Description
Used from the era of the crusades till the first half of the 19th century, Sabir was a common language of the Mediterranean countries: a mix of French, Genoese, Venetian, Sicilian, Portuguese, Spanish and Arabic. Also known as Le Petit Moresque, it has been registered in a dictionary in 1830 and it has survived only in musical compositions called Moresche and Villanelle, till the last century. This lost language seems to be somehow linked to the Moresca dances that were very popular in the European courts of the renaissance, that were also reproduced in theatre plays.
Analyzing some examples of Sabir in literary works by Molière and Carlo Goldoni, I will propose some reflections on the existence of a Mediterranean archipelagic culture, on its role and representations in the arts as well as in other spheres of everyday life. I will also describe the role of Moresca as instrument of the propaganda against the Islamic religion both in Europe and in the overseas territories of the European colonies, reaching the Americas, Africa, India, Philippines and Sri Lanka.
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