Arabian nights

Table of Contents FROM THE PAGES OF THE ARABIAN NIGHTS Title Page Copyright Page THE ORIGIN AND EVOLUTION OF THE ARABIAN NIGHTS THE WORLD OF THE ARABIAN NIGHTS Introduction GLOSSARY OF NAMES AND TERMS A NOTE ON THE TRANSLATION INTRODUCTION PART ONE THE STORY OF THE MERCHANT AND THE GENIE THE HISTORY OF THE FIRST OLD MAN AND THE HIND THE HISTORY OF THE OLD MAN AND THE TWO BLACK DOGS PART TWO THE HISTORY OF THE FISHERMAN THE HISTORY OF THE GREEK KING AND DOUBAN THE PHYSICIAN THE HISTORY OF THE YOUNG KING OF THE BLACK ISLES PART THREE THE HISTORY OF THREE CALENDERS, SONS OF KINGS, AND OF FIVE LADIES OF BAGHDAD THE HISTORY OF THE FIRST CALENDER, THE SON OF A KING THE HISTORY OF THE SECOND CALENDER, THE SON OF A KING THE HISTORY OF THE ENVIOUS MAN, AND OF HIM WHO WAS ENVIED THE HISTORY OF THE THIRD CALENDER, THE SON OF A KING PART FOUR THE HISTORY OF THE LITTLE HUNCHBACK THE STORY TOLD BY THE CHRISTIAN MERCHANT THE STORY TOLD BY THE PURVEYOR OF THE SULTAN OF CASGAR THE STORY TOLD BY THE JEWISH PHYSICIAN THE STORY TOLD BY THE TAILOR THE HISTORY OF THE BARBER THE HISTORY OF THE BARBER’S FIRST BROTHER THE HISTORY OF THE BARBER’S SECOND BROTHER THE HISTORY OF THE BARBER’S THIRD BROTHER THE HISTORY OF THE BARBER’S FOURTH BROTHER THE HISTORY OF THE BARBER’S FIFTH BROTHER THE HISTORY OF THE BARBER’S SIXTH BROTHER PART FIVE THE HISTORY OF NOUREDDIN AND THE BEAUTIFUL PERSIAN THE HISTORY OF CAMARALZAMAN, PRINCE OF THE ISLE OF THE CHILDREN OF KHALEDAN, PART SIX THE SLEEPER AWAKENED THE HISTORY OF ABOULHASSAN ALI EBN BECAR, AND OF SCHEMSELNIHAR, THE FAVOURITE THE THREE APPLES THE HISTORY OF THE LADY WHO WAS MURDERED, AND OF THE YOUNG MAN HER HUSBAND PART SEVEN THE HISTORY OF SINDBAD THE SAILOR THE FIRST VOYAGE OF SINDBAD THE SAILOR THE SECOND VOYAGE OF SINDBAD THE SAILOR THE THIRD VOYAGE OF SINDBAD THE SAILOR THE FOURTH VOYAGE OF SINDBAD THE SAILOR THE FIFTH VOYAGE OF SINDBAD THE SAILOR THE SIXTH VOYAGE OF SINDBAD THE SAILOR THE SEVENTH AND LAST VOYAGE OF SINDBAD THE SAILOR APPENDIX THE HISTORY OF THE BOOK: AN OVERVIEW INSPIRED BY THE ARABIAN NIGHTS COMMENTS & QUESTIONS FOR FURTHER READING FROM THE PAGES OF THE ARABIAN NIGHTS The grand vizier, who was the unwilling agent of this horrid injustice, had two daughters, the eldest called Scheherazade, and the youngest Dinarzade The latter was a lady of very great merit; but the elder had courage, wit, and penetration in a remarkable degree She studied much, and had such a tenacious memory, that she never forgot any thing she had once read She had successfully applied herself to philosophy, physic, history, and the liberal arts; and made verses that surpassed those of the best poets of her time (from “The Introduction,” page 9) “Oh sister,” said Dinarzade, “what a wonderful story is this!” “The remainder of it,” said Scheherazade, “is more surprising; and you will be of my mind, if the Sultan will let me live this day, and permit me to continue the story to-night.” Shahriar, who had listened to Scheherazade with pleasure, said to himself, “I will stay till to-morrow, for I can at any time put her to death, when she has made an end of her story.” (from “The Story of the Merchant and the Genie,” page 13) “The enraged Genie tried his utmost to get out of the vase, but in vain; for the impression of the seal of Solomon the prophet, the son of David, prevented him.” (from “The History of the Fisherman,” page 31) “That you may know, madam, how I lost my right eye, and the reason why I have been obliged to take the habit of a calender, I must begin by telling you, that I am the son of a King.” (from “The History of the First Calender,” page 62) “Take this knife: it will serve you for an occasion that will presently arise We are going to sew you up in this skin, in which you must be entirely concealed We shall then retire, and leave you in this place Soon afterwards a bird of most enormous size, which they call a roc, will appear in the air; and, taking you for a sheep, it will swoop down upon you, and lift you up to the clouds: but let not this alarm you The bird will soon return with his prey towards the earth, and will lay you down on the top of a mountain As soon as you feel yourself upon the ground, rip open the skin with the knife, and set yourself free.” (from “The History of the Third Calender,” page 103) “A man scarcely ever succeeds in any enterprise if he has not recourse to the opinions of enlightened persons No man becomes clever, says the proverb, unless he consults a clever man.” (from “The Story Told by the Tailor,” page 170) “What contributed, perhaps, more than any thing else to the embarrassment of Noureddin’s affairs, was his extreme aversion to reckon with his steward.” (from “The History of Noureddin and the Beautiful Persian,” page 230) “You judge unjustly, and in a short time you shall yourself be judged.” (from “The History of Noureddin and the Beautiful Persian,” page 262) “He did not, however, dare to explain his real sentiments to the king, who could not have endured the idea that his daughter had bestowed her heart on any other than the man whom he should present to her.” (from “The History of Camaralzaman,” page 291) “He who is poor is regarded but as a stranger, even by his relations and his friends.” (from “The Sleeper Awakened,” page 334) “I am no longer your son, nor Abou Hassan, I am assuredly the Commander of the Faithful.” (from “The Sleeper Awakened,” page 359) “I assure you that my sufferings have been so acute that they might deprive the greatest miser of his love of riches.” (from “The History of Sindbad the Sailor,” page 477) “Three or four days after we had set sail we were attacked by corsairs, who easily made themselves masters of our vessel, as we were not in a state for defence Some persons in the ship attempted to make resistance, but their boldness cost them their lives I and all those who had the prudence to submit quietly to the corsairs were made slaves After they had stripped us, and clothed us in rags instead of our own garments, they bent their course towards a distant island, where they sold us.” (from “The Seventh and Last Voyage of Sindbad the Sailor,” page 513) “All these fatigues being at last surmounted, I arrived happily at Baghdad.” (from “The Seventh and Last Voyage of Sindbad the Sailor,” page 516) Published by Barnes & Noble Books 122 Fifth Avenue New York, NY 10011 www.barnesandnoble.com/classics Though the composition date of The Book of a Thousand Nights and a Night is uncertain, the Arabic text was first published in four volumes from 1839 to 1842 The current text is based on H W Dulken’s edition—serialized between 1863 and 1865—of the English version of Antoine Galland’s pioneering French translation Published in 2007 by Barnes & Noble Classics with new Introduction, Notes, Chronology, Glossary, Note on the Translation, Inspired By, Comments & Questions, and For Further Reading Introduction, Glossary of Names and Terms, A Note on the Translation, Notes, History of the Book: An Overview, Aladdin and Ali Baba: An Introductiory Note, and For Further Reading Copyright © 2007 by Muhsin Al-Musawi The Origin and Evolution of the Arabian Nights, The World of the Arabian Nights, Inspired by the Arabian Nights, and Comments & Questions Copyright © 2007 by Barnes & Noble, Inc All rights reserved No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the publisher Barnes & Noble Classics and the Barnes & Noble Classics colophon are trademarks of Barnes & Noble, Inc The Arabian Nights ISBN-13: 978-1-59308-281-9 ISBN-10: 1-59308-281-9 eISBN : 978-1-411-43178-2 LC Control Number 2006923198 Produced and published in conjunction with: Fine Creative Media, Inc 322 Eighth Avenue New York, NY 10001 Michael J Fine, President and Publisher Printed in the United States of America QM 10 The final quarter of the twentieth century also produced a number of works that kept closely to the model of the original Arabian Nights One such work was the highly regarded Arabian Nights and Days (1979), which Nobel Prize-winning author Najib Mahfouz originally composed in Arabic (the English translation, published in 1994, aptly conveys the feel of Arabic literature); the book tells a series of interlinked stories that take place outside the sultan’s palace after Scheherazade finishes her thousand-and-first tale Indian author Githa Hariharan’s lyrical novel When Dreams Travel (1999) describes Scheherazade’s storytelling epic through multiple points of view, including those of Scheherazade, her sister Dinarzade, the sultan, an unnamed narrator, and a slave girl named Dilshad Even Arabian Nights scholar Irwin made a foray into fiction based on the stories, with his thriller The Arabian Nightmare (1983) In recent years, three plays entitled Arabian Nights have been staged The first, by Tony Award winner Mary Zimmerman, was staged in 1992 by the Chicago-based Lookingglass Theatre Company American play-wright David Ives spun a tale based on the Scherherazade stories in a short play produced in late 1999 for the Humana Festival in Kentucky The Nights also inspired British writer Dominic Cooke to create an award-winning play in 1998 Hundreds of films have been made from the Arabian Nights Most engage the stories on a superficial level or ignore their substance completely and are content simply to borrow a title and a Middle Eastern setting A handful of productions, however, stand out for their quality or historical interest One of the silent era’s most gifted actors, Douglas Fairbanks, based his production The Thief of Baghdad (1924) on the Arabian Nights A Technicolor film produced by Alexander Korda, also called The Thief of Baghdad (1940) but bearing little resemblance to its predecessor, was one of the great films of its era In the mid-twentieth century, early special-effects guru Ray Harryhausen produced three films inspired by the Arabian Nights Sindbad tales: The Seventh Voyage of Sinbad (1958), The Golden Voyage of Sinbad (1974), and Sinbad and the Eye of the Tiger (1977) The most intellectual and faithful adaptation of the tales was Italian director Pier Paolo Pasolini’s Il Fiore delle mille e una notte (1974), which followed the director’s adaptations of the Canterbury Tales and Giovanni Boccaccio’s Decameron, two other premodern classics that utilize the structure of the frame story For many, the best-known adaptation of Scheherazade’s tales is the Disney animated musical Aladdin (1992), to which Robin Williams lent his vocal talents as the Genie It should be noted, however, that the stories of both Aladdin and Ali-Baba, the two most famous tales attributed to the Arabian Nights, not exist in any extant Arabic version Galland learned these tales from a Syrian named Hannâ Diyâb and either believing them to be part of the Arabian Nights canon or simply feeling that they matched the tone of the other stories, he included them in his translation The popularity of Galland’s volume inextricably linked these “orphan stories” to the originals In fact, “The History of Aladdin” and “The History of Ali Baba and the Forty Robbers”—perhaps the epic’s most famous tales—were, as it turns out, among the first works to be inspired by the Arabian Nights COMMENTS & QUESTIONS In this section, we aim to provide the reader with an array of perspectives on the text, as well as questions that challenge those perspectives The commentary has been culled from literary criticism of later generations and appreciations written throughout the work’s history Following the commentary, a series of questions seeks to filter the Arabian Nights through a variety of points of view and bring about a richer understanding of this enduring work Comments RICHARD HOLE The sedate and philosophical turn from [the Arabian Nights] with contempt; the gay and volatile laugh at their seeming absurdities; those of an elegant and correct taste are disgusted with their grotesque figures and fantastic imagery; and however we may be occasionally amused by their wild and diversified incidents, they are seldom thoroughly relished but by children, or by men whose imagination is complimented at the expense of their judgement The Greeks listened with pleasure to the imaginary adventures of their olympic deities: and, actuated by the same motive, we attend with equal delight to the incantations of the witches in Macbeth, and to Puck’s whimsical frolics in the “Midsummer Night’s Dream.” Let us be cautious therefore of condemning the Arabs for a ridiculous attachment to the marvellous, since we ourselves are no less affected by it —from Remarks on the Arabian Nights’ Entertainments (1797) HENRY WEBER Nothing can more strongly prove the general merit of the works which are now offered to the English public, for the first time in a select and uniform edition, than the astonishing popularity which they enjoy over so extensive a portion of the inhabitable parts of the globe There are few who not recollect with pleasure the emotions they felt when the Thousand and One Nights were first put into their hands; the anxiety which accompanied the perusal; the interest with which their minds were impressed in the fate of the imaginary heroes and heroines; and the golden dreams of happiness and splendour which the fairy palaces and ex haustless treasures of the east presented to their imagination It may be safely asserted, that such fictions as the magic lamp of Aladdin, and the cavern of the Forty Thieves, have contributed more to the amusement and delight of every succeeding generation since the fortunate appearance of these tales in this quarter of the world, than all the works which the industry and imagination of Europeans have provided for the instruction and entertainment of youth Such a storehouse of ingenious fiction and of splendid imagery, of supernatural agency skillfully introduced, conveying morality, not in the austere form of imperative precept and dictatorial aphorism, but in the more pleasing shape of example, is not to be found in any other existing work of the imagination No doubt the utter defiance of probability in many of these tales, the superabundance of the marvellous in their composition, and the undeniable silliness of some of them, may be justly censured; but all such frigid reasoning can never deter youthful minds from being pleased with what is so well calculated for their amusement, nor the more experienced from recurring now and then to that which brings back to their memory, in a lively manner, the visionary happiness of their earlier years Many of the most enlightened and learned men have not disdained occasionally to relieve their severer studies by the enjoyment of these relaxations, and to banish for a time the more laborious and painful investigations of reality, by revisiting these regions of fancy, and again revelling in all its extravagant sports Some of the brightest luminaries of literature have not thought it beneath their dignity to imitate these fables and reveries of eastern imagination; and while the names of Addison and Johnson, of Rousseau and Voltaire, may be adduced as imitators of their style, the admirers of oriental novelists not stand in need of apology for having a predilection for their productions —from his introduction to Tales of the East (1812) LEIGH HUNT To us, the Arabian Nights [is] one of the most beautiful books in the world: not because there is nothing but pleasure in it, but because the pain has infinite chances of vicissitude, and because the pleasure is within the reach of all who have body and soul, and imagination The poor man there sleeps in a door-way with his love, and is richer than a king The Sultan is dethroned tomorrow, and has a finer throne the next day The pauper touches a ring, and spirits wait upon him You ride in the air; you are rich in solitude; you long for somebody to return your love, and an Eden encloses you in its arms You have this world, and you have another Fairies are in your moon-light Hope and imagination have their fair play, as well as the rest of us There is action heroical, and passion too: people can suffer, as well as enjoy, for love; you have bravery, luxury, fortitude, self-devotion, comedy as good as Moliere’s, tragedy, Eastern manners, the wonderful that is in a commonplace, and the verisimilitude that is in the wonderful calendars, cadis, robbers, enchanted palaces, paintings full of color and drapery, warmth for the senses, desert in arms and exercises to keep it manly, cautions to the rich, humanity for the more happy, and hope for the miserable —from Leigh Hunt’s London Journal (1834) RALPH WALDO EMERSON It is easy to see that what is best written or done by genius, in the world, was no man’s work, but came by wide social labor, when a thousand wrought like one, sharing the same impulse Vedas, Ỉsop’s Fables, Pilpay, Arabian Nights, Cid, Iliad, Robin Hood, Scottish Minstrelsy, are not the work of single men In the composition of such works, the time thinks, the market thinks, the mason, the carpenter, the merchant, the farmer, the fop, all think for us —from Representative Men (1850) ROBERT LOUIS STEVENSON There is one book, for example, more generally loved than Shakespeare, that captivates in childhood, and still delights in age—I mean the ‘Ara bian Nights’—where you shall look in vain for moral or for intellectual interest No human face or voice greets us among that wooden crowd of kings and genies, sorcerers and beggarmen Adventure, on the most naked terms, furnishes forth the entertainment and is found enough —from Longman’s Magazine (November 1882) G K CHESTERTON Here again, therefore, we come near to one of the essential ideas which give their perennial charm to the Arabian Nights It is the idea that idleness it not an empty thing Idleness can be, and should be a particularly full thing, rich as it is in the Arabian Nights with invaluable jewels and incalculable stories Idleness, or leisure, as the Eastern chronicler would probably prefer to call it, is indeed our opportunity of seeing the vision of all things, our rural audience for hearing, as the Sultan of the Indies heard them, the stories of all created things In that hour, if we know how to use it, the tree tells its story to us, the stone in the road recites its memoirs, the lamppost and the paling expatiate on their autobiographies For as the most hideous nightmare in the world is an empty leisure, so the most enduring pleasure is a full leisure We can defend ourselves, even on the Day of Judgment, if our work has been useless, with pleas of opportunity, competition and fulness of days —from the Daily News (November 7, 1901) GEORGE BERNARD SHAW In The Arabian Nights we have a series of stories, some of them very good ones, in which no sort of decorum is observed The result is that they are infinitely more instructive and enjoyable than our romances, because love is treated in them as naturally as any other passion There is no cast iron convention as to its effects; no false association of general depravity of character with its corporealities or of general elevation with its sentimentalities; no pretence that a man or woman cannot be courageous and kind and friendly unless infatuatedly in love with somebody (is no poet manly enough to sing The Old Maids of England?): rather, indeed, an insistence on the blinding and narrowing power of lovesickness to make princely heroes unhappy and unfortunate These tales expose, further, the delusion that the interest of this most capricious, most transient, most easily baffled of all instincts, is inexhaustible, and that the field of the English romancer has been cruelly narrowed by the restrictions under which he is permitted to deal with it The Arabian storyteller, relieved of all such restrictions, heaps character on character, adventure on adventure, marvel on marvel; whilst the English novelist, like the starving tramp who can think of nothing but his hunger, seems unable to escape from the obsession of sex, and will rewrite the very gospels because the originals are not written in the sensuously ecstatic style —from the preface to Three Plays for Puritans (1901) E M FORSTER Scheherazade avoided her fate because she knew how to wield the weapon of suspense—the only literary tool that has any effect upon tyrants and savages Great novelist though she was,—exquisite in her descriptions, tolerant in her judgments, ingenious in her incidents, advanced in her morality, vivid in her delineations of character, expert in her knowledge of three Oriental capitals—it was yet on none of these gifts that she relied when trying to save her life from her intolerable husband They were but incidental She only survived because she managed to keep the king wondering what would happen next —from Aspects of the Novel (1927) Questions In his introduction to this volume, Muhsin al-Musawi notes that the tales “appeal to perennial sentiments and human needs.” Can you name one of these sentiments (or needs) and explain how a specific tale appeals to it? What you think of “The Story Told by the Purveyor of the Sultan of Casgar,” about a man who eats ragout with garlic but without washing his hands and is punished by his wife by having his right hand chopped off? Do the shape and tone of the story imply that he got what he deserves? Is the story a satire of rigid social codes? Is it a disguised tale of emasculation? Robert Louis Stevenson said that in these tales “you shall look in vain for moral or for intellectual interest No human face or voice greets us among that wooden crowd of kings and genies, sorcerers and beggarmen.” Is Stevenson right to say that the tales’ characters are flat? In commenting on the tales’ popularity, Muhsin al-Musawi notes that they are runners-up to the stories in the Bible What accounts for this popularity? FOR FURTHER READING Important English Translations of the Arabian Nights Arabian Nights Entertainments: Consisting of One Thousand and One Stories Translated into French from the Arabian MSS by M Galland of the Royal Academy; and Now Done into English from the Last Paris Edition vols London: Longman, 1783 Beloe, William, trans Arabian Tales; or, A Continuation of the Arabian Nights Entertainments vols London: Faulder, Hookham and Carpenter, 1794 Includes a preface ———, trans Miscellanies, Consisting of Poems, Classical Extracts, and Oriental Apologues vols London, 1795 Burton, Sir Richard F., trans The Book of the Thousand Nights and One Night: A Plain and Literal Translation of the Arabian Nights Entertainments 10 vols London: Kamashastra Society, 18851886 Dulcken, H W., ed Dalziel’s Illustrated Arabian Nights’ Entertainments vols London: Ward and Lock, 1865 Forster, Edward, trans The Arabian Nights vols London: Miller, 1802 Includes a preface Gough, Richard, trans and ed Arabian Nights Entertainments Translated into French from the Arabian MSS by M Galland, and now rendered into English vols London: Longman, 1798 Includes a preface Hanley, Sylvanus, trans and ed Caliphs and Sultans: Being Tales Omitted in the Usual Editions of the Arabian Nights Entertainments London: Reeve, 1868 Heron, Robert, trans Arabian Tales; or, The Continuation of the Arabian Nights Entertainments vols Translated from the original Arabic into French by Dom Chavis, a native Arab, and M Cazotte; translated into English by Robert Heron Edinburgh: Bell and Bradfute, 1792 Includes a preface Kirby, W F., trans New Arabian Nights: Selected Tales Not Included in Galland or Lane London: Sonnenschein, 1882 Lamb, George, trans New Arabian Nights’ Entertainments, Selected from the Original MS by Jos von Hammer; Now First Translated into English vols London: Henry Colburn, 1826 Includes a preface Lane, Edward William, trans and ed A New Translation of the Tales of a Thousand and One Nights; Known in England as the Arabian Nights’ Entertainments London: Charles Knight, 18381840 In 32 parts Includes copious notes by Lane; illustrated with many hundred woodcuts Payne, John, trans The Book of the Thousand Nights and One Night: Now First Completely Done into English Prose and Verse, from the Original Arabic vols London: Villon Society, private subscription, 1882-1884 A well-informed book-length essay is appended to vol ———, trans Tales from the Arabic of the Breslau and Calcutta (1814 -1818) Editions of the Book of the Thousand Nights and One Night, Not Occurring in the Other Printed Texts of the Work, Now First Done into English vols London: Villon Society, private subscription, 1884 ———, trans Alaeddin and the Enchanted Lamp; Zein ul Asnam and the King of the Jinn: Two Stories Done into English from the Recently Discovered Arabic Text London: Villon Society, private subscription, 1889 ———, trans Abou Mohammed the Lazy, and Other Tales from the Arabian Nights Publications of the John Payne Society Olmey: Thomas Wright, 1906 Scott, Jonathan, trans and ed Tales, Anecdotes, and Letters, Translated from the Arabic and the Persian Shrewsbury: J and W Eddowes, 1880 ———, trans The Arabian Nights Entertainments, Carefully Revised and Occasionally Corrected from the Arabic To Which Is Added, a Selection of New Tales, Now First Translated from the Arabic Originals vols London: Longman and Hurst, 1811 Includes an introduction, notes, and engravings Torrens, Henry, trans Book of the Thousand Nights and One Night: From the Arabic of the Ỉgyptian Ms., edited by Wm Hay Mcnaghten London: Allen, 1838 Historical Contexts Ahsan, Muhammad Manazir Social Life Under the Abbasids, 170-289 AH, 786-902 AD London: Longman, 1979 A serious piece of scholarship with a careful survey of primary sources from the Abbasid period Donini, Pier Giovanni Arab Travelers and Geographers London: Immel Publishing, 1991 Helpful survey of geographical literature Guthrie, Shirley Arab Social Life in the Middle Ages: An Illustrated Study London: Saqi Books, 1995 Misleadingly titled, the book deals specifically with the work of al-Wasiti, a thirteenth-century painter of Islamic life who illustrated the Maqamat (“Assemblies”) of al-Hariri, a popular collection of stories about urban Arab rogues and tricksters whose main gift is an eloquence that allows them to buy their way in an increasingly difficult life Hamori, Andras On the Art of Medieval Arabic Literature Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1974 Includes a brilliant chapter on “The City of Brass” in the Arabian Nights Apart from his contribution to understanding historical contexts, Hamori shows an interest in the aesthetics of narrative patterning Ibn Khallikan Vitae illustrium virorum [Obituaries of the Notables] 13 vols Edited by Ferdinand Wüstenfeld Gottingen: Deuerlich, 1835-1850, Khallikan’s thirteenth-century biographical dictionary, Wafayat al-a’yan, is an excellent source for material on the medieval period Ibn Schahriyar, Buzurg Aja’ib al-Hind [The Book of the Marvels of India] Leiden: Brill, 18831886 An account of tenth-century adventures that can be helpful in studying Sinbad’s voyages.OK Mas’udi, Ali ibn al-Husayn The Meadows of Gold: The Abbasids Translated and edited by Paul Lunde and Caroline Stone London: Kegan Paul, 1989 Barbier de Meynard’s French translation of Muruj al-dhahab , rendered in English; an important source book on medieval Islamic culture Østrup, Johannes Elith Studien über 1001 Nacht Translated by O Rescher Stuttgart: W Heppeler, 1925 Rescher translated Østrup’s study from Danish into German in 1919; it deals with the history of the collection, suggesting possible Indian and Persian origins Relying on al-Mas’udi’s discussion of the frame tale (see above), Østrup also suggests that the Arabic portion contains stories included by compilers like al-Tanukhi before it attained its current shape in the Mamluk period Von Grunebaum, Gustave E Medieval Islam: A Study in Cultural Orientation Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1946 Includes a chapter on the Greek elements in the collection, in keeping with the author’s scholarly, Orientalist studies of Islamic literature Weber, Henry “Introduction.” In his Tales of the East (3 vols.); Vol 1: Arabian Nights’ Entertainments, New Arabian Nights Edinburgh: J Ballantyne, 1812 In addition to containing many tales from the Arabian Nights, this book provides an excellent and relatively thorough reading of the social and historical context of the tales History of the Book Abbott, Nabia “A Ninth-Century Fragment of the ‘Thousand Nights’: New Light on the Early History of the Arabian Nights.” Journal of Near Eastern Studies 8:3 (July 1949), pp 129-164 Discusses the most important documentary evidence regarding the provenance of the book’s title and the realism of some of the sections set in Baghdad Borges, Jorge Luis “The Translators of The Thousand and One Nights.” In Selected Non-Fictions, edited by Eliot Weinberger New York: Penguin, 1999, pp 92-109 Contains both good scholarship and sharp critical sense Brockway, Duncan “The Macdonald Collection of the Arabian Nights: A Bibliography.” Muslim World 61:4 (1971), pp 256-266; 63:4 (1973), pp 185-205; and 64:1 (1974), pp 16-32 A bibliography of the best collection available; also includes some of D B Macdonald’s personal correspondence Burton, Richard “Terminal Essay.” In his Book of the Thousand Nights and a Night, vol 10 London: Kamashastra Society, 1885-1888 The most detailed apology for Burton’s project; scholarly, nevertheless central to any study of translations Chauvin, Victor Bibliographie des ouvrages arabes ou relatifs aux arabes publiès dans L’Europe chrétienne de 1810 1885 Vols 4-6 and Liege: H Vaillant-Carmanne, 1902 The earliest bibliographic and scholarly coverage of allusions, readings, and references to the collection ——— La récension égyptien des Mille et une nuits Brussels: Société Belge de Librarie, 1899 Complements other studies of the Egyptian compilations of the Arabian Nights Hunt, Leigh “New Translations of the Arabian Nights.” Westminster Review 33 (October 1839), pp 101-137 Perhaps the best example of Romantic criticism Knipp, C “The Arabian Nights in England: Galland’s Translation and Its Successors.” Journal of Arabic Literature (1974), pp 44-54 The earliest scholarly record and evaluation of the reception of Galland’s translation Littmann, Enno “Alf Layla wa-Layla.” In The Encyclopedia of Islam Second edition Leiden: Brill, 1960, vol 1, pp 358-364 An early scholarly consideration of the book, its appearance, translations, and Arabic context Macdonald, D B “A Bibliographical and Literary Study of the First Appearance of the Arabian Nights in Europe.” Library Quarterly 2:4 (October 1932), pp 387-420 One of the earliest and most thorough surveys of the European history of the collection ——— “A Preliminary Classification of Some MSS of the Arabian Nights.” In A Volume of Oriental Studies, Presented to Edward G Browne on His 60th Birthday , edited by T W Arnold and Reynold A Nicholson Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1922, pp 304- 321 The most thorough philological and manuscript study of the time ——— “A Missing MS of the Arabian Nights.” Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society (1913), p 432 Among the earliest efforts to build on Zotenberg’s research and trace Galland’s manuscripts ——— “Lost MSS of the Arabian Nights and a Projected Edition of That of Galland.” Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society (1911), pp 219-221 Also among the earliest efforts to build on Zotenberg’s research and trace Galland’s manuscripts ——— “Maximilian Habicht and His Recension of the Thousand and One Nights.” Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society (1909), pp 685-704 Credits Habicht with making an effort to revise the book in an effort to establish a definitive text, rather than edit an existing one ——— “On Translating the Arabian Nights.” In two parts: The Nation 71:1835 (August 30, 1900), pp 167-168, and 71:1836 (September 6, 1900), pp 185-186 Insightful notes on the history of the tales as they appear in European languages Mahdi, Muhsin The Thousand and One Nights (Alf Laylah wa-Layla) from the Earliest Known Sources, Leiden: Brill, 1994, pp 1-41 al-Musawi, Muhsin J “The Growth of Scholarly Interest in the Arabian Nights.” Muslim World 70:3 (1980), pp 196-212 An early study of scholarship in the field ——— Scheherazade in England: A Study of Nineteenth-Century English Criticism of the Arabian Nights Washington, DC: Three Continents Press, 1981 The first study of literary taste in eighteenthand nineteenth-century England through critical responses to the Arabian Nights, with an extensive bibliography of periodical and other criticism; it has become the source, acknowledged or otherwise, for later research Payne, John “The Book of the Thousand Nights and One Night: Its History and Character.” In his The Book of the Thousand Nights and One Night, vol London: Villon Society, 1884 A study basic to any reading of the literary characteristics of the text and context of the Arabian Nights Schwab, Raymond L’auteur des Mille et une nuits: Vie d’Antoine Galland Paris: Mercure de France, 1964 Sets Galland’s translation within French and Orientalist traditions Zotenberg, Hermann Histoire de ‘Al ’ al-Dn: ou, La Lampe merveilleuse: Texte arabe publié avec une notice sur quelques manuscrits des Mille et une nuits Paris: Imprimerie Nationale, 1888 One of Zotenberg’s many contributions to the study of single tales and the collection as a whole, including its manuscript tradition, and history Literary Contexts Bakhtin, Mikhail Rabelais and His World Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1984 Although the book does not deal with the tales, its analysis of humor and carnival is useful for any study of the barber’s cycle in the Arabian Nights Gissing, George Charles Dickens: A Critical Study 1898 London: Gresham, 1904 Gissing draws attention to Dickens’s use of the Arabian Nights Ireland, Alexander The Book-Lover’s Enchiridion: Thoughts on the Solace and Companionship of Books London: Simpkin, Marshall, 1883 An early account of the best books and their appeal Ireland points out the relevance of the tales to English literature al-Musawi, Muhsin J “Elite Prose.” In Cambridge History of Arabic Literature: Arabic Literature in the Post-Classical Period, edited by Roger Allen Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2006, pp 101-133 An introduction to the volume’s coverage of prose genres in the post-classical period ——— Anglo-Orient: Easterners in Textual Camps Tunis: University Publications, 2000 A study of a number of texts, attitudes, and figures that make up the Orientalist tradition The Arabian Nights and Romanticism Buckley, Jerome Hamilton Tennyson: The Growth of a Poet Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1960 Buckley’s commentary on Tennyson’s poem “Recollection of the Arabian Nights” is of great critical significance Coleridge, Samuel Taylor Letters of Samuel Taylor Coleridge Edited by Ernest Hartley Coleridge London: William Heinemann, 1895 Many of Coleridge’s critical insights built on his readings of the Arabian Nights Henley, W E “Arabian Nights’ Entertainments.” Scribner’s Magazine 14:1 (July 1893), pp 56-62 A poem that takes as a point of departure one of the calender’s tales in order to depict a sense of disillusionment ——— Views and Reviews: Essays in Appreciation Vol of The Works of W E Henley (7 vols.) London: David Nutt, 1908 The chapter on the Arabian Nights is the ultimate example of the Romantic view of the work and sets the tone for Romanticism as a constant element in literature and culture Hunt, Leigh “Genii and Fairies of the East: The Arabian Nights ” Leigh Hunt’s London Journal 1:30 (October 22, 1834), pp 233-237 Perhaps the most insightful explanation of the Romantic appeal of the Arabian Nights Scott, Sir Walter Preface to Ivanhoe Edited by W M Parker Everyman’s Library London: Dent, 1965 Scott explains his view of the translation of the Arabian Nights The Arabian Nights: Genres and Arts in the West Axon, William “The Thousand and One Nights.” Bookman 31 (March 1907), p 258 Relates the Arabian Nights to English fiction Irwin, Robert “The Arabian Nights in Film Adaptations.” In The Arabian Nights Encyclopedia, edited by Ulrich Marzolph and Richard van Leeuwen Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO, 2004, vol 1, pp 22-25 The film industry and the Nights Critical Readings of the Tales Bagehot, Walter “The People of the Arabian Nights.” National Review (July 1859), pp 44-71; reprinted In Littell’s Living Age 62:788 (July-September 1859), pp 327-342 A serious and controversial critical assessment Bencheikh, Jamel Eddine Les Mille et une nuits; ou, La Parole prisonnière Paris: Gallimard, 1988 An important reading of the narrative as life, and of the implications of silence and speech Borges, Jorge Luis “The Thousand and One Nights.” In his Seven Nights, translated by Eliot Weinberger; introduction by Alastair Reid New York: New Directions, 1984 Insightful contemporary support for early Romantic readings Caracciolo, Peter L., ed The Arabian Nights in English Literature: Studies in the Reception of The Thousand and One Nights into British Culture New York: St Martin’s Press, 1988 A good collection of articles Chesterton, G K “The Everlasting Nights.” In The Spice of Life and Other Essays, edited by Dorothy Collins Beaconsfield, UK: Darwen Finlayson, 1964 An insightful aesthetic response Conant, Martha Pike The Oriental Tale in England in the Eighteenth Century New York: Columbia University Press, 1908 The earliest and most scholarly contemporary study of the Oriental tale as a genre in English literature Farmer, Henry George The Minstrelsy of the Arabian Nights: A Study of Music and Musicians in the Arabic Alf laila wa laila Bearsden, Scotland: privately issued, 1945 The best and earliest study of music in the Arabian Nights Ghazoul, Ferial Jabouri The Arabian Nights: A Structural Analysis Cairo: Cairo Associated Institution for the Study and Presentation of Arab Cultural Values, 1980 The earliest rigorous structural study of the tales Gerhardt, Mia Irene The Art of Story-Telling: A Literary Study of the Thousand and One Nights Leiden: Brill, 1963 A pioneering study with a modern bent of mind, away from the philological approach of the nineteenth and early twentieth Irwin, Robert The Arabian Nights: A Companion London: Allen Lane, 1994 A lucid, helpful guide that makes extensive use of early scholarship Mew, James “The Arabian Nights.” Cornhill Magazine 32 (December 1875), pp 711-732 One of the early studies of the literary significance of the Arabian Nights Naddaff, Sandra Arabesque: Narrative Structure and the Aesthetics of Repetition in the 1001 Nights Evanston, IL: Northwestern University Press, 1991 A significant reading of a limited number of tales that demonstrate the technique of repetition Pinault, David Story-Telling Techniques in The Arabian Nights Leiden: Brill, 1992 Focuses on the ransom motif in a selected number of tales Taylor, W C “New Arabian Tales.” Foreign Quarterly Review 14 (December 1834), pp 350-369 An important reading of certain tales from an aesthetic perspective Todorov, Tzvetan 1973 The Fantastic: A Structural Approach to a Literary Genre Translated by Richard Howard Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 1975 Includes a chapter on the concept of the marvelous in the tales ——— “Narrative Men.” In his Poetics of Prose, translated by Richard Howard Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 1977 A significant equation between character as action and narrative, and between narrative and life Contemporary Reference Works Mahdi, Muhsin The Thousand and One Nights: From the Earliest Known Sources: Part 3: Introduction and Indexes Leiden: Brill, 1994 A careful and meticulous piece of scholarship for the researcher and scholar Marzolph, Ulrich, and Richard van Leeuwen, eds The Arabian Nights Encyclopedia vols Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO, 2004 Useful guide of a general nature for the common reader, with headings, notes on translations, tales, and characters a Supernatural being or spirit; in the Islamic tradition, the universe is populated by ins (humans), jinn (spirits), and other creatures b Muslim c For a Muslim, this pledge is second in importance only to the declaration that God is one and that Muhammad is His Prophet d ‘Id al-Adha (the Feast of Sacrifice), which comes after the pilgrimage to Mecca, builds both on the tradition of Isma’il and Abraham and on the need to pray for the dead through sacrificing a cow or sheep and feeding others e King Sulayman of the tales, David’s son, in Islamic as in biblical tradition God gave him the power to rule over the jinn, the wind, and the animals f References to Greek knowledge and science abound in the tales and echo the cultural life of Baghdad in Abbasid times (750-1258 C.E.) g In the Abbasid period, jurists tried to differentiate between nabidh (wine) and khamr (intoxicating wine); the latter is prohibited by the Qur’an Nevertheless, many works within the Arabic poetic tradition celebrate the pleasures of wine h The Qur’an, the Holy Book of Muslims i Dervish; wandering Sufi or other mystic who gives up the life of this world j Satan k In Arabic, rukhkh; legendary bird of enormous size that was often mistaken for a rock or other large object; medieval geographers mention such birds l In this story, mentioning Paradise helps to convey the sense of amazement at the incomparable beauty of the place m Dish spiced with cumin n Eastern money [translator’s note] o Second-to-last Abbasid caliph of Baghdad; he reigned from 1226 to 1242 and built the university alMustansiriyah Madrasah between 1227 and 1234, on the eastern side of Baghdad along the Tigris River He also continued the tolerance and interest in youth organizations of his grandfather, the Abbasid Caliph al-Nasir, and trained in knighthood, manliness, and knowledge p In Islam, pilgrimage to Mecca is one of the imperatives for the able and the capable; the journey is indicative of piety and renunciation of all evil q Isaac al-Mawsili (died 850), from Mosul in northern Iraq, was designated as the best lute player He inherited his musical talent from his father, the celebrated Ibrahim al-Mawsili (Ibrahim of Mosul); they were both members of the caliph’s court and were considered the best singers and musicians of their time r Binding royal decree The word is of Turkish origin s Although patriarchal traditions included polygamy, Islam tried to limit its ill effects by stressing the condition of justice among wives, which is impossible—the Prophet, in his last speech, said as much t Such a parchment, often worn on or close to the body, is considered a protection from danger or evil u Ja’far the Barmecide was the minister and friend of Caliph Haroun Alraschid; Ja’far was eventually executed by Haroun Alraschid [Harun al-Rashid] v Kufa is south of Baghdad and a little below Najaf It was founded in 638 C.E by the Muslim military leader Sa’d ibn Abi Waqqas after his victory over the Sassanid empire and the capture of Ctesiphon in 637 C.E w The name Badroulboudour signifies “The Full Moon among full moons.” [translator’s note] ...Table of Contents FROM THE PAGES OF THE ARABIAN NIGHTS Title Page Copyright Page THE ORIGIN AND EVOLUTION OF THE ARABIAN NIGHTS THE WORLD OF THE ARABIAN NIGHTS Introduction GLOSSARY OF NAMES AND... © 2007 by Muhsin Al-Musawi The Origin and Evolution of the Arabian Nights, The World of the Arabian Nights, Inspired by the Arabian Nights, and Comments & Questions Copyright © 2007 by Barnes... THE HISTORY OF THE BOOK: AN OVERVIEW INSPIRED BY THE ARABIAN NIGHTS COMMENTS & QUESTIONS FOR FURTHER READING FROM THE PAGES OF THE ARABIAN NIGHTS The grand vizier, who was the unwilling agent