The Arts of Intimacy: Christians, Jews, and Muslims in the Making of Castilian Culture

I found this book to be more of an extended argument than a simple exposé of its subject matter, and I do not state that as a negative critique. To the contrary, it is a brilliant, well-documented and in my opinion an ultimately convincing argument for a collection of propositions: That the history of medieval Spain, as well as medieval and renaissance Europe, was re-written to conform to later religious and cultural biases; that what we call the Renaissance may well have been sparked in eleventh century Spain (in particular, Toledo) as opposed to fourteenth century northern Italy; and that what is loosely referred to as "Western Civilization" was strongly influenced by and carries a heavy debt to medieval Islamic culture, within which was nestled an effervescent and reincarnated Jewish culture parts of which were likewise transmitted to Europe - to name but a few of this book's underlying propositions. That these propositions are not yet well accepted, and in the not too distant past were simply dismissed without discussion (as Ms. Menocal emphasized in her prior book, The Arabic Role in Medieval Literary History: A Forgotten Heritage, which is likewise an extended and forceful argument), as well as the fact that they represent a sea-change in our thinking of medieval history and our cultural roots, is more than sufficient justification for the authors to take a whole book to argue in their support.As the title to this review indicates, this book is dense and rich, to be savored a bite at a time. (Then again, so is the history of Spain, which the additional modifier "complicated" barely begins to describe.) And while it is very well written, it can also be challenging. I found myself saying several times at perceived redundancies, "wait, you already said that." Then, as I read on, I realized that the authors were re-stating a conclusion set forth earlier to begin yet another argument in favor of that conclusion. There is also a degree of academese in the writing style, but they do try to keep it to a minimum, which is more than compensated by the numerous, eye-candy illustrations. And if you stay with it you will be rewarded: For example, a wonderful picture of the future William IX of Aquitaine will arise in your mind. There he is as a child in southern France, listening to the singing of "qiyan" which his father had brought back to France from Spain as spoils of war. These qiyan - pretty girls taught to sing numerous songs (a type of Islamic geisha, if you will) - would be singing intricately metered poetry in classical Arabic, Iberian Arabic, and Romance (a Latinate precursor of Spanish), that predominantly spoke of love and the yearnings and suffering it induces. No surprise that the adult William IX of Aquitaine became Europe's first Troubadour. You will meet Cluny monks who become archbishops in Toledo, newly acquired by the Christian king Alfonso VI from the last Muslim ruler (who was given the kingship of Valencia in a kind of medieval real estate swap), who must deal with Arabic speaking Christians who have preserved the Visigothic rites through centuries of co-existence with Muslims and who are antagonistic to the Roman rites' pretensions to superiority. These same archbishops also willingly interact with Muslims and Jews to their mutual benefit.The authors speak of the "linguistic polyphony" that predominated in this period of Spain, but they bring their own polyphony to this work: Jerrilynn D. Dodds brings architectural history to the table (she is the author of Al Andalus: The Art of Islamic Spain, a splendid coffee table book that was published by the Metropolitan Museum of Art to accompany its 1992 blockbuster exhibit of the same name); María Rosa Menocal, medieval literature and languages; and Abigail Krasner Balbale the cultural history of medieval Iberia. The combination of these three perspectives is part of what makes this such a rich and chewy read. Further, for those interested in further readings on this period of history, besides a full bibliography there is an entire chapter ("Sources and Readings") which, as another reviewer has noted, by itself is worth the price of the book since it provides a sophisticated Cliff's Notes overview of practically all of the source literature that any serious student could wish for, itself divided into three subparts ("Histories and Religions," "Architecture and Art," and "Languages and Literatures"). It's positively humbling.This book forms a nice complement to Ms. Menocal's prior work, The Ornament of the World, a book expressly pitched to the lay reader covering much of the same subject matter. That these are timely works hardly goes without saying, what with some so-called intellectuals out there screaming about a "clash of civilizations" between the West and the Islamic world. The Arts of Intimacy points out that the West and the Islamic world were, for better or worse, parts of each other, a history that was blotted out by fanatics on both sides. What we are experiencing today is only a continuation of what started over a thousand years ago, and how we - all of us - deal with it this time around will depend in good part upon how much we choose to remember of what worked before and what didn't. We can use more sane and erudite voices like those of Dodds, Menocal and Balbale, which makes truly tragic the loss of María Rosa Menocal to cancer in October, 2012 at the much too young age of 59. The Arts of Intimacy is a worthy epitaph.

In The Arts of Intimacy, Dodds, Menocal, and Balbale document and analyze the collision/fusion of Muslim, Christian (indigenous Mozarabic and Roman), and Jewish cultures in the architecture, literature, decorative arts, and linguistics of medieval Spain. They focus on Toledo, which, as a city on the border between the Christian and Muslim worlds, was a microcosm of the evolution taking place all over the peninsula.This is a terrific book, beautiful to look at (almost but not quite a coffee-table book), well-organized, nicely-written, and full of wondrous detail and provocative thinking. For those interested in learning more about this subject, the 57-page annotated bibliography "Sources and Readings" is alone worth the price of the book.If you are one of those who thought Menocal's  The Ornament of the World  presented a simplistic, utopian view of the period, this book is the antidote. The detail is lavish in support of the theses and there is no attempt to gloss over the many ugly lapses of La Convivencia.If anything, The Arts of Intimacy argues against any simplistic or reductionist approach to the development of Iberian culture. Esthetic influences were as fluid and multidimensional as political alliances, and in many cases religion turns out to be the least useful tool of explanation.Get the book. Look at the photographs. Read the poems. Absorb and reflect on the hundreds of examples of cross-cultural influence. I promise you a worthwhile journey.

The book tries to flavor the period by incorporating some elements of Christian and Islamic cultures in Art and Architecture and to show how they influenced each other into moulding some commonality in the two cultures. The role of the Jewish population in Spain through this time is shown to some small extent in literature, but to a lesser extent in Art and Architecture and is mostly limited, probably due to destruction or repurposing of its materials by the Catholic society that displaced it.The history of the time is made as clear as it can be, given the complexity of ongoing conflict within the Catholic and Islamic communities ( and the Jewish?) and the ambivalent display of xenophobia and yet contemporary emulation of neighboring cultures. This simultaneous and inherently-inconsistent approach is perhaps the most refreshing note to this volume, which eschews a dogmatic unified-attitude and practice of Medieval culture.

Its easy to forget - or to be not told - that for nearly 800 years, jews, christians and muslims lived (mostly) in peace an prosperity in Islamic Spain and during that time was the center of culture and learning for all of Europe.

This is a simply gorgeous, beautifully illustrated and poetically written book about a very special time and place. I got this as a treat for myself, and as a model of a good approach to this material for a PhD student in my department. If you love the art of Al-Andalus, this books belongs on your shelf.

This is a wonderful book that serves both as a wonderful introduction to Al Andaluz, a place and a time that gives one much needed hope that diversity can be a powerful creative force. At the same time the book is solidly researched. One finds gem after gem rescued from obscurity: beautiful poetry, architecture and crafts woven into fascinating stories and historical background.

Lots of detailed information of that time period. As dense as a textbook — and that’s exactly what it is.

The book provides historical facts demonstrating, at least to me, even with different religions, peoples can live together sharing the good within them and giving their best for the whole world.

Oustanding history. Integrated and diverse and diverse! Dodds is a tue expert and her cowriters are alos very knolwedgeable and write entertainingly , as well.