The Mercenary Mediterranean: Sovereignty, Religion, and Violence in the Medieval Crown of Aragon

329 Pages·2016·4.438 MB·English

by  Hussein Fancy

The Mercenary Mediterranean

The Mercenary Mediterranean
Sovereignty, Religion, and Violence in
the Medieval Crown of Aragon
hussein fancy
the university of chicago press chicago and london
hussein fancy is assistant professor of history at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.
The University of Chicago Press, Chicago 60637
The University of Chicago Press, Ltd., London
© 2016 by The University of Chicago
All rights reserved. Published 2016.
Printed in the United States of America
25 24 23 22 21 20 19 18 17 16 1 2 3 4 5
isbn- 13: 978- 0- 226- 32964- 2 (cloth)
isbn- 13: 978- 0- 226- 32978- 9 (e- book)
doi: 10.7208/chicago/9780226329789.001.0001
The University of Chicago Press gratefully acknowledges the generous support of the
University of Michigan toward the publication of this book.
Library of Congress Cataloging- in- Publication Data
Fancy, Hussein Anwar, 1974– author.
The mercenary Mediterranean : sovereignty, religion, and violence in the medieval crown
of Aragon / Hussein Fancy.
pages : illustrations, maps ; cm
Includes bibliographical references and index.
isbn 978-0-226-32964-2 (cloth : alk. paper) — isbn 978-0-226-32978-9 (e-book)
1. Soldiers of fortune—Spain—Aragon—History—13th century. 2. Soldiers of fortune—
Spain—Aragon—History—14th century. 3. Foreign enlistment—Spain—Aragon—
History. 4. Mudéjares—Spain—Aragon—History. 5. Muslims—Spain—Aragon—
History—13th century. 6. Muslims—Spain—Aragon—History—14th century.
7. Muslims—Africa, North—History—13th century. 8. Muslims—Africa, North—
History—14th century. 9. Aragon (Spain)—History, Military—13th century. 10. Aragon
(Spain)—History, Military—14th century. I. Title.
dp302.a7f36 2016
355.3'540946550902— dc23
2015028774
♾ This paper meets the requirements of ansi/niso z39.48- 1992 (Permanence of Paper).
For J and z

ginete, n. Diego de Urrea dize que ginete, se pudo dezir de Cinete, que en
terminacion Arabiga, es Cinetum, y sinífica ornamento del verbo Ceyene,
hermosear, o ser hermoso, por la gallardia de los ginetes quando salen de
fiesta con sus turbantes y plumas, sus marlotas, y borceguíes, y los jaezes
de los cavallos ricos.
[Diego de Urrea said that ginete could have come from Cinete, which in
Arabic is Cinetum, and means ornament, from the verb, Ceyene, to em-
bellish, or to be beautiful, on account of the gallantry of the ginetes when
they parade in celebrations with their turbans and feathers, their adorned
boots, their robes and the trappings of sumptuous horses.]
sebastián de covarrubias, Tesoro de la lengua castellana o española
(1611)

Contents
List of Illustrations xi
Acknowledgments xiii
On Names, Places, Dates, and Transcriptions xvii
Introduction: A Mercenary Logic 1
chapter 1. Etymologies and Etiologies 16
chapter 2. A Sovereign Crisis 39
chapter 3. Sovereigns and Slaves 53
chapter 4. A Mercenary Economy 75
chapter 5. The Unpaid Debt 98
chapter 6. The Worst Men in the World 119
Epilogue: Medievalism and Secularism 140
Abbreviations 153
Notes 155
Bibliography 265
Index 299