The Història de Jacob XalabÃn, an anonymous novel written in Catalan c.1400, focuses on the figure of the Ottoman prince Yakub Ãelebi, son of Murad I and half-brother of Bayezid I. It ends with the first detailed account of the battle of Kosovo of 1389, which left a lasting mark on the history of the Balkans.
This text, mixing historical and fictional elements, is one of the earliest depictions in Western Literature of the rising Ottoman empire. Because of this, it is most relevant for Mediterranean studies and debates about orientalism. Juan Carlos Bayo has prepared a new critical edition of this novel, with an introduction and notes, and Barry Taylor offers its first translation ever into the English language. The volume is completed with an appendix of texts and documents on the Turkish connections of the Crown of Aragon.
Juan Carlos Bayo, Ph.D., University of Barcelona, 1999, is 'Ramón y Cajal' Senior Researcher at the Complutense University of Madrid. His work on Medieval Hispanic literature includes editions of the Cantar de Mio Cid (2009), and Gonzalo de Berceo's Milagros de Nuestra Señora (2006).
Barry Taylor, Ph.D., Kingâs College London, 1983, is Curator of Early Hispanic Printed Collections at the British Library. His work on Medieval Hispanic literature includes editions of the Cathoniana confectio (2004) and the Libro del consejo e de los consejeros (2014).
All interested in medieval Romance literature, the early Ottoman Empire, the battle of Kosovo and Balkan history, Mediterranean studies, the image of Islam in the West, and debates about orientalism.