Illustrations in Arabic Kalīla wa-Dimna Manuscripts: What Is Their Story?

Abstract

In the Kalīla wa-Dimna tradition, illustrations are an important aspect of manuscripts. Not only are the images that accompany the text pleasing to look at, while adding great value and prestige to a manuscript, but they also provide the entire book with a peculiar structure and highlight specific scenes. It can fairly be said that Kalīla wa-Dimna manuscripts are—along with those of the Maqāmāt of al-Ḥarīrī—among the few illustrated Arabic manuscripts that gained glory. The AnonymClassic project uses the analysis of illustrations, legends, and even empty gaps left for images to group, date, and connect different copies. Here the legends retained without illustration (or even the spaces) acquire a new function as side titles and navigation tools, especially for finding subtales, which are the most frequent subjects of illustrations. Of the nearly one hundred manuscripts already in our records, about one-third contain either illustrations, gaps, or legends, so that they form a comparatively large corpus for study, with a large number of details that may be put to useful scrutiny. These features are also important in determining the readership and the interrelations among manuscripts.