Tuesday, July 5, 2011

Black-skinned Arabs vs. Christian Knights


This 14th century Christian depiction of the famous Battle of Roncevaux (778) between Roland, champion of Charlemagne's French army, and the Arab Muslims whom Roland described as 'blacker than ink', nicely illustrates the early history of Islam and the Muslim Conquests

2 comments:

  1. Over the years, the battle was romanticized by oral tradition into a major conflict between Christians and Muslims, when in fact both sides in the battle were Christian. The legend is recounted in 11th century The Song of Roland, which is the oldest surviving major work of French literature, and in Orlando Furioso, which is one of the most celebrated works of Italian literature.

    [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Roncevaux_Pass]

    So this also turns out to be a myth.

    ReplyDelete