Languages and functions of medieval exclusion

Abstract

This article draws on a range of examples from the high and late medieval period to demonstrate the mechanisms of excluding groups from society. It especially considers evidence where the same group is included according to some sources, but excluded according to others. This entails analysing three interconnected issues. First, how the terminology that was used to designate those seen as not members of the same society or even humanity; second, the purposes for which excluding mechanisms were put in place and third, agency, and conflict over when and whom to exclude.