Medieval Christian writers could hold accurate ritual knowledge alongside gross geographic confusion

Evidence

The Liber Nicholay which, despite its absurd historical framework, contains authentic information about practices, confuses Baghdad, which it recognises as the seat of the Caliphate, with Mecca, and Mecca, of course, with Medina. — Norman Daniel, Islam and the West, 2363

Categorization

• DEFINE: Shows how a single medieval source could mix authentic observed practice with an absurd invented geography — a useful caution about sourcing.
• XREF: Parallels the general pattern in this book that medieval Christian knowledge of Islam was a patchwork of accurate detail and wild invention.