Archives

Preparing for the Centenary of Fitzgerald’s Rubaiyat

Preparing for the Centenary of Fitzgerald’s Rubaiyat. Carl J. Weber.
Colby Library Quarterly, 5 (1959) 1, p. 5-14.

When The Variorum and Definitive Edition of the Poetical and Prose Writings of Edward FitzGerald was published with an Introduction by Edmund Gosse, there seemed little doubt about the date of publication of the Rubaiyat. With an assurance that seemed based on certitude, Gosse referred to “the now so-precious pamphlet which Quaritch issued stillborn on the 15th of February, 1859.”

One hundred years of FitzGerald’s Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam

One hundred years of FitzGerald’s Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam. John D. Yohannan.
Epiterea (1959) p. 259-274.

Brief account of the FitzGerald translation, later translations, the public attitude towards Omar Khayyam, interspersed with some interesting observations and facts.

Omar Khayyam, Mathematician

Omar Khayyam, Mathematician. D.J. Struik.
The Mathematics Teacher, 51 (1958) 4, pp. 280-285.

Not all the admirers of the Rubáiyát are aware that their author, Abu-l-Fath Omar ibn Ibrahim Khayyam, of Nishapur in present North Iran, was also a distinguished philosopher, astronomer, and mathematician. As a philosopher, he was a follower of Aristotle, whom he interpreted with a keen rationalism; as an astronomer, he composed a calendar more accurate than that proposed centuries later by Pope Gregory XIII and now adopted by most people. Omar’s mathematics has been brought closer to the English-reading world by the Kasir translation of his Algebra, published in 1931, although a French translation by Woepcke has existed since 1851

Notes on Omar Khayyám (1050-1123) and recent discoveries

Notes on Omar Khayyám (1050-1123) and recent discoveries. R.C. Archibald.
Pi Mu Epsilon Journal 1 (1953) nr. 9, p. 351-358.

Up to a decade ago, Omar was regarded by scholars as a comparatively minor Persian poet. But within the past three years this view has been shown to be entirely wrong. Two new manuscripts of Omar’s poetry have been found, and one of them dated only 85 years after Omar’s death. From these Professor Arberry, of the University of Cambridge, has discovered that Omar was regarded by Persians as one of their greatest poets, and that the existing quotations point to an original corpus of at least 750 quatrains.

Houtsma and the story of the three school-fellows …

Houtsma and the story of the three school-fellows: Nizam al Mulk, Hasan B. Sabbah and ‘Umar Khayyam. S.Moinul Haq.
Journal of the Pakistan Historical Society, 28 (1953) 4, pp. 229–234.

The story of the three schoolfriends is generally considered to be controversial. The author however argues that there are authentic sources to support the story.

FitzGerald and Omar Khayyam

FitzGerald and Omar Khayyam. Patrick Pointon.
Contemporary Review 78 (1950), p. 99-102.

General article about FitzGerald, his life, his friends and his letters and the story of the Rubáiyát