This paper opens with general thoughts on the importance of different forms of sound – speech, music and other culturally encoded acoustic signifiers – for mediaeval diplomacy, before moving on to focus on acoustics as the very object of diplomatic exchange. Certain audible signals became the issue of negotiations between Christians and Muslims in the Middle Ages, and this paper analyses the case of the Islamic call to prayer, the adhān. The call is situated within a wide spectrum of other Islamicate sounds emitted by subjugated Muslims and regulated by ruling Christian authorities. But it is particularly prominent, as it was considered an important message that transgressed space and united those who heard it into a very particular social network: voluntary or involuntary communities of listening. An analysis of over 500 documents from the Crown of Aragon drawn up between 1230 and 1500 reveals that permission to call coreligionists to prayer was not necessarily withdrawn the moment Christians conquered Muslim territories. Rather, it became an object of regular negotiation for centuries
Heidelberg University, Germany - ORCID: 0000-0002-5062-9398
Chapter Title
The Acoustics of Mediterranean Diplomacy: Negotiating Islamicate Sounds in Medieval Iberia
Authors
Nikolas Jaspert
Language
English
DOI
10.36253/979-12-215-1117-8.06
Peer Reviewed
Publication Year
2026
Copyright Information
© 2026 Author(s)
Content License
Metadata License
Book Title
Diplomatic Networks in the Medieval Mediterranean
Book Subtitle
Individuals, Groups, and Interactions
Editors
Isabella Lazzarini, Roser Salicrú i Lluch
Peer Reviewed
Number of Pages
208
Publication Year
2026
Copyright Information
© 2026 Author(s)
Content License
Metadata License
Publisher Name
Firenze University Press
DOI
10.36253/979-12-215-1117-8
ISBN Print
979-12-215-1115-4
eISBN (pdf)
979-12-215-1117-8
eISBN (xml)
979-12-215-1120-8
Series Title
Reti Medievali E-Book
Series ISSN
2704-6362
Series E-ISSN
2704-6079