The Age of Beloveds: Love and the Beloved in Early-Modern Ottoman and European Culture and Society
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | 4.63 (538 Votes) |
| Asin | : | 0822334240 |
| Format Type | : | paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | 440 Pages |
| Publish Date | : | 2014-02-12 |
| Language | : | English |
DESCRIPTION:
R D Shelby said Five Stars. Very well done. A profound challenge to western heterocentic assumptions regarding sexuality, morality and spirituality.. othoniaboys said A book of verses underneath the bough. The authors of this magnificent book deserve the greatest praise for daring -- and yes, "daring" is the correct word -- to write this book on a very controversial subject in the midst of an extended period of moral panic in the West. Since practically nobody in the West has even the slightest knowledge of, or curiosity about, Turkish love-poetry written prior to 1800, this book has probably gone largely unnoticed and unread, and has therefore gone uncondemned by mora. "it's amazing the insight into the Ottoman's views on love" according to Emir McQuain. I can't stop reading this book, it's amazing the insight into the Ottoman's views on love, passion, lust, and sexuality. It's incredibly risque, but it's rather intriguing.
With breathtakingly extensive original research, it is beautifully written, in a style both inviting and impressive. It is the fruit of a lifetime’s project to add Ottoman literature to the canons of world literature.”—Victoria Holbrook, author of The Unreadable Shores of Love: Turkish Modernity and Mystic Romance. “The Age of Beloveds is a treasure and a masterpiece
At the same time, it suggests provocative cross-cultural parallels in the sociology and spirituality of love in Europe—from Istanbul to London—during the long sixteenth century. The Age of Beloveds offers a rich introduction to early modern Ottoman culture through a study of its beautiful lyric love poetry. The authors explain that the flourishing of Ottoman power and culture during the “Turkish Renaissance” manifested itself, to some degree, as an “age of beloveds,” in which young men became the focal points for the desire and attention of powerful officeholders and artists as well as the inspiration for a rich literature of love.The authors show that the “age of beloveds” was not just an Ottoman, eastern European, or Islamic phenomenon. It extended into western Europe as well, pervading the cultures of Venice, Florence, Rome, and London during the same period. Andrews and Kalpakli contend that in an age dominated by absolute rulers and troubled by war, cultural change, and religious upheaval, the attachments of dependent courtiers and the longings of anxious commoners aroused an intense interest in love and the beloved. Andrews and Mehmet Kalpakli provide a generous sampling of translations of Ottoman poems, many of which have never appeared in English, along with informative and inspired close read