Shaping the Image of Enemy-Infidel in the Relations of Eyewitnesses and Participants of the First Crusade : The Case of Muslims

Overview & Synopsis

The main aim of the doctoral thesis is the issue of the shaping the image of enemy-infidel in the socio-cultural context of the Latin Middle Ages at the end of the 11th and the beginning of the 12th century. The research area is marked by selected written sources with similar genre characteristics (gesta and historia) written by participants of the First Crusade. The thesis studies anonymous Gesta Francorum, Historia de Hierosolymitano Itinere by Peter Tudebode, the Historia Francorum qui ceperunt Iherusalem by Raymond of Aguilers and Fulcher of Chartres' Historia Hierosolymitana: Gesta Francorum Iherusalem peregrinantium. The selection of these works, similar in form, content and time of creation, allows to narrow down and unify the area of analysis, indicate the earliest stage of the process of shaping the image of the enemy-infidel, and at the same time provides a basis for further comparisons.