The Shakespeare Conference: SHK 15.0205 Tuesday, 27 January 2004
[1] From: Alberto Cacicedo <
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Date: Monday, 26 Jan 2004 10:52:04 -0500
Subj: Re: SHK 15.0193 Shakespeare Blacks and Jews
[2] From: D Bloom <
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Date: Mon, 26 Jan 2004 10:46:05 -0600
Subj: RE: SHK 15.0193 Shakespeare Blacks and Jews
[1]-----------------------------------------------------------------
From: Alberto Cacicedo <
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Date: Monday, 26 Jan 2004 10:52:04 -0500
Subject: 15.0193 Shakespeare Blacks and Jews
Comment: Re: SHK 15.0193 Shakespeare Blacks and Jews
An old but interesting book on the subject of "Moors" in Shakespeare's
England is Samuel Chew's _The Crescent and the Rose: Islam and England
During the Renaissance_ (Oxford, 1937). Chew distinguishes among "white
Moors," "tawny Moors," and "black Moors." As I recall, he also affirms
that there are records of purchases made by a theatrical company for
costumes that distinguish among the three varieties of Moor.
[2]-------------------------------------------------------------
From: D Bloom <
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Date: Mon, 26 Jan 2004 10:46:05 -0600
Subject: 15.0193 Shakespeare Blacks and Jews
Comment: RE: SHK 15.0193 Shakespeare Blacks and Jews
Colin Cox writes,
"Moro indeed refers to Arab or Berber and thus 'black' Moro refers to
central Africa around the old Congo."
Sorry, but I need a little more scholarly authority here. "Black" would
not necessarily mean black-skinned. Much more likely, it would refer to
someone black-haired -- as the number of people surnamed Black and Blake
indicates. The black Irish are not of Central African origin. And I
remember a line from an old ballad that goes, "Some say he's black but I
say he's bonny, my handsome, winsome Johnny." Or again, to take one of
many,
SHALLOW By the mass, I was called any thing; and I would
have done any thing indeed too, and roundly too.
There was I, and little John Doit of Staffordshire,
and black George Barnes, and Francis Pickbone, and
Will Squele, a Cotswold man; you had not four such
swinge-bucklers in all the inns o' court again:
It seems to me that with the term "black moor "we're talking about a
redundancy used for emphasis, not something to give greater geographical
precision.
Cheers,
don
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