Alisaundre Becket: Thomas Becket’s resilient, Muslim, Arab mother in the South English Legendary

Abstract

In the South English Legendary, Thomas Becket’s mother, Alisaundre Becket, is a resilient, non-Christian woman who speaks Arabic. Although Alisaundre Becket eventually converts to Christianity, adopts a Christian name, and lives in England, she never learns English. Drawing on feminist theory by black feminists and women of color, I argue that the characteristic that racializes and marginalizes Alisaundre Becket – her voice, perceived as foreign and strange – also empowers her, and makes it possible for her to resist erasure as a raced woman in an oppressive space. In the process of asserting her will, we witness one of the earliest moments of racial identity perceived, translated, and portrayed as distinct from religious identity in the Middle Ages.