I did not catch all of those. Certainly not the arabic name-references. - Edit 1
Before modification by Camilla at 29/12/2010 11:54:23 PM
I am glad they are there, though. It always makes me warm and fuzzy inside when I can tell an author has thought things through. It feels like a courtesy.
This I caught. I am still a little unsure about his death, though. I seem to remember a different story. But there was a lot of strange stuff towards the end there. There is some stuff I need to reread.
I did not know this, and it makes me very happy.
I did not know this, either. I really should read up on the period.
I caught this. Was his father (brother?) called Sancho as well? I seem to remember that name from something other than Don Quixote, and I think it was in connection with Alfonso el Bravo.
Missed this
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This I gathered, but I obviously need to read up on them.
See, this I like.
Ah. Who was the king whose mother-in-law or some such allegedly told him (as he had to leave Alhambra) that "now you can cry like a woman over what you failed to defend like a man"? Do you know? Was that perhaps later? Hmm. I really need to read up on it.
I suppose, when you have two moons, you are allowed a little creative license?
I don't know. I did not try to place it. It seemed like a symbol to me, more than an actual allusion to a historical event.
Indeed.
I kept wondering...
I should have caught this.
Persons:
- Rodrigo Belmonte = Rodrigo Diaz, El Cid (the parts about his towering reputation and his forcing the king to swear an oath of innocence about his brother's murder are true, as is the exile and service to Ragosa, see below)
This I caught. I am still a little unsure about his death, though. I seem to remember a different story. But there was a lot of strange stuff towards the end there. There is some stuff I need to reread.
- Ammar ibn Khairan = ibn Ammar, who was also a poet and politician, with similar rumours of a homosexual relationship with the prince, later king, he served; "khairan" means, intentionally or unintentionally, "good" (or "well", I suppose, it's an adverb)
I did not know this, and it makes me very happy.
- Mazur ben Evren: based on Samuel HaNagid, Jewish chancellor to the Muslim ruler of Granada
I did not know this, either. I really should read up on the period.
- King Ramiro: based on king Alfonso VI, though that king reunited his father's split inheritance before invading Muslim territories, not after, and he most certainly didn't reconquer all of Muslim Spain - it took over four centuries after the period of Alfonso VI, El Cid and ibn Ammar for the last Muslim city in Spain to fall
I caught this. Was his father (brother?) called Sancho as well? I seem to remember that name from something other than Don Quixote, and I think it was in connection with Alfonso el Bravo.
- King Badir of Ragosa: based on Yusuf al-Mu'tamin, the ruler of Zaragoza in whose service El Cid worked for a time
Missed this
' />- Yazir ibn Q'arif, of the Zuhrite tribe: based on Yusuf ibn Tashfin; "zuhr" means "(after)noon", for what it's worth
- The Muwardis: based on the Almuravids
This I gathered, but I obviously need to read up on them.
- Almalik: means "the king"
See, this I like.
Places:
- Cartada: based on Granada, it would appear
- Al-Fontina palace in Silvenes: presumably the Alhambra (in Granada)
Ah. Who was the king whose mother-in-law or some such allegedly told him (as he had to leave Alhambra) that "now you can cry like a woman over what you failed to defend like a man"? Do you know? Was that perhaps later? Hmm. I really need to read up on it.
- Fezana: seems based on Toledo, which was known for its large Jewish population and was conquered by king Alfonso VI; however, the pogrom mentioned in the book happened in Granada, not Toledo
I suppose, when you have two moons, you are allowed a little creative license?
- Sorenica: based on Salonica? The location is way off, but the names are similar, and Salonica did have a large Jewish population, and did get plundered in a crusade (albeit a later one), even if it was by no means exclusively Jewish.
I don't know. I did not try to place it. It seemed like a symbol to me, more than an actual allusion to a historical event.
- Esperaña: looks like a combination of España (Spain) and "esperanza" (hope), although "esperar" also means "to wait"
Indeed.
- Soriyya: Syria (Suriyya in Arabic)
I kept wondering...
Religions:
- Asharites: likely a reference to al-Ash'ari, the great Muslim theologian whose views remain dominant in Sunni Islam to this day
I should have caught this.