Folklore Theses and Dissertations

Permanent URI for this collection

Now showing 1 - 1 of 1

Open Access
Storytelling Through Spices: The Other and The East in Late Medieval Narratives
(University of Oregon, 2021-11-23) Ruzak, Madeline; Blandy, Doug
Previous analyses of late medieval writing produced in Western Europe and its relationship to the East have been largely occupied by studies concerning the monstrous. Said studies dealt with how the West depicted the people of the East as “Other” and grotesque due to religious and cultural prejudice. This thesis instead looks at the othering and exoticization of the East through the use of spices as narrative symbols. By examining English-language texts written in Europe between 1250 and 1500C.E., this thesis determines the effect of spices in a narrative context through two lenses: danger and wealth. In both instances, the economic and cultural environment of Europe—i.e., the demand for exotic spices and their view of the East as Other—contributed to stories of dangerous beasts and valuable spices. These stories exemplified the reciprocal relationship of collective cultural tradition and storytelling as they influenced both each other and the everyday lives of medieval Europeans.