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Purity Lost

Transgressing Boundaries in the Eastern Mediterranean, 1000–1400

Steven A. Epstein

Publication Date

Purity Lost investigates the porous nature of social, political, and religious boundaries prevalent in the eastern Mediterranean—from the Black Sea to Egypt—during the Middle Ages. In this intriguing study, Steven A. Epstein finds that people consistently defied, overlooked, or transcended restrictions designed to preserve racial and cultural purity in order to establish relationships with those different from themselves.

These mixed relationships—among people who did not share language, creed, or skin color—undermined the pervasive claims of purity. They forced people to reflect on their own...

Purity Lost investigates the porous nature of social, political, and religious boundaries prevalent in the eastern Mediterranean—from the Black Sea to Egypt—during the Middle Ages. In this intriguing study, Steven A. Epstein finds that people consistently defied, overlooked, or transcended restrictions designed to preserve racial and cultural purity in order to establish relationships with those different from themselves.

These mixed relationships—among people who did not share language, creed, or skin color—undermined the pervasive claims of purity. They forced people to reflect on their own identities and the bonds—whether social, political, religious, or racial—that defined their lives. Drawing on examples from daily life and interstate politics, Epstein takes a close look at the renegades and rule-breakers of this era. He explores race, master/slave relationships, diplomatic relations between Christian Italians and Muslim Turks, religious conversions from Christian to Muslim and vice versa, and religious boundaries of the human and the angelic.

Epstein reveals the modern view of cultural, ethnic, and religious purity in the early modern Mediterranean as a mirage, and he offers new insights into how present-day conceptions about creed, color, ethnicity, and language originated.

Reviews

Reviews

The book is a mine of interesting information and stimulating insights... It leaves the reader thirsting for more.

Epstein has deftly brought together social, political, economic, and cultural history.

The subject of this study is timely.

Purity Lost is a stimulating read with much interesting material.

A well-researched, engaging work populated by numerous fascinating examples on a broad range of topics and regions of the medieval Mediterranean. His focus is not on the great religious or political entities and events which have generally attracted the attention of scholars, but rather on the interstices, the margins and boundaries of the Mediterranean.

About

Book Details

Publication Date
Status
Available
Trim Size
6
x
9
Pages
264
ISBN
9780801892127
Illustration Description
3 halftones, 1 line drawing
Table of Contents

Preface
Introduction
1. The Perception of Difference
2. Mixed Relationships in the Archipelago
3. Treaties and Diplomacy
4. Renegades and Opportunities
5. Human Angelic Faces
Conclusion
Notes
Selected

Preface
Introduction
1. The Perception of Difference
2. Mixed Relationships in the Archipelago
3. Treaties and Diplomacy
4. Renegades and Opportunities
5. Human Angelic Faces
Conclusion
Notes
Selected Bibliography
Index

Author Bio
Steven A. Epstein
Featured Contributor

Steven A. Epstein, Ph.D.

Steven A. Epstein is the Ahmanson-Murphy Distinguished Professor of Medieval History at the University of Kansas.