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  • "Are the ‘monstrous races’ races?" postmedieval 6:1 (Spring 2015): 36–51

    Author(s):
    Asa Simon Mittman (see profile)
    Date:
    2015
    Group(s):
    Medieval Art, Medieval Studies, Monsters and Monstrosity
    Subject(s):
    English language--Middle English, Monsters, Race relations--Study and teaching, Ethnology--Study and teaching, Critical theory, Race
    Item Type:
    Article
    Tag(s):
    monsters, wonders of the east, Postcolonial studies, Middle English, Critical race studies, Monstrosity, Critical race and ethnic studies
    Permanent URL:
    http://dx.doi.org/10.17613/gnqd-tg94
    Abstract:
    This essay considers the use of the modern term ‘monstrous races’ to describe the wondrous beings found in Herodotus, Pliny, The Wonders of the East, world maps and elsewhere. Considering the etymology and history of the word ‘race,’ a series of modern definitions are tested out on figures found in the images and texts of the British Library MS Harley 3954 Book of John Mandeville, the BL MS Tiberius B.v Marvels of the East, The King of Tars, Cursor Mundi and other medieval sources. The essay questions whether the term, often rooted in modern notions about the fixity of divisions of peoples, is helpful for describing medieval concepts. The essay further explores how the term ‘monstrous races’ reifies the culture of the medieval authors and illuminators – often in practice ‘white’ European Christians – as a ‘race,’ and implicitly, if unintentionally, elevates this group as normative.
    Metadata:
    xml
    Published as:
    Monograph     Show details
    Publisher:
    Macmillan Publishers
    Pub. Date:
    2015
    Status:
    Published
    Last Updated:
    3 years ago
    License:
    Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives

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    Item Name: pdf are_the_monstrous_races_races_postmedie.pdf
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