Theorizing Medieval Race: Saracen Representations in Old French Literature

Victoria Turner

Theorizing Medieval Race
Saracen Representations in Old French Literature

Victoria Turner

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Research Monographs in French Studies 55

Legenda

23 September 2019 • 228pp

ISBN: 978-1-781886-67-0 (hardback) • RRP £80, $110, €95

ISBN: 978-1-781886-68-7 (paperback, 13 December 2021) • RRP £10.99, $14.99, €13.49

ISBN: 978-1-781886-69-4 (JSTOR ebook)

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In today’s discussions of religious difference and intolerance, the Middle Ages are often presented as a time of fixed racial, religious, and cultural identities, especially as regards the East and Islam. Representations of Saracens, however, show how literary traditions invite a more nuanced consideration of the complex and often surprising ways in which such non-Christian figures might be depicted.

In a wide-ranging study of Old French texts from c.1150-1350, Victoria Turner explores how racial identity is not only paradoxical but even fluid in the medieval Christian literary imagination, where Arthurian heroes may have Saracen ancestors and where a Saracen may set an example of good Christian behaviour. Drawing on modern critical theory, Turner adopts a series of approaches to concepts of race to counter suggestions that these medieval identities were necessarily adversarial, consistent or absolute.

Victoria Turner is Lecturer in French at the University of St Andrews.

Reviews:

‘She has created new paradigms for thinking about race and representation in the Middle Ages that should become part of the critical conversation. While Turner’s book focuses exclusively on French material, it is applicable to the European Middle Ages more widely and is particularly worthwhile because 1) she elaborates a comprehensive and sophisticated critical framework for her interrogation of medieval racial representation, and 2) her textual interpretations are original and imaginative, not simply repetitions of previous scholarly consensus.’ — Margaret Aziza Pappano, Speculum 98.1, January 2023, 339 (full text online)

Contents:

ix-x	Acknowledgements V.T. doi:10.2307/j.ctv16km0sv.3	Cite
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xi-xi	Abbreviations Victoria Turner doi:10.2307/j.ctv16km0sv.4	Cite
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xii-xii	Note On Translations Victoria Turner doi:10.2307/j.ctv16km0sv.5	Cite
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xiii-xiv	List of Illustrations Victoria Turner doi:10.2307/j.ctv16km0sv.6	Cite
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1-26	Introduction Victoria Turner doi:10.2307/j.ctv16km0sv.7	Cite
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27-52	Chapter 1 Race and Gender: Cross-Dressing and Performative Identity in the Nanteuil Cycle Victoria Turner doi:10.2307/j.ctv16km0sv.8	Cite
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53-83	Chapter 2 Race and Time: Genealogy and Logical Race in the Estoire Del Saint Graal Victoria Turner doi:10.2307/j.ctv16km0sv.9	Cite
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84-134	Chapter 3 Race and Religion: Spectrality and Conversion in Gautier De Coinci’s Miracles De Nostre Dame Victoria Turner doi:10.2307/j.ctv16km0sv.10	Cite
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135-166	Chapter 4 Race and Community: Knowledge, Faith, and the Prophet in the Roman De Mahomet Victoria Turner doi:10.2307/j.ctv16km0sv.11	Cite
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167-192	Conclusion Indeterminacy Made Readable: Rethinking the Body and Medieval Race Victoria Turner doi:10.2307/j.ctv16km0sv.12	Cite
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193-205	Bibliography Victoria Turner doi:10.2307/j.ctv16km0sv.13	Cite
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206-214	Index Victoria Turner doi:10.2307/j.ctv16km0sv.14	Cite
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Bibliography entry:

Turner, Victoria, Theorizing Medieval Race: Saracen Representations in Old French Literature, Research Monographs in French Studies, 55 (Legenda, 2019)

First footnote reference: ³⁵ Victoria Turner, Theorizing Medieval Race: Saracen Representations in Old French Literature, Research Monographs in French Studies, 55 (Legenda, 2019), p. 21.

Subsequent footnote reference: ³⁷ Turner, p. 47.

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Cite this volume in MHRA author-date style

Bibliography entry:

Turner, Victoria. 2019. Theorizing Medieval Race: Saracen Representations in Old French Literature, Research Monographs in French Studies, 55 (Legenda)

Example citation: ‘A quotation occurring on page 21 of this work’ (Turner 2019: 21).

Example footnote reference: ³⁵ Turner 2019: 21.

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Theorizing Medieval RaceSaracen Representations in Old French Literature

Victoria Turner

Theorizing Medieval Race
Saracen Representations in Old French Literature