Department of Germanic Languages & Literatures University of Toronto
October 10th, 2024
4-6pm
Odette Hall 323
‘Al was hi sward, wat scaetde dat?’
‘He was black – so what?’
Moriaen v.771
Moriaen, the hero of the 14th century Dutch romance at the centre of Sophie Jordan’s research, embodies a combination of contradictory interpretations of dark skin. A Christian hailing from the land of the Moors, he is accused several times of being a demon whilst also being a refined member of King Arthur’s court. He is taller and stronger than other knights, initially overly aggressive, a talented strategist, and a sensitive man. How do these seemingly disparate features interact with each other, and how might they resonate with broader medieval views on blackness?
The aim of Sophie Jordan’s dissertation project is to gain a precise understanding of the factors which shape depictions of black knights in 13th and 14th-century German and Dutch Arthurian romance. These characters vary greatly both in terms of their physical and moral portrayals, as attested by the famous example of Feirefiz in Wolfram von Eschenbach’s Parzival (pictured). Thus, even within the codified framework of Arthurian romance, blackness is by no means a stable and consistent category. Despite the significant recent advancements in the study of medieval race, it remains difficult to determine which connotations and symbolism are at play in literary portrayals of black characters. By bringing together rarely studied Middle Dutch material with other better-known depictions of black Arthurian knights, Jordan intends to pinpoint the articulations and places of friction between blackness and other aspects of characterisation.
Sophie Jordan is a PhD candidate in the Department of Germanic Languages & Literatures at the University of Toronto.
If you have any accommodation needs, please e-mail german.gradassistant@utoronto.ca, and we will do our best to assist you.