Edward Said writes that exile produces the towering myth of the modern nation. But the medieval legal history of sanctuary and exile offers an alternative model of provisional survival and transition. In the Middle English lay Emaré , sanctuary and exile are romanced; legal predicament is rendered as adventure and opened for examination. Incest and exile in a rudderless boat, marriage, childbirth, and a second exile eventually achieve a happy ending, but as with legal sanctuary, romance remedy is uncertain and provisional by design. Medieval law and romance furnish a concept of sanctuary that frames exile as contrapuntal awareness of both mitigation and suffering.
No takes yet. Share an insight, caveat, or question.
Elizabeth G. Allen (2024) studied this question.
Synapse has enriched 5 closely related papers on similar clinical questions. Consider them for comparative context: