Usama ibn Munqidh: “A Muslim View of the Crusaders” (1185) Commentary by J. Tia Wheeler, University of St. Andrews, U.K.

The Book of Contemplation (Kitab al-itibar) is the entertaining and informative memoir of a Muslim warrior, Usama ibn Munqidh, during the early crusader era. Usama, who was also a poet and a writer, dictated the narrative at age ninety. Because his life spanned much of the early Crusades, he was an eyewitness to many of the events. Sections of Usama’s Book of Contemplation include his observations of the European crusaders, and some of them are presented here as a selection titled “A Muslim View of the Crusaders,” in which Usama relates both positive and negative views of the crusaders.

Were it not for a single manuscript found in El Escorial, Spain, all of this insight into daily Islamic life during the first two Crusades (1096–1099 and 1145–1149) would have been lost. While several other Islamic sources were written during the Crusades, they focus on Islamic leaders and are generally from the period following Usama's death. There are comparatively more European sources...