Embrico of Mainz (''Embricho Moguntinus'') is the author of the ''Vita Mahumeti'', a

Latin biography of Muhammad A number of Life of Muhammad, biographies of Muhammad were written in Middle Latin, Latin during the 9th to 13th centuries. Overview The earliest Latin biographies originated in Spain before the mid-9th century. They had a limited circulation and ...

. The text is in rhyming leonine hexameters, extending to 1,148 lines. It was modelled on the verse

hagiography A hagiography (; ) is a biography of a saint or an ecclesiastical leader, as well as, by extension, an adulatory and idealized biography of a preacher, priest, founder, saint, monk, nun or icon in any of the world's religions. Early Christian ...

of contemporaries such as Hildebert of Le Mans. It was most likely written between 1072 and 1090. The author of the ''Vita'' has been identified with the future provost of

Mainz Cathedral Mainz Cathedral or St. Martin's Cathedral ( or, officially, ') is located near the historical center and pedestrianized market square of the city of Mainz, Germany. This 1000-year-old Roman Catholic cathedral is the site of the episcopal see of th ...

, Embricho II. Embrico's text is roughly contemporary with the ''Dei gesta per Francos'' by

Guibert of Nogent Guibert de Nogent ( 1055 – 1124) was a Benedictine historian, theologian, and author of autobiographical memoirs. Guibert was relatively unknown in his own time, going virtually unmentioned by his contemporaries. He has only recently caught the a ...

. Both texts are in the tradition of the ''Chronographia'' of

Theophanes the Confessor Theophanes the Confessor (; 759 – 817 or 818) was a member of the Byzantine aristocracy who became a monk and chronicler. He served in the court of Emperor Leo IV the Khazar before taking up the religious life. Theophanes attended the Second C ...

, including the account of Muhammad's epilepsy and his body being eaten by pigs after his death.Nicholas Morton, ''Encountering Islam on the First Crusade'', Cambridge University Press (2016)
p. 213

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Translation of Embrico of Mainz's ''Vita Mahumeti''
by Aymenn Jawad Al-Tamimi {{DEFAULTSORT:Mainz, Embrico Of 12th-century scholars 12th-century writers in Latin Religious biographers

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