Adnan Ghani Khan (PhD Scholar)

The Arab/Muslim Presence in Medieval Central Europe

Abstract
After the infamous Battle of Poitiers (Tours), which is typically regarded as the peak of
Arab/Muslim expansion into Western Europe, the Muslims continued to maintain a
number of relatively isolated presences in areas of Western Europe outside of the
Iberian Peninsula for nearly three centuries. In the context of Muslim/Christian
interactions during the medieval era, these presences have a tendency to be forgotten,
but studies conducted in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries by some scholars
seem to suggest that they left behind a much greater legacy than was previously
believed.
Reference: Wenner, M. W. (1980). The Arab/Muslim presence in medieval central
Europe. International Journal of Middle East Studies, 12(1), 59-79.

Violence, Saracens, and English Identity in Of Arthour and of Merlin

Abstract
In this study, the Saracen-Christian clash in Of Arthur and of Merlin is used to promote
views of Arthur and England, and their application to a fourteenth-century audience is
taken into account.
Reference: Calkin, S.B. (2004). Violence, Saracens, and English Identity in Of Arthour
and of Merlin. Arthuriana 14(2), 17-36. doi:10.1353/art.2004.0038.

Saracens and Islamic Alterity in Malory's "Le Morte Darthur"

Abstract:

Malory's characterization of Saracens is influenced by the literature he read during the

Crusades and his own knowledge of Ottoman Turk conquests into Europe. His
Saracens, with the exception of Palomides, adopt conventional orientalist traits.
Reference: Goodrich, P. H. (2006). Saracens and Islamic Alterity in Malory's" Le Morte
Darthur". Arthuriana, 10-28.
 Why Were Arabs and Muslims Called Saracens in the Medieval and the
Renaissance Literature?

Abstract

The study highlights the association between the word Saracens and skin tone as a
key attribute that sets Arabs and the majority of Muslims apart from Europeans. The
results of this study are particularly significant because they add to our understanding
of the etymology of the term "Saracen" and because they shed light on the real
reasons why Arabs and Muslims were referred to as Saracens by medieval and
Renaissance writers. The idea of Orientalism by American author and academic
Edward Said (1935-2003) is also taken into account in this approach because the term
"Saracens" was typically employed in a pejorative manner.
Reference: Abuthawabeh, H. S. (2019). Why Were Arabs and Muslims Called
Saracens in the Medieval and the Renaissance Literature?. European
Scientific Journal ESJ, 15, 26.

Assimilating Saracens: The Aliens in Malory's "Morte Darthur"

Abstract
The progression of Malory's entire work suggests a convoluted sequence of
comprehension and misperception of the Saracen that culminates in a whiny
Armageddon as the last of Camelot submits to sacrifice in the Holy Land.
Reference: Hoffman, D.L. (2006). Assimilating Saracens: The Aliens in Malory's Morte
Darthur. Arthuriana, 16, 43 - 64a.