The Leiden Manuscript of the Hundred and One Nights

Abstract This paper investigates the Arabic manuscript of the Hundred and One Nights ( Miʾat laylah wa-laylah ) registered at Leiden University, the Netherlands. First, I prove that the manuscript was once owned by René Basset (1855–1924) by explaining its characteristics and comparing it with references in the French translation of Miʾat laylah wa-laylah by Maurice Gaudefroy-Demombynes (1862–1957). Second, I discuss how the Leiden manuscript is situated in comparison to the other seven texts of the Hundred and One Nights , focusing on the order of the embedded stories and the frame story. The Arabic text of the frame story in the Leiden manuscript is provided at the end. The Leiden manuscript exhibits similar characteristics to some of the other manuscripts of the Hundred and One Nights , while it also contains its own special features.