Ibn Daniyal, A Medieval Muslim Entertainer and His World, 1248-1311
FAIN: FA-53688-08
Li Guo
University of Notre Dame (Notre Dame, IN 46556-4635)
The aim of my research project is to trace the life and work of Ibn Daniyal (1248-1311), a Cairo based oculist, poet, playwright, court jester, and arguably one of the most controversial cultural figures of his time, and then use it as a vantage point from which to view popular culture of Egypt in the post-Mongol period. Ibn Daniyal is an ideal candidate for this line of inquiry, not only on account of his body of work, most famously his three shadow plays, but also in light of his larger-than-life "libertine" persona that has become legendary in collective memory and imagination. The final product of my reserch will be an interdisciplinary book--cultural history and literary study--on Ibn Daniyal and the literature of "rebel" in medieval Islam. The project will also produce the first full English translation of Ibn Daniyal's shadow plays, the only surviving pre-Ottoman Arabic theatrical texts.
Associated Products
The Performing Arts in Medieval Islam: Shadow play and popular poetry in Ibn Daniyal’s Mamluk Cairo (Book)Title: The Performing Arts in Medieval Islam: Shadow play and popular poetry in Ibn Daniyal’s Mamluk Cairo
Author: Li Guo
Abstract: This is a study of the life and work of Ibn Daniyal (d. 1310), arguably one of the most controversial cultural figures of his time. Drawing on medieval Arabic sources, many still in manuscript and some used for the first time, the author further contextualizes Ibn Daniyal's work with respect to poetry production and popular culture in the Islamic Near East in the post-Mongol period. The book also presents the first full English translation of The Phantom, one of Ibn Daniyal's three shadow plays, the only surviving pre-Ottoman Arabic theatric texts.
Year: 2012
Publisher: Brill
Type: Single author monograph
ISBN: 0929-2403
Copy sent to NEH?: No
Copy sent to NEH?: Yes
Prizes
The IIM Prize for Research in the category « New Conceptual Tools »
Date: 12/10/2015
Organization: Institut International de la Marionnette, France