Humanities: History

422 LETTERS IN CANADA: 1965 In·writing 'this.work 'J'lisi had at his disposal the rich tradition of pre-Islamic Arab virtues, more than six centuries of Islam,, Persian, and Indian thought woven into several "mirror books," the great translations of Greek philosophy and commentaries on them by Muslim thinkers, and finally the great assimilation of all this into the "body ethic" of Islam by al-Ghazzali. His major debt appears to have been to Ibn Miskawayh whose work ·on ethics was announced to appear in translation a few years ago. Mr. Wickens, who is an oriental scholar of long standing, is at home in both Arabic and Persian, knowledge of the two languages being in this particular case of vital importance inasmuch as the classical Persian .of 'fusi's period is loaded with Arabicisms and learned Arabic phraseology . The accuracy of the translation cannot be criticized except perhaps by the most erudite researcher. But here Mr. Wickens has quoted in his notes, in transcribed Persian, all the possible cases which may call for variations in 'translation or interpretation. He has also used an elaborate but essentially simple system of cross-references in order to insure the , consistent meaning of terms and the exact rendering of definitionsa requirement for a work on philosophy. Translations of important Muslim mediaeval texts (and 'fiisi's Ethics is surely one) are so few that readers are grateful to Mr. Wickens for this accomplishment. The translation will be of great benefit to students of Islamic thought and culture and to those interested in mediaeval philosophy and the role the Muslims played in bridging Greek philosophy with that of Christian mediaeval philosophy. Historians of ideas and social historical anthropologists will find much useful material in this .work. And so will the general reader who is interested in the mediaeval ethics, the home economics, and the city politics .of one of the most flourishing periods of world · culture. (MICHEL M. MAZZAOtu) HISTORY The principal source for this admirable book, A Baronial Household of the Thirteenth Century, by Margaret Wade Labarge (Macmillan of Canada, pp. 236, $5.50), is the household account, or better, the summary made by the steward of the daily expenses in the household HUMANITIES 423 of Eleanor de Montfort, Countess of Leicester, over a period of some seven months in the tragic year 126). The account was edited more than a century ago, but it is dear that Mrs: Labarge's scholarly integrity had led her to consult the original in extenso. She has transcribed and translated a 'small portion of the household account in this book, if only to illustrate the nature of the material she is dealing with. In doing so, she has demonstrated her considerable skill in piecing · together the innumerable fragments which comprise her evidence. The household account of the Countess of Leicester is supplemented by other household accounts of the same period, by contemporary treatises on estate management, manuals of etiquette, and the.compilations of grammarians and encyclopaedists. The author has not neglected penitential manuals, wills, inventories, and government records. Special attention has been paid to the Liberate Rolls for the reign of Henry III. The book contains much material drawn from Cesarius of Heisterbach, Salimbene , Grosseteste, Robert Mannying, Jacques de Vitry, and Gerald of Wales-to name but a few. Suffice it to say that the range of Mrs. Labarge's sources is impressive. Mrs. Labarge has assembled from her primary material a complete picture of the daily life of a great baronial household in the thirteenth century, a task requiring great attention to detail and skill in arrangement . She begins, appropriately, with "The Castle as a Home" and then proceeds to a description of the duties of the lady of the household and the Hexible and effective organization over which she presided. Subsequent chapters are devoted to food, drink, spices, clothes, amusements (the chase, tournaments, pets of all descriptions), and the problems and difficulties of travelling in the Middle Ages. This book is at once compact and complete. Mrs. Labarge is a generous historian. She never makes the unkind mistake of assuming that we know more than we do. She is quick to point out the...