Scheherazade
Scheherazadeشهرزاد | |
---|---|
Dunyazad (sister) | |
Spouse | Shahryar |
Children | 3 sons |
Other names | Shahrazad, Shahrzad |
Scheherazade (/ʃəˌhɛrəˈzɑːd, -də/)[1] is a major character and the storyteller in the frame narrative of the Middle Eastern collection of tales known as the One Thousand and One Nights.
Name
According to modern scholarship, the name Scheherazade derives from the
The name appears as Šahrazād in the Encyclopaedia of Islam[4] and as Šahrāzād in the Encyclopædia Iranica.[3] Among standard 19th-century printed editions, the name appears as شهرزاد, Šahrazād in Macnaghten's Calcutta edition (1839–1842)[7] and in the 1862 Bulaq edition,[8] and as شاهرزاد, Šāhrazād in the Breslau edition (1825–1843).[9] Muhsin Mahdi's critical edition has شهرازاد, Šahrāzād.[10]
The spelling Scheherazade first appeared in English-language texts in 1801, borrowed from German usage.[1]
Narration
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/95/Ferdinand_Keller_-_Scheherazade_und_Sultan_Schariar_%281880%29.jpg/220px-Ferdinand_Keller_-_Scheherazade_und_Sultan_Schariar_%281880%29.jpg)
The story goes that the monarch
Sir Richard Burton's translation of The Nights describes Scheherazade in this way:
Scheherazade had perused the books, annals, and legends of preceding Kings, and the stories, examples, and instances of bygone men and things; indeed it was said that she had collected a thousand books of histories relating to antique races and departed rulers. She had perused the works of the poets and knew them by heart; she had studied philosophy and the sciences, arts, and accomplishments; and she was pleasant and polite, wise and witty, well-read and well-bred.
Once in the king's chambers, Scheherazade asked if she might bid one last farewell to her beloved younger sister,
Thus the king kept Scheherazade alive day by day, as he eagerly anticipated the conclusion of each previous night's story. At the end of 1,001 nights, and 1,000 stories, Scheherazade finally told the king that she had no more tales to tell him and asked to be able to say goodbye to the three sons and 1 daughter she had given him during those years. During the preceding 1,001 nights, however, the king had fallen in love with Scheherazade. He spared her life and made her his queen.
See also
References
- ^ a b "Scheherazade". Merriam-Webster. Retrieved 27 April 2019.
- .
[T]he narrator's name is of Persian origin, the Arabicised form Shahrazād being the equivalent of the Persian Chehr-āzād, meaning "of noble descent and/or appearance".
- ^ a b Ch. Pellat (2011). "Alf Layla wa-Layla". Encyclopædia Iranica.
- ^ .
- ^ Robert Irwin (2004). The Arabian Nights: A Companion. Tauris Parke Paperbacks. p. 944 (Kindle loc).
- ISBN 9796500054087.
- ^ William Hay Macnaghten, ed. (1839). The Alif laila. Vol. 1. Calcutta, W. Thacker and co. p. 14.
- ^ Kitāb alf laylah wa-laylah. Vol. 1. Bulaq. 1862. p. 20.
- Breslau. p. 31.
- ISBN 978-9004074316.
External links
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