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Reviews

A significant contribution to the study of Islam's place in the medieval Christian imagination, this work is highly recommended. -- Choice Tolan's book is welcome as a rare systematic treatment of medieval Christian attitudes toward Muslims... Tolan's remarks invite us to explore the important question of why that is so. -- Tomaz Mastnak, Speculum Saracens contains comprehensive notes, a thorough bibliography, and an excellent index... A useful summary of the current state of hitoriography in the field. -- William E. Watson, History Tolan's model for Christian attitudes toward Islam is the reactions of early Christians to the Roman Empire... Tolan's book is full of interesting details on individual thinkers' views on Islam and provides a welcome addition. -- Anna Sapir Abulafia, American Historical Review Medievalist Tolan shows how the relatively fluid European beliefs about Islam turned rigid in the 13th century, leading to strict laws that separated Christians from Muslims and produced even greater distortions in perception. -- Saudi Aramco World Had the late Edward Said and Daniel Norman collaborated to produce a volume incorporating their particular hermeneutical expertise and scholastic grasp of religious polemics it may well have looked something similar to John V. Tolan's Saracens... Tolan's work, which is superbly researched, explores the plethora of distorted representations of Islam perpetuated throughout the period. -- Mohammed Siddique Seddon, Muslim World Book Review The best of all recently published books on Christian-Islamic relations. -- Gregory Miller, Riligious Studies Review A thoroughgoing reference work like Saracens was long overdue; it is also quite timely. -- David Blanks, Catholic Historical Review

"""Tolan sets out to show how different prejudices and myths were created by changing historical and ideological conditions... clear and informative and certainly readable."" -- Alastair Hamilton, Times Literary Supplement ""A significant contribution to the study of Islam's place in the medieval Christian imagination, this work is highly recommended."" -- Choice ""Tolan's book is welcome as a rare systematic treatment of medieval Christian attitudes toward Muslims... Tolan's remarks invite us to explore the important question of why that is so."" -- Tomaz Mastnak, Speculum "" Saracens contains comprehensive notes, a thorough bibliography, and an excellent index... A useful summary of the current state of hitoriography in the field."" -- William E. Watson, History ""Tolan's model for Christian attitudes toward Islam is the reactions of early Christians to the Roman Empire... Tolan's book is full of interesting details on individual thinkers' views on Islam and provides a welcome addition."" -- Anna Sapir Abulafia, American Historical Review ""Medievalist Tolan shows how the relatively fluid European beliefs about Islam turned rigid in the 13th century, leading to strict laws that separated Christians from Muslims and produced even greater distortions in perception."" -- Saudi Aramco World ""The best of all recently published books on Christian-Islamic relations."" -- Gregory Miller, Riligious Studies Review ""A thoroughgoing reference work like Saracens was long overdue; it is also quite timely."" -- David Blanks, Catholic Historical Review"

Author Information

John V. Tolan is Maitre de Conferences en histoire medievale, Department d'histoire, Universite de Nantes. He is the author of Petrus Alfonsi and His Medieval Readers and editor of Medieval Christian Perceptions of Islam: A Collection of Essays.

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