Blood is something that all humans share: a vital force that courses through our veins the giver of life. This book gathers together specially commissioned essays from leading scholars which reflect on the religious, historical, and medical dimensions of blood. Written for a broad audience and illustrated with full colour plates, the essays encompass history, literature, art history, religious studies and medical humanities and explore some of the most challenging issues surrounding blood and ritual. The themes covered include: blood in Christian and Jewish culture, medieval antisemitism, Shakespeare's Merchant of Venice, Jewish ritual, blood and 'race', Jews and genes.