Power in the Portrayal: Representations of Jews and Muslims in Eleventh- and Twelfth-Century Islamic Spain
Power in the Portrayal unveils a fresh and vital perspective on power relations in eleventh- and twelfth-century Muslim Spain as reflected in historical and literary texts of the period. Employing the methods of the new historical literary study in looking at a range of texts, Ross Brann reveals the paradoxical relations between the Andalusi Muslim and Jewish elites in an era when long periods of tolerance and respect were punctuated by outbreaks of tension and hostility.\ The examined Arabic...
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"This book is a significant contribution to the field. Its new approaches and new interpretations yield extremely interesting and convincing results. With good writing and good translations, Brann deftly guides the reader, even the nonspecialist reader, through the argument."--Mark Cohen, Princeton University, author of Under the Crescent Cross"Power in the Portrayal makes a groundbreaking contribution both to Jewish studies and to Islamic studies. Impressively up-to-date on the relevant scholarship in several languages, Brann boldly blends social history and literary study to illuminate texts and figures both Jewish and Muslim. Undoubtedly the most significant of these is the large-scale and sustained re-reading of controversies surrounding Samuel ha-Nagid. We now possess, virtually for the first time, a grounded and contextualized understanding of this leading Jewish personality of Muslim Spain."--Steven M. Wasserstrom, Reed College, author of Religion after Religion and Between Muslim and JewMark D. Meyerson - American Historical ReviewBrann negotiates the boundary between literary and historical studies with considerable finesse and graceful erudition.
AcknowledgmentsAbbreviationsIntroduction: Power in the Portrayal1Ch. 1Force of Character24Ch. 2An Andalusi-Muslim Literary Typology of Jewish Heresy and Sedition54Ch. 3Textualizing Ambivalence91Ch. 4Muslim Counterparts, Rivals, Mentors, and Foes - A Trope of Andalusi-Jewish Identity?119Ch. 5The Silence of the Jews140Bibliography161Index185
\ Near Eastern StudiesA substantial contribution to our knowledge of inter-faith and inter-cultural relations. . . . Few authors could achieve what [Brann] has done in such an economical [way].\ — Cynthia Robinson\ \ \ \ \ American Historical ReviewBrann negotiates the boundary between literary and historical studies with considerable finesse and graceful erudition.\ — Mark D. Meyerson\ \ \ SpeculumBrann's book is elegantly written, scholarly in drawing on previous studies, yet original in its insights. The author makes his case that medieval Jews and Muslims in al-Andalus admired, scorned, deplored, and were envious of each other in varying measure and that each group's representation of the Other teaches us less about that other than about itself.\ — Consuelo López-Morillas\ \ \ \ \ The Medieval ReviewA substantial and methodologically innovative contribution to our knowledge of inter-faith and inter-cultural relations, both in al-Andalus and in the medieval world at large. . . . Few authors could achieve what [Brann] has achieved and broaden the scope of a field of inquiry to the extent that he has done in such an economical [fashion].\ — Cynthia Robinson\ \ \ \ \ Near Eastern StudiesA substantial and methodologically innovative contribution to our knowledge of inter-faith and inter-cultural relations, both in al-Andalus and in the medieval world at large. . . . Few authors could achieve what [Brann] has achieved and broaden the scope of a field of inquiry to the extent that he has done in such an economical [fashion].\ \ \ \ \ American Historical ReviewBrann negotiates the boundary between literary and historical studies with considerable finesse and graceful erudition.\ \ \ \ \ SpeculumBrann's book is elegantly written, scholarly in drawing on previous studies, yet original in its insights. The author makes his case that medieval Jews and Muslims in al-Andalus admired, scorned, deplored, and were envious of each other in varying measure and that each group's representation of the Other teaches us less about that other than about itself.\ \ \ \ \ Speculum\ Brann's book is elegantly written, scholarly in drawing on previous studies, yet original in its insights. The author makes his case that medieval Jews and Muslims in al-Andalus admired, scorned, deplored, and were envious of each other in varying measure and that each group's representation of the Other teaches us less about that other than about itself.\ \
