The topic of imprisonment in medieval literature. With an emphasis on Johann Schiltberger’s account about his 30-year enslavement in the East
Name:
Schiltberger.slave.pdf
Size:
201.2Kb
Format:
PDF
Description:
Final Accepted Manuscript
Author
Classen, AlbrechtAffiliation
Univ Arizona, Dept German StudiesIssue Date
2020-04-21
Metadata
Show full item recordPublisher
ROUTLEDGE JOURNALS, TAYLOR & FRANCIS LTDCitation
Albrecht Classen (2020) The topic of imprisonment in medieval literature. With an emphasis on Johann Schiltberger’s account about his 30-year enslavement in the East, Studia Neophilologica, DOI: 10.1080/00393274.2020.1755362Journal
STUDIA NEOPHILOLOGICARights
© 2020 Society for Studia Neophilologica.Collection Information
This item from the UA Faculty Publications collection is made available by the University of Arizona with support from the University of Arizona Libraries. If you have questions, please contact us at repository@u.library.arizona.edu.Abstract
One of the dramatic, if not traumatic, experiences in life has always been enslavement and imprisonment, that is, the loss of personal freedom, and this for many different reasons. Curiously, medieval literature does not seem to address this topic extensively, at least at first sight, and research has paid rather little attention to this issue. A close analysis, however, demonstrates quickly that the theme of imprisonment was of significant concern throughout the Middle Ages, probably because the loss of individual freedom happened more often than not and could also affect members of the nobility. There were many cases of imprisonment as a result of criminal activities, sometimes also committed by knights or noble ladies. Worst, however, was the experience of those who were taken as captives after a battle and then were enslaved. This article provides a first framework for the study of this large topic in pre-modern literature and so-called ego-documents and then focuses on a most dramatic example, the report by the long-term slave Johannes Schiltberger.Note
18 month embargo; published online: 21 April 2020ISSN
0039-3274EISSN
1651-2308Version
Final accepted manuscriptae974a485f413a2113503eed53cd6c53
10.1080/00393274.2020.1755362