6 results
The Book of Kings
Shahnameh Baysonqori is a copy of Shahnameh (Book of kings) composed by the highly revered Iranian poet Abū al-Qāsim Firdawsī (940–1020). The importance of Shahnameh in the Persian-speaking world is comparable that of Homer’s epics in the West. The book recounts in verse the mythological history of ancient Persia and tales of the famous heroes and personalities of Iranian history, from legendary times to the 7th-century reign of Yazdgerd III, the last king of the Sassanid dynasty. The tales are based on earlier historical works, but are mixed ...
Contributed by
National Library and Archives of the Islamic Republic of Iran
The Book of Taliesin
The Book of Taliesin contains a collection of some of the oldest poems in Welsh, many of them attributed to the poet Taliesin, who was active toward the end of the sixth century and sang the praises of Urien Rheged and his son Owain ab Urien. Other poems reflect the kind of learning with which the poet became associated, deriving partly from Latin texts and partly from native Welsh tradition. This manuscript preserves the texts of such famous poems as “Armes Prydein Fawr,” “Preiddeu Annwfn” (which refers to Arthur and ...
Contributed by
National Library of Wales
The Most Memorable Strange Tales Observed from the Birth of Jesus Christ to Our Century
After studying law in several French universities, Pierre Boaistuau (1517–66) spent much time travelling throughout Europe in the service of different ambassadors, which gave him the chance to examine the curiosities of the contemporary world. Upon his return to Paris, he wrote and published his complete works in the brief period between 1556 and 1560. His books were the origin of two dominant genres in the second half of the 16th century: the histoires tragiques (tragic stories) and the histoires prodigieuses (strange tales). Histoires prodigieuses (Strange tales) was the ...
Contributed by
National Library of France
Illustrated Classic of Mountains and Seas
Shan hai jing (Classic of the mountains and seas) is a Chinese classic text describing mountains, regions within and beyond the seas, and mythic animals. The author or authors and the date of composition are unknown. During the Jin dynasty (265-420) the renowned historian Guo Pu (276-324) wrote annotations to it. His name appears in the original title of this work. The names of two illustrators, Jiang Yinghao and Wu Linfu, as well as that of the engraver, Li Wenxiao, are found at the end of the work. A similar ...
Contributed by
Library of Congress
Illustrated Book of Thai Poetry
The poems collected in this remarkable Thai manuscript from the second half of the 19th century are by an unknown poet. They all share the same theme: the loss of a beloved woman. Drawing upon all the possible degrees of refinement that the Thai language, poetry, and art can master, each poem is a work of art in itself, praising the beauty of the beloved woman and mourning her passing. Preceding the poems are 13 illustrations connected to the overall theme. They show mythological creatures and motifs from Thai legends ...
Contributed by
Bavarian State Library
The Book of Kings
This manuscript containing 215 illustrations is one of the largest pictorial cycles of the Shāhnāma, the Persian Book of Kings. Several painters, working at different times, were involved in its illumination; the miniatures thus are not uniform in style. Four distinct groups can be identified, with the two oldest groups dating from the 16th century. The miniatures of the first group show large-scale compositions with many figures, executed in minute detail using brilliant colors. The pictures of the second group are of lesser quality with regard to composition and figure ...
Contributed by
Bavarian State Library