The Andalusian and Troubadour Love Lyric: a Comparative Study

358 Pages·1975·11.69 MB·English

by  Abdil M. Nouryeh

INFORMATION TO USERS
This material was produced from a microfilm copy of the original document. While
the most advanced technological means to photograph and reproduce this document
have been used, the quality is heavily dependent upon the quality of the original
submitted.
The following explanation of. techniques is provided to help you understand
markings or patterns which may appear on this reproduction.
1.The sign or "target" for pages apparently lacking from the document
photographed is "Missing Page(s)". If it was possible to obtain the missing
page(s) or section, they are spliced into the film along with adjacent pages.
This may have necessitated cutting thru an image and duplicating adjacent
pages to insure you complete continuity.
1
2. When an image on the film is obliterated with a large round black mark, it
is an indication that the photographer suspected that the copy may have
moved during exposure and thus cause a blurred image. You will find a
good image of the page jn the adjacent frame.
3. When a map, drawing or chart, etc., was part of the material being
photographed the photographer followed a definite method in
"sectioning" the material. It is customary to begin photoing at the upper
left hand corner of a large sheet and to continue photoing from left to
right in equal sections with a small overlap. If necessary, sectioning is
continued again — beginning below the first row and continuing on until
complete.
4. The majority of users indicate that the textual content is of greatest value,
however, a somewhat higher quality reproduction could be made from
"photographs" if essential to the understanding of the dissertation. Silver
prints of "photographs" may be ordered at additional charge by writing
the Order Department, giving the catalog number, title, author and
specific pages you wish reproduced.
5. PLEASE NOTE: Some pages may have indistinct print. Filmed as
received.
Xerox University Microfilms
300 North Zeeb Road
Ann Arbor, Michigan 48106
75-4555
NOURYEH, Abdll M., 1940-
THE ANDALUSIAN AND TROUBADOUR LOVE LYRIC: A
COMPARATIVE STUDY.
The City University of New York, Ph.D., 1975
Language and Literature, general
Xerox University Microfilms ,
Ann Arbor, Michigan 48106
THE ANDALUSIAN AND TROUBADOUR LOVE LYRIC:
A COMPARATIVE STUDY
by
ABDIL M. NOURYEH
A dissertation submitted to the
Graduate Faculty in Comparative
L iterature in p artial fulfillm ent
of the requirements for the degree
of Doctor of Philosophy, The City
University of New York
1974
This manuscript has been read and accepted for
the Graduate Faculty in Comparative Literature
in satisfaction of the dissertation requirement
for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy.
<£i /f)y
Date Chairman of Examining Committee
t°l y It
<3 3 ihjLtu^a? u. i2=S.
Date Executive Officer
f<UAAl'
^Supervisory Committee
The City University of New York
II
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
PREFACE................................................................................................... 1
TABLE OF TRANSLITERATED ARABIC.................................................... 2
INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................... 3
CHAPTER I A comparative study of Andalusian
Lyrics and Troubadour lyrics; standards
of comparison used are style, view of
reality , and orientation...............................................38
CHAPTER II A semantic study of the terms 'wishah'
and 'muwa8h8hah' in Arabic literatu re;
th eir development in connection with the
rise of Andalusian lyrics and the Jawari
(slav e-g irls); sty listic features of
Arabic poetry contrasted with those of
European poetry................................................. 71
CHAPTER III The Andalusian poet al-T u tili and others;
the concept of love in one of his lyrics
b riefly compared with Guillaume's lyric
(no.9); the place of a l-T u tili's lyric
in the tradition of Arabic love poetry;
the Khar.la, its lite ra ry tradition, its
association with the Romance Khar.1 as and
th eir important ftaction in the Muwashshah.. 150
CHAPTER IV Further investigation of the Muwashshah
and it 8 form in the context of Arabic
literatu re, b riefly compared with the
forms of Troubadour poetry (Guillaume);
its musical structure and the various
theories thereof, and its possible sources
in the Romance vernacular songs; a critique
of A.R. Nykl and E. Levi-Provencal.........................214
CHAPTER V Arabic conceptions of love in philosophy
and poetry, compared with courtly love of
the Troubadours: Udhrite love poetry;
Ibn Dawud; Ibn Hazm; Ibn Sina; Guillaume;
Marcabru; Cercamon; Bernart de Ventadorn. . . 269
CONCLUSION...........................................................................................................339
LIST OF WORKS CITED 346
PREFACE
It w ill be obvious that In the present study
I am not concerned with the question of Arabic in­
fluences on Troubadour lyrics; rather my concern is
with comparing Arabic conceptions of love. Another con­
cern of my work Is with the continuity both of in ­
tellectu al Interests and of ideas and motifs in Arabic
poetry and philosophy.
With these concerns in mind I have explored the
quality and form of Arabic thought and expression in
th eir h isto rical perspective, using the philological
approach as a means to that end. In so doing, m atters
of social or ethical orientation, style, and the view
of reality become necessary standards of comparison between
Arabic and Troubadour concepts of love. Finally, through­
out th is study I have been guided by the principle that
an idea or a concept common to many a people does not
necessarily signify a cultural diffusion proceeding from
one people to another.
2
The following tran sliteratio n of the Arabic
alphabet has been adopted in the present work:
a 1
b V
t c*
t
1 z
* £
kh £
d ^
dh 3
r
z J
s CT-^
8h tr*
? O*
4 o>
s
z J*
f £
gh &
f
q <->’
k 3
1 v
m f
n ^
h *
w ^
y *5
INTRODUCTION
4
The purposes of th is study are four: to trace
the semantic history of the term 'muwashshah' in the
literatu re of the East and West; to explain the in­
tellectu al background against which the Andalusian-
Arabic lyrics must be viewed and read; to suggest the
place of these lyrics in the ly rical tradition of medieval
Europe; and to compare the concept of love in Arabic
poetry,especially Andalusian ly rics, and philosophy
with that in Troubadour lyrics.
The term "muwashshah' is the name by which the
Andalusian ly rics, coeval with the Troubadour ly rics,
are called in Arabic Spain of the tw elfth century. An
understanding of the form and content of these lyrics
requires a study of the term in the various contexts in
which i t appears in earlier periods. 'Muwashsha', from
the same root as the term 'wishah', means "to be decorated
or enbellished." Its appearance in pre-Islam ic poetry
(roughly, 500-632) is less frequent than that of 'wishah'
which seems to have enjoyed a greater usage, and which,
in fact, precedes 'muwashshah' as a title for the lyrics.
'W ishah', then, ought to be reviewed firs t.
'Wishah* denotes a "sash or girdle" with which
a woman decorates her body; it is usually wrapped around
her bust and w aist. The word does not immediately attract
attention of the poets, probably because it has not as
yet crystallized in th eir imagination. But its frequent
occurrence, though random and uncertain at firs t, slowly
begins to gain recognition with the poets, so that in
the eighth and ninth centuries, and later in Spain,
'wishah' acquires a symbolic meaning.
This symbolic meaning is closely connected
with the riee of love lyrics and song in the eighth
century, particularly during the Abbasid era which begins
in the year 750. The era, rightly called the golden age
of Arabic literatu re, is highlighted by the glamorous
Jawari, or slave-girls, at the Abbasid court of Caliph
Harun al-Rashid and others. The worldly tendencies of the
Caliphs, th eir love of luxury and leisure, and th eir in­
dulgence in literary parties give the court a saturnalian
atmosphere. I t is an atmosphere of song, music, wine,
and love in which the poets find a rich source of lyrical
expression (th is did not obtain in earlier periods of
Arabic literatu re, more specifically in periods of courtly