(Non)-Imaginary Ideal Communities in the Pre-Modern World: A Reading in the Utopian Works of al-Fārābi’, Ibn Khaldūn, Christine de Pizan, and Thomas More
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Doaa Omran
Abstract
In an attempt to find harmonizing alternatives during the high Middle Ages, contemporary writers and philosophers imagined and theorized about the characteristics of an ideal community.Whereas European authors projected their utopian communities in imaginary locales, Islamicate scholars placed their utopias within real cities. This is pertinent, I argue, as to how the word “ideal city” is understood in each respective culture because I compare the European concept of ‘utopia’ with its Arabic equivalent ‒ al-Madinah al-Fāḍilah, virtuous city. This paper presents a reading of two works each from the Arabic and the European traditions in order to illustrate the conceptual and philosophical differences of utopia in the respective cultures. The Arabic works of al-Fārābi’s Principles of the Opinions of the Citizens of the Virtuous City (950) and Ibn Khaldūn’s Muqaddimah (1377) are read in conjunction with Christine de Pizan’s The Book of the City of Ladies (1405) and Thomas More’s Utopia (1516). By studying these four utopian works together, I posit that the Arabic utopias of al-Fārābi and Ibn Khaldūn, which are situated in real locales, were the authors of didactic social treatises intended to provide practical guidance in reforming civic life. On the other hand, the more imaginary European utopias of Christine de Pizan and Thomas More provided fictional alternatives to reality. Whereas Christine and Thomas More focused on the architecture and the layout of their utopias, Muslim theorists paid minimal heed to the physical description of the city and highlighted instead the expected necessary traits of the individuals and their rulers that contribute to the excellence of a community. The comparative readings presented here have implications for future global utopia studies as well as for comparative literature.
Abstract
In an attempt to find harmonizing alternatives during the high Middle Ages, contemporary writers and philosophers imagined and theorized about the characteristics of an ideal community.Whereas European authors projected their utopian communities in imaginary locales, Islamicate scholars placed their utopias within real cities. This is pertinent, I argue, as to how the word “ideal city” is understood in each respective culture because I compare the European concept of ‘utopia’ with its Arabic equivalent ‒ al-Madinah al-Fāḍilah, virtuous city. This paper presents a reading of two works each from the Arabic and the European traditions in order to illustrate the conceptual and philosophical differences of utopia in the respective cultures. The Arabic works of al-Fārābi’s Principles of the Opinions of the Citizens of the Virtuous City (950) and Ibn Khaldūn’s Muqaddimah (1377) are read in conjunction with Christine de Pizan’s The Book of the City of Ladies (1405) and Thomas More’s Utopia (1516). By studying these four utopian works together, I posit that the Arabic utopias of al-Fārābi and Ibn Khaldūn, which are situated in real locales, were the authors of didactic social treatises intended to provide practical guidance in reforming civic life. On the other hand, the more imaginary European utopias of Christine de Pizan and Thomas More provided fictional alternatives to reality. Whereas Christine and Thomas More focused on the architecture and the layout of their utopias, Muslim theorists paid minimal heed to the physical description of the city and highlighted instead the expected necessary traits of the individuals and their rulers that contribute to the excellence of a community. The comparative readings presented here have implications for future global utopia studies as well as for comparative literature.
Kapitel in diesem Buch
- Frontmatter I
- Table of Contents V
- List of Illustrations IX
- Introduction: An Essay on Language, Culture, and Identity: Medieval and Early Modern Perspectives on and Approaches to Communication, Translation, and Community 1
- Ways of Communication and Mis/communication in Abū Tammām’s “Ode on the Conquest of Amorium” (838 C.E.) 95
- Proscribed Communication: The Obscene Language of the Troubadour William IX, Duke of Aquitaine and VII Count of Poitiers 109
- (Non)-Imaginary Ideal Communities in the Pre-Modern World: A Reading in the Utopian Works of al-Fārābi’, Ibn Khaldūn, Christine de Pizan, and Thomas More 159
- A Jewish Moneylender, Miscommunication, and a Lie: Gonzalo de Berceo’s Milagro no. 23 191
- Words, Signs, Meanings: William Langland’s Piers Plowman as a Window on Linguistic Chaos 209
- The Chaucerian Translator 233
- Entertainment, Laughter, and Reflections as a Training Ground for Communication in Public and Private: The Case of Heinrich Kaufringer, ca. 1400 255
- …written in my own Jewish hand 291
- Demonic Operators: Forbidden Relations in Medieval Communication 327
- Paroemiac Expressions: A Touch of Color in the Ambassadors’ Diplomatic Correspondence in the Fifteenth Century 351
- Communication and Translation in Early Modern Basque Society. The Role Played by the Public Notaries 379
- Preventing Miscommunication: Early Modern German Surgeons as Specialized Translators 393
- Reputation and Authority in the Physicians’ Communication with Patients as Reflected in the Czech-Language Sources of the Early Modern Period 415
- The Physicians’ Community in Pre-Thirty Years’ War Bohemia 439
- A Bond of True Love: Performing Courtship and Betrothal in Gower’s Cinkante balades and Spenser’s Amoretti, in Light of Christine de Pizan’s Cent balades 461
- Noble Friendship in Relation to the Community: Hamlet and The Merchant of Venice 491
- Deconstructing the (Mis)Interpretation of Paratextual Elements in Ross’s English Translation of the Qur’ān, The Alcoran of Mahomet (1649) 519
- Community and the Others: Unveiling Boundaries in Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice 551
- Biographies of the Contributors 617
- Index 627
Kapitel in diesem Buch
- Frontmatter I
- Table of Contents V
- List of Illustrations IX
- Introduction: An Essay on Language, Culture, and Identity: Medieval and Early Modern Perspectives on and Approaches to Communication, Translation, and Community 1
- Ways of Communication and Mis/communication in Abū Tammām’s “Ode on the Conquest of Amorium” (838 C.E.) 95
- Proscribed Communication: The Obscene Language of the Troubadour William IX, Duke of Aquitaine and VII Count of Poitiers 109
- (Non)-Imaginary Ideal Communities in the Pre-Modern World: A Reading in the Utopian Works of al-Fārābi’, Ibn Khaldūn, Christine de Pizan, and Thomas More 159
- A Jewish Moneylender, Miscommunication, and a Lie: Gonzalo de Berceo’s Milagro no. 23 191
- Words, Signs, Meanings: William Langland’s Piers Plowman as a Window on Linguistic Chaos 209
- The Chaucerian Translator 233
- Entertainment, Laughter, and Reflections as a Training Ground for Communication in Public and Private: The Case of Heinrich Kaufringer, ca. 1400 255
- …written in my own Jewish hand 291
- Demonic Operators: Forbidden Relations in Medieval Communication 327
- Paroemiac Expressions: A Touch of Color in the Ambassadors’ Diplomatic Correspondence in the Fifteenth Century 351
- Communication and Translation in Early Modern Basque Society. The Role Played by the Public Notaries 379
- Preventing Miscommunication: Early Modern German Surgeons as Specialized Translators 393
- Reputation and Authority in the Physicians’ Communication with Patients as Reflected in the Czech-Language Sources of the Early Modern Period 415
- The Physicians’ Community in Pre-Thirty Years’ War Bohemia 439
- A Bond of True Love: Performing Courtship and Betrothal in Gower’s Cinkante balades and Spenser’s Amoretti, in Light of Christine de Pizan’s Cent balades 461
- Noble Friendship in Relation to the Community: Hamlet and The Merchant of Venice 491
- Deconstructing the (Mis)Interpretation of Paratextual Elements in Ross’s English Translation of the Qur’ān, The Alcoran of Mahomet (1649) 519
- Community and the Others: Unveiling Boundaries in Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice 551
- Biographies of the Contributors 617
- Index 627
