Medieval crusade propaganda recycled hostile legends about Muhammad for effect

Evidence

In order to prove that this is indeed shameful, and that crusade is the only possible solution, he needs to paint the Saracens in the worst possible light. He does this by giving first a brief vituperative biography of “Machometus,” whom he describes as “not only … most false and lying, but a most atrocious plunderer, the worst spiller of human blood, and even most stinking in the sin of lust.” Here he repeats many of the vicious legends about Muhammad: Machometus was schooled in astrology and magic, received a religious education from the Nestorian monk Sergius, passed off his epileptic fits as visits from Gabriel. He describes the episode of Zayd and Zaynab in hostile terms and repeats Petrus Alfonsi’s story of the promised and failed resurrection of Machometus. Fidentius, more concerned with shock effect than veracity, finds these hostile legends useful. — John V. Tolan, Saracens, 1079

Categorization

Category: Factual Claims

• XREF: Connects to the recurring theme in this book of how Latin Christians constructed Islam from recycled hostile legends; also echoes the moral-panic literature’s observation that propagandists prefer shock value over accuracy.
• SHARE: The detail that Christian polemicists spread the claim Muhammad faked epileptic fits as Gabriel visitations is a good tidbit for anyone interested in medieval defamation of Islam.

Related

• The polemical biography of Muhammad as liar, plunderer and lecher is medieval in origin (similarity 0.85)
• Later medieval polemicists reproduced hostile biographies of Muhammad as heresy (similarity 0.81)
• Medieval polemic framed Muhammad as a miracle-faking trickster to fit the heresiarch archetype (similarity 0.79)
• Medieval Christian polemics demonized Muhammad to justify crusader violence against Muslims (similarity 0.79)
• The medieval Muslim-idol legend originated as Crusade war propaganda (similarity 0.78)