The Anthologist's Art

Abū Manṣūr Al-Thaʿālibī And His Yatīmat Al-Dahr
Erscheinungsjahr 2016
ISBN: 978-90-04-31629-4
Verlag: Brill

Buch, Englisch, Band 37, 272 Seiten, Format (B × H): 163 mm x 241 mm, Gewicht: 544 g

Reihe: Brill Studies in Middle Eastern Literatures

Why did premodern authors in the Arabic-Islamic culture compile literary anthologies, and why were these works remarkably popular? How can an anthology that consists of reproduced material be original and creative, and serve various literary and political ends? How did anthologists select their material, then record and arrange it?

This book examines the life and works of Abu Mansur al-Tha'alibi (350–429/961–1039), an eminent anthologist from Nishapur, paying special attention to his magnum opus, Yatimat al-dahr (The Unique Pearl), and its sequel, Tatimmat al-Yatima (The Completion of the Yatima). This book is a direct window on to an anthologist’s workshop in the second half of the fourth/tenth century. It examines the methodological consciousness expressed in Tha'alibi’s selection and arrangement, and his sophisticated system of internal references and cross-references to other works; how he selected from his contemporaries’ oeuvres; how he sought, recorded, memorized, misplaced, and sometimes lost or forgot his selections; how he scrutinized the authenticity of material, accepting, questioning, or rejecting its attribution; and the errors and inconsistencies that resulted from this process.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Orfali, Bilal

Fachgebiete

• Geisteswissenschaften Literaturwissenschaft Literatur: Sammlungen, Anthologien
• Geisteswissenschaften Literaturwissenschaft Literaturgeschichte und Literaturkritik
• Geisteswissenschaften Literaturwissenschaft Literaturen sonstiger Sprachräume Literatur des Nahen Ostens & Nordafrikas
• Geisteswissenschaften Geschichtswissenschaft Weltgeschichte & Geschichte einzelner Länder und Gebietsräume Geschichte einzelner Länder Naher & Mittlerer Osten

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Preface
Acknowledgments
Abbreviations
List of Illustrations
Note on Editions and Manuscripts of the Yatima and Tatimma

1. The Art of Anthology in Premodern Arabic Literature
Anthology and Adab
Approaches to the Study of Arabic Literary Anthology in Modern Scholarship
Motives for Anthologizing
A Map of Arabic Poetry Anthologies

2. Life and Legacy of Tha'alibi
Abu Mansur al-Tha'alibi
Legacy of Tha'alibi
Bibliography of Tha'alibi
Printed Authentic Works
Printed, Authenticity Doubtful
Printed, Authenticity Rejected
In Manuscript, Authentic works
In Manuscript, Authenticity Uncertain
In Manuscript, Authenticity Rejected
Works Surviving in Quotations
Lost Works

3. An Anthologist at Work: The Organization and Structure of the Yatima and Tatimma
Organization
Prominent Litterateurs
Courts, Dynasties and Other Patrons
Cities and Sub-Regions
Critical Awareness in the Organization of the Yatima and Tatimma
Selection of Material
The Arrangement of Entries in a Chapter: Proximity and Resemblance
References and Cross-References
Cross-References
References in the Tatimma to the Yatima
References to the Earlier Version of the Yatima
References to Other Works by Tha'alibi
Later Additions to the Yatima
Authenticity and Misattribution
Forgotten, Lost, and Inconsistent Material

4. The Sources of Tha'alibi in Yatimat al-Dahr and Tatimmat al-Yatima
Written Sources
Diwans
Books
Other Written Media
Oral/Aural Sources
Main Guarantors in the Yatima
Main Guarantors in the Tatimma
Conclusion

5. Material within the Entry
Categorization and Arrangement of Material within Entries
The Biographical Summary
Dates
Deaths of Poets
Religious Views
Training and Education
Professions
Families of Litterateurs
Characterization of Litterateurs and Their Literary Oeuvres
Geographical Context
Social Context
Historical Context
Comparing Litterateurs
Knowledge of Persian
Relations between Contemporaries
Physical and Character Features
Patronage
Patron-Littérateur Relations
Admission to a Court
Meeting a Patron
Leaving a Court
Prison Incidents and Stories
Description of Courtly Majalis
Evaluating Literary Production

Conclusion

Appendix 1: Outline of the Yatima and Tatimma
Appendix 2: Sources of Yatimat al-Dahr
Appendix 3: Sources of Tatimmat al-Yatima
Appendix 4: Comparisons between Poets

Bibliography
Index

Über Autor(innen)

Bilal Orfali, Ph.D. (2009), Yale University, is associate professor of Arabic studies at the American University of Beirut. He is editor of In the Shadow of Arabic (Brill, 2011); Sufism, Black and White, with Nada Saab (Brill, 2012); The Comfort of the Mystics, with Gerhard Böwering (Brill, 2013); and The Book of Noble Character, with Ramzi Baalbaki (Brill, 2015).