The Cutting Edge of the Poet’s Sword: Muslim Poetic Responses to the Crusades

Series: 

Author:
Osman Latiff
In this comprehensive analysis of Arabic poetry during the period of the crusades (sixth/twelfth-seventh/thirteenth centuries), Osman Latiff provides an insightful examination of the poets who inspired Muslims to unite in the jihād against the Franks. The Cutting Edge of the Poet’s Sword not only contributes to our understanding of literary history, it also illuminates a broad spectrum of religiosity and the role of political propaganda in the anti-Frankish Muslim struggle. Latiff shows how poets, often used by the ruling elite to promote their rule, emphasised the centrality of Islam’s holy sites to inspire the Muslim response to the occupation and later reconquest of Jerusalem, and expressed some surprising views of Frankish Christians.
Copyright Year:
2018
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Published
ISBN:
978-90-04-34522-5
Publication:
25 Sep 2017
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Availability:
Published
ISBN:
978-90-04-34521-8
Publication:
12 Oct 2017
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Osman Latiff, Ph.D. (2011), Royal Holloway, University of London, is a researcher in medieval and crusader history. He also writes on international relations, having completed a Post-doctorate study on counter-hegemony and political syncretism in Arab-U.S relations (2015) and is currently authoring a book on the place of empathy in challenging attitudes of ‘otherness’ in conflict
"Latiff is to be commended for his command of an expansive corpus and the ease with which he analyzes its contents and themes, relating both to the broader narrative of the anti-Frankish jihad. One of the main strengths of the work is the vast quantity of poetry that is translated and dispersed throughout the eight chapters; there is also an appendix that provides critical editions of many of these poems. The Cutting Edge of the Poet’s Sword cogently makes the case for the necessity of reading Arabic poetry not merely as a cultural artifact but as a vital part of the historiographical context, shaped by and shaping the events to which it responded... [The book] is essential reading for anyone interested in Muslim responses to the Crusades and suggests a number of fruitful avenues for future research..." - Kenneth A. Goudie, Ghent University, in: Speculum 91/1 (January 2020)

"Overall, this book makes a substantial contribution to existing studies in this area. It provides a great deal of new material for scholars interested in recreating the events and mentalities of the period. In some cases, it expands upon existing knowledge, contributing to longstanding questions, while in others it challenges orthodoxies; in many more cases, it opens up new conversations, establishing fruitful lines of research." - Nicholas Morton, Nottingham Trent University, in: Al-Masāq 30/2 (2018)
Acknowledgements
A Note on Transliteration
Abbreviations

1 Introduction: Setting the Scene
 1.1 The Historical and Historiographical Context – Ideas and Definitions
 1.2 Sanctities of Space
 1.3 Sources
 1.4 Ideological Pursuits: Nūr al-Dīn, Ṣalāḥ al-Dīn, and Political Patronage: An Overview
 1.5 Al-Ghazālī and the New Sunnism of the Saljūq Period
 1.6 Faḍāʾil al-Quds (Merits of Jerusalem): Historiography and Relevance

2 Poetry and Poetics in Medieval Arabic Discourse
 2.1 Historiographical Considerations
 2.2 The Place of Poetry and Modern Perspectives

3 Theories and Principles of Jihād and the Quest for Martyrdom
 3.1 Yūsuf al-Findalāwī and the Pursuit of Martyrdom

4 Formative Muslim Responses: Franks (Faranj), Christians (RÅ«m) and the Making of a Christian Enemy
 4.1 The First Crusade 488–493/1095–1099: Syria and Internal Reform
 4.2 Verses in al-Sulamī’s Kitāb al-Jihād
 4.3 The Proximity of an Islamic Jerusalem: The Fall of Edessa, Banū Aṣfar, and the Revival of Jihād
 4.4 Images of the Franks in Muslim Poetry
 4.5 The Merging of Sacred Designations

5 Poeticising the Reconquest and Future Expectations
 5.1 The Reconquest of Jerusalem and Popular Piety
 5.2 The Sanctification of Spaces
 5.3 Constantinople and its Relation to Jerusalem
 5.4 Ibn Jubayr: Pilgrimage, Poetry, and Social Accountability

6 Literary Underpinnings of the Anti-Frankish Jihād
 6.1 Steering an Image: The Figure of the Christian ‘Other’ in Muslim Poetry
 6.2 Nūr al-Dīn and the Creation of a Pious Warrior Ethos
 6.3 The Inspiration of the Qurʾān in Jihād Poetry
 6.4 Heightened Fears and Eschatological Undercurrents in Muslim Poetry
 6.5 Gendering the Anti-Frankish Jihād

7 The Place of Egypt in Sixth-/Twelfth- and Seventh-/Thirteenth-Century Discourse
 7.1 Egypt and the Language of Realpolitik
 7.2 Poetry in Diplomacy and Calls for Unity

8 Shattered Dreams: Jerusalem, the Umma, and New Enemies
 8.1 Post-Reconquest Poetry
 8.2 Dismantling the Walls

Conclusion

Appendix: Arabic Poems
Bibliography
Index
All interested in the study of the Crusades, Muslim medieval history, and the various strands of propaganda and ideology behind the Muslim anti-Frankish jihad.
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