The Mozarabic Lyric

Samuel G. Armistead

University of California, Davis

 RUMANIA
111111111 Presentlinguisticfrontiers
Romania,300 A.O.
11111111111111111

••• Approximatelimit of Mozarabic,1000A.O.

Ibero-Romance
Gallo-Romance
Rhaetian
ltalian
~ Sardinian
HfüillUiíll Rumanian
.A. Oalmatian

~h ~\11/~
7//f//¡¡///111\\\\\\\\it
'!/¡¡¡¡¡//1111111111/III
 2

1 Mozarabic botanical terms (Asín Palacios 1943):

- Mozarabic forms are in boldface.
- Arabic forms are underlined.
- Other Romance and Latin forms are italicized.
- Definitions added to the text are enclosed in brackets.

12. In cayamiyya, aniseed is called aquyyila y aqulyolas, that is to say, 'little

needles'. [= Sp. aguja; Port. agulha; Cat. agulla; V. Lat. *acücula]
25. Sorne rural people know al~arraniyya ['grass from Barran'] by the word,
alyelo ['garlic']. [Sp. ajo, ajillo; Port. alho; Cat. all; Lat. allium]
62. Barba de conilyo means 'rabbit's beard' and sorne people call it barba de
lebre, in other words, 'hare's beard'. [Sp. barba de conejo; Port. coelho; Cat.
conill; Lat. c'úrüculum; / Sp. liebre; Port. lebre; Cat. llebre; Lat. lepare]
153. In Cayamiyya, sowbread is called qolonba-qollo, which means 'dove's neck'.
[= Sp. cuello de paloma; Port. colo; Cat. coll; Lat. cóllum / Cat. coloma; Fr.
colombe; Rum. coromb<'i;Lat. c ólum b a / Sp. paloma; Port. pamba; Lat.
palumba]
167. Iklll al-malik ['king's crown'] is called qorno de kanpo in cavan:Tiyya. [= Sp .
cuerno de campo; Port. corno; Cat. corn; Lat. cómu]
184. Yento fulyas, that is, 'a hundred leaves'. [= Sp. ciento; Port. cento; Cat. cent;
Lat. centum / Sp. hoja; Port. folha; Cat. fulla; Lat. folia]
284. The plant that curdles milk is J.a.b.tairuela ['little milk plant'] in cayamiyya.
[= Sp. cuajaleche; Sp. leche; Port. leite; Cat. llit; V. Lat. *lacte]

432. Petras ['stones'] and petreqal ['stony place'] is the small southern wood.
[= Sp. piedras; Port. pedras; Cat. pedres; Lat. µtras / Sp., Port. pedregal;
Lat. petrrcale]
443. Sorne people call [the plantain] plantáyin. [= Sp. llantén; Cat. plantatge;
Lat. plantagrne]
492. Sadha b ['rue'] in cey:amiyya is called ruta uortana, which means 'garden
rue'. [= Sp. ruda; Port. arruda; Cat. ruda; Morocc. Ar. ruta; Lat. rüta]

J
 3

II. Muwashshal}a + Kharj a, Abraham Ibn Ezra (1092±-1167) (Stern 1959:

372-373):

O How shall my heart be soothed,

for it roars in my breast like the sea?

1 My friends, take me by the hands

for my liver burns like fire, (rhyme: -di)
through the absence of the gracious deer, my beloved one.
My eyes m bi tterly, qufl
overflowing with tears like dew, and cannot cease from this. (rhyme: -ªYJl)

2 He is a garden of love, a gazelle, ~n

in whom grace and beauty are united. (rhyme: -fer)
My soul be his ransom and redemption!
My praises for him are fil numerous gufl
that they cannot be exhausted. (rhyme: -ªYJl)

3 He is a bundle of myrrh, the choicest of gazelles; ~n

his fragrance is like that of nard and camphor. (rhyme: -rim )
Those who know him come from every comer
to find with him qufl
balsam for pains of illness. (rhyme: -ayü)

4 How wonderful forme is bis love, ~n

when I see his figure. (rhyme: -t.Q)
His glory is like the sun when it rises:
if those who descend to the e:rave were 1Q see qufl
his shape filllibeauty, they would revive. (rhyme: -ªYll)

5 Be tender, my soul, to the gazelle ~n

who cries with a bitter heart like a bride: (rhyme: -lfil:v
Gar ¿Ké farayu? ¿Kóm bibrayu?
Est' al-}Jabib espero, por él morrayu.
(Tell me, what shall l do? How shall l live? kharja
I am waiting for this beloved one, for him I shall die.) (rhyme: -ªYJl)
 4

III. The Music of a Muwashshaha (Liu-Monroe 1989: 75-76, 98):

man f:iabbak / yafub 'alay-hi t-tajáfi

~il~abbak / ma 'ada yu~~ IJilafi
ma'atabak / 'ala sabili t-~
yashul bak I wá-'anbariyyi s-sawálif
kayfa ~tál I waliya l-mawla la{á' if

sakkanruk / ya IJillidalJil fu'adi

qarrabruk/ jazayta-ni bi-bti'adi
~ayruk / fa-la tukaddir widádi

[áwa'tuk I wa-l-qalbu rájin wa-}yi'if

ka'jfa ~tal I waliya l-mawld la{á' if

TRANSLATION:

He who !oves you, / avoidance is hard on him;

Grant your lover a union; / What good is opposing me?
He has not blamed you, / out of sincerity toward you.
It is easyfar you, I O one with ambergris-scented locks!
How can he perform, I the servant of a lord, subtle tricks?

I have lodged you, / my friend, within my heart;

I have put you close; / you have requited me with rejection;
I treated you with sincerity, / so do not trouble my !ove;
I have yielded to you, I with a hean hoping andfearing;
How can he perform, I the servant of a lord, subtle rricks?

&. .\fa,s ltlJbbak (Al-f:lil• . p. 24; Fcmándcz ~bn.z..ulo

. pp. 622-29) .'l,(Ofk.: ai-dil
RJryúurc:r amá 'i{ IJllil
• .J'I {Al-ljílw : 152: Manzano: 961

~"
Ah___ man_ lµb - bak YaJ- ' ub__ 'a - byh __

~
5 .. ..
Llli -==
~
•- t:5> i':::1
.__,,,
s ;J 2Jj &H 1 \...:,t.. .. ~
• bak mi -·"1_ y>_ layt___ an_ M - ¡¡.¡;¡~ ~I 41 •

·¡ - 11 ' a-Ll sa-bi_ sa -

 s
IV. Deciphering a kharja (Stern 3; Heger 3; G.G. 3; S.-S. 32):

l.

2.
j j, • [i] V I . ))
wlyJ~ WpY/

o~ · í\ ~ W ~ .:l j..- ÍJ_)J ~ J···

~
171 ~ ,¡ et s b -....
c1.I
71 · ,.

; 111r-J.4n C--,NI Sf'I· 1·rUrv

hi"Cij ~ ctl
í.l
cliW n' Jy&'

3. Paleographic transcription :
dsrw myw ~dylw
[. .... ..... ] n bwnh ajbsarh km rayh
)
dswly 'syd 'n wad aj li.garh

4. Collation ofthe three extant MSS:

ds knd myw ~dylw [bnyd)
[t)n bwnh albsarh
km rayh dswly 'syd
'n wad al ]:i.garh
5. Mozarabic :
Des kand Meu Sidielo bénid,
¡tan bona al-bisara!
com raya de sale esid
en W ad-al-}:iagara.
6. Modern Spanish:
Cuando mi Cidello viene,
¡qué buenas albricias!
como rayo de sol sale
en Guadalajara .
7. English :
From the moment my lord appears,
What good news !
like a ray of sunlight he comes forth
in Guadalajara.

v. Kharj as and Villancicos:
la. ¿Qué faré, mamma?
Meu l-]:1ab1best'ad yanna.
(GG 14; SS 39 l
lb. Xil González Dávila llama a la aldaba.
No sé, mi madre, si me le abra.
(Gonzalo Correas, 1637)
(Frenk 1987: no. 189)
2a. Ya mamma, meu 1-1).abilie
bais' e no más tornarade.
Gar, ké farayo, ya mamma:
¿No un beiello lesarade?
(GG XXI; SS 7)
2b. Vanse mis amores, madre,
luengas tierras van morar:
Yo no los puedo olvidar.
¿Quién me los hará tornar?
(Gil Vicente, 1465?-1537?)
(Frenk 1987: no. 525)
3a. ¡Albo día, este día,
día de 1-cAn~ara }:iaqqa!
Vestirey, meu al-mudabbag
) wa-nasuqqu 1-rum]:i.as aqq a.
(GG XXV; SS 24)
36. La mañana de San Juan,
al tiempo que alboreava,
gran fiesta hacen los moros
por la vega de Granada.
Revolviendo sus cavallos
y jugando de las lanzas, ...
ricas marlotas vestidas,
tejidas de oro y grana ....
( 16th-century romance)
(Armistead and Silverman 1965-1966 )
6
What shall I do, mother?
My lover is at the door.
Gil González Dávila is knocking at the door.
I wonder, mother, if I should open it.
Oh mother, my beloved
is leaving and will never return.
Tell me, what shall I do, oh mother:
Won't he even leave one kiss forme?
My beloved is leaving, mother,
to dwell in distant lands.
I cannot forget him.
Who will bring him back to me?
At dawn of day, this day,
truly on St. John's day indeed!
I will put on my embroidered jacket
and we will break many a lance!
On the morning ofSt. John,
at the break of dawn,
the Moors hold a great festival
on the plains of Granada.
Turning around their horses
and jousting with their lances, ...
wearing rich robes,
woven of scarlet and gold ....
 7
VI. Bibliography:

A Mozarabic Language:
Miguel Asín Palacios, Glosario de voces romances registradas por un
botánico anónimo hispano-musulmán (siglos XI-XII), Madrid-Granada:
C.S.I.C., 1943.
Alvaro Galmés de Fuentes, Dialectología mozárabe, Madrid: Gredos, 1983.
David A. Griffin, "Los mozarabismos del Vocabulista atribuido a Ramón
Martí," Al-Andalus, 23 (1958) -25 (1960).
Ramón Menéndez Pidal, Orígenes del español, 3rd ed. (Madrid: Espasa-
Calpe, 1950), pp. 415-440.
Manuel Sánchez Guarner, "El mozárabe peninsular," Enciclopedia
Lingüística Hispánica, ed. Manuel Alvar et al. (Madrid: C.S.I.C., 1960), I,
293-342.
Francisco Javier Simonet, Glosario de voces ibéricas y latinas usadas entre
los mozárabes, Madrid: Fortanet, 1889.

B. The Kharj as:

Samuel G. Armistead and Joseph H. Silverman, "La Sanjuanada: ¿Huellas
de una jarcha mozárabe en la tradición actual?," Nueua Revista de Filología
Hispánica, 18 (1965-1966), 437-443.
Samuel G. Armistead, "A Brief History of Kharja Studies," Hispania, 70
(1987), 8-15.
Margit Frenk, Corpus de la antigua lírica popular hispánica (Siglos XV a
XVII), Madrid: Castalia, 1987 .
Emilio García Gómez, Las )archas romances de la serie árabe en su marco,
Barcelona: Seix Barral, 1975.
Richard Hitchcock, The Kharjas: A Critical Bibliography, London: Grant &
Cutler, 1977.
Klaus Heger, Die bisher ueroffentlichten Kharjas und ihre Deutungen,
Tübingen, 1960 .
Benjamin M. Liu and James T. Monroe, Ten Hispano-Arabic Strophic Songs
in the Modern Oral Tradition, Berkeley-Los Angeles: University of
California Press, 1989.
Samuel M. Stern, "Les vers finaux en espagnol dans les muwashshab.s
hispano-hébrai'ques: Une contribution a l'histoire du muwashsha}:i et a
l'étude du vieux dialecte espagnol 'mozarabe'," Al-Andalus, 13 ( 1948), 299-
346; English trans.: Hispano-Arabic Strophic Poetry, Oxford: Oxford
University Press, 1974.
 8
Samuel M. Stern, "The Muwashshal).s of Abraham Ibn Ezra," Hispanic
Studies in Honour of I. González Llubera, ed. Frank Pierce (Oxford: Dolphin,
1959), pp. 367-382.
J. M. Sola-Solé, Corpus de poesía mozárabe (Las )archas andalusíes ),
Barcelona: Puvill, 1973.