Christians fused biblical beasts onto whichever enemy threatened them

Evidence

Goths, Jews, and Muslims were also believed to be the offspring of the biblical beasts Gog and Magog, which were at times conflated into one beast named Gagmagog. Jews were identified with two beasts from Mandeville’s Travels, as well as other monstrous races from fantastic tales. Geoffrey of Monmouth identified Gagmagog with the Goths. Matthew Paris identified the monsters with the Tartars, who, according to several Christian accounts, had been imprisoned by Alexander, and “when unleashed, would bring an end to the world.” — Sophia Rose Arjana, Muslims in the Western Imagination, 159

Categorization

• XREF: The Gog and Magog archetype — a contained enemy awaiting release to end the world — echoes the reader’s project on the apocalypse-shadowed monstrous enemy image.