The majority of medieval and sixteenth-century Iberian manuscripts, whether in Latin, Hebrew, Arabic, Spanish, or Aljamiado (Spanish written in Arabic script), contain fragments or are fragments. The term fragment is used to describe not only isolated bits of manuscript material with a damaged appearance, but also any piece of a larger text that was intended to be a fragment. Investigating the vital role these fragments played in medieval and early modern Iberian manuscript culture, Heather Bamford’s Cultures of the Fragment is focused on fragments from five major Iberian literary traditions, including Hispano-Arabic and Hispano-Hebrew poetry, Latin and Castilian epics, chivalric romances, and the literature of early modern crypto-Muslims. The author argues that while some manuscript fragments came about by accident, many were actually created on purpose and used in a number of ways, from binding materials, to anthology excerpts, and some fragments were even incorporated into sacred objects as messages of good luck. Examining four main motifs of fragmentation, including intention, physical appearance, metonymy, and performance, this work reveals the centrality of the fragment to manuscript studies, highlighting the significance of the fragment to Iberia’s multicultural and multilingual manuscript culture.

Love Songs from al-Andalus presents an updated survey of the debates concerning Andalusian strophic poetry and their Kharjas. Attention is focused on the texts themselves and their literary implications as testimonies of the multicultural and multilingual society of al-Andalus. Since languages and alphabets of the three major religions have been used, these texts are studies historically, prosodically, thematically and stylistically and are related to the three literary traditions. One of the novelties of this study is the fact that it has been based upon the most updated edition and interpretations of the texts introducing emendations in over a third of its contents and making obsolete most of the hundreds of previous articles and books on the topic. Another novelty is the fact that stylistic features have been studied according to the Arabic model, casting new light on them. The survey of thematic relationships and the analysis of code-switching phenomena add weight to the conclusions of this research.

This bibliography - intended to be as complete as possible - provides information on written material in 22 languages about muwaššaḥ and zajal (poetical strophic forms in al-Andalus during the Middle Ages) and the kharja (final segment of muwaššaḥ and some zajals), and about their popularity in East and West.

The most important poetry reference for more than four decades—now fully updated for the twenty-first century Through three editions over more than four decades, The Princeton Encyclopedia of Poetry and Poetics has built an unrivaled reputation as the most comprehensive and authoritative reference for students, scholars, and poets on all aspects of its subject: history, movements, genres, prosody, rhetorical devices, critical terms, and more. Now this landmark work has been thoroughly revised and updated for the twenty-first century. Compiled by an entirely new team of editors, the fourth edition—the first new edition in almost twenty years—reflects recent changes in literary and cultural studies, providing up-to-date coverage and giving greater attention to the international aspects of poetry, all while preserving the best of the previous volumes. At well over a million words and more than 1,000 entries, the Encyclopedia has unparalleled breadth and depth. Entries range in length from brief paragraphs to major essays of 15,000 words, offering a more thorough treatment—including expert synthesis and indispensable bibliographies—than conventional handbooks or dictionaries. This is a book that no reader or writer of poetry will want to be without. Thoroughly revised and updated by a new editorial team for twenty-first-century students, scholars, and poets More than 250 new entries cover recent terms, movements, and related topics Broader international coverage includes articles on the poetries of more than 110 nations, regions, and languages Expanded coverage of poetries of the non-Western and developing worlds Updated bibliographies and cross-references New, easier-to-use page design Fully indexed for the first time

Originally published in 1990, the main purpose of this anthology is to present the vernacular secular lyric of the Middle Ages, although it also includes Latin literature of the Middle Ages and the influence of the hymn.

"This collection of articles is an attempt to get at the complexities of Sephardic history by bringing together scholars who approach the topic from quite different points of view and quite different methodologies. It includes twelve essays selected from those presented at a conference at the University of Maryland to mark the 500th anniversary of the expulsion of Jews from Spain." "The papers range chronologically from the eleventh to seventeenth centuries, and geographically from Spain to Italy and the Low Countries."--BOOK JACKET.Title Summary field provided by Blackwell North America, Inc. All Rights Reserved