Imaging Genoa in Late Medieval England

Abstract

Medieval European writers often created images of the Middle East, Asia, and Africa that disclose Western cultural assumptions rather than objective truths about the exotic “Other.” The same has been said, though less frequently, about representations of one Western European locale by another. In exploring the widespread interest in Genoa revealed in a variety of late medieval English writings, the present essay shows that the truth about this city and its merchants, mercenaries, and pirates often mattered less than the fear and distrust that pervade their depiction. Reactions varied, but generally while fourteenth-century English writing warns of a Genoese menace to England from afar, Lancastrian-era compositions identify a potential Genoese threat within England itself. Despite its frequent appearance, though, this danger always vanishes and seems rather to heighten English national self-awareness than to jeopardize English national security.