Cluny and the Muslims of La Garde-Freinet : hagiography and the problem of Islam in medieval Europe / Scott G. Bruce.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Bruce, Scott G. (Scott Gordon), 1967- author.

Contributor:

Oxford University Press.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Peter, the Venerable, approximately 1092-1156.

Peter.

Majolus, Saint, Abbot of Cluny, approximately 906-994.

Majolus.

Cluny (Benedictine abbey)--History.

Cluny (Benedictine abbey).

Christianity and other religions--Islam--Early works to 1800.

Christianity and other religions.

Islam--Relations--Christianity--Early works to 1800.

Islam.

Islam--Controversial literature--Early works to 1800.

Muslims--France--La Garde-Freinet--History--To 1500.

Muslims.

Christian hagiography--History--To 1500.

Christian hagiography.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (173 p.)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Ithaca, New York ; London, [England] : Cornell University Press, 2015.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

In the summer of 972 a group of Muslim brigands based in the south of France near La Garde-Freinet abducted the abbot of Cluny as he and his entourage crossed the Alps en route from Rome to Burgundy. Ultimately, the abbot was set free and returned home safely, but the audacity of this abduction outraged Christian leaders and galvanized the will of local lords. Shortly thereafter, Count William of Arles marshaled an army and succeeded in wiping out the Muslim stronghold. In Cluny and the Muslims of La Garde-Freinet, Scott G. Bruce uses this extraordinary incident, largely overlooked by contemporary scholars, to examine Christian perceptions of Islam in the Middle Ages. The monks of Cluny kept the tale of their abbot's abduction alive over the next century in hagiographical works and chronicles written to promote his sanctity. Bruce explores the telling and retelling of this story, focusing particularly on the representation of Islam in each account, and how that representation changed over time. The culminating figure in this study is Peter the Venerable, one of Europe's leading intellectuals and abbot of Cluny from 1122 to 1156. Remembered today largely for his views of Islam, Peter commissioned Latin translations of Muslim historical and devotional texts including the Qur'an. As Bruce shows, Peter's thinking on Islam had its roots in the hagiographical tradition of the abduction at La Garde-Freinet. In fact, Peter drew from the stories as he crafted a "Muslim policy" relevant to the mid-twelfth century, a time of great anxiety about Islam in the aftermath of the failed Second Crusade. Compellingly written, Cluny and the Muslims of La Garde-Freinet provides us with an unparalleled opportunity to examine Christian perceptions of Islam in the Crusading era.

Contents:

Front matter

Contents

Acknowledgments

List of Abbreviations

Introduction: Hagiography and Religious Polemic in the Cluniac Tradition

1. News of a Kidnapping

2. Monks Tell Tales

3. Peter the Venerable, Butcher of God

4. Hagiography and the Muslim Policy of Peter the Venerable

Conclusion

Appendix: Martin of Lausanne's Invective Poem against the Qur'an

Bibliography

Index

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Description based on print version record.

ISBN:

9781501700910

150170091X

9781501700927

1501700928

OCLC:

930109239