"History, European." . . "To 1500" . . . . . . . . "This dissertation is an intellectual and cross-cultural history of Renaissance humanist attitudes toward the Ottoman Turks. Although a considerable number of humanists wrote about the Turks, most scholars have either paid little notice to the subject, or have oversimplified the complex and meaningful rhetoric found in these texts. Through close readings and analyses of a number of humanist texts on the Turks, this study will argue that the humanists developed an innovative discourse of the Turks and Islam that represents a formative moment in Western cross-cultural attitudes and perceptions of Self." . . . "Renaissance humanists and the Ottoman Turks" . "Renaissance humanists and the Ottoman Turks"@en . "Applying a variety of approaches from cross-cultural studies and literary criticism, I examine both the subtleties of humanist rhetoric regarding the Turks and the impact it has made upon Western perceptions of the Islamic East. This examination of humanist rhetoric reveals much more than the use of simple cultural stereotypes; it presents the humanists as authors of influential discourses of Western cultural alterity and superiority, on the one hand, and cultural relativism, on the other hand. Another type of approach used in this study is the identification and examination of outside influences upon humanist rhetoric regarding the Turks. Individual chapters are devoted to analyzing the impact of Byzantine, medieval, and ancient thinkers in shaping humanist discourse, as well as the innovations and developments of individual humanists. Religious and political dimensions of humanist texts on the Turks are also discussed in separate chapters." . . "History"@en . . "The most important conclusion of this study is that, on the whole, humanist perspectives of the Turks marked a major conceptual break with medieval traditions and heavily influenced modern attitudes toward the Turks and Muslim peoples in general. Drawing upon classical rhetoric and concepts, humanists redefined the Turks--previously described in largely religious terms such as \"enemies of the faith\"--as a cultural and political entity. In this way, humanists opened up intellectual discussions of Muslim peoples to more secular issues such as civility versus barbarism and questions regarding political power. For these reasons, this study will add substantially to our understanding of Western perceptions of both Islamic societies and non-Western cultures in general." . . . . . .