Between Andalusia and Sicily. New light on some famous politically motivated Arabic forgeries

Abstract

In 1588 and again in 1595 a number of texts, the so-called ‘books of lead’ (Los libros plúmbeos), were discovered at Granada which seemingly threw a more or less Islamic light on the early history of Christianity in general and on the history and role of Spain in particular. From the sources it might be safely inferred that these events in Andalusia served as a backdrop for another spectacular forgery of Arabic documents: after 1783 the Maltese abate Giuseppe Vella`s ‘translations’ of Arabic sources of the history of Sicily were so highly acclaimed that they threatened to change many a cherished historical notion. This paper aims to throw fresh light on events which provided the backdrop for Vella`s activities and some of their consequences.