The Donkeyâs Ears and Heart: Reshaping, Rewriting, Adapting, and Enlightening the KalÄ«la wa-Dimna Text in Two Medieval Persian Versions

Christine van Ruymbeke

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2 The Donkeyâs Ears and Heart: Reshaping, Rewriting, Adapting, and Enlightening the KalÄ«la wa-Dimna Text in Two Medieval Persian Versions

In: Les pÃ©riples de Kalila et Dimna: Quand les fables voyagent dans la littÃ©rature et les arts du monde islamique

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Christine van Ruymbeke

Christine van Ruymbeke
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Type:: Chapter

Pages:: 43â59

DOI:: https://doi.org/10.1163/9789004498143_003

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Abstract

The ties between the Kalila and Dimna rewritings and the Persian literary world that are evident from the moment that the text pops up in Sassanian Iran continue through the medieval and early-modern periods. The proliferation of Persian versions through the centuries attests to the textâs recurring attraction for a courtly Persian-speaking audience: a research-active intelligentsia lay at the origin of integrated compilations of KD versions and critical engagement with the multiple meanings of the text.

The analysis of a sub-story in âthe Story of the Monkey and the Tortoiseâ will illustrate the challenges the KD text throws our way. I briefly compare the sub-story of âThe Sick Lion, the Fox and the Donkeyâs Ears and Heartâ as it is presented in the Arabic Ibn al-MuqaffaÊ¿ version(s) and in the Persian Nasrallah Munshi and Kashifi versions. The discussion will open up the storyâs different levels and meanwhile also demonstrate aspects that are typical of the KDâs structure and contents in general. I will also expose the relevance of the textual fluctuation within the primary sources on which the KD field is based, pointing out key elements of the rewritings. Meanwhile, I will highlight how the Persian versions develop the storyâs depth. And I will argue that aspects of the Persian versions might legitimately and usefully irrigate the field of Arabic KD studies.

Abstract

Les liens entre les rÃ©Ã©critures de Kalila et Dimna et le monde littÃ©raire persan, qui sont Ã©vidents Ã partir du moment oÃ¹ le texte fait son apparition dans lâIran des Sassanides, se poursuivent tout au long de la pÃ©riode mÃ©diÃ©vale et jusquâau dÃ©but de lâÃ©poque moderne. La prolifÃ©ration des versions persanes de ce texte Ã travers les siÃ¨cles atteste de lâintÃ©rÃªt persistant quâil prÃ©sente pour le public persanophone de la courâ: câest cette classe intellectuelle, fortement axÃ©e sur la recherche, qui est Ã lâorigine des compilations intÃ©grÃ©es de diffÃ©rentes versions de KD et dâun engagement critique avec les significations multiples du texte.

Lâanalyse dâun rÃ©cit enchÃ¢ssÃ© dans Â« le conte du singe et de la tortue Â» montre les dÃ©fis que nous rencontrons dans le texte de KD. Je compare briÃ¨vement le rÃ©cit enchÃ¢ssÃ© dans le conte Â« du lion malade, du renard et des oreilles et du cÅur de lâÃ¢ne Â» tel quâil est prÃ©sentÃ© dans la (ou les) version(s) arabe(s) dâIbn al-MuqaffaÊ¿ et dans les versions persanes de Nasrallah Munshi et Kashifi. Cette discussion sert Ã Ã©clairer les diffÃ©rents niveaux de lecture du conte ainsi que les aspects qui sont typiques de la structure et du contenu gÃ©nÃ©ral de KD. Je dÃ©montre Ã©galement la pertinence de la fluctuation textuelle Ã lâintÃ©rieur des sources principales qui servent de base pour le texte de KD, et jâindique les Ã©lÃ©ments clÃ©s des rÃ©Ã©critures. Jâexplique ainsi comment les versions persanes dÃ©veloppent la profondeur du conte, et comment certains aspects des versions persanes pourraient sâavÃ©rer tout Ã fait utiles pour irriguer le champ dâÃ©tudes sur le KD arabe.

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Les pÃ©riples de Kalila et Dimna: Quand les fables voyagent dans la littÃ©rature et les arts du monde islamique

The Journeys of Kalila and Dimna: Fables in the Literature and Arts of the Islamic World

Series:Â Brill Studies in Middle Eastern Literatures, Volume: 42

Cover Les pÃ©riples de Kalila et Dimna: Quand les fables voyagent dans la littÃ©rature et les arts du monde islamique

E-Book ISBN:: 9789004498143

Publisher:: Brill

Print Publication Date:: 25 Jan 2022

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Partie 1 Textes et paratextes / Texts and Paratexts

Partie 2 Questions de filiation / Questions of Filiation

Partie 3 Construire lâimage / Building the Image

Partie 4 Adaptations orientales / Oriental Adaptations

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2 The Donkeyâs Ears and Heart: Reshaping, Rewriting, Adapting, and Enlightening the KalÄ«la wa-Dimna Text in Two Medieval Persian Versions

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Les pÃ©riples de Kalila et Dimna: Quand les fables voyagent dans la littÃ©rature et les arts du monde islamique

The Journeys of Kalila and Dimna: Fables in the Literature and Arts of the Islamic World

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2 The Donkeyâs Ears and Heart: Reshaping, Rewriting, Adapting, and Enlightening the KalÄ«la wa-Dimna Text in Two Medieval Persian Versions