Logos Islamikos: Studia Islamica in Honorem G.M. Wickens ed. by R.M. Savory and D.A. Agius (review)

HUMANITIES 89 the pursuit of learning he sacrificed both his social ambitions and his health. Throughouthis life he sufferedfrom violent headaches which were accompanied by fits ofarudety and were, ofcourse, incurable at that time. He also represented a new type of man of letters in that he was not a member of the clergy but a married man; while he never knew poverty, he was nonetheless burdened with the responsibilities of a family man and the management of his properties. By '505 he married Roberte *Le Lieur and they had twelve children, of whom at least eight survived. Like all the volumes in this ambitious project, this one is pleasing to the eye and easy to handle and hold. The print must have been specially chosen for the overworked eyes of scholars, and is, like the heroines of the fairy tales, 'as good as it is beautiful.' On the page which lists the members of the Advisory Committee we find a final paragraph which acknowledges the work of the'manuscript editors,' Margaret Parker and Erika Rummel. To them we too add ourword ofrecognitionand gratitude, and to Antje Lingner, who designed the book, for indeed it is a piece of fine workmanship. It is fitting too to give recognition to those who provided illustrations - photographers of today and artists of a prephotography era. Photographs of engravings on coins, busts, oil paintings , wood-cuts, pen-and-ink drawings - they are a worthy accompaniment to the fme writing. One would hope that the fmal volume will carry a full index, matching the writers with the men and women about whose lives they have written. It would be satisfying to be able to find an old friend among the contributors and to turn easily to see his handling of his subject. That is a small thing, however. The book is one that is a splendid adjunct to the Erasrnian project, and one that will please all Renaissance scholars, particularly admirers of Erasmus and his contemporaries. (SISTER GERALDINE THOMPSON, CSJ) R.M. Savory and D.A. Agius, editors. Logos Islamikos: Studia Islamica in Honorem G.M. Wickens Pontifical Institute of Mediaeval Studies '984. Papers in Mediaeval Studies 6. xii, 35'. $32.00 paper A Festschrift offers occasion for celebration, reflection, and stock-taking. Despite its somewhat awkward title, this collection of studies celebrates with due honour the achievements of Michael Wickens as a scholar and teacher of Islamic Studies, who devoted the largest partof his professional life to building up that discipline in the University of Toronto. A graduate of Cambridge in Oriental Languages, Michael Wickens held teaching posts at that University and the University of London before coming to Toronto in 1957. Foundingchairman of the DepartmentofislarrucStudies, Wickens was soon recognized by election to the Royal Society of Canada and, subsequently, by his appointment as University Professor in the University of Toronto. The wide range of Wickens's scholarly interests finds an appropriate reflection in this collection of nineteen essays, edited by Toronto colleagues with the assistance of a distinguished international advisory board: half of the collection comprises papers on Language and Literatures, grouped into two sections dealing with Arabic and Persian materials respectively, while the second half presents studies of various aspects of the Islamic World ('Islamic Weltanschauungen'), concluding with two papers which compare Islam to Christianity and Hinduism respectively. Although intended to honour one scholar, a Festschrift should offera substantial sample ofcurrent scholarly work which makes it possible to reflect on the progress of the discipline, to take stock of accomplishments, and to gauge the prorruse for the future. The present collection more than satisfies such expectations. Among the Studies in Arabic Language and Literature, particularly delightful are ihe study of 'Musical Humour in the Kitab al-Aghani' by George Sawa, and Allen's'Analysis of the "Tale of the Three Apples" from The Thousand and One Nights: Even more substantial are the five papers on Persian Language and Literature; especially to be noted are the study of ,An Early Persian Sufi, Shaykh Abu Sa'id of Mayhanah' by Bosworth, and Subtelny's recreation of 'Scenes from the Literary Life of Timurid Herat: A selection of the better is necessarily subjective; it should...