Latin Vigilance and Greek Invention in Twelfth-Century Antioch: A New Interpretation of ‹Adelphus› (original) (raw)

Mittellateinisches Jahrbuch, 2020

Abstract

A twelfth-century Latin account claims to record a conversation with a Greek Christian in Antioch about the origins of Islam. While this so-called ‹Adelphus› narrative has solely received scholarly attention as a work of Latin polemic against Islam made by a western traveler, this article argues that the text belongs to a Levantine cultural context and speaks to a contentious religious and intellectual dynamic between Latins and Greeks in twelfth-century Antioch. Through subtle literary techniques borrowed from the medieval Latin classroom, the author levels a veiled attack on the perceived threat of the Orthodox Church to Christian unity and orthodoxy. The ‹Adelphus› account thus represents a highly original entry in the body of Christian-Muslim polemical literature that should be viewed within the context of Levantine Latin intellectual culture.

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