Usama Ibn Munqidh's 'The Book Of Contemplation'

A question that has long been asked is whether the Muslims and the Franks lived as friends or foes in the Holy Land after the First Crusade. The Book of Contemplation by Usama Ibn Munqidh describes the 12th century society in the holy Land, and that society was not as hostile as some historians believe, though it was not a rosy relationship. This does not mean that there was no tension between the Franks and the Muslims. Throughout The Book of Contemplation, Munqidh gives the reader the impression that the Islamic way is the best way compared to the Franks. We see almost a childish we-can-do-it-better type comparison, especially in regrads to medicine and the judicial system. In medicine, Munqidh tells the story of a man with an abcess in his leg and a woman with “dryness of humours.” Munqidh wrote, “To the knight I applied a small poultice until the abcess opened up and he was healed, and the woman I put on a diet and increased the wetness of her humours.” He then describes how the medicine how the Franks results in the death of both of his patients. “And then a Frankish physician came to them and said ‘This fellow don’t know how to treat them.’” The physician amputates the leg of the man
The Historian R.C. Smail said that the Latin East was a society immersed in conflict. The evidence from The Book of Contemplation shows us that Latin East society was immersed in tension, but not full rioting. It would be unfair to say that there was constant fighting in the cities because the Franks were the ruling minority. If there was no cooperation they could have been ousted quickly. Conflicts still happened, and we can tell from the writing of Usama Ibn Munqidh that the relationship between the toe groups was not rosy, but some cooperation and even friendships happened in Latin East society as