Christian Communities of East Africa in the Imagination of Medieval Europeans

Piotr Plisiecki

doi:10.18290/rh26742.1

Published : 2026-04-01

Vol. 74 No. 2 (2026)

Christian Communities of East Africa in the Imagination of Medieval Europeans

Piotr Plisiecki

https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0879-3717

DOI: https://doi.org/10.18290/rh26742.1

Abstract

The paper explores the issue of understanding Africa and African culture during the Middle Ages. Throughout centuries, European scholars, travellers and even knights (e.g. crusaders) encountered people of African origin as well as legends and unproven stories describing mysterious Christian states, societies and cultures, existing beyond the Sahara desert. One of the most significant outcomes of that were medieval maps and descriptions, presenting the extent of knowledge the Europeans had of medieval Africa and setting the limits of medieval imagination. The 14th-century Libro del Conosçimiento de todos los reynos y tierras (The Book of the Knowledge of All the Kingdoms) is one of the best examples of that. The names of those mysterious states, their coats of arms as well as information about their enemies or allies can be found in this medieval compendium.

Keywords:

medieval culture, African medieval states, medieval Christian communities in Africa, medieval imagination

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