ABSTRACT
When the thirteenth-century Flemish poet Jacob van Maerlant tells us in his Scolastica how Abraham begets a son by Hagar, called Ishmael, he adds the following verses:
His [= Ishmael’s] lineage will come—as some have written—and subdue the world harshly with cruel deeds. They will hack priests to pieces and also rape the women. Their horses and their cattle too they will house in holy places. Thus they will avenge the sins of the foul Christian dogs. 2
