Christian courtiers adopted bodily markers of Muslim identity to gain favor

Evidence

The aged Avernus went so far as to have himself circumcised, surrendering his old, tough foreskin to the surgeon’s knife. This is accommodation gone too far: for Samson it is a prelude to apostasy; for Alvarus it was the mark of the Antichrist. Other court Christians went so far as to denounce churches whose altars illegally housed relics of the recent martyrs. — John V. Tolan, Saracens, 546

Categorization

• SHARE: The image of an aged Christian cleric getting himself circumcised to ingratiate with the emir is a striking detail a friend interested in conversion and bodily identity would appreciate.
• CANDY: An aged churchman voluntarily surrendering ‘his old, tough foreskin to the surgeon’s knife’ for court favor is a vivid, absurd image anyone could retell.
• FICTION: Material for a character who shifts bodily markers of identity, citizenship, or loyalty — a narrative trope with deep resonance.