*Please, press play on the track above to enjoy the music believed to be enjoyed during this time period. 

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“[W]ritten between 1177 and 1182,” (Günther) and as far as we know, Hayy ibn Yaqzan is the only novel written in the 12th century. The story concerns a boy named Hayy (who’s name means “Alive”) who was created from clay, on a deserted island, that bubbled from the processes of nature, making room for a soul that emanated from God .

This Islamic, philosophical novel, while not featuring a traditional social hierarchy, does present a progression of intelligence and spirituality in its main character. This rise begins when a gazelle finds and raises a baby Hayy but later dies. Hayy investigates the body of his mother and discovers that there is an empty cavern in her heart and comes to the conclusion that that was where her soul used to reside. He then grows smarter and smarter by observing the world around him, and eventually comes to understand what and who God is.

To rise in a hierarchy, one must become better than who they were when they began the journey. Hayy encapsulates this idea when he eventually leaves his island and travels to a kingdom where he attempts to preach his knowledge of nature and God, but the people don’t receive it. Hayy concludes that these people, those of lesser spirituality, prefer life when it is trivial. The novel ends telling the reader he spent the rest of his life serving God in that kingdom.

The Tale of Genji showed the lives of many individuals of different classes. Hayy ibn Yaqzan illustrated the social climbing of one individual.