L’épopée de Gengis-khan au prisme des femmes. Une enquête sur la littérature pour la jeunesse contemporaine en langue anglaise, française et italienne

Since the Middle Ages, the name of the Mongols has been associated in the West with barbarism and the Apocalypse. However, in the course of the 20th century, the figure of Genghis Khan underwent a profound revaluation by scholars, thanks in particular to the rediscovery of the epic known as the Secret History of the Mongols. This reappraisal has also affected our view of Mongol princesses, who enjoyed a freedom and consideration unknown to their sedentary neighbours, taking part like men in war, politics, and trade. This paper analyses the representation of women associated with the Genghisid epic in contemporary European and American children’s literature in English, French, and Italian. The aim is to show how women, by virtue of their otherness, mediate the problematic content of the Genghisid epic between adult and child.