«Finis corporis initium animae». La qualità morale del nemico nella rappresentazione del corpo. Un excursus tra patristica, epica crociata e odeporica di pellegrinaggio

Abstract

This essay explores the representation of the enemy, particularly the Muslim enemy, in Crusader epic literature and pilgrimage travelogues. Pilgrimage diaries are recognized as a significant tradition where narrative and memory intertwine, demonstrating their value in historical reconstruction. Starting with an onomastic analysis in epic literature, the study examines the physical portrayal of the Muslim enemy as monstrous giants. It then investigates the development of the enemy concept in patristic literature, focusing on the shift from considering Muhammad's heresy to Muslim paganism. The analysis also covers pilgrimage diaries, identifying an original approach in Tuscan-Florentine texts that transcends theological considerations and describes otherness from an ethical and proto-ethnological perspective reflective of bourgeois authors.