Latinity in Early Islamic North Africa
Jonathan P. Conant
This paper explores the social function of Latin in early Islamic Maghrib and concerns local communities who continued to use language beyond Arab capture Carthage 697/98. By focussing on those sources whose origins can be assigned North Africa between end seventh mid-thirteenth century, it considers evidence for as a Christian commemoration, worship, education; survival then Romance spoken medieval Maghrib; role at least short-lived religious disputation region’s new Muslim ruling class their Jewish subjects; trans-Mediterranean communications. The probably enjoyed more robust afterlife than scholars have sometimes imagined, yet way which was deployed mediating relationships overseas may ultimately undermined sustained interest region by European Christians.
Eranos - Acta philologica Suecana