The life and works of Tâcı̂-zâde Ca'fer Çelebi, with a critical edition of his Dı̂vân

Abstract

Taci-zade Ca'fer Çelebi (856?/l452 - 921/1515) was a prominent figure in the political life of Ottoman society in the late 15th and early 16th centuries, who both as a member of the Council of State and as a personality of distinction in the literary activities of the period was able to influence future developments in these spheres. However, apart from a few articles in works of an encyclopaedic nature, no study has hitherto been devoted to his life and his literary works, most of which have remained unpublished. V/hat judge¬ ments have been expressed on his position in Ottoman poetical literature have, consequently, been based on only the most superficial acquaintance with his writings and have little validity. The present thesis collects all the existing information on his life and his career, and presents for the first time a reliable biography, seeking as well, by a study of all his works, to establish his position in the literary environment of the age. In the second part there is given in transcription a critical edition of his Divan, for which all the existing manuscripts of the work have been used. The aim here has been to achieve a correct text which may be used with confidence by students of this period of Ottoman literature.