“Double enemies” within the Gates: The Oriental Ismaelite Others, as a Variant of Central European ‘Frontier Orientalism’ in Hungarian Historical Fiction

Abstract

A relatively unknown facet of Central European Orientalism becomes manifest when encountering the epistemological heritage of the historical experiences of the Ismaelite community in Medieval Hungary. Accordingly, hegemonic themes of Hungarian historic fiction about this Muslim minority range from from being speculative/profiterring arms dealers. Such patterns span across the entire trajectory of Hungarian literature. This paper introduces this virtually unknown attitude with the frame of reference based on oeuvres of the Romantic and the Modern periods, with the broader intention to understand the nuances of the Saidian paradigm.