literary vignettes |
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Images of the Islamic world, especially of Muslim Spain, came into European literature from early times. In the Chanson de Roland, the Basque Christians who destroyed Charlemagne' s Frankish army at Roncevaux were transformed into Muslim Saracens. Muslims in Spain of course figure in the literary works inspired by the complicated historical narrative of El Cid. Only a few literary examples have been selected, ranging from early seventeenth-century literature to early nineteenth. Islamic themes and questions crept in some form into each major national literature, from Shakespeare to Voltaire to G. E. Lessing. Many lesser literary figures joined in this industry of cultural tourism. |
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[35] The Tragedy of Othello
Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, histories, & tragedies. Published according to the true originall copies. London : Printed by Isaac Iaggard, and Ed. Blount., 1623. The publication of the plays of William Shakespeare in this first folio edition of 1623 preserved the plays for posterity. Posterity's knowledge of Shakespeare's very existance was preserved by the publication of this volume. “The tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice,” is included in the folio edition. Othello, presumably an Islamic North African convert to Christianity, is a respected General in the service of the Republic of Venice. The suggestion by the manipulative Iago that his wife Desdemona has been unfaithful leads to Othello’s strangling her. When the certainty of her innocence is revealed, Othello takes his own life. The story, drawn from an Italian novella, is cast in terms of an exploration of the character of true humanity. Othello stands in contrast to the self-centered Iago as the Noble Moor, a character in much in the same mold as the Noble Savage drawn from American lore. |
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[36] The Experience of Captivity
Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra. [Don Quixote.. English.] The life and exploits of the ingenious gentleman Don Quixote de la Mancha. .... (London: 1742). Cervantes studied literature and philosophy in Italy before enlisting in the military in 1571. He was wounded in the Battle of Lepanto (1571), losing the use of his left arm; the battle ended the threat of Turkish supremacy in the Mediterranean. (See Item 41 in section, "Travails at Sea"). Returning to his native Spain, however, Cervantes was captured by Barbary pirates and sold into slavery. After repeated escape attempts in Algiers, he was ransomed in 1580 at great loss to his family. He had a troubled career in government service but met with success at age 58 with the publication of the first part of his masterwork. Don Quixote, understood as a tragedy of idealism in a corrupt world, laid the foundation of the European novel. In this fictional narrative, it is a band of ordinary Spanish convicts who are making their way to a sentence of forced labor on the King’s own galleys. When the protagonist encounters them, he attacks the guards and sets the prisoners free despite their acknowledged guilt, since he believes no man should be deprived of freedom. This edition is a translation of Cervantes's El ingenioso hidalgo don Qvixote de la Mancha, the first part of which was printed in Madrid, 1605, and the second was published in Madrid, 1615. |
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[37] Another Captivity Story Franz Urban Bawier. Des See-Capitains Franz Urban Bawiers Merckwuerdige Reisen und Begebenheiten seine Kriegsdienste zu Lande Seefahrten nach Ost- und Westindien und endliche Wohlfarth / von ihm selbst beschrieben (Frankfurt a.M. and Leipzig: 1752) Ostensibly a true account by an actual voyager, this is narrative of mutiny, piracy, privation, and shipwreck during a voyage allegedly extending from 1710 to 1717. Toward the end of this adventurous, novelistic account, the author-protagonist meets a group of Moorish women on the shore of an island. When “savages” attack the Europeans, the Moorish women aid them in their flight. They sail to a There they are treated as guests and learn the story of the Moorish King Jacquin. |
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[38] A Russian in America and Turkey
Vasilii Baranshchikov . Neshchastnyia prikliucheniia Vasilia Baranshchikova mieshchanina Nizhniago Novagoroda v trkh chastiakh svieta: V. Amerikie, Azii i Evropie, s 1780 po 1787 goda. (Saint Petersburg: 1787) Probably written in cooperation with someone with the initials "S.K.R.," this inventive adventure novel is based in part on the actual travels of a citizen of Nizhnii Novgorod, but only parts of the Unfortunate Adventures are supported by documentary evidence. Baranshchikov is kidnapped from a Baltic port and sold into servitude on the Caribbean Island of St. Thomas, inducted into the Danish colonial forces, and then becomes a house servant in Puerto Rico. Escaping to Africa, he makes his way to Turkey, where he is converted to Islam and becomes a Janissary in the elite ranks of Turkish military service. After years in the Ottoman realm, he succeeds in returning to Mother Russia. It appears that the book was composed in an effort to make enough money to pay off old debts for which he was imprisoned on his return. Baranshchikov has a lot to answer for in Russia–among other things, bigamy. He offers that the turning point in Turkey came when he was induced to accept a second wife. |
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[39] A Christian Woman Captive
Eliza Bradley. An authentic narrative of the shipwreck and sufferings of Mrs. Eliza Bradley ... of the ship Sally, which was wrecked on the coast of Barbary, in June 1818. Written by herself. (Boston: 1821) News of redeemed captives like James Riley on the North African coast quickly inspired a host of fictional narratives posing as true tales. The purported autobiographical account of Eliza Bradley, an Englishwoman from Liverpool, circulated in thirteen American editions, though no such person was documented in England. Eliza turns to the comfort of the Bible in her tent, and the story serves as an instructive tale of Protestant religious conversion. |