Following the first wave of Arabic interest during the
Renaissance of the 12th century, which saw numerous Arabic texts being
translated into Latin, there was a 'second wave' of interest in the study of
Arabic literature,
Arabic science and
Islamic philosophy in 16th-century France and 17th-century England. manuscript of
Nasir al-Din al-Tusi, annotated by
Guillaume Postel Together with the development of the
Franco-Ottoman alliance, cultural and scientific exchanges between France and the Ottoman Empire flourished. French scholars such as
Guillaume Postel or
Pierre Belon were able to travel to
Asia Minor and the
Middle East to collect information. , copied circa 1536, bound according to regulations set under Francis I circa 1549, with arms of
Henri II.
Bibliothèque Nationale de France. Scientific exchange is thought to have occurred, as numerous works in Arabic, especially pertaining to
astronomy were brought back, annotated and studied by scholars such as Guillaume Postel. Transmission of scientific knowledge, such as the
Tusi-couple, may have occurred on such occasions, at the time when
Copernicus was establishing his own astronomical theories. Books, such as the
Coran, were brought back to be integrated in Royal libraries, such as the
Bibliothèque Royale de Fontainebleau, to create a foundation for the
Collège des lecteurs royaux, future
Collège de France. This tragedy marks the first time the Ottomans were introduced on stage in France. Arabic manuscripts were considered the key to a 'treasure house' of ancient knowledge, which led to the founding of
Arabic Chairs at
Oxford and
Cambridge Universities, where
Arabic was taught. A large collection of Arabic manuscripts were acquired, collected in places such as the
Bodleian Library at Oxford. These Arabic manuscripts were sought after by
natural philosophers for their research in subjects
such as mathematics and
observational astronomy, and also encompassed subjects ranging from science, religion,
and medicine, to typography and
garden plants. Besides scientific and philosophical literature, works of Arabic fiction were also translated into
Latin and
English during the 17th and 18th centuries. The most famous one was the
One Thousand and One Nights (
Arabian Nights), which was first translated into English in 1706 and has since then had a profound influence on
English literature. Another famous work was
Ibn Tufail's
philosophical novel Hayy ibn Yaqdhan, which was translated into Latin as
Philosophus Autodidactus by
Edward Pococke the Younger in 1671 and then into English by
Simon Ockley in 1708. The English translation of
Hayy ibn Yaqdhan, set on a
desert island, may have inspired
Daniel Defoe to write
Robinson Crusoe, considered the
first novel in English, in 1719. Later translated literary works include
Layla and Majnun and
Ibn al-Nafis'
Theologus Autodidactus. The Muslim
Moors had a noticeable influence on the works of
George Peele and
William Shakespeare. Some of their works featured Moorish characters, such as Peele's
The Battle of Alcazar and Shakespeare's
The Merchant of Venice,
Titus Andronicus and
Othello, which featured a Moorish
Othello as its title character. These works are said to have been inspired by several Moorish
delegations from
Morocco to
Elizabethan England around 1600. A portrait was painted of one of the Moorish ambassadors,
Abd el-Ouahed ben Messaoud ben Mohammed Anoun, who had come to promote an
Anglo-Moroccan alliance. At the Bodleian Library of Oxford University, there were hundreds of Arabic manuscripts, as well as dozens of
Persian and
Turkish ones, available during the 17th century. These included works on
Islamic law and
Arabic grammar; the
lexicography of
Al-Firuzabadi and
Al-Jawhari; works on
Arabic poetry; the
Indian literary work
Kalila and Dimna; the proverbs of
Al-Maydani and
Maqama of
Al-Hariri of Basra; the medical works of
Al-Razi,
Avicenna,
Ibn al-Baitar,
Hunayn ibn Ishaq,
Al-Majusi,
Ibn al-Jazzar,
Abu al-Qasim al-Zahrawi,
Ibn Zuhr,
Maimonides and
Ibn al-Nafis; the astronomical works of
Ibn al-Banna,
Ibn al-Shatir,
Al-Farghani and
Alhazen; the
Masudic Canon by
Abu Rayhan Biruni and the
Book of Fixed Stars by
Al-Sufi; several
Ottoman scientific works by
Taqi al-Din Muhammad ibn Ma'ruf; occult and
alchemical works; the
Secretum Secretorum; Al-Safadi's
biographical dictionary Al-Sihah; the
historical works of
Al-Tabari,
Al-Isfahani,
Al-Makin,
Ibn Khallikan,
Al-Dhahabi,
Al-Waqidi, Ibn al-Shina,
Al-Utbi,
Ibn al-Jawzi,
Ibn al-Athir,
Sibt ibn al-Jawzi,
Ibn Abi Usaibia,
Bar-Hebraeus, Al-Tunaynai, Ibn Duqmaq,
Ibn Taghribirdi,
Al-Suyuti,
Al-Jannabi,
Ibn Hayyan,
Ibn Miskawayh,
Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani and
Al-Maqrizi; the
History of Time by
Al-Masudi and volume five of
Ibn Khaldun's
historiographical work Kitab al-Ibar; the historical and geographical works of
Abu al-Fida; the
Sahih al-Bukhari and
Qur'anic commentaries; the
Algebra by
Al-Khwarizmi and the mathematical works of
Nasir al-Din al-Tusi; the
Encyclopedia of the Brethren of Purity and Avienna's
The Book of Healing; the works of
Ibn Bajjah and Ibn Tufail;
geographical works of
Ibn Khordadbeh and
Ibn Hawqal; . A Latin translation of two of
Ali Qushji's works, the
Tract on Arithmetic and
Tract on Astronomy, was published by
John Greaves in 1650.
The turban in art and politics appears at the table in the 1563
The Wedding at Cana by
Paolo Veronese. The
turban often represented Muslims in the paintings of Italian and Flemish artists when they depicted scenes of the
Ottoman Empire and Biblical lore. Famous figures such as
Suleyman the Magnificent,
Hagar, and
Hayreddin Barbarossa appear in these paintings. The tradition of depicting Biblical characters in turbans has continued through to this century, as at least one of the wise men is always depicted with a turban. Turban iconography was highly prominent, especially in Renaissance England. While friendly relations were formed between England and the Islamic civilization of the Middle East in the early 16th century, Turkish fashions became popular for the higher classes. During times of interaction with
Istanbul, Queen
Elizabeth I of England wore Turkish clothing styles. It was believed that she favored working with the Islamic sultans of Istanbul rather than the Roman Catholic leaders of Europe. These suspicions were heightened when she asked Sultan
Murad III and his son
Mohammad III for military assistance. Although she never did receive any assistance from the sultans, her relations with the Sultan and his son did not waver.
Views on Muslim women Alexander Ross, a writer and controversialist living in the first half of the 17th century, praised the Turks for being "more modest in their conversation generally than we; Men and Women converse not together promiscuously, as among us." Ross believed that England could learn a great deal from the Muslims. European women also began leaving home to become male-like figures in society. Other European women attacked male chauvinism and defended the status of women by handing out pamphlets. Women rebelled against male religious hierarchy and began to replace men as preachers and pastors. Christian writers highly admired Muslim women because they were frugal compared to English women, they were respected by their husbands because they did not play "false" with them, and because Muslim women went immediately back to work after giving birth and they still had time to raise their children themselves, unlike English women. The Muslim model became an example of the "exotic" and "
Utopian" ideal because it was not possible in European society. European men sought to reinforce the traditional role of women and wanted their women to adhere to the model of Muslim women as frugal, obedient, wearing modest apparel, and respectful towards their husbands. Muslims and Englishmen differed in various ways, especially in their religious beliefs and militarism, but they did agree with each other on the representation of Muslim women. ==See also==