This article examines Arabic literary influence on medieval Hebrew literary forms, specifically comparing three examples of Andalusian dispute literature ((الجدل والماظرة , which was a popular genre in medieval times. It thus contributes to the overall body of research on the linguistic contact between Hebrew and Arabic literature in Andalusia and the meeting point between the two cultures.

     The study examines the dispute literature of Andalusian Arab poets and the form this genre in the writing of Jewish poets. The works examined here are: Ibn Burd's letter titled The Letter of the Sword and the Pen — risālat s-sayf wa-lqalam (رسالة السّيف والقلم). Ahmad ibn Burd the Younger was an Andalusian poet whose early life is largely unknown (d. 1053). Ibn Burd was the first Islamic poet to analyze the respective merits of the sword and of the pen. This work was esteemed so highly that no one dared criticize it. The second work is The Pen and the Sword by Judah Alharizi who lived in Spain about a century after ibn Burd. Since Alhariz wrote the Pen and the Sword after ibn Burd he was likely influenced by the latter. The third work is the debate between the Scissors and the Pen by Shem Tov ibn Yitzhak Ardutiel, who was born at the end of the thirteenth century in the northern Castille city of Carrion, and was a scholar of Arabic and Castilian literature. Ibn Burd's work represents the letter genre (rasāʼil رَسَائِل), which flowered in Andalusia and the two Hebrew works represent the maqama genre. The article explores the common characteristics shared by these three works as examples of literary debate and maqamas, focusing on their themes and linguistic devices.

Title

Hebrew Higher Education

Publisher

National Association of Professors of Hebrew

Publisher Country

United States of America

Publication Type

Both (Printed and Online)

Volume

17

Year

2015

Pages

49-73