The Old Man of the Mountain in Medieval Folklore

Abstract

THE character of the Old Man of the Mountain is no doubt known to many modern readers through Fitzgerald's brilliant and freely translated account of his supposed friendship with the poet of the Rubaiyat. However, this enigmatic and sinister figure had already made his presence felt in European history and tradition during and after the period of the Crusades as the leader of a dreaded sect known as the Assassins. In modern European languages the word has come to mean a paid or fanatical killer whose victims are usually public figures, but it was not until the beginning of the nineteenth century that the philologist Silvester de Sacy demonstrated that the word 'assassin' was derived from the Arabic Hashishin, 'those who use hashish.' The fact that the name of this mystical Islamic group has become synonomous with 'murderer' indicates something of Europe's perception of the sect of Shiite Muslims who enjoyed a spectacular but relatively brief period of dominance in the Muslim world. Historically, the sect arose as the result of a schism in the Arabic world over the rightful successor to Mohammed. One of the stronger rebel leaders known as Hassan Sabbah founded a sect known variously as the Ismealites, Batinites, Assassins or Hashisin. In 1090, he captured the fortress of Alamut in Persia which became the centre of the sect until it fell to the Moguls in 1256. A second branch of the Assassins existed in Syria as early as 1100. This group is especially important because of its contact with the Crusaders. The Shiite sect was influenced by Neo-Platonism and its structure was built on a system of degrees of initiation.2 One of the lower orders, the Fida'is or 'selfsacrificing ones,' were the historical source for the numerous references to the assassins and their amazing obedience to their leader. Of the other grades, except for the leader himself, little notice appears in any written or oral European record. The influence of the sect was felt in three major culture areas of the medieval world, Moslem, Jewish and Christian. Analysis of references to the Assassins in literature, chronicles and travelogues of all three groups reveals something of the process by which cultural contact is transformed into tradition. The lore associated with the Assassins developed in response to the kind of influence exerted by the sect on different culture groups. As a result, the legends which evolved from topical, historical facts about a radical religious sect reflect both the nature and intensity of contact and the varying attitudes to the Assassins. The terrorist activities of the Assassins are frequently cited in Arabic chronicles. References to Hassan, the first leader, as 'able, courageous and learned in mathematics, arithmetic, astronomy and magic' date from the last quarter of the eleventh century after he had conquered Alamut and his political power was at its height.3 There are many references to the Syrian Assassins as well. In 1102, a Moslem leader was killed