THE EXCLUSIONARY RHETORIC AND THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE ORTHODOX OTHER IN THE CORRESPONDENCE OF JOHN OF CAPISTRANO
THE EXCLUSIONARY RHETORICAND THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE ORTHODOX OTHERIN THE CORRESPONDENCE OF JOHN OF CAPISTRANO

Summary/Abstract: This paper examines the narrative and rhetorical strategies in John of Capistrano’s correspondence concerning Orthodox Christians during his stay in Hungary (1455–1456). It shows how derogatory language and framing techniques were deployed to portray the Orthodox as religious, political, and social “others” in relation to the Roman Catholic identity of the letter-writers. This exclusionary rhetoric, manifested in calls for repression, conversion, and papal intervention, is contextualized within the broader framework of anti-Orthodox Latin medieval discourse, the region’s religious conflicts, and complex political relations amid the rising Ottoman threat. Finally, the paper considers the impact of such rhetoric and its persistence along the frontier regions.

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