A Grammarian's Life in his own Voice : Autobiographical Fragments in Arabic Biographical Literature

This paper follows the professional and personal biography of one of the most important third/ninth century Iraqi grammarians, Muḥammad b. Yaḥyā Thaʿlab (d. 291/904), identifying and evaluating the importance of events narrated in his own voice within larger compilations of biographical material. Although Thaʿlab did not leave a long-lasting legacy as a scholar in the form of a fully fledged grammatical school, his prominence during his life was great, as was his financial success. Virtually all younger contemporary students of grammar could claim him as a teacher; he also tutored many children of kuttāb and aristocratic families, besides attending their majālis, where learning was displayed for the entertainment of the assembled guests. Because of these activities, which were practiced throughout a famously long life, and because of Thaʿlab’s fondness for telling anecdotes about his youth, the sources are generous with details about his personal life and quirks, from both sympathetic and hostile perspectives. Some of the traits of Thaʿlab’s character, as for instance his avarice, seem to be recurring in the portrayals of many of his colleagues, while others single him out. The present study investigates this material, asking whether it is possible to isolate Thaʿlab’s voice within it and, if so, whether this voice amounts to a premodern autobiography.