Christian History Home > Issue 40 > Puzzling Encounters
Puzzling Encounters
Usama ibn Munqidh was emir of Shizar in the twelfth century, when Christians occupied much of the Holy Land. Here are three accounts of his experience with the clash of cultures.
posted 10/01/1993 12:00AM
Take My Son?
A very important Frankish knight … had come on a pilgrimage and was going home again. We got to know one another, and became firm friends. He called me “Brother,” and an affectionate friendship grew up between us.
When he was due to embark for the return journey, he said to me, “My brother, as I am about to return home, I should be happy if you would send your son with me” (the boy, who was about 14 years old, was beside me at the time), “so that he could meet the noblemen of the realm and learn the arts of politics and chivalry. On his return home, he would be a truly cultivated man.”
A truly cultivated man would never be guilty of such a suggestion; my son might as well be taken prisoner as go off into the land of the Franks!
I turned to my friend and said, “I assure you that I could desire nothing better for my son, but unfortunately the boy’s grandmother, my mother, is very attached to him, and she would not even let him come away with me without extracting a promise from ... To view this item, you must be a member of ChristianHistory.net.
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