At the Edge of the World. Geographical Location, Englishness and Monstrosity

Abstract

Monstrosity is a constant presence in Old English literature. In particular, Wonders of the East depicts everything that was perceived as strange, significantly located in the East, displaying a Mediterranean-centric perspective where Europe works as the ideal centre of the cosmos. Early English Medieval people adopted this notion, which, however, seems to consign the island to the margins of civilization. This paper investigates how the position of Britain at the border of the map impacted the perceived degree of civilization of the Early Medieval English people and how their geographical location might have imbued the idea of Englishness with monstrosity.