![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Where are the jews in medieval fantasy?
Disclaimer: fantasy is not my favourite genre, so I may simply be missing a whole swathe of books which disprove my argument. Also, I'm pretty ignorant about history, so may be spouting crap. My apologies if so :)
A lot of fantasy novels are set in Europe, or region which is obviously meant to represent Europe, set roughly during the medieval/renaissance eras. As well as analogs of european countries like England or France there are also analogs (or straight depictions) of the countries/ethnic groups which interacted with europe in this time ie Asia (Carthak in "The Emporer Mage"), the middle east (the Roknari in the Chalion books), Roma (gypsies) (the Tsingani in Kushiel's Legacy) etc. These depictions are often very stereotypical and exoticised, relying largely on the rather racist and essentialist attitudes of the time rather than modern understandings of what those cultures were/are actually like.
But it suddenly struck me recently: where are the jews? Jews played an important part in european history, and (as far as I can tell) were present in fairly large numbers in most european countries. Yet I can't think of any fantasy which has a non-nomadic discriminated against group which lives within multiple "european" countries and identifies as a separate subculture/religion(*). The closest I can come up with are non-human races (like the ghemphs from "The Isles of Glory"), which gives a biological reason for them to keep to themselves and be treated with suspicion by the locals. I think that's a bit creepy when you think about it as a direct metaphor.
So, have I just been reading the wrong books? Or is this a real blindspot in fantasy? Some googling found me Gentlemen of the Road by Michael Chabon, about "a fabled kingdom of wild, red-haired Jews on the western shore of the Caspian Sea", a list of sff by jews, and a bunch of anti-Semitism.
If I'm not imagining it, would people say it's because people aren't comfortable using the racist stereotypes of the time (good!) and don't want to accurately depict how nasty the antisemitism was? (The same way a lot of authors shy away from accurate depictions of the classism and sexism etc) Or is it just because a lot of these stories are based on England, which expelled it's jews from 1290-1656, pretty much exactly the era these stories are set in? In any case I think it's a pity, but I guess my desire for imagination and originality is one of the reasons I tend to avoid fantasy :/
(*) these seem like the most signifiant qualities, at least the ones which lend themselves to telling a different sort of story to the usual fantasy fare.
A lot of fantasy novels are set in Europe, or region which is obviously meant to represent Europe, set roughly during the medieval/renaissance eras. As well as analogs of european countries like England or France there are also analogs (or straight depictions) of the countries/ethnic groups which interacted with europe in this time ie Asia (Carthak in "The Emporer Mage"), the middle east (the Roknari in the Chalion books), Roma (gypsies) (the Tsingani in Kushiel's Legacy) etc. These depictions are often very stereotypical and exoticised, relying largely on the rather racist and essentialist attitudes of the time rather than modern understandings of what those cultures were/are actually like.
But it suddenly struck me recently: where are the jews? Jews played an important part in european history, and (as far as I can tell) were present in fairly large numbers in most european countries. Yet I can't think of any fantasy which has a non-nomadic discriminated against group which lives within multiple "european" countries and identifies as a separate subculture/religion(*). The closest I can come up with are non-human races (like the ghemphs from "The Isles of Glory"), which gives a biological reason for them to keep to themselves and be treated with suspicion by the locals. I think that's a bit creepy when you think about it as a direct metaphor.
So, have I just been reading the wrong books? Or is this a real blindspot in fantasy? Some googling found me Gentlemen of the Road by Michael Chabon, about "a fabled kingdom of wild, red-haired Jews on the western shore of the Caspian Sea", a list of sff by jews, and a bunch of anti-Semitism.
If I'm not imagining it, would people say it's because people aren't comfortable using the racist stereotypes of the time (good!) and don't want to accurately depict how nasty the antisemitism was? (The same way a lot of authors shy away from accurate depictions of the classism and sexism etc) Or is it just because a lot of these stories are based on England, which expelled it's jews from 1290-1656, pretty much exactly the era these stories are set in? In any case I think it's a pity, but I guess my desire for imagination and originality is one of the reasons I tend to avoid fantasy :/
(*) these seem like the most signifiant qualities, at least the ones which lend themselves to telling a different sort of story to the usual fantasy fare.
no subject
Pretty much, yes. Since I tend not to read historical fantasy, too much like reading a text book :)
To which I would ask "How is the presence of Jews a necessary part of the romance of the period?
They're not necessary, and I totally understand not including them in any given book (there's lots of things from history which get ignored in any given book) It's the fact that they're never mentioned which is, to me, interesting. I mean I can understand if you're writing completely mythic arthurian stuff, but a lot of fantasy includes various less heroic stuff and steals ideas from real history to make things more interesting/real, so why is this particular bit so rarely stolen?
There is, indeed, a lot of racism in fantasy, but it is usually rather heroic.
My brain is trying to parse the concept of "heroic racism", but all I'm getting is a Klansman fighting a dragon.
Or perhaps it is that "essentialism" that you spoke of. Fantasy often portrays different groups as being different in their very essence, rather than for arbitrary reasons. Thus the "Jews" of such worlds are not humans.
Well, yes. I should have made it more clear: I'm mostly talking about fantasy which is just about humans, where the different "races" are just people. And I don't know if you've read my rants about the portrayal of race in sff, but while I personally understand the appeal of that sort of essentialism, and think it can be a useful tool for writing fantasy (Tolkein uses it well, imo), it can very easily turn into Old Skool racism with a veneer of metaphor, and it's something readers and writers of sff should keep an eye out for.
But that is just my opinion, which may be somewhat biased since I personally don't actually see what the fuss is really about.
I just think it's interesting. I like finding the stories that noone tells and asking why not.
no subject
What I mean is racial "us and them" mentality where the hero leads his people to triumph over the other race, who are obviously all evil.
If "jews" were to be in fantasy, I could actually see them as being more of a main character than some race in the background. Perhaps most authors just choose less original reasons for a hero to be downtrodden at birth than religious ones.
no subject
Ahhh. Yeah, I'm not generally a big fan of that sort of story, unless they're really evil all the way, like Orcs.
If "jews" were to be in fantasy, I could actually see them as being more of a main character than some race in the background. Perhaps most authors just choose less original reasons for a hero to be downtrodden at birth than religious ones.
Absolutely.
Really, I think part of the problem is that what I think makes for a good story (original ideas, subtle characterisation, pluralistic and complex ethical boundaries(*)) is not what most fantasy authors are trying to write.
(*)*ponders why I still don't like a lot of fantasy which fits that description* Adds: "But not long and dull or depressing" :)