Images of Christians and Muslims of the Holy Land in the travelogues of Benjamin of Tudela and Petachia of Regensburg
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 22353464 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Anna Zanozina (0009-0000-0929-2132, St Petersburg University, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2026 |
| Pages | 30 |
| Publication date | 2026-03-21 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Christianity in the Middle East (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 2587-9316 • E-ISSN: 2949-3234 |
| Publisher | Palama Publishing (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.65324/cme015 |
| OpenAlex | W7139989020 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 10 |
This article examines the journeys of medieval Jewish travelers Benjamin of Tudela and Petachia of Regensburg (12th century) to the Holy Land, analyzing their observations and interactions with representatives of different religious groups. The authors of the abovementioned travelogues aim to construct a plausible picture of the current political situation and daily life in the region for their readers in Europe. At the same time, they conveyed their attitudes both explicitly and implicitly toward the ethno-religious groups they encountered (Franks, Muslims, and local Christians) through their deliberate choice of ethnonyms and confessional designations. For the most part these terms are seemingly neutral but could, when necessary, reflect a particular stance toward a given group, even if the author himself did not intend it as a value judgement. The Holy Land in the travelers’ accounts is indeed Jewish by nature, which is reflected by the names of shrines and other landmarks, at the same time, real local Jews are of little interest to travelogue authors. This analysis allows us to deepen our understanding of interfaith relations during the Crusades and the subsequent era, as well as to consider the role of the Jewish communities throughout Europe as a cultural transmitter and observer in the complex religious and political landscape of the Holy Land
Confessional · Judaism · Narrative · Politics · Historical, Literary, and Cultural Studies · Medieval and Classical Philosophy · Medieval History and Crusades
| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |