Against the methodological backdrop of historical and comparative
folk narrative research, 101 Middle Eastern Tales and Their Impact
on Western Oral Tradition surveys the history, dissemination, and
characteristics of over one hundred narratives transmitted to
Western tradition from or by the Middle Eastern Muslim literatures
(i.e., authored written works in Arabic, Persian, and Ottoman
Turkish). For a tale to be included, Ulrich Marzolph considered two
criteria: that the tale originates from or at least was transmitted
by a Middle Eastern source, and that it was recorded from a Western
narrator's oral performance in the course of the nineteenth or
twentieth century. The rationale behind these restrictive
definitions is predicated on Marzolph's main concern with the
long-lasting effect that some of the "Oriental" narratives
exercised in Western popular tradition - those tales that have
withstood the test of time, Marzolph focuses on the originally
"Oriental" tales that became part and parcel of modern Western oral
tradition. Since antiquity, the "Orient" constitutes the
quintessential Other vis-a-vis the European cultures. While
delineation against this Other served to define and reassure the
Self, the "Orient" also constituted a constant source of
fascination, attraction, and inspiration. Through oral retellings,
numerous tales from Muslim tradition became an integral part of
European oral and written tradition in the form of learned
treatises, medieval sermons, late medieval fabliaux, early modern
chapbooks, contemporary magazines, and more. In present times, when
national narcissisms often acquire the status of strongholds
delineating the Us against the Other, it is imperative to
distinguish, document, visualize, and discuss the extent to which
the West is not only indebted to the Muslim world but also shares
common features with Muslim narrative tradition. 101 Middle Eastern
Tales and Their Impact on Western Oral Tradition is an important
contribution to this debate and a vital work for scholars,
students, and readers of folklore and fairy tales.
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