Authors as Readers in the Mamlūk Period and Beyond
edited by
abstract
Authors read and they use their readings within their writing process. Scrutinizing authors’ readings provides information on their tastes, working subjects at a given period, methodology, and scholarly milieu. It also brings a lot to intellectual history, highlighting the texts and manuscripts circulating in a certain context. Eight contributions investigating the readings of as many authors, from different points of view, are gathered here. The studied authors are mainly from pre-modern Islam – al-Qādī al-Fāḍil, Ibn Taymiyya, al-Ṣafadī, al-Subkī, al-Maqrīzī – with three exceptions: an incursion into the Ottoman 19th century – Esʿad Efendi –, a detour by the French court of Charles V – Evrart de Conty –, and a preface about Greek Antiquity – Philodème de Gadara.
Commentaries • Authors’ methodology • al-Ṣafadī • Mistakes • Ottoman book history • Individual reading practices • Methodology • Pluri-maḏhab referencing • Medieval translation • Active and responsive reading • ʿAhd Ardašīr • Scholars’ networks • Book production • Libraries • Books circulation • Literary tastes • Ornate prose style • Authorship • History of reading • Isnād • Scholars’ library • Paratext in manuscripts • Taǧ al-Dīn al-Subkī • Intellectual independence • Medieval commentary • Ownership statements • Autograph manuscripts • Book loans • Way of reading texts • Mamlūk period • Mutakallimūn • Ǧamʿ al-ǧawāmiʿ • Marginalia • Ottoman scholars’ reading practices • Bilingualism • Ideal of affective relationship • Interrelation of writing and reading • Consultation notes • Library • Ṣaḥḥāflarşeyḫizāde Esʿad Efendi • Book circulation • Arabic manuscripts • Autograph • Source methodology • Critical reading • Conceptual framework of response • Quoting • Mamlūk scholars • Collecting • Paratextual marks • Ottoman reading culture • Copying • Ǧumhūr al-ṣaḥāba • Intellectual history • Ottoman Mecmūʿa • al-Maqrīzī • Companions • Readings • Correspondence • Public reading • Ašʿarī