"The Libro de buen amor" and the Arabic "Libros de buen amor"

Abstract

In Arabic literature several treatises on love that emerged in a religious atmosphere were conceived as moral treatises, on what good love should be. While these authors warn us of the dangers of love, at the same time they delight in describing it, remarking, –for instance–, that encouragement to love, if desired, can be found in these books. Thus, we can deduce a certain ambiguity in their considerations, which reminds us of that found in the Libro de Buen Amor. Such ambivalent approach towards love, which is commonly shared by these books, is the object of this study.