Ibn Hazm: an Islamic Source of Courtly Love
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University of Tennessee, Knoxville TRACE: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange Doctoral Dissertations Graduate School 5-2014 Ibn Hazm: an Islamic Source of Courtly Love Daniel Nathan Hickman University of Tennessee - Knoxville, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://trace.tennessee.edu/utk_graddiss Part of the Spanish Literature Commons Recommended Citation Hickman, Daniel Nathan, "Ibn Hazm: an Islamic Source of Courtly Love. " PhD diss., University of Tennessee, 2014. https://trace.tennessee.edu/utk_graddiss/2698 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at TRACE: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange. It has been accepted for inclusion in Doctoral Dissertations by an authorized administrator of TRACE: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange. For more information, please contact [email protected]. To the Graduate Council: I am submitting herewith a dissertation written by Daniel Nathan Hickman entitled "Ibn Hazm: an Islamic Source of Courtly Love." I have examined the final electronic copy of this dissertation for form and content and recommend that it be accepted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, with a major in Modern Foreign Languages. Gregory B. Kaplan, Major Professor We have read this dissertation and recommend its acceptance: Thomas Burman, Salvatore Dimaria, Laura Howes Accepted for the Council: Carolyn R. Hodges Vice Provost and Dean of the Graduate School (Original signatures are on file with official studentecor r ds.) Ibn Hazm: an Islamic Source of Courtly Love A Dissertation Presented for the Doctor of Philosophy Degree The University of Tennessee, Knoxville Daniel Nathan Hickman May 2014 ii Copyright © 2014 by Daniel Nathan Hickman All rights reserved. iii Abstract The objective of this study is to explore the Hispano-Arabic theory of origin of courtly love, discuss and define its characteristic features, and ultimately suggest that the eleventh century discourse on love, Tawq al-Hamāmah (The Ring of the Dove) written in 1022 by Ibn Hazm al-Andalusi, functioned as a major influence in the formation of courtly love, particularly in the Iberian Peninsula. For over a century and a half, scholars have suggested that this unique code of behavior was codified in The Art of Courtly Love, a treatise on love written by Andreas Capellanus. These scholars submit that Andreas received his inspiration not only from the troubadours but also classical authors such as Ovid; however, few advocate links to Arab Spain. In this study, I will further the notion that many differentiating elements of courtly love originated from the Hispano-Arabic tradition, as epitomized by Ibn Hazm and The Ring of the Dove. A trivial amount of research exists on the Hispano-Arabic foundation of courtly love, most of which has been discredited or is no longer accepted by the scholarly community. Throughout the course of this study, I will explore the hypothesis that Ibn Hazm, his treatise on love, his worldview, and the culture and society in which he lived had a lasting and significant impact on courtly love. The combination of Ibn Hazm and the Islamic ideological contribution collectively provided direct and indirect inspiration and is evident in Peninsular examples of courtly love literature. Based on the parallels identified in this study, textual analyses of Spanish works, and explorations of various genres, I will determine that Ibn Hazm’s treatise on love provided a noteworthy influence on the literary convention that developed into the distinctive code of behavior for lovers known as courtly love. iv Table of Contents Chapter 1: Introduction and Presentation of the Current State of the Question 1 1.1 Brief History of Courtly Love Scholarship 1 1.2 Defining Courtly Love 3 1.3 Courtly Love According to Peninsularist Scholars 7 1.4 Theories of Origin of Courtly Love 9 1.5 Oversight of Arab Influence in the Study of Courtly Love 17 1.6 Summary of Subsequent Chapters 19 Chapter 2: A Response to Scholarly Opposition to the Hispano-Arabic Theory of Origin 23 2.1 Hispano-Arabic Literature and Courtly Love 23 2.2 Rejection of the Hispano-Arabic Theory of Origin 24 2.2.1 The Ennobling Force of Love in Ibn Hazm’s The Ring of the Dove 26 2.2.2 The Superiority of the Beloved in Ibn Hazm 29 2.2.3 The Obligation of Service to the Beloved in Ibn Hazm 32 2.3 Peninsular Courtly Love Works and the Practices of Love According to Andreas Capellanus and Ibn Hazm 34 2.4 The Ring of the Dove as a Literary Foundation of The Art of Courtly Love 38 2.5 An Analysis of Additional Features of Courtly Love in The Ring of the Dove 41 2.6 Conclusion 49 v Chapter 3: The Role of Women and the Female Voice in The Ring of the Dove and Medieval Peninsular Works 50 3.1 Identification and Analysis of Textual Examples in The Ring of the Dove in which Women Play an Active Role in the Courtship Process 53 3.2 Exploration of Literature from Arab Spain Exemplifying a Female Perspective, an Active Engagement of Women, and an Overt Female Voice 57 3.2.1 The Eleventh and Twelfth Centuries: the Muwashshaha and its Kharja as Textual Examples of the Female Voice in Arab Spain 58 3.2.2 The Thirteenth Century: Cantigas d’amigo 72 3.3 Conclusion 78 Chapter 4: Parallels between The Ring of the Dove and Peninsular Models of the Courtly Love in the Narrative Genre: Libro de buen amor, Cárcel de amor, and Celestina 80 4.1 The Fourteenth Century: El libro de buen amor as an Amalgamation of Peninsular and Provençal Courtly Love and as a Parody of Andreas 80 4.1.1 Parallels Between Courtly Love as Manifested in The Ring of the Dove and Libro de buen amor 84 4.1.2 Commonalities Regarding the Messenger and His or Her Role 94 4.2 The Fifteenth Century: Cárcel de amor (1492) and Celestina (1499): Courtly Love in Archetypal and Burlesque Form 98 4.2.1 Celestina as a Parody of the Archetypal Exemplification of Courtly Love in Cárcel de amor 99 vi 4.2.2 Parallels between the Treatment of Love and Courtly Love Features in The Ring of the Dove and Carcél de amor 103 4.3 Conclusion 110 Chapter 5: Parallels between The Ring of the Dove and Peninsular Lyric Poetry 112 5.1 Consummation and Physical Love in Medieval Spanish Poetry 112 5.1.1 “Razón de amor” and Carnal Love 120 5.1.2 Amor mixtus in the Poetry of Macías el Enamorado 125 5.1.3 Sexuality in the Marquis of Santillana’s Serranillas 127 5.2 Parallels between The Ring of the Dove and Peninsular Lyric Poetry 132 5.2.1 Service to the Beloved 133 5.2.2 Superiority of the Beloved 139 5.2.3 The Ennobling Force of Love 144 5.3 Conclusion 148 Chapter 6: Saudade and the Concept of Suffering for the Sake of Love 149 6.1 Ibn Hazm’s Philosophy of Love and the Concept of Saudade 149 6.2 Suffering for the Sake of Love 149 6.2.1 Suffering Due to the Absence of the Beloved 151 6.2.2 Suffering for the Sake of Guarding a Secret 158 6.2.3 Suffering Due to the Inability to Express Love for the Beloved 160 6.3 The Consequences of Suffering for the Sake of Love 161 6.4 The Abencerraje and the Lasting Effect of Ibn Hazm 166 6.4.1 Suffering and Saudade in The Abencerraje 166 vii 6.4.2 The Evolution of Courtly Love with Regards to Suffering, Sexual Activity and Religion in the Sixteenth Century 168 6.4.3 An Additional Parallel between The Abencerraje and The Ring of the Dove 176 6.5 Conclusion 178 Chapter 7: Conclusion 179 7.1 Shared Worldview of Ibn Hazm, Juan Ruiz, and Andreas Capellanus 179 7.2 Voluntarism and Free Will 181 7.3 Adultery in Ibn Hazm 184 7.4 Sensuality and Society 186 7.5 The Courteous Nature of Love 188 7.6 The Inferiority of the Lover 189 7.7 The Ennobling Force of Love 190 7.8 The Clandestine Nature of Courtly Love 191 7.9 Summary of Chapters and Concluding Remarks 193 Works Cited 198 Works Consulted 207 Vita 210 1 Chapter 1 Introduction and Presentation of the Current State of the Question 1.1 Brief History of Courtly Love Scholarship During the course of the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, a peculiar literary and social code of behavior emerged from European love lyrics, a unique set of rules of conduct for lovers that appeared to obey faithfully a distinct set of guidelines.1 This phenomenon existed in a diversity of forms with distinguishing characteristics and unique literary features, although it was not formally classified and acknowledged as courtly love until the nineteenth century. More than a century after the set of literary features that characterize courtly love were identified, the origin of this medieval code of behavior remains uncertain. While certain theories regarding the origin of courtly love have been accepted by an overwhelming majority of academics, less recognized theories exist, one of which will be explored in this present study. While academics and medievalists generally accept the notion that the concept of courtly love originated in southern France,2 in particular in the province of Languedoc, where it took form in the verses of the troubadours, these scholars have been unable to establish a single literary source of courtly love. The inability to pinpoint a single literary foundation is attributed to the fact that the verses of the troubadours found their inspiration in a variety of literary sources, which complicates the question of origin even more.