A number of Latin biographies of Muhammad were written 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 (d. 818), 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 Embrico of Mainz (''Embricho Moguntinus'') is the author of the ''Vita Mahumeti'', a Latin biography of Muhammad. The text is in rhyming leonine hexameters, extending to 1,148 lines. It was modelled on the verse hagiography of contemporaries such ...

is an early example of the genre. The text, in rhyming leonine hexameters, was modelled on the verse

hagiography A hagiography (; ) is a biography of a saint or an ecclesiastical leader, as well as, by extension, an adulatory and idealized biography of a founder, saint, monk, nun or icon in any of the world's religions. Early Christian hagiographies migh ...

of contemporaries such as

Hildebert of Le Mans Hildebert (c. 105518 December 1133) was a French ecclesiastic, hagiographer and theologian. From 1096–97 he was bishop of Le Mans, then from 1125 until his death archbishop of Tours. Sometimes called Hildebert of Lavardin, his name may also be ...

. 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. A 12th-century versions include ''Otia Machometi'' by

Walter of Compiègne Walter of Compiègne was a French poet who lived in the middle of the 12th century and was a monk at Saint Martin's at Tours. He composed a Latin biography of Muhammad in elegiac couplets. The story of Mahomet reached Walter by oral tradition, ac ...

(c. 1155) and '' Vita Machometi'' by Adelphus.Ed. B. Bischoff, "Ein Leben Mohammads (Adelphus?) (Zwölftes Jahrhundert)", ''Anecdota Novissima'', 1984. Thirteenth-century works of the romance type, written in Old French, include the ''

Romance of Muhammad The ''Romance of Muhammad'' (French ''Li romans de Mahon'' or ''Roman de Mahomet'') is an Old French romance about the life of Muhammad in octosyllabic couplets. It was written by Alexandre du Pont in 1258 in Laon based on the earlier ''Otia de ...

'' (1258), based on the ''Otia''.

List of works

*''

Storia de Mahometh The ''Storia de Mahometh'' (or ''Istoria de Mahomet'') is a short anonymous polemical Latin biography of Muḥammad written from a Medieval Christian views on Muhammad, Christian perspective, probably in al-Andalus between about 750 and 850. It ...

'' (before 848) *''

Tultusceptru de libro domni Metobii ''Tultusceptru de libro domni Metobii'' is a short Latin biography of Muḥammad written in the 9th or 10th century in the Iberian Peninsula. It is a polemical text designed to show that Islam is a false religion and Muḥammad the unwitting dup ...

'' (9th/10th century) * Theophanes the Confessor, ''Chronicle'', trans. Anastasius Bibliothecarius, in ''Chronographia tripartita'' (870s) *

, ''Vita Mahumeti'' (11th century) *Adelphus, '' Vita Machometi'' (12th century) *

, ''Otia de Machomete'' (12th century) *''

Apology of al-Kindi ''Apology of al-Kindi'' (also spelled al-Kindy) is a medieval theological polemic making a case for Christianity and drawing attention to alleged flaws in Islam. The word "apology" is a translation of the Arabic word ', and it is used in the se ...

'', trans.

Peter of Toledo Peter of Toledo was a significant translator into Latin of the twelfth century. He was one of the team preparing the first Latin translation of the ''Qur'an'' (the ''Lex Mahumet pseudoprophete''). While not much is known of his life, from his f ...

(1142), for the '' Corpus Cluniacense'' *''

Vita Mahometi ''Vita Mahometi'' or ''Vita Machometi'' (Latin for 'life of Muhammad') may refer to: *''Vita Mahumeti'' of Embrico of Mainz (late 11th century) * ''Vita Machometi'' (Adelphus) (12th century) * ''Vita Mahometi'' (Uncastillo) (early 13th century) *' ...

'' (1221/1222) *''

De Machometo ''De Machometo'' ('On Muḥammad') is a brief anonymous Latin tract on the life of Muḥammad from a Christian point of view. It begins in the reign of Pope Boniface IV (608–615). Its account is cobbled together from a variety of sources, in ...

'' (13th century) *''

Liber Nycholay The ''Liber Nycholay'' (or ''Book of Nicholas'') is a Latin biography of Muhammad. It is an anonymous text, written in Italy in the Middle Ages, Italy in the later 13th century. Of no value as a historical source on Muhammad, it is a melding of va ...

'' (13th century) *''

Where Wicked Muhammad Came From ''Where Wicked Muhammad Came From'' ( la, Qualiter iniquus Mahometus venit) is an anonymous Latin biography of Muhammad from the late 13th century. Although it contains some authentic Islamic elements, it consists mostly of legendary material or re ...

'' (13th century) *'' Book of Muhammad's Ladder'', trans.

Bonaventura da Siena Bonaventure of Siena ( it, Bonaventura da Siena) was a Tuscan scribe and translator who worked at the court of Alfonso X of Castile in the 1260s, when Alfonso was claiming the Holy Roman Empire. His most famous work is a translation of the ''Book o ...

(13th century)

Overview

List of works

See also

References

Further reading