Franciscan martyrs preached in languages the Muslim public could not understand

Evidence

After a night of fasting and prayer, they steal into the city and begin preaching, in Italian, to the (bemused? scandalized?) residents. They are brought before the “king” who, judging them crazy, has them imprisoned. After a week in prison, they appear again before the king, who has procured the services of a translator. They lambast Muhammad and his law and invite the king to convert; he sends them to the judge (qâdî), who sentences them to death. — John V. Tolan, Saracens, 1113

Categorization

• CANDY: The detail that they preached ‘in Italian’ to bemused residents — who judged them crazy — is a darkly comic, tweetable image.
• FICTION: The image of monks preaching martyrdom to a bemused, baffled crowd could seed a satirical or tragicomic scene.