The cutting edge of the poet's sword : : Muslim poetic responses to the Crusades / / by Osman Latiff.

• Author: Latiff, Osman.
• Place / Publishing House: Leiden ;, Boston : : Brill,, 2017.
• Year of Publication: 2017
• Language: English
• Series: The Muslim World in the Age of the Crusades 03.
• Physical Description: 1 online resource (311 pages).

In this comprehensive analysis of Arabic poetry during the period of the crusades (sixth/twelfth-seventh/thirteenth centuries), Osman Latiff provides an insightful examination of the poets who inspired Muslims to unite in the jihād against the Franks. The Cutting Edge of the Poet’s Sword not only contributes to our understanding of literary history, it also illuminates a broad spectrum of religiosity and the role of political propaganda in the anti-Frankish Muslim struggle. Latiff shows how poets, often used by the ruling elite to promote their rule, emphasised the centrality of Islam’s holy sites to inspire the Muslim response to the occupation and later reconquest of Jerusalem, and expressed some surprising views of Frankish Christians.

Table of Contents

Preliminary Material -- Introduction: Setting the Scene -- Poetry and Poetics in Medieval Arabic Discourse -- Theories and Principles of Jihād and the Quest for Martyrdom -- Formative Muslim Responses: Franks (Faranj), Christians (Rūm), and the Making of a Christian Enemy -- Poeticising the Reconquest and Future Expectations -- Literary Underpinnings of the Anti-Frankish Jihād -- The Place of Egypt in Poetic Discourse -- Shattered Dreams: Jerusalem, the Umma, and New Enemies -- Conclusion -- Appendix: Arabic Poems -- Bibliography -- Index of Names and Places -- Index of Subjects.