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La civilización hispano-árabe
The definitive work on the spiritual Islamic heritage of Spain.
280 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1970
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About the author
Titus Burckhardt
73 books106 followersTitus Burckhardt (Ibrahim Izz al-Din after his Islamic name), a German Swiss, was born in Florence, Italy in 1908 and died in Lausanne, Switzerland in 1984.He devoted all his life to the study and exposition of the different aspects of Wisdom tradition.
He was an eminent member of the "Traditionalist School" of twentieth-century authors. He was a frequent contributor to the journal Studies in Comparative Religion along with other prominent members of the school.
Burckhardt was the scion of a patrician family of Basel. He was the great-nephew of the art-historian Jacob Burckhardt and the son of the sculptor Carl Burckhardt. Titus Burckhardt was a contemporary of Frithjof Schuon – leading exponent of traditionalist thought in the twentieth century – and the two spent their early school days together in Basel around the time of the First World War. This was the beginning of an intimate friendship and harmonious intellectual and spiritual relationship that was to last a lifetime.
Burckhardt was, as his grandfather, a connoisseur of Islamic art, architecture and civilisation. He compiled and published work from the Sufi masters: Ibn Arabi (1165–1240), Abd-al-karim Jili (1365–1424) and Muhammad al-Arabi al-Darqawi (1760–1823).
He was an eminent member of the "Traditionalist School" of twentieth-century authors. He was a frequent contributor to the journal Studies in Comparative Religion along with other prominent members of the school.
Burckhardt was the scion of a patrician family of Basel. He was the great-nephew of the art-historian Jacob Burckhardt and the son of the sculptor Carl Burckhardt. Titus Burckhardt was a contemporary of Frithjof Schuon – leading exponent of traditionalist thought in the twentieth century – and the two spent their early school days together in Basel around the time of the First World War. This was the beginning of an intimate friendship and harmonious intellectual and spiritual relationship that was to last a lifetime.
Burckhardt was, as his grandfather, a connoisseur of Islamic art, architecture and civilisation. He compiled and published work from the Sufi masters: Ibn Arabi (1165–1240), Abd-al-karim Jili (1365–1424) and Muhammad al-Arabi al-Darqawi (1760–1823).
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
April 3, 2022
Who are the Moors?
"The moors were simply Maghrebins, inhabitants of the Maghreb, the western part of the Islamic world, that extends from Spain to Tunisia, and represents a homogeneous entity."
As it wasn't the first time I'm reading a Burckhardt, I had my idea and expectations: the concise yet deep exploration of the local culture - architecture, arts, philosophy and such. But to my surprise it was more immersive than his usual accounts. It had more details about the urban life and its history than his book Art Of Islam: Language And Meaning , Fez: City of Islam , ...
In this one we see more of Burckhardt the storyteller and a bit less of the historian, and that helps the reader navigate the change of the political order smoothly. Some chapters were dedicated to cities like: Cordoba, Toledo, Granada ... And specific themes like: the philosophical outlook, chivalric love, mystics, ... All of this was interwoven in a way that brings together the history of the region and its cultural heritage.
Expect to find a great collection of pictures of: textile details, manuscripts, architecture, art,... there are also diagrams to help with some specific topics namely: philosophy.
"The moors were simply Maghrebins, inhabitants of the Maghreb, the western part of the Islamic world, that extends from Spain to Tunisia, and represents a homogeneous entity."
As it wasn't the first time I'm reading a Burckhardt, I had my idea and expectations: the concise yet deep exploration of the local culture - architecture, arts, philosophy and such. But to my surprise it was more immersive than his usual accounts. It had more details about the urban life and its history than his book Art Of Islam: Language And Meaning , Fez: City of Islam , ...
In this one we see more of Burckhardt the storyteller and a bit less of the historian, and that helps the reader navigate the change of the political order smoothly. Some chapters were dedicated to cities like: Cordoba, Toledo, Granada ... And specific themes like: the philosophical outlook, chivalric love, mystics, ... All of this was interwoven in a way that brings together the history of the region and its cultural heritage.
Expect to find a great collection of pictures of: textile details, manuscripts, architecture, art,... there are also diagrams to help with some specific topics namely: philosophy.
September 10, 2016
I found this book quite enjoyable. My only qualms lie in the lack of relevancy in the pictures supplied on any given page, the fact that a prior knowledge of philosophy is required to fully grasp the concepts that form the primary basis of this work, and that it is sadly obvious at times the age in which this book was written.
March 11, 2022
Beautiful, although romantizased (biased) and dated.
Anyway, worth a reading. Very palatable.
Anyway, worth a reading. Very palatable.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews