Crusade chroniclers invented defeat laments placing Islam’s god against the cross

Evidence

One can see why this would make satisfying reading for the Christians back in Europe. The fictive lament not only inserts melodrama and pathos into the narrative but also drives home the superiority of Christianity to paganism: the pagans are doomed to defeat against God, no matter how many armies they assemble or how much gold and precious stones they lavish on their false gods. Here the center of Saracen worship is the tomb of Mathome, rather than an idol, but the message is the same: the false god is confronted by the crucifix, and the crucifix wins. Once more, a powerful pagan is brought low as he acknowledges the awesome power of God. — John V. Tolan, Saracens, 656

Categorization

• XREF: Documents the invented, propagandistic literary device underpinning the medieval Christian construction of Islam the vault already tracks via Anidjar/Aziz/Razack.