Medieval Persian Court Poetry

by Julie Scott Meisami

Overview

Dr. Meisami discloses previously neglected stylistic qualities and ethical purposes in medieval Persian court poetry, and shows that court poets were also moral instructors who examined and celebrated the values they shared with their audiences. The book also takes into account the close relationship between Persian and Arabic court poetry.

Originally published in 1987.

The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780691601779
Publisher:	Princeton University Press
Publication date:	07/14/2014
Series:	Princeton Legacy Library , #804
Pages:	362
Product dimensions:	6.10(w) x 9.10(h) x 0.90(d)

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Medieval Persian Court Poetry

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By Julie Scott Meisami

PRINCETON UNIVERSITY PRESS

Copyright © 1987 Princeton University Press
All rights reserved.
ISBN: 978-0-691-06598-4

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CHAPTER 1

Poet and Court in Persia

The Traditional Background

The close relationship between court and poet in Persia dates from pre-Islamic times, when the poet-minstrel enjoyed an important and influential position at the court of the Iranian emperors. Ancient Iranian society centered around the person of the ruler, the king of kings, who ruled through an administration headed by his chief minister; traditionally, the ruler remained separate from his household, concealed from even the highest dignitaries by an intervening curtain, and transmitted his commands to the assembled court through a noble who bore the title Khurram-bash, "Be joyful." The king showed himself in public only on such ritually important occasions as the equinoctial festivals of Naw Ruz, the New Year, in the spring, and Mihrigan, in the fall. Court life

was governed by a strict and elaborate etiquette. The courtiers were grouped in three classes according to their birth and office. Members of the royal family and the knights of the retinue had the highest standing. There were also jesters, jugglers, clowns, and musicians. The last played an important part in Court life and were likewise divided into three grades, according to their skill and the instruments on which they performed.

It was to this latter group that poets, as practitioners of an oral art closely associated with music, belonged. The favor they enjoyed at court is attested to by references in ancient texts as well as by popular traditions. Mary Boyce describes the minstrel of Parthian times as "entertainer of king and commoner, privileged at court and popular with the people; present at graveside and at the feast; eulogist, satirist, storyteller, musician; recorder of past achievements, and commentator of his own times." Under the Sassanians, poets enjoyed an even more privileged position:

Musicians and singers of the first rank belonged to the highest class of courtiers, comprising nobles and princes of the royal blood, and were placed on a footing of equality with the greatest of them. The court-minstrels appear to have been in constant attendance in the king's audience-chamber, where they were called on at the discretion of the xurrambaš; and also at state-banquets and upon special occasions; and yearly they presented poems ... as offerings to the king at the festivals of Mihrgan and Nauruz.

The example of Barbad, the renowned court minstrel of Khusraw II Parviz, whose memory is enshrined in later Persian epic and romance, reflects the importance and influence of the poet at court. Although the poetry of these court poets and minstrels has vanished almost completely — due both to its predominantly oral nature and to changes in Persian literary taste following the Islamic conquest — the abundant reminiscences of it indicate an awareness of the tradition which led to a continuity of the close relationship between poet and court in Islamic times.

The emerging Arab caliphate, stimulated by the demands of the new, urban society that was rapidly displacing the old tribal one, drew heavily on Persian models of court conduct and etiquette. Arab contacts with Persian culture, which had always existed in some form or other, increased markedly, first under the Umayyads but especially with the early Abbasid rulers, whose court protocols (like their bureaucracy) derived in large part from Sassanian practice. Models were provided through the translation and imitation of works of the "mirror for princes" type, manuals of statecraft which had formed an important genre of Sassanian prose literature, by secretaries and scribes who were themselves often of Persian origin, like 'Abd al-Hamid al-Katib (d. 750) and Ibn al-Muqaffa' (d. 754). Along with attempts to establish hereditary rule, the seclusion of kings in the Sassanian style came to be practiced. Iranian festivals such as Naw Ruz and Mihrigan were celebrated with great pomp in Baghdad. Poets were elevated from their earlier roles of tribal panegyrist-satirist or urban minstrel to a position comparable to that enjoyed by the Sassanian court minstrels; and panegyric became the major end of the Arabic qasidah, presented to the ruler on ceremonial occasions as well as utilized for the praise of lesser notables. Many poets became the familiars of royalty and aristocracy, some holding the much-coveted office of nadim: boon companion to the ruler.

This important and influential institution, of Iranian origin — the founder of the Sassanian dynasty, Ardashir Babakan, is said to have described it as "part of government (siyasah), and the means of strengthening rulership" — was regulated by a strict etiquette, and an abundant literature developed concerning the qualifications and proper conduct of the nadim. The following passage from the ninth-century mirror the Kitab al-Taj suggests both the significance of the position and the eminent suitability of the poet to occupy it.

A courtier who accompanies the king (on a journey) must be familiar with the stages of the route and its distances, and be able to direct him as to the correct road, its landmarks and its watering-places. He should yawn and sleep but little, nor should he cough or sneeze. His disposition should be balanced, his constitution sound; he should (be able to) make amusing and pleasant conversation, and to make time (appear) short, both day and night. He must be knowledgeable concerning the battles of tribes and their noble deeds, and know both rare verses and current proverbs; he must be acquainted with every art, and be able to choose properly from good or bad: if (for example) he speaks of the Hereafter and the blessings of Paradise, he informs (the king) thereby of the rewards God has prepared for the pious and makes him eager to obtain them; and if he speaks of Hellfire, he warns him of that which leads thereto. Thus does he counsel abstention (from evil) at one time, and encourage him (to do good) at another. The king has the greatest need of one who possesses such qualities, and when he finds such a person, it is proper that he not part from him, unless some matter destroy his immunity and require punishment.

From this passage it becomes clear that the nadim is expected to function not only as boon companion and familiar, but also as a source of counsel and of moral guidance — a function the court poet who might hold this office would be especially qualified to discharge. An understanding of this seldom-acknowledged aspect of the role of nadim and poet alike throws new light on the careers of such famous Abbasid court poets as al-'Abbas ibn al-Ahnaf (d. c. 808), Abu Nuwas (d. 813?), and Abu al-'Atahiyah (d. 828), who served as boon companions to various rulers (Abu Nuwas, for example, was the nadim of the caliph al-Amin and before that had enjoyed the friendship and confidence of al-Amin's father, the famed Harun al-Rashid). The position of intimacy enjoyed by such poets may account for their ability to specialize in the minor genres of erotic, bacchic, and gnomic poetry, without being obliged to compose panegyric (for which others were employed); while the fact that their function was not limited to entertainment but incorporated an ethical dimension suggests that, on occasion at least, the personae of the distraught lover and the debauched libertine, so characteristic of Abbasid (and later of Persian) court poetry, may have served as vehicles for messages more profound than appear at first glance. With respect to the latter in particular, the principle, enunciated in the Kitab al-Taj, that the drunkard is immune from punishment for improprieties uttered while in a state of inebriation, is illuminating: "Drunkenness has limits; should his boon companion reach them, it is most becoming and fitting that the king not reproach him if he unwittingly commits an error, if a (careless) word gets the better of his tongue, or if some fancy causes him to offend." The negative example set in such poetry as that of Abu Nuwas might serve as a forceful reminder of the correct path; similarly, the complaints of the distraught courtly lover in the poems of al-'Abbas might suggest to the ruler that his obligations toward his dependents are at least as pressing as those of the lady toward her devoted lover.

With the development of neo-Persian poetry at the courts of local Iranian princes from the late tenth century onward, the close relationship between court and poet continued to prevail. It is important to remember — as Gilbert Lazard reminds us — that the development of Persian literature was neither a pure and simple resurgence of the ancient culture nor the expression of an entirely fresh culture of Arab-Islamic origin. The links with ancient Iran had been established partly perhaps by such of the Middle Persian writings as were still being read, but surely much more by what had been handed down to Arabic literature and what still remained, more or less modified and brought up to date, in the living oral tradition. It is in these two sources, Arabic literature and oral Iranian literature, that the origin of the forms and themes of Persian poetry must be sought.

Histories, biographies of poets, and other sources attest to the importance of court poets throughout the medieval period. The famous chapter on poetry in the Chahar Maqalah (1155–57) of Nizami 'Aruzi describes the relationship of mutual benefit that existed between poet and patron; for, since the poet's chief official function was to spread the fame and repute of the ruler,

so a king cannot dispense with a good poet, who shall conduce to the immortality of his name, and shall record his fame in díwáns and books. For when the king receives that command which none can escape [i.e. death], no trace will remain of his army, his treasure, and his store; but his name will endure forever by reason of the poet's verse.

The same writer recounts numerous anecdotes testifying to the influence of poets in the political sphere; similarly, 'Awfi and Dawlatshah record in their biographical works the names of poets (many now only names) who occupied important positions at court. Mahmud of Ghaznah is said to have established the title of poet laureate (malik al-shu'ara') to honor his chief panegyrist, 'Unsuri; the institution was preserved by his successors and adopted by his rivals, the Saljuqs. Until the Mongol catastrophe, which altered patterns of patronage and literary taste as radically as it did other aspects of Iranian life, the court poet enjoyed considerable privilege and influence in return for ensuring his patron's repute by means of his eloquent verses; and though his prestige may have diminished somewhat after the establishment of Mongol hegemony, the careers of individual poets still attest to a degree of continued influence and esteem.

In keeping with the ethical dimension of the court poet's function, panegyric preoccupations were never far removed from didactic ones. The ethical dimension of court poetry has received little serious attention from critics eager to associate court poetry in general, and panegyric in particular, with flattery and bombast, despite abundant evidence — provided in particular in philosophical discussions of poetry and in ethical writings, especially those of the mirror-for-princes variety — for the view that an important function of poetry is moral instruction by example. To cite only one instance: al-Farabi, in his discussion of poetry in the Fusul al-Madani, notes its effect on the imagination in moving the hearer to seek good and avoid evil, in terms that both recall the passage from the Kitah al-Taj concerning the courtier's duty to encourage his prince to pursue good and avoid evil and anticipate Nizami 'Aruzi's observation that the poet "by acting on the imagination ... excites the faculties of anger and concupiscence in such a way that by his suggestion men's temperaments become affected with exultation or depression; whereby he conduces to the accomplishment of great things in the order of the world." The thirteenth-century ethical writer Nasir al-Din Tusi's reminder of the importance of the courtier's counsel in directing his prince toward the good — that, by following "the path of subtlety and manipulation," he show him "the way of best interest," so that "gradually, in moments of privacy and intimacy, he should be brought (by examples, by tales of past rulers, and by subtle devices) to see the ill-advised form of his own opinion" — expands on a topic addressed by al-Ghazzali (d. 1111) in his Nasihat al-Muluk, where he enjoins the ruler to devote

constant attention to the Biographies of the Kings and inquiry concerning the activities of the Kings of Old; because the present world is the continuation of the empire of the forerunners, who reigned and departed, each leaving a memory to his name and [acquiring] treasure in this life and the next. The treasure for the next life is righteous conduct, and the treasure in this life is a good name among the people.

Who better equipped to provide such guidance than the poet, who, as the repository of tradition, has at his ready command ample material to employ toward this end, as well as the eloquence to produce the desired imaginative effect? I will examine various ways in which the medieval Persian court poet addressed himself, in general, to the ethical dimension of his task, and specifically in the major genres of court poetry, panegyric, romance, and love lyric; this introductory chapter is intended to provide a theoretical and critical background to the chapters that follow, together with a brief consideration of precedents in the related Arabic tradition, and of parallels in the Western.

Courtly Language, Courtly Love

The question arises as to the means to be employed in his task by the court poet, who, if he presumes to preach to his prince, is surely destined for a short career, if not for a swift journey to the next world. More particularly, how is the poet to impart moral guidance — whether generalized or directed to a specific issue or circumstance — in the major genres of court poetry, which (though they may incorporate a gnomic element) are not overtly didactic? Finally, since the poet-courtier is necessarily obliged to couch his advice (or his criticism, if the occasion demands) in oblique and indirect language, which will at once conceal and reveal and which will not offend his patron, how is he to develop a poetic style that will enable him to achieve these ends?

The Kitab al-Taj instructs the courtier on how to address the king:

He who addresses the king should not employ base language or expressions, saying (for example), "Listen to me," or "Understand what I'm saying," or "You, there," or, "Don't you see?" Such (expressions show) the speaker's incapacity of expression; they are useless interpolations in his discourse, a deviation from pleasing eloquence, and a sign of dull wits and small substance. Let his speech flow smoothly, his style be pleasant and coherent, and coarse expressions rarely used.

This advocacy of subtle indirection recalls Renaissance rhetorician George Puttenham's advice to the court poet that, in pleading his suit, he speak only

of pleasant & lovely causes and nothing perillous, such as be those [suits] for the triall of life, limme, or livelyhood; and before judges neither sower nor severe, but in the eare of princely dames, yong ladies, gentlewomen and courtiers ... and that all his abuses tende but to dispose the hearers to mirth and sollace by pleasant conveyance and efficacy of speach....

On the close association between courtly manners and poetic style in the Renaissance, Daniel Javitch observes:

Not only would the ornament, the feigning, and the play esteemed in court be exemplary for the poet, but by the very possibility of association these virtues of proper courtliness would help to justify the stylistic procedures that have permanently characterized poetic discourse. For poetry had always possessed and had been seen to possess the ornamental, deceptive, and playful properties that proper court conduct eventually shared with it. ... The concurrence of the court's esteem for artistic conduct and the rise of poetic activity could not but enhance the value of such activity as well as encourage it....

(Continues...)

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Excerpted from Medieval Persian Court Poetry by Julie Scott Meisami. Copyright © 1987 Princeton University Press. Excerpted by permission of PRINCETON UNIVERSITY PRESS.
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Table of Contents

• FrontMatter, pg. i
• Contents, pg. v
• Illustrations, pg. vi
• Preface, pg. vii
• I. Poet and Court in Persia, pg. 1
• II. The Poetry of Praise: The Qasidah and Its Uses, pg. 40
• III. Romance: The Language of Experience, pg. 77
• IV. Romance: Character as Moral Emblem, pg. 131
• V. Romance as Mirror: Allegories of Kingship and Justice, pg. 180
• VI. Ghazal: The Ideals of Love, pg. 237
• VII. Conclusion: The Art of the Court Poet, pg. 299
• Bibliography, pg. 319
• Index, pg. 341