Acknowledgments

I

n the course of researching and writing this book, I have accrued more

debts than I can repay or keep account of. First of all, I would like to

thank my teachers. Without their guidance and generosity, I would have

had neither the confidence nor the courage to follow this path. The in-

spiring María Rosa Menocal first introduced me to medieval Iberia as

an undergraduate. She remained a friend and mentor long after. William

Chester Jordan and Michael Cook not only introduced me to the study

of medieval Europe and the Islamic world but also modeled a standard

of scholarly rigor and intellectual honesty to which I continue to aspire.

I conducted the research for this book over the course of four years in

Spain and North Africa. Brian Catlos accompanied me on my first day

of research in Barcelona and gave me my first “taste of the archive.” In

person and on paper, he taught me how to navigate and think about these

historical records. Ramón Pujades and Jaume Riera shared their archival

expertise on numerous occasions. A paleography seminar in Cairo with

Emad Abou Ghazi was extremely valuable. Ana Echevarría and Maribel

Fierro read, commented on, and provided invaluable suggestions on early

drafts of this manuscript. I also deeply appreciated conversations with

and advice from María Teresa Ferrer i Mallol, Mercedes García- Arenal,

Linda Gale Jones, Tomàs de Montagut, Lawrence Mott, Vincens Pons,

Cristina de la Puente, Roser Salicrú, Delfina Serrano, and Max Turull.

I would like to thank Gerard Wiegers, P. S. van Koningsveld, and Umar

Ryad for sharing a copy of an unpublished manuscript from North Af-

rica with me. I would also like to extend my thanks to the patient and

gracious staff at the Arxiu de la Corona d’Aragó, Arxiu Capitular de la

Catedral de Valencia, Archivo del Reino de Valencia, Archivo Histórico

Nacional, Biblioteca Nacional de España, Real Biblioteca del Monasterio