The North Meets the South in the Mediterranean

Pre-Modern Literary, Political, and Military Exchanges Across Medieval Europe as Reflected in Poetic and Narrative Accounts

Abstract

Contrary to traditional perceptions, in the late Middle Ages numerous contacts developed between countries north of the Alps, especially the Holy Roman Empire, and the Mediterranean. Economic and political historians have already confirmed the true extent of exchanges; and art historians have added valuable insights as to the many links of communication. To deepen our understanding of this phenomenon, the present paper addresses the evidence of literary history. Fictional or factual narratives do not necessarily provide hard facts but shed relevant light on a broad concept about the foreign worlds (mentality) whereto especially knights and pilgrims were traveling. We can identify numerous poets who talked explicitly about their visits to the Mediterranean or who have their protagonists travel widely both all over Europe and the neighboring countries. With this evidence in hand, we can proceed to reevaluate late medieval culture as having been much more international if not even global than previously assumed. As much as the Alps appeared to be a significant geographical barrier, the Mediterranean hinterlands were certainly an intimate part of this significant contact zone where East and West met.