WRITING AUTHORITY IN LATE MEDIEVAL ... - Cornell University

etween meaning and representation, in which “authority” was conceived as a type of metaphor
to justify access to areas beyond legal control. As the discourse of the Papacy from Clement VI
to Eugene IV conceived of it, authority was the mere ability to represent—and not some sort of
universal idea subject to interpretation and discussion. Paralleling how Josephus says the Greeks
conquered others, the efforts of Portugal to pressure the Papacy for a bull of crusade against the
Canarians were based upon the authorial qualities of discourse, its ability to make communities
without referring to a particular tradition, not to conquer barbarians but “neighbors” without a
voice and speech.
This is more than a fortuitous parallel; the linkage of Babylonian confusion to colonial
discourse of the Canaries can be seen in how the earliest account of their conquest, the chronicle
known as Le Canarien, describes the bringing of Christianity to the Islands’ inhabitants. In this
part of the chronicle, preserved in British Library MS Egerton 2709, Pierre Bontier and Jean
Verrier recount the sermon given by the colonizers upon baptism of the native “infideles.” The
sermon briefly details the history of the world until the death of Jesus without many details,
except a noticeably detailed account of the Tower of Babel:
Et quant ilz virent que ilz fuernet monteploie grant nombre un nomme nemroch voullit regner par
force et sasamblerent tous en un champ nomme le champ de la naar et ordonnerent du commimi a
comprendre les trois parties du monde et que ceulx qui eftoient defcenduz de Sem lamee fiilz noe
tendroient l’afe et ceulx qui eftoinet descenduz de cam lautre filz noe tendroient europe et iaffet le
meanne tendroite afrique. mais ainfois quil fe departiffent eulx commencerent une tour ci grant et
si forte laquelle ilz vouldrent quelle venift iufque auciel en perpetuelle memoyre deulx et dieu qui
vit que euls ne ceffervient point leur ourage leur confondit leur langagez en tell maniere que lun
nen tendit la voiz de lautre. Et la furent faiz primierement tous les languages qui aujourduy sont
par toute le monde.
And when they saw that they were multiplied in a great number, a man Nimroch [Nimrod’ wished
to reign through force and he gathered all in one field called the field of Naar, and they commonly
ordered to attain the three parts of the world, and those who were descended from Shem, the most
loved Son of Noah, should have Asia, and those who were descended from Ham should have
Europe, and Japheth, the low one, should have Africa, but before they departed, they started a
Tower so great and so strong which they wished could come close to heaven in perpetual memory
of them. And God, who saw that they did not leave at all their work, he confounded their tongues
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