The Arabic Fable

An Inventory of Short Stories Featuring Speaking Animals and Other Nonhuman Characters in Premodern Arabic Literature
Erscheinungsjahr 2025
ISBN: 978-90-04-72900-1
Verlag: Brill

Buch, Arabisch, Englisch, Band 3, 430 Seiten, Format (B × H): 156 mm x 239 mm, Gewicht: 760 g

Reihe: Global Arabic Literary Cultures

This is the first attempt to provide a representative inventory of fables documented in premodern Arabic literature. The introduction presents a detailed effort to define the Arabic fable and a condensed historical survey together with a short assessment of the content characteristics of the Arabic fable proper. An annotated bibliography discusses significant contributions to the study of the Arabic fable in detail. The book’s main body surveys a total of 330 numbered fables with short summaries, exhaustive references, and concise comments. The detailed documentation recognizes the Arabic fable as the long neglected equal of its dominantly perceived Graeco-Latin sibling.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Marzolph, Ulrich

Fachgebiete

• Geisteswissenschaften Sprachwissenschaft Übersetzungswissenschaft, Translatologie, Dolmetschen
• Geisteswissenschaften Literaturwissenschaft Literaturgeschichte und Literaturkritik
• Geisteswissenschaften Literaturwissenschaft Klassische Literaturwissenschaft
• Geisteswissenschaften Geschichtswissenschaft Weltgeschichte & Geschichte einzelner Länder und Gebietsräume Geschichte einzelner Länder Naher & Mittlerer Osten

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Preface

Abbreviations and Concordance of Numbers

Introduction 1 Fables in Premodern Arabic Literature: Two Strands of Tradition 2 Towards a Definition of the Arabic Fable 3 Data Relevant for the History of the Arabic Fable 4 Fables in Authored Literature 5 Content Characteristics of the Arabic Fable Proper

Annotated Bibliography

Inventory of Fables in Premodern Arabic Literature

I. Scattered Fables (SF; nos.1–160)

II. Fables in Literature (nos.161–330) A. Ibn al-Muqaffa?, Kalila wa-Dimna (KD; nos.161–208) B. Qi??at Jali?ad wa-Shimas (JSh; nos.209–217) C. Qi??at Malik Balash (MB; nos.218–221) D. Bilawhar wa-Budhasaf (BB; no.222) E. Ibn al-Habbariyya, al-?adi? wa-’l-baghim (?B; nos.223–229) F. al-Kala?i, I?kam ?an?at al-kalam (KI; nos.230–232) G. Ibn ?afar al-?iqilli, Sulwan al-mu?a? fi ?udwan al-atba? (SM; nos.233–241) H. Qi??at ?ayqar (Q? nos.242–257) I. Amthal Luqman al-?akim (AL; nos.258–289) J. Ibn ?Arabshah, Fakihat al-khulafa? wa-mufakat al-?urafa? (FKh; nos.290–313) K. Alf Layla wa-layla (ALL; nos.314–329)

III. Supplement (S; no.330)

IV. Appendix: Concordance for the Fables in the Manuscripts Paris, Bibliothèque nationale de France, arabe 3463 and arabe 3464

Appendix: Arabic Texts of the Scattered Fables (Selection)

Bibliography

Concordance of References to Major Reference Works, Studies, and Translations

Index of Primary Sources (Arabic Authors and Works)

List of Primary Sources (Arabic Authors and Works) in Chronological Sequence

Index of Non-Human Characters Acting in the Fables

General Index

Über Autor(innen)

Ulrich Marzolph, Dr. phil. (1981), Cologne, is a retired adjunct Professor of Arabic and Islamic Studies at the University of Göttingen, Germany. His field of expertise is the narrative culture of the Muslim world on which he has published widely.