Grim's Hall

Cannibals!

One of the interesting sections from the paper we've been discussing is the Turkish view of the Franks as cannibals:

Other Muslim accounts note that the Franks not only killed civilians, but they tortured them to extort treasure and even ate them. According to Maalouf, Christian sources confirm that the Franks boiled and grilled adults as well as children so they could eat them. The local population quickly spread word of the atrocities that the Franks committed against the population of Ma’arrat. These stories reinforced the already prevalent image of the Franks as subhuman and further vilified them. What enemy could be worse, even in medieval times, than cannibals?

“They [Franks] aroused a mixture of fear and contempt, quite understandable on the part of an Arab nation which, while far superior in culture, had lost all combative spirit. The Turks would never forget the cannibalism of the Occidentals. Throughout their epic literature, the Franj are invariably described as anthropophagi.” Muslims equate the conduct of the Franks during this siege to their true nature and eventually used this example to igncooperation between rival princes and emirs. In the near term, the conduct of the Franks benefited their campaign. In the long term, their conduct would eventually contribute to the loss of the war.

That reminds me of Sir Walter Scott's introduction to his Crusader novel, The Talisman. It's too long to quote in full, but treats Richard the Lionheart's alleged cannibalism:

"The swarte vis [Black face] when the king seeth,
His black beard and white teeth,
How his lippes grinned wide,
'What devil is this?' the king cried,
And 'gan to laugh as he were wode.
'What! is Saracen's flesh thus good?
That never erst I nought wist!
By God's death and his uprist,
Shall we never die for default,
While we may in any assault,
Slee Saracens, the flesh may take,
And seethen and roasten and do hem bake,
[And] Gnawen her flesh to the bones!
Now I have it proved once,
For hunger ere I be wo,
I and my folk shall eat mo!"'

Sir Walter has an explanation for how he believes the rumor arose. It all reminds me of Roman Polanski's Pirates, in which the starving captain is trying to catch his last-remaining crewman to eat. The crewman scales the mast of their little boat, and as the captain is chopping down that mast, yells down:

"Cannibalism is a mortal sin! You will burn in hellfire!"

The captain pauses for a moment to consider that, and answers:

"What about Confession? What do you think Confession's for?"

Chop, chop.