Texts produced by Christian writers in medieval England display a range of responses to adherents of other religions. In Old English literature, pre-Christian heroes like Beowulf can be admired for their courage and strength, while heathen Viking invaders are terrifying instruments of the wrath of God. Jewish prophets are appropriated by Christian writers at the same time as Jews are attacked for their ‘failure’ to recognize Christ. The expulsion of the Jews from England left a gap that came to be filled by a curious antagonist figure, nominally a ‘Jew’, but one who swears by ‘Mahound’. As proto-Protestant movements gained prominence in late-medieval England, this curiously hybrid religious antagonist came to stand for all who did not believe Catholic doctrine, particularly concerning the Eucharist. The Croxton Play of the Sacrament is a sensational piece of late-medieval drama involving severed limbs, exploding ovens, and cauldrons overflowing with blood. It is the only host miracle play to survive in English, although it has continental analogues which invite comparison: its theatrical Jews are precursors to Marlowe’s Barabbas and of course Shakespeare’s Shylock. But Marlowe’s Jew of Malta is equally concerned with the historical threat presented by the Ottoman invasions of Europe: for historical reasons, in early modern England Jews and Muslims then come to be presented as distinct figures, no longer simply ‘non-Catholics’, but still often objects of envy and fear. Weekly schedule: 20.09 – England, Alterity, and the Mediterranean 27.09 – Heathens and Heathenism in Old English Literature 04.10 – Jews in Old English texts 11.10 – The Medieval Jew: Chaucer’s Prioress’s Tale 18.10 – The Medieval Jew onstage: Croxton Play of the Sacrament 25.10 – Chaucer’s Pagans 01.11 – NO CLASSES – ALL SAINTS 08.11 – Swearing by the Prophet in the Medieval Mystery Plays 15.11 – NO CLASSES – DIES ACADEMICUS 22.11 – Scenes of Conversion 29.11 – Marlowe’s Mahomet: Tamburlaine 06.12 – Turning Turk: the plays of Thomas Goffe 13.12 – Othering Othello 20.12 – Jonathas’ sons: The Jew of Malta and The Merchant of Venice |