James T. Monroe
Encyclopedia
James T. Monroe is an American scholar. He is emeritus professor of Arabic and Comparative Literature at the University of California at Berkeley
, focusing on Classical Arabic
Literature and Hispano-Arabic
Literature. Professor Monroe "works in the areas of lyric poetry, the Middle Ages, and East-West relations with particular interest in the importance of the Arab contribution to Spanish civilization." His doctorate was from Harvard.
A survey of mostly academic studies of Islam
and the Arabs. Monroe also reviews the national context of a work's literary origin in Spain, as the cultural nature of these studies evolves over the course of several centuries. Such a survey is particularly resonant with subtleties because of the seven hundred year presence of Arabic
speaking Muslim regimes
in Spain
, chiefly in the central and southern regions.
The book is divided into three parts:
1. the Study of Arabic Grammar
and Lexicography
(covering scholarship of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, Chapter I);
2. the Study of Political History in Al-Andalus (regarding nineteenth century scholarship, Chapters II to V); and,
3. the Study of the Cultural History of Al-Andalus
(early and middle twentieth century scholarship, Chapters VI to X).
Among figures discussed: Francisco Javier Simonet (III); Francisco Codera y Zaidín (V); Julián Ribera y Tarragó (VI); Miguel Asín Palacios (VII); Emilio García Gómez
and Angel González Palencia (VIII); Miguel de Unamuno
, José Ortega y Gasset
, Ramón Menéndez Pidal
, and Américo Castro
(X).
A translation from Arabic, with introduction and notes by Monroe. Concerns the literary reflections and polemical writings with regard to an intra-Muslim ethnic conflict in al-Andalus
(medieval Spain). Ibn Gharsiya [Ibn Garcia], a muladi
poet (perhaps of Basque
lineage), wrote his essay (risala
) during the 11th century. It contests the then current Arab claims of supremacy over Muslims of other or mixed ethnicity. Hence it echoes the earlier Shu'ubite
movement in Iran
, which had challenged the Arab ascendancy there several centuries before.
A translation with introduction and notes by Monroe. The poet Ibn Shuhaid (992-1035) of al-Andalus
wrote this fictional narration of a voyage to the land of the djinn. Although only fragments survive, it has been reconstructed to some extent; Monroe dates it to 1025-1027. Into his stories Ibn Shuhayd places his poetry (see below, Monroe's Hispano-Arabic Poetry). Probably following somewhat al-Hamadhani's earlier invention, it is marginally of the maqama
genre (see below, Monroe's The art of Badī' az-Zamān). The Risālat is sometimes mentioned among possible influences on Dante
's Divina Commedia. Monroe notes that here Ibn Shuhaid "developed a metaphysics into an aesthetics to account for the origin of beauty and the creative process in Arabic literature."
Poems in Arabic script with English translation on facing page, as compiled by Monroe. In his sixty-page introduction Monroe seeks to situate the poets within the political and social environment, following poetry's fortunes over several centuries in the culture of al-Andalus
. A poet's status varied: from being lauded and well patronized
, to being religiously suspect and not welcome at the palace. Monroe also sheds light on the technical poetics
of al-Andalus in terms general to Arabic literature
.
Works by three dozen poets are translated, including: Ibn Shuhaid (992-1035), poet and author (see above, Monroe's Risalat); the well-known Ibn Hazm
(994-1064), author of Tauq al-hamama ["The Dove's Necklace"], Ibn Hazm was also a Zahiri
jurist and a philosopher-theologian; Ibn Zaydún
(1003-1071), neoclassical poet; Al-Mu'tamid ibn Abbad (1040-1095), king of Seville
, later deposed; Ibn Kafaja (1058-1139), nature poet; Ibn Baqi
(died 1145 or 1150), muwashshah
a poet; Al-Abyad (d.1130), muwashshaha poet, later crucified; Ibn Zuhr al-hafid (1113-1198), physician, muwashshaha poet; the great mystic and sufi shaykh Ibn 'Arabi (1165-1240); Ibn al-Khatib
(1313-1374), vizier
of Granada
, historian, assassinated in Fez
; Ibn Zamrak
(1333-1393), whose poems are engraved on the walls of the Alhambra
, later assassinated; and, Yusuf III, Sultan of Granada
from 1408 until his death in 1417.
Al-Hamadhani (d.1008) of Hamadhan or Hamadan (Ecbatana of ancient Iran) is credited with inventing the literary genre of maqamat
in which a wandering vagabond makes his living on the gifts his listeners give him following his extemporaneous displays of rhetoric, erudition, or verse, often done with a trickster
's touch. Al-Hamadhani has become known by the title Badi' az-Zaman or Badi'u 'l-Zaman, "wonder of the age". See below, Monroe's translation of al-Maqamat al-Luzumiyah, and above his Risalat.
The authors discuss the medieval genres of muwashshah
as and zajal
s as they are currently sung in North Africa (the Maghrib
). Because this music was not written, the oral performances are a crucial source. The Muslims of Spain (al-Andalus
) were connected closely and directly with al-Maghrib, i.e., with those who later continued the music traditions of Andalus
following the Spanish reconquista
.
The book contains transliterated texts and translations of the verses, and about twenty pages of western musical notation
of the songs, as well as discussion of their performance. Also translated are two chapters on music from a medieval Maghribi encyclopedia in Arabic by Ahmad al-Tifasi. The mutual relation of the songs to European romance is also addressed, with views and examples of a 'west-east' influence/counter-influence. The authors note that evidence of a "zealous guardianship of a vernerable tradition... makes it conceivable that the Andalusian music we hear today does not differ radically from what we might have heard in medieval Andalus."
The writer al-Saraqusti ibn al-Astarkuwi or al-Ashtarkuni (d.1143) here wrote in the genre maqamat
. Saraqusti's collection of stories follows Maqamat format in which, e.g., a trickster
narrator may relate his tale (see above, Monroe's book on al-Hamadhani). This literary genre
is comparable to later European picaresque novels (Spanish picaro, English "rascal"), the first of note being in Spanish: the anonymous Lazarillo de Tormes
published at Alcalá de Henares
in 1554.
Translation with a 108-page preliminary study by Monroe. Therein Monroe discusses: What is Maqamat? - Life of the Author - Works of the Author - Analysis of Four Maqamat - Doubling and Duplicity [originality within the genre] - Literary Decadence and Artistic Excellence - Remarks on the Translation
and Annotations. About Saraqusti's collection of Maqamat, Monroe (at 108) comments on the difficulty to render it into a foreign language, as it is "a work studded with puns
, rhymes, and double entendres." Over fifty Maqamat are translated here. Monroe gives high praise for the "baroque
" art of Saraqusti, although acknowledging that his ornamented style, with verse and contrivance, is now out of fashion. Saraqusti was an Arab of 12th century al-Andalus
.
Monroe (at 46-80) analyses four of the maqamat
. In "Maqamat 41 (The Berbers)" the narrator
Abu l-Gamr is a character who tells his own story, which includes contradictions and misinformation. An Arab, he is proud of his noble ancestry and traditions of generousity. On the other hand, he makes cutting remarks about the barbaric Berbers. Later as a guest of a party of Berbers
, Abu l-Gamr is treated very well and trusted, but he nonetheless steals their wealth. Monroe comments that Saraqusti, here using negative example, teaches about the disagreeable and distorting nature of ethnic animousity.
University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley , is a teaching and research university established in 1868 and located in Berkeley, California, USA...
, focusing on Classical Arabic
Classical Arabic
Classical Arabic , also known as Qur'anic or Koranic Arabic, is the form of the Arabic language used in literary texts from Umayyad and Abbasid times . It is based on the Medieval dialects of Arab tribes...
Literature and Hispano-Arabic
Al-Andalus
Al-Andalus was the Arabic name given to a nation and territorial region also commonly referred to as Moorish Iberia. The name describes parts of the Iberian Peninsula and Septimania governed by Muslims , at various times in the period between 711 and 1492, although the territorial boundaries...
Literature. Professor Monroe "works in the areas of lyric poetry, the Middle Ages, and East-West relations with particular interest in the importance of the Arab contribution to Spanish civilization." His doctorate was from Harvard.
Islam and the Arabs in Spanish Scholarship
- Islam and the Arabs in Spanish Scholarship (Sixteenth Century to the Present) (Leiden: E.J.Brill 1970).
A survey of mostly academic studies of Islam
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
and the Arabs. Monroe also reviews the national context of a work's literary origin in Spain, as the cultural nature of these studies evolves over the course of several centuries. Such a survey is particularly resonant with subtleties because of the seven hundred year presence of Arabic
Arabic language
Arabic is a name applied to the descendants of the Classical Arabic language of the 6th century AD, used most prominently in the Quran, the Islamic Holy Book...
speaking Muslim regimes
Al-Andalus
Al-Andalus was the Arabic name given to a nation and territorial region also commonly referred to as Moorish Iberia. The name describes parts of the Iberian Peninsula and Septimania governed by Muslims , at various times in the period between 711 and 1492, although the territorial boundaries...
in Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
, chiefly in the central and southern regions.
The book is divided into three parts:
1. the Study of Arabic Grammar
Grammar
In linguistics, grammar is the set of structural rules that govern the composition of clauses, phrases, and words in any given natural language. The term refers also to the study of such rules, and this field includes morphology, syntax, and phonology, often complemented by phonetics, semantics,...
and Lexicography
Lexicography
Lexicography is divided into two related disciplines:*Practical lexicography is the art or craft of compiling, writing and editing dictionaries....
(covering scholarship of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, Chapter I);
2. the Study of Political History in Al-Andalus (regarding nineteenth century scholarship, Chapters II to V); and,
3. the Study of the Cultural History of Al-Andalus
Al-Andalus
Al-Andalus was the Arabic name given to a nation and territorial region also commonly referred to as Moorish Iberia. The name describes parts of the Iberian Peninsula and Septimania governed by Muslims , at various times in the period between 711 and 1492, although the territorial boundaries...
(early and middle twentieth century scholarship, Chapters VI to X).
Among figures discussed: Francisco Javier Simonet (III); Francisco Codera y Zaidín (V); Julián Ribera y Tarragó (VI); Miguel Asín Palacios (VII); Emilio García Gómez
Emilio García Gómez
Emilio García Gómez, 1st Count of Alixares was a Spanish Arabist, literary historian and critic, whose talent as a poet enriched his many translations from Arabic.-Life:...
and Angel González Palencia (VIII); Miguel de Unamuno
Miguel de Unamuno
Miguel de Unamuno y Jugo was a Spanish essayist, novelist, poet, playwright and philosopher.-Biography:...
, José Ortega y Gasset
José Ortega y Gasset
José Ortega y Gasset was a Spanish liberal philosopher and essayist working during the first half of the 20th century while Spain oscillated between monarchy, republicanism and dictatorship. He was, along with Nietzsche, a proponent of the idea of perspectivism.-Biography:José Ortega y Gasset was...
, Ramón Menéndez Pidal
Ramón Menéndez Pidal
Ramón Menéndez Pidal was a Spanish philologist and historian. He worked extensively on the history of the Spanish language and Spanish folklore and folk poetry. One of his main topics was the history and legend of The Cid....
, and Américo Castro
Americo Castro
Américo Castro y Quesada was a Spanish cultural historian, philologist, and literary critic who challenged some of the prevailing notions of Spanish identity, raising heated controversy with his conclusions that Spaniards didn't become the distinct group they are today until after the Islamic...
(X).
The Shu'ubiyya in al-Andalus
- The Shu'ubiyya in al-Andalus. The risala of Ibn Garcia and five refutations (University of California Press 1970).
A translation from Arabic, with introduction and notes by Monroe. Concerns the literary reflections and polemical writings with regard to an intra-Muslim ethnic conflict in al-Andalus
Al-Andalus
Al-Andalus was the Arabic name given to a nation and territorial region also commonly referred to as Moorish Iberia. The name describes parts of the Iberian Peninsula and Septimania governed by Muslims , at various times in the period between 711 and 1492, although the territorial boundaries...
(medieval Spain). Ibn Gharsiya [Ibn Garcia], a muladi
Muladi
The Muladi were Muslims of ethnic Iberian descent or of mixed Arab, Berber and European origin, who lived in Al-Andalus during the Middle Ages. They were also called "Musalima" .-Etymology:...
poet (perhaps of Basque
Basque people
The Basques as an ethnic group, primarily inhabit an area traditionally known as the Basque Country , a region that is located around the western end of the Pyrenees on the coast of the Bay of Biscay and straddles parts of north-central Spain and south-western France.The Basques are known in the...
lineage), wrote his essay (risala
Risala
Risāla means "message" in Arabic. It is also an Islamic term that has a broader meaning.- Islamic term :The Message is sometimes a way to refer to Islam. In the Islamic context, ar-Risāla means scriptures revealed from God through a Messenger to the people...
) during the 11th century. It contests the then current Arab claims of supremacy over Muslims of other or mixed ethnicity. Hence it echoes the earlier Shu'ubite
Shu'ubiyya
Shu'ubiyyah refers to the response by non-Arab Muslims to the privileged status of Arabs within the Ummah.There has been discrimination and in many cases oppression of minority groups resulting in many defined periods of cultural struggle throughout Islamic History.-Terminology:The name of the...
movement in Iran
Islamicization in post-conquest Iran
The Islamization of Iran occurred as a result of the Islamic conquest of Persia. It was a long process by which Islam was gradually accepted by the majority of population. On the other hand Iranians have maintained their pre-Islamic traditions including language and culture and adapted them with...
, which had challenged the Arab ascendancy there several centuries before.
Risālat al-tawābi' wa z-zawābi'
- Risalat al-tawabi' wa z-zawabi'. The treatise of familiar spirits and demons by Abu 'Amir ibn Shuhaid al-Ashja'i al-Andalusi (University of California Press 1971).
A translation with introduction and notes by Monroe. The poet Ibn Shuhaid (992-1035) of al-Andalus
Al-Andalus
Al-Andalus was the Arabic name given to a nation and territorial region also commonly referred to as Moorish Iberia. The name describes parts of the Iberian Peninsula and Septimania governed by Muslims , at various times in the period between 711 and 1492, although the territorial boundaries...
wrote this fictional narration of a voyage to the land of the djinn. Although only fragments survive, it has been reconstructed to some extent; Monroe dates it to 1025-1027. Into his stories Ibn Shuhayd places his poetry (see below, Monroe's Hispano-Arabic Poetry). Probably following somewhat al-Hamadhani's earlier invention, it is marginally of the maqama
Maqama
Maqāma are an Arabic literary genre of rhymed prose with intervals of poetry in which rhetorical extravagance is conspicuous. The 10th century author Badī' al-Zaman al-Hamadhāni is said to have invented the form, which was extended by al-Hariri of Basra in the next century...
genre (see below, Monroe's The art of Badī' az-Zamān). The Risālat is sometimes mentioned among possible influences on Dante
DANTE
Delivery of Advanced Network Technology to Europe is a not-for-profit organisation that plans, builds and operates the international networks that interconnect the various national research and education networks in Europe and surrounding regions...
's Divina Commedia. Monroe notes that here Ibn Shuhaid "developed a metaphysics into an aesthetics to account for the origin of beauty and the creative process in Arabic literature."
Hispano-Arabic Poetry
- Hispano-Arabic Poetry. A student anthology (University of California Press 1974, reprint Gorgias PressGorgias PressGorgias Press is an academic publisher of books and journals covering a range of religious and language studies that include Syriac language, Eastern Christianity, Ancient Near East, Arabic and Islam, Early Christianity, Judaism, and more. Gorgias Press was founded in 2001 by George Kiraz, and is...
2004).
Poems in Arabic script with English translation on facing page, as compiled by Monroe. In his sixty-page introduction Monroe seeks to situate the poets within the political and social environment, following poetry's fortunes over several centuries in the culture of al-Andalus
Al-Andalus
Al-Andalus was the Arabic name given to a nation and territorial region also commonly referred to as Moorish Iberia. The name describes parts of the Iberian Peninsula and Septimania governed by Muslims , at various times in the period between 711 and 1492, although the territorial boundaries...
. A poet's status varied: from being lauded and well patronized
Patronage
Patronage is the support, encouragement, privilege, or financial aid that an organization or individual bestows to another. In the history of art, arts patronage refers to the support that kings or popes have provided to musicians, painters, and sculptors...
, to being religiously suspect and not welcome at the palace. Monroe also sheds light on the technical poetics
Meter (poetry)
In poetry, metre is the basic rhythmic structure of a verse or lines in verse. Many traditional verse forms prescribe a specific verse metre, or a certain set of metres alternating in a particular order. The study of metres and forms of versification is known as prosody...
of al-Andalus in terms general to Arabic literature
Arabic literature
Arabic literature is the writing produced, both prose and poetry, by writers in the Arabic language. The Arabic word used for literature is adab which is derived from a meaning of etiquette, and implies politeness, culture and enrichment....
.
Works by three dozen poets are translated, including: Ibn Shuhaid (992-1035), poet and author (see above, Monroe's Risalat); the well-known Ibn Hazm
Ibn Hazm
Abū Muḥammad ʿAlī ibn Aḥmad ibn Saʿīd ibn Ḥazm ) was an Andalusian philosopher, litterateur, psychologist, historian, jurist and theologian born in Córdoba, present-day Spain...
(994-1064), author of Tauq al-hamama ["The Dove's Necklace"], Ibn Hazm was also a Zahiri
Zahiri
Ẓāhirī , is a school of thought in Islamic jurisprudence and Aqida. The school is named after one of its early prominent jurists, Dawud ibn Khalaf al-Zahiri Ẓāhirī , is a school of thought in Islamic jurisprudence and Aqida. The school is named after one of its early prominent jurists, Dawud ibn...
jurist and a philosopher-theologian; Ibn Zaydún
Ibn Zaydún
Abu al-Waleed Ahmad Ibn Zaydún al-Makhzumi known as Ibn Zaydún was a famous Arab poet of Cordoba and Seville. His romantic and literary life was dominated by his relations with the poetess Wallada bint al-Mustakfi, the daughter of the Ummayad Caliph Muhammad III of Cordoba...
(1003-1071), neoclassical poet; Al-Mu'tamid ibn Abbad (1040-1095), king of Seville
Seville
Seville is the artistic, historic, cultural, and financial capital of southern Spain. It is the capital of the autonomous community of Andalusia and of the province of Seville. It is situated on the plain of the River Guadalquivir, with an average elevation of above sea level...
, later deposed; Ibn Kafaja (1058-1139), nature poet; Ibn Baqi
Ibn Baqi
Ibn Baqi or Abu Bakr Yahya Ibn Muhammad Ibn Abd al-Rahman Ibn Baqi was an arab poet from Córdoba or Toledo in al-Andalus. Baqi is one of the best-known strophic poets and song writers of the Nasrid dynasty period in Al-Andalus. He moved between Morocco and Al-Andalus and wrote several poems...
(died 1145 or 1150), muwashshah
Muwashshah
Muwashshah or muwaššaḥ can mean:...
a poet; Al-Abyad (d.1130), muwashshaha poet, later crucified; Ibn Zuhr al-hafid (1113-1198), physician, muwashshaha poet; the great mystic and sufi shaykh Ibn 'Arabi (1165-1240); Ibn al-Khatib
Ibn al-Khatib
Lisan al-Din ibn al-Khatib was a poet, writer, historian, philosopher, physician and politician from Emirate of Granada. Some of his poems decorate the walls of the Alhambra in Granada.He was born at Loja, near Granada...
(1313-1374), vizier
Vizier
A vizier or in Arabic script ; ; sometimes spelled vazir, vizir, vasir, wazir, vesir, or vezir) is a high-ranking political advisor or minister in a Muslim government....
of Granada
Granada
Granada is a city and the capital of the province of Granada, in the autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain. Granada is located at the foot of the Sierra Nevada mountains, at the confluence of three rivers, the Beiro, the Darro and the Genil. It sits at an elevation of 738 metres above sea...
, historian, assassinated in Fez
Fes
Fes or Fez is the second largest city of Morocco, after Casablanca, with a population of approximately 1 million . It is the capital of the Fès-Boulemane region....
; Ibn Zamrak
Ibn Zamrak
Ibn Zamrak or Abu Abd Allah Muhammad b, Yusuf b. Muhammad b. Ahmad b. Muhammad b. Yusuf al-Surayhi, was a poet and statesman from Granada, Al-Andalus. Some his poems still decorate the fountains and palaces of Alhambra in Granada.He was of humble origin but thanks to his teacher Ibn al-Khatib he...
(1333-1393), whose poems are engraved on the walls of the Alhambra
Alhambra
The Alhambra , the complete form of which was Calat Alhambra , is a palace and fortress complex located in the Granada, Andalusia, Spain...
, later assassinated; and, Yusuf III, Sultan of Granada
Yusuf III, Sultan of Granada
Yusuf III was the thirteenth Nasrid Nasrid ruler of the Moorish Emirate of Granada in Al-Andalus on the Iberian Peninsula from 1408 to 1417. He inherited the throne from his brother, Muhammed VII, and was a noted builder and poet....
from 1408 until his death in 1417.
The art of Badī' az-Zamān al-Hamadhānī
- The art of Badi'u 'l-Zaman al-Hamadhani as picaresque narrative (American University of Beirut c1983).
Al-Hamadhani (d.1008) of Hamadhan or Hamadan (Ecbatana of ancient Iran) is credited with inventing the literary genre of maqamat
Maqama
Maqāma are an Arabic literary genre of rhymed prose with intervals of poetry in which rhetorical extravagance is conspicuous. The 10th century author Badī' al-Zaman al-Hamadhāni is said to have invented the form, which was extended by al-Hariri of Basra in the next century...
in which a wandering vagabond makes his living on the gifts his listeners give him following his extemporaneous displays of rhetoric, erudition, or verse, often done with a trickster
Trickster
In mythology, and in the study of folklore and religion, a trickster is a god, goddess, spirit, man, woman, or anthropomorphic animal who plays tricks or otherwise disobeys normal rules and conventional behavior. It is suggested by Hansen that the term "Trickster" was probably first used in this...
's touch. Al-Hamadhani has become known by the title Badi' az-Zaman or Badi'u 'l-Zaman, "wonder of the age". See below, Monroe's translation of al-Maqamat al-Luzumiyah, and above his Risalat.
Ten Hispano-Arabic Strophic Songs
- Ten Hispano-Arabic StrophicStrophic formStrophic form is the simplest and most durable of musical forms, elaborating a piece of music by repetition of a single formal section. This may be analyzed as "A A A..."...
Songs in the Modern Oral TraditionOral traditionOral tradition and oral lore is cultural material and traditions transmitted orally from one generation to another. The messages or testimony are verbally transmitted in speech or song and may take the form, for example, of folktales, sayings, ballads, songs, or chants...
, co-authored with Benjamin M. Liu (University of California 1989).
The authors discuss the medieval genres of muwashshah
Muwashshah
Muwashshah or muwaššaḥ can mean:...
as and zajal
Zajal
Zajal is a traditional form of oral strophic poetry declaimed in a colloquial dialect with ancient roots in a number of Mediterranean cultures. The form is similar to Muwashshah. The origin of zajal is Al-Andalus...
s as they are currently sung in North Africa (the Maghrib
Maghrib
The Maghrib prayer , prayed just after sunset, is the fourth of five formal daily prayers performed by practicing Muslims.The formal daily prayers of Islam comprise different numbers of units, called rak'at. The Maghrib prayer has three obligatory rak'at. The first two fard rak'at are prayed...
). Because this music was not written, the oral performances are a crucial source. The Muslims of Spain (al-Andalus
Al-Andalus
Al-Andalus was the Arabic name given to a nation and territorial region also commonly referred to as Moorish Iberia. The name describes parts of the Iberian Peninsula and Septimania governed by Muslims , at various times in the period between 711 and 1492, although the territorial boundaries...
) were connected closely and directly with al-Maghrib, i.e., with those who later continued the music traditions of Andalus
Andalusian classical music
Andalusian classical music is a style of Moorish music found across North Africa in Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia. It originates out of the music of Al-Andalus between the 9th and 15th centuries....
following the Spanish reconquista
Reconquista
The Reconquista was a period of almost 800 years in the Middle Ages during which several Christian kingdoms succeeded in retaking the Muslim-controlled areas of the Iberian Peninsula broadly known as Al-Andalus...
.
The book contains transliterated texts and translations of the verses, and about twenty pages of western musical notation
Musical notation
Music notation or musical notation is any system that represents aurally perceived music, through the use of written symbols.-History:...
of the songs, as well as discussion of their performance. Also translated are two chapters on music from a medieval Maghribi encyclopedia in Arabic by Ahmad al-Tifasi. The mutual relation of the songs to European romance is also addressed, with views and examples of a 'west-east' influence/counter-influence. The authors note that evidence of a "zealous guardianship of a vernerable tradition... makes it conceivable that the Andalusian music we hear today does not differ radically from what we might have heard in medieval Andalus."
Al-Maqāmāt al-Luzūmīyah, by al-Saraqustī
- Al-Maqamat al-Luzumiyah, by Abu-l-Tahir Muhammad ibn Yusuf al-Tamimi al-Saraqusti ibn al-Astarkuwi (Leiden: Brill 2002).
The writer al-Saraqusti ibn al-Astarkuwi or al-Ashtarkuni (d.1143) here wrote in the genre maqamat
Maqama
Maqāma are an Arabic literary genre of rhymed prose with intervals of poetry in which rhetorical extravagance is conspicuous. The 10th century author Badī' al-Zaman al-Hamadhāni is said to have invented the form, which was extended by al-Hariri of Basra in the next century...
. Saraqusti's collection of stories follows Maqamat format in which, e.g., a trickster
Trickster
In mythology, and in the study of folklore and religion, a trickster is a god, goddess, spirit, man, woman, or anthropomorphic animal who plays tricks or otherwise disobeys normal rules and conventional behavior. It is suggested by Hansen that the term "Trickster" was probably first used in this...
narrator may relate his tale (see above, Monroe's book on al-Hamadhani). This literary genre
Genre
Genre , Greek: genos, γένος) is the term for any category of literature or other forms of art or culture, e.g. music, and in general, any type of discourse, whether written or spoken, audial or visual, based on some set of stylistic criteria. Genres are formed by conventions that change over time...
is comparable to later European picaresque novels (Spanish picaro, English "rascal"), the first of note being in Spanish: the anonymous Lazarillo de Tormes
Lazarillo de Tormes
The Life of Lazarillo de Tormes and of His Fortunes and Adversities is a Spanish novella, published anonymously because of its heretical content...
published at Alcalá de Henares
Alcalá de Henares
Alcalá de Henares , meaning Citadel on the river Henares, is a Spanish city, whose historical centre is one of UNESCO's World Heritage Sites, and one of the first bishoprics founded in Spain...
in 1554.
Translation with a 108-page preliminary study by Monroe. Therein Monroe discusses: What is Maqamat? - Life of the Author - Works of the Author - Analysis of Four Maqamat - Doubling and Duplicity [originality within the genre] - Literary Decadence and Artistic Excellence - Remarks on the Translation
Translation
Translation is the communication of the meaning of a source-language text by means of an equivalent target-language text. Whereas interpreting undoubtedly antedates writing, translation began only after the appearance of written literature; there exist partial translations of the Sumerian Epic of...
and Annotations. About Saraqusti's collection of Maqamat, Monroe (at 108) comments on the difficulty to render it into a foreign language, as it is "a work studded with puns
Puns
Puns may refer to:*Partido de Unión Nacional Saharaui, the Sahrawi political party* Pun, figure of speech* Phoenicians...
, rhymes, and double entendres." Over fifty Maqamat are translated here. Monroe gives high praise for the "baroque
Baroque
The Baroque is a period and the style that used exaggerated motion and clear, easily interpreted detail to produce drama, tension, exuberance, and grandeur in sculpture, painting, literature, dance, and music...
" art of Saraqusti, although acknowledging that his ornamented style, with verse and contrivance, is now out of fashion. Saraqusti was an Arab of 12th century al-Andalus
Al-Andalus
Al-Andalus was the Arabic name given to a nation and territorial region also commonly referred to as Moorish Iberia. The name describes parts of the Iberian Peninsula and Septimania governed by Muslims , at various times in the period between 711 and 1492, although the territorial boundaries...
.
Monroe (at 46-80) analyses four of the maqamat
Maqama
Maqāma are an Arabic literary genre of rhymed prose with intervals of poetry in which rhetorical extravagance is conspicuous. The 10th century author Badī' al-Zaman al-Hamadhāni is said to have invented the form, which was extended by al-Hariri of Basra in the next century...
. In "Maqamat 41 (The Berbers)" the narrator
Narrator
A narrator is, within any story , the fictional or non-fictional, personal or impersonal entity who tells the story to the audience. When the narrator is also a character within the story, he or she is sometimes known as the viewpoint character. The narrator is one of three entities responsible for...
Abu l-Gamr is a character who tells his own story, which includes contradictions and misinformation. An Arab, he is proud of his noble ancestry and traditions of generousity. On the other hand, he makes cutting remarks about the barbaric Berbers. Later as a guest of a party of Berbers
Berber people
Berbers are the indigenous peoples of North Africa west of the Nile Valley. They are continuously distributed from the Atlantic to the Siwa oasis, in Egypt, and from the Mediterranean to the Niger River. Historically they spoke the Berber language or varieties of it, which together form a branch...
, Abu l-Gamr is treated very well and trusted, but he nonetheless steals their wealth. Monroe comments that Saraqusti, here using negative example, teaches about the disagreeable and distorting nature of ethnic animousity.
Selected articles
- "OralOral traditionOral tradition and oral lore is cultural material and traditions transmitted orally from one generation to another. The messages or testimony are verbally transmitted in speech or song and may take the form, for example, of folktales, sayings, ballads, songs, or chants...
Composition in Pre-Islamic PoetryMu'allaqatThe Mu‘allaqāt is the title of a group of seven long Arabic poems or qasida that have come down from the time before Islam. Each is considered the best work of these pre-Islamic poets...
" in Journal of Arabic Literature, 3: 1-53 (1972). - "Hispano-Arabic Poetry during the Caliphate of CordobaCaliphate of CórdobaThe Caliphate of Córdoba ruled the Iberian peninsula and part of North Africa, from the city of Córdoba, from 929 to 1031. This period was characterized by remarkable success in trade and culture; many of the masterpieces of Islamic Iberia were constructed in this period, including the famous...
" at 125-154 in Arabic Poetry: Theory and Development (Wiesbaden 1973), edited by G. E. von Grunebaum and Otto Harrassowitz. - "Formulaic DictionStylistics (linguistics)Stylistics is the study and interpretation of texts from a linguistic perspective. As a discipline it links literary criticism and linguistics, but has no autonomous domain of its own...
and the Common Origins of Romance Lyric Traditions" in Hispanic Review, 43: 341-350 (1975). - "Pedir peras al olmo? On Medieval Arabs and Modern Arabists" in La Coronica, 10: 121-147 (1981-1982).
- "The Tune or the Words? (Singing Hispano-Arabic Strophic Poetry)" in Al-Qantara, 8: 265-317 (1987).
- "Which came first, the ZagalZajalZajal is a traditional form of oral strophic poetry declaimed in a colloquial dialect with ancient roots in a number of Mediterranean cultures. The form is similar to Muwashshah. The origin of zajal is Al-Andalus...
or the Muwass'aMuwashshahMuwashshah or muwaššaḥ can mean:...
? Some evidence for the oral origin of Hispano-Arabic strophicStrophic formStrophic form is the simplest and most durable of musical forms, elaborating a piece of music by repetition of a single formal section. This may be analyzed as "A A A..."...
poetry" in Oral Tradition, 4: 38-64 (1989). - "Zajal and Muwashshaha: Hispano-Arabic Poetry and the Romance Tradition" at 398-419 in The Legacy of Muslim Spain (Leiden: E. J. Brill 1992), edited by Salma Khadra Jayyusi.
See also
- Arabic literatureArabic literatureArabic literature is the writing produced, both prose and poetry, by writers in the Arabic language. The Arabic word used for literature is adab which is derived from a meaning of etiquette, and implies politeness, culture and enrichment....
- Al-Hamadhani
- MaqamaMaqamaMaqāma are an Arabic literary genre of rhymed prose with intervals of poetry in which rhetorical extravagance is conspicuous. The 10th century author Badī' al-Zaman al-Hamadhāni is said to have invented the form, which was extended by al-Hariri of Basra in the next century...
- MuwashshahMuwashshahMuwashshah or muwaššaḥ can mean:...
- ZajalZajalZajal is a traditional form of oral strophic poetry declaimed in a colloquial dialect with ancient roots in a number of Mediterranean cultures. The form is similar to Muwashshah. The origin of zajal is Al-Andalus...
- Oral traditionOral traditionOral tradition and oral lore is cultural material and traditions transmitted orally from one generation to another. The messages or testimony are verbally transmitted in speech or song and may take the form, for example, of folktales, sayings, ballads, songs, or chants...
- Emilio García GómezEmilio García GómezEmilio García Gómez, 1st Count of Alixares was a Spanish Arabist, literary historian and critic, whose talent as a poet enriched his many translations from Arabic.-Life:...