Nergisi

Nergisî, fully known as Nergiszade Mehmed Efendi ( – 1635), was an Ottoman writer, calligrapher and official of the 17th century. He is considered to be one of the best writers of inşa (stylistic prose) in Ottoman literature.

Education and career Nergisî was born in Saraybosna (modern-day Sarajevo) in Ottoman Bosnia. After receiving his basic education in Saraybosna, he went to Constantinople, attending madrasa classes delivered by Kafzade Feyzullah Efendi, who taught him the art of calligraphy in the thuluth, taliq and naskh styles. He eventually had to drop out of education due to the financial difficulties caused by the death of his father, instead becoming an apprentice of Feyzullah Efendi and ending up as a müderris initially, and assisting with the tasks of kadis (judges). Eventually he became a kadi himself, serving in various towns in Rumelia (the modern-day Balkans) across the years, namely Gabela, Çaniçe, Mostar, Yenipazar, Elbasan, Banaluka and Manastır.

Nergisî's work is characterised by a flowery and verbose style, rich in imagery and complex in phrasing, with a high number of Arabic and Persian loanwords. The interplay of these factors prevented the readers' understanding of his work. After his death, his work was initially regarded some of the finest examples of Ottoman literature and widely emulated. This changed with the Tanzimat, whereby his style became criticised as too inaccessible and "unnatural". Namık Kemal commented that Saadi Shirazi's Gulistan was easier to understand then Nergisî's work, despite the former having been written in Persian. Büyük Larousse notes that "despite being very cultured with a broad imagination, he just could not be understood due to his excesses".

English translation Gisela Prochazka-Eisl has translated two stories ("The Conscientious Thief" and "A dog's testimony on the day of judgment") from the second iteration of the Nihâlistân-part of the Hamse-i Nergisî into English.