How Did First War Influence Medieval Hebrew Poetry

Medieval Hebrew poetry during the 12th century signaled good relations between Jews, Muslims, and even Christians, in which literature, linguistics, and science flourished in Muslim Spain. This period, known as the Golden Age, fostered secular ideas in Hebrew poetry and paved the way for Jewish poets to express the common way of life for non-Muslims coexisting in a hierarchical society where Muslims were at the top. One of the most of the most influential, medieval Hebrew poets in Muslim Spain was Shmuel ha-Nagid. He held a rather contradictory position in Granada as an army general, who rose up in political power during a time of Moorish rule. According to the Pact of ‘Umar, dhimmis and other Jews were not allowed to hold public offices in Islamic nations, thus Nagid’s posting in the Granadan army was very shocking for this time. His high-ranking position points to the grand affects his outstanding poetry had on the king during this time. His poem, First War, contains both a rosy and lachrymose stand on war in which he drew from his personal experience being an army general in a society that forbade his very position.
In Nagid’s poem, First War, he directly compares war to a “beautiful girl” and draws a rather optimistic and cheery image of one’s first time going to war.
The idea of war to those foreign to its bloodshed consider it to be a glorious act of honor and grandeur, which Nagid describes in the first sentence saying, “We all want to flirt with and believe” (First War). The Pact of ‘Umar states, “We [non-Muslims] shall not ride on saddles” nor should they “…wear swords or bear weapons of any kind, or carry them (Pact of ‘Umar). Jews and Christians had many restrictions placed upon them by the Muslims, demonstrating the Muslim’s high social status within the
civilization.
The first writers of Jewish and Muslim relations painted a rather rosy point of view of history; however, the reality of war, along with the reality of the relationship between Jews and Muslims during this period, is much more lachrymose than what first meets the eye. Nadig continues the poem describing war like “a repulsive old whore,” promiscuous and gruesome. War, before being experienced first hand, seems tempting and magnificent, but like a “whore” is actually unpleasant and ghastly. One can argue that Nagid is drawing from his past experience being an army general fighting in war for the first time with a grand ideal that is shattered by war’s terrible acts.