Blackface disguise in Guy of Warwick teaches readers to link blackness with Islam

Evidence

In Guy of Warwick, dark skin functions as a Saracen marker—an image that appears repeatedly in the text. It is seen when the hero disguises himself in blackface, where “Guy prepares the reader to associate blackness with Islam” by dyeing his hair and face black, taking on an “Eastern personality.” The Saracen monster in Warwick resembles the executioner in the Luttrell Psalter, described in the text as “a fende, pat comen were out of helle.” — Sophia Rose Arjana, Muslims in the Western Imagination, 210

Categorization

Category: Causal Relationships

• SEED: A medieval white Christian hero doing blackface to become ‘Eastern’ is a shocking detail that could anchor an essay on how race and religion were co-manufactured.

Related

• Romance heroes could literally blacken their faces to become Saracen monsters (similarity 0.89)