Concubinage in New Contexts

Abstract

In this chapter, I examine cultural borrowings between Christian and Muslim communities through the lens of royal concubinage in the kingdom of Castile-León during the eleventh through thirteenth centuries. In this period, the Christian rulers of Castile-León both differentiated themselves from and identified themselves with their Muslim counterparts, a practice particularly evident in the borrowing of sexual practices between these faith communities. I analyze extensive chronicle evidence to illuminate how depictions of monarchical concubinage were deployed to articulate a distinct, Christian identity in opposition to the Islamic culture of al-Andalus. Such passages lend support to Simon Barton’s and David Nirenberg’s claims that sexual practices could often function as a means of asserting power over a group considered to be inferior. I expand this view by focusing instead on the ways in which Christian adaptations of Islamic concubinage suggest that sexuality is a vehicle of interaction with a different faith community in this period that simultaneously reinforces “in-group” identity. This study reveals the nuanced borrowing of sexual practices with the potential to enrich political strategies and sharpen the self-identifications of the ruling group. Examining sources produced over a wide period of time further allows me to illuminate how these descriptions changed over time, concomitantly with changes in the use of concubinage by Castilian rulers.