Al-asr fī riḥla maġribiyya mūrīskiyya li- maǧhūl min al-qarn al-hiǧrī al-tāsiˁ[“Captivity in a Moroccan Morisco travel written by an anonymous author in the IXth century after the Hegira”]

Abstract

“Captivity in a Moroccan Morisco travel written by an anonymous author in the IXth century after the Hegira”.This article approaches two different and complementary subjects. The firs one is the analysis of the historical and cultural context of a travel story authored by an anonymous writer in the IXth century after the Hegira. The traveller departed from Fes in order to accomplish the pilgrimage. But he was captured by a group of Christians who took him to some Mediterranean islands. After that he was rescued by a group of Catalonian Mudejars, who paid for his liberty to have a guide in their religious ceremonies and practises. On the other hand, the article seeks to explore the question of the production and typology of the text, studying its evolution and perspectives. It is a text that can be placed within the genre of travels, written by an anonymous Moroccan in the form of a letter addressed to his relatives in Fes, his native town. However, as the text was adopted, reformulated and transmitted by the Morisco community, it became a Mudejar text and lastly a sample for Morisco literature.