Muslims in Medieval Northern and Central Italian Latin Historical and Hagiographical Texts (7th - 11th centuries): A Sourcbook

Muslim expansion into the western Mediterranean had a great impact also on Italy. Indeed, Muslims conquered Sicily between 827 and the beginning of the tenth century, and often raided most of the Italian peninsula, taking advantage of the political fragmentation and the factionalism of the Christians. In the central part of the peninsula, the establishment of bases near the mouth of the Garigliano River, and perhaps in Latium, made their attacks more frequent and dangerous. In addition to the detail that in every central and northern Italian chronicle of that period there is at least one reference to the Muslims, the fact that they left a rather deep mark on the memory of that part of the Peninsula is represented in that for some authors from those areas the devastation and ferocity of the Muslims had made them a touchstone by which to measure any violent act or ignominious behavior. Nevertheless, not all inhabitants of north-central Italy always had negative experiences with the Muslims. For example, the Venetians and Pisans traded with them. Using a chronological and topical approach, this volume presents the Latin text and annotated translation of every reference to Muslims in early medieval northern and central Italian historical and hagiographical texts (7th-11th centuries). The book will appeal to scholars and students of the Middle Ages interested in Christian-Muslim relations and the image of the Muslims in medieval Europe and medieval Mediterranean.

About the Author

Luigi Andrea Berto is professor of Medieval History at Western Michigan University, USA. His research focuses on Medieval Italy and the Mediterranean, with a special interest in the use of the past in the medieval and modern periods, and the relationships between Christians and Muslims.