincoln (1247 - August, 1255) was an English boy, whose disappearance prompted a blood libel with ramifications that reach until today. ... The bronze sheeps liver of Piacenza, with Etruscan inscriptions A haruspex was a sort of augur in the Roman religion who practiced divination, by inspecting the entrails of sacrificed animals, especially the livers of sacrificed sheep. ... Simon of Trent (? - approx. ... Sixtus V, né Felice Peretti (December 13, 1521 - August 27, 1590) was pope from 1585 to 1590. ... Events May 12 - Day of the Barricades in Paris. ... 1965 was a common year starting on Friday (the link is to a full 1965 calendar). ... His Holiness Pope Paul VI, born Giovanni Battista Enrico Antonio Maria Montini (September 26, 1897 – August 6, 1978), reigned as Pope and as sovereign of Vatican City from 1963 to 1978. ...

Badges

Main article: yellow badge an example of the type of yellow badge or star, Jews were forced to wear during the Nazi occupation of Europe, 1933-1945 A mandatory mark or a piece of cloth of specific geometric shape, worn on the outer garment in order to distinguish a person of certain religion or...

The yellow badge Jews were forced to wear can be seen in this marginal illustration from an English manuscript.

The Fourth Lateran Council in 1215 was the first to proclaim the requirement for Jews to wear something that distinguished them as Jews. It could be a colored piece of cloth in the shape of a star or circle or square, a hat, or a robe. This practice has its origins in the Islamic world where it was common for various religions to wear badges of faith. In many localities, members of the medieval society wore badges to distinguish their social status. Some badges (such as guild members) were prestigious, while others ostracized outcasts such as lepers, reformed heretics and prostitutes. Jews sought to evade the badges by paying what amounted to bribes in the form of temporary "exemptions" to kings, which were revoked and re-paid for whenever the king needed to raise funds. Download high resolution version (1022x741, 78 KB)Marginal Illustration from the Chronicles of Offa (British Library, Cotton Nero D. I.), folio 183v, Jews being persecuted. ... Download high resolution version (1022x741, 78 KB)Marginal Illustration from the Chronicles of Offa (British Library, Cotton Nero D. I.), folio 183v, Jews being persecuted. ... The Fourth Council of the Lateran was summoned by Pope Innocent III with his Bull of April 19, 1213. ... Events June 15 - King John of England forced to put his seal to the Magna Carta, outlining the rights of landowning men (nobles and knights) and restricting the kings power. ... A guild is an association of persons of the same trade or pursuits, formed to protect mutual interests and maintain standards of morality or conduct. ... Hansens disease, commonly known as leprosy, is an infectious disease caused by infection by Mycobacterium leprae. ... Heretic, meaning literally a person guilty or accused of heresy, is also often used as a title. ... Prostitution is the sale of sexual services (typically manual stimulation, oral sex, sexual intercourse, or anal sex) for cash or other kind of return, generally indiscriminately with many persons. ...

Host desecration

Jews were falsely accused of torturing consecrated host wafers in a reenactment of the Crucifixion; this accusation was known as host desecration. Religious depictions of the crucifixion of Jesus typically show him supported by nails through the palms. ... Host desecration is an anti-semitic concept similar to blood libel. ...

The Crusades

The Crusades were a series of several military campaigns sanctioned by the Papacy that took place during the 11th through 13th centuries. They began as Catholic endeavours to capture Jerusalem from the Muslims but developed into territorial wars. The initial conquest of Palestine by the forces of Islam in the 7th century did not interfere much with pilgrimage to Christian holy sites or the security of monasteries and Christian communities in the Holy Land. However, in the year 1009 the Fatimid caliph of Cairo, al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah, had the Church of the Holy Sepulchre destroyed. His successor permitted the Byzantine Empire to rebuild it, and pilgrimage was permitted again. The decisive loss of the Byzantine army to the Seljuk Turks at the Battle of Manzikert in 1071 brought the beginning of Byzantine pleas for troops and support from the West. This article is about the medieval Crusades . ... The Pope is the Catholic Bishop and patriarch of Rome, and head of the Roman Catholic Church and the Eastern Catholic Churches. ... (10th century - 11th century - 12th century - other centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 11th century was that century which lasted from 1001 to 1100. ... (12th century - 13th century - 14th century - other centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 13th century was that century which lasted from 1201 to 1300. ... Jerusalem (Hebrew: יְרוּשָׁלַיִם Yerushalayim; Arabic: القدس al-Quds; see also names of Jerusalem) is an ancient Middle Eastern city of key importance to the religions of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. ... Islam  listen? (Arabic: al-islām) the submission to God is a monotheistic faith, one of the Abrahamic religions, and the worlds second largest religion. ... Palestine (Latin: Syria Palæstina; Hebrew: פלשתינה Palestina, ארץ־ישראל Eretz Yisrael; Arabic: فلسطين Filasṭīn) is the region between the Mediterranean Sea and the banks of the Jordan River, plus various adjoining lands to the east. ... Islam  listen? (Arabic: al-islām) the submission to God is a monotheistic faith, one of the Abrahamic religions, and the worlds second largest religion. ... A pilgrimage is a term primarily used in religion and spirituality of a long journey or search of great moral significance. ... Events February 14: First known mention of Lithuania, in the annals of the monastery of Quedlinburg. ... The Fatimid Empire or Fatimid Caliphate ruled North Africa from A.D. 909 to 1171. ... Caliph is the term or title for the Islamic leader of the Ummah, or community of Islam. ... View of the modern citys skyline. ... Hakim bi-Amr Allah (literally: Ruler by Gods Command) was the sixth Fatimid Caliph in Egypt, ruling from 996 to 1021. ... Main Entrance to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre The Church of the Holy Sepulchre, called Church of the Resurrection (Anastasis) by Eastern Christians, is a Christian church now within the walled Old City of Jerusalem. ... The Byzantine Empire (Native Greek names: ΡΩΜΑΝΙΑ Romania or ΒΑΣΙΛΕΙΑ ΡΩΜΑΙΩΝ Basileia Romaion) is the term conventionally used to describe the Greek-speaking Roman Empire during the Middle Ages, centred at its capital in Constantinople. ... The Seljuk Turks (Turkish: Selçuk; Arabic: سلجوق Saljūq, السلاجقة al-Salājiqa; Persian: سلجوقيان Saljūqiyān; also Seldjuk, Seldjuq, Seljuq) were a major branch of the Oghuz Turks and a dynasty that occupied parts of Central Asia and the Middle East from the 11th to 14th centuries. ... The Battle of Manzikert (Turkish Malazgirt Savaşı) occurred on August 26, 1071 between the Byzantine Empire and Seljuk Turkish forces led by Alp Arslan, resulting in the defeat of the Byzantine Empire and the capture of Emperor Romanus IV Diogenes. ... Events Byzantine Empire loses Battle of Manzikert to Turkish army under Alp Arslan. ...

The mobs accompanying the first three Crusades attacked the Jewish communities in Germany, France, and England, and put many Jews to death; this left behind for centuries strong feelings of ill will on both sides. The social position of the Jews in western Europe was already in a bad state, for one thing because of the writing of bishop Amulo published in 846, called Contra Judaeos (Against the Jews). But things distinctly worsened by the Crusades, and legal restrictions became frequent during and after them. They prepared the way for the anti-Jewish legislation of Pope Innocent III, and formed the turning-point in the medieval history of the Jews. Innocent III, né Lotario de Conti ( 1161–June 16, 1216), was Pope from January 8, 1198 until his death. ...

The expulsions from England, France, Germany, and Spain

As many European localities and entire countries expelled their Jewish citizens after robbing them and others denied them entrance, the legend of the Wandering Jew, a condemned harbinger of calamity, gained popularity. Only a few such expulsions are described in this section, for a more extended list see History of anti-Semitism. The Wandering Jew is a figure from Christian folklore. ... This is a partial chronology of hostilities towards or discrimination against the Jews as a religious or ethnic group. ...

The practice of expelling the Jews accompanied by confiscation of their property, followed by temporary readmissions for ransom, was utilized to enrich the French crown during 12th-14th centuries. The most notable such expulsions were: from Paris by Philip Augustus in 1182, from entire France by Louis IX in 1254, by Charles IV in 1322, by Charles V in 1359, by Charles VI in 1394. The term ransom refers to the practice of holding a prisoner to extort money or property extorted to secure their release, or to the sum of money involved. ... (11th century - 12th century - 13th century - other centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 12th century was that century which lasted from 1101 to 1200. ... (13th century - 14th century - 15th century - more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 14th century was that century which lasted from 1301 to 1400. ... The Eiffel Tower has become a symbol of Paris throughout the world. ... Philip II (French: Philippe II), called Philip Augustus (French: Philippe Auguste) (August 21, 1165 - July 14, 1223), was King of France from 1180 to 1223. ... Events Canute VI crowned king of Denmark Serbia allies itself with Hungary to gain independence First Sejm, or Polish Parliment, convenes at Łęczyca Jews expelled from Paris by Philip Augustus Maronites reestablish their affiliation with Catholicism Venetians massacred during a riot in Constantinople Raynald of Chatillon instigates another war between... Only representation of Saint Louis known to be true to life - Early 14th century statue from the church of Mainneville, Eure, France King Louis IX of France or Saint Louis (April 25, 1214/1215–August 25, 1270) was King of France from 1226 until his death. ... Events December 2 - Manfred of Sicily defeats army of Pope Innocent IV at Foggia. ... Charles IV the Fair ( French: Charles IV le Bel) ( 1294 – February 1, 1328), a member of the Capetian Dynasty, reigned as King of France from 1322 to 1328. ... Events September 27/September 28 - Battle of Ampfing, often called the last battle of knights, in which Louis IV, Holy Roman Emperor defeats Frederick I of Austria Births Emperor Komyo of Japan, second of the Northern Ashikaga Pretenders Deaths January 3 - France Categories: 1322 ... Charles V the Wise (French: Charles V le Sage) (January 31, 1338 – September 16, 1380) was king of France (1364 to 1380) and a member of the Valois Dynasty. ... Events Change of emperor of the Ottoman Empire from Orhan I (1326-1359) to Murad I (1359-1389) Berlin joins the Hanseatic League. ... Charles VI the Well-Beloved, later known as the Mad (French: Charles VI le Bien-Aimé, later known as le Fol) (December 3, 1368 – October 21, 1422) was a King of France (1380 – 1422) and a member of the Valois Dynasty. ... Events Expulsion of the Jews from France. ...

To finance his war to conquer Wales, Edward I of England taxed the Jewish moneylenders. When the Jews could no longer pay, they were accused of disloyalty. Already restricted to a limited number of occupations, the Jews saw Edward abolish their "privilege" to lend money, choke their movements and activities and were forced to wear a yellow patch. The heads of Jewish households were then arrested, over 300 of them taken to the Tower of London and executed, while others killed in their homes. The complete banishment of all Jews from the country in 1290 led to thousands killed and drowned while fleeing and the absence of Jews from England for three and a half centuries, until 1655, when Oliver Cromwell reversed the policy. National motto: Cymru am byth (Welsh: Wales for ever) Waless location within the UK Official languages English(100%), Welsh(20. ... King Edward I of England (June 17, 1239 – July 7, 1307), popularly known as Longshanks because of his 6 foot 2 inch frame and the Hammer of the Scots (his tombstone, in Latin, read, Hic est Edwardvs Primus Scottorum Malleus, Here lies Edward I, Hammer of the Scots), achieved fame... an example of the type of yellow badge or star, Jews were forced to wear during the Nazi occupation of Europe, 1933-1945 A mandatory mark or a piece of cloth of specific geometric shape, worn on the outer garment in order to distinguish a person of certain religion or... The Tower of London, seen from the river, with a view of the water gate called Traitors Gate. ... Events King Edward I of England banishes all Jews from Britain. ... Events New Sweden (Delaware) attacked and captured by Dutch forces. ... Unfinished portrait miniature of Oliver Cromwell by Samuel Cooper, 1657. ...

In 1492, Ferdinand_II_of_Aragon and Isabella_of_Castile issued General Edict on the Expulsion of the Jews from Spain (see also Inquisition) and many Sephardi Jews fled to the Ottoman Empire, some to the Land of Israel. Events January 2 - Boabdil, the last Moorish King of Granada, surrenders his city to the army of Ferdinand and Isabella after a lengthy siege. ... Ferdinand and his wife Isabella of Castile Ferdinand II (Fernando de Aragón in Spanish and Ferran dAragó in Catalan), nicknamed the Catholic (March 10, 1452 – June 23, 1516) was king of Aragon, Castile, Sicily, Naples, Valencia, Sardinia and Navarre and Count of Barcelona. ... Isabella of Castile Isabella of Castile (Spanish: Ysabel, Isabel or Isabela) (April 22, 1451 – November 26, 1504) was Queen of Castile and Leon, with her husband Ferdinand V as co-ruler. ... Pedro Berruguete. ... In the strictest sense, a Sephardi (ספרדי, Standard Hebrew Səfardi, Tiberian Hebrew ardî; plural Sephardim: ספרדים, Standard Hebrew Səfardim, Tiberian Hebrew ) is a Jew original to the Iberian Peninsula (Spain and Portugal: ספרד, Standard Hebrew Səfárad, Tiberian Hebrew / ), or whose ancestors were among the Jews expelled from said peninsula during... The Ottoman Empire at the height of its power Imperial motto El Muzaffer Daima The Ever Victorious (as written in tugra) Official language Ottoman Turkish Capital İstanbul (Constantinople/Asitane/Konstantiniyye ) Sovereigns Sultans of the Osmanli Dynasty Population ca 40 million Area 6. ... The Land of Israel (Hebrew: ארץ ישראל Eretz Yisrael) is the land that made up the ancient Jewish Kingdoms of Israel and Judah. ...

In 1744, Frederick II of Prussia limited Breslau to only ten so-called "protected" Jewish families and encouraged similar practice in other Prussian cities. In 1750 he issued Revidiertes General Privilegium und Reglement vor die Judenschaft: the "protected" Jews had an alternative to "either abstain from marriage or leave Berlin" (quoting Simon Dubnow). In the same year, Archduchess of Austria Maria Theresa ordered Jews out of Bohemia but soon reversed her position, on condition that Jews pay for readmission every ten years. This extortion was known as malke-geld (queen's money). In 1752 she introduced the law limiting each Jewish family to one son. In 1782, Joseph II abolished most of persecution practices in his Toleranzpatent, on the condition that Yiddish and Hebrew are eliminated from public records and judicial autonomy is annulled. Moses Mendelssohn wrote that "Such a tolerance... is even more dangerous play in tolerance than open persecution". Events The third French and Indian War, known as King Georges War, breaks out at Port Royal, Nova Scotia Ongoing events War of the Austrian Succession (1740-1748) Births May 19 - Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, queen of George III of Great Britain (d. ... Frederick II of Prussia (January 24, 1712–August 17, 1786) was a king of Prussia from the Hohenzollern dynasty, reigning from 1740–86. ... Wrocław. ... The coat of arms of the Kingdom of Prussia, 1701-1918 The word Prussia (German: Preußen or Preussen, Polish: Prusy, Lithuanian: Prūsai, Latin: Borussia) has had various (often contradictory) meanings: The land of the Baltic Prussians (in what is now parts of southern Lithuania, the Kaliningrad exclave of Russia and... Events March 2 - Small earthquake in London April 4 - Small earthquake in Warrington, England August 23 - Small earthquake in Spalding, England September 30 - Small earthquake in Northampton, England November 16 – Westminster Bridge officially opened Jonas Hanway is the first Englishman to use an umbrella James Gray reveals her sex to... Simon Dubnow Russian language: Семен Маркович Дубнов (September 10, 1860 - December 8, 1941) was a Jewish historian, writer and activist. ... This page is about Maria Theresa of Austria (often only known as Empress Maria Theresa), ruler of the Habsburg Empire from 1740-1780. ... Bohemia Bohemia (Czech: Čechy; German: Böhmen) is a historical region in central Europe, occupying the western and middle thirds of the Czech Republic. ... Extortion is a criminal offense, which occurs when a person obtains money, behaviour, or other goods and/or services from another by wrongfully threatening or inflicting harm to his person, reputation, or property. ... 1752 was a leap year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ... 1782 was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ... Holy Roman Emperor Joseph II Joseph II (March 13, 1741 – February 20, 1790) was Holy Roman Emperor from 1765 to 1790. ... Yiddish (Yid. ... The Modern Hebrew language is a Semitic language of the Afro-Asiatic language family. ... Moses Mendelssohn. ...

Anti-Judaism and the Reformation

(to be written) Main article: Christianity and anti-Semitism This article is about the history of Christianity and anti-Semitism. ...

The Enlightenment and the rise of racial anti-Semitism

Racial anti-Semitism, the most modern form of anti-Semitism, is a type of racism mixed with religious persecution. Racial anti-Semites believe that Jews are a distinct race and inherently inferior to people of other races. An African-American drinks out of a water cooler designated for use by colored patrons in 1939 at a streetcar terminal in Oklahoma City. ... Religious persecution is most often a variant of persecution, motivated by non-religious factors such as simple greed. ...

Modern European anti-Semitism has its origin in 19th century pseudo-scientific theories that the Jewish people are a sub-group of Semitic peoples; Semitic people were thought by many Europeans to be entirely different from the Aryan, or Indo-European, populations, and that they can never be amalgamated with them. In this view, Jews are not opposed on account of their religion, but on account of their supposed hereditary or genetic racial characteristics: greed, a special aptitude for money-making, aversion to hard work, clannishness and obtrusiveness, lack of social tact, low cunning, and especially lack of patriotism. A pseudoscience is any body of knowledge purported to be scientific or supported by science but which fails to comply with the scientific method. ... Aryan is an English word derived from the Vedic Sanskrit and Avestan term arya, meaning noble or lord. In the 19th century, the term was often used to refer to what we now call the Proto-Indo-Europeans. ... Proto-Indo-European Indo-European studies The Proto-Indo-Europeans are the hypothetical speakers of the reconstructed Proto-Indo-European language, a prehistoric people of the late Neolithic and early Bronze Age. ... This article is about race as an intraspecies classification. ... Patriotism is a feeling of love and devotion to ones own homeland (patria, the land of ones fathers). ...

Ironically, while enlightened European intellectual society of that period viewed prejudice against people on account of their religion to be declasse and a sign of ignorance, because of this supposed 'scientific' connection to genetics they felt fully justified in prejudice based on nationality or 'race'. In order to differentiate between the two practices, the term anti-Semitism was developed to refer to this 'acceptable' bias against Jews as a nationality, as distinct from the 'undesirable' prejudice against Judaism as a religion. Concurrently with this usage, some authors in Germany began to use the term 'Palestinians' when referring to Jews as a people, rather than as a religious group. Genetics (from the Greek genno γεννώ= give birth) is the science of genes, heredity, and the variation of organisms. ... The term Palestine and the related term Palestinian have several overlapping (and occasionally contradictory) definitions. ...

Equally ironic, and further proof of its pseudo-scientific nature, it is questionable whether Jews in general looked significantly different from the populations conducting "racial" anti-Semitism. This was especially true in places like Germany, France and Austria where the Jewish population tended to be more secular (or at least less Orthodox) than that of Eastern Europe, and did not wear clothing (such as a yarmulke) that would particularly distinguish their appearance from the non-Jewish population. Many anthropologists of the time such as Franz Boas tried to use complex physical measurements like the cephalic index and visual surveys of hair/eye color and skin tone of Jewish vs. non-Jewish European populations to prove that the notion of a separate "Jewish race" was a myth. In the 1990's, although this idea was long removed from any public thought or discourse in the Western world, more advanced technologies in DNA analysis allowed for curious anthropologists such as Michael Hammer to revisit it, with very complex results. Some studies (focusing on the Y-chromosome, which is carried by males only, and therefore should in Cohanim theoretically link directly back to Aaron), suggest a significant genetic kinship with the historic population of the eastern Mediterranean; while others, (focusing on mitochondrial-dNA, which is inherited from the mother only), give more ambiguous results as they do not appear to be related to one another or to those of present-day Middle Eastern populations. A yarmulke (Yiddish יאַרמלקע yarmlke) or Kippah (Hebrew כִּפָּה kippāh, plural kippot) is a thin, usually slightly rounded cloth cap worn by Jews. ... Franz Boas Franz Boas (July 9, 1858 – December 22, 1942) was one of the pioneers of modern anthropology and is often called the Father of American Anthropology. Like many such pioneers, he trained in other disciplines; he received his doctorate in physics, and did post-doctoral work in geography. ... The cephalic index is the ratio of the maximum breadth of the head to its maximum length (i. ... The position of a Kohens hands when he raises them to bless a Jewish congregation A Kohen (or Cohen, Hebrew priest, pl. ... Aaron (אַהֲרֹן;, a word meaning bearer of martyrs in Hebrew, was Standard Hebrew Aharon, Tiberian Hebrew ʾAhărōn), a Levite known as the eldest son of Amram and his wife Jochebed, and elder brother of Moses. ... In cell biology, a mitochondrion is an organelle found in the cells of most eukaryotes. ...

See also eugenics. Eugenics is the self-direction of human evolution: Logo from the Second International Congress of Eugenics, 1921, depicting it as a tree which unites a variety of different fields. ...

Anti-Semitism and modernity

Many analysts of modern anti-Semitism have pointed out that its essence is scapegoating: features of modernity felt by some group to be undesirable (e.g. materialism, the power of money, economic fluctuations, war, secularism, socialism, Communism, movements for racial equality, social welfare policies, etc., etc.) are believed to be caused by the machinations of a conspiratorial people whose full loyalties are not to the national group. Traditionalists anguished at the supposedly decadent or defective nature of the modern world have sometimes been inclined to embrace such views. Indeed, it is a matter of historical record that many of the conservative members of the WASP establishment of the United States as well as other comparable Western elites (e.g. the British Foreign Office) have harbored such attitudes, and in the aftermath of the Russian Revolution, some xenophobic anti-Semites have imagined world Communism to be a Jewish conspiracy (Harvard Encyclopedia of American Ethnic Groups [1980], p. 590). The scapegoat was a goat that was driven off into the wilderness as part of the ceremonies of Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, in Judaism during the times of the Temple in Jerusalem. ... Families See text. ... The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) is the United Kingdom abroad. ... The phrase Russian Revolution can refer to three specific events in the history of Imperial Russia. ... This article is about communism as a form of society built around a gift economy, as an ideology that advocates that form of society, and as a popular movement. ...

The modern form of anti-Semitism is identified in the 1911 edition of the Encyclopædia Britannica as a conspiracy theory serving the self-understanding of the European aristocracy, whose social power waned with the rise of bourgeois society. The Jews of Europe, then recently emancipated, were relatively literate, entrepreneurial and unentangled in aristocratic patronage systems, and were therefore disproportionately represented in the ascendant bourgeois class. As the aristocracy (and its hangers-on) lost out to this new center of power in society, they found their scapegoat - exemplified in the work of Arthur de Gobineau. That the Jews were singled out to embody the 'problem' was, by this theory, no more than a symptom of the nobility's own prejudices concerning the importance of breeding (on which its own legitimacy was founded). The Eleventh Edition of the Encyclopædia Britannica (1911) in many ways represents the sum of knowledge at the beginning of the 20th century. ... 1913 advertisement for the 11th edition, with the slogan When in doubt - look it up in the Encyclopædia Britannica The Encyclopædia Britannica (properly spelt with æ, the ae-ligature) is the oldest English-language general encyclopedia. ... Etymology The Ancient Greek term Aristocracy meant a system of government with rule by the best. This is the first definition given in most dictionaries. ... Bourgeois at the end of the thirteenth century. ...