The Prophet of Islam in Old French: The Romance of Muhammad (1258) and The Book of Muhammad’s Ladder (1264): English Translations, With an Introduction

This is an English translation of the only medieval French narratives presenting comprehensive accounts of Muhammad’s prophethood. The introduction looks at the problems of the romance’s divergence from comventional Christian representations of Muhammad’s confirmation as prophet, and the absence of Christian commentary in the apocalypse. The traditions regarding Muhammad’s prophethood are discussed, as are the conventions of the apocalyptic genre and the propagandistic aims of both narratives in relation to the crusades and missionary activity at the time.