Messaging and Memory: Notes from Medieval Ifrīqiya and Sicily

This essay examines the practice of messaging and the sending of note-form missives. It does so from the particular perspective of the medieval western Mediterranean where evidence for messages not only shows their importance as fast and direct forms of communication, but also points to their formative role in later historical memory. The article has a dual focus: first it examines the notes sent between the Fatimid caliph and his chief minister, Jawdhar, before turning to explore the use of messaging during the Norman conquest of Sicily.