#wallada — Public Fediverse posts
Live and recent posts from across the Fediverse tagged #wallada, aggregated by home.social.
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From @joannechocolat
Wallada bint al-Mustakfi (born in Córdoba in 1001 – died 1091), was an Andalusian poet. The only child of Muhammad III of Córdoba, Wallada inherited his fortune, and used it to open a palace and literary hall in Córdoba.
There she offered instruction in #poetry and the arts of love to women of all classes, from those of noble birth to slaves.
She was considered a great beauty for her time: blonde, fair-skinned and blue-eyed, in addition to being intelligent, cultured and proud.
She was also controversial, walking out in public without a hijab, wearing transparent tunics with her verses embroidered on her clothing. Her behaviour was regarded by the local mullahs as perverse and was harshly criticized, but she also had a tremendous following.
#Wallada gained recognition for her skill in public poetry competitions, which was at the time a male pursuit. It was during one of these competitions that she met her great love, the poet Ibn Zaydún, though their relationship had to remain a secret.
Only 9 poems by Wallada have survived. Eight of these were written about this relationship. One implies that the relationship ended because of an affair between Zaydún and a black (male) lover.
She writes:
"You know that I am the moon of the skies, But, to my disgrace, you preferred a dark planet."
Reminder to those still unconvinced about the historical realism of various kinds of diversity:
THIS WAS THE EARLY ELEVENTH CENTURY.