New book - Theorizing medieval race: Saracen representations in Old French literature

Vicky Turner’s book Theorizing medieval race: Saracen representations in Old French literature has just been published by Legenda. The book shows how literary traditions invite a more nuanced consideration of the complex and often surprising ways in which non-Christian figures such as those termed ‘Saracen’ might be depicted in Old French texts from c.1150-1350. Drawing on modern critical theory, it adopts a series of approaches to concepts of race to counter suggestions that medieval identities were necessarily adversarial, consistent or absolute.