Sample Abstract[1]
Captives were a common sight in the Western Mediterranean in the later Middle Ages. The almost constant warfare between Christians and Muslims, created numerous prisoners on both sides. Consequently, captives became the focus of numerous religious and charitable efforts to gain their release. Their difficult situation also gave them an important role in the field of international politics as Christian kings often made them the centerpieces of truce negotiations and other treaties, some going as far as making the exchange of captives the central reason for concluding a peace. In this essay, I will argue that the captives and the monarchs were bound in a symbiotic relationship, whereby the truces and treaties gave each numerous benefits. For the captives, truces could mean freedom, future security, better treatment in captivity, or, at the very least, news from home. For the monarchs, using captives in negotiations allowed them to establish communication with Muslims leaders who were sometimes hostile, while giving them additional options at the negotiating table. Perhaps, most importantly, the liberation of captives highlighted the kings’ role as defenders of their people and their faith.
Preliminary Bibliography
Primary Sources
Alfonso X. Las Siete Partidas trans. and ed. by Samuel Parsons Scott (Chicago, 1931)
Alarcón y Santón, M.A. and R. Garcia de Linares . Los Documentos Árabes Diplomáticos del Archivo de la Corona de Aragón (Madrid, 1940) (Numerous documents between Christian and Muslim monarchs from the 13th-15th centuries.)
Bofarull y Mascaró, Próspero de. Colección de Documentos Inéditos del Archivo General de la Corona de Aragón 41 Vols (Barcelona, 1847-1910)
Ibn Khaldun. Histoire des Berbères et des Dynasties Musulmanes de l’Afrique Septentrionale trans. Baron de Slane (Paris, 1934)
Muntaner. The Chronicle of Muntaner 2 vols, trans. Lady Goodenough (London, 1920-1921)
Salicrú i Lluch, Roser. Documents per a la Història de Granada del Regnat d’Alfons el Magnànim(1416-1458) (Barcelona, 1999)
Tanner, Norman P. Decrees of the Ecumenical Councils 2 vols (London and Washington, 1990)
Secondary Sources
Brodman, James. “The Mercedarian Order and the Problem of Royal Patronage during the Reign of James I” in Jaime I y su Época, Vols 3-5 (Zaragoza, 1979) 71-76
-----. Ransoming Captives in Crusader Spain: The Order of Merced on the Christian Islamic Frontier (Philadelphia, 1986)
Burns, Robert I. and Paul E. Chevedden. Negotiating Cultures: Bilingual Surrender Treaties in Muslim Crusader Spain under James the Conqueror (Leiden, 1999)
Friedman, Yvonne. Encounter between Enemies: Captivity and Ransom in the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem (Leiden, 2002)
López Pérez, María Dolores. “Las relaciones diplomáticas y comerciales entre la Corona de Aragón y los estados norteafricanos durante la baja edad media” in Anuario de Estudios Medievales 20 (1990) 149-169.
-----. La Corona de Aragón y el Magreb en el Siglo XIV (1331-1410) (Barcelona, 1995)
Weigert, Gideon. “A Note on Hudna: Peace Making in Islam” in War and Society in the Eastern Mediterranean, 7th - 15th Centuries ed. Yaacov Lev (Leiden, 1997) 399-405
[1] This abstract is to be used for teaching purposes only. Copyright Jarbel Rodriguez.