Monday, April 07, 2008

Manic Monday - one thousand

Our word (or phrase or number) from Mo is ONE THOUSAND. I've decided to go with
Scheherazade from ONE THOUSAND and One Nights,

also called The Arabian Nights.

ONE THOUSAND and One Nights is a collection of stories collected over thousands of years by various authors, translators and scholars in various countries. These collections of tales trace their roots back to ancient Arabia and Yemen, ancient India, ancient Asia Minor, ancient Persia, ancient Egypt, ancient Mesopotamian Mythology, ancient Syria, and medieval Arabic folk stories from the Caliphate era. Though an original manuscript has never been found, several versions date the collection's genesis to somewhere between AD 800-900.


What is common throughout all the editions of The Nights is the initial frame story of the ruler Shahryar and his wife Scheherazade and the framing device incorporated throughout the tales themselves. The stories proceed from this original tale; some are framed within other tales, while others begin and end of their own accord. Some editions contain only a few hundred nights, while others include 1001 or more "nights."

With her encyclopedic knowledge and narrative skills, Scheherazade established a pattern of spinning out an exciting tale, but stopping before it reached an end, sparking the imagination of Shahrayar.

And so the King kept Scheherazade alive as he eagerly anticipated each new story, until, ONE THOUSAND and one adventurous nights, and three sons later, the King had not only been entertained but wisely educated in morality and kindness by Scheherazade who became his Queen, saving the rest of the kingdom’s young women from slaughter.

The tales vary widely: they include historical tales, love stories, tragedies, comedies, poems, burlesques, various forms of erotica, and Muslim religious legends. Numerous stories depict djinn, magicians, and legendary places, which are often intermingled with real people and geography; the historical caliph Harun al-Rashid is a common protagonist, as are his alleged court poet Abu Nuwas and his vizier, Ja'far al-Barmaki.

theteach


16 comments:

Sandee said...

I never even thought of this. What a great post for 1000. A classic tale. Have a great MM. :)

Kostas said...

Splendid fairy tale, grew a lot of generations of persons in all the planet!
Very good post!

Jeff B said...

I really enjoyed this post. Wonderful information.

Travis Cody said...

Great post! I remember reading these stories when I was a kid. They were so full of adventure.

Happy MM!

Gattina said...

Fortunately I choose the Euro for the 1000 meme ! I hesitated between 1001 night and the Euro, lol !

Queen-Size funny bone said...

I jst watched the Arabian nights movie yesterday....I love those old classics. It was a wonderful way to spend a cold and damp Sunday afternoon.

Anonymous said...

WOW, that one dame out of the blue... Mo's gonna have a difficult time pocking post of the week. So far, they've been all good!

Julie said...

Very good! Such interesting artwork to go with this!

Happy MM!

Mo and The Purries said...

As soon as I saw the words "a thousand and one nights" the phrase "frame story" popped into my head.
Yes, I have an English teacher to thank for that!!!!

Great post for 1,000!

frizzyeatworld said...

I just loved that, Teach. Great take on "one thousand." Cheers! ;)

Suzie said...

Boy I wish I had time to read good books. The artwork looks beautiful. I think I remember reading this (or a verison of it) as a young adult.At this point though I'm lucky to read a few pages of a magazine.

Vinny "Bond" Marini said...

cool story

thanks for sharing it

Sarge Charlie said...

I wanted to stop by and thank you for kind comment on my Manic Monday 1000 post.

Barb said...

What an excellent take on this week's prompt! Give yourself an A, Teach!!

Anonymous said...

Very cool post! :)

Happy Manic Monday and thanks for stopping by.

Marilyn said...

I thought of this, but you did a much better job of it than I would have. I've only ever read one version and I always wondered why there weren't the 1,000 stories promissed in the title. It's good to know that there are in some other versions.