Sentiment analysis of the image of the Franks (Ifranj) in the Arabic folk epic Slrat Dat al-Himma

Although the algorithm evaluates only the sums of valences of lexemes, which may eventually give inaccurate estimates of contexts, and the real number of negative contexts is the prevailing majority, it is important to emphasize that the algorithm evaluated the fragments about franks exclusively as negative and neutral.

Semantic and grammatical analysis of contexts revealed the following emotive factors in creating the image of the Franks.

Creating the emotive image of the Franks

The first emotive factor in creating the image of Franks as enemies is the depiction of them in the Epic as infidels seeking to destroy Islam and convert Muslims to Christianity. This image is formed primarily through the use of particular lexical units indicating the opposition of the Franks to the will of Allah and their hope in the will of Jesus Christ³. King of the Franks in Sirat Dat al-Himma is called `aduww allah (Enemy of Allah). In one of the episodes, the hero of the Epic `Amir strikes the king of the Franks with a spear: Wa armahu biha wa qala hudha yd `aduww allah wa `aduww al-rasulfa lam yas `ur `aduww allah malik al-ifranj illa wa qadwaqa`atfilabbatihi ahraqat qafahu wa harajat min nuqratihi (He threw it [spear] at him, shouting, «Take this, enemy of Allah and enemy of His Messenger!» And the king of the Franks, the enemy of Allah, felt only how it [the spear] hit his upper chest, pierced his nape and came In Islam, Jesus (`Isa) is one of the most respected prophets, but the assertion by Christians of his divine nature is interpreted by Muslims as sirk (a violation of the principle of monotheism).

The text of the narrative also contains numerous contrasting descriptions of the opposing sides, as, for example, in the episode of the siege of the city held by the Franks: Wa irtafa `at al-aswat wa zadat al-dajjat wa kafarat al-ifranj bi rabb al-ard wa al-samawat wa sahat al - kuffar min fawq al-aswar wa ramu bi al-ahjar wa al-mu'minun yaqulunayd ummat muhammad al-muhtar jahidu fial-kuffar al-fujjar (The voices grew louder and the noise increased, and the Franks blasphemed the Lord of Earth and Heaven. The infidels shouted from behind the walls, and they threw stones at the righteous, and the believers exclaimed: «O people of Muhammad the Chosen, fight against the impious infidels») [17, p. 395]. The narrative also emphasizes the contradiction between the Christian concept of the divine and the basic tenets of Islam: Wa qad halaqu al-liha' wa nasaru al-nusur wa kafaru bi al-malik al-gafur ([The Franks] shaved off their beards and spread faith in the Resurrection⁵[of Jesus Christ], and they did not trust in the Forgiving King)⁶» [17, p. 803]. Thus, the Epic emphasizes the deep sacred importance of the fighting against the Franks.

The motive that the Franks are forcibly converting the inhabitants of the Middle East to Christianity is also of significant importance. `Uqba, for example, promises that «bells will ring in all the lands of Islam» [19, pp. 108-109], while the Frankish ambassador introduces his King the Giant [ar. `imlaq, the nickname of the king of the Franks], who went on a campaign against the Muslims, as the vicar of Jesus Christ over all Christians [17, pp. 396]. `Uqba says that «it is necessary to convert as many Muslims as possible to Christianity», and «Christians are obliged to wage a holy war against Muslims» [19, p. 112]. Such passages are essential for Arabic Folk Epics in general, and can be reduced to one idea - attributing the doctrine of holy war to Christianity. At the same time, symbols and stereotypical images of Christianity and Christians that existed in medieval Arab-Muslim culture were used to create an emotional image of the enemy. Among the most widely used myths one can find an exaggerated number of representatives of the higher Christian clergy in the ranks of the Franks, extensive cross symbolism, as well as the vast introduction of pigs into the profane and sacred practices of Christians.

The second emotive factor consists in creating the image of Franks as enemies through their humiliation.

1 Nuqrat al-qafa denotes a small pit in the nape.

2 The resurrection of Jesus is rejected in Islam.

3 Al-malik al-gafur - one of the epithets of Allah.

One of the most effective ways to dehumanize an enemy in many cultures has been to attribute cannibalistic practices to them. The implementations of this approach in the Epic under consideration are in abundance, as, for example, in the following episode: Wa haraja nasir malik al-ifranj wa qala and ahud bi ta'r waladi wa hasdsat kabdi wa la budda an akul min kabd hadd al-muslim qit`a (The herald of the king of the Franks stepped forward and said: «I will avenge my son, who was dearest to me. I must eat a piece of this Muslim's liver») [17, pp. 854-855]. The plot about eating the liver of a defeated enemy reproduces the archetypal idea, dating back to the ancient myths of the Middle East, that this organ holds the concentration of human strength and wisdom.

Another common type of dehumanization is the motive of the ritual use of excrements. This plot vividly illustrated by the episode of the meeting between the king of the Franks, the Giant, and the highest Christian patriarch, cited in the Epic: Tarajjala lahum wa sajada li al - batrak wa ahada min al-buhur al-mahlut bi raji `ihi wa tasawwaka hattd salat al-dimd' min famihi wa lataha bi dalika al-raji» sawdribhu wa lihyathu fa qala lahu al-batrak i `lam anna al - sayyid al-masih qaddamaka `ala jamV al-nasrdniyya (And when [the Giant] dismounted in front of them, he bowed to the patriarch, took some incense mixed with his excrements, and brushed his teeth with it until blood flowed from his mouth. And he smeared his mustache and beard with these excrements, and after that the patriarch said to him: «Know that the Lord Jesus Christ has assigned you over all Christians») [17, p. 396]. The contrasting description of the pretentious ceremony with the participation of the patriarch, in which excrements are used, is also intended to create a comic effect.

Finally, another way of dehumanizing the Franks in the Epic involves likening them to animals. This aspect works in two scenarios. The Franks in the narrative are correlated with animals with epithets, as, for example, in the episode: Wa lam yazdlu bi al-mawkib ild an wasalu ild al-kalb `imldq (And [the Franks] continued to walk until they came to [their king] dog Giant) [17, p. 396], while in the other episodes, it is argued that they literally reproduce the behavior of the beasts: Wa inna al-malik manuwiljalasa min laylatihi wa a`td mamlakat al - ifranj li rajul kdna min akdbirihim yuqdlu lahu al-qims al-kabir wa kdna kafir sarir wa lahu zamjara wa hadir wa huwa ka annahu al-hinzir wa huwa kdfir bi al-latlf al-habir (And King Manuel awoke from the sleep and gave power over the kingdom of the Franks to a man who was one of their great men. His name was the Great Hegumen⁷ and he was an evil infidel who

4 The term qimsis translated as hegumen, because it is usually used to denote representatives of the Eastern Orthodox and Catholic churches, though it equals to abbot (ar. ab or ra'is al - dayr).

The studies of the offensiveness of the animal metaphors show that there are two main routes through which offensiveness is generated. Some metaphors are adjudged to be highly offensive because they liken persons to disgusting or taboo animals, whereas others acquire their offensiveness because the comparison itself is seen as dehumanizing, even if the animal itself was not detested [21, pp. 311-325]. In the case of the image of the Franks, we see the implementation of both of these approaches.

The third factor is the creation of the image of the Franks as numerous, strong and dangerous opponents. For this purpose, various tropes and figures of speech are used. The most frequent means of this are derogatory epithets, as in the following example: Fa wataba min bayna al-jamV batriq jabbar yuqalu lahu qiriyaqis bin iflatun bin midas al-ifranji wa kana yu `addu bi alf faris fi al-maydan wa kana tahta yadihi talatumi'at alf faris wa kana waladuhu qiriyaqisaktar minhu sarr wa la`na (And the mighty patriarch Frank Qiriyaqis stepped forward from their ranks. He was the son of Iflatun bin Midas, who was worth a thousand knights in the battlefield, and he had under his command three hundred thousand knights, and his son Qiriyaqis was even more evil and cursed than him) [17, p. 901].

The example presented above also demonstrates the implementation of hyperbole, the second most common trope in the Epic. This practice in the narrative is used primarily in relation to the number of the Frankish invaders. In Sirat Dat al-Himma it is often emphasized that all the Franks, without exception, set off on campaigns against the Muslims: Wa lamma `alima `imlaq al-ijaba fa ma taraka fi bilad ifranja gayr al-niswan wa sara fi al-barr bi mi'at alf faris half sittumi «at qit `a fi al-bahr mal'ana bi al-rijal wa amara qubtan al-marakib an yahjum `ala marakib al-islam (And when the Giant received the answer, he left only women in the country of the Franks, and set out by land with a hundred thousand horsemen, accompanied by six hundred ships at sea full of soldiers, and he ordered the captains to attack the ships of Muslims) [17, p. 395]. In another episode, numerous «patriarchs and kings of the Franks» gather around the bedside of the sick Byzantine emperor [17, p. 906].

To create an image of the strength and multiplicity of the Franks, a metaphor is also often used in the narrative, as in the following examples: Fa sam ka annahum saddmin hadid (And [the Franks] stood up like an iron wall) [17, p. 855] or Wa daru bihim al-ifranj wa inhattu `alayhim ka annahum al-gamam (The Franks surrounded them and descended on them like storm clouds) [17, p. 894].The narrative also uses the metaphor of nature, which is «frightened» at the approach of a huge Frankish army: Wa ida al-dunya igtammat wa azlamat janbat wa nafarat al-tuyur min awkarha wa al-wuhus min falawat wa azlama al-jaww min gubarha wa azlamat al-ard min aqtarha wa aqbala al-jays mitla al-sayl al-mutahadir wa al-matar al - mutawatir (And when the world became gloomy and the sides darkened, and fled the birds from their nests and the beasts from their wilds, and the atmosphere became darker with its dust, and the earth became darker in its regions, and the army came like a rolling torrent and a frequent rain) [17, p. 803]. The depiction of the Franks as very strong and numerous enemies should also be considered a form of demonization. According to T. Brudholm, superhumanization often occurs if the respective Other is perceived as dangerous, and it can be theorized as perceiving the Other as a monster [22, pp. 94-96].

Malcolm Lyons also notes that the Franks in the Arabic Folk Epics are described as strong and dangerous warriors [8, pp. 147-161]. In Sirat Dat al-Himma their large physique is specifically emphasized: Wa kana muqaddamat al-jays mi'at alf min al-ifranj kibar al-ajsadka annahum min baqaya qawm `ad bi al-qintariyat al-midad wa al-suyuf al-hidad (And hundred thousand Franks were in the vanguard, and their bodies were so massive, as if they were the remnants of the people of `ad, with long spears and sharp swords) [17, p. 767]. `Adites are mentioned in the Qur'an as a people who disobeyed the prophet Hud and were destroyed by Allah for this. «Have you not seen what your Lord did with the `Adites, the people of Iram of the Columns the likes of which had never been created in the land?» (89: 6-8). According to the Muslim tradition, the `Adites were distinguished by their tall stature and great physical strength. Thus, the correlation with the people who disobeyed the will of Allah gives the image of the Franks an additional negative emotional characteristic.

It is also important to note that although Christians - Byzantines, Ethiopians and Franks - are generally the enemies of the Arabs/Muslims in the Arabic Folk Epic, the Franks are always depicted as the most feared and powerful of them, and they are also feared by their allies in the Christian camp. Fa baraza ilayhi min al-ifranj faris yuqalu lahu quqyas ibn malik ifranja wa kana min al-abtal al-ma`rufin wa al-aqyal al-mawsufin tahabuhu muluk al-rum jaml `an li annahu kana yaqtanisu al-asad min al-gabat wa ya'hud al-qawafil min al-falawat (And a Frankish knight named Quqyas, the son of the king of the Franks, rushed to him. He was a renowned daredevil and a famous leader. All the kings of the Romans feared him, because he hunted lions in the forests and robbed caravans in the wilds) [17, p. 853].

In summary, it should be noted that in the majority of contexts, the passages about the Franks have a negative emotional connotation. There are three main emotional patterns to create the image of the Franks-Others. The first way consists in emphasizing the threat that they carry out to Islam and the Muslim sacred space, for which the descriptions of the righteousness of Muslims and the heretical beliefs of the Franks are actively used. This technique is amplified by the two types of dehumanization: humiliation, exhibited in correlation with animals and attribution of deviant behavior such as cannibalism, as well as depiction of the enormous strength and demonic power of the Franks. It is important to emphasize the mutually exclusive nature of the last two factors: the attribution of the low instincts and animal habits to the Franks is adjacent to the passages that create the image of them as superhumen. The tropes and stylistic devices of metaphor, epithet and hyperbole, used in these cases, are combined to evoke in the reader, or rather the listener of the Folk Epics, laughter, fear and hatred of the Franks at the same time, making comic relief one of the most actively used techniques as it often involves all these emotions. Thus, the method of sentiment analysis makes it possible to identify key features of the image of the Other and patterns of dehumanization in historical narrative.

The way in which, thanks to the Crusades, ifranj were imprinted for many centuries in the most popular works of the Arab Folk culture, is important for the formation of the image of the Europeans in the Arab imagery and for the evolvement of the concept of the Other in the formation of the identities of the Arabic-speaking communities of the Middle East.

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