The sixteenthcentury andalusi adventurer leo africanus was a household name amidst european geographers for almost three centuries. Leo africanus wikipedia bahasa indonesia, ensiklopedia bebas. Leo africanus wikipedias leo africanus as translated by. Leo the african is that rare novel pride and prejudice, don quixote, candide from which the reader must travel. A conquest over all muslims in the region meant that leo and his extensive family, as well as other muslims in the region, fled for safety. It is held at the rare book collection of the library of congress g159. For this work, leo became a household name among european geographers. The historian pekka masonen has argued that the belief of his further travels was based on misreadings by modern scholars who interpreted his book as an. The journey starts in al andalus before the fall of granada and winds its way through fez, timbuktu, cairo, constantinople, mecca, and rome amongst other cities.
Masonen is a lecturer at the university of tampere, finland department of history. Although he criticizes the superficiality and multiple errors of leo africanus s account, masonen sees it as clearly marking the. This onepage guide includes a plot summary and brief analysis of leo africanus by amin maalouf. Doc leo africanus mediterranean hero bernardo piciche.
Discovery and invention of the sudanese middle ages suomalaisen tiedeakatemian toimituksia. The historian pekka masonen has argued that the belief of his further travels was based on misreadings by modern scholars who interpreted his book as an itinerary. Papers for the third nordic conference on middle eastern studies, edited by mhammed sabour and knut s. Books by pekka masonen all formats paperback sort by. And so he was known in the european translations that soon appeared. The book was first written in 1550 by a moorish traveller and linguistic scholar known as john leo africanus c. The book was dictated in italian by leo africanus, the famed moorish traveler and merchant who had been captured by pirates and sold as a slave. Leo africanus by amin maalouf meet your next favorite book. It was translated into english in 1600 by john pory. He was unanimously respected as the most authoritative source for the political and human geography of the barbary coast and sudanic. The man with many names1 pekka masonen the sixteenthcentury andalusi adventurer leo africanus was a household name amidst european geographers for almost three centuries. The book was regarded among his scholarly peers in europe as the most authoritative treatise on the subject until the modern exploration of africa.
Fred spier university of amsterdam the negroland revisited. The book was unanimously considered the most authoritative source for the. Born as alhasan ibn muhammad alwazzan alfasi in granada in the 1490s, hasan is forced into exile as a child after the spanish reconquista. Discovery and invention of the sudanese middle age suomalaisen tiedeakatemian toimituksia. Studienarbeit aus dem jahr 2009 im fachbereich geschichte afrika, note. Such is the case with the titular moorish traveler in amin maaloufs 1986 book, leo africanus.
The second major study of leo africanus comes from a different part of the world. Leo africanus is an epic travel journey seen from the eyes of our protagonist hasan who assumes many identities over 40 years of time period depicted in the book. Leo africanus project gutenberg selfpublishing ebooks read. Download citation on jan 1, 2011, pekka masonen and others published leo africanus. Presented, along with his book, to pope leo x, he was baptized and freed. Discovery and invention of the sudanese middle ages. Leo africanus was born in granada in around 1494 but his family moved to fez soon after his birth.
Over the centuries his book attracted the curiosity of readers and scholars in many. The great west african empires of ghana, mali, and. He was unanimously respected as the most authoritative source for the political and human geography of the barbary coast and sudanic africa, until the beginning of european exploration and expansion in the african continent proved his knowledge outdated. The man with many names, lenn enlinenn fr massignon, louis. A fictionalized account of his life, leo africanus, by the lebanesefrench author amin maalouf, fills in key gaps in the story and places leo africanus in all of the prominent events of his time. Pekka masonen, transsaharan trade and the west african discovery of the mediterranean, in ethnic encounter and culture change. Leo africanus project gutenberg selfpublishing ebooks. Description of africa, a largely firsthand geographical book, which was published under the title della descrittione dellafrica et delle cose notabili che iui sono by giovanni battista ramusio in his collection of travellers accounts delle navigationi e viaggi in venice in 1550, contained the first detailed descriptions published in europe of the barbary coast modern morocco, algeria, and.
The renaissance traveller leo africanus is well known as a source for. He has done extensive research on the life and travels of leo africanus, in particular as they relate to subsaharan africa. Joannes leo africanus was a berber andalusi diplomat and author who is best known for his book descrittione dellafrica centered on the geography of the maghreb and nile valley. The sixteenth century andalusi adventurer leo africanus was a household name amidst. Supersummary, a modern alternative to sparknotes and cliffsnotes, offers highquality study guides that feature detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, quotes, and essay topics. World heritage encyclopedia, the aggregation of the largest online encyclopedias available, and the most definitive. Ibn muhammad alwazzan, better known as joannes leo africanus, was born in the muslim kingdom of granada just a few years before it was. The history and description of africa and of the notable things therein contained. This sets the tone for his life, as hes constantly on the move. As a young man he accompanied an uncle on a diplomatic mission to the maghreb, reaching as far as the city of timbuktu c.
This is a paper originally published in alandalusmagreb. In 1986, the lebanesefrench author amin maalouf published leo africanus, a historical. The book was regarded among his scholarly peers in europe as the most. Moorish man of learning is a brief introduction to leo.
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