Saaleha Iqbal

Profile

I am a PhD candidate based in the School of Languages, Cultures and Societies at Leeds. My thesis examines representations of Muslim women in the Old French chansons de geste, specifically the Crusade Cycle. I am also interested in the crossover between the chronicle and epic genres, especially in comparing depictions of Muslim women between the two genres. Previously, I have completed research on the depictions of Muslims as ‘Saracens’ in Middle English romances from the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. Though my undergraduate was in English literature, I am generally interested in medieval European engagement with and cultural representations of Muslims and Islam beyond England and France.

My PhD is funded by an AHRC/WRoCAH Studentship. As part of my Researcher Employability Project, I completed a three-month placement at Chetham’s Library in July-October 2025 where I created a catalogue of the library’s collection of medieval manuscripts.

Research interests

• Writings about Muslims, Muslim women specifically, and Islam in medieval Europe ca. 1100-1500
• Encounters between Latin Christians and Muslims in the late medieval period
• Old French epics (the chansons de geste)
• Middle English literature
• Tracing the influences of Christian responses to the rise of Islam in the early medieval period to the later medieval period and how knowledge about Muslims and Islam was disseminated in Europe
• Illustrations of Muslims in European manuscripts

Qualifications

• MA Medieval and Early Modern Studies
• BA (Hons) English Literature with Creative Writing