Religion and the Formation of Early Modern Identities in The Island Princess and The Jew of Malta: The Significance of Christianity in the Early Modern Period

Religion and the Formation of Early Modern Identities in The Island Princess and The Jew of Malta: The Significance of Christianity in the Early Modern Period
Author: Milena Bubenechik
Publisher: diplom.de
Total Pages: 51
Release: 2015-02-01
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 3863415051

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This study depicts the significance of Christian and non-Christian relations in the formation of early modern identities in John Fletcher’s The Island Princess and Christopher Marlowe’s The Jew of Malta. Christian and non-Christian relations are explicitly demonstrated in the Elizabethan and Jacobean plays due to their incorporated issue of religion. The plays are set in the early modern period, during which many changes occur. The significance of Christian and non-Christian relations increase as the age of colonisation advances, and more territorial expansion and long-distance trade are undertaken. The encounter with different cultures and faiths awakes European consciousness to the existence of great non-Christian societies. This knowledge in turn evokes apprehension of the existing attitudes and beliefs in Christian Europe. Notions of race and religion begin to shift. Non-European peoples commence to be perceived as rivals to Christianity. Marlowe’s and Fletcher’s plays depict the anxieties towards the Other, where religion becomes the central issue of distinction. Marlowe’s tragedy The Jew of Malta deals with Judaism and Catholicism and their mutual hostility. Fletcher’s tragi-comedy The Island Princess deals with the pagan princess’s conversion to Christianity. This study explores various aspects influenced and sustained by Christianity. Christian beliefs form a foundation for early modern European society. The emerging identities are indispensably intertwined with Christianity and Christian attitudes of that time. Notions of race and gender cannot be easily defined without religion. This study explores the changes in the development of racial thinking and its religious underpinning. Christianity inevitably influences different spheres of social life and conduct because of its popularity during this time period. Religion empowers European nations to endorse their values in foreign territories and advocates the spread of Christianity in the world. The Island Princess, for example, explores underlying Christian values, which set the heroine’s conversion in the centre of the play. The Jew of Malta, on the other hand, explores the notion that Christians are not flawless. Not only does it reveal the condemned character traits of the Jews, but it also ridicules the Christians. The study investigates the emergence of Christians’ repulsive attitudes towards the Jews, the relationship to the Turks, and it explores Marlowe’s criticism of the [...]

The Making of Christian Malta

The Making of Christian Malta
Author: Anthony Luttrell
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 352
Release: 2017-09-29
Genre: History
ISBN: 1351785435

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This title was first published in 2002: Dr Luttrell's work has helped change our understanding of the history of the small islands of Malta and Gozo, providing a more coherent story of the ways in which, during the Middle Ages, a small isolated Muslim community was converted into a more prosperous outpost of Roman Christianity with a unique cultural mixture of Arabic speech and European institutions. This selection of studies places the process within the context of developments in the medieval Mediterranean world and combines archaeological and architectural investigations with work in Maltese, Sicilian and other archives, with a particular focus on ecclesiastical matters; a new introduction brings the subject up to date. This work is of relevance to scholars of Islam and Christianity, while providing insights into the nature of an unusual island community whose significance far exceeds its size.

From Lordship to Stewardship

From Lordship to Stewardship
Author: Mario Vasallo
Publisher: Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG
Total Pages: 272
Release: 2019-10-08
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 3110803682

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The series Religion and Society (RS) contributes to the exploration of religions as social systems - both in Western and non-Western societies; in particular, it examines religions in their differentiation from, and intersection with, other cultural systems, such as art, economy, law and politics. Due attention is given to paradigmatic case or comparative studies that exhibit a clear theoretical orientation with the empirical and historical data of religion and such aspects of religion as ritual, the religious imagination, constructions of tradition, iconography, or media. In addition, the formation of religious communities, their construction of identity, and their relation to society and the wider public are key issues of this series.

Converted Daughters and Betrayed Fathers

Converted Daughters and Betrayed Fathers
Author: Milana Badalov
Publisher:
Total Pages:
Release: 2017
Genre:
ISBN:

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In this thesis I compare and contrast a common motif in early modern literature: the conversion to Christianity of the young and beautiful daughter of a rich patriarch from a foreign faith and ethnicity. I examine the role and function of this motif in three major early modern texts: the real and/or feigned conversion to Christianity of the Jewess Abigail and her father, Barabas, in Christopher Marlowe's The Jew of Malta (1589-90); the conversion to Christianity of the Jewess Jessica and her father Shylock, in William Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice (1595-6); and, finally the conversion to Christianity of Zoraida, the Muslim daughter of Agi Morato, in Miguel de Cervantes's "Tale of the Captive Captain" in the first part of Don Quixote de la Mancha (1605). By concentrating on the transition of a young and desirable daughter from the hands of her non-Christian father to those of her Christian lover or husband, all these works seem to celebrate the victory of Christianity over religions and cultures that during the early modern period were considered adverse and hostile to it. At first sight they all seem to be part of a xenophobic, bigoted, racist and anti-Semitic ideology characteristic of early modern Europe. In anti-Semitism I mean the racial and cultural prejudice against both Jews and Muslims, two minorities that were often lumped together as doubly-dangerous to Christianity. By comparing and contrasting the use of this common motif in each of the works I conclude, however, that, far from blindly endorsing contemporary religious and racial prejudices and stereotypes, these works, in a variety of different ways and to different degrees, also complicate, undermine and call into questions contemporary bigotry and xenophobia. -- abstract.

Mythologies of the Prophet Muhammad in Early Modern English Culture

Mythologies of the Prophet Muhammad in Early Modern English Culture
Author: Matthew Dimmock
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 309
Release: 2013-05-31
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 1107032911

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This book explores how the figure of the Prophet Muhammad was misrepresented in English and wider Christian culture between 1480 and 1735. By tracing the ways in which 'Mahomet' was written and rewritten, contested and celebrated, this study explores notions of identity and religion, and the resonances of this history today.

Magic in Malta: Sellem bin al-Sheikh Mansur and the Roman Inquisition, 1605

Magic in Malta: Sellem bin al-Sheikh Mansur and the Roman Inquisition, 1605
Author: Dionysius A. Agius
Publisher: BRILL
Total Pages: 611
Release: 2022-06-27
Genre: History
ISBN: 900449894X

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In this volume, a microhistorical approach is employed to provide a transcription, translation, and case-study of the proceedings (written in Latin, Italian and Arabic) of the Roman Inquisition on Malta’s 1605 trial of the ‘Moorish’ slave Sellem Bin al-Sheikh Mansur, who was accused and found guilty of practising magic and teaching it to the local Christians. Through both a detailed commentary and individual case-studies, it assesses what these proceedings reflect about religion, society, and politics both on Malta and more widely across the Mediterranean in the early 17th century. In so doing, this inter- and multi-disciplinary project speaks to a wide range of subjects, including magic, Christian-Muslim relations, slavery, Maltese social history, Mediterranean history, and the Roman Inquisition. It will be of interest to both students and researchers who study any of these subjects, and will help demonstrate the richness and potential of the documents in the Maltese archives. With contributions by: Joan Abela, Dionisius A. Agius, Paul Auchterlonie, Jonathan Barry, Charles Burnett, Frans Ciappara, Pierre Lory, Alex Malett, Ian Netton, Catherine R. Rider, Liana Saif

Hospitaller Malta, 1530-1798

Hospitaller Malta, 1530-1798
Author: Victor Mallia-Milanes
Publisher: Mireva
Total Pages: 789
Release: 1993
Genre: Malta
ISBN: 9781870579254

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From Jesus to Muhammad

From Jesus to Muhammad
Author: Elena Trencevska
Publisher: Independently Published
Total Pages: 84
Release: 2019
Genre:
ISBN: 9781792745881

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The book which is presented to the reader is written to answer many important questions, both classical and modern. It is, not surprisingly, that many previous books on comparison between the Islam and Christianity were written from the Christian position; even in scholarly research Islam has been seen through the lens of Christian religion and in the pattern of Christian belief. That is why in 60-ss of previous century a notable Harvard scholar, Wilfred Cantwell Smith wrote his "The Meaning and End of Religion" to question the validity of the concept of religion; he rightly noticed, that, for example, Islam describes it in terms of deen which essentially has a wider meaning than Latin religare/religere. Deen usually cover political, social and economical code for the happiness of the mankind, while the "religion" is merely a kind of internal belief. In contrast to the aforementioned works, the book by Elena Trencevska - Cekovic 'From Jesus to "Mohammed" presents another point of view. It is written not to "refute" some other religions, but, first of all, to present the truth of early religious history. At the beginning of the book, the authors shows a background of early Christianity and tries to reconstruct the true teaching of Isa (Jesus). Nowadays, due to apocrypha and availability of other early writings, one may see many other stories of Christianity, which are so far from ,,canonical". Especially, these stories are not new; already in the 2th century C.E. (Years before the Nicaea Council) many religious groups pretended to be the real followers of Jesus. The author shows this story, using the variety of sources in order to argue how many political reasons influenced the development of Christianity. Many parts of the book are dedicated to the personality of Isa and development of his image in both Christianity and Islam. Today, when to compare the Quranic vision of Isa to the early Christian sources, we may see many similar stories (for example, the Quranic narration about birds from the clue). This shows that Isa (for example, his early life) is a great mystery of history; but since we have a very small account about this in the Quran no one has a real proof to speculate about this. And this is why this book calls us not to start some polemics, but to consider the sacred text which gives the most authoritative stories to the believers. For Muslims, all the prophets - those who mentioned in the Old Testament, New Testament and the Qur'an and those which are not known to us by their names - called to obedience of one God. That is why Muslims in every period of Islamic history were interested in other religion - not merely to "refute" them, but to show, that the root of religion is the monotheism, and that polytheism is something make-believe only.

Islam and the Trajectory of Globalization

Islam and the Trajectory of Globalization
Author: Louay M. Safi
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 369
Release: 2021-10-18
Genre: History
ISBN: 1000483541

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The book examines the growing tension between social movements that embrace egalitarian and inclusivist views of national and global politics, most notably classical liberalism, and those that advance social hierarchy and national exclusivism, such as neoliberalism, neoconservatism, and national populism. In exploring issues relating to tensions and conflicts around globalization, the book identifies historical patterns of convergence and divergence rooted in the monotheistic traditions, beginning with the ancient Israelites that dominated the Near East during the Axial age, through Islamic civilization, and finally by considering the idealism-realism tensions in modern times. One thing remained constant throughout the various historical stages that preceded our current moment of global convergence: a recurring tension between transcendental idealism and various forms of realism. Transcendental idealism, which prioritize egalitarian and universal values, pushed periodically against the forces of realism that privilege established law and power structure. Equipped with the idealism-realism framework, the book examines the consequences of European realism that justified the imperialistic venture into Africa, the Middle East, and Latin America in the name of liberation and liberalization. The ill-conceived strategy has, ironically, engendered the very dysfunctional societies that produce the waves of immigrants in constant motion from the South to the North, simultaneously as it fostered the social hierarchy that transfer external tensions into identity politics within the countries of the North. The book focuses particularly on the role played historically by Islamic rationalism in translating the monotheistic egalitarian outlook into the institutions of religious pluralism, legislative and legal autonomy, and scientific enterprise at the foundation of modern society. It concludes by shedding light on the significance of the Muslim presence in Western cultures as humanity draws slowly but consistently towards what we may come to recognize as the Global Age. The Open Access version of this book, available at http://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/e/9781003203360, has been made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives 4.0 license.