Frankish knights, Arab models?

By Romain Lepage

This study compares Islamic Furusiyya, a chivalric art codified as early as the 9th century, with the nascent Frankish chivalry of the 11th century. It demonstrates the anteriority of Furusiyya and analyzes its "decisive imprint" on the construction of European chivalry. Al-Andalus, a brilliant civilization and Mediterranean crossroads, played a key role through complex military, economic and cultural interactions. Evidence of influence is examined: technical linguistic borrowings (alf rez, adarga), functional parallels between maydans and tournaments, and above all, the highly probable inspiration of courtly love ideals and troubadour poetry by Spanish-Arabic literary models. The analysis also highlights fundamental differences (Christian religion vs. Islam, feudal/hereditary society vs. partial meritocracy, distinct rituals), showing how influence was adapted and integrated into an original European synthesis. The book concludes with an Arab founding heritage, inviting a nuanced and less Eurocentric re-reading of chivalric origins.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 6208937000
• ISBN13: 9786208937003
• Release Date: June 2025
• Publisher: Our Knowledge Publishing
• Length: 228 Pages
• Weight: 0.68 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 6.0" x 9.0"