Living Together: The Merging of Cultures and Laws through Arabic Documents and Manuscripts from Toledo and Egypt (12th to 14th century)A webclass by Dr. Rocio Daga Portillo (Ludwig-Maximilian University - Munich)

15 October 2025

Photo: LMU/A. Kaplony

Dr. Rocio Daga Portillo (Ludwig-Maximilian University, Munich)  in collaboration with Prof. Dr. Ignacio Sánchez (Director of Research Institut Escuela de Traductores de Toledo, University Castilla-La Mancha, Toledo)

Date: October 15th, 2025 – February 4th, 2026.
Schedule: Wednesdays, 16:15–18:00 (CET), conducted online via Zoom.
Registration: To register, please submit a CV and a brief letter outlining your motivation for joining the Webclass.

With the 12th century begins the struggle for a “new world order,” - the Crusaders, the Mongols-, in the East as well as in the West of the Islamic world. In Egypt as well as the Iberian Peninsula, especially in Toledo, the impact of this struggle for a new world order changed society and led to social transformations that affected the different religious communities in one or other direction. By comparing the transformations that took placed and the driving forces active in two different societies, parallels can be drawn and the mechanism of social transformation can be examined.

This Webclass explores especially the merging of legal cultures as a mirror and factor of social transformation and interaction between Islamic and Christian milieus—within two distinct yet comparable contexts:

• Toledo, after the Christian conquest in 1085, where Arabic continued to be written and used in legal documentation for nearly 300 years.
  A wealth of over 1,000 Arabic Christian documents from the cathedral and city of Toledo—comprising wills, marriage contracts, sales agreements, and donations—will be studied. These documents reflect a unique blending of Byzantine, Visigothic, and Islamic legal traditions.
• Medieval Egypt, where Coptic Christians actively engaged with the Islamic legal system. Numerous legal documents and Christian Arabic manuscripts containing Coptic Nomocanons reveal how Islamic law impacted and merged into Coptic Nomocanons. In particular, Islamic civil and inheritance law was integrated into the canon law of the Coptic Church between the 12th and 14th centuries.

The Webclass will focus on identifying the various legal traditions present in the legal sources while analyzing the socio-political factors that drove this legal fusion. We will explore how these transformations affected different religious communities, with special attention to shifts in socio-political power dynamics and the legal status of women. The aim is to obtain a clear picture of the socio-political reality and driving forces in both societies.

Themes include:

• The role of women in merged legal systems
• Conversion and its legal implications
• Inclusion and exclusion of religious and social groups
• The agents behind legal transformations and their motivations
• Broader socio-political and economic forces shaping these processes
• The course also aims to encourage reflection on modern-day legal pluralism by drawing parallels between historical and contemporary societies, and considering potential solutions for legal challenges in pluralistic contexts.

Target Audience
This Webclass is designed for students of Arabic and Islamic Studies, Middle Eastern Cultures and History, Medieval Studies, and Christian Arabic Studies.

Course Structure

• Hour 1: Group discussion based on assigned readings exploring the socio-political transformations of this historical period.
• Hour 2: Hands-on work with Arabic documents and manuscripts, including reading, analysis, and translation. This comprises examining palaeographic features, typologies, vocabulary, and notarial practices.

Note: Students without knowledge of Arabic are welcome to attend the first session of each class.

Certification and Practical Information
Participants will receive a Certificate of Participation issued by Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität (LMU) Munich.

Date: October 15th. 2025 – February 4th.2026.
Schedule: Wednesdays, 16:15–18:00 (CET), conducted online via Zoom.
Registration: To register, please submit a CV and a brief letter of motivation to rociodaga"AT"lmu.de. 
Fees and Further Information: For details regarding participation fees or otherinquiries, please contact: rociodaga"AT"lmu.de.
 

Optional: 
Final Workshop with visit to the Archives in Toledo, Spain. To be arranged with the participants of the Webclass (January or February 2026).