Tales of the Alhambra - A book by Washington Irving
AOKs: Arts, History, Ethics
Irving was an American writer and scholar who lived in Granada for some time during the 19th century. After living and studying in Madrid, Irving found great fame with his publication of a biography of Christopher Columbus. For his next project he decided to look into the history of the reconquista, and so decided to live in the last seat of Moorish power, Granada, to conduct his research. When he arrived in Granada, he was overwhelmed by the Alhambra, so much so, that he dedicated his time to finding out more about this incredible building. Because of his fame, he was allowed unrivaled access to all aspects of the building, and much of what we know today comes from Irving's research.
However, Irving didn't just write in a scholarly Historian fashion, he wanted to bring the Alhambra to life and so interwove myths, legends and stories into his recounting of the Alhambra. The book he eventually published, 'Tales of the Alhambra', is written as much for pleasure as it is for its informational content. The genre could loosely be described as 'Romanticized Historical Non-fiction'. You will see numerous copies of this book on sale in most languages. I strongly suggest that you purchase one.
Real Life Situation:
One of Irving's more fascinating 'romanticizations' of History, concerns the bravery he wanted to portray the early explorers with. Irving suggested that Spanish sailors thought the world was flat and that they could be sailing off the face of the earth. This seems like an incredibly foolish or brave thing to do, and as such makes entertaining reading. However, this is not true. There is no evidence to suggest that any civilization ever in the world has ever strongly believed that the world was flat. In fact, there is an abundance of evidence that suggests almost all civilizations have understood that the earth was spherical. Europeans have certainly known this from at least the time of the ancient Greeks.
Ironically, this 'flat earth myth' proposed by Irving caught the imagination of his readers and has now become widely believed to be true. People now mistakenly believe that their ancestors were mistaken.
First Order Questions:
What evidence do we have that civilizations knew the shape of the earth?
Second Order Questions:
Why do we cling to myths?
Are lies more interesting than truth?
How can our imagination take over our reason?
What effect does language have on the way in which we understand our world?
How can art influence the way in which History gets recorded?
However, Irving didn't just write in a scholarly Historian fashion, he wanted to bring the Alhambra to life and so interwove myths, legends and stories into his recounting of the Alhambra. The book he eventually published, 'Tales of the Alhambra', is written as much for pleasure as it is for its informational content. The genre could loosely be described as 'Romanticized Historical Non-fiction'. You will see numerous copies of this book on sale in most languages. I strongly suggest that you purchase one.
Real Life Situation:
One of Irving's more fascinating 'romanticizations' of History, concerns the bravery he wanted to portray the early explorers with. Irving suggested that Spanish sailors thought the world was flat and that they could be sailing off the face of the earth. This seems like an incredibly foolish or brave thing to do, and as such makes entertaining reading. However, this is not true. There is no evidence to suggest that any civilization ever in the world has ever strongly believed that the world was flat. In fact, there is an abundance of evidence that suggests almost all civilizations have understood that the earth was spherical. Europeans have certainly known this from at least the time of the ancient Greeks.
Ironically, this 'flat earth myth' proposed by Irving caught the imagination of his readers and has now become widely believed to be true. People now mistakenly believe that their ancestors were mistaken.
First Order Questions:
What evidence do we have that civilizations knew the shape of the earth?
Second Order Questions:
Why do we cling to myths?
Are lies more interesting than truth?
How can our imagination take over our reason?
What effect does language have on the way in which we understand our world?
How can art influence the way in which History gets recorded?
