Leo Africanus

Pietro Bovadiglia, the sailor who captured Hasan and ‘Abbad, was working for Pope Leo X, a member of the influential Medici family of Florence. Hasan is taken to the papal fortress, the Castel San Angelo, where he is met by Francisco Guicciardini. He explains to Hasan that Pietro was sent to find an educated Muslim traveler. Pope Leo greets Hasan warmly, apologizing for his abduction but admitting that he sees Hasan’s assistance as essential although he does not explain why. Hasan is made to teach Arabic to seven pupils. In return, Hasan will be taught Latin, Hebrew, Turkish, and the Catholic catechism. One of Hasan’s students is Hans, a monk who has become attracted to the doctrines of Martin Luther. 

Hans argues the merits of Martin Luther’s beliefs to Hasan. However, Hasan feels too much loyalty to Leo X to consider conversion. Still, Hasan cannot help but note the similarities between Islam and Luther’s doctrines, such as the rejection of religious icons, celibacy, and a hierarchy of priests. Meanwhile, Pope Leo has Hasan baptized and takes him as a godson, giving him a new name, John-Leo de Medici. Hasan even comes to love Leo X, but he still secretly remains faithful to Islam.

Hans takes the newly named Leo on a tour of Rome, illustrating the poverty contrasted against the wealth of the Catholic Church. Guicciardini later takes Leo on a more positive tour of Rome. He tells Leo that the wealth of the Church has also gone into the patronage of art, writing, and architecture. 

A relative and close associate of the Pope’s, Cardinal Julius de Medici, asks Leo to marry a woman he had in his service, Maddalena. At the first anniversary of the death of the artist Raphael, Leo recalls one of the few times he met him. He and Raphael debated over Islam’s ban on figurative representation and whether an artist or sculptor can substitute for God.

Leo realizes that he was being asked to marry Maddalena because she was Cardinal Julius’s lover and Pope Leo ordered him to get rid of her in a respectable way. Nonetheless, he is attracted to her. Speaking with her, he learns that Maddalena was a Jew from Granada who converted to Christianity after her family fled to Italy only to die from the plague. She was taken in by an old abbess and forced to join a convent. After the old abbess died, she was abused by the new abbess for being a converted Jew. Only by drawing the attention of Cardinal Julius did she escape. In revenge, the abbess convinced some cardinals to bring to the Pope the “most dreadful accusations” (310). Leo does not want to know if these accusations were true. 

Pope Leo dies and is succeeded by Pope Adrian. While Pope Leo was an intellectual interested in the arts, Adrian is a reactionary. Indeed, the writers, scholars, and artists Pope Leo had gathered abandon the city. Also, John-Leo is disturbed by Adrian’s calls to go on a crusade against the Ottoman Empire.

John-Leo contemplates leaving but stays in Rome because Maddalena is pregnant with his son, Giuseppe or Yusuf. One day, Leo comes across a painting by an artist from Naples that is a portrait of ‘Abbad. Starting from this clue, Leo tracks down his old friend, who had become the slave of a merchant, was freed after a year, and reestablished his fortune. ‘Abbad offers to check on John-Leo’s original family. Meanwhile, John-Leo becomes a center of resistance to Adrian’s rule. 

‘Abbad updates John-Leo on what has happened to his original family. He gives John-Leo a letter from Nur in which she leaves their daughter, Hayat, in his family’s care. Also, she says she is leaving for Persia to keep trying to drum up support for his claim to the Ottoman throne. John-Leo is grieved. ‘Abbad also explains that Harun has been supporting John-Leo’s mother and daughters.

Knowing John-Leo’s anxiety over Pope Adrian, Maddalena and ‘Abbad assure John-Leo that the new Sultan of the Ottoman Empire, Sulaiman, is more humane than his predecessor. Convinced, John-Leo decides to leave for the Ottoman Empire. However, before they can even prepare to leave, John-Leo is arrested for carrying an inflammatory pamphlet and imprisoned in the same cell he was in before meeting Pope Leo.

Guicciardini removes John-Leo from his cell. John-Leo is relieved to find that Pope Adrian died and was replaced by Cardinal Julius, now calling himself Pope Clement. Pope Clement explains to John-Leo the reason why he was brought to Rome. The political situation saw Rome caught between two empires, the Ottomans and the Holy Roman Empire ruled by Charles V. Jean-Leon was needed to help the papacy negotiate with the Ottoman Empire. Next, Clement queries John-Leo on his attitude toward religion. Jean-Leon admits that he feels religion has produced both good and evil. There is a divine truth, but humans can only degrade it.

John-Leo learns from ‘Abbad that his mother, Salma, died while he was in prison. ‘Abbad also gives John-Leo the notes about his travels that were left in Tunis. Before returning to Germany, Hans introduces John-Leo to the scholar Erasmus. John-Leo agrees to contribute to Erasmus’ massive lexicon, the Anti-Babel, by writing the Arabic and Hebrew parts.

John-Leo and Guicciardini arrive at the northern Italian city of Pavia on a mission to intercept an Ottoman diplomat sent to François, King of France. It turns out that the diplomat was Harun, who entered into Ottoman service after Barbarossa was killed by the Castilians. Harun was sent to negotiate an alliance between François and Sulaiman against Charles.

On the way back to Rome, John-Leo and Guicciardini are overtaken by a snowstorm. John-Leo is injured in a horse-riding accident caused by the storm and is stranded in a hostelry while he recovers. Guicciardini arranges for John-Leo’s notes to be brought to him, allowing John-Leo to write his book, Description of Africa. While still recovering, John-Leo learns from Maddalena that Charles defeated François and captured him. John-Leo realizes this means that Charles may turn his attention to François’s ally, Pope Clement, next.

In Bologna, John-Leo meets Pope Clement’s cousin, Giovanni de Medici, who leads a band of mercenaries called the Black Bands. Giovanni confides to John-Leo that Guicciardini is pressuring Pope Clement to attack Charles. Then Giovanni gives John-Leo a tour of Florence, admitting that he is the only member of the family still popular in the family’s native city. John-Leo is shocked to learn that the current head of the Medici family, Alessandro, is the illegitimate son of Pope Clement.

Under Guicciardini’s influence, Pope Clement puts himself in charge of a coalition of countries opposing Charles. Meanwhile, the Ottoman Empire invades Hungary, killing its king, who was also Charles’s brother-in-law at the Battle of Mohàcs. Guicciardini actually views the Ottoman victory as a miracle for the papal cause. In the meantime, John-Leo finishes writing Description of Africa. Maddalena sees the speed at which he finished the book as a bad omen.

The people of Rome view the threat from the Holy Roman Empire with contempt, but John-Leo remains worried. An army led by Charles de Bourbon, an enemy of the King of France, is marching through Italy toward Rome. John-Leo supports the war effort by running the munitions store at the Castel San Angelo. Rome comes under attack. A brief victory is enjoyed by the Romans when a Florentine medal-maker, Benvenuto Cellini, manages to kill Charles de Bourbon, but hope is short-lived. The imperial forces take Rome and become responsible for numerous atrocities carried out by the German lasquenets, who were followers of Martin Luther and despised the Pope.

The Pope flees to the Castel San Angelo with numerous civilians and prominent people. Later, an emissary appears, offering safe passage to John-Leo and his family. Pope Clement, hoping that this will lead to the release of more people in the fortress, encourages John-Leo to go, although he warns him that the decision will not be without risk. John-Leo reluctantly agrees but finds to his relief that his release was arranged by his old student Hans, who was among the imperial forces. John-Leo, Maddalena, and Yusuf next go to Naples and meet with ‘Abbad, who agrees to take John-Leo and his family to Tunis.