Medieval Christians mapped monsters onto dark wild and borderland places.

Evidence

Non-Christian territories were sinister spaces—far more dangerous than Christian territories, whatever monsters dwelled there. Muslim lands were dark and foreboding landscapes separated from the natural world. According to one medieval account, Saracens lived in a land “[w] here the sun does not shine, not any grain grow. There falls no rain or dew. There are no stones that are not all black. Some say devils dwell there.” In a medieval Muslim island referenced in Aliscans, the lost island is so far removed from human society that it lays “outside the known world.” — Sophia Rose Arjana, Muslims in the Western Imagination, 119 (#expands, via linked claim)

Gothic monsters differ from their predecessors by virtue of their mobility (among other features). These creatures often travel to London and other European sites, violating the borders that keep Christians safe. Gothic’s resurrection of medievalism is seen in its storylines, characters, settings, and accoutrements. Gothic Muslim monsters have a “diabolic monstrosity” similar to the Muslim monsters examined in earlier eras. They enjoy the hunt and the kill. — Sophia Rose Arjana, Muslims in the Western Imagination, 426 (#complicates, via linked claim)

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Pre-modern monsters were geographically bounded to the edges of the known world.; Medieval Saracen monsters were placed geographically at Christian territory’s edges; Medieval Christians inhabited a world where monsters coexisted with humans everywhere (+7 more)

Related

• Muslim monsters were located in distant God-forgotten lands beyond the borders. (similarity 0.95)
• Muslim monsters occupied map edges alongside other monstrous races. (similarity 0.92)
• Medieval accounts imagined Muslim lands as sunless devil-haunted spaces (similarity 0.89)
• Medieval theologically-oriented maps placed monstrous races farthest from Jerusalem. (similarity 0.89)
• Medieval Christians inhabited a world where monsters coexisted with humans everywhere (similarity 0.88)
• Gothic literature resurrected medieval geography of Muslim monsters (similarity 0.87)
• Gothic Muslim monsters distinguish themselves by crossing borders into Christian Europe (similarity 0.86)
• Pre-modern monsters were geographically contained while Saracens inhabited sunless evil lands (similarity 0.86)
• Saracens were mapped at the edges of known Christian space as boundary monsters (similarity 0.86)
• Medieval maps placed Saracens at the territorial edges as boundary monsters (similarity 0.85)
• Medieval Christians imagined demons prowling everywhere, even often disguised as dark-skinned foreigners (similarity 0.85)
• Orientalist monsters could migrate across religious and ethnic targets at will (similarity 0.84)
• Medieval Muslim-monster imagery persists today through Gothic horror and Orientalism (similarity 0.84)
• Monster representation shifted from fixed periphery to Gothic mobility in modernity (similarity 0.84)
• Medieval literature equated Saracens with demons condemned to hell (similarity 0.84)

Broader Connections

• Muslim monsters occupied map edges alongside other monstrous races. #expands (0.70)
• Medieval accounts imagined Muslim lands as sunless devil-haunted spaces #expands (0.60) — Sophia Rose Arjana, Muslims in the Western Imagination, 119
• Gothic Muslim monsters distinguish themselves by crossing borders into Christian Europe #complicates (0.50) — Sophia Rose Arjana, Muslims in the Western Imagination, 426
• The landscape itself operates as a monster in Gothic horror alongside human villains #complicates (0.45)