The idea of the inextricable incompatibility of Christianity and Islam, created in the Middle Ages and maintained through Orientalism, became preserved behind the glass and in the collections of museums. Originally formulated as motivators for a land grab, Frankish notions of hyper-potent opposition became further and further disconnected from their sources - the kind of misdirection a pope, or a kind, may benefit from. Writers of the Arab world also reflected on notions of alterity in literary writings and travel writings alike. These medieval arts, while divorced from their original intents, have become a vehicle for Orientalist ideas, and addressing these notions at their source - both in their respective historical contexts, but also in their present material contexts in museums - is a great task. This thesis represents an attempt, within a growing movement of scholars and institutions, to correct these wrongs.
