‘Islam and the West: a View from Twelfth-Century León’, in S. Barton and P. Linehan eds., Cross, Crescent and Conversion: Studies on Medieval Spain and Christendom in memory of Richard Fletcher (Leiden: Brill Academic Press), 2008, 153-74. (original) (raw)

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This paper examines the historical context of Islamic and Christian interactions in 12th-century León, focusing on the Chronica Adefonsi Imperatoris, attributed to Bishop Arnaldo of Astorga. It highlights the influence of various cultural, political, and personal factors that shaped the writing of the Chronica, emphasizing the author's detailed knowledge of military and social dynamics in the region. Furthermore, it discusses the importance of the work in understanding the complexities of Christian-Muslim relations during the medieval period.

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Reassessing Spanish Chronicle Writing before 900: The Tradition of Compilation in Oviedo at the End of the Ninth Century

The Medieval Chronicle 11, 2017

This paper is a contribution to the origins of Spanish medieval historiography. I analyze two collections: the collection copied in the 'Soriensis' manuscript, most probably lost in a fire in 1671, and the so-called Chronica Albeldensis. I defend that shortly before the year 900 in Oviedo, Spain, where both these collections derive from, there was an interest in an easily readable kind of 'universal history' based on compilations of previous texts. These compilations were still modelled upon Eusebius/Jerome's Chronicon, but they already supposed a great freedom in the handling of those previous texts, revealing great difficulty in understanding history as synchronic. They also formed an authentic historical canon subject to continuous additions and redesigns, becoming the backbone of Medieval Spanish compilatory historiography until at least the thirteenth century. During one of the most renowned Spoleto congresses, in 1970, Jocelyn N. Hillgarth spoke about Visigothic historiography. He contended that 'Spanish historians created no new models in historical writing'. 1 This was a strong statement. He argued that, if the concept of historiography was to be too narrowly considered, one would be forced to limit Visigothic historical writing to only five texts, including Isidore's De viris illustribus, which is a collection of very short biographies, following Suetonius' literary model. 2 Hillgarth did not develop his study beyond 711; however, it is unlikely he would have changed his mind even if he had done it. At the same meeting, M. C. Díaz y Díaz identified some Spanish circles interested in historical writing between 711 and 1000, 'though their members did not always feel strong enough to write it down.' 3 It is common to consider that, despite Isidore's historical texts, Spain possessed no such historical works as Gregory of Tours's for Gaul, Bede's for Britain, or Paul the Deacon's for the Lombard Italy. 4 For instance, in Spain after Isidore's Chronica, it seems that no one felt sufficiently confident to write a new universal chronicle starting with Adam. In fact, lack of originality and literary talent are sometimes considered * This article was written as part of the research project «La evolución de los sabers y su transmission en la Antigüedad tardía y la Alta Edad Media» (FFI2012-35134, Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad). ** I am most grateful to Prof. Roger Collins and to Dr Cristian Bratu for their close reading of this text, their comments and their most valuable suggestions.

Alfonso, X, Cantiga 235, and the Events of 1269-1278

Speculum, 1992

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