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Document Details : Title: Coptic Christianity in Early Fourteenth-Century Mamlūk Egypt Subtitle: The Testimony of European Travellers Author(s): PARKER, K. Scott Journal: Journal of Eastern Christian Studies Volume: 67 Issue: 1-2 Date: 2015 Pages: 13-32 DOI: 10.2143/JECS.67.1.3144281 Abstract : This article examines medieval European diplomatic reports, itineraria and pilgrimage narratives dealing with Egypt in the 1320s and especially reporting on the state of the Coptic Church. This was a turbulent period for Coptic Christians, with interreligious relations at a low point and persecution increasingly a regular phenomenon. Although the fall of Crusader Acre in 1291 led to an obvious decrease in the number of Latin pilgrims, merchants and travellers to Egypt and the Mamluk Sultanate, beginning in the 1320s, numbers were beginning to increase despite papal embargos. European sources help to corroborate and even add to the evidence prevented by Muslim sources, helping to build a more complete picture of the Coptic and Egyptian world in this period. This article discusses the various sources available, particularly the account of the Anglo-Irish pilgrim Symon Semeonis, and the contributions they make to the historical record. |
