al-Katiba al-Kamina fi Man Laqinahu bil-Andalus min Shuara al-Mia al-Thamina
- Author died
- 776 AH
- Editions
- Dār al-Thaqāfah
al-Katiba al-Kamina fi Man Laqinahu bil-Andalus min Shuara al-Mia al-Thamina (The Concealed Squadron: On the Eighth-Century Poets We Encountered in al-Andalus) is a biographical anthology of contemporary poets and men of letters by the Andalusian vizier and scholar Lisan al-Din Ibn al-Khatib (d. 776 AH / 1374 CE) .
Title and Composition
In his auto-bibliography within al-Ihatah fi Akhbar Gharnatah, Ibn al-Khatib referred to the work under the title al-Katiba al-Kamina fi Udaba al-Mia al-Thamina, and it is also cited in some sources as al-Katiba al-Kamina fi Shuara al-Mia al-Thamina . The author composed the work in Jumada al-Akhirah 774 AH (1372 CE), three months after the death of the Marinid ruler Sultan Abu Faris Abd al-Aziz, while living in Fez after departing Granada and stepping down from administrative duties .
The book served in part as a continuation and supplement to his earlier youthful work al-Taj al-Muhalla fi Musajalat al-Qadah al-Mualla, including figures whose literary production had not reached him earlier or who rose to prominence later . Along with al-Taj al-Muhalla, al-Iklil al-Zahir, and al-Nuqaya bad al-Kifaya, it forms a corpus of Ibn al-Khatib's biographical writings on poets, characterized by ornate rhymed prose (saj') emulating the style of al-Fath ibn Khaqan . Ibn al-Khatib also utilized the work to respond to political and personal attacks from his adversaries, directing sharp invective against the chief judge Abu al-Hasan al-Nubahi .
Structure and Content
The single-volume book contains biographical profiles and selected verses for 103 Andalusian poets and scholars whom Ibn al-Khatib met or was contemporary with . The entries are structured into two broad temporal categories, which are then subdivided into four professional and social classes (tabaqat):
- The deceased: Biographies of figures who passed away prior to the composition of the book (entries 1–84) .
- The living: Biographies of figures who were still alive at the time of writing (entries 85–103) .
Across these sections, the biographees are grouped by their primary vocation :
- Preachers and Sufis (entries 1–19), such as Ibn Abbad al-Rundi .
- Quran reciters and teachers (entries 20–30), including Abu Hayyan al-Gharnati .
- Judges (entries 31–54) .
- Chancery scribes and court poets who served rulers and princes (entries 55–103), such as Ibn Khatimah al-Ansari and Ibn Zamrak .
Editions
The work was edited by Ihsan Abbas and published in Beirut by Dar al-Thaqafa in 1963, with later reissues in 1983 .
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