The Construction of Muslim Otherness in the Burgundian Netherlands. An Attempt of Analysis based on Travel Stories and Novels

Sghaïer, Nissaf [USL-B]

In this essay, we propose to study the representation of the Muslim world within travel stories and novels conserved in the libraries of the Burgundian Netherlands. In the 15th century, the dukes of Burgundy who ruled the Netherlands, and in particular Philip the Good, had an undisguised interest in the “Crusade against the Turk”, as evidenced by the presence of a section entitled “Oversea (in French Outremer, which designs the Middle East) Medicine, Astrology” in the ducal library. This contribution aims to highlight the fragmented representation of the Muslim in Burgundian discourse: the epic figure of the Sarrasin, built in the 13th century, mostly present in novels, is next to the figure of the Turk, usually evoked in travel stories. These two representations bear witness to the political changeover that took place in the Mediterranean East in the 15th century with the expansion of the Ottoman dynasty. In addition, we will question the place given to religion, and the polemical discourse surrounding it, in the representations of the Muslim world in the selected sources from the Burgundies libraries. Were these representations only focusing on religious otherness or were other dimensions also considered such as the language, the Muslim History, the cultural habits, the economic activities and so on? In a more general way, this contribution will underline the presence of a “proto-orientalism” in the Burgundian Netherlands which is manifested by the presence of discourses reflecting a knowledge of the Muslim world tinged with sometimes ancient mental constructions. These speeches announce the craze for the Turqueries in the early modern period. Moreover, in regards to some discourses using the medieval concept of ‘‘crusade’’ on one hand and to the focus on contemporary discourses and stereotypes about Muslims and muslimness on the other, an historical perspective beginning at the Middle Age seems relevant.