History of the Moors of Spain eBook Florian
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History of the Moors of Spain eBook Florian
The author, Jean-Pierre Claris de Florian was an eighteenth century French romantic writer of poetry, children's fables, and plays. He was not a historian. In his History of the Moors of Spain he brings all of his considerable fictional talents to bear in this often factually inaccurate, context poor, and over-romanticized tale of Moorish Spain. I could cite innumerable examples but will only provide one. He writes;"The fact is well established, that Count Julian and his brother Oppas, archbishop of Toledo, both of them distinguished and influential men, favored the irruption of the Moors into Spain."
First, Bishop Oppas was not Count Julian's brother. He was the brother of former King Witiza and therefore the uncle of Witiza's two sons.
Second, names, dates, and places, are only 1% of history. Context is 99%, and Florian gives no explanation whatsoever as to either why the Moors were invited or just exactly what Count Julian and Bishop Oppas expected. One is left with the impression that they just invited the Moors in to stay and permanently take over Spain from King Rodrigo. In fact, the reason was revenge, the invitation, only temporary. (For the record, there was a mix of Moors and Arabs in Spain, two different ethnic groups, who often preferred killing each other to killing tax paying Dhimmis.)
Bishop Oppas wanted revenge for his two nephews, the princes, for King Rodrigo had usurped the throne when their father, Oppas's brother, King Witiza, died. Count Julian wanted revenge against King Rodrigo for he had seduced his daughter, Florinda, who ever-after has been quite unfairly referred to as "La Cava de Toledo" or "The Whore of Toledo."
They expected that their guests would help them kill King Rodrigo and his supporters, titillate themselves with the local female population, grab a healthy share of booty and slaves, and then call it a day and go back home. Neither Count Julian nor Bishop Oppas ever expected the Moors to stay and they both lived to regret that they had ever invited them for things did not turn out quite as they had expected. While Count Julian had his revenge for his deflowered daughter, it cost the entire Iberian peninsula, and neither of Bishop Oppas's nephews were placed upon the throne in place of King Rodrigo, who once dead, was instantly replaced by the Muslim caliph in Damascus.
What neither Julian nor Oppas understood is that once conquered, Spain was no longer the Dar al Harb but rather now the Dar al Islam. All lands that the Jihad conquers immediately become the Land (or House) of Islam. (Most likely they had never even heard of these terms.) While the Reconquista began almost immediately, it would take almost eight centuries to rid Spain of the Moors. You could call this story, "The Guest who Over-Stayed his Welcome."
That is the rest of the story and I hope it gives some idea of how terrible this book is. And should you ever read Tales of the Alhambra, which is an enjoyable book, you will learn that Washington Irving too was rather doubtful as to Florian's source material. If you want real history, read Edward Gibbon, Reinhart Dozy, or Paul Fregosi.
Never forget that while revenge may sometimes be sweet, rarely is it ever cost-effective.
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History of the Moors of Spain eBook Florian Reviews
did not read it
This is not bad as a freebie, but it is not great literature. Stilted, not much color or detail and lots of worthwhile info is hidden in the notes.
Unfortunately, the nature of the "Moors" history keeping is a deterrent here. I am looking for more than who was killed by who and more their influence on the Spanish culture etc. But I'm keeping at it.
I'm very interested in history so this was a great educational read for me.
Never received this book. It's been so long since I ordered it that I forgot I ordered it. Still waiting.
Don't buy it. The same information is online in a better format.
This charming short book was written by a Frenchman, translated into English and published in 1840 at the height of European colonialism and books describing the `white man's burden'. This history was written with many adjectives describing the manners of the Moors and Spanish and their many wars. While modern history books do not use as many adjectives, what has not changed is good scholarship and a keen mind in creating a history of high reputation. To create this balanced telling of this story the author's research included Spanish historians, Arabian writers, and manuscripts and memoirs obtained from Madrid.
This book would be a good choice for the casual history reader for an overview or introduction to the story of the Moors in Spain. The first couple of centuries of the Muslim empire were peaceful where commerce, ideas, art and science flourished. The great Greek works on medicine, math, astronomy and philosophy were translated into Arabic and became part of the great Muslim learning centers. One of those centers was the opulent Muslim learning center of Cordova, Spain. This is the history of the invasion, rise, culture, fall and final defeat of the Moors of Spain.
The kindle version of this history is actually two books. A sketch of Mohammedan history from Rev. S. Greene's Life of Mohammed has been appended after the History of The Moors of Spain. Green's presentation of Mohammed and Islam seems somewhat typical of the views of the 1800s. The two books are dramatically different and this difference should be kept in mind when reading and evaluating the History of The Moors of Spain.
The author, Jean-Pierre Claris de Florian was an eighteenth century French romantic writer of poetry, children's fables, and plays. He was not a historian. In his History of the Moors of Spain he brings all of his considerable fictional talents to bear in this often factually inaccurate, context poor, and over-romanticized tale of Moorish Spain. I could cite innumerable examples but will only provide one. He writes;
"The fact is well established, that Count Julian and his brother Oppas, archbishop of Toledo, both of them distinguished and influential men, favored the irruption of the Moors into Spain."
First, Bishop Oppas was not Count Julian's brother. He was the brother of former King Witiza and therefore the uncle of Witiza's two sons.
Second, names, dates, and places, are only 1% of history. Context is 99%, and Florian gives no explanation whatsoever as to either why the Moors were invited or just exactly what Count Julian and Bishop Oppas expected. One is left with the impression that they just invited the Moors in to stay and permanently take over Spain from King Rodrigo. In fact, the reason was revenge, the invitation, only temporary. (For the record, there was a mix of Moors and Arabs in Spain, two different ethnic groups, who often preferred killing each other to killing tax paying Dhimmis.)
Bishop Oppas wanted revenge for his two nephews, the princes, for King Rodrigo had usurped the throne when their father, Oppas's brother, King Witiza, died. Count Julian wanted revenge against King Rodrigo for he had seduced his daughter, Florinda, who ever-after has been quite unfairly referred to as "La Cava de Toledo" or "The Whore of Toledo."
They expected that their guests would help them kill King Rodrigo and his supporters, titillate themselves with the local female population, grab a healthy share of booty and slaves, and then call it a day and go back home. Neither Count Julian nor Bishop Oppas ever expected the Moors to stay and they both lived to regret that they had ever invited them for things did not turn out quite as they had expected. While Count Julian had his revenge for his deflowered daughter, it cost the entire Iberian peninsula, and neither of Bishop Oppas's nephews were placed upon the throne in place of King Rodrigo, who once dead, was instantly replaced by the Muslim caliph in Damascus.
What neither Julian nor Oppas understood is that once conquered, Spain was no longer the Dar al Harb but rather now the Dar al Islam. All lands that the Jihad conquers immediately become the Land (or House) of Islam. (Most likely they had never even heard of these terms.) While the Reconquista began almost immediately, it would take almost eight centuries to rid Spain of the Moors. You could call this story, "The Guest who Over-Stayed his Welcome."
That is the rest of the story and I hope it gives some idea of how terrible this book is. And should you ever read Tales of the Alhambra, which is an enjoyable book, you will learn that Washington Irving too was rather doubtful as to Florian's source material. If you want real history, read Edward Gibbon, Reinhart Dozy, or Paul Fregosi.
Never forget that while revenge may sometimes be sweet, rarely is it ever cost-effective.
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