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''Tultusceptru de libro domni Metobii'' is a short
Latin biography of Muḥammad A number of biographies of Muhammad were written in 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 influence. All other Latin biogr ...
written in the 9th or 10th century in the
Iberian Peninsula The Iberian Peninsula ( ), also known as Iberia, is a peninsula in south-western Europe. Mostly separated from the rest of the European landmass by the Pyrenees, it includes the territories of peninsular Spain and Continental Portugal, comprisin ...
. It is a polemical text designed to show that
Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...
is a false religion and Muḥammad the unwitting dupe of the devil. It is known from a single copy in the Codex of Roda. Although the codex was compiled in the late 10th century, the ''Tultusceptru'' was added between about 1030 and 1060.


Textual history

The Codex of Roda was copied in the late 10th or early 11th century in the
Kingdom of Pamplona The Kingdom of Navarre ( ), originally the Kingdom of Pamplona, occupied lands on both sides of the western Pyrenees, with its northernmost areas originally reaching the Atlantic Ocean (Bay of Biscay), between present-day Spain and France. The me ...
. In the codex, the ''Tultusceptru'' comes immediately before the ''
Chronica Prophetica The ''Chronica Prophetica'' () is an anonymous medieval Latin chronicle written by a Christian in April 883 at or near the court of Alfonso III of Asturias in Oviedo. It uses the dating system of the Spanish Era and is essentially an interpretati ...
''. It belongs to a series of texts, including the ''Chronica'', that Rodrigo Furtado groups together as the "Prophetic collection". Its purpose is thus to defend the prophecy in the ''Chronica'' that the Muslims would be expelled from Iberia. The meaning of its title—"''Tultusceptru'' from the Book of Lord Metobius"—is a mystery. ''Tultusceptru'' may be a corruption of ''tultum excerptum'', Latin for "extract taken from" (reading ''tultum'' as a form of ''
tollo Tollo is a ''comune'' and town in the Province of Chieti in the Abruzzo region of Italy. Tollo is renowned for its vineyards and olive groves. It is situated in the 'Hills of the Teatina' (''colline teatine''), a group of foothills of the Apennine ...
''). The Metobius of the title probably refers to the ''
Apocalypse of Pseudo-Methodius Written in Syriac in the late seventh century, the ''Apocalypse of Pseudo-Methodius'' shaped and influenced Christian eschatological thinking in the Middle Ages.Griffith (2008), p. 34.Debié (2005) p. 228.Alexander (1985) p. 13.Jackson (2001) p ...
'', but there is nothing in that work that remotely corresponds to the ''Tultusceptru''. Certain errors in the text suggest that the scribe who copied the ''Tultusceptru'' in the Codex of Roda had difficulty reading the text in front of him. The text was probably originally written in Iberia, most likely in
al-Andalus Al-Andalus () was the Muslim-ruled area of the Iberian Peninsula. The name refers to the different Muslim states that controlled these territories at various times between 711 and 1492. At its greatest geographical extent, it occupied most o ...
before being brought north to
Asturias Asturias (; ; ) officially the Principality of Asturias, is an autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in northwest Spain. It is coextensive with the provinces of Spain, province of Asturias and contains some of the territory t ...
. The author was evidently familiar with Islamic practice.


Synopsis and analysis

According to the ''Tultusceptru'', a Christian bishop named Osius was told by an angel to "go and speak to my satraps who dwell in Erribon," that is,
Yathrib Medina, officially al-Madinah al-Munawwarah (, ), also known as Taybah () and known in pre-Islamic times as Yathrib (), is the capital of Medina Province (Saudi Arabia), Medina Province in the Hejaz region of western Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, ...
(Medina). "But he was weak and was about to be summoned by the Lord." Therefore, he sent a young monk named Ozim to take the message, but in Erribon he was met by an evil angel, who renamed him "Mohomad" and told him to tell the people of Erribon to recite the words ''Alla occuber alla occuber situ leila citus est Mohamet razulille''. "And so", the account concludes, "what was to be a vessel of Christ became a vessel of Mammon to the perdition of zim'ssoul; and all those who converted to the error and all those who, through his persuasion, shall be, are numbered among the company of hell." The words the evil angel told Ozim to say are a somewhat garbled Latin rendering of the
Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...
''
takbīr The ''takbīr'' (, , ) is the name for the Arabic phrase ' (, , ).Wensinck, A.J., "Takbīr", in: Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition, Edited by: P. Bearman, Th. Bianquis, C.E. Bosworth, E. van Donzel, W.P. Heinrichs. Consulted online on 09 ...
'' and ''
shahāda The ''Shahada'' ( ; , 'the testimony'), also transliterated as ''Shahadah'', is an Islamic oath and creed, and one of the Five Pillars of Islam and part of the Adhan. It reads: "I bear witness that there is no god but God, and I bear witnes ...
'', which both belong to the ''
adhān The (, ) is the Islamic call to prayer, usually recited by a muezzin, traditionally from the minaret of a mosque, shortly before each of the five obligatory daily prayers. The adhan is also the first phrase said in the ear of a newborn baby, ...
'' (call to prayer). The phrases ''Allāhu akbar'' (God is great), ''ashhadu anna lā ilāha'' (I witness that there is no god) and ''Muḥammad rasūl Allāh'' (Muḥammad is the messenger of God) are recognizable, but the ''cita est'' are not. The name Ozim may be derived from Arabic ''
ʿaẓīm Azim (''ʿAẓīm'' ) is one of the names of Allah in Islam, meaning "''Great''" or "''Magnificent''" or "''Protector''" Also used as a personal name, as short form of the Abdolazim, Abdul Azim, "''Servant of the Magnificent''". It is used by ma ...
'' (great) or perhaps from the name of Muḥammad's clan, the Hāshim. In its basic outline, the ''Tultusceptru'' is a version of the eastern story of
Bahira Bahira (, ) is the name in Islamic tradition of a Christian monk who is said to have foretold Muhammad's prophethood when they met while Muhammad was accompanying his uncle Abu Talib on a trading trip.Abel, A.Baḥīrā. ''Encyclopaedia of Isla ...
, the monk who discovered Muḥammad in various accounts, both Christian and Islamic. The name Bahira has been replaced by Osius, which is probably an allusion to the heretical Bishop Hosius of Corduba. In the ''Tultusceptru'', the bishop is orthodox, the angel that appears to him authentic and the intended message the true gospel. In the words of Kenneth Wolf, "the ''Tultusceptru'' is the tragic story of a pure revelation lost forever" that "stops well short of blaming Muḥammad for leading" the people of Medina to Hell.


Influence

The ''Tultusceptru'' narrative re-appears in two 11th-century sources,
Aimeric of Angoulême Aimeric or Aymeric or Aimery (from ''Haimirich'' or ''Amalric'') is a male given name. Notable people with the name include: * Aimeric de Belenoi (), Gascon troubadour * Prince Aymeric of Belgium (born 2005) * Aymeric Jaubert de Barrault (died 1 ...
and Siguinus. They record how a bishop named Osius sent a certain Ocin to bring a people the gospel only have him corrupted by a demon and renamed Muḥammad.


Notes


Bibliography

* * * * * * * * * * * * {{refend Biographies of Muhammad Early medieval Latin literature