Additional Notes to Idrīsī's Account of the British Isles

Since Professor Francesco Gabrieli's announcement to the twenty-third International Congress of Orientalists at Cambridge (August, 1954) has raised the hope that preparations for a new and complete edition of Idrisi's Geography will soon begin, I shall not withhold any longer the small additions which I have to make to my note in BSOAS, XIII/4, 1951, p. 1045. Wadi snt. Idrisi describes it, in his chapter on the British Isles, as the nearest place to England on the Continent and belonging to. Ifrands. It occurs several times also in his chapter on Francia, Normandy, Flanders, etc., where the main passage1 shows it as 'a very small town on the sea shore from which one sails over to England 25 miles away'. It is now commonly accepted that Wadi snt denotes Wissant, a former port not far from Cape Gris Nez in the direction of Calais, most frequented for the crossing of the channel until the 14th century.2 Dr. Beeston's explanation of the Arabic form of Wissant, 'with the first part of the name rationalized into the Arabic wadi' (BSOAS, XIII/2, 1950, p. 273), is all too brief

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