Freedom, Imprisonment, and Slavery in the Pre-Modern World : Cultural-Historical, Social-Literary, and Theoretical Reflections / Albrecht Classen.

• VerfasserIn: Classen, Albrecht,
• Place / Publishing House: Berlin, Boston : De Gruyter, [2021]; ©2021
• Year of Publication: 2021
• Language: English
• Series: Fundamentals of Medieval and Early Modern Culture 25
• Physical Description: 1 Online-Resource
• ISBN: 9783110731798
• Access: Only OEAW-employees or in the reading room of our library.
• Hierarchical level: Monograph
• Statement of Responsibility: Albrecht Classen.

Contrary to common assumptions, medieval and early modern writers and poets often addressed the high value of freedom, whether we think of such fable authors as Marie de France or Ulrich Bonerius. Similarly, medieval history knows of numerous struggles by various peoples to maintain their own freedom or political independence. Nevertheless, as this study illustrates, throughout the pre-modern period, the loss of freedom could happen quite easily, affecting high and low (including kings and princes) and there are many literary texts and historical documents that address the problems of imprisonment and even enslavement (Georgius of Hungary, Johann Schiltberger, Hans Ulrich Krafft, etc.). Simultaneously, philosophers and theologians discussed intensively the fundamental question regarding free will (e.g., Augustine) and political freedom (e.g., John of Salisbury). Moreover, quite a large number of major pre-modern poets spent a long time in prison where they composed some of their major works (Boethius, Marco Polo, Charles d'Orléans, Thomas Malory, etc.). This book brings to light a vast range of relevant sources that confirm the existence of this fundamental and impactful discourse on freedom, imprisonment, and enslavement. Prof. Albrecht Classen is the joint winner of The Literary Encyclopedia book prize for 2023: "Literatures written in languages other than English" for this book: https://www.litencyc.com/book-prizes/book_prizes_2023.php