Theologian and poet (b. 1449, Göynük / Bolu – d. 1508, Bolu). He was the youngest son of the famous theologian Akşemseddin. He was brought with a good education. After the death of his father, he lived in poverty in Göynük. He gave lectures at the Çelebi Sultan Mehmed Madrasah Muslim School in Bursa for a time. According to legend, one night he was guided by his father in his dreams and became devoted to theosophy, went to Kayseri and served under Şeyh İbrahim Tennuri.
Afterwards, he returned to Göynük and
lived in solitude. In the anthology of Latifi, it is mentioned that Hamdullah
Hamdi, whose mesnevi* Yusuf ü Zeliha (Yusuf
and Zeliha) was not admired by Sultan Bayezid II, complained about the
indifference to artists in his mesnevi* Leyla
vü Mecnun (Leyla and Mecnun) and in his work Kıyafetnâme (The Costume Book). Hamdullah Hamdi, who was one of the
most prolific writers of his age, wrote a story in his Hamse (5 works in the
mesnevi* form) Yusuf u Zeliha (Yusuf
and Zeliha) that was deemed among the most successful works written on this
subject. None of his works has been published.
WORKS:
Yusuf u
Zeliha (Yusuf and
Zeliha, written in 1492), Leylâ vü Mecnun
(Leyla and Majnun, written in 1499-1500), Tuhfetü'l-Uşşak
(The Gifts from Lovers, a mesnevi* of a love story), Kıyafetnâme (The Costume Book, mesnevi*), Mevlid (Hymn), Divan
(Divan*), Mecalisü't-Tefâsir (Mirrors of the Commentaries on the Koran).