Ibn Quzman

Who was Ibn Quzman?

Abu Bakr Abd al-Malik ibn Quzman was the single most famous poet in the history of al-Andalus and he is also considered to be one of its most original. He was born and died in Cordoba during the reign of the Almoravids, but seemingly spent most of his time in Sevilla. He has earned his fame by his zajals. Characteristic of the zajal or zejel is its colloquial language, as well as a typical rhyming scheme: aaab cccb dddb where b rhymes with a constantly recurring refrain of one or two lines. Zajal is extremely similar to the Malhoun poetry found in Morocco both in style and vocabulary.

The life-style of Ibn Quzman was similar to that of troubadours. His approach to life as expressed in these melodious poems, together with their mixed idiom, shows a ressembance to the later vernacular troubadour poetry of France.

A collection of poems by Ibn Quzman was rediscovered in Saint Petersburg in 1881.