Identity in the Medieval Mediterranean World of Merchants and Pirates

ABSTRACT Identity in the medieval Mediterranean world was complex and multifaceted. Medieval Europeans, especially merchants, borrowed and shifted identities according to the circumstances. They might sail under the flags of other polities and become pirates and privateers on occasion. This study examines cases of shifting identities, multiple identities, borrowing of identities, and mistaken identities within a shared Mediterranean maritime culture, using literary evidence, judicial records, treaties, and documents of practice.