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Abstract
Le manuscrit illustré de Kalīla wa-Dimna de la Bibliothèque nationale de France, Arabe 3467, comporte de nombreuses figures géomantiques, tant dans les images qu’en marge du texte. Seize figures de quatre lignes comportant chacune un ou deux points constituent les figures géomantiques, servant de base à une technique divinatoire arabe. Cette branche de la divination a connu un immense succès dans le monde islamique et une importante production écrite en témoigne. Ces figures ont donc des significations particulières, que le devin doit pouvoir interpréter. Nous explorerons l’hypothèse d’un usage bibliomantique du manuscrit, ainsi que des pistes d’interprétation sur le sens à donner à ces figures mystérieusement placées dans ce manuscrit, alors que Kalīla wa-Dimna ne traite pas de géomancie.
From the fourteenth century onward, the figure of al-Būnī (d. 622/1225) became the greatest authority in the science of letters (or sīmiyāʾ). His life was not well known in the Middle Ages but some hagiographical notices concerning him circulated. The purpose of this article is to establish ʿAbd al-Raḥmān al-Bisṭāmī’s (d. 858/1454) part in the process of building al-Būnī’s legend. Indeed, ʿAbd al-Raḥmān al-Bisṭāmī’s renowned Shams al-āfāq fī ʿilm al-ḥurūf wa-l-awfāq (The Sun of the Horizons: The Science of Letters and Magic Squares) established al-Būnī the premier authority in the science of letters. Although the Shams al-āfāq clearly aimed to position the science of letters in a mythical background (with biblical references, for example), it also portrayed the Sufi environment in which al-Būnī was thought to live. The biographical notices in which al-Būnī is quoted can help us to understand how al-Bisṭāmī wrote an apparently self-consistent picture of the emergence and transmission of the science of letters. Moreover, some mystical pedigrees in the Shams al-āfāq indicate that this treatise must be one of the sources of the later Shams al-maʿārif al-kubrā since they are almost identical in both texts. Thus, the Shams al-āfāq was an important stage in the diffusion of the image of the figure of al-Būnī and the works attributed to him.
La figure d’al-Būnī (m. 622/1225) devint la plus importante autorité dans la science des lettres (ou sīmiyāʾ) à partir du xiv e siècle. Sa vie n’était pas très bien connue au Moyen Âge mais des notices hagiographiques circulaient. Le but de cet article est de mettre en évidence le rôle de ʿAbd al-Raḥmān al-Bisṭāmī (m. 859/1454) dans la formation de la légende entourant al-Būnī. En effet, son célèbre Shams al-āfāq fī ʿilm al-ḥurūf wa-l-awfāq (Le soleil des horizons: la science des lettres et des carrés magiques) fit d’al-Būnī une autorité majeure dans la science des lettres. Bien que ce travail a clairement pour but de resituer la science des lettres dans un contexte pseudo-historique légendaire (avec des références bibliques par exemple), il décrit également le milieu soufi dans lequel al-Būnī était réputé avoir vécu. Les notices biographiques dans lesquelles al-Būnī est mentionné peuvent nous aider à comprendre comment al-Bisṭāmī écrivit un panorama de l’émergence et de la transmission de la science des lettres cohérent en apparence. En outre, quelques chaînes de transmission du Shams al-āfāq indiquent que ce traité fut une des sources du Shams al-maʿārif al-kubrā. Ainsi, le Shams al-āfāq fut une étape importante dans la diffusion de la figure d’al-Būnī et des ouvrages qui lui furent attribués.
This article is in French.
Abstract
Sharāsīm (or Ishrāsīm) al-Hindiyya is the mysterious putative author of a treatise on astral and natural magic. This treatise was considered a milestone for the learning of magic and occult sciences in the Middle Ages. Little is known, however, about either the author or her treatise, and most of the information preserved is probably legendary, such as the fact that Sharāsīm was Hārūn al-Rashīd’s odalisque. Based upon a close study of the extant manuscripts, this article introduces Sharāsīm, her treatise, and its impact on the knowledge of occult sciences in the Middle Ages, and it serves as preamble to a forthcoming critical edition and translation of this important text.
Abstract
The symposium “The Picatrix between the East and the West” (11-12 May 2007) focused on a treatise on magic known as Ġāyat al-ḥakīm, attributed to al-Maǧrīṭī and translated into Latin in the thirteenth century under the title “Picatrix”. While the proceedings of the symposium expand our knowledge of the history of magic in Islam considerably, they also raise numerous questions. In spite of the universalizing perspective advocated by historians of the medieval Christian West, scholars do not always show the same intellectual rigor when dealing with “the Orient”. Protean texts like ‘Picatrix’ present huge difficulties. In this text’s case, it is now clear that a number of earlier conclusions need to be rethought or at least nuanced.