ABSTRACT
Giacomo Todeschini begins his essay by showing the close relationship in many medieval anti-Jewish narratives between Jewish usury and the Jewish profanation of the consecrated host associated with blood libel. Moreover, in these stories, Jewish moneylending for interest is portrayed as the starting point of an economy of scrap collecting and recycling—a second-hand economy rooted in moneylending secured by a pledge of repayment. This link between Jewish usury and the Jewish scrap collecting economy is often present in tales of Jewish usurers as host desecrators. The article traces the origin and development of Jewish moneylending and its polemical representation, particularly by Franciscans.
