The man of wiles in popular Arabic literature : a study of a medieval Arab hero / Malcolm C. Lyons.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Lyons, M. C. (Malcolm Cameron), author.

Language:

English

French, Old (ca. 842-1300)

Subjects (All):

Folk literature, Arabic--History and criticism.

Folk literature, Arabic.

Physical Description:

x, 254 pages ; 25 cm

Place of Publication:

Edinburgh : Edinburgh University Press, [2012]

Language Note:

In English; occasional phrases in Old French with English translations.

Summary:

The Man of Wiles (a relation of the Master Thief, the Trickster or the Fool) appears throughout the popular story-cycles of medieval Arabic literature - proof of this figure's popularity with the audiences of Arab story-tellers. He embodies views acceptable to an otherwise inarticulate part of the population, allowing Islam to be treated in a paradoxical and sometimes humorous light in contrast to conventional piety; and he shares with Odysseus not only his wiles but his function as 'the sacker of cities', redressing the idea that classical Arabic literature is unrelated to anything outside its own borders. The study of this popular form sets out in detail the recorded lives of these Men of Wiles for those to whom the original texts are not available. Book jacket.

Contents:

Chapter 1 1

Section 1 Ali al-Zaibaq 1

Section 2 Sirat Antar 17

Chapter 2 28

Section 1 Qissat al-Zir Salim 28

Section 2 Sirat Bani Hilal 35

Chapter 3 43

Section 1 Hamzat al-Pahlawan 43

Section 2 Qissat Firuz Shah 71

Section 3 Saif b. Dhi Yazan 88

Chapter 4 Dhat al-Himma 95

Chapter 5 147

Section 1 Sirat Baibars 147

Section 2 Shiha 164

Chapter 6 Analysis and Conclusion 215.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9780748645022

0748645020

OCLC:

757931287