Medieval studies have a “white” perspective on the Middle Ages

DrThe Middle Ages, as Umberto Eco once described it, is very close to us because central characteristics of modern society such as capitalism, social inequality or nationalist thinking have their origins there. Eco Middle Ages is the Middle Ages in Europe, which has long been under attack. For years, scholars of all medieval studies have sought to liberate the “Middle Ages” from its geographical, intellectual, and historical submarines. As a result, issues such as racism, social exclusion and cultural exchange, for example with North Africa or India, are increasingly coming to the fore.

This goes hand in hand with a reassessment of the specialized academic tradition, which often traces its origins back to the nineteenth century and has often been shaped by nationalist ideas. In Anglo-American medieval research in particular, this debate has been intensely persistent for several years. The International Society of Anglo-Saxons therefore changed its name to “International Society for the Study of Early Medieval England” after heated debates and partly personal hostility from those who defended it, to avoid the imperial connotations associated with the term “Anglo-Saxon”. inherent to counteract.