STUDIES AND ARTICLES Daniel Soukup ANTI-JEWISH RHETORIC OF CANON LAW: ECCLESIASTICAL LEGISLATION AND JEWS IN THE 14 th -CENTURY BOHEMIAN LANDS 1 The Prague Archbishop Ernest of Pardubice (1297–1364) during a meditative reading of the moralist text Bonum universale de apibus by Thomas of Cantimpré recorded on its margin: “I will suppress the horns with all my might, elevated by all those who ele- vate the unworthy, I will not abuse knowledge, nobility and power. I want to attract my neighbours through intercession or the Gospel in accordance with the example of Joseph, so as not to be denied the most blessed seeing the face of God. I do not want to abuse your whip, and as long as I still have time, I want to carry out good; I want to give good advice to kings; I will de- stroy the Jewish Talmud.” 2 He summarised in these words his views concerning ideal church pastors who care for the society of believers, whose function is similar to a bee hive. The overall ethos of Ernest’s church policy, whose aim was to enhance the spiritual level of the newly emerging ecclesiastical province in the Bohemian lands and devotedly co- operate with the ruler in the role of a good advisor, is concentrated in decisively formulated personal instructions. Specifically, the concluding statement “thalmut iudeorum destruam” can be interpreted as the programme concerning his deter- mined attitude toward Jews. It was based on the long-term position of the church, which tended to perceive the Jews less and less as witnesses to the biblical proph- ecy and guardians of the Holy Scripture. They instead viewed them increasingly frequently as the corrupters and deformers of the Bible. The abrogation of the cho- sen status of the Jewish nation, which came about due to their involvement in the death of the Christian saviour and which considerably contributed to the siege of Jerusalem and the destruction of the Temple, was, according to the theology of the day, supposed to lead to the gradual transformation from biblical to rabbinic Juda- Daniel Soukup – Anti-Jewish Rhetoric of Canon Law 5 1) This research was supported by the Czech Science Foundation (GA ÈR standard project, No. 19-12859S, Reflecting Jerusalem in Medieval Czech Lands). 2) “Cornua ad indigne promoventes elevata totis viribus reprimam, sciencia, nobilitate, potencia non abutur, proximos exhortacionibus vel evangelio exemplo Joseph traham, ne beatissima visione deifice faciei caream, flagellis tuis non abutar et cum tempus habeo, operer bonum; regibus recta consilia dem, thalmut iudeorum destruam.” Liber de apibus et vitae sanctorum, Národní knihovna Èeské republiky [National Library of the Czech Republic] (hereinafter NK ÈR), MS XII B 2, fol. 3. See also Jan Kapistrán Vyskoèil, Arnošt z Pardubic a jeho doba [Ernest of Pardubice and his Period], Praha 1947, p. 259 (Latin), p. 220 (Czech).