Blood Libel: The Conspiracy Theory Genre

The study of conspiracy theories has long seemed the purview of psychology and political science, which has led to a focus on the believer, rather than the belief. But conspiracy theories are stories first, and this paper considers the example of the medieval conspiracy theory blood libel to argue that conspiracy theories form their own narrative genre, with a consistent set of characteristics that have persisted over time and across a very wide variety of themes. This can help us to better understand their rhetorical function and what makes a theory successful, in whatever context.