Javanmardi: The Ethics and Practice of Persianate Perfection

Description

Javanmardi is one of those Persian terms that is heard frequently in discussions associated with Persian identity, and yet its precise meaning, conveying all the nuances inherent within it, is so difficult to comprehend. A number of equivalents have been offered, including chivalry and manliness, and while these terms are not incorrect, javanmardi transcends them. The concept encompasses character traits of generosity, selflessness, hospitality, bravery, courage, honesty, truthfulness and justice - and yet there are occasions when the exact opposite of these is required for one to be a javanmard. At times it would seem that being a javanmard is about knowing and doing the right thing, although this is not an adequate definition at all. The present collection is the product of a three-year project, financed by the British Institute of Persian Studies on the theme of `Javanmardi in the Persianate world'. The articles in this volume represent the sheer range, influence and importance that the concept has had in contributing and creating Persianate identities over the past one hundred and fifty years. A conscious decision was taken to make the contributions as wide-ranging as possible. Rather than focus, for example, on medieval Sufi manifestations of javanmardi, both medieval and modern studies were encouraged, as were literary, artistic, archaeological and sociological studies among others. The opening essays examine the concept's origin in medieval history and legends throughout a geographical background that spans from modern Iran to Turkey, Armenia and Bosnia, among both Muslim and Christian communities. Subsequent articles explore modern implications of javanmardi within such contexts as sportsmanship, political heroism, gender fluidity, cinematic representations and the advent of digitalisation. Contents Introduction: The Felon, the Faithful and the Fighter: The Protean Face of the Chivalric Man (Javanmard) in the Medieval Persianate and Modern Iranian Worlds • Lloyd Ridgeon 1 La Fata illa ʿAli wa la Sayf illa Dhu’l-Faqar: Epigraphic Ceramic Platters from Medieval Nishapur Documenting Esteem for ʿAli ebn AbiTaleb as the Ideal Fata • Raya Y. Shani 2 From Naserian Courtly-Fotovvat to Akhi-Fotovvat: Transformation of the Fotovvat Doctrine and Communality in Late Medieval Anatolia • Rıza Yıldırım 3 Akhi lodge, Akhi architecture or Akhi patronage? Architecture of Fotovvat-Based Associations in Medieval Anatolia • Maxime Durocher 4 The Notion of Erenler in the Divan-ı Şeyh Mehmed Çelebi (Hızırname) • Sibel Kocaer 5 Fotovvat in Bosnia • Ines Aščerić-Todd 6 Late Medieval Armenian Texts on Fotovvat: Translations in Context • Rachel Goshgarian 7 Adab in the Workshop: Concepts of Fotovvat, Proper Conduct and Moral Economy in Central Asian Craftsmanship • Jeanine Elif Dağyeli 8 Zurkhaneh, Sufism, Fotovvat/Javanmardi and Modernity: Considerations about Historical Interpretations of a Traditional Athletic Institution • Philippe Rochard and Denis Jallat 9 Representation of the Hero Tayyeb Hajj Rezaʾi: Sociological Reflections on Javanmardi • Olmo Gölz 10 Digital Javanmardi: Chivalric Ethics and Imagined Iran on the Internet • Babak Rahimi 11 Constructing Masculinities through the Javanmards in Pre-Revolutionary Iranian Cinema • Nacim Pak-Shiraz 12 Masculinity Crisis and the Javanmard Icon in Iranian Cinema • Farshad Zahedi 13 Princes, Thieves and Death: The Making of Heroes amongst the Yezidis of Armenia • Christine Allison and Estelle Amy de la Bretèque 14 A Tale of Two Concepts: Civanmertlik and Fütüvvet in Modern Turkey • David Barchard The Contributors