as the Sultan is shown praising both Greek and Roman gods (Jove, Apollo, and Jupiter), and Islamic figures (the Islamic prophet Muhammad, who is mistaken for a god throughout the text). Other analyses of The King of Tars have posited that the text's racial conversion of the sultan, along with the bodily transformation of the formless child, ascribes spiritual superiority to Christianity, in that it has the spiritual power to affect the physical world in ways that other religions cannot. Religion and The Idea of The Other One of the main ideas that can be discerned from The King of Tars is the idea of religious difference, and really how the work shows how it would not be so clear cut to distinguish a Saracen from a Christian based on physical appearance alone. One of the main concerns with Christians during this period was the mixing of religions, and especially that of the Saracens, which were dealt with rather violently. The King of Tars also uses several tropes that are often associated with Christian men, and applies them to the Saracen Sultan, such as the Sultan having the desire to go to war over a princess. The King of Tars also tries to point out the similar characteristics of Christians and Saracens, such as when the Sultan desires the princess to convert to his laws before they can be wed, which is a process that also becomes confusing, as the Princess visually converts and becomes a Saracen, but spiritually does not, which further complicates the dilemma of being able to tell a persons religion based on their physical actions and traits. It is also important to note that the conversion of the Sultan, as previously mentioned, also changed his skin color, which is a further complication of the association of biological traits and religion. It is important also to note that this work was composed during a time of crusading, and also a time in which non-Christians were often systematically targeted, and also it is important to note how relations between Christians and non-Christians were incredibly tense, which can be seen in the story when the offspring of the Sultan and Princess is born as a formless blob, showing what the author thought would occur when Christians and Saracens had relationships Baptism Baptism in The King of Tars has transformative powers. Prior to baptism, the lump-child is described ambiguously using