From Desperate Captive to Ambitious Woman

The Story of Mehmed and Irene in 17th-Century English Sources

Abstract

“The story of Mehmed and Irene” has been the subject of many academic studies due to its influence on significant works of early modern English literature. These studies, however, have largely focused on the literary adaptation of the story, paying little attention to the socio-political conditions in which these adaptations took place. The story of Mehmed and Irene, adapted by Bandello from Historia Turchesca and published as a part of his Novella in 1554, was translated into English in 1566 in Painter’s The Palace of Pleasure. After this faithful translation, the story underwent significant changes when it appeared in Knolles’ General History of the Turks in 1603. Following Knolles, William Barksted added new details to the story in his 1611 poem Hiren: or the Fair Greek. The perception of “self” and “other” in early modern English literature has been examined through numerous scholarly studies, revealing that the representation of the “other” in the historical and literary texts of this period cannot be understood through simplistic binaries such as English/Western/Christian versus Ottoman/Eastern/Muslim. Said’s theory of an East-West opposition, developed for the 18th century, does not fully capture the complexity of early modern England. In Jacobean England, which had decisively separated itself from Catholic Europe, religious identity struggles, fears regarding Catholicism, and debates surrounding English national identity contributed to the diversification of images produced in the literary works of the period. The story of Mehmed and Irene, originally woven with messages highlighting the dangers of closeness to the “other” and emphasizing the importance of Christian unity against the Ottomans, underwent significant changes in 17th-century England. The texts of Knolles and Barksted diversified the overall message and the identity of the “other” in the story to align with the sensitivities of 17th-century English readers. This article aims to trace the long journey of the story of Mehmed and Irene from 16th-century Europe to 17th-century England, exploring the reasons and consequences of the changes in the story. While the Greek beauty Irene was originally crafted by Bandello as a symbolic warning not to trust the “Eastern other” and as a call for Christian unity against a common enemy, in the hands of the English historian Knolles and poet Barksted, she evolved into a character representing a fragmented and unreliable Europe, who, despite knowing the risks, is compelled to negotiate with the “other.”