Preuve et matérialité du souvenir d’ailleurs. Les objets dans les récits de voyages et pèlerinages hispaniques de la fin du Moyen Âge
When it comes to curiosity for foreign lands, the process of acquiring objects goes beyond mere material greed, because objects take on meaning; they become privileged places of interaction between the subject, the world and the other. In travellers’ narratives from late Medieval Spain, the insertio...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Institut du Monde Anglophone
2019-12-01
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| Series: | Etudes Epistémè |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://journals.openedition.org/episteme/5821 |
| _version_ | 1818325669143117824 |
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| author | Julia Roumier |
| author_facet | Julia Roumier |
| author_sort | Julia Roumier |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | When it comes to curiosity for foreign lands, the process of acquiring objects goes beyond mere material greed, because objects take on meaning; they become privileged places of interaction between the subject, the world and the other. In travellers’ narratives from late Medieval Spain, the insertion of realistic details was given pride of place, thus evincing the travellers’, and by proxy, the readers’s encounter with otherness. Objects of worship or secular relics of exoticism allowed for continuity between the past travel and the subsequent time of writing. Objects, whether souvenirs, fragments of landscapes or evidence of truth, were bought, stolen, offered, partaking in the flux of the elsewhere while arousing fascination. Transmitting plants or stones together with narratives testified to the physical presence of the travellers and their thoughts for the ones they left behind. As for ambassadors, the luxury items they took with them not only served as necessary tools to carry out their missions and create links between monarchs, but also defined their identities. Likewise, the objects which were being offered helped register the relationship between host and traveller while the sheer worth of the artefacts would be indicative of the esteem in which travellers were held. The objects brought back from a distant land because of their rarity were no longer perceived as realia but were turned into wonders, thus inaugurating the modern cabinet of curiosities. Indeed, they were intended to embody the strangeness of elsewhere and match the current expectations regarding the exotic in the late Middle Ages. The narratives studied below demonstrate a great modernity both in the aesthetic value attributed to objects and in the humanist taste for the individual accumulation of meaningful objects. Whether secular or religious relics, tools for mercantile or intimate trade, objects were a way to take possession of the world. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-13T11:48:09Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-162fc7897eb14321a60a453b72223986 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1634-0450 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-13T11:48:09Z |
| publishDate | 2019-12-01 |
| publisher | Institut du Monde Anglophone |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Etudes Epistémè |
| spelling | doaj.art-162fc7897eb14321a60a453b722239862022-12-21T23:47:26ZengInstitut du Monde AnglophoneEtudes Epistémè1634-04502019-12-013610.4000/episteme.5821Preuve et matérialité du souvenir d’ailleurs. Les objets dans les récits de voyages et pèlerinages hispaniques de la fin du Moyen ÂgeJulia RoumierWhen it comes to curiosity for foreign lands, the process of acquiring objects goes beyond mere material greed, because objects take on meaning; they become privileged places of interaction between the subject, the world and the other. In travellers’ narratives from late Medieval Spain, the insertion of realistic details was given pride of place, thus evincing the travellers’, and by proxy, the readers’s encounter with otherness. Objects of worship or secular relics of exoticism allowed for continuity between the past travel and the subsequent time of writing. Objects, whether souvenirs, fragments of landscapes or evidence of truth, were bought, stolen, offered, partaking in the flux of the elsewhere while arousing fascination. Transmitting plants or stones together with narratives testified to the physical presence of the travellers and their thoughts for the ones they left behind. As for ambassadors, the luxury items they took with them not only served as necessary tools to carry out their missions and create links between monarchs, but also defined their identities. Likewise, the objects which were being offered helped register the relationship between host and traveller while the sheer worth of the artefacts would be indicative of the esteem in which travellers were held. The objects brought back from a distant land because of their rarity were no longer perceived as realia but were turned into wonders, thus inaugurating the modern cabinet of curiosities. Indeed, they were intended to embody the strangeness of elsewhere and match the current expectations regarding the exotic in the late Middle Ages. The narratives studied below demonstrate a great modernity both in the aesthetic value attributed to objects and in the humanist taste for the individual accumulation of meaningful objects. Whether secular or religious relics, tools for mercantile or intimate trade, objects were a way to take possession of the world.http://journals.openedition.org/episteme/5821Prueba y materialidad del recuerdo de lo lejano. Objetos en los relatos de viajes y peregrinaciones a finales de la Edad media |
| spellingShingle | Julia Roumier Preuve et matérialité du souvenir d’ailleurs. Les objets dans les récits de voyages et pèlerinages hispaniques de la fin du Moyen Âge Etudes Epistémè Prueba y materialidad del recuerdo de lo lejano. Objetos en los relatos de viajes y peregrinaciones a finales de la Edad media |
| title | Preuve et matérialité du souvenir d’ailleurs. Les objets dans les récits de voyages et pèlerinages hispaniques de la fin du Moyen Âge |
| title_full | Preuve et matérialité du souvenir d’ailleurs. Les objets dans les récits de voyages et pèlerinages hispaniques de la fin du Moyen Âge |
| title_fullStr | Preuve et matérialité du souvenir d’ailleurs. Les objets dans les récits de voyages et pèlerinages hispaniques de la fin du Moyen Âge |
| title_full_unstemmed | Preuve et matérialité du souvenir d’ailleurs. Les objets dans les récits de voyages et pèlerinages hispaniques de la fin du Moyen Âge |
| title_short | Preuve et matérialité du souvenir d’ailleurs. Les objets dans les récits de voyages et pèlerinages hispaniques de la fin du Moyen Âge |
| title_sort | preuve et materialite du souvenir d ailleurs les objets dans les recits de voyages et pelerinages hispaniques de la fin du moyen age |
| topic | Prueba y materialidad del recuerdo de lo lejano. Objetos en los relatos de viajes y peregrinaciones a finales de la Edad media |
| url | http://journals.openedition.org/episteme/5821 |
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