Byzantium, Islam, And The Great Western Schism

Abstract

This chapter discusses briefly the perceptions of the Schism by those individuals supposedly outside of western Christendom. It first describes the history and historiography surrounding the Byzantines reaction to the events of the Schism. For them, the Great Western Schism was a significant event that they saw as having important consequences for their own survival. The chapter then addresses the relationship between Islam and the Great Western Schism. Some Christians, such as Honore Bovet, used Muslim literary characters to offer biting critiques of Christendom. Finally, the chapter investigates the life and prophetic writing of one specific individual, Anselm Turmeda/ʿAbdallah al-Taryuman, a Franciscan friar from Majorca who converted to Islam. While a Muslim, Turmeda wrote an astrologically themed prophetic poem criticizing the state of religious and political affairs in the West. Keywords: Anselm Turmeda; Byzantines; Great Western Schism; Honore Bovet; Islam