Storytelling Through Spices: The Other and The East in Late Medieval Narratives

dc.contributor.advisorBlandy, Doug
dc.contributor.authorRuzak, Madeline
dc.date.accessioned2021-11-23T15:12:38Z
dc.date.available2021-11-23T15:12:38Z
dc.date.issued2021-11-23
dc.description.abstractPrevious 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.en_US
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/1794/26880
dc.language.isoen_US
dc.publisherUniversity of Oregon
dc.rightsAll Rights Reserved.
dc.titleStorytelling Through Spices: The Other and The East in Late Medieval Narratives
dc.typeElectronic Thesis or Dissertation
thesis.degree.disciplineFolklore Program
thesis.degree.grantorUniversity of Oregon
thesis.degree.levelmasters
thesis.degree.nameM.S.

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