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A Vanished World: Muslims, Christians, and Jews in Medieval Spain

Chris Lowney (Goodreads Author)

3.87 · Rating details · 213 Ratings · 30 Reviews

In a world torn by religious antagonism, lessons can be learned from medieval Spanish villages where Muslims, Christians, and Jews rubbed shoulders on a daily basis--sharing irrigation canals, bathhouses, municipal ovens, and marketplaces. Medieval Spaniards introduced Europeans to paper manufacture, Hindu-Arabic numerals, philosophical classics, algebra, citrus fruits, co ...more

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Paperback, 320 pages

Published September 1st 2006 by Oxford University Press, USA (first published March 29th 2005)

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Aug 22, 2015 Stephen rated it liked it

Shelves: medieval, islam, spain

Vanished World sets medieval Spain before the reader with the warning; we may be blessed or cursed by emulating its example. The Iberian peninsula is the very perimeter of western Europe, within a stone's throw of both the vast continent of Africa and the looming expanse of the Atlantic. Despite its apparent remoteness, Iberia was throughout the ages in the very thick of the action -- the pitch wherin civilizations clashed. In an earlier age, Rome and Carthage sparred; a thousand years later, Vi Vanished World sets medieval Spain before the reader with the warning; we may be blessed or cursed by emulating its example. The Iberian peninsula is the very perimeter of western Europe, within a stone's throw of both the vast continent of Africa and the looming expanse of the Atlantic. Despite its apparent remoteness, Iberia was throughout the ages in the very thick of the action -- the pitch wherin civilizations clashed. In an earlier age, Rome and Carthage sparred; a thousand years later, Visigoths and Muslims fought. The invasion of Spain in 711 by the Umayyad caliphate made the former province of the Romans, then yet another ruin ruled by nominally Christian barbarians, into an outpost of a far larger, far more sophisticated civilization, where it enjoyed a golden age that was for Europe a preview of the Renaissance and enlightenment. Here the gifts of the Greeks were preserved and built on; here both Islam and Rabbinic Judaism grew in new directions. Vanished World is a brief and romantic history of medieval Spain, one brimming with hope that we can all just get along.

Until the triumph of Ferdinand and Isabella, who united their kingdoms and created a state commanding the peninsula, Iberia was home to a multitude of peoples and minor states. While many were drawn by commercial cross-traffic, others came to carve out kingdoms, like the Visigoths and their successors from Africa, the Umayyads. Iberia was fractured and destitute, lingering in a winter of civilization that was chased away by an eastern wind. Unlike the barely literate Goths, the Muslim invaders were part of a vibrant, culturally rich civilization on the ascendant. Sweeping over the peninsula, they infused it with new life, creating a social order that allowed their new subjects to participate in it. Although the calpihate would falter after the death of its leader, breaking into squabbling branches that were brushed aside by a Castillian comeback, it reigned for several hundred years and created an environment that brought the best of human passion, creativity, and intelligence to the surface. After an introduction which establishes an outline of Spain's political history. most of the book is given over to sections which explore different aspects of the civilization that prevailed between the fall of the Goths and the rise of Castille. These include chapters on the growth of science, as Muslim and Jewish scholars built upon Greek knowledge and advanced it considerably, as well as some on religious revolution; the Judeo-Muslim mystical traditions both flourished in the Iberian setting. Downey's vision for the book is made apparent in contrasting several pairs of legends. The patron saint of Spain. St. James, was remembered alternatively as either a humble and kind apostle who spread the Gospel to the furthest reaches of the continent, or as Santiago the Muslim-Slayer, who was said to have appeared and led a Christian army to victory. A similar contrast is offered by the Song of Roland, depicting Charlemagne as a Christian warrior fighting the fiendish Muslims, and the story of El Cid, who found honor and friendship among the ranks of both. Christian and Muslim need not spar, Downey writes, offering various examples of cross-cultural pollination and episodes of historical cooperation, as when Christian and Muslim powers joined together to fight...other Muslim powers.

Although the subject is fascinating and I wanted badly to like it, in truth the book is limited. Downey is a very casual historian, chatty and informal. That can work to a degree, but sometimes retards a reader's ability to take the text seriously. Assuming one is completely oblivious to intellectual life in the medieval epoch, Vanished World will be quite exciting. Personally, Spangenburg and Moser's history of science covered this ground too well for me to take much here, though I did find the bits about Sufism and Kabbalah of interest. The history is also heavily sanitized in view of Downey's objection. It's a laudable goal, of course, and he does mention a few trifling incidents of unpleasantness, but haranguing Christians for the Crusades is hardly fair when no mention of the Battle of Tours is made. Sixty years after the conquest of Spain by Moorish armies, the Umayyads advanced on France itself, meeting defeat scarcely 150 miles from Paris. Humans will never cease to war with one another, though, regardless of religion; Christians may fight Muslims, but as this and countless other books demonstrate, they will happily dig into one another as well. We're a hot-blooded species given to destruction. That considering, it's nice to review the many ways we are capable of working together, as Downey does here, touching on science, art, medicine, and even the invention of cowboys.

Look for a future comparison to Ornament of the World: How Muslims, Jews, and Christians Created a Culture of Tolerance in Medieval Spain. ...more

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Nov 03, 2009 Andrew rated it liked it

Shelves: islam, middle-east

I thought this book gave an excellent introduction to the history of al-Andalus, a chapter of European history of which I was woefully ignorant. Western history books seem to teach that Spanish history began in 1492, but really some of its brightest moments were centuries before that and Modern Spain is only beginning to catch up. Plus, the juxtaposition of the Song of Roland and the epic of El Cid and the author's interpretation of their differences gave some food for thought. However, I find t ...more

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Mar 06, 2013 Jonathan Love rated it it was amazing

Appropriately timed, I found this book, accidentally, prior to my vacation to Barcelona.

Unfortunately, as I progressed through the Spanish history, I seemed to always be one area e.g., Valencia or the Pyrenees, behind in my reading. Therefore, I missed many an opportunity to see the sites described in the book.

This was an excellent book for any interested in the social/cultural ramifications of the three Abrahamic religions living together and the dire consequences of the minority when the major ...more

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Mar 05, 2017 Charlene rated it really liked it

Very readable and interesting. Author has quite the varied experiences . . . was a managing director for J.P. Morgan, a graduate of Jesuit university with degrees in medieval history and philosophy, world traveler. Book was published soon after the 2004 Madrid train bombings & that is referenced in the introduction but I'm not sure if it served as the impetus for book itself, which traces Spain's history first as a Christian country under the Visigoths, then Muslim, and then for several cent ...more

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Jul 19, 2012 Wendy Dunn rated it it was amazing

Those who forget the past are condemned to repeat it ~ George Santayana

“[Suspects]...had no right to know the identities of accusers, the accused were not represented by counsel: under certain circumstances, torture could be used to extract confessions...”

Lowney, regarding the Spanish Inquisition, A Vanished World
A Vanished World is a book that demonstrates why the study of history is so important and why we must take stock of its lessons.

A Vanished World examines Medieval Spain during a time Those who forget the past are condemned to repeat it ~ George Santayana  

“[Suspects]...had no right to know the identities of accusers, the accused were not represented by counsel: under certain circumstances, torture could be used to extract confessions...”

Lowney, regarding the Spanish Inquisition, A Vanished World
A Vanished World is a book that demonstrates why the study of history is so important and why we must take stock of its lessons.

A Vanished World examines Medieval Spain during a time when Christians, Jews, and Muslims coexisted. At times, this coexistence came so close to getting it right, creating a time and place where society flowered to a golden era of true enlightenment. Jews, Christians, and Muslims, all followers of one God, learnt from one another and worked together, often in a true harmony. This was a time when many in Medieval Spain dared question whether it was possible to journey to God by many roads and acknowledged that faith does not mean setting aside reason. It was a time when a Muslim mystic wrote:    My heart has become capable of every form:  it is a pasture for gazelles and a convent for Christian monks,  and a temple for idols and the pilgrim's Kaa'ba,  and the tables of the Torah and the book of the Quran.  I follow the religion of Love.  

 With the quest for knowledge and understanding providing the key, the three faiths of this Medieval World interwove a society that still shines a light for us in our darkening world rent by widening divisions.   Lowney's chapter on the Spanish Inquisition is especially pertinent to what's happening in Australia, my own country, and I feel, necessary reading and warning for anyone currently in politics. Consider the example of Pope Sixtus IV and the Spanish Inquisition. For Pope Sixtus IV, the Spanish Inquisition became a monster that “moved not by seal for the faith and salvation of souls, but by lust for wealth...many true and faithful Christians...have without legitimate proof been thrust into secular prisons, torture and condemned...”

A Vanished World reminds us that all the “Abrahamic faiths” honour the creed “love our neighbours as ourselves” and to do any other than that is to go against the teachings of the Bible, the Torah, and the Koran.  
Our world lives in a climate of fear, but history, as Lowney illustrates in his book, has known many such moments, when other societies also tottered on the brink of destruction.

Such times left unhealed wounds difficult to forget or forgive, yet history also shows, over and over, our mutual capability of moving beyond such times to build bridges of peace. For our present world, the past hints at a possible blue print to span these bridges again.   Obviously passionate about this subject and a consummate writer and storyteller, Lowney offers here a book of great insight and power. A Vanished World shows that even if the Pandora's box is open before us hope always remains.

...more

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Sep 19, 2015 Beth rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: college-assigned, history, middle-ages, nonfiction, religion

I read this book for my Atlantic history class, which started with medieval southern Spain (Andalusia, al-Andalus in Arabic) and the Reconquista and then covered the colonization of West Africa (by the Portuguese) and the West Indies (by the Spanish). This book shows how Andalusia became a center of learning, innovation and religious tolerance unlike anywhere else in medieval Europe. There are chapters on mathematics, philosophy and medicine, and also some examples of agricultural innovation (ne I read this book for my Atlantic history class, which started with medieval southern Spain (Andalusia, al-Andalus in Arabic) and the Reconquista and then covered the colonization of West Africa (by the Portuguese) and the West Indies (by the Spanish). This book shows how Andalusia became a center of learning, innovation and religious tolerance unlike anywhere else in medieval Europe. There are chapters on mathematics, philosophy and medicine, and also some examples of agricultural innovation (new crops, irrigation, and water mills). Some famous examples of Muslim Spain's architecture are described (the Great Mosque of Cordoba, the palace Madinat al-Zahra, and the later and more famous palace the Alhambra.) The book describes the arguments of religious scholars such as the Jewish Maimonides and the Muslim Ibn Rushd (Averroes) that religion can be reconciled with reason, and compares them to mystics such as Ibn Arabi (one of the most famous Sufi mystics) and Moses de Leon (founder of the mystical Kabbalah tradition in Judaism).

The decline of al-Andalus began with political infighting among its rulers, and the Christian kingdoms in the north took advantage of this to start taking over the south. In the late eleventh century, the North African Almoravid dynasty invaded and took control of al-Andalus. The Almoravids temporarily brought stability to southern Spain, but they didn't think much of the Spanish Muslims. The Almoravids traced Muslim Spain's political problems to their "religious and moral laxity. Muslim Spain's elite "defied the Quran by besotting themselves on Spanish wines, from grapes grown in Muslim-owned vineyards, no less. They insulted fellow Muslims by awarding Christians and Jews positions of authority in government."

The Crusades began about ten years later, and the church urged Spanish Christian knights to stay in Spain and join the Reconquest. The book shows that there were still many examples of coexistence between Christians and Muslims before the Muslims were expelled from Spain in 1502 (under Ferdinand and Isabella). A Muslim chronicler wrote of Alfonso VI's treatment of Muslim Toledo, "he began to govern the people with justice and moderation, hoping to gain them over to polytheism" (a lot of Muslims saw Christianity as polytheistic because of the doctrine of the Trinity). From the other side, Lowney's chapter on The Song of Roland (which is French, but set in Muslim Spain) shows how Christian conquerors thought the same thing about Islam (the Song of Roland portrays Muslims worshipping Muhammad, Apollo, and other idols). Chapters 9 and 10 compare the portrayal of Islam in the epics The Song of Roland and El Cid.

...more

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Jan 08, 2016 Shannon rated it it was ok

A bit too slow and dry for my taste. Even the exciting topics (El Cid, Charlemagne) were made to feel boring, though I think the author did a great job of making this history feel relevant with the war on terror, etc.

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Nov 20, 2012 Stacey rated it it was amazing

Shelves: medieval-history, islam-history, christianity, general-history, jewish-history

I purchased this book this summer from the shop at Granada's Alhambra, as an addition to my many books about medieval Judaism. It proved to be an interesting and most worthwhile investment.

Chris Lowney introduces us - or for those of us who are already familiar with the history, takes us back to - Spain before Islam, to a time when the Visigoths had visions of a fully Christian Iberian peninsula. Then we are taken on a journey throughout the centuries, through the Moorish conquests of Spain, int I purchased this book this summer from the shop at Granada's Alhambra, as an addition to my many books about medieval Judaism. It proved to be an interesting and most worthwhile investment.

Chris Lowney introduces us - or for those of us who are already familiar with the history, takes us back to - Spain before Islam, to a time when the Visigoths had visions of a fully Christian Iberian peninsula. Then we are taken on a journey throughout the centuries, through the Moorish conquests of Spain, introduced to Jewish statesmen, and presented with great cultural works of literature, astronomy, and multifaith translations of books from Latin to Castilian, before being plunged into the inquisitorial times of Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand in the late 15th and early 16th centuries. We journey with pilgrims trekking the long trail from France and beyond, over the Pyrenees to Santiago de Compostela, and visit the magnificent Andalusian cities of Cordoba, Granada, and Seville.

Lowney writes with passion and conviction. Medieval Spain was, in some ways, a time of multifaith, interfaith, and multicultural enlightenment which enjoyed not one, but three, Golden Ages. Indeed, the final part of his last chapter concerning Christopher Columbus and the New World, and his epilogue to the entire book, are not just mere closing pages to the retelling of a long ago time. They are also the presentation of our present world... the New World which unfolded after the death of the Catholic Monarchs, not just in Spain, but elsewhere. For in the centuries spanning the gap between the Middle Ages and our present times, rulers - and sometimes the general population - strove to create a perfect society, with religious, social, cultural, and political homogeneity. And yet, no matter how much strife such an ambition still demands of those wishing to fulfill it, modern technology makes it, in many ways, completely unattainable. For the world is now much smaller than it was all those centuries ago, thanks to planes, trains, GPS, and even the internet. Muslims, Jews, and Christians rub shoulders with each other on a day-to-day basis, whether in business or in social circles, face to face, or online.

And so, writes Chris Lowney, we now find ourselves in a new kind of "Medieval Spain". We have been brought full circle. So what, asks Lowney, can the vanished world of medieval Spain teach us about history? Do we, he asks, "adopt Santiago the Killer's ever-resentful posture, where each backward glance through history is a prelude to settling old scores"? Or do we "choose Santiago the Pilgrim's optimistic journey forward, glancing back to learn the lessons from our past that might enable reconciliation in our future"? Of course, only time will tell. The journey will be what we make it.

Throughout this well written, fully engaging look back to a time when the three main faiths of today's world lived in relative harmony of what many still (wrongly) consider a backward era, Medieval Spain shows us, as Lowney correctly puts it, that the future is shaped by us, and not by the Gods, and that we are all capable of sharing this Earth together, in the same relative harmony.

A fully educational book, which I recommend to amateur and professional historians alike, either as an introduction to the history of al-Andalus, or as a complementary read to any other good books about the remarkable Spanish peninsula. ...more

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May 26, 2013 Raymonds009 rated it it was amazing

For me this filled in a lot of information that I missed in undergraduate study. I don't think that information like this was considered so pertinent 45 years ago. Understanding the roots and permutations of our present day dilemmas with how religion and politics have interacted over the years is now of paramount importance.

There are many eye-opening passages here describing both the good and the ugly in Spain during this period. I feel that, in general, we don't know enough about the interplay ...more

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Jul 31, 2010 Ruth Ann rated it really liked it

Shelves: world-history

I found this interesting and well-written, and it's a period of history I knew almost nothing about. It did seem, by the time I was halfway through, that the publisher's blurb overstates Lowney's thesis considerably, making the 700 years of Al-Andalus sound like seven centuries of sheer brotherly love between Muslims, Christians, and Jews. In fact, much of the book traces the political strife between Christians and Muslims. There's one, very welcome chapter where the interaction between the comm ...more

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Jun 25, 2014 Bob rated it liked it

A brief survey of the great medieval Spaniards -- Muslim, Jewish, and Christian -- who made significant contributions to world civilization. The chapters form mini-biographies. Chris Lowney's great strength is to show that a multi-religious society (even when toleration was based on necessity rather than choice) can make contributions a homogenous society will often neglect; drawbacks are an occasionally simplistic approach and an arch style. The "Suggested Readings" were just what I would want ...more

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Feb 24, 2014 Ivan Granger rated it really liked it

Shelves: history

Much like The Ornament of the World, a very readable overview of the culture and history of Andalusian Spain with moments of fascinating insight -- but in frustratingly brief glances. Recommended to anyone interested in the cultural meeting point between Islam, Christianity, and Judaism, as well as the roots of the European Renaissance. But I'm still waiting for a truly deep philosophical and historical examination of this fascinating, forgotten era.

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Jun 04, 2013 Rik Brooymans rated it it was amazing

Absolutely outstanding. An extremely interesting and complex topic, the interaction between Christians, Jews and Muslims in medieval Spain, handled in a such a way that offers illumination and entertainment. The overall viewpoint is balanced and common-sense and the writing is clear. There is a great combination of insight and anecdote.

I will definitely try and find more works by this author.

If the topic is of interest for you, this is the perfect place to start.

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Feb 19, 2015 Lorena rated it really liked it

While I was reading this book, the news came out about the executions of three young Muslim college students by an atheist in North Carolina, and then the executions of Christians by ISIS in Egypt. It made me long not for medieval Spain, but for something from that world, for the world of St. James the pilgrim, not St. James the moor killer.

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Aug 13, 2013 Jason rated it it was amazing

I loved this book because it looked away from the big kings and empire shirfts towards the small guy on the street. The analysis of the Chanson de Roland and El Cid was well done. Written in a journalist's easy style it is a good travel companion: something you can dip into with your morning café con leche.

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May 07, 2009 Daughters Of Abraham added it · review of another edition

Shelves: cross-religion

We did not like this book as a group. It was a difficult read and seemed like a collection of articles rather than a book. Especially since most of the group had very little knowledge about Muslim Spain, it was not a good introduction to the topic. Most members were not able to finish the book, despite being excited to read on the subject.
(Review by Merrimack Valley Group)

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Feb 21, 2013 Sean Mccarrey rated it it was amazing

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. From the depictions of Sufism and Kabbalah, to the historical overtones, this book was quite readable. I felt as though it shed a great deal of light on an area of the world I've grown up hearing about, but never really knew about. It was also quite fascinating to delve into the roots of one of the societies that created the city in which I currently live.

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Nov 30, 2010 Jessica rated it really liked it

Shelves: non-fiction

I read this a few years ago while traveling through Spain (Madrid, Toledo, Granada, Seville) and ended up reading each chapter slightly before visiting its respective city -- it served as a brilliant travel guide in terms of understanding the cultural history (and present) of the places I was visiting.

Overall, I found reading this to be informative, exciting and poignant.

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Oct 21, 2013 DeLys rated it really liked it

Shelves: books-i-ve-taught, spain

I am currently using this book as the primary text for a course on medieval Spanish culture and civilization. I have received a lot of positive feedback from my students. They find it to be very approachable, especially compared to some of the other required readings.

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Jan 29, 2016 George rated it really liked it

Well written not dry history of medieval Spain and the interplay between Christians, Muslims and Jews. In conclusion, people can live together with mutual self interest, but it can quickly disintegrate when power balance changes.

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Oct 08, 2013 Khadija rated it really liked it

Biased, I felt. Negative perspective towards Muslim rule in Spain.

I found one factual error in the book: the author stated that Muslims in Spain did not pay taxes. Muslims in Spain were obligated to give 2.5% of their wealth as taxes.

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Jun 11, 2013 Lauren Albert rated it really liked it

Shelves: history-european, religion

I strangely really enjoyed the book while still finding it somewhat fractured in its narrative. Perhaps it simply read to me more like a connected of linked essays. But it was worth reading and I certainly learned a lot.

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Sep 05, 2014 Tim Robinson rated it really liked it

Shelves: society

A little bit too intellectual. I was hoping for something more intimate, like verbatim dialog from a princely court, the diary of a town physician or a letter from a village priest. Instead, there is too much focus on literature, philosphy and the lives of a few great men.

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Jan 21, 2008 Anuar Kassim rated it really liked it

An enlightening read on medieval Spain.

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Oct 07, 2010 Wasabi rated it liked it

A reflective look back.A useful source of inspiration for our diverse nation to use as a way to actualize compassion and understanding toward different cultures."They" are "us".

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Dec 16, 2008 Robert Vazquez Pacheco rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Fascinating history of an incredible period that still resonates with us today.

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Jun 25, 2011 Isidro Rivera rated it it was amazing

Solid book. Wonderful overview of Muslin, Jewish and Christian interactions.

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Nov 21, 2012 Audrey rated it really liked it

excellent but scholarly. It's hard to understand Spain without understanding the threads that run through it. Fascinating at times.

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Nov 15, 2011 Bradley Farless rated it really liked it

Shelves: history

A little dry in some parts, and a little rambling in others, it ultimately gives the reader a clear window into the world of al-Andalus. It sparked my desire to study the period further.

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Jan 29, 2014 Lee Staman rated it really liked it

Shelves: history, religious-studies

Very good history of the so-called Golden Era of inter-religious and philosophical transmission that occurred in Spain.

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About Chris Lowney

Chris Lowney

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Chris Lowney chairs the board of Catholic Health Initiatives, one of the nation’s largest healthcare/hospital systems with some $ 19 billion in assets. He is a one-time Jesuit seminarian who later served as a Managing Director of J.P. Morgan & Co in New York, Tokyo, Singapore and London until leaving the firm in 2001. He is a popular keynote speaker who has lectured in more than two-dozen coun ...more

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