IMC 2017: Sessions
Session 321: Regional Outcasts in Medieval Europe, III: Heroes or Fools? - Outcasts on Screen
Monday 3 July 2017, 16.30-18.00
| Sponsor: | Interdisziplinäres Zentrum für Mittelalter und Frühneuzeit, Universität Salzburg |
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| Organiser: | Manuel Schwembacher, Interdisziplinäres Zentrum für Mittelalter und Frühneuzeit (IZMF), Universität Salzburg |
| Moderator/Chair: | Ursula Bieber, Fachbereich Slawistik / Interdisziplinäres Zentrum für Mittelalter und Frühneuzeit (IZMF), Universität Salzburg |
| Paper 321-a | 'Penitenziagite! Salvatore': A Multifarious Character Hiding in the Abbey of The Name of the Rose (Language: English) Index terms: Medievalism and Antiquarianism, Religious Life |
| Paper 321-b | Spaceships in Sherwood: 'Foolish' Interpretations of a Medieval Hero (Language: English) Index terms: Medievalism and Antiquarianism, Mentalities |
| Paper 321-c | A Ship 'Full of Fools' to Bremerhaven from Vera Cruz: Ship of Fools directed by Stanley Kramer, 1964 (Language: English) Index terms: Language and Literature - German, Medievalism and Antiquarianism |
| Abstract | This session discusses the depiction and presentation of different medieval characters, which are perceived as social outcasts, both in cinematic and television contexts. The first paper examines Salvatore, a key character in Umberto Eco's novel The Name of the Rose (1980) and the film adaption with the same name by Jean-Jacques Annaud (1986), who can be seen in various aspects as a medieval archetype in modern popular imagination. As a former member of a heretical sect, the linguistic genius and disfigured hunchback is an outcast, oscillating between heroism and foolishness. In the second paper the speaker discusses presentations of Robin Hood in science fiction and time travel television series. The medieval outlaw appears in an episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation (1991) and Dr. Who (2014) as well as in the science fiction comedy Blackadder: Back & Forth (1999). The third paper of the session analyses Stanley Kramer's movie Ship of Fools (1964) in its relation to the late medieval Narrenschiff of Sebastian Brant, emphasising the phenomenon that fools, in general perceived as outcasts, may represent the society in their entirety. |