Křesťan, Turek nebo Žid? Postava konvertity očima alžbětinských a raně stuartovských dramatiků
Christian, Turk or Jew? The Character of a Convertite in the Eyes of Elizabethan and Early Stuart Playwrights

Summary/Abstract: The period of confessional turbulences in sixteenth century England finished by the gradual consolidation of Protestantism after the succession of Elisabeth I. However, previous frequent turns in religion given by the ruler’s confession opened the issue of conversion, which became more broaden and so that much more discussed topic during the 16th century and in the first half of the 17th century. Moreover, the change of religion was supported by the expansion of discovery travels and overseas trade, which noticeably extended contacts with foreign countries in cultural and religious sphere. A theatre scene as one of important public places played an indispensable culturallysocial role in Elizabethan and Early Stuart England. The significance of theatre lied in its fast response to topical problems of that time, so that it happened that the question of conversion was opened on the stage through dramatization of that matter. For that reason, the Early Modern theatre represents an outstanding medium, which enables to closely understand the process of creating and influencing the perception of conversion and convertites in English public. The question, whether to be a Christian or to become a Turk or a Jew, became the crucial or at least fringe issue of many comedies and tragedies in the so-called Golden Age of English theatre. The comparison of plays enables to present and analyse the image of a convertite as it was represented in Elizabethan and Early Stuart drama.

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