Photo of Alfonso X from the Libro de Los Juegos, image retrieved from https://allpoetry.com/Cantiga-No.-60.
by Beth Gatto
The “Reconquista” has evolved to become one of the most powerful myths of Spanish history and identity. Since the defeat of Muhammad XII of Granada in 1492 and the subsequent end of Islamic rule within the Iberian Peninsula, the consolidation of the Spanish state has relied upon the concept of a universal Christian identity. Understanding centuries of rule under Islamic rulers as a series of occupations by foreign powers became the predominant interpretation of medieval Iberian history. J. N. Hillgarth has argued that this concept reduces the significance of differing linguistic and cultural groups within Spain, upholding Castilian as the foundation of centralized Spain.[1] In the modern age, this Reconquista narrative has become the rhetorical backbone of several conservative and nationalist programs. Spanish dictator Francisco Franco, who ruled from 1939 till his death in 1975, pushed both Castilian as the sole official language of the nation and propaganda against Spanish socialism through Reconquista symbolism.[2] Franco also promoted ethnonationalism against Jewish and Muslim citizens of Spain. Recently, the conservative Spanish political party, Vox, founded in 2013, repeatedly referenced the Reconquista in its campaign against increasing rates of immigration from Muslim-majority countries. In their research on the rhetoric surrounding Muslims in Spanish far-right groups, historians Alex Cabo Isasi and Laia Tarragona cite the following quote attributed to Vox president Santiago Abascal during his attendance of a far-right party meeting in Italy:“The advantage of Spain [compared to other European countries] is that it was vaccinated against Islamic immigration during eight countries of occupation and eight centuries of reconquest.”[3] Isasi and Tarragona demonstrate how the Reconquista is weaponized to alienate Muslims living in Spain and portray them as foreign invaders.[4] It is evident that this historical framework continues to persist into modern day, influencing politics, societal relations, and the identity of Spain as a whole. The historical framework’s cultural relevance has motivated decades of historiography dedicated to studying the validity of this right-wing Reconquista narrative and the true nature of medieval Muslim-Christian relations in Spain. L. P. Harvey’s book Islamic Spain, 1250 to 1500, is a particularly valuable example of this, in which Harvey examines the methods by which premodern Muslim communities of Castile ingrained themselves into its society through agricultural work and husbandry. Most critically, Harvey also discusses how the need to translate the Qur’an into Spanish, written in an Arabic script, prompted a movement of aljamiado literature, devotional Spanish writings created specifically for Iberian Muslims.[5]
Translation increasingly became a marker of interaction and exchange between Islamic and Christian communities of Medieval Iberia. The pieces of literature chosen to be translated reveal the values, literary traditions, and insight into cultural backgrounds that the facilitators of the translation sought to disseminate amongst the receiving community. Kalila wa-Dimna, otherwise known as Kalila and Dimna, provides a unique examination of this cultural exchange. This collection of fables had been originally composed in Sanskrit, was translated into Arabic in the eighth century, and then into Castilian, the contemporary vernacular of Spain, in 1251. A translation of this text into English will serve as the primary source for understanding translation between Muslims and Christians. The Castilian text El Conde Lucanor, written in 1335, illustrates the impact of translation and the transmission of Arabic values into Christian literature. The 13th-century reign of king Alfonso X of Castile (1252-1284) offered a wealth of translated literature to explore, as the School of Translators of Toledo translated various texts such as the Qur’an, various scientific works, as well as fictional literature under the patronage of Alfonso X. These pieces of Arabic literature reveal not only Alfonso X’s intentions with translation, but also which Islamic literary devices, cultural assumptions, and universal lessons he wished to incorporate into Castilian art. Later Castilian literature also reveals the cultural and artistic impact of these works. These translations can assist in showing the true cultural landscape of thirteenth and fourteenth century Castile, serving as a case study in the much broader and more nuanced interactions between Muslims and Christians present within medieval Iberia. While the Reconquista narrative posits an Iberia cleanly divided between two worlds of Muslim and Christian, the actions of Alfonso X and literature produced by both groups provide contrary evidence.
Alfonso X and his interactions with Muslims
The Chronicle of Alfonso X provides a glimpse into both the king’s personal character and the ways in which royal chroniclers wished to portray him. This work was commissioned by the titular Alfonso’s great-grandson Alfonso XI (r. 1312-1350) approximately sixty years after Alfonso X’s death in 1284. Attempting to understand how Alfonso X himself viewed Muslims and Islamic culture through contemporary sources is essential before reaching any conclusions from the king’s translations. It is important to note that the focus will be primarily on chapters 20 through 58 of the chronicle, which historians acknowledge as the work’s most reliable section.[6] The following quote within one of Alfonso X’s letters shows his belief in Castilian and Christian superiority to Muslims, where he writes:
“For, don Fernando, I trust in God that we will quickly have great justice over them, for we would not want anything greater. For we hold with the law, and we want to expand it and defend it as much as they diminish it. Moreover, we have justice and truth, which they do not have; but they are in manifest wrong and in falsehood…”[7]
Alfonso XI led the end of full Nasrid control over regions surrounding Granada, providing the context for this piece of the chronicle. As this was produced under Alfonso XI, the insertion of this letter into the chronicle of Alfonso X likely served as a grander attempt to glorify the conquests of the past, as drawing a historical through line of Castilian moral superiority over Muslims would strengthen the political resolve of Castile to challenge the autonomy of Muslim kingdoms. This quote most prominently represents Alfonso X’s positioning of Christians as the rightful agents of God, opposed to lawless Muslim soldiers. Alfonso X wrote this letter to his son to reprimand him for drafting a treaty that granted Muslim noblemen under his control leniency. His condescending characterization of Muslims can also be seen as a rhetorical tool used by Alfonso X to push his son into further limiting the power of these Muslim political actors. This ideological standpoint reveals the inherent superiority Alfonso X believed Christians held in comparison to Muslims as enforcers of the correct religion, as the phrase “in manifest wrong” alludes to what Alfonso X believed to be Muslims’ near paganistic beliefs in comparison to Christianity. While Alfonso X has been upheld in some more recent scholarship as a figure of religious tolerance, it is critical to maintain a nuanced characterization of his political and personal connection with the Islamic faith.
The Chronicle of Alfonso X also presents more conciliatory relations between Christian and Muslim rulers. Despite the Castilian territorial expansions made shortly before and during Alfonso X’s reign, which included Seville and Córdoba, Nasrid Granada continued to maintain its independence. Within the chronicle Nasrid Granada is portrayed as a vassal of Castile, displaying the centrality of Castilian rulership in the text. However, Alfonso X is still shown to have treated the king of Granada with great respect and friendship. The following quote embodies the Castilian king’s recognition of the Nasrid king:
“The king was very pleased with those companies, and he welcomed them very well and did them much honor, particularly to the King of Granada. From this coming, he knighted him and gave him his treaty and friendship as firm as the King of Granada could, according to what the queen and don Fernando had granted. The King of Granada also granted to King Alfonso to be always his vassal…”[8]
Political turmoil is often cast as the defining characteristic of Muslim and Christian relations throughout medieval Iberia but cautions against this narrow-minded perspective. The king of Granada is portrayed in a much more honorable light, given his deference to Alfonso X which remains an underlying motif in this passage, unlike the previously cited excerpt where Alfonso X showed his belief in Christian and Castilian superiority to Muslims. This quote further emphasizes the power Castile holds over Granada by making it clear that the queen and son of Alfonso X are the ones who have set the terms of this political engagement. Nonetheless, the inclusion of this agreement within the book represents the significance the author, suspected to be Fernán Sánchez de Valladolid, attributed to Alfonso X’s reign and character. Furthermore, this respect shown to Muslim rulership could lend itself to understanding the value Alfonso X placed on Muslim literature. The Chronicle of Alfonso X greatly contributes to illustrating a more complex representation of Alfonso X and his views on Muslim rulership and culture.
The Court of Alfonso X
Secondary scholarship that analyzes the elite inner circle of Alfonso X is also important to consider. The scholarship further underscores the interactions of the king with Muslims that may not be highlighted through primary evidence. The cultural influences and backgrounds held within the king’s circle can aid in gaining a fuller comprehension of Alfonso X’s personal interest in Muslim scholarship and literature. Additionally, the role of Muslims during the reign of Alfonso X and 13th-century Castile can be seen with more nuance than the past dichotomy of invader and vanquished. Historian Olivia Remie Constable utilizes Castilian literature to portray the court of Alfonso X as a source of high interaction between Muslims and Christians. Constable’s analysis of the Libro de Ajedrez, a manuscript describing and illustrating the game of chess produced during the rule of Alfonso X, discusses how the incorporation of myths found within Christian and Muslim literature allows us insight into how authors hoped to please the court by invoking shared historical memories that traversed cultural boundaries.[9]
Constable also offers multiple interpretations of the concluding image of Libro de Ajedrez, including the defeat of Alfonso X at the hands of Ibn ’Ammār and as well as a match between a Muslim king and Christian lord in which the former won. Both images provoke closer examination not only because the Christian figure is defeated in each image, but also because the first originates from the Muslim historian ’Abd al-Wāhid al-Marrākushī, suggesting thirteenth century Christians were familiar with Muslim historiography. This concluding image could represent the prosperity of Alfonso X’s reign through the established power of Christians, as well as the maintained peace between Christians and Muslims that would prevent this image from being inflammatory.[10] Constable’s case study of Libro de Ajedrez depicts the Muslim influence and advice was present within the elite circle of Alfonso X. While the article does not fully address the personal views of Alfonso X himself and instead extrapolates his perspective through the text, Constable’s analysis provides valuable insight into the possible factors behind the mass translation of Arabic literature.
The Translation of Kalila wa-Dimna
The Arabic literature chosen to be translated into Castilian under Alfonso X provides a case study in which Muslim-Christian interactions of this period can be further understood. Literature and its adoption by different cultures can show a gradual yet effective transmission of several elements: rhetorical devices, cultural assumptions on the part of the writer, historical myths, and more. The study of Kalila wa-Dimna assists in the explanation of these adoptions and the impact of Arabic literature on the corresponding works of Castile and Iberian Spain as a whole. Kalila wa-Dimna, titled Calila e Digna in Castilian, is a collection of animal fables and wisdom literature that has witnessed centuries of translation, and Alfonso X was still a prince when this text was translated under his order in 1251. The story is framed as a discussion between king Dabschelim and philosopher Bidpaï, with the names Kalila and Dimna belonging to the jackals who narrate many of the fables within the book. Fifteen chapters originate from the Sanskrit text Panchatantra, which can be dated back to 200 B.C.E., and have subsequently been translated into Pahlavi, Arabic, and most critically, Castilian in the 13th century. The translation of these chapters demonstrates the selective passing of cultural knowledge across different cultures and time periods, thus illustrating how Christians and Muslims valued these chapters derived from the Panchatantra.
Not only was this work of literature the first to be translated under Alfonso X, but its history prior demonstrates how various cultural groups considered the text to hold some significance. The following passage from Kalila wa-Dimna provides insight into its longevity and specific elements that could be evidenced in later fictional works:“After Bidpaï had finished the story of Dimna, Dabschelim desired him to relate the story of the friends, who in their conduct towards each other displayed the affection and disinterestedness of brethren…the philosopher said that nothing was held in greater estimation by men of understanding than brotherly love.”[11] One important aspect of this quote is how it showcased the use of framing which is present throughout many Arabic folktales. A famous example of the use of framing is Alf Laylah wa-Laylah, or The Thousand and One Nights, also written in the thirteenth century and suspected to have roots in Sanskrit literature. This rhetorical device was historically used to help impart on the reader what message the novel was attempting to convey. After the translation of Alf Laylah wa-Laylah into Castilian, framing devices in literature of wisdom became much more widely seen in Castilian writing. The animals serve as representations of human archetypes and different relations between political and courtly roles, allowing the author of these fables to provide an idealized government model without directly criticizing any tangible figure. The use of a dialogue between king and philosopher to frame the lessons of this novel purposefully gives the fables political implications. Elif Aktaş and Adem Beldaĝ argue that Kalila wa-Dimna was written with the intention of educating rulers, viziers, dignitaries, and other civil servants on how to deal with moral and political conflicts.[12] Therefore, as this quote demonstrates, the novel intended to be accessible to a wider audience while also instructing political actors in general morality. The passage puts forward the argument that its universality of values equally appealed to Muslims and Christians. Alfonso X desired to translate this text into Castilian due to its ability to connect with both groups, as well as the guidance it offers to political actors.
It is necessary to examine how the choice to translate Kalila wa-Dimna reflects Alfonso X’s broader relationship with Muslims and Islamic culture within Castile. The cultural longevity and importance placed upon Kalila wa-Dimna before its translation into Castilian made Alfonso X’s choice to translate this text even more significant. Contrary to past scholarship, which obscured the role that Muslim culture and creations played in uplifting the reign of Alfonso X, more recent scholars instead argue that texts such as Kalila wa-Dimna were translated to give prestige and curate the image of a sophisticated lineage of Castilian rulers. Rachel Scott explains how the translation of Kalila wa-Dimna under Alfonso X was a precedented act of appropriation from a cultural background seen as intellectually superior in some ways in order to promote himself as a scholar-king.[13] This appropriation also served as one of the first examples of Castilian being given a higher status over other Romanized Iberian dialects, which would additionally uplift Alfonso X in terms of cultural dominance. According to Scott, a further goal of Alfonso X’s commission was to further propagandize himself as the king of three religions (Christianity, Islam, and Judaism). Not only was this a political device to control the various religious groups and non-Christian communities that were now living under Castilian rule, but also a way to portray himself as a more competent king than his European and Iberian counterparts.[14] The context of the beginning years of Alfonso X’s reign, which were spent consolidating power in the wake of the conquests of Muslim-ruled territories made by his father Fernando III, must be taken into account when considering the translation of Kalila wa-Dimna. Scott warns against an interpretation of Alfonso X’s commission as a pure act of religious tolerance and respect for Islamic literature. Clear significance and value was assigned to Kalila wa-Dimna and other pieces of Arabic literature, while Alfonso X could have also sought to represent a superficial unity between Christians and Muslims. This political campaign still stands in contrast to past historical narratives which framed relations between Christians and Muslims as majorly antagonistic with little to no absorption of or esteem held for Islamic culture within Christian spaces.
The Impact of the Translation of Kalila wa-Dimna on Castilian literature
The adoption of elements found within Kalila wa-Dimna into Castilian literature is significant. These adopted elements help us better understand the impact this piece of literature and other translated works had on Christian fiction. Most prominently, the 1335 text El Conde Lucanor, which was one of the first pieces of Castilian prose, exhibits several adopted traits and even Arabic folktales from Kalila wa-Dimna. El Conde Lucanor, or Tales of Count Lucanor, consists of five parts, containing fifty-one moralistic parables. This text became the basis of much of Castilian wisdom literature in the fourteenth and even fifteenth centuries. The novel utilizes a similar framing device to Kalila wa-Dimna, structuring the parables within a discourse between Count Lucanor and his advisor, Patrionio. This displays a central similarity between the two works as they both give guidance and instruction to those of courtly positions and possessing political authority.
Several Arabic tales can also be found within El Conde Lucanor, with one demonstrating the influence Kalila wa-Dimna had on Castilian literature. “What Happened to the Crows and the Owls,” the nineteenth fable told within El Conde Lucanor, can be directly connected to “The Owls and the Crows” of Kalila wa-Dimna. Considering the Panchatantra origins of the fable, it is reasonable to assume that Kalila wa-Dimna, translated eighty-four years prior, acted as the source for the Castilian version.[15] The continuation of this fable from Arabic to Castilian literature shows how the translation of Kalila wa-Dimna introduced a Christian audience to both Arabic folklore and a broader cultural background. Furthermore, the similar intention of moral instruction of El Conde Lucanor which can be traced to Kalila wa-Dimna can clearly be seen in this passage from the fable: “But if he wishes to serve you, without becoming close to you so that he can neither obstruct your actions nor learn anything about your affairs, and if he should indeed harm your enemy…then you may trust him, but always trust him in such a way that no harm can come to you.”[16] Both versions of the fable aim to warn political officials and general audiences against blindly trusting those who come from the houses of historic enemies. The universality and common identification of this wisdom illustrates not only the lack of a definite border between Muslim and Christian culture within the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, but also the way in which translation brought about further connection between these two cultures. The values, framing device, and style of writing presented in this fable and others of El Conde Lucanor represent the deep impact made by Kalila wa-Dimna on Christian wisdom literature.
Conclusion
Translations of Arabic literature under Alfonso X of Castile’s reign challenge the Reconquista narrative’s clearly divided worlds between Muslims and Christians. Works that were translated such as the Qu’ran and Kalila wa-Dimna reveal that cultural boundaries between Muslims and Christians were not as sharply defined as seen through the aljamiado movement and the influence of Kalila wa-Dimna on Castilian literature. For a text to be deemed worthy of translation it must be fundamentally important and hold inherent value to the one translating the text or who is commissioning a translation of a text. The knowledge, rhetorical devices, and style of the text may then be found in the receiving community’s literature, providing insight into not only the impact of that specific text but also the transmission of cultural elements. Exploring these instances of Muslim influence and acknowledgement of artistic significance by Christians of Muslim works not only aids in correcting the past erasure of these nuanced relations, but also in contradicting the modern manipulations of the “Reconquista” narrative. It has become increasingly necessary to dispel this narrative in the face of rising Islamophobia and conservative pundits who wish to frame themselves as Christian conquerors of myth. The history of Alfonso X and his commission of translation of Arabic works such as Kalila wa-Dimna therefore holds relevance to the political climate of today. Further research on these case studies of Muslim-Christian relations is the key to depicting the cultural landscape of medieval Iberia as one of people, not caricatures.
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[1] J. N. Hillgarth, “Spanish Historiography and Iberian Reality,” History and Theory 24, no. 1 (February 1985): 32.
[2] Farkhani, Zakiyuddin Baidhawy, and Adang Kuswaya, “Islamophobia in Spain: Inheritance of Reconquista and Hate Political Rhetoric,” Journal of Al-Tamaddun 16, no.1 (2021): 72.
[3] Álex Cabo Isasi and Laia Tarragona, “Case Study: Far-Right Islamophobic Speech in Spain,” Dangerous Speech Project, May 2021, 5.
[4] Issai and Tarragona, “Case Study: Far-Right Islamophobic Speech in Spain,” 5.
[5] L. P. Harvey, Islamic Spain, 1250 to 1500 (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1990), 83.
[6] Joseph F. O’Callaghan, “Introduction” in Chronicle of Alfonso X, ed. John E. Keller (Kentucky: University Press of Kentucky, 2002), 17.
[7] Chronicle of Alfonso X, trans. Shelby Thacker and José Escobar (Lexington: University of Kentucky Press, 2002), 168.
[8] Chronicle of Alfonso X, 192.
[9] Oliva Remie Constable, “Chess and Courtly Culture in Medieval Castile: The ‘Libro de Ajedrez’ of Alfonso X, El Sabio,” Speculum 82, no. 2 (April 2007): 325.
[10] Olivia Remie Constable, “Chess and Courtly Culture in Medieval Castile: The ‘Libro de Ajedrez’ of Alfonso X, El Sabio,” 334.
[11] Wyndham Knatchbull, Kalila and Dimna, Or, The Fables of Bidpai (Oxford: Brook Taylor, Esq., 1819), 192.
[12] Elif Aktaş and Adem Beldaĝ, “Kalila and Dimna as One of the Traditional Antecedents of Modern Classifications of Values,” International Education Studies 10, no. 3 (February 2017): 2.
[13] Rachel Scott, “Translating Tales of True Friendship out of Al-Andalus: The Medieval Castilian and Hebrew Translations of Kalila wa-Dimna,” in Al-Andalus in Motion: Travelling Concepts and Cross-Cultural Contexts, ed. Rachel Scott, AbdoolKarim Vakil, and Julian Weiss, (Martlesham: Boydell & Brewer, 2021): 72.
[14] Scott, “Translating Tales of True Friendship out of Al-Andalus: The Medieval Castilian and Hebrew Translations of Kalila wa-Dimna,” 73.
[15] Juan Manuel, The Book of Count Lucanor and Patronio: A Translation of Don Juan Manuel’s El Conde Lucanor, trans. John E. Keller and L. Clark Keating (Lexington: University Press of Kentucky, 1977), 89.
[16] Juan Manuel, The Book of Count Lucanor and Patronio: A Translation of Don Juan Manuel’s El Conde Lucanor, 88.