The canine behaviors of Saracen dog-men strongly suggest anthropophagy. Muslim cynocephalie are cannibalistic, killing their enemy and consuming them, much like other Muslim monsters, including the Saracen giants with glaring white teeth and black skin who rip humans apart and eat them alive. While texts do not necessarily describe Muslim dog-headed men consuming Christian bodies, it is implied in the behavior exhibited on the battlefield. In some cases, Muslim cynocephalie are rendered speechless: “they could not speak or shout, but like hounds bared their teeth and barked.”

XREF: Connects to medieval bestiary traditions and the dehumanization of out-groups in crusade-era literature.

Sophia Rose Arjana, Muslims in the Western Imag…, loc. 225