Episodes of cannibalism between Christians and Muslims from the eleventh to the thirteenth century. Cases of dehumanization and hyper-humanization

This paper aims at analyzing episodes of cannibalism which are featured in medieval chronicles of military encounters between Christians and Muslims from the eleventh to the early thirteenth century. My intention is to show that cannibalism had a twofold connotation which transcended the mere notion of taboo. On the one hand, anthropophagy represented an emergency solution to which crusaders resorted for the mere sake of survival. Rather than emphasizing the breaking of the taboo, however, European chronicles employed reports of cannibalism to dehumanize their Muslim enemies. On the other hand, anthropophagy was also associated with magical and medical practice. Primary sources suggest that both Christian and Muslims hoarded dead soldiers’ organs and body parts in order to obtain either moral (e.g., bravery) or physical (e.g., health, strength) benefits. Such practices are compared with remedies which are found in the Latin grimoire known as Picatrix, translated from the Arabic at the court of Alfonso X the Wise. By contextualizing historical sources within the anthropological debate on cannibalism, this contribution is meant to suggest that anthropophagic practices were considerably nuanced in the High and Late Middle Ages, well beyond the traditional Eurocentric binary interpretation.