The Prophet of Islam in Old French - The Romance of Muhammad and the Book of Muhammad's Ladder: The Romance of Muhammad

by Reginald Hyatte

"The Prophet of Islam in Old French" gives the first English translation of the only medieval French narratives that present comprehensive accounts of Muhammad's prophethood: Alexandre du Pont's "Romance of Muhammad" from 1258 and the 1264 translation of a Muslim apocalypse, "The Book of Muhammad's Ladder," The introduction addresses the problems of the romance's divergence from conventional Christian representations of Muhammad's confirmation as prophet and the absence of Christian commentary in the apocalypse. It discusses the traditions regarding Muhammad's prophethood, the conventions of the apocalyptic genre, and the propagandistic aims of both narratives in relation to the crusades and missionary activity at that time. These works are of particular interest because they are the first to present to a French lay audience the topic of Muhammad's prophethood, and scholars have long debated whether the apocalypse influenced Dante's "Divine Comedy,"

216 pages, Leather Bound

First published April 1, 1997

Reviews

[aidan · Rating 1 out of 5]

miserable ipad reading experience

[Fred Kohn · Rating 5 out of 5]

I got this book for Muhammad's Ladder and got the Romance of Muhammad as a bonus. I generally don’t care for poetry but the Romance was pretty easy to follow and a nice piece of literature. I’ve always been a big fan of Christian apocalyptic literature and Muhammad's ladder ranks right up there with the best of what the Christians have to offer. According to the intro, there is some evidence that Dante was influenced by Muhammad's ladder, which is an interesting idea.

[Eitan]

Read ch. 1-53 of Muhammad’s Ladder for class

[Lulu]

The Romance of Muhammad 1258
The Book of Muhammad's Ladder 1264