The University of Southampton
University of Southampton Institutional Repository

The recycling of an anti-Semitic conspiracy theory into an anti-Morisco one in Early Modern Spain: the myth of El Vengador, the serial-killer doctor

The recycling of an anti-Semitic conspiracy theory into an anti-Morisco one in Early Modern Spain: the myth of El Vengador, the serial-killer doctor
The recycling of an anti-Semitic conspiracy theory into an anti-Morisco one in Early Modern Spain: the myth of El Vengador, the serial-killer doctor
This work examines how the study of emotions can help us understand the appeal of conspiracy theories and how they are exploited by governments and elite institutions to provoke fear and forge collective identities. It focuses on a particular conspiracy theory in early modern Spain: that of a vengeful Muslim doctor known as el vengador who systemically murdered Christian patients. It argues that the myth was in fact a clumsy recycling of a well–established anti-Semitic myth and that it also built upon existing anxieties about medical treatment. Sara Ahmed’s research on modern British society has demonstrated the role played by hate and fear in the creation of collective identities by creating boundaries with ‘others’ who are constituted as a ‘threat’ to the existence. Likewise, the libel of medical murder was part of an “affective politics of fear” in which the discourse of hate was instrumentalized by sections of the ruling hierarchy and polemicists to mobilize early modern Iberians against certain groups designated as a threat. Jews and Muslims became negative reference groups, equal objects of fear and anxiety whose role was interchangeable in order to formulate a normative collective identity.
1540-5877
233-255
Soyer, Francois
3ccef83c-fad6-46be-b6a0-300d69a30528
Soyer, Francois
3ccef83c-fad6-46be-b6a0-300d69a30528

Soyer, Francois (2016) The recycling of an anti-Semitic conspiracy theory into an anti-Morisco one in Early Modern Spain: the myth of El Vengador, the serial-killer doctor. eHumanista/Conversos. Journal of Iberian Studies, 4, 233-255.

Record type: Article

Abstract

This work examines how the study of emotions can help us understand the appeal of conspiracy theories and how they are exploited by governments and elite institutions to provoke fear and forge collective identities. It focuses on a particular conspiracy theory in early modern Spain: that of a vengeful Muslim doctor known as el vengador who systemically murdered Christian patients. It argues that the myth was in fact a clumsy recycling of a well–established anti-Semitic myth and that it also built upon existing anxieties about medical treatment. Sara Ahmed’s research on modern British society has demonstrated the role played by hate and fear in the creation of collective identities by creating boundaries with ‘others’ who are constituted as a ‘threat’ to the existence. Likewise, the libel of medical murder was part of an “affective politics of fear” in which the discourse of hate was instrumentalized by sections of the ruling hierarchy and polemicists to mobilize early modern Iberians against certain groups designated as a threat. Jews and Muslims became negative reference groups, equal objects of fear and anxiety whose role was interchangeable in order to formulate a normative collective identity.

Text
Soyer eHumanista_Conversos 4 (2016)- 233-255.pdf - Version of Record
Download (827kB)

More information

Accepted/In Press date: 31 July 2016
Published date: 4 October 2016
Organisations: History

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 401153
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/401153
ISSN: 1540-5877
PURE UUID: 1444e987-1fd2-46a7-a2b4-131e1172bcbd

Catalogue record

Date deposited: 10 Oct 2016 13:44
Last modified: 15 Mar 2024 02:40

Export record

Contributors

Author: Francois Soyer

Download statistics

Downloads from ePrints over the past year. Other digital versions may also be available to download e.g. from the publisher's website.

View more statistics

Atom RSS 1.0 RSS 2.0

Contact ePrints Soton: eprints@soton.ac.uk

ePrints Soton supports OAI 2.0 with a base URL of http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/cgi/oai2

This repository has been built using EPrints software, developed at the University of Southampton, but available to everyone to use.

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you continue without changing your settings, we will assume that you are happy to receive cookies on the University of Southampton website.

×