The Dove's Neck-Ring; or The Ring of the Dove

2014 Reprint of 1931 Edition. Full facsimile of the original edition, not reproduced with Optical Recognition Software. Ibn Hazm (died 1064), drawing upon personal experiences, composed this famous work on "pure love" called Ṭawq al-ḥamāmah ("The Ring of the Dove" or "Dove's Neck Ring"). Its lucid prose, interspersed with poetry, has many times been translated into Western languages. The theme of love was especially popular, and a wide variety of intellectuals focused their attention on it. It is a charmingly intimate portrait of social intercourse within the Islamic community of the 11th century. This work, a blend of sensibilities nurtured by a harem education in his youth and the prudery of a scholar's Koran based ideals, was Ibn Hazm's masterpiece of courtly love-love Platonic, exquisite by unrequited. Europe's troubadours imbibed "The Dove" like a fine wine.