1 / 13

Chaucer’s Orient: Medieval Orientalism?

Chaucer’s Orient: Medieval Orientalism?. The World According to The Wife of Bath?. God helpe me so, I was to hym as kynde As any wyf from Denmark unto Ynde (WBPro 823-24) Betwixt this and the mount of Kaukasous (WBT 1140) That is betwixe the est and eke the west (WBT 1140).

vanya
Download Presentation

Chaucer’s Orient: Medieval Orientalism?

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. Chaucer’s Orient:Medieval Orientalism?

  2. The World According to The Wife of Bath? God helpe me so, I was to hym as kynde As any wyf from Denmark unto Ynde (WBPro 823-24) Betwixt this and the mount of Kaukasous (WBT 1140) That is betwixe the est and eke the west (WBT 1140)

  3. “Auffrike, Europe, and asye,”(House of Fame 1339)Mappa Mundi

  4. The Lambeth Map(1350-70)Tripartite or T-O map ‘paradysus’ Jerusalem

  5. East meets West during the Middle Ages Three Primary Points of Contact Trade Pilgrimage The Crusades

  6. The Crusades • Third Crusade 1188: England involved • Crusades “ended” in 1272 • Individual crusades continued during Chaucer’s lifetime

  7. Crusading Romances Promoted the idea of Western/ Christian superiority over the Eastern/Muslim (pagan) world through either… • the conversion of Islamic knights • the destruction of Arabian armies One of these texts, the popular Sir Beues, was known to Chaucer as he apparently imitated the meter

  8. Chaucer Mapping the Crusades • “Alisaundre,” in Egypt • “Lyeys,” in Turkey Knight’s • “Palatye” in Anatolia campaigning • Surrye (Syria) - first lines of the Man of Law’s Tale • the Holy Land – origin of the relic mentioned in the Reeve’s Tale

  9. East-West Trade European Trade with the East • Normans in Italy & First Crusade • Successful until 15th century Chaucer’s Family & Community Chaucer’s Travels in Europe • France, Spain, Italy • Indirectly affected by Boccaccio’s perceptions

  10. Exchange of Knowledge & Chaucer Eastern Literature • 1001 Nights: frame structure (Tales, Decameron) • Squire’s Prologue &Tale Medicine Doctor of Physik: “Wel knew he the olde[…] Haly, Razis, and Aycen” (GP 31-2) Astronomy/Astrology • Treatise on Astrolabe • Franklin’s Tale

  11. Medieval Orientalism Travel Literature • Jehan de Mandeville • Marco Polo French Romances • Cléomadès Cycle (Adenès le Rois) Squire’s • Méliacin (Girard d’Amiens) Tale Boccaccio

  12. “Domesticating the Exotic”& Oriental Eroticism Squire’s Tale • Eastern setting & details • European characters & romance Legend of Good Women: Cleo & Dido • Boccaccio as sources for both • Sexually excessive characterization but… • Chaucer is less malicious, more ambiguous

  13. Works Cited/Consulted Chaucer, Geoffrey. The Riverside Chaucer. Ed. Larry D. Benson. 3rd ed. Boston: Houghton, 1987. Ganim, John M. Medievalism and Orientalism. Heffernan, Carol F. The Orient in Chaucerand Medieval Romance. Woodbridge, Suffolk: D.S. Brewer, 2003. Lynch, Kathryn L. Chaucer’s Cultural Geography. New York: Routledge, 2002. Metlitzki, Dorothee. The Matter of Araby in Medieval England. New Haven: Yale UP, 1977. Westrem, Scott D. “Geography and Travel.”A Companion to Chaucer. Ed. Peter Brown. Malden: Blackwell, 2007.

More Related