Abstract
The Battle of Tours (or Poitiers) in 732/3 is frequently cited as a
turning point in world history, when the advance of Muslim Arabs was
decisively halted by the Christian army of Frankish mayor Charles
Martel. Yet the battle and its reputation seem relatively modest in the
earliest sources, with little sense that conquest or religious tensions
were key issues. This paper explores how the importance of the battle
became amplified in grand historical narratives produced across Europe
and in the U.S. in the nineteenth century, as historians contributed to
arguments about national and religious identities. It highlights in
particular the ways that historians, from Michelet to Oman, were led by
their own dispositions in speculating about what could have happened had
the result been different. In the process, although their
interpretations often differed, debate about the battle generated the
legend popular in modern political discourse.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 206-218 |
Number of pages | 13 |
Journal | postmedieval: a journal of medieval cultural studies |
Volume | 10 |
Issue number | 2 |
Early online date | 17 Jul 2019 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 2019 |