How Medieval Thinkers Analysed Cultural Differences

Medieval intellectuals were fascinated to compare their culture with others, often, though not always, looking at differences in religion. They did so using a number of different genres, among them dialogues between representatives of different ‘laws’ (i.e., religions), travellers’ stories, geographies, philosophical treatises and ethnographic reports. Historians have greatly underestimated the sophistication and variety of this facet of medieval intellectual life, because it does not fall ...