What Was the Relationship Between Religion and War in the Middle Ages? HIST 101: Discussion-Section Questions Week Eight: March 23-March 27, 2020

1. This selection from “The Qur’an,” Islam’s holy book, includes two suras (chapters), “The Cow” and “Muhammad.” These selections from the Qur’an (sometimes spelled “Koran”) speak about “unbelievers.” From reading this selection only (that is, paying no attention to how some modern people understand this term) how would you identify these “unbelievers”? Who do they seem to be, and how are they to be treated?

2. In Pope Gregory VII’s “Letter to Bishop Hermann of Metz,” Gregory defends his excommunication of the Holy Roman Emperor Henry IV (described in this reading as “King Henry”). From this letter, does Pope Gregory strike you as a peaceful man? Why or why not?

3. One of the most important consequences of Roman Emperor Constantine’s legalization of Christianity in 313, and of the later conversion of Germanic peoples like the Franks, was the Christianization of war. (Remember that the Christians were originally pacifists who refused to serve in the Roman army.) How does “The Song of Roland” reconcile warfare with Christianity?

4. How would you characterize this Christian poem’s depiction of the Muslim emir Baligant, of Baligant’s son Malprimes, and of Islam generally?

5. “The Anonymous of Mainz: A Hebrew Account of the First Crusade” recounts the experiences of Jews in several German communities (the towns of Mainz, Speyer, Worms, Cologne) who were brutally attacked by Christian crusaders headed to the Holy Land in 1096. What were the different strategies that the Jewish communities adopted in order to try to avoid these attacks, and to avoid being forcibly converted to Christianity? On the other hand, what does this source tell us about the different reactions and responses of Christians to the Jews?

6. In “An Arabic Account of the First Crusade,” how did Ibn al-Athir view Christians? (Note that “the Franks” here are the Christian- European crusaders.) What did he think were the reasons why the First Crusade took place, and why the crusaders were successful?

7. After reading all of these sources, how would you summarize the relationship between religion (Christianity, Judaism, and Islam) and

violence in the Middle Ages?