The Other, Identity, and Memory in Early Medi, Berto..

Name: The Other, Identity, and Memory in Early Medi, Berto..
Brand: Taylor & Francis

Taylor & Francis

The political fragmentation of Italy\u2014created by Charlemagne\u2019s conquest of a part of the Lombard Kingdom in 774 and the weakening of the Byzantine Empire in the eighth and ninth centuries\u2014, the conquest of Sicily by the Muslims in the ninth century, and the Norman \u2018conquest\u2019 of southern Italy in the second half of the eleventh century favored the creation of areas inhabited by persons with different ethnic, religious, and cultural background. Moreover, this period witnessed the increase in production of historical writing in different parts of Italy. Taking advantage of these features, this volume presents some case studies about the manner in which \u2018others\u2019 were perceived, what was known about them, the role of identity, and the use of the past in early medieval Italy (ninth\u2013eleventh centuries) focusing in particular on how early medieval Italian authors portrayed that period and were, sometimes, influenced by their own \u2018present\u2019 in t.