Muslim slaves and captives in Western Europe during the late middle ages
The earliest Muslims of medieval Western European societies consisted mainly of captives and slaves. The present article, which is mainly based on Islamic sources, deals with the vicissitudes of the lives of these captives during the late medieval period and is divided into three parts. First of all...
| Published in: | Islam and Christian-Muslim relations |
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| Main Author: | |
| Format: | Electronic/Print Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
Routledge
[1995]
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| In: |
Islam and Christian-Muslim relations
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| Online Access: |
Volltext (doi) |
| Summary: | The earliest Muslims of medieval Western European societies consisted mainly of captives and slaves. The present article, which is mainly based on Islamic sources, deals with the vicissitudes of the lives of these captives during the late medieval period and is divided into three parts. First of all, there is a discussion of the Islamic view of the juridical status of the Muslim captive in Christian territories and of the Islamic institutions of redemption and redeemer. The role attributed to pious men and saints in the miraculous liberation of Muslim captives is also highlighted. Secondly, the threefold role of learned Muslim captives in Christian territories is explained, viz. as (1) transmitters of Arabic secular sciences, (2) as scribes of Arabic scientific manuscripts, mainly in the service of Jewish scholars, and (3) as teachers of Arabic and Islam to Christian, especially missionary circles, who were employed, among others as participants in Christian-Islamic theological disputations. In the last part the socio-juridical position of Muslim captives and slaves in late medieval Western Europe is discussed, mainly from Christian sources and modem historical studies. Their history was one of christianization and assimilation, under the combined pressure of Western societies and the Church. |
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| ISSN: | 0959-6410 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Islam and Christian-Muslim relations
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1080/09596419508721039 |