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Manuscript/Mixed Material Laylah and Majnun meet in school

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About this Item

Title

  • Laylah and Majnun meet in school

Created / Published

  • 16th century

Headings

  • -  Calligraphy, Arabic
  • -  Calligraphy, Persian
  • -  Manuscripts, Persian--Washington (D.C.)
  • -  Iran
  • -  Arabic script calligraphy
  • -  Illuminated Islamic manuscripts
  • -  Islamic calligraphy
  • -  Islamic manuscripts
  • -  Nasta'liq

Notes

  • -  A calligraphic page in Persian from Nizami's (d. 614/1218) third book, part of his Quintet (Khamsah), the tale of: "Laylah and Majnun meet in school." Persian Romeo and Juliet tale.
  • -  (Trans. R. Gelpke, "The Story of Layla and Majnun" [Oxford: B. Cassirer, 1966], p. 18).
  • -  Dimensions of Written Surface: 9.9 (w) x 15.3 (h) cm
  • -  The layout of the page and nasta'liq script are typical of manuscript's of Nizami's "Khamsah" produced in 16th-century Persia (Iran). Paintings would have accompanied such a manuscript, as in the case of another fragment representing the fainting of Laylah and Majnun held in the collections of the Library of Congress (see 1-86-154.123 R).
  • -  The layout of this fragment, with text written in horizontal and diagonal lines, is called a "carpet" page. The triangular spaces left empty by the diagonal verses have been filled with illuminated decoration. The "carpet" page structure is usually found at the end of a particular chapter or scene and oftentimes precedes a painting. One can surmise that a depiction of Laylah and Majnun's encounter in school would have appeared immediately after this text folio.
  • -  This calligraphic fragment describes the first encounter between the star-crossed lovers Laylah and Majnun when they are children in school (maktab) as described in Nizami's (d. 614/1218) third book of his Quintet (Khamsah). Nizami describes how Qays (a.k.a Majnun) was sent to school by his father in order to learn how to read and write. One day, however, young Qays noticed a lovely girl with hair as black as night (literally, laylah) and fell deeply in love with her:
  • -  While all their friends were toiling at their books / These two were trying other ways of learning. / Reading love's grammar in each other looks, / Glances to them were marks which they were earning. / Their minds were freed from spelling by love's spell, / They practiced, writing notes full of caress. / The others learned to count, while they could tell, / That nothing ever counts but tenderness.
  • -  Script: nasta'liq
  • -  1-04-713.19.31

Medium

  • 1 volume ; 11.7 (w) x 18.7 (h) cm

Repository

  • Library of Congress African and Middle Eastern Division Washington, D.C. 20540 USA

Digital Id

Library of Congress Control Number

  • 2019714535

Online Format

  • pdf
  • image

Additional Metadata Formats

IIIF Presentation Manifest

Rights & Access

The contents of the Library of Congress Selections of Arabic, Persian, and Ottoman Calligraphy are in the public domain or have no known copyright restrictions and are free to use and reuse.

Credit Line: Library of Congress, African and Middle East Division, Near East Section Persian Manuscript Collection

Cite This Item

Citations are generated automatically from bibliographic data as a convenience, and may not be complete or accurate.

Chicago citation style:

Laylah and Majnun meet in school. 16th Century. Manuscript/Mixed Material. https://www.loc.gov/item/2019714535/.

APA citation style:

Laylah and Majnun meet in school. 16th Century. [Manuscript/Mixed Material] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/2019714535/.

MLA citation style:

Laylah and Majnun meet in school. 16th Century. Manuscript/Mixed Material. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/2019714535/>.