The Culture of Letter-Writing in Pre-Modern Islamic Society / / Adrian Gully.

• Superior document: Title is part of eBook package: De Gruyter Edinburgh University Press Backlist eBook-Package 2013-2000
• VerfasserIn: Gully, Adrian,
• Place / Publishing House: Edinburgh : : Edinburgh University Press, , [2022]; ©2008
• Year of Publication: 2022
• Language: English
• Physical Description: 1 online resource (232 p.)
• Other title: Frontmatter --; CONTENTS --; Acknowledgements --; Prologue --; CHAPTER 1 The foundations of letter-writing in pre-modern Islamic society --; CHAPTER 2 Epistolary prose, poetry and oratory: essentials of the debate --; CHAPTER 3 The power of the pen and the primacy of script --; CHAPTER 4 the composition secretary (I): background and status --; CHAPTER 5 the composition secretary (II): moral and inner qualities --; CHAPTER 6 Balāġa, epistolary structure and style --; CHAPTER 7 epistolary protocol --; Bibliography --; Index
• Format: Mode of access: Internet via World Wide Web.
• ISBN: 9780748633746; 9783110780468
• DOI: 10.1515/9780748633746?locatt=mode:legacy
• Access: restricted access
• Hierarchical level: Monograph
• Statement of Responsibility: Adrian Gully.

The Culture of Letter-Writing in Pre-Modern Islamic Society received an honourable mention from the British-Kuwait Friendship Society at BRISMES 2009Writing letters was an important component of intellectual life in the Middle Islamic period, telling us much about the cultural history of pre-modern Islamic society. This book offers a unique analysis of letter-writing, focusing on the notion of the power of the pen. The author looks at the wider context of epistolography, relating it to the power structures of Islamic society in that period. He also attempts to identify some of the similarities and differences between Muslim modes of letter-writing and those of western cultures.One of the strengths of this book is that it is based on a wide range of primary Arabic sources, thus reflecting the broader epistemological importance of letter-writing in Islamic society.Key FeaturesEvaluates the background to letter-writing as the principal representation of state documents and communicationTakes a close look at the literary principles employed in that processConsiders the important social and intellectual role of the secretary and how he fitted into the power structure of Islamic society during this periodArgues that the voluminous collections of letters, written mainly in artistic prose, can be classified as an epistolary genre in their own rightShows that Islamic letter-writing was very culture-specific