I was reading a passage from Attar's Conference of the Birds last time and it struck me how many stories of all sorts were in that work.
How did he come to know about all these ?
Did he invented the stories much like we imagine a modern author writing a work of fiction ? was he perceived as an author ? i know that qasidas were signed so the concept of authorship wasn't unknown to them, but in the context of these long poems, he would have been the "author" of what ? just the crafting of the story, its details or even the theme, the "base material" itself ?
Did he saw his work as a part of a tradition ? how would he and his contemporaries have conceived this tradition ? was it a kind of "common" shared by both the poet and his audience ? how would this tradition have circulated ? was it an oral tradition (i.e. he would have had heard about these stories) or rather a written tradition (... read about them) ?
What was the target audience ? How did the they received this work ? was it supposed to be read ? to be learn and recited ? to be recited and heard ? how did his contemporaries relate to this kind of opus ?
I mean, i can imagine a panegyric qasida being recited at the court of the guy who sponsors the poet; but i'm having trouble imagining anyone reciting sthg like the Conference of the Bird -- it's a bit longish.
I mentionned Saadi's Conference of the Birds but same question goes for basically every longish poem of the same kind (e.g. Rumi's Masnavi). That is, i'm not interested in Attar's case specifically.
Hope i made myself clear enough.
EDIT : as noted below, i wrote saadi instead of attar. Mistake fixed.
Saadi's Conference of the Birds
You mean Attar's. Attar was mystic, Saadi was in love. Saadi's works: Golestan, Bustan and the lyrics of Saadi.
was he perceived as an author?
He was also a druggist, perfumist and a doctor. But he was famous enough that citizens tried to free him when he was abducted by mongol invaders.
Did he saw his work as a part of a tradition ?
Yes. His other work Tazkiratul-awliya (memoriam of the greats) is biographies and anecdotes from 97 of his contemporary Sufis.
how would this tradition have circulated?
They had Khanqahs, which were part school, part dance-club, part mosque. It was a building designed specifically for gatherings of a Sufi brotherhood or tariqa and was a place for spiritual retreat and character reformation.
was it an oral tradition or ... written
Both. Those lyrics rhymed alright, So they could be put to music and be heard by the peasantry in mosques, agoras and winehouses. Here's one of Attar's Ghazals put to music. the written records were in private libraries, which only the gentry could access.
it's a bit longish.
So is Shahname and Qoran. That's why they contain lots of short parables. It's not like a Muslim can recite the whole of Qoran. Mostly they remember one or two short Suras. So was Shahname and Masnavi.