Considerations about Liber Contemplationis in Deum
Matilde CONDE SALAZAR, Carmen Teresa PABÓN DE ACUÑA
Original title: Consideraciones en torno al Liber Contemplationis in Deum
Published in Ramon Llull. Seventh centenary
Keywords: Faith, God, Hope, Infidels, Liber Contemplationis in Deum, Mercy, Parallel schemes, Repentance.
The aim of this brief study is to offer some characteristics that have caught our attention in the very broad “Liber contemplationis in Deum”. These aspects are, from a formal point of view, the use of schemes, generally in the form of very carefully designed parallel patterns throughout the Liber; the overwhelming passion that is reflected in the wealth and variety of adjectives that invoke God; and above all, and underlying all the text, the continuous manifestation of Llull’s deep regret and repentance as a sinner, the need to share his faith with infidels and the song of hope and trust in the mercy and pity of God, which marks the culminating points of each chapter.
The Construction of Space(s) and Identity(s) in Medieval Literature: Geoffrey Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales as a Case Study
Mourad EL FAHLI
Published in Music in Middle Ages and Early Modernity
Keywords: Christendom, Cultural Interchange, Europe, Heathendom, Identity, Infidels, Representation.
This paper examines the engagement of medieval literature in the construction of identities, particularly those of Europe and Muslims. While the former is represented as a unified Christian space, the latter is depicted as an external threat that endangers God’s plan and kingdom. Hence, medieval literature distinguished two opposing spatiality’s namely Christendom and Heathendom. Such spatial configuration deliberately overlooked internal schisms and antagonisms that characterized medieval Europe and instead opted for an ideal utopian vision, which has its origin in crusading discourses that emphasized unity in the face of “infidels.” To examine these issues, the paper takes as an example Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales, which is considered by many as one of the most influential medieval literary works. Medieval ideological othering has-ad still- shaped understandings and configurations of the various contacts between West and East and between Islam, Christianity and Judaism. The paper further enriches the discussion by a focus on cross-cultural interchange that informs Chaucer’s oeuvre, particularly the influence of Medieval Arabic scientific studies on his conception of lovesickness. Such interchange paradoxically problematizes the western condemnatory attitude towards Islam.
