Christian Communities of East Africa in the Imagination of Medieval Europeans

Bibliographic Data

ID17419307
AuthorsPiotr Plisiecki (0000-0002-0879-3717, John Paul II Catholic University of Lublin, corresponding author)
Year2026
Volume74
Issue2
Pages9-23
Publication date2026-04-01
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueRoczniki Humanistyczne (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0035-7707 • E-ISSN: 2544-5200
PublisherTowarzystwo Naukowe KUL (PUBLISHER • PL)
DOI10.18290/rh26742.1
OpenAlexW7152422921
LanguageEN
References cited12

The paper explores the issue of understanding Africa and African culture during the Middle Ages. Throughout centuries, European scholars, travellers and even knights (e.g. crusaders) encountered people of African origin as well as legends and unproven stories describing mysterious Christian states, societies and cultures, existing beyond the Sahara desert. One of the most significant outcomes of that were medieval maps and descriptions, presenting the extent of knowledge the Europeans had of medieval Africa and setting the limits of medieval imagination. The 14th-century Libro del Conosçimiento de todos los reynos y tierras (The Book of the Knowledge of All the Kingdoms) is one of the best examples of that. The names of those mysterious states, their coats of arms as well as information about their enemies or allies can be found in this medieval compendium

Archaeological evidence · Christianity · Medieval history · Middle Ages · Middle East · Global Maritime and Colonial Histories · Hispanic-African Historical Relations · Medieval History and Crusades