
From Martyr to Murderer
Representations of the Assassins in Twelfth- and Thirteenth-Century Europe
Meriem Pages(Author)
Syracuse University Press
Will be published approx. on 10. November 2014
Book
Hardback
248 pages
978-0-8156-3370-9 (ISBN)
Description
Ever since the publication of Orientalism, medievalists have attempted to apply Said's theses on the Western European representation of the Muslim Other tothe Middle Ages. Pages examines the sect of the Nizari Isma'ilis (known for its use of political assassination) and its complicated relationship with Western Europe, providing a fascinating case study of such an endeavor.
The representation of the Nizaris, who came to be known in Europe as the Assassins, closely parallels that of Islam in the Middle Ages. However, how the sect was perceived in Latin Christendom is nuanced and complex, leading to divergent readings of the Assassins. These portrayals ranged from allies in the earliest texts to exotic "marvels of the world" in works of the thirteenth century and thereafter. By delineating how the sect's representation developed in medieval historical and literary works, From Martyr to Murderer shows that the Assassins did not originally inspire alienation about them in medieval Europeansreading and writing. Pages's adroit exploration of the Assassins legend leads us to question our preconceived notions about the larger issue of the image of Islam in the Middle Ages.
The representation of the Nizaris, who came to be known in Europe as the Assassins, closely parallels that of Islam in the Middle Ages. However, how the sect was perceived in Latin Christendom is nuanced and complex, leading to divergent readings of the Assassins. These portrayals ranged from allies in the earliest texts to exotic "marvels of the world" in works of the thirteenth century and thereafter. By delineating how the sect's representation developed in medieval historical and literary works, From Martyr to Murderer shows that the Assassins did not originally inspire alienation about them in medieval Europeansreading and writing. Pages's adroit exploration of the Assassins legend leads us to question our preconceived notions about the larger issue of the image of Islam in the Middle Ages.
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
New York
United States
Dimensions
Height: 229 mm
Width: 152 mm
Thickness: 19 mm
Weight
485 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-8156-3370-9 (9780815633709)
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Schweitzer Classification
Person
Meriem Pages is associate professor in the Department of English at Keene State College in New Hampshire.