The anthologist's art : : Abu Mansur al-Tha'alibi and his Yatimat al-dahr / / by Bilal Orfali.

• Superior document: Brill Studies in Middle Eastern Literatures, Volume 37
• VerfasserIn: Urfahʹlī, Bilāl,
• Place / Publishing House: Leiden, [Netherlands] ;, Boston, [Massachusetts] : : Brill,, 2016.; ©2016
• Year of Publication: 2016
• Language: English
• Series: Brill studies in Middle Eastern literatures ; Volume 37.
• Physical Description: 1 online resource (291 pages) :; illustrations.
• Notes: Description based upon print version of record.

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 Abū Manṣūr al-Thaʿālibī (350–429/961–1039), an eminent anthologist from Nīshāpūr, paying special attention to his magnum opus, Yatīmat al-dahr ( The Unique Pearl ), and its sequel, Tatimmat al-Yatīma ( The Completion of the Yatīma ). 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 Thaʿālibī’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.

Table of Contents

Preliminary Material -- 1 The Art of Anthology in Premodern Arabic Literature -- 2 Life and Legacy of Thaʿālibī -- 3 An Anthologist at Work: The Organization and Structure of the Yatīma and Tatimma -- 4 The Sources of Thaʿālibī in Yatīmat al-Dahr and Tatimmat al-Yatīma -- 5 Material within the Entry -- Conclusion -- Appendices -- Bibliography -- Index.