Europe and Muslims: Image of the other in a Chronicle of Two European Captives from the 15th century

Abstract

This paper attempts to show the evolution of the negative image of Islam in Europe in the 15 th century away from the writings of the clergy, which contributed greatly to the prevailing stereotypes of Islam and Muslims throughout the Middle Ages. The author analyses it through discussion and feedback from two Christians held captive by Ottoman troops during two battles in the Balkan. The first captive was Johann Schiltberger, a Bavarian knight who was captured in the wake of the battle of Nicopolis 1396, and who lived more than three decades under the rule of Ottomans and Mongol Golden Horde until his escape in 1427. Another captive was the Serbian Constantine Mihalovič, who fell in Ottoman captivity in Novbrado in 1455, and joined the Janissaries troops before returning to his country in 1462.