The Thousand and One Nights and the Galland Manuscript
Title: The Thousand and One Nights/ Galland Manuscript
Date: Ca. 14th or 15th Century CE
Medium: Paper
Credit Line: Bibliothèque nationale de France. MS. Arabe 3609-3611
This manuscript is the oldest and most complete version of The Thousand and One Nights stories. It is a prime example of storytelling in the Islamic tradition, as the stories existed in an oral format before being written down. Stories such as these were traditionally told in group settings as a form of entertainment, leisure, and community development. With Antione Galland’s translation of this manuscript into French, he introduced the stories to Europe, and in turn contributed to the orientalist opinion of Islamic culture. Controversially as well, in his translation, he added and manipulated the stories, straying from the original text.