I think this song is about the city of Córdoba, in the Andalusia region of Spain (FYI, Dark Moor is also a Spanish band), and about how it was viewed as one of the rare cities in the Middle Ages where Islam, Christianity, and Judaism managed to coexist peacefully, more or less.
//In the Middle Ages
//In its last stages
//It's flourishing a new paradigm
//In this place, three cultures
//From cots to sepultures
//Have come out to a convivial time
In the late Middles Ages (1250-1500 AD), many Muslim-conquered Spanish cities, especially Córdoba, had a concept known as "La Convivencia" or "the Coexistence" ("a convival time"). Under some caliphates, Islam Judaism, and Christianity ("three cultures") coexisted peacefully in all facets of life "from cots to sepultures" (i.e. from birth to death).
Contrary to modern interpretations of Islam, which includes a strict Wahabist element that can be construed as fundamentally opposed to Western values, Islamic culture at the time was a powerhouse of learning and cultural exchange, which had deep pockets of multiculturalism and respect for and tolerance of opposing viewpoints and religion. In many much of the Western world, Christianity was the default religion, but merely being Christian wasn't enough. Wars were fought over the "correct" kind of Christianity, so that any Christian sect that had been considered to stray too far from the edicts of the Roman catholic Church were persecuted. That idea that you could have three different religions coexisting would have been a "new paradigm".
//It's shining high the oldish star
//Near by the moon
//Over the cross
These are the symbols of the three religions. The Star of David for Judaism, the star and crescent moon for Islam, and the cross for Christianity.
//The example and its echoes are
//Astounding, soon
//The world across
Many people don't realize that the Islamic "age of learning" in the late Middle Ages was a significant contributor to the European Renaissance. Many of the literary and scientific works by old Mesopotamian, Greek and Roman scholars were lost in Europe, but copies of the works, and the ideas they entailed, survived in the academic Muslim world. The European rediscovery of these works, along with new content produced by Muslim scholars, played apart on the growing movement of rationality and scientific objectivity that was a cornerstone of the Renaissance.
//The moon, the cross
//And so, the star
//Are all the forms of the same God who is so far
Christianity, Judaism, and Islam are all Abrahamic religions, which means they technically exist in a "shared universe" and believe in the same god and many of the same mythos. For example, the story of Isaac and Ishmael is a central one of Judaism, and Jewish theology believes that god's promise to Abraham that his descendants (through his son Isaac) would be as numerous as the stars is part of their identity. Meanwhile, Muslims believe that Ishmael (Abraham's other son) was a prophet of god and ancestor of their highest prophet, Muhammad. another example of how they share some of the same beliefs is that both Christianity and Islam revere Jesus as a holy prophet, although Christianity sees him as a messiah (Judaism, in contrast, doesn't believe the coming of their prophet has happened yet).
//City of peace
//Divine caprice
////You are the city of faiths' intercross
//O, you
//City of peace
//Of moon, star
//And cross...
This just reiterates the main points about three religions intersecting.
I think this song is about the city of Córdoba, in the Andalusia region of Spain (FYI, Dark Moor is also a Spanish band), and about how it was viewed as one of the rare cities in the Middle Ages where Islam, Christianity, and Judaism managed to coexist peacefully, more or less.
//In the Middle Ages //In its last stages //It's flourishing a new paradigm
//In this place, three cultures //From cots to sepultures //Have come out to a convivial time
In the late Middles Ages (1250-1500 AD), many Muslim-conquered Spanish cities, especially Córdoba, had a concept known as "La Convivencia" or "the Coexistence" ("a convival time"). Under some caliphates, Islam Judaism, and Christianity ("three cultures") coexisted peacefully in all facets of life "from cots to sepultures" (i.e. from birth to death).
Contrary to modern interpretations of Islam, which includes a strict Wahabist element that can be construed as fundamentally opposed to Western values, Islamic culture at the time was a powerhouse of learning and cultural exchange, which had deep pockets of multiculturalism and respect for and tolerance of opposing viewpoints and religion. In many much of the Western world, Christianity was the default religion, but merely being Christian wasn't enough. Wars were fought over the "correct" kind of Christianity, so that any Christian sect that had been considered to stray too far from the edicts of the Roman catholic Church were persecuted. That idea that you could have three different religions coexisting would have been a "new paradigm".
//It's shining high the oldish star //Near by the moon //Over the cross
These are the symbols of the three religions. The Star of David for Judaism, the star and crescent moon for Islam, and the cross for Christianity.
//The example and its echoes are //Astounding, soon //The world across
Many people don't realize that the Islamic "age of learning" in the late Middle Ages was a significant contributor to the European Renaissance. Many of the literary and scientific works by old Mesopotamian, Greek and Roman scholars were lost in Europe, but copies of the works, and the ideas they entailed, survived in the academic Muslim world. The European rediscovery of these works, along with new content produced by Muslim scholars, played apart on the growing movement of rationality and scientific objectivity that was a cornerstone of the Renaissance.
//The moon, the cross //And so, the star //Are all the forms of the same God who is so far
Christianity, Judaism, and Islam are all Abrahamic religions, which means they technically exist in a "shared universe" and believe in the same god and many of the same mythos. For example, the story of Isaac and Ishmael is a central one of Judaism, and Jewish theology believes that god's promise to Abraham that his descendants (through his son Isaac) would be as numerous as the stars is part of their identity. Meanwhile, Muslims believe that Ishmael (Abraham's other son) was a prophet of god and ancestor of their highest prophet, Muhammad. another example of how they share some of the same beliefs is that both Christianity and Islam revere Jesus as a holy prophet, although Christianity sees him as a messiah (Judaism, in contrast, doesn't believe the coming of their prophet has happened yet).
//City of peace //Divine caprice ////You are the city of faiths' intercross //O, you //City of peace //Of moon, star //And cross...
This just reiterates the main points about three religions intersecting.