The Use of Clothing and Textiles in Persian Poetic and Prose Texts (From the Early Eleventh to the Late Fourteenth Century)

Abstract

Clothing and textiles are among the cultural elements whose study contributes to an understanding of the culture, civilization, and identity of a nation; at the same time, they have also exerted a notable influence on Persian literature. Accordingly, various types of clothing and textiles constitute recurring elements in Persian poetic and prose texts produced between the eleventh and fourteenth centuries. Nevertheless, research on clothing and its influence on literature has received comparatively limited scholarly attention. For this reason, the present descriptive-analytical study, entitled “The Use of Clothing and Textiles in Persian Poetic and Prose Texts (From the Early Eleventh to the Late Fourteenth Century),” was undertaken. The findings indicate that poets and prose writers of the eleventh through fourteenth centuries, like literary figures of other historical periods, referred to a wide variety of garments and textiles, including ḥulla (robe), khirqa (cloak), dastār (turban), qabā (robe or coat), atlas (satin), buqalamūn (multicolored or iridescent fabric), parniyān (silken fabric), tūzī (a type of fine textile), and others. Such references demonstrate the significance of clothing, textiles, and their various forms in the social and cultural life of the people of that period. Moreover, clothing sometimes functioned as an indicator of social status, while in other instances it provided poets and writers with a rich source of literary imagery and figurative representation.