Introduction

Abstract

Abstract The Introduction introduces ʿAbbās Ibn Firnās as a medieval polymath. It contrasts the way he is remembered today, as an early scientist and aviator, with the way he was remembered in the medieval period. It discusses the representations of Ibn Firnās as aviator in visual arts and popular culture from the birth of the modern aerial age at the turn of the century to the present day. It then sets out the main issue of the book, art and science, or craft and intellect, and the relevance of the issue to art historical issues. Studying Ibn Firnās reveals a medieval Islamic culture of craft and intellect that was fully established by the Mongol invasions of the thirteenth century, and that may have shaped the arts of Renaissance and early modern Europe.