Sheba's daughters : whitening and demonizing the Saracen woman in medieval French epic / Jacqueline de Weever.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

De Weever, Jacqueline, 1932-

Series:

Garland reference library of the humanities ; vol. 2077.

Garland reference library of the humanities ; vol. 2077

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

French poetry--To 1500--History and criticism.

French poetry.

Epic poetry, French--History and criticism.

Epic poetry, French.

Saracens in literature.

Women in literature.

Difference (Philosophy) in literature.

Physical Description:

xxxvii, 253 pages : illustrations ; 23 cm.

Place of Publication:

New York : Garland Pub., 1998.

Summary:

The Saracens were the "black devils" of medieval epics and romances, and medieval biblical exegesis and critical canons made it clear that the color black always had only the most negative connotations. However, the daughters of these "black devils" were usually described as beautiful white maidens who married the white Christian knight at the conclusion of these same epics and romances. This self-contradictory presentation is addressed in this ground-breaking and exhaustive study of the problem of poetic representation of a "black" heroine as white and the resulting chaos when language proves inadequate to support such representation. Exploring how the depiction of otherness or alterity during the Middle Ages became problematic in the aesthetics of the Romance epics written during the centuries of the Crusades, this book offers a vital contribution to the growing interest in the way foreign women are presented in the texts of the Latin West and will be of consuming interest to students in women's studies, cultural studies, and medieval literature.

The texts considered are written in the major European languages of the time and range from the Song of Songs through Geoffrey of Vinsauf's Poetria Nova to such epics and romances as Erec et Enide, Doon de Maience, Fierabras, La Prise d'Orange, Ars Versificatoria, The Sowdone Babylone, and Parzifal. Excerpts from the texts discussed are provided in the original language and English translation in an Appendix. A bibliography of primary and secondary sources leads readers to all material relevant to further study of the subject.

Contents:

Chapter 1 Whitening the Saracen: The Erasure of Alterity 3

Chapter 2 Demonizing the Saracen: The Inscription of the Monstrous Other 53

Chapter 3 Subversions of Treachery and the Beautiful Easterner 111

Chapter 4 Paradox and the Discourse of Protest 149

Appendix Portraits and Translations 197.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages [225]-243) and index.

ISBN:

0815330189

OCLC:

38249577