Accounts of death-defying stunts for public entertainment can be found even in the Middle Ages.
The great medieval Egyptian historian Taqi al-din Ahmad al-Maqrizi tells us about two tightrope walkers in Cairo from around the year 1426. It seems that he witnessed those exploits himself.
One of the performers, a Frankish convert to Islam who dressed as a soldier, attached a rope to the top of the minaret of the Madrassa Nasiriyya Hasan near the Horse Market below the citadel. He stretched it to the top of the Ashrafiyya in the citadel, a distance of a bowshot or more and a height of over 100 cubits, which is the equivalent of 45 metres or 150 feet. Then, appearing at the top of the minaret, he walked across the rope to the Ashrafiyya, performing various tricks along the way. “The sultan sat there to watch him; people from districts of the town were assembled there,” al-Maqrizi notes. “This was one of the extraordinary things you don’t believe unless you witness them.” The sultan rewarded him with a dress and sent him to the emirs, who each gave him gifts.
Another performer, a Persian merchant, attached a rope between the two minarets at the same madrassa to replicate the previous act. He walked a few steps on the rope, then returned to his starting point. Walking again, he performed remarkable tricks. “He sat on the rope and let his feet dangle,” Maqrizi writes. “In that position, he took a bow from his shoulder and shot two arrows from his quiver. After this, he stood up and continued walking along the rope, performing additional stunts.”
These stories illustrate that the history of tightrope walking, which dates back to Ancient Greece, continued into the Middle Ages with remarkable feats performed for entertainment. For further reading, check out article “An Abridged History of Funambulists” from Atlas Obscura.
The text from al-Maqrizi was translated by Th. Marita Wijntjes as part of her article “Daily Life, Catastrophes and Strange Events in al-Maqrīzī’s Kitāb al-Sulūk li-Maʿrifat Duwal al-Mulūk,” published in Egypt and Syria in the Fatimid, Ayyubid and Mamluk Eras, VIII, edited by U. Vermeulen, K. D’Hulster, and J. Van Steenbergen, and published by Peeters in 2016.
Top Image: 17th century tightrope walking – from Venice Mekhitarist V1028, f. 95
Accounts of death-defying stunts for public entertainment can be found even in the Middle Ages.
The great medieval Egyptian historian Taqi al-din Ahmad al-Maqrizi tells us about two tightrope walkers in Cairo from around the year 1426. It seems that he witnessed those exploits himself.
One of the performers, a Frankish convert to Islam who dressed as a soldier, attached a rope to the top of the minaret of the Madrassa Nasiriyya Hasan near the Horse Market below the citadel. He stretched it to the top of the Ashrafiyya in the citadel, a distance of a bowshot or more and a height of over 100 cubits, which is the equivalent of 45 metres or 150 feet. Then, appearing at the top of the minaret, he walked across the rope to the Ashrafiyya, performing various tricks along the way. “The sultan sat there to watch him; people from districts of the town were assembled there,” al-Maqrizi notes. “This was one of the extraordinary things you don’t believe unless you witness them.” The sultan rewarded him with a dress and sent him to the emirs, who each gave him gifts.
Another performer, a Persian merchant, attached a rope between the two minarets at the same madrassa to replicate the previous act. He walked a few steps on the rope, then returned to his starting point. Walking again, he performed remarkable tricks. “He sat on the rope and let his feet dangle,” Maqrizi writes. “In that position, he took a bow from his shoulder and shot two arrows from his quiver. After this, he stood up and continued walking along the rope, performing additional stunts.”
These stories illustrate that the history of tightrope walking, which dates back to Ancient Greece, continued into the Middle Ages with remarkable feats performed for entertainment. For further reading, check out article “An Abridged History of Funambulists” from Atlas Obscura.
The text from al-Maqrizi was translated by Th. Marita Wijntjes as part of her article “Daily Life, Catastrophes and Strange Events in al-Maqrīzī’s Kitāb al-Sulūk li-Maʿrifat Duwal al-Mulūk,” published in Egypt and Syria in the Fatimid, Ayyubid and Mamluk Eras, VIII, edited by U. Vermeulen, K. D’Hulster, and J. Van Steenbergen, and published by Peeters in 2016.
Top Image: 17th century tightrope walking – from Venice Mekhitarist V1028, f. 95
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