A Count of Counts. Parallel Loanwords and Channels of Communication between Arabic, Latin, French and Occitan in the Levant at the Time of the Crusades

Medieval Levantine Arabic sources contain two separate but synonymous terms for ‘count’ – a title borne by many crusaders. These terms are “qūm.ṣ” and “kund”. Although past scholars have agreed that “kund” was a transliteration of Old French “conte”, they have disagreed on whether “qūm.ṣ” derived from Latin “comes” or Occitan “coms”. This paper argues in favour of the Latin etymology. The paper then proposes that the distinction in the usage of “kund” and “qūm.ṣ” depended on the medium through which Arabophones communicated with the Franks in question. Latin “comes” likely entered Arabic as “qūmiṣ” via translations of Latin documents produced by the chanceries of the settled Syro-Frankish aristocracy. Meanwhile, French “conte” entered Arabic as “kund” via less formal oral contact between Arabophones and temporarily visiting crusaders and pilgrims.