Legends about Blood, Medical Libel: Old and New Motifs of the Blood Libel in Latgale

Abstract

The article examines the oral narratives that have to do with notions about specific uses of blood by Jews, and that have been recorded during the fieldwork among various ethnic and religious groups in Latgale, Latvia. These narratives are rather difficult to classify in terms of genres; they are commonly called “blood libel legends”. In Latgale, they take the shape of rumors, hearsays, or pieces of gossip. They may function in the forms that could be termed “belief story” or “disbelief story”; that is, some take these legends at their face value, while others may have their doubts about those. It is useful to juxtapose these narratives with various urban legends such as the ones about organ transplantation, cannibalism, medical libel, and others.