Muslims in Medieval Europe

FAIN: FA-52288-06

Olivia Remie Constable
University of Notre Dame (Notre Dame, IN 46556-4635)

My book will compare the status of Muslims living in the 13th-century European realms of James I of Aragon, Alfonso X of Castile, and Frederick II of Sicily. Each ruler had Muslim subjects living within his lands as a result of military conquests. My study will also analyze the views of another contemporary, Louis IX of France, concerning Islam. Louis had no Muslims living in his realm, but he was deeply invested in the issue of crusade. Comparison of these four kings and their varying relationships with Muslims and Islam reveals that pragmatism and regional context, as much as religious ideas, played important roles in determining the course of relations between Christians and Muslims in medieval Europe.