"Nothing new under the sun?" Tracking change in the use of derrogatory connotations in anti-heretical hate propaganda, 1000-1150
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| Year of publication | 2025 |
| Type | Appeared in Conference without Proceedings |
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| Description | While one way of coping with heterodoxy in writings about heresy between 1000 and 1150 was to present it as just a recycled or revamped version of one of the old heresies, this period in fact saw significant changes in its portrayal through the use of derogatory connotations and metaphors. In this paper, we analyse a manually collected dataset of ca. 350 derogatory attributions from 40 texts documenting specific cases of heresy in the West in 1000–1150 with the aim of evaluating change in medieval anti-heretical hate propaganda in this crucial period of the “formation of a persecuting society” in Western Europe (Robert I. Moore). Using independent double coding, we categorized each of these ca. 350 attributions into at least one of 15 broader categories (e.g. “immorality”, “evil”, “disease”, etc.). We then used five different quantitative approaches to ascertain whether any among those derogatory connotation categories were in decline or on the rise. We found that while some connotations remained stable, the importance of three among them increased, namely “disease”, “poison”, and “violence” (i.e., of the heretics). We interpret this change, occurring in a formative period of repression preceding the inquisition, as reflecting an increasing focus on tangible threats, potentially fostering strong emotional responses legitimizing social exclusion and repression. |
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