Authors
– Julian Yolles is Lecturer on Medieval Latin at Harvard University.
– Jessica Weiss is a professional translator.
Presentation
Throughout the Middle Ages, Christians wrote about Islam and the life of Muhammad. These stories, ranging from the humorous to the vitriolic, both informed and warned audiences about what was regarded as a schismatic form of Christianity. Medieval Latin Lives of Muhammad covers nearly five centuries of Christian writings on the prophet, including accounts from the farthest-flung reaches of medieval Europe, the Iberian Peninsula, and the Byzantine Empire. Over time, authors portrayed Muhammad in many guises, among them: Theophanes’s influential ninth-century chronicle describing the prophet as the heretical leader of a Jewish conspiracy; Embrico of Mainz’s eleventh-century depiction of Muhammad as a former slave who is manipulated by a magician into performing unholy deeds; and Walter of Compiègne’s twelfth-century presentation of the founder of Islam as a likable but tricky serf ambitiously seeking upward social mobility.
The prose, verse, and epistolary texts in Medieval Latin Lives of Muhammad help trace the persistence of old clichés as well as the evolution of new attitudes toward Islam and its prophet in Western culture. This volume brings together a highly varied and fascinating set of Latin narratives and polemics never before translated into English.
Content
Introduction
History of Muhammad and Tultusceptru from the Book of Lord Metobius
Anastasius the Librarian, Chronicle of Theophanes
Embrico of Mainz, Life of Muhammad
Walter of Compiègne, Poetic Pastimes on Muhammad
Adelphus, Life of Muhammad
Apology of al-Kindī
Book of Nicholas and Where Wicked Muhammad Came From
Conclusion
Acknowledgments
Notes
- History of Muhammad (Historia de Mahomet)
- Tultusceptru from the Book of Lord Metobius (Tultusceptru de Libro domini Metobii)
- Chronicle of Theophanes [Anastasius the Librarian]
- Life of Muhammad [Embrico of Mainz]
- Poetic Pastimes on Muhammad [Walter of Compiègne]
- Life of Muhammad [Adelphus]
- Apology of al-Kindī
- Book of Nicholas (Liber Nycholay)
Where Wicked Muhammad Came From
Abbreviations
Note on the Texts
Notes to the Texts
Notes to the Translations
Bibliography
General Index
Index of Scriptural Citations