Description
In June 1458, two boats were cornered by pirates off the coast of Malta. Their captain – Robert Sturmy – proved no match for the notorious Genoese freebooter Giuliano Gattilusio and was summarily killed by him. The precious cargo for which Sturmy paid with his life contained stealable goods but also cultural significance. Sweet wines, spices, silks, jewels, and minerals – these alluring commodities gripped the medieval English imagination. E. K. Myerson utilises this dramatic incident of Mediterranean plunder to reveal the impact of Syrian imports on medieval art, language, and everyday life. They argue that the cultural category of 'Syriana' became a powerful tool, used to evoke both the sacred sites of the Holy Land and the global marketplaces of the Mamluk Empire. Myerson's innovative book draws on their research into medieval archives, conceptual art, and postcolonial and queer theory, showing how medieval 'Syriana' transformed English society in ways which continue to resonate today.
Table of Contents
Prologue: Robert Sturmy's last voyage; Introduction: De Sire, the origins of English desire; Part I. The Dispensary: 1. Sweet wine / The English taste for the blood of the Holy Land; 2. Spices / English digestion and indigestion; Part II. The Treasury: 3. Silks and velvets / the fabrics of English identity; 4. Jewels / English possession and the unpossessable; Part III. The Workshop: 5. Alum / The demand for sodomite salt in England; 6. Coda: the English market as the temple of Jerusalem; Conclusion: Christopher Columbus in Chios; Epilogue: the verdict of the trials of the Genoese.
