Ethnic 'stereotypes' in early modern Europe: Russian and Ottoman national costumes.

The paper analyses the ethnic 'stereotypes' or 'national characters' in early modern Europe by highlighting the several sorts of sources that spread such stereotypes. The starting point is the (in)famous eighteenth-century's Styrian Völkertafel or Table of Nations, which is translated into English in its entirety. Source by source, textual and visual, the paper traces these stereotypes back to Johann Boemus in the early sixteenth century. The author confirms that the line between a hypothetical objective flawless description, distortion and stereotype is very thin. It depends on the observer and perspective to ascertain whether certain representation was stereotypical. Among the many studied ethnic stereotypes, even clothing was perceived as people- or nation-specific. The stereotypes about Russian and Ottoman national costumes are comparatively examined. The author argues that the Eastern and Southeastern European peoples were lumped together with the supra-national or imperial identities, that is, the Russian and Ottoman Empires. In the early modern era, as in later periods, ethnic identities were formed along the state and imperial lines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]