The image of a muslim arab woman in medieval rus’ literature

Abstract

Rus’ medieval authors drew information about the history and culture of the Arabs mainly from Byzantine sources, translated into Church Slavic. The image was supplemented by observations made by residents of medieval Rus’ in the course of direct contacts with the Arabs (e.g. during their travels to the Holy Land) or ideas about other Islamic peoples, whose customs could be known to old Rus’ authors from personal experience (e.g. Turks or Mongols/Tatars), projected onto the brethren of Muhammad. The aim of this paper is to analyze the image of Arab women emerging from old Rus’ works. We will be interested in people from Muhammad’s closest surroundings (e.g. his first wife Khadija or Fatima, the daughter of the prophet), as well as selected figures of Muslim Arab women from later centuries. The question will also be raised as to how the authors of the examined texts perceive and evaluate the position of Arab women from the 7th -8th centuries: whether, in their opinion, they enjoyed less independence than their Christian European sisters, or, on the contrary, they were active members of their communities, responsible, for example, for the spread of the new monotheistic religion.