arabian middle age magicians?

A place where beginners can participate, ask questions, and post their views. However, beginners typically ask a lot of questions about sources, tricks, books, and so on. In fact, all magicians are interested (or should be) in the provenance of tricks, ideas, and related matters. This department will service these needs.
Andres Reynoso
Posts: 247
Joined: December 22nd, 2010, 10:38 am
Location: Mexico D.F.

arabian middle age magicians?

Postby Andres Reynoso » January 10th, 2014, 6:08 pm

Hi
I'm looking for information about the figure of magicians during arabic middle age or something like jugglers or mistrels (not exactly musicians)

We heard about witches, sorcerors in the catholic side of Middle Age but I haven't found anything about the arabic side. If we are asked about a wizard we think inmediately in Merlin. We have notions about buffons, mistrels and street performers but all is around catholic culture.

Any body knows something about street performes in arabic medieval culture? Something about magicians? I mean not only genie on arabian nights.

Any clue what concepts or sources I need to research?

Thanks
Andres Reynoso

Jonathan Townsend
Posts: 8704
Joined: January 17th, 2008, 12:00 pm
Location: Westchester, NY
Contact:

Re: arabian middle age magicians?

Postby Jonathan Townsend » January 10th, 2014, 8:58 pm

AFAIK the practice of entertaining in the streets with tricks to amuse dates back as far as markets and streets. If this were the magic cafe I'd post something tart including some suggestion to look up the words magic, magician and genie.

Since this is a nicer place with lots of learned people - we could start a dialog about magic in stories that date back to pre-French colonial times and explore the 1001 nights as a start.

Another nice place to start might be here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magi
Mundus vult decipi -per Caleb Carr's story Killing Time


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