Emeritus Fellow, Elizabeth Drayson, publishes landmark book
Crucible of Light: Islam and the forging of Europe from the 8th to the 21st Century
Photo Credit: Keith Heppell, Cambridge Independent
Elizabeth Drayson is Emeritus Fellow in Spanish at Murray Edwards College, University of Cambridge. She specialises in medieval and early modern Spanish literature and cultural history, and has a particular interest in the Arabic, Jewish and Christian cultures of medieval and Golden Age Spain. Her books include The Moor’s Last Stand, which featured among The Times and the Sunday Times History Books of the Year 2017, and Lost Paradise: the story of Granada. She was also a central figure in a major European-wide research project charting the legacy of Islam in Europe from 1350 – 1750.
Elizabeth’s new book Crucible of Light: Islam and the forging of Europe from the 8th to the 21st Century publishes on 25 September and is available to order now.
Elizabeth says:
‘Crucible of Light is the culmination and expansion of the themes and ideas at the heart of my recent books, which have sought to overturn conventional perspectives and seek the ambiguous identity of both Spain and Europe through their Islamic history. Its publication is a landmark for me.
Amid the intense religious and political conflicts of our times, and the rise of Christian nationalism and Islamophobia, the importance of recognizing Europe’s multi-cultural, multi-religious past has never been greater. Crucible of Light challenges the foundations of Europe’s perceived identity as it explores one of the continent’s great cultural conflicts and also one of its great alliances, played out between its Christian and Muslim citizens in war and peace. In showing what we have in common as well as what keeps us apart, it demands that we view Europe’s history in a quite different way.’
Elizabeth will be celebrating the publication of her book with a Q&A event at Murray Edwards College on 30 October. Find out more and register for the Q&A here.
Elizabeth comments:
‘I’m excited to take part in the Q&A session with Lucy Ward at Murray Edwards College, which will be a wonderful opportunity to share the discussion of Crucible of Light with a wider audience and to engage with their views.’
Read more about Crucible of Light in the Cambridge Independent's interview with Elizabeth.
About Crucible of Light: Islam and the forging of Europe from the 8th to the 21st Century
Rethinking the history of the last thirteen centuries, in Crucible of Light, Elizabeth Drayson pulls together the epic interwoven history of the Muslim and Christian worlds. Focusing on major turning points, individual stories and key places, from Mecca to Cordoba, from Damascus to Venice, and from Vienna to Istanbul, Drayson tracks the themes that unite us – classical learning preserved in Islamic libraries, the enduring influence of Moorish architecture and design, the food we share, the goods we have traded and the continuing dialogue between individuals and cultures that has permeated Europe’s history and shaped its borders. It is a history that sweeps across cities and continents, from Spanish patios and palaces to Ottoman-inspired coffee houses in 17th century London, to the Mezquita in Cordoba, once a mosque, now a cathedral, the physical embodiment of the ongoing discourse that continues to shape European identity.