080054 PS FS II/III: Kalila and Dimna: The Mirror for Princes and its Illustrations in Islamic Art (au.K.) (2014S)

Kalila and Dimna is the title of a collection of Indian fables translated and adapted into Arabic by an 8th century Arab author: Ibn al-Muqaffa’. Kalila and Dimna are two jackals who are the main characters of a series of animal fables the main purpose of which is to entertain and at the same time provide advice for rulers. It, thus, belongs to the genre of the Mirror for princes which gains great popularity in medieval Islam. One of the manifestations of this popularity is the existence of numerous illustrated copies of this text so that these illustrations represent one of the main topics of Arab painting. This FS will introduce to this classic of Arabic literature and to its universe: medieval Arabic literature and manuscript culture and especially manuscript painting. The FS aims at an in-depth insight into a few manuscripts through the issues of text-image relationship, as well as style analysis.