Theodore Beers (Freie Universität Berlin), From Arabic to Persian and Halfway Back Again: Naṣr Allāh Munshī’s Kalīla and Dimna. Co-sponsored by the Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations.
The adaptation of Kalīla and Dimna written by Abū al-Maʿālī Naṣr Allāh Munshī in the 1140s CE is a cornerstone work of classical Persian prose literature—but there is a subtle tension in both its conception and its reception. Naṣr Allāh translated this book of fables from the second/eighth century Arabic version attributed to Ibn al-Muqaffaʿ. Along with bringing the text into Persian, he added a great deal of new material, and the result is a highly distinctive work. There is a substantial original preface, which argues for the value of Kalīla and Dimna within a framework of just Islamic governance. Then, throughout the fables themselves, Naṣr Allāh has inserted myriad quotes from qur’anic verses, ḥadīth, Arabic and Persian poetry, wise sayings, and beyond. So many of these references are in Arabic that it was evidently difficult for some medieval persophone readers to understand the text. What are we to make of a translation from Arabic to Persian which is then “re-arabicized” to such a degree that the reader must be biliterate? This talk will argue that Naṣr Allāh’s hybrid style represents an effort to forge a new path in Persian prose literature—which was still in a relatively early stage of development—through the adaptation of conventions from the Arabic adab tradition. LOCATION:Harvard Museum of the Ancient Near East, Room 201 STATUS:CONFIRMED DTSTART:20230405T210000Z DTEND:20230405T220000Z END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR