11. The Life of the Prophet Muḥammad in East Norse

Abstract

The Life of the Prophet Muḥammad in East NorseBeware of false prophets which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.Ye shall know them by their fruits […] a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit.(Matthew 7. 15-17) There are several texts in East Norse -Old Swedish (fornsvenska, c. 1225-1526) and Old Danish (gammeldansk, c. 1100-1515) -that mention or describe Muslims and their religion. 1Yet, studies on the portrayal of Islam and Muslims in medieval East Norse texts are very scarce, and usually form little more than brief prolegomena to more detailed examinations of later literature. 2 This article begins by looking at the portrayal and (mis)use of Muslims in East Norse literature before focusing on three texts that describe the life of Muḥammad (The Old Swedish Legendary, Consolation of the Soul, and The Travels of Sir John Mandeville) in order to uncover the ideas about the Prophet that were circulating in vernacular texts in Denmark and Sweden during the Middle Ages.The investigation concentrates on depictions of Muḥammad as a pseudo-prophet, but also touches on representations of Muḥammad as one of several idols worshipped by the polytheistic Saracens.The reasons behind including stories about Muslims and Muḥammad in religious and non-religious Christian writ-1 The research leading to this article was carried out whilst a Visiting Fellow with the Humanities Research Centre,

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