A study on the effect of the Arabic Literature on the European Literature
-Focus on the transformation of the Buddhist legend-

This paper studies on the rapid flourishing of Arabic culture in Spain under Muslim rule, the wide social and cultural ...

A study on the effect of the Arabic Literature on the European Literature
-Focus on the transformation of the Buddhist legend-

This paper studies on the rapid flourishing of Arabic culture in Spain under Muslim rule, the wide social and cultural fusion and the spread of Arabic as a language of culture and literature in Andalusian society, common to both Christians and Muslims of Spain. Especially, this paper surveys the Arabic story collections which found their way into Europe, the Latin translations of such books as “Kalila and Dimna” and “The Thousand and One Nights” and their effect on Spanish and neighbouring European literature. And this paper focuses on the story “Barlaam and Josafat”. The Indian origin of this legend revolves round the life of Buddha and his penance. This old Indian legend known as “Lalita Vistara” has been recently discovered, has managed to invade all religions, cultures and languages. It seems that the legend found its way into Arabic through an old Persian translation. The progress of the story reveals a profound influence exercised upon it by an Arabic text of Islamic cast. The middle ages, with their religious feuds and sharp disputation about the ideal and true religion, were the proper soil for the propagation of this originally Indian legend. This accounts for its popularity in mediaeval literature in different languages. It has thus become the basis of many religious stories and the plays from its transmission up to the beginning of the modern age.
[Key Words : Arabic Literature, European Literature, Muwashshah, Kalila and Dimna, Thousand and One nights, Transformation of the Buddhist legend]