Islam, Nationalism, and 1000 Years of European Poetry: From The Song of Roland to The Highland Lute

David Aberbach offers a panoramic history of European poetry as it was affected by the centuries-long conflict between Islam and Christianity, from the early-medieval Old French chanson de geste, The Song of Roland, set against the Muslim invasion of France in the eighth century, to Fishta’s The Highland Lute, the early-twentieth-century Albanian epic of the struggle for independence from Ottoman rule, achieved in 1912. Aberbach surveys some of the outstanding poetry set against Islamic conquests and domination, particularly in Spain and the Balkans. The book includes detailed comparisons between medieval and modern Arabic and Hebrew poetry, closely linked in technique and subject matter, but moving apart after 1789. A result of constant religious warfare in Europe was disillusionment with religion, increasing focus on humanistic concerns, and the evolution of a secular State separate from religion.

This captivating history of Islam and European poetry will be of great interest to any scholars of nationalism, Jewish and Islamic Studies, history, comparative literature, and cultural studies.