The Languages of Medieval Iberia and Their Religious Dimension1

Abstract The aim of this article is to investigate language use as a social phenomenon in the period of eight centuries during which there was a Muslim state in the Iberian peninsula—that is, more exactly, the period comprising 711 C.E. to 1492 C.E., which are the dates of the Muslim arrival and conquest of the peninsula, and the end of the reconquest of the Muslim territory by the Christians, respectively. For this purpose, I will look into the contexts and registers in which the different languages of Medieval Iberia were used, as well as references to linguistic usages that the written sources of this period contain. Religious affiliation will prove to be a decisive factor in the use of different linguistic varieties and, moreover, the values ascribed to each of them.