A Child of Christian Blood

A Note on Dates and Terminology

All dates in the text are given according to the Julian (Old Style) Calendar, in use in Russia until 1918, which lagged thirteen days behind the Gregorian Calendar used in the West.

In the following narrative, I have generally preferred the term “blood accusation” to the more common “blood libel,” judging it more appropriate to the story of a court case where the validity of the charge is at issue. But the blood accusation has been, always and everywhere, a libel.