In 1144 came the first report in history of the blood libel against Jews; it came up in the case of William of Norwich (1144).[5] Julius finds that the English were endlessly imaginative in inventing anti-Semitic allegations. He says that England became the "principal promoter, and indeed in some sense the inventor of literary anti-Semitism."[6] Julius argues that blood libel is the key, because it incorporates the themes that Jews are malevolent, constantly conspiring against Christians, powerful, and merciless. Variations include stories about Jews poisoning wells, twisting minds, and buying and selling Christian souls and bodies.