The Arabic-Islamic Influence on the Poem of the Cid1

Introduction

The origin of the Spanish epic is of great interest to many scholars. According to some researchers, the spread of epic poetry in Spain results from Latin influences. For others, it derives from French or German origin. Finally, there are those who believe it to be of Arabic provenance. As interesting as it may be, we are not interested in addressing issues of origin in this study. Rather, we prefer to speak of influences, focusing particularly on the Arabic impact on the Spanish epic. In the following pages, we will present the evidence in support of the Arabic influence on the Poem of the Cid, examining possible sources from Arabic literature, and without ignoring the delicate, but fundamentally important, issues of spread. As a result of a careful study, we will demonstrate that the Poem of the Cid contains thematic, stylistic, and structural elements of Arabic origin. We will also provide evidence suggesting that this Arabic influence entered Spanish literature, both directly from the Arabs, and indirectly from the Mozarabs and the French.

The Arabic Influence on the Spanish Epic

Julián Ribera was the first Arabist to argue for an Arabic origin to the Poem of the Cid. He defended the theory of the Arabic origin of the Spanish epic in his speech at the Spanish Academy of History in 1915. For Ribera, the existence of Arabic epic poetry suggested an Arabic origin for the Poem of the Cid (Marcos Marín, 1985: 19). He also believed that the Christians who lived in Muslim territory had composed popular Arabic-Andalusian epics which were later lost (Torrico 38). The problem with this last claim was the absence of epic Mozarabic texts to support it. Despite the importance of Ribera’s work, few Hispanists took his theory seriously. What he did, however, was establish the foundations of a path that other scholars would follow. Such was the case with Egyptian professor, Lutfi Abd el-Badi.

In his doctoral dissertation titled La poesía épica en la España musulmana, Lutfi Abd el-Badi provides an overview of the epic traditions from al-Andalus. He explains that Arabic warrior chants, legends, siyar [biographies], ahadith [traditions], and arjuza [verse poems] formed a substratum during the formation of the Spanish epic. Importantly, he observes that Castile formed part of the “Islamic region” during the early days of the Re-Conquest (Marcos Marín, 1970: 58). Since the three major world religions coexisted in Castile, the Spaniards were exposed to Arabic-Islamic cultural influences. They were also subject to the enormous influx of Arabic culture caused by the expansion of the Mozarabs into León in the 10th century (Marcos Marín, 1970: 58). As a result of contact with Muslims and Mozarabs, epic legends and traditions of Arabic origin spread throughout Castile. The importance of Muslim bards, which Menéndez Pidal describes as great, would have facilitated this task (58). In his study, Abd el-Badi pointed out the Arabic traits found in five Spanish epics which, obviously, include the Poem of the Cid. As Marcos Marín describes it, Abd el-Badi’s contribution was more than a step forward, it represents a major advance and an essential springboard for any new advance in the field” (59). It was not until Francisco Marcos Marin came to its rescue, however, that Hispanists started to take the Arabic theory seriously.

Francisco Marcos Marín established, for the first time, essential methodological approaches for a more complex study of the Arabic influence on the Spanish epic in his Memoria de licenciatura: estudios épicos. In this study, he demonstrated that, during the first centuries, “the center of cultural dissemination was al-Andalus and the Christian kingdoms limited themselves to absorbing such influences” (Marcos Marín, 1971: 9). Not only did he demonstrate the existence of the epic in Arabic literature, he demonstrated its popularity among the rulers of al-Andalus (Marcos Marín, 1970: 71). The evidence advanced by Marcos Marín provided a fatal blow to opponents of the Arabic origin of the Poem of the Cid in general, and Samuel Miklos Stern, in particular, who had denied the existence of Arabic epic poetry in a study he published in 1964 (Stern, 1974: 205).

Finally, Marcos Marín concluded that the arguments presented by Ribera and Abd el-Badi should be cast aside due to the absence of epic Mozarabic texts (Marcos Marín, 1971: 9). He emphasized that scholars needed to focus on existing evidence which is shared by both the Arabic and Spanish epics, including: the use of epithets and formulaic phrases like “llorar de los ojos” and “su mano la diestra”; the qualities of the hero like chivalry, courage, magnanimity, cunning, love, and strength; literary situations such as blood, family vengeance, separation, and submission to the king or to central authority; institutions like chivalry, centralism, the family, juridical duels, government, general assemblies of notables, the power of the king, and the power of the assembly (Marcos Marín, 1971: 153-54). With these new notions, Marcos Marín founded what he called, “the new theory of the Arabic origin of the Hispanic and…European epic” (153).

In 1971, Francisco Marcos Marín published Poesía narrativa árabe y épica hispánica which was based on his doctoral dissertation. Far more detailed than the previous work, it commences with a study of literary theory in order to establish a clear and precise theoretical basis. The study then examines the various types of Arabic epics, including the Ayyam al-‘Arab, the Hamasa and the Sira, all of which trace back to pre-Islamic times and, with the exception of the Ayyam, continued to develop in Islamic times (Marcos Marín, 1971: 60). The Ayyam al-‘Arab consist of “prose narrations which describe the battles between Arab tribes up until the early days of Islam” (Marcos Marín, 1971: 63-64). Hamasa stands for an “anthology of descriptive narrative poetry” (68) which also conveys the sense of “epic” (72). This second meaning was later substituted by the word mathama which designates “narrations of heroic adventures from the pre-Islamic period which are combined with fantastic elements” (72). Since it was not versified, the siyar or biographies allowed authors great freedom to develop concepts than was possible in the Ayyam and the Hamasa (92). With this base, Marcos Marín examines the Arabic elements which are found in the Spanish epic. As Marcos Marin was pointed out in his critical edition of the Poem of the Cid, the Spanish epic shares many literary motifs with the Arabic epic, including: descriptions of battle, the trip as the common thread in such stories such as Sirat ‘Antara, speeches made before battles, and the boastfulness of the hero (Marcos Marín, 1985: 44-45). He then compares the Cid with Antara and mentions the traits he shared with Arab heroes (Marcos Marín, 1985: 46).

Álvaro Galmés de Fuentes made some important contributions to the field, particularly in his book titled Épica árabe y épica castellana. He starts by rejecting the opinion of Dozy, who affirmed that “The epic does not exist in Arabic literature; it does not even have narrative poetry” (Galmés de Fuentes 1978: 17). He clearly establishes that “Arab and Arabist critics do not deny the existence of epic-chivalrous narratives in Arabic literature” (19). In order to prove his point, he comments on the Sirat ‘Antara, the Sira genre, and its narrators. Those narrators, who were spread throughout the Muslim work, “composed and spread works on the lives of Muhammad and the heroes of Islam, including ‘Ali ibn Abi Talib” (31). The role of narrator, which played such an important role in the transmission of epic legends, “was also very common among the Arabs who settled in Spain” (35).

In fact, “the popularity of narrating in Muslim Spain was increased by the stimulus of the Umayyad” (35). Epic legends were passed down from generation to generation via the oral tradition. Interestingly, the first person to prepare a systematic redaction of the Ayyam al-‘Arab was a Hispano-Arab (Galmés de Fuentes, 1978: 36). According to Galmés de Fuentes, “the repercussion in Muslim Spain of the Arabic epic of Oriental theme, must have developed in al-Andalus, in imitation thereof, a narrative epic of Hispanic ASUNTO” (39). He also points out the relationship between the Sira literature and the literature of the Moriscos (44-45). The epic-narrative genre of the Arabs, born during the pre-Islamic period of Jahiliyyah, survived, first in al-Andalus, and then among the Moriscos until the 17th century when they were expelled from the Peninsula by Felipe III (45).

Galmés de Fuentes also examines the fundamental role that the narrators and bards played in the transmission of poetry, in general and epic poetry in particular (51). He explains that Muslim minstrelsy was very important in the royal courts of Christian Spain, “as well as the influential activity of professional Muslim and Christian minstrels as shown in the miniature of the codex of the canticles of Alfonso X, the Wise, which depicts a Muslim minstrel and a Christian minstrel playing lutes and singing as a duo” (Galmés de Fuentes, 1978: 51). According to the testimony of Ibn Bassam, we know that the historical Cid was especially fond of Arabic epic literature (51). Further ahead, he affirms that,

While the Cid was at the Valencian court, which brought together Christian and Muslim minstrels, and where Romance language bards (from Spain and France) learned Arabic epics from their Moorish Companions, he enjoyed listening to Arabic epics. There, in that very court may have lived the very minstrel who wrote the Poem of the Cid. (52)

Among the thematic elements from the Arabic epic which are reflected in the Spanish epic, Galmés de Fuentes includes the dignified nickname that the protagonists of epics are typically granted, the long hair, the accumulation of oaths, the personal names of weapons, the episode with the two Jews in Burgos, the cunnings of war, the theme of the “traitor,” the bad omens, the magical value of the word, self-invocation, and the duel between champions. He also includes the presence of women in war, the woman of high class subjected to captivity, falling in love, holy war, the souls of the enemies being cast into Hell, the joy when faced with one’s enemy, theft and the distribution of booty, the appearance of the Angel Gabriel, the divination by means of birds, crying over the amputated heads, and the concept of glad tidings. Other Arabic elements include the rectilinear narration, direct dialogue, the bard and his introduction to the public in the narration, and meter. According to Galmés de Fuentes “rhymed Arabic prose coincides…in its fundamental characteristics, with the poetic structure of the most ancient Spanish epic for which reason we can establish, without doubt, a new relationship, born from an Islamic contribution (1978: 149). The internal organization of the Arabic epic is reflected in the Spanish epic in its realism, historicity, tolerance, balance, and a democratic ideal.

In a previous study titled “Étude comparée de la Chanson de Roland, le Poema de mío Cid et le Rawdah Khani” we demonstrated in detail the notable similarities between the French and Spanish epics and the Rawdah Khani or Elegies of the Garden (of the Martyrs). In this aforementioned essay, we studied the similarities in structure, plot and characters. We also examined the historical accuracy of the epics in question as well as their origin. We concluded that, “since the Rawdah Khani is older than the two other works, it may have influenced the Spanish and French epics directly or indirectly” (Morrow 39).

Having established the literary influence on the basis of our detailed comparisons of the three epics, the sole thing that remained was to demonstrate the possibility that the Rawdah Khani could have influenced the Poem of the Cid and the Song of Roland on the basis of historical and literary evidence. It is obvious that, in order to demonstrate the existence of the Rawdah Khani in al-Andalus, we need to establish that there was a Shi‘ite presence and influence in Islamic Spain. Evidently, wherever Shi‘ite are present, so are the passion plays in honor of Imam Husayn. Before entering into this unexplored territory, it would be worthwhile to provide a brief contextualization of the Rawdah Khani.

El Rawdah Khani

The Rawdah Khani or passion play in honor of Imam Husayn consists of a combination of sermons, poems, Qur’anic verses, and drama, which describe the martyrdom of the grandson of the Prophet which took place on the day of ‘Ashura, the tenth day of the month of Muharram, in the plain of Karbala, Iraq, in the year 680 C.E. The Rawdah Khani or elegies form an intrinsic part of the mourning ceremonies of ‘Ashura which are known by the name of Ta’ziyah.

The ceremonies are public expressions of grief and sorrow and consist of: recital of elegies, beating of head and face, the bringing out of mourning processions in the streets and markets, weeping in mourning assemblies; and parading of biers, models of the mausoleum, riderless horses; suggesting scenes of the incidents. (Jaffer)

The person responsible for the Rawdah Khani is Zaynab bint ‘Ali, the sister of Imam Husayn, who witnessed the terrible tragedy. As soon as she was liberated from the prisons of Yazid, she started to organized religious mourning ceremonies or majalis in order to commemorate the martyrdom of Imam Husayn.

Out of fear of persecution, many Shi‘ites over the centuries have been forced to remember the death of Imam Husayn in private gatherings. The earliest recorded public ceremonies of ‘Ashura took place in Baghdad in the year 963 C.E. and were organized upon the orders of the Sultan Mu’izz al-Dawla (Baktash 96). There are also records of public mourning for Husayn in Egypt under the reign of Mu‘izz Lidinillah (970 d.C.) in which “[p]oets recited elegies which they had written in commemoration of the oppression and martyrdom of Husayn amidst the wailing and keening and chanting of the crowd” (98). Clearly, the Rawdah Khani and the Ta’ziyah spread throughout the Islamic empire, reaching the peak of their popularity under the Safavids. Although the Rawdah Khani does not exist in identical form in Sunni Islam, other forms of elegies (marathi) and dramas about the tragedy of Karbala can be observed from southeast Asia all the way to Morocco.

The Rawdah Khani was written down immediately after the events and has been passed down from generation to generation until our time. The Rawdah Khani is not limited to a single text. Like the Yugoslavian and French chansons de geste or “songs of heroic deeds,” it consists of numerous collections of different versions. The Rawdah Khani is not limited to the lamentations of Zaynab as the nine Imams who followed Husayn enriched it with their sermons and wisdom. Furthermore, the greatest poets throughout the centuries have composed poems about the martyrdom of Imam Husayn. The Rawdah Khani is thus a combination of ancient and more modern elements, containing a fascinating literary richness. The work has even overcome linguistic barriers. The Rawdah Khani exists in a highly sophisticated form in Arabic, Persian, and Urdu. Some experts consider the Rawdah Khani to be the most successful, and long-lasting, literary and dramatic work of all times (Jaffar 9). As Sir Lewis Pelly wrote regarding the success of the Rawdah Khani,

If the success of a drama is to be measured by the effects which it produces upon the people for whom it is composed, or upon the audience before whom it is represented, no play has even surpassed the tragedy known in the Muslim world as that of Hasan and Husayn (III).

The Shi‘ite Presence and Influence in al-Andalus

Hasan Hotait Al-Amili was the first historian to complete a critical study on the history of Shi‘ism in al-Andalus without succumbing to prejudice and without being deceived by falsified facts and propaganda regarding Shi‘ite leaders and movements. In his study, he presents the history of the Shi‘ite presence and influence in the Iberian Peninsula, providing a list of Shi‘ite military movements, writers, academics, and religious leaders. However, in order to provide a more general picture of the Shi‘ite situation in al-Andalus, we need to synthesize the information found in the works of Orientalists such as Saunders, Hitti y Mahmud.

In June of 710, Tarif, along with four hundred soldiers, all of whom were Berbers, scouted out the Iberian Peninsula in order to prepare for its Islamic invasion (Hitti 493). Shortly thereafter, Tariq ibn Ziyad, a former Berber slave, reached the Iberian Peninsula with 7,000 men, most of whom Berbers (493). Although the Berbers embraced Islam after they were conquered by the Arabs, they generally did not accept the Sunni version of their conquerors. Rather, they tended to embrace the Shi‘ite version of Islam with its revolutionary ideology. As J.J. Saunders explains, “As a mark of independence and dislike of Arab racial pretensions, the Berbers tended to join dissident sects” (131). In fact, according to Shi‘ite popular tradition, Tariq ibn Ziyad is believed to have been a Shi‘ite who was practicing taqiyyah. This idea is reinforced by the fact that Tariq’s boats were provided in part by Yemenite Muslims (Hitti 502). And, as Hitti has explained, “The Yemenites everywhere were inculcated with Shi‘ite ideas” (502).

The Shi‘ite Berbers of North Africa and al-Andalus rebelled on so many occasions against the Arabs that dominated them that they placed the very existence of Arab colonists in jeopardy (502). The Shi‘ite threat increased greatly with the establishment of the Idrisids in Morocco and the Hamudis in al-Andalus, both of which were Twelver Shi‘ites dynasties. For the Umayyad from al-Andalus, the most intimidating of all Shi‘ites were the Fatimids. This Isma‘ili Imamate was founded in Tunisia as a result of the Shi‘ite propaganda preached by Abu ‘Abd Allah al-Husayn al-Shi‘i, a Yemenite who claimed to be a precursor to the Mahdi, the Fatimids incited the Berbers to rebel against Sunni Arab rule throughout the Maghreb and al-Andalus (Hitti 617).

Although the Umayyads of al-Andalus were relatively tolerant towards Jews and Muslims, they had zero tolerance for Kharijites and Shi‘ites. As such, the Berber Shi‘ites of al-Andalus suffered from the persecution of their Sunni Arab rulers. Caliph ‘Umar II, who ruled in al-Andalus from 717-720, went to the extreme of introducing the ritualized cursing of ‘Ali in the Friday prayers (Mahmud 82). Arab racism can also be seen in the Andalusian poetry of the time which actually encouraged the genocide of the Berbers (Nykl 72-73) as well as the concrete policies established by the Umayyads in order to achieve this final solution (Hitti 502). Sunni Arab religious intolerance resulted in the creation of an Islamic Inquisition, the purpose of which was to persecute all Muslims who did not follow the Maliki school of jurisprudence. It was only as a result of taqiyyah that Shi‘ites survived in Islamic Spain.

As we have seen, historical evidence confirms the existence of Shi‘ite communities in al-Andalus. The same can be said regarding literary evidence. Works like The Epic of the Descendants of ‘Ali by Ibn al-Abbar, an Andalusian Shi‘ite from the 13th century, represents an eloquent example of the existence of the Rawdah Khani in Islamic Spain. Evidence for the existence of Shi‘ites in Spain, and the spread of the Shi‘ite passion play in honor of Imam Husayn, is especially evident in the aljamiado literature produced by the Moriscos.

The Shi‘ite Influence on Aljamiado Literature

The existence of strong Shi‘ite communities in al-Andalus can be clearly sensed from an informed reading of Aljamiado-Morisco literature. The prophetic traditions regarding the virtues of Ahl al-Bayt [the Household of the Prophet] are rather rare in Sunni compilations. Shi‘ite works, however, contain an abundance of traditions on the subject. If there were Shi‘ites in Spain, they would surely have left literary evidence of their ideology, something we see clearly in Aljamiado literature.

In Aljamiadotexte we find traditions which demonstrate the superiority of ‘Ali over Abu Bakr and the other Companions of the Prophet (Kontzi: f 154), traditions regarding the angelic protection received by Fatimah, the daughter of the Messenger of Allah (f 155), as well as traditions regarding the martyrdom of ‘Ali (f 156). The work also includes a famous prophetic tradition which is often cited by Shi‘ites in which the Prophet affirms that he who is at war with Husayn is at war with ‘Ali; he who is at war with ‘Ali is at war with Muhammad; he who is at war with Muhammad is at war with Gabriel; and he who is at war with Gabriel is at war with Allah (f. 157). In this particular prophetic tradition, Abu Bakr demonstrates his inferiority compared to the Family of the Prophet.

Other Aljamiado documents of clearly Shi‘ite origin include El-alhadiz del alkazar del-oro, i la estoria de la kuluebra kon ‘Ali ibnu abi Talib, found in the manuscript of the Biblioteca del Palacio Real de Madrid, as well as the Leyenda de ‘Alí y las cuarenta doncellas, contained in the ancient manuscript collection of Gayangos. The miscellaneous manuscript 774 from the Bibliotèque Nationale de Paris contains a prayer from Fatimah (Sánchez Álvarez 153). Other eloquent examples of Morisco Shi‘ism include “El hadiz de Sarjil ibnu Sarjun” included in Cinco leyendas y otros relatos moriscos by Ottmar Hegyi, as well as the Libro de las batallas, edited by Galmés de Fuentes.

The former contains clear references to Shi‘ite beliefs regarding the superiority of ‘Ali when compared to the other Companions of the Prophet, the divine knowledge of the Imam, his ability to understand animal language, and his ability to predict the future. The Libro de las batallas, which deals with the early Islamic battles, features ‘Ali, as opposed to the Prophet, as the protagonist. As Galmés de Fuentes confirmed, “All of these traditions…belong to the ‘Alid tradition, so arduously defended by the Shi‘ite party for whom ‘Ali was the greatest hero of Islam” (1975: 16). On the basis of both historical and literary evidence, it is clearly confirmed that Shi‘ite communities existed in al-Andalus, that they cultivated the Rawdah Khani, and that they made a remarkable effort to preserve, protect, and spread their Shi‘ite teachings after the Re-Conquest.

Modes of Influence

The influence of Arabic literature on medieval Spanish literature seems to have been both direct and indirect. As Abd el-Badi has demonstrated, Castile was within the “Islamic area” during the primitive period of the Re-Conquest (Marcos Marín, 1970: 58). Furthermore, the level of Arabic-Spanish bilingualism was very elevated throughout Spain. As G.T. Beech has explained, “Pedro (I de Aragón) customarily signed his charters in Arabic and was almost certainly bilingual” (31). He also suggests that the Cid spoke Arabic (31; 35-36 nota 55). In her study on “Arabic-Speaking Christians in al-Andalus,” Hanna Klaus demonstrated that “in the mid-11th century, the Christians of al-Andalus seem to have been completely Arabized linguistically and Islamized culturally” (442). According to Hitti, the Arabization of Spain proceeded from Córdoba, from where “Arabicized Christians, Mozarabs, quite conversant with Arabic literature, had communicated many elements of Arabic culture to the other kingdoms of the north and south” (559).

As we have explained before, the court of Alfonso X, the Wise, included Moorish bards (Galmés de Fuentes, 1978: 51). As Beech has observed, 11th century al-Andalus had a population of seven million inhabitants, the majority of whom were descendants of Iberians, Romans, and Goths (Beech 30). Although their mother tongue was Romance and they were not Arabs by birth, they used to speak Arabic (30). According to Beech, the majority of Spaniards had converted to Islam during the early days of the Muslim rule, had learned the Arabic language, and had adopted the Arabic way of life (30). The Mozarabs, on the other hand, preserved the Christian religion in matters of faith, but adopted the Arabic language and culture. As Beech explains,

Thus both elements of the indigenous pre-invasion population were largely bilingual, speaking both Romance and the colloquial Arabic which came to co-exist with the classical Arabic of the Koran. Bilingualism was particularly common in the unclearly defined frontier areas like the kingdoms of Zaragoza and Aragon where Muslims, Christians, and Jews lived interspersed even though owing allegiance to different, often hostile rulers. In this kind of setting no strict, rigid boundaries separated either nationalities or languages but people passed from one to the other… Thus for a native Spaniard of around 1100, whether Muslim, Christian, or Jew, knowledge of Arabic was perfectly normal, not something erudite, obscure, or acquired only with great difficulty and long study. (30-31)

As such, the Arabic influence on the Spanish epic may have been the direct result of Muslim-Christian contact. It may also have come through the Mozarabs who acted essentially as cultural intermediaries. The Arabic influence on the Spanish epic must surely have come directly from al-Andalus. Nonetheless, it is possible that some of the Arabic elements in the Poem of the Cid reached it via Islamic elements circulating in France. In fact, many scholars have pointed out the influence of the Song of Roland on the Poem of the Cid. According to Menéndez Pidal, these similarities include the repetition of the indefinite “tanto,” the type of descriptions (39), the use of prayers (40-41), and the stress placed on the tears of the protagonists (42). According to Menéndez Pidal, the French influence on the Poem of the Cid was due to Road to Santiago which brought numerous French pilgrims to Spain, many of whom entertained themselves through the recitation of the Song of Roland (46). Interestingly, the Song of Roland contains aspects which are undoubtedly of Arabic origin. The names of the swords, for example, are of Arabic origin (Galmés de Fuente, 1978: 65-66). Furthermore, many of the elements which were previously considered to be of Germanic origin have been found to be of Arabic origin. How, then, did the Arabic influence reach France?

The Arabic Influence on French Medieval Literature

The first potential source of Arabic influence on Medieval French literature can be traced back to the Arabic and Berber presence in the south and southwest of France from the year 717 to 752. After 752, the Arabic and Berber presence persisted more sporadically for another twenty years. Although half a century is not a long span of time, it is possible that the French may have been subject to Arabic influence during this period of time, despite the difficulty of demonstrating it with concrete evidence.

The Arabic and Berber influence on France, however, seems to have been much stronger than previously believed. As DNA studies confirm, Arab and Berber genes range from 2 to 11% in French people and is particularly elevated in the Basque region of Spain and France. While it may seem strange to some that the majority of Berber genes in Spain are found in the northern extremes of what was once al-Andalus, it must be recalled that the Arabs seized all the best lands for themselves, leaving the Berbers to settle in the less fertile mountainous regions which reminded them of their mountainous homelands in North Africa.

If one wishes to look for evidence of Arabic influence on French medieval literature the most logical place to look is the poetry of the troubadours. For many years now, Orientalists have confirmed the Arabic influence on troubadour poetry. In fact, the very name troubadour is derived from the Arabic tarab or “music” (qtd. Shah 42, note 32). The theory of the Arabic influence on troubadour poetry never convinced Romance scholars despite the fact they approached the subject solely from Romance sources, and had no mastery whatsoever of Arabic material (Beech 15). According to Nykl, “What is now called Old Provençal poetry was formed in its beginning, about 1100 A.D., from elements which were partly autochthonous and partly imitated from the poetic activity in the neighboring Christian-Muslim world” (373). Nykl holds that Guillaume IX imitated the rhythms of Arabic-Islamic poetry which he may have learned from his young wife from Aragón in Spain (373-74). In fact, he points precisely to the Arabic zajal, poems which commenced with amorous compliments known as tajazzul. As Nykl explains, “[i]n the tajazzul we find the amatory commonplaces, also used in the Classical Arabic poetry of the same period, and which appear in Old Provençal poetry with a fidelity that points rather to an imitation than to an independent invention” (271). Professor Hitti was also of the opinion that the cult of the dame found in the Chanson de Roland was of Arabic origin and inspiration (qtd. Shah 42, note 32).

Nykl enumerates eight similarities between the poetry of al-Andalus and the poetry of the troubadours, including: rhyme scheme, number of stanzas, the use of the refrain, typical characters, fictitious names, themes, the use of the confidant, the absolute devotion of the lover to his lady, and the spring-time setting (271-72). He points out the similarities between the Diwan of Ibn Quzman and the poetry of Guillaume IX (299). In the Diwan, we find Spanish words, as well as two complete sentences in Spanish which are almost identical to some Galician songs (Nykl 299-300). The external evidence demonstrates that the azjal of Ibn Quzman were aimed, not at the masses, but rather to gatherings of highly cultured intellectuals (300). This was the very same audience to which the troubadours directed their poetry.

The “Elegía árabe de Valencia,” included in the text of the Primera crónica de España, prepared by Alfonso X, the Wise, and the Crónica del Cid also provide evidence of Arabic influence (303). The work is attributed to the jurist, al-Waqqasi, who recited it to the inhabitants of Valencia in January of 1094 while the city was under siege by the Cid (Nykl 303). The influence of this work on the Poem of the Cid is unquestionable. As Nykl explains, if we compare the poetic forms of Guillaume, Marcabru and Rudel, with the poetic forms that prevailed in Islamic Spain, “we cannot fail to find considerable analogies which can only be explained by imitation or adaptation, not by independent invention” (379). He also affirms that nothing prevented the Franks from obtaining ample information regarding Arabic poetry and its rhythms through Arabic-French interpreters who were both accessible and available to those who were interested in literary matters (381).

Furthermore, we have the testimony of Petrus Alphonsi dating to approximately 1106 confirming that translations of Arabic poetry and prose works both existed, and were available to literate persons. (381). As Beech has pointed out, the structure of Guillaume’s poems which date from after his participation in the Crusades, show a great deal of affinity with the muwassahat and the azjal (as had been noted by Ribera) and that the rhythm of such songs continues to be recited today in places like Tunis (383). He also mentions the Andalusian influence on the poetry of Marcabru (385). The Arabic influence on troubadour poetry can also be seen in the titles of their works. As Hitti has observed, many of the titles of their poems were mere Arabic translations (Hitti 600). It should also not be forgotten that the monastery of Cluny in France was a major center for the spread of Arabic culture in the 12th century. In fact, it was in the Cluny that the first Latin translation of the Qur’an was conducted (589). In 1276, not far away from France, in the Spanish city of Miramar, Ramón Llull founded a religious seminary dedicated to the study of the Arabic language (663).

The claims made by Stern that the troubadours were not subject to any Arabic influence whatsoever (220-21) can be categorically rejected on the basis of recent studies. In his study titled “Troubadour Contacts with Muslim Spain and Knowledge of Arabic,” G.T. Beech demonstrated the possibility that the first troubadour, Guillaume IX of Aquitaine, had knowledge of Arabic through his contacts with Muslim Spain (15). He points out the similarities between a verse in his eleventh song, “Pos de chantar,” and a Sephardic psalmody (15). He also explains that some scholars have found an Arabic verse in one of his poems which may have been inspired by an episode from the Qur’an (15-16). As Beech demonstrates, the troubadour’s circle of family and friends included Arabic speakers. He was even a personal friend of the King of Zaragoza, Imad al-Dawla ‘Abd al-Malik ibn Ahmad ibn Hud (who ruled from 1110-1130), the last representative of a dynasty that had presided over a court of distinguished Arab and Jewish scientists, philosophers, and poets between the 11th and 12th centuries (18, 34).

Beech also explains that “Spanish Muslim culture had been penetrating into southwestern France, including Aquitaine and Poitou, in various forms since the middle of the XIth century...and signs of it would have been recognizable as such to any observant individual at the time” (23). He mentions that the Islamic influence entered France via French travelers, pilgrims, and knights, who were returning from the wars of Re-Conquest (23-24). He also speaks of the spread of Islamic science which had been entering France since the 10th century via the Ebro valley, a region which was settled by English, French, and German scholars who relocated there in search of knowledge (25). Beech believes that Islamic-French contacts were mostly indirect, and came via pilgrims and soldiers (27). Still, he recognizes the possibility of direct contacts, for example, by means of Muslim slaves brought back by the French (27, 41).

As can be appreciated, the Islamic influence on France was notable. Consequently, the possibility that some Arabic literary influences entered into medieval French literature cannot be denied. These Arabic influences may have entered into French literature during half a century of Muslim occupation. They may also have entered the language through the works of the troubadours. These influences may then have re-entered Spain via the Song of Roland and reached the Poem of the Cid. Knowledge of the Chanson de Roland may have reached the Spaniards via the Road to Santiago. The existence of French neighborhoods in the cities of the northern Iberian Peninsula is a documented fact.

Conclusions

In the previous pages we have investigated the Arabic influence on the Spanish epic. We have examined the contributions made to the subject by Julián Ribera, Francisco Marcos Marín and Galmés de Fuentes, without failing to take our own into consideration. We have seen that the Arab epics, in general, and the Rawdah Khani, in particular, appear to have influence on the Poem of the Cid from a thematic, stylistic, and structural perspective. We have also proposed that this Arabic influence entered Spanish literature directly and indirectly from al-Andalus, possibly by means of the Mozarabs, as well as through the spread of Arabic influences which came from France.

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• 1. The original version of this work, titled “La influencia árabe en el Poema de mío Cid.” was published on October 11th, 2002, in Alharaca, the peer-reviewed journal of the Association of Students and Scholars of the Arab World from the University of Madrid’s Department of Arabic and Islamic Studies. A greatly expanded version of the original work is published here for the first time in English translation.