Power in the Portrayal

"Power in the Portrayal" unveils a fresh perspective on power relations in 11th- and 12th-century Muslim Spain as reflected in historical and literary texts of the period. Ross Brann reveals the paradoxical relations between the Andalusi Muslim and Jewish elites in an era when long periods of tolerance and respect were punctuated by outbreaks of tension and hostility. The examined Arabic texts reveal a fragmented perception of the Jew in 11th-century al-Andalus. They depict seemingly contradictory figures at whose poles are an intelligent, skilled and noble Jew deserving of homage and a vile, stupid and fiendish enemy of God and Islam. For their part, the Hebrew and Judeo-Arabic texts display a deep-seated reluctance to portray Muslims in any light at all. Brann cogently demonstrates that these representations of Jews and Muslims - each of which is concerned with issues of sovereignty and the exercise of power - reflect the shifting, fluctuating and ambivalent relations between elite members of two of the ethno-religious communities of al-Andalus.