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Title: Comitatus.

published: [Los Angeles, Center for Medieva] and Renaissance St-udies,UCLA]

Description: v. ilI. 23 cm.

Location: SML, Stacks, LC Classification

Call Number: PR251 C65

Stalus :

Library has: 7(19'70)-10(1980),72 (t9B 1 ) -3s (2404)

Sublects (LibrarY of Congress) :English flterature--Middle English, 1100-1500--Hlstory and

criticism--Periodicals .English literature--O1d English, ca. 450-1100--History and

criticism*-Perlodicals .

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2ta REVIEWS

Jews as "Jews" might be cause for a moment's hesitation and a passing com-ment. But, the distinctive role of Jews in Joachite milienniaiism is central toLerner's thesis. Given that this is the case, it would be of paramount impor-tance to understand what the term "Jew" means, both to Joachim of Fiore forthe purposes of his vision and to Lemer for the purposes of his historical analy-sis. Perhaps of greater concem is the revelation of the ongoing transparency ofthe Jews' ambiguous status. by this I mean the question of the idea of an indeli-bIe property inherent to the Jew. The issue goes beyond merely asking whetheror not a Jew who converts to Christianity is stili a Jew. Is it simply taken forgranted that conversion still leaves something of the Jew behind, and that re-gardless of religious practice and affiliation the "Jew" remains? And why don'tthese questions arise for Lerner himself, particularly since he introduces hisstudy with a condemnation of the systematic annihilation of Jews by a societythat believed that Jewishness left an indelible stain, a tainting of the biood thatconversion could not erase.

Lerner's insensitivity to the assumed inalienable nature ofthe Jew is evenmore troubling when he tries to determine why Joachim and his various follow-ers would have been so favorably predisposed to Jews. Repeatedly Lerner con-siders the possibility of Jewish ancestry or actual exposure to Jews and Jewishculture as somehow explaining the constant "phi1o-Judaic" tendencies of theseJoachite "prophets." Was Joachim Jewish or of Jewish descent? Did some ofthese "prophets" have persgnal motivations for predicting Jewish rewards?"Could it have been that the special stance of the Saxon Franciscans towardJews came about as a result of contacts with real Jews?" (96) It is difficult todetermine what is more offensive: the idea that converted Jews living in unionwith Christians is a form of "special treatment" for Jews, or that a meiLievalChristian might find Jews tolerable only if he- had some pragmatic reason fordoing so.

Unfortunately, these issues get in the way of whai might otherwise be afairly interesting historical narrative. Joachim of Fiore's teachings do have aunique history,of transmission, and the ways in which his prophetic teachingsare interpreted and then reinterpreted could lead to enlightening investigationsin the theological subcultures of medieval-monastics. There is also a good dealof discussion about the relationship of millennial prophecies and papal potiticshere, and more detail in this area would make for good reading. The pathIrrner chose in this case, however, proves more troubling than enlightening. Ifthe term "Jew" used in a religious context designates something other than areligious affiliation, and ifconversion to Christianity does not change the "Jew"to a Christian, then we have not been liberated from the "persecuting society,"and we learned nothing from the horror ofTreblinka.

Cnenyl Gor-osrani, Comparative Literature, UCLA

The Cambridge lfistary af Arabic Litetature: The Literature af Ai-,Andaius,:*. hdaria Iicsa .t,ie:+ocai, P-a:,rlori: L'" Scl,eindiir., a:1. l,.{i:iiaei Se:!s(Cambridge: Cambridge University Fress, 2001) ix + 507 pp., ill.The idea of Al-Andalus (the Muslirn-controlled ierritories of the Iberian Pelin-sula from the eighth to the fifteenth centuries) is a fascinating one for Westem-ers, often conjuring up images reminiscent of the Taks of the Alhambra or the

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Arabian llights. Al-Andalus is frequently described asof immense cultural production where members of thcoexisted in an atmosphere of toierance and pluralismprehend the complicated reality behind the c1ich6s,need of a compass to help them navigate this little-kncIndeed the topic of Al-Andalus is of interest to manypanists, historians of religion, and anyone interested irplex historical relationships between Christianity, IsLportant to making sense out oftoday's headlines. That iis heiptul.'

Though straightforward and clear, rhe title (The Lcan be misleading since there are important sections rphy, and music. And though most of the tome deals withere is a three-chapter section dedicated to Sicily asEuropean Arabic culture. The book's purview is not ccture, either, but includes chapters on Christian author(Gregory B. Stone2a), as well as Jewish writers such amond P. Scheindlin). This method is part of what theHebraist, and a Romangs sgllslar-1efer to as "a trucomparative work that offers a radical new approachdustjacket). It could also be called part ofwhat Tova RMuwashshah," describes as "the contemporary zeitgeisrdeconstruction" that has overtaken the "purist phitoiogrecent years, in search of a more irenic and less contIbero-Arabic studies.

The twenty-six essay-chapters, each written by a didered under headings or "parts." Part I, "The Shapes cduction to a series of chapters that form a cultural "bacthe text: "Language," "Music," "Spaces," "Knowledge,larly fascinating is Jerriiynn Dodds's discussion of thecharacterized architecture on the Peninsula. Her chapterinto the situation of the Mozarabic Christians living unasty, for whom the'Juggernaut ofopulent, complex covisual culture" of C6rdoba meant the destruction of thedescendents of the Visigoths (83). Yet these same Mozigrated to Christian-controlled territories in the north, buitectural details borrowed from the mosques of the Souttributed to the work of the mudijares, Musiims living in

Part II is entitled "The Shapes of Literature" and intrrbasic forms of Andalusi literature: "The muwashshaw" ipoetry that delighted in exalting themes such as love,rhyrn-rng prose narratives known as "Maqama" (Rrna(tseatrice Gr':endler), o.des addresse.d tc a me::b:: ci ih:

Pait iii, ''Anciaiusians," profiles a series of writers t

2asince the book is a collection of essays, I have indicated the r

parentheses.

il,il iria-i

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le cause for a moment,s hesitation and a passing com-ve role ci ie,r,,s ir .Icachiie miilenniatism'ru .i...rii ,othat rhis is rhe case, it would U" of p*amou;;';;;"r-at ihe term ,,Jew,, means, both to l"^.ft"r^"f ii".T f".,l_Td ,9 Lerner f,or rhe purposes of his historicJ a,raly-oncern is the revelation of the ongoing irr"rpr."r*

"f.rus. by rhis I mean rhe question oirrr. jo"u'oIi"i"?,,_tle

fe1.me.irru. go", b"yond merely asking whether:rts.to Christianity is still a Jew. Is i, ,i.pfyi^t"r'f*slill leaves somerhing of the Jew b.hir;,';;;; ,._:tice and affiliation the'.Jew., remains? .qrr;';;';;".,r Le1e.r himself. parricularly ,ir." 1.,"'iniioir/*i,,on of the systematic annihilition

"f l"*r ilylr".;.ry

ness left an indelible stain, a rainring of tfr"'OiooJifrutie.

to the assumed inalienable nature of the Jew is evennes to determine why Joachim ana iris uariou; iil"*avorably predisposed to Jews. n"p"ut"Oly i.*;;;;;_ewish ancestry or actual exposure to Jews and Jewishrini ng rhe constanr,.philo_Judaic,, r*O"i,.i*iiiii"r.Joachim Jewish or of Jewish descenti OiJ,"r,

"flrllld T:,irations for predicting l"*i.rr-."**arZthe special stance of the Saxon F.*.ir"urr-ioi]rau^lt of conracts with real Jews?,, (96) ft i, aiin"rftl"ffensive; the idea that converted l"*, firi.rg i, *i*of."special treatment,, for Jews, or ,fruru'*"d];r"atolerable onty if he had some pragmatic reason for

sues get in the way of whar mighr otherwise be aI.narrative. Joachim of Fiore,s te"achings d"-;r;; ;ll?l: urd lhe w.a_ys in which his prophe'ric t;#;;;rnterprered could lead to enlighrening ir;;r*;;;;:es of.medieval monastics. Th"ere is ri; r;o5;'O;rtionship of mrjlennial prophecies r"J o*r"io",i*:his area would make for good readins. The nerhowever. proves more troubling tf.,an enf[f.,t.nir!. ii,i1]9]-*:

contexr designares somerhing orher than aonversion to Chrisrianity does nor .#g;';;; :.;;;.:: nor been Iiberared from rhe ..p.;r;;;i;';".,.,",,r the horror of Treblinka.lHeryr- GoLosretN, Comparative Literature, UCLA

Araltic Literature: Tke Literature of Al_Andalus., .R.aymond p. Scheindlin, ""d td;l;;i:;;T:"T:t., Press, 200i r ix + 507 pp., !t!.,Mustlm-controlled terrirories of the lbenan penin_fteenth centuries) is a fascinating

"r; f;; W;r;;;es reminiscent of tbe Tales of tie Athambr" olii"

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iII

I

{

j

Arahion Nioht, Al' anaolrrc ic f-^^,,^-rr.. r^-^rL^r..r.a:.:u. :- ;.i.-:JL.rii:./ _cSi__:ii ,,: * -_::.Di:_uuS ci, ,l,r:,,tri_,or immense cultural prociuction wiere members of the three Abrahamic faiihscoexisteri in an atmosphere of tclerance and pluralisrn. whilst speciarists com-prehend the complicate

ari@.!?a!:tfd*f*Li!_::**i3igli*ri-:s!.1li?r:ii"!'5;+.ai:!.!tl1i:lt

114 REVIEWS

cultural milieu of Al-Andalus, from Ibn Hazm (Eric Ormsby), whose bookswere bumt in Al-Andalus after his death, but whom later Spanish readers likeOrtega y Gasset paradoxically embraced as a "Musiim Don Quixote" (248), toPetrus Aifonsi (Lourdes Marfa Alv6rez), the Andalusian Jew converted toChristianity who passionately promoted Arabic science, to the Sufi writer Ibn'Arabr (Alexander Knysh), not to mention the intriguingly complex Majorcanphilosopher Ram6n Llull (Gregory B. Stone).

Pafi IY, entitied "To Sicily," is an examination of the spirit of Arabic culturethat existed long after the island had been captured by Christian armies. Inchapter 22, "Michael Scot and the Translators," Thomas E. Burman looks at theimportant issue of translation as a vehicle that transferred Arabic culture to theLatin West through the iens of the fascinating figure of the medieval trarrslatorMichael Scot.25 Best known by posterity for being condemned to the circie ofthe sorcerers in Dante's Infemo (Canto XX), Scot established his name as atranslator of Arabic in Toledo at the beginning of the thirteenth century andpassed his final years in the Sicilian court of Frederick II, where he found en-thusiastic paffonage. Though known for translations of alchemical and magicalworks that eamed him his place in Dante's Hel1, Scot was also instrumental inmaking the corpus of Aristotle's writings available to Western readers. Chapter20, "Poetries of the Norman Courts," describes how, according to Karla Mal-lette, "Normans embraced Islamic ideas of government and Arabic culture withenthusiasm" (380).

Part V, "Marriages and Exiles," profiIes Andalusian culture in reference topeoples defined in some way by a resistance to the dominant society surround-ing them ("The Mozarabs" by Hanna E. Kassis, "The Arabized Jews" by RossBrann, "The Moriscos" by Luce L6pez-Baralt), or those defined by the nosral-gia of a lost homeland ("The Sephardim" by Samuel G. Armistead). This lastchapter. written by one of the greatest living experts on Sephardic ballad tradi-tion, brings the discussion aII the way down to the eighteenth century. Ar-mistead describes this period as "the Golden Age of Judeo-Spanish literature"(459), and introduces the reader to the remarkable wealth of non-Hispanic in-fluences that shaped Sephardic oral literature in exile.

The book ends with Part VI, "To Al-Andalus, Would She Return the Greet-ing." This is not a scholarly essay, but rather an English.translation by MichaeiSells of the Nunniya (Poem in N) of Ibn Zaydnn, which communicates rhe sen-timents of loss and lament that Muslims must have felt at the waning and defeatof the great dociety this book explores.

If there is a criticism to be made regarding this voiume, it is that the editoissacrificed order in arrangement of the chapters so as to avoid compartmental-izing such a rich and multifaceted topic, a choice that may be disconcerting toihose approaching the vblume for the first time. That said, the bib,licgraphiescontained at the end of each chapter are extremely valuable and will aid theresearcher new to the fieid in further investigations on each topic. Due to thisand the other numercus ::l::its cf the essavs ir: thi,q ccllectio:i. scholars ir.. f;llCs

25-r"-Though his sumame would indicate British origin, the chapter's author tells us rhatScot's actual birthplace remains a mystery.

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that in some way deai with the cuiture of Islamic lof Al-Andalus to be very helpful as a reference vject that is significant, albeit little-known outside t

Del,rraN Bacrcu, SI

Lillian R.ay Martin, Tke Art and ,Archaeology r(College Station, TX: Texas A&M University Fb/w ills.In this wonderfutriy illustrated volume, the fifth ircal Archaeology; Liilian Ray Martin presents th€date of all known medievai and Renaissance repr(in and around the Veneto. Over the course of thintroductory essay, the catalogue, and an analysiauthor answers a range of archaeological questiordesign of-Venetian watercraft. This is a particulzreviewer's point of view, because although it is bstudy of early modern Venetian ships, as the aut.fundamental work of Ciovanni Casoni (1847).1973), Marco Bonino (1918), and Alvise Chiggiaarchaeological work that utilizes a wealth of visuging, steering mechanisms, and superstructure int(

Martrn devotes the first chapter to an introdurart. This opening chapter is divided into subheadirca1 summary of significant political events and nas an overview of Venetian art and a discussion ,themes. Of particular interest is the discussion oithat were invented between 1250 and 1300, suchthe pulley, which increased Venetian trade activitlowing for faster and safer shipping. It should bsome of these sections are clearly meant to acqraspects of Venetian history, others have a more uldevoted to artistic techniques, for example, does roniy when one nearly irnishes the book that ondescribe the artistic techniques employed to producataiogue. It is never explicitly stated. As a resulsomewhat disjointed assemblage of topics unrelarcomes later.

The primary contribution of this book lies inchapter, where Martin has pulled together i29 anetian ships and boats drawn from the early fourtlnes. Compiled from mosaics, enamels, wood inlufrescoes, paintings, sculpture, prints and engravirlogue demonstrates the author's meticulous meihrInCeed. e t3siaiireni io its expansive naiure is tlships etched into the colurnns on the west facaprison cel1s ol the Falazzo Ducale (134-137). ')catalogue is clear, despite the technical nomenclaa helpful glossary at the end), and each work is il.

..r:::i...:it fri"l

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mdalus, from Ibn Hazm (Eric Ormsby), whose booksus after his death, but whom later Spanish readers likexically embraced as a ..Muslim Don euixote,, (24g), to:s Maria Alvdrez), the Andalusian Jew converted tonately promoted Arabic science, to the Sufi writer lbn!h), not to mention the intriguingly complex MajorcanI (Gregory B. Srone).Sicily," is an examination of the spirit of Arabic culturethe island had been captured by Christian armies. Inot and the Translators,,,Thomas E. Burman looks at theation as a vehicle that transferred Arabic culture to thelens of the fascinating figure of the medieval translatorown by posterity for being condemned to the circle ofInfemo (Canto XX), Scot established his name as a

Ioledo at the beginning of the thirteenth centurv andthe Sicilian court of Frederick II, where he found en-

lugh known for translations of alchemicai and magicalis piace in Dante's Hell, Scot was also instrument-al inistotle's writings available to Western readers. Chapterman Courts," describes how, according to Karla Mal-d Islamic ideas of government and Arabic culture with

rd Exiles," profiles Andalusian culture in reference toway by a resistance to the dominant society surround_s"

_by Hanna E. Kassis, ,The Arabized l.*,; Uy nos

1l-u9e L6pez-Baralt), or rhose defined by the nostal-'The Sephardim" by Samuel G. Armistead). This lastI the greatest living experts on Sephardic ballad tradi_rn all the way down to the eighteenth century. Ar_riod as "the Golden Age of Judio_Spanish lite;ture,,reader to the remarkable wealth of non Hispanic in_

ardic oral literature in exile.rt VI, "To Al-Andatus, Would She Return the Greet-lV."r:1I, but rather an English translarion by Michaelm in N) of Ibn Zaydun, which communicates the sen_. that Muslims must have felt at the waning and defear,ok explores.r be made regarding this volume, it is that the editors:ment of the chapters so as to avoid compartmental_lifaceted topic, a choice that may be disconcerting tolume for the first time. That said, the bibliograpiiesach chapter are extremely valuable anO witfaia tneI in further investigations on each topic. Due to this3rits of the essays in this collection, ,.ho1*, in fietds

indicate British origin, the chapter,s author telis us thatls a mystery.

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that in some way deal with the culture of Islamic Iberia will find The Literatureoi Ai-Andcius io be verv helpiul as a ieference wci:i< icr unce:-standing a subject that is significant, albeit iittle-known outside the circle of the cognoscenti.

Darr,IIaN Bacrcri, Spanish and Portuguese, UCLA

Lillian Ray Martin, The Art and Archaeology of Venetian Ships and Boats(College Station, TX: Texas A&M University Press 2001) xii + 236 pp., 153b/w ills.In this wonderfully illustrated volume, the fifth in a series of Studies in Nauti-cal Archaeology, Lillian Ray Martin presents the most extensive catajogue todate of a1i known medieval and Renaissance representations of ships and boatsin and around the Veneto. Over the course of three chapters composed of anintroductory essay, the catalogue, and an analysis of the collected works, theauthor answers a range of archaeoiogical questions regarding the function anddesign of Venetian watercrafr. This is a particularly welcome study from thisreviewer's point ofview, because although it is by no means the first technicalstudy of early modem Venetian ships, as the author makes clear by citing thefundamental work of Giovanni Casoni (1847), Frederic Lane (1934, 1963,1973), Marco Bonino (1978), and Alvise Chiggiato (1987, 1989), it is the hrstarchaeological work that utilizes a weaith of visual evidence to bring their rig-ging, steering mechanisms, and superstructure into focus.

Martin devotes the first chapter to an introduction of Venetian history andart. This opening chapter is divided inio subheadings that include a chronologi-ca1 summary of significant political events and hautical developments, as wellas an overview of Venetian art and a discussion of its prevailing iconographicthemes. Of particular interest is the discussion of the navigational instrumentsthat were invented between 1250 and 1300, such as the magnetic compass andthe puliey, which increased Venetian trade activity in the Mediterranean by al-lowing for faster and safer shipping. It should be noted, however, that whilesome of these sections are clearly meant to acquaint the reader with variousaspects of Venetian history, others have a more uncertain purpose. One sectiondevoted to artistic techniques, for example, does not appear to be relevant. It isonly when one nearly finishes the book that one realizes it was intended todescribe the artistic techniques employed to produce the works illustrated in thecatalogue. It is never explicitly stated. As a result, this first chapter reads as asomewhat disjointed assemblage of topics unrelated to each other and to whatcomes later.

The primary contribution of this book lies in the catalogue of the secondchapter, where Manin has pulled together 129 anistic representations of Ve-netian ships and boats drawn from the early fourth to the early sixteenth centu-ries. Compiled from mosaics, enamels, wood inlays, manuscript illuminations,frescoes, paintings, sculpture, prints and engravings, and metalwork, the cata-logue demonstrates the author's meticuious method and is exhaustive in scope.Indeed, a testament to its expansive nature is the inclusion of the grffiti ofships etched into the columns on the west facade oi San Marco and'ln theprison cells of the Palazzo Ducale (134-13'7). The information given in rhecatalogue is clear, despite the technical nomenclature used throughout (there isa helpful glossary at the end), and each work is illustrated and accompanied by