Evolution of the Fox Image: Jews and Foxes are in it together

In The Travels of Sir John Mandeville it is foretold that a fox will lead the Jewish tribes of Gogh and Magog out of their confinement behind the Gates of Alexander. Interestingly, the fox and Jews had a lot in common in the eyes of Medieval writers.

The fox stood for trickery and deceit. This assumption was derived from its hunting style, which involved it pretending to be dead by covering itself in red mud. It then waited for birds to descend upon it to snatch them out of the air and kill them. This tactic seems much like that of the Jews we have seen in other readings. For example, in "The Miracle of the Boy Singer," the Jewish murderer lures the boy singer into his home to kill him by pretending to be nice to the child. This habit of lying that leads to murder seen in both the Jews and the fox can be connected to their association with the devil.

Medieval foxes were directly representative of the devil in their hunting style. The devil is said to have pretended to be dead to people who were questioning their faith. Then when he had them in his reach he would snatch them away. To true believers the devil is always supposed to be dead. Medieval Christian portrayals of Jews after most of the Jews had already left the area seem to be saying the same thing: don't forgot about Jewish evil.

Mandeville's tales seem to be backing this notion up by mentioning the ten Jewish tribes locked away in the Amazon. By leading the Jews out of the mountains with a fox he is also asserting their connection to the devil, making them almost as if they were the people of the devil. Mandeville's portrayal of Jews suggests that they will be rewarded by the fox and take part in the end of the world. This tale is directed at Christians to instill fear.

In contrast, a more recent depiction of the fox's relationship to Jews is meant to instill fear in Jews and hatred in Christians. This is the tale of Van den vos Reynaerde, an anti-Semitic tale taken from the Medieval "Reynard the Fox." Reynard, a traditionally trickster-hero, is presented in this tale as a genocidal champion over the rhinoceroses, which with their long horned noses represented Jews.

It is interesting to see how the Jews' relationship with the fox has changed over time. It shows either way a strong connection to evil and the devil, which has made them easy targets for
Christian hatred

Deal or No Deal? Special Edition: Satan Style

In the movie Bedazzled, Elliot, a hopeless romantic played by Brendan Fraser, has a pretty sad life; he works 9-5 in a cubical, he is socially awkward, and he has no chance of being with the girl of his dreams. However, his luck changes when he meets a beautiful woman in a bar who claims to be the Devil. The Devil, played by Elizabeth Hurley, offers Elliot a deal; in exchange for his soul, she promises Elliot that she will grant him seven wishes. After lots of persuasion and little deliberation, Elliot signs over his soul. Throughout the movie, the Devil grants Elliot whatever he wishes, but there's always a catch. For instance, one of Elliot's wishes is to be the richest and most powerful man in the world -- she turns him into a Colombian drug lord. This string of trickery goes on and on until Elliot lands himself in jail. There he tells his cell mate that he signed his soul over to the Devil. But his cell mate, who eludes to being God, tells Elliot that he couldn't have given it away because his soul belongs to God. Then Elliot confronts the Devil, stands up for himself, meets a girl, and lives happily ever after. 

http://youtu.be/5xUnFbyqNr4

This is just one example of the classic "signing over one's soul to the Devil" story. However, this story line is not a new concept. The idea of making deals with the Devil dates clear back to medieval times. The original deal with the devil is presented in the story "Theophilus." An archdeacon, Tiofle, is not pleased with his life. He wants to be known throughout the land, and from what I understand, he wants to move up in the church. While wallowing in self pity, a Jew comes along and tells him that all his dreams can come true so long he sells his soul to the Devil. Tiofle listens to the Jew, and using his own blood, he signs his soul over to the Prince of Darkness. Time passes, and Tiofle realizes that giving his soul to Satan probably wasn't the best idea. So Tiofle prays to Mother Mary; he repents and asks for Her help to get his soul back. Mother Mary agrees to help him as long as he keeps God in his heart, and they go visit Satan. Mary reminds Satan that Tiofle's soul was never his to give away because his soul belongs to God. The contract is therefore voided, and Triofle lives happily ever after. 

http://www.examiner.com/article/deals-with-the-devil-saint-theophilus-the-penitent-theophilus-of-adana

Although the catalysts in Bedazzled  and "Theophilus" are different according to the time periods in which they were written, they mirror each other's basic plot and themes. The morals of both stories are the same: deals with the Devil never turn out well, God will come to the rescue (in some way, shape, or form), and one's soul is not one's to give.

SIDE NOTE:

(Besides making a deal with Satan, there are more medieval themes that appear in Bedazzled. For example, the Devil in this movie is portrayed as a woman. During medieval times, women were thought of as evil, disgusting, and everything a man did not want to be. Because of this disgust and mistrust, I'm surprised the Devil wasn't portrayed as a woman more frequently during medieval times.
Furthermore, there is a snake depicted throughout Bedazzled. Back then (and still today), snakes were associated with evil.)

Bender Bending Rodriguez: An Example of Medieval Antisemitism

Futurama, an animated television show following the misadventures of Phillip J. Fry, a pizza delivery boy (“boy” being a somewhat misleading title, with Fry actually being in roughly his twenties or thirties), features as one of its protagonists an alcoholic robot named Bender. While often Bender’s actions can be interpreted simply at the surface level, there appears to be an undercurrent of old anti-Semitic concepts surrounding the character. While on their own can be considered solitary incidents perpetrated for humor, when strung together these scenes and notions can be linked to such works as “Theophilus” and “The Jewish Boy.”

While suffering from almost every vice imaginable, Bender still seems to have a particular weakness for covetousness and theft. In countless episodes the foul mouthed robot can be seen committing acts of larceny of varying degrees, stealing anything from a single wallet to a centuries old cigar. This sense of greed is a long standing negative stereotype associated with the Jewish people dating back to the medieval period.

There is also the concept of the Jew poisoning the well to consider. Brought up momentarily in class, this idea follows with the notion of blaming virtually everything and anything bad on the Jewish people. Thus when the well went bad (the cause often being a lack of understanding of hygiene and bacterial spread) the Jews were used as a scapegoat of sorts. However, in Futurama Bender conforms to this stereotype as well (season 4, episode 10) when he pollutes the sewer (a sort of modern day well) by filling it with all manner of filth and runoff.

However, one of the greatest connections between Bender and medieval anti-Semitism appears in the season four finale “The Devil’s Hands are Idle Playthings.” Here, in an attempt to acquire greater musical talent for his friend Fry, Bender sets up and accompanies his friend on a meeting to see the Robot Devil. This parallels the situation in “Theophilus” when the Jewish man convinces Tyofle to sign over his soul to the Devil in exchange for wealth. While the situations are obviously not entirely interchangeable, this instance along with the other similar occurrences subtly paints Bender in such a way that he conforms to many of the medieval notions of what constituted a Jew.

In the Futurama movie “Beast with a Billion Backs,” Bender once again deals with the Robot Devil in an attempt to gather an army of pirates to invade what is basically the equivalent of space Heaven (odd I know). To do this, Bender is “forced” to give his firstborn son to the Robot Devil in trade. This seems reminiscent of the Jews willingness to kill/sacrifice the child in “The Jewish Boy.”

While many of these examples can simply be taken as modern interpretations of what is evil/wicked, it is interesting to note the apparent similarity between Bender and medieval stereotypes regarding Jews. I imagine at least part of the cause of this is that many of the negative traits and actions that used to be associated with the Jewish people became less firmly tied to this particular race/faith as history and society became less focused on painting them as the villain (and thus creating an enemy/other for the common populace to “unite” against).

Gambling the Soul

In the story of Theophilus, we read one of the first recorded accounts of a story that involves a pact being made with the devil. Today, this is a popular and familiar motif from literature and folklore. Making a pact with the devil most usually consists of a pact made between a person and Satan or a lesser demon. The person exchanges their soul for some kind of favor from Satan.
The pact could be made either by oral means or written means. Written pacts were often written in blood. This blood was often the blood of the human who was making the pact, but sometimes it could be animal blood.

I was curious about the stories that used this motif and I wanted to know whether or not "pacts with the devil" were associated with specific groups of people in history.
Pacts with the devil could be made by both men and women. Most literature I found was centered around a male figure, but I also read that midwives were often accused of having made a pact with the devil if a child died after or during delivery.
There are versions of the Theophilus story in many other countries, from the German story of Faust to the Polish story of Pan. Each country has developed their own version of this story. But why?
In the story of Theophilus that we read in class, the pact with the devil reflected social anxieties about Jewish people at the time. In the story, a Jewish man initially suggests and assists Theophilus in making the pact with Satan. The myth of Theophilus is told and retold through time,evolving and being adopted by other countries. However, no other versions of the myth includes racial or religious groups helping the devil.
Stories that include pacts with the devil were most often religiously motivated rather than racially motivated. While race and religion are closely related, the majority of the literature I found focused on pacts made with the devil centered around religious figures related to Christianity or the Catholic church.
However, even though none of the literature I found was overtly making a statement about race, the motif of a pact with the devil was often used to represent anything that was in opposition to Christianity. This could have been any number of things, depending on the location and time period the literature was written. In the case of Theophilus, the Jewish people had been seen as a threat to the Christian community.

One source that I found stated that "focusing on the devil's pervasive presence in the world had practical advantages to would-be culture shapers." The devil was an easy target to blame for anything that seemed to pose a threat to societal norms. This could have come in the shape of opposing religious groups or the growing population of a race of people. The devil was used as a symbol of what should not be. These stories were created as a way to control the public's opinions about what/who is good and what/who is evil. In many ways, these stories are just as manipulative as the devil himself.

                "The Ecole Initiative: Pacts with the Devil: Faust and Precursors." The Ecole Initiative: Pacts with the Devil: Faust and Precursors. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Sept. 2014.