The Righteous Heathen in Medieval England

Sponsoring Organization(s)

Oregon Medieval English Literature Society (OMELS)

Organizer Name

William Driscoll

Organizer Affiliation

Univ. of Oregon

Presider Name

Stephen Patrick McCormick

Presider Affiliation

Univ. of South Carolina-Columbia

Paper Title 1

Fabricating Foes: The Construction of a Saracen "Other" in Richard Coeur de Lion

Presenter 1 Name

Elyse Chantal Levesque

Presenter 1 Affiliation

Fordham Univ.

Paper Title 2

No One's Perfect: Hector as Righteous Heathen in Chaucer’s Troilus and Criseyde

Presenter 2 Name

Emily McKeage

Presenter 2 Affiliation

Harvard Univ.

Paper Title 3

"Baw for Bokes": Langland’s Trajan and Authority in Piers Plowman

Presenter 3 Name

William Driscoll

Start Date

12-5-2013 10:30 AM

Session Location

Valley II 202

Description

From Chaucer's Theseus to the popular heathen knight Ferumbras, the righteous heathen captured the imagination of audiences in medieval England. This character type provided a critical space for such broad projects as: defining nationality, developing cultural and historical relationships with the Roman Empire and thinking through complex eschatological problems. This panel, sponsored by Oregon Medieval Literature Society (OMELS) will explore the development and fictional uses of the righteous heathen in English literature.

William D. Driscoll