| dc.description.abstract | The Arabic word majūs, while initially used as an exonym for Zoroastrians in the Middle East, was used in al-Andalus, medieval Muslim Spain, for a variety of people. It became best known, however, as the appellation used by Andalusi for the Viking parties attacking the Iberian Peninsula in the 9th and 10th centuries. Previous attempts at explaining the use of majūs for Scandinavians produced varied conclusions. Mikel de Epalza deems it to be legal jargon, while Omeljan Pritsak touted a Celtic origin for the word. The theory that has garnered most recognition is Arne Melvinger’s, who suggests that it was given to Scandinavians due to a perceived similarity between their cremation ceremonies and Zoroastrian cults of fire. The word retained a firm connection to Zoroastrians in the Middle East. Zoroastrians, while accepted as a protected people, ahl al-dhimma, alongside Christians and Jews, and thus allowed to practice their religion within Islamic lands, were still regarded as ‘second-class’ dhimmīs (members of ahl al-dhimma) due to their perceived polytheism, idolatry and lack of holy scripture. The negative view of Zoroastrians gave majūs a negative connotation and was used as a term of abuse against peoples, religions or other Islamic sects, comparing them to Zoroastrians. In al-Andalus, the connection to Zoroastrianism was lost, and majūs underwent a semantic widening to mean ‘pagan.’ Scandinavians, then, were only one of the myriad groups Andalusis called majūs. This pejoration has a parallel in Greek and Latin literature, where mágos/magus underwent a similar process, whereby its use for Persian priests transformed into a variety of sorcerers and magical practitioners. The hybrid culture of al-Andalus, where Arabic-, Latin/Romance- and Hebrew-speaking populations coexisted and exchanged ideas and vocabulary allowed majūs, already carrying connotations of idolatry, to widen its semantic range. The dual meaning of the term has caused some confusion for both medieval authors as well as modern scholars. The attribution of fire-worship and incest Ibn Diḥya gave to Scandinavians in his story of al-Ghazāl, a source Melvinger used to justify his theory on fire-worship, is a case of an erroneous transfer of Zoroastrian tropes to them on the merits of the common term used for both. The Castilian author/s of the Primera Crónica General also struggled with interpreting majūs in the Arabic sources; rendering it as almuiuces, they combined multiple uses of the word. In modern times, Évariste Lévi-Provençal misinterpreted the use of majūs for Zoroastrians in an Andalusi legal manual that forbade the consumption of Zoroastrian-produced cheese, leading to a conclusion that some of the Vikings harrying in Seville settled there and produced cheese. | eng |