Latin biographies of Muhammad
A number of biographies of Muhammad were written in Latin during the 9th to 13th centuries.
Overview
The earliest Latin biographies originated in Spain before the mid-9th century. They had a limited circulation and influence. All other Latin biographies are ultimately based on the tradition of the Chronographia of Theophanes the Confessor, translated into Latin in the 9th century by Anastasius Bibliothecarius, which contained a chapter on the life of Muhammad.While Latin biographies of Muhammad in the 11th to 12th century are still in the genre of anti-hagiography, depicting Muhammad as an heresiarch, the tradition develops into the genre of picaresque novel, with Muhammad in the role of the trickster figure, in the 13th century.
The Vita Mahumeti by Embrico of Mainz is an early example of the genre. The text, in rhyming leonine hexameters, was modelled on the verse hagiography of contemporaries such as Hildebert of Le Mans. It was most likely written between 1072 and 1090. It is in the tradition of the Chronographia of Theophanes, including the account of Muhammad's epilepsy and his body being eaten by pigs after his death.
Twelfth-century versions include Otia Machometi by Walter of Compiègne and Vita Machometi by Adelphus.
Thirteenth-century works of the romance type, written in Old French, include the Romance of Muhammad, based on the Otia.
List of works
- Storia de Mahometh
- Tultusceptru de libro domni Metobii
- Embrico of Mainz, Vita Mahumeti
- Adelphus, Vita Machometi
- Walter of Compiègne, Otia de Machomete
- Vita Mahometi of Uncastillo
- De Machometo
- Liber Nycholay
- Where Wicked Muhammad Came From
- Book of Muhammad's Ladder, trans. Bonaventura da Siena
- Theophanes the Confessor, Chronicle, trans. Anastasius Bibliothecarius, in Chronographia tripartita
- Apology of al-Kindi, trans. Peter of Toledo, for the Corpus Cluniacense
- William of Tripoli, Notitia de Machometo and ''De statu Saracenorum''