Variance in Arabic Manuscripts: Arabic Didactic Poems from the Eleventh to the Seventeenth Centuries - Analysis of Textual Variance and Its Control in the Manuscripts

The present volume is a study of the phenomena of variance in the manuscripts of Arabic didactic poems composed between the eleventh and the seventeenth centuries in an area stretching from Andalusia to China's borders. Categories of variance such as relating to text, number of verses, and the means of controlling them in the manuscripts are identified. The book also portrays the cultural background to the study of Arabic didactic poetry.