DI MEO, Carmen (2020) "Europe" in Literary Sources: A Political Ideal, and a Strategy. In: NOTES ON EUROPE. THE DOGMATIC SLEEP. Proc. Edited by Eduarda Neves, Luís Lima e Nuno Faleiro Rodrigues. Porto: CEAA / ESAP-CESAP, 79-96.

In response to the growth of scholarly interest and research in the field, the present contribution tracks the work done by eminent cultural historians, like Federico Chabod (1962), in the course of the Twentieth century on the occurrences of the word "Europe" in past literary sources, starting with the Middle Ages. On the basis of a trans-historical perspective, the contribution shall draw conclusions on the historical reception of "the birth of Europe" - both as a "Corps Politique", and as a strategic concept. It is possible to extent this conceptual frame to the development of a European culture, in order to see how this idea, borne out of Medieval epics, might had contributed in good order to shape a European identity, and had exercised at the same time its "agency" under a political and military strategy, to be seen as a counterpart to the more universal idea of a "Christendom". The phenomenon here discussed is especially rooted in the birth of vernacular cultures and languages, and the discussion throughout the paper will contextually match the reading of European history made up to present times with the analysis of Early romances and novels. In doing so, a critical approach is pursued.