تعالج هذه الأطروحة خصائص الحمق والجنون كما تجلّت في كتابيْ أخبار الحمقى والمغفّلين وعقلاء المجانين، وذلك من خلال قراءة محتوى النصوص الأساسيّة المتعلّقة بحالات الحمق والجنون في أطرها التاريخيّة والاجتماعيّة والاقتصاديّة وتحليلها. للوهلة الأولى بدت قصص هؤلاء المجانين والمغفّلين قد كُتبت للتّسلية والتّرفيه إلّا أنّ قراءة ثانية متأنّية
This thesis studies madness and foolishness as manifested in ʿUqalāʾ al-majānīn of al-Naysābūrī (d.406-1016) and Akhbār al-ḥamqā wa-l-mughaffalīn of Ibn al-Jawzī (d.597-1201). The thesis anlyses the texts concerning of the cases of fools and madmen in their historical, social and economic frameworks. At first glance, the anecdotes of madmen and fools seem to be written for the purpose of entertainment. A second and deeper reading of these stories, however, shows that these anecdotes were an outlet for religious, political, social and linguistic criticism, in addition to entertainment. This criticism lost its severity considering that the words and actions of these fools were rarely taken seriously. The thesis is divided into five chapters. The first is an introduction in which we present the thesis’s question, methodology, and significance. The second chapter tackles characteristics of madmen in ʿUqalāʾ al-majānīn of al-Naysābūrī. The third chapter presents the characteristics of fools encountered in Akhbār al-ḥamqā wa-l-mughaffalīn of Ibn al-Jawzī. The fourth chapter focuses on women; it identifies the characteristics of foolish women and madwomen and points out similarities and differences. Finally, the fifth chapter presents the results of the study.
