Christian practice under Muslim rule: new insights into the Christian rite celebrated in al-Andalus

There are many assumptions about what constituted the religious practice of Christians living under Muslim rule in al-Andalus. In this article, we revisit these assumptions by surveying the most recent research on the topic and uncovering new sources, all of which force us to rethink our previous understanding of the liturgical rite practiced by Andalusi Christians. After first questioning the terminology generally used to describe this rite, for example with the misnomer ‘Mozarabic’, we then survey liturgical and literary sources for what they can tell us about ritual practice. Although many of these sources are well-known, they have been the subject of recent reassessments, which we bring together here for the first time. To existing studies, we add our own original analysis of, for example, the so-called ‘Cordoban Calendar’, whose treatment as an accurate reflection of Andalusi practice must be reconsidered in light of the discovery of new manuscripts. Exploring questions of the language of liturgical practice, the liturgical calendar, and the influence of northern or eastern practices, we sketch out directions for future research that can help further our understanding of a practice about which little is known so far. What we find confirms that there is scope for thinking of shared liturgical forms between al-Andalus and the northern Christian kingdoms of the Peninsula. Differences in the calendar of feast days, readings, and genres, as well as music, between these regions nevertheless demands more investigation.