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BHS LXII 1985)
The Prologue of the
Cauallero Cifar
An Example of Medieval Creativity.
M RIL YN OLSEN
The University Nebraska-Lincoln
The opening folios of the fourteenth-century Spanish prose romance,
Libro del Cauallero
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16 MARILYN A. OLSEN
seemingly disjointed topics: first, he reminds the reader that the accounts of the jubilee, the
trip to Toledo and the life of Cifar were written to record the facts of history; second, the
work was translated from Chaldean to Latin and from Latin to Romance; third, the reason
for narrating the historical events of 1300 isto communicate to future generations when the
jubile e will occ ur a nd to remind them tha t Goncalo Gudiel was the first Cardinal to be
buried in Spain; fourth, anyone wishing and able to alter the text may do so; fifth, the
purpose of the work is to illustrate how to avoid errors. After stressing that one should
always finish a project once it has begun, for a work favourably initiated is favourably
terminated, the author eulogizes the attributes of the Knight Cifar.
This brief summary
i l ~ t r t s
tha t the contents of both major halves may he further
subdivided so
that
the Prologue contains four sections: Part I focuses mainly on Boniface,
and includes the description of the Jubilee and the efforts made to release the Cardinal s
body from its burial site in Rome; Part II describes the journey from Rome to Toledo during
which the centre of attention isshifted to the deceased Cardinal; Part III iscomposed of a list
of
topo together with an explanation of the author s reasons for writing the romance; Part
IV centres on the attributes of the Knight Cifar, All these sections, with the exception of the
third, focus on a major figure: Boniface in Part I, Goncalo Gudiel in Part II, and Cifar in Part
IV. An analysis of each personality reveals that the Pope s values contrast sharply with those
of Goncalo Gudiel and Cifar,
The
defects of Boniface are subtly and humorously disclosed, both in the account of the
jubilee, and also in the attempts made to receive permission for the removal of the
Cardinal s body from Rome. During the Jubilee the Pope automatically absolved everyone
from all sins regardless of the kind
or
degree of transgression involved; the Pope s power of
pardon encompassed almost all those who were able to take the journey irrespective of the
seriousness of their violation or whether the transgression was even remembered. From
among this indiscriminate assemblage of sinners emerge three categories of people whose
religious errors were excused even if they did not reach the sacred city: 1) travellers whose
journey was interrupted by sickness or death; 2) those who, for unspecified reasons, could
not remain in Rome the entire fifteen days; and 3)
l rigos l gos
who either committed
adultery or who failed to observe the obligatory hours of prayer. Ironically, the Pope s
tolerance of imprope r behaviour did not include those suffering from penury: debts
incurred for the trip had to be settled no matter what the source of income may have been,
prestado 0 prendado 0 furtado :
E ciertas bien fue ombre aventurado el que esta rrorneria fue ganar atantos grandes
perdones commo en este
afio,
sabiendolo 0 podiendo yr alla sin enbargo, ca en esta
rromeria fueron todos asueltos a culpa e a pena seyendo en verdadera penjtencia tan
bien de los confesados commo de olujdado. E fue y despendido elpoder del Padre
Santo ca todos aquellos clerigos que cayeron en yerro [
] yrregularidat non vsando
de sus oficios, e fue despendido contra todos aquellos clerigos e legos e sobre los
adulterios e sobre las oras non rrezadas a que eran thenudos de rrezar e sobre
aquestas muchas cosas saluo ende sa bre debdas que cada vno de los peligrinos
deujan, tan bien que tornaron prestado
0
prendado
0
furtado, en qualqujer
manera que
toujesen contra volujnjrad de cuyo era, toujeron por bien que
tomasen. E porque Iuego non se podia tornar
que cada vno deuja segund dicho es e
podiesen pagar, oujesen los perdones mas conplidos, dioies plaza a que pagasen
fasta Ia fiesta de rresurrecion que fue fecha en la era de mjll e trezientose treynta e
nueue fios
la
During the process of gaining permission to remove the Cardinal s body from Rome, the
author reveals another aspect of the papal personality: rigidity.
stressing his absolute
refusal, without explanations, to allow the removal of the Cardinal s cadaver from the Holy
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T PROLOGU O T C V LLERO C; FAR
17
City
an d
by announcing
that
all official requests to release the corpse were denied, the
author is in fact indicating
that
Boniface was an unyielding, unreasonable man. This trait is
underscored even further when we are told
that
no one had the courage to approach him
except Bishop
don
Pedro of Burgos who sforcose a
dernandar (2a), a statement which
implies fear of the Pope.l
This negative image of Boniface isconfirmed by historians who regard him as on e of the
most
hated figures of the century. He believed himself to be the supreme judge of all men,
an d was remembered for violent outbursts of rage. His infamous behaviour caught the
attention of Dantewho, in the
Divine Comedy
mentions him twice before finally depositing
him in
He
6
In Part II the author s main focus shifts to the Cardinal who is constantly associated with
the theme of honour and whose personality we may reconstruct by observing the reactions
of his friends to his death. The virtues of Goncalo Gudiel are indicated immediately when
we are told that his grave in Rome is located in the church of Santa Marja la mayor ,
adjacent to the tomb of St Jerome; the physical proximity of this saint to the Cardinal,
irrespective of historical veracity, associates the qualities of a saint with Goncalo Gudiel.
Christian values are elaborated even more as we observe the Archdeacon s attempts to
obtain
permission to release the body from Rome, for his perseverence undoubtedly reflects
Ferrand Martines {oyalry to Goncalo Gudiel. When the funeral procession entersSpain an d
passes through Logrofio, Penafiel and Burgos, people gather in the streets to pay their last
respects. Finally the travellers reach Toledo an d the author repeats his earlier statement that
Ferrand Martines, by persisting in his efforts to secure the release of the Cardinal s body, is
repaying his deceased friend for many years of tutelage:
E ciertamente sy costa grande fizo
el
arcidiano en esre carnjno, mucho Ie es de
gradescer porque
enpleo muy bjen, reconosciendo la merced del cardenal que
rescibiera e la crianca que en el fiziera, asy commo deuen fazer todos los ombres de
buen entendjmjento e de buen conoscer e que bien e merced rescibe de
o tr o. O nd e
bjen auenturado fue el senor que se trabajo de fazer buenos criados et leales, ca estos
atales njn les falleceran en la vjda njn despues, ca lealtad les faze acordarse
de
bien
fecho que rescibieron en vjda e en muerte. (2b)
The
third figure of importance, the Knight Cifar, appears in Part IV where we are told
that
his title,
Cauallero de Dios
indicates his most significant trait-God s grace: e l
qual cauallero ou o nonbre Cifar del bautismo, e despues ou o nonbre el Cauallero de Dios
porque se touo el syenpre ca n Dios e Dios con el en todos los fechos, . (3b). Radiating
from God s blessing are a litany of compliments:
buen
seso
natural
(intelligence),
de
esforcar
(valiant), and
de justicia
(sound judgement). Cifar s prestige is heightened even
more when the reader is informed
that
the knight is from India, birthplace of St
Bartholomew.The association of Cifar with a man famous for his skill in delivering sermons
may well foreshadow Cifar s role as a preacher, an observation first made by Roger M.
Walker.?
Further analysis reveals
that
subordinate to these major rulers is
one
more figure which,
despite her relatively minor role, should be mentioned because she is highly praised: Queen
Maria. He r mostoutstanding virtue is faith in God, a quality controlling all actions since
it
is
the prime source of intelligence. Without
buen
seso
natural
people are incapable of making
wise decisions, of forming long-lasting friendships or of exhibiting mesura or
[usticia
E otrosi par rruego de dona Maria, rreyna de Castilla e de Leon, que era a esa sazon
que Ie enbjo rrogar, la qual fue muy buena duefia e de muy buena vida e de buen
consejo e de muy gran rreposso e de gran seso natural e muy conplida en todas
buenas costunbres e
amadora
de justicia con grandisyma piadat, non argulleciendo
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MARILYN A. OLSEN
con buena andanca njn desesperando con mal andanca quando Ie acaescie, mas muy
firme e estable en tod os los sus fechos q ue entendie q ue
sic
con Dios e con razon e
con derecho. 2a)
Th e
recurrence of almost identical attributes in
both
Cifar
a nd M ar ia
is
not
totally
surprising since repetition is on e of the author s most typical stylistic devices. II However,
even considering the desirability of stressing moral issues, one has the impression that they
are unnecessarily overemphasized to the point of b orin g even the medieval reader. Why
would the
author
go to such lengths and risk monotony unless there were another motive?
Could these themes serve more than one purpose? In addition to informing the reader of the
important
values in life, is it no t possible that they might also serve as a cohesive force,
joining the first half of the Prologue to the second? Further analysis reveals that they do and
in add itio n, their lives provide o th er parallels which, to gether with strong contrasts, all
serve to bind each section to all others.
The Pope in Part I an d the Card in al in Part II are closely fused by a journe y an d its
financing,
an d
by their mutual title of Padre Santo . However, the wise Cardinal obviously
merits the very essence of the term whereas the politically superior Pope is Padre Santo by
election only. His method of absolving all people from all sins
and
his difficulty in
communicating with colleagues reveal him to be quite incompetent
an d
morally unworthy
of his position.
Criticism of Boniface
an d
praise of Goncalo Gudiel is implicit in their journeys, which
involve travel in opposite directions: the intemperate Boniface urged all sinners to migrate
to
Rome bu t the highly Christian Cardinal insisted that his b od y be removed fro m the Holy
City
an d
returned to Toled o, an ironic situation which d owng rades the prestige of Rom e
while increasing
that
of Toledo.
Finally, the comment that all debts should be repaid whether or no t they are prestado 0
prendado
0
furtado
is certainly a negative remark
an d
may well indicate the
author s
belief
that
financial obligations incurred for the Jubilee were no t justified because of the Pope s
lack of discretion in absolving sinners,
On
the other hand the enormous cost of the journey
for those
wh o
accompanied the Cardinal s
body
from Rome to Toledo is viewed positively:
la ljeua de la bestia constaua cada noche en muchos logares quatro torneses
gruesos. E fue g rand mjraglo de Dio s q ue en tod os los carnjnos por donde yuan los
pelegrinos, ta n abondados eran de todas las viandas que nunca fallescio a los
pelegrinos cosa de que aujan menester, ca Nuestro Senor Dios
por
la su merced
quiso que
non
menguase njnguna cosa a aquellos que en su serujcio yuan. E
ciertamente sy costa grande fizoel arcidiano en este camino, mucho Iees de gradescer
porque
enpleo muy bjen, reconosciendo la merced del cardenal que rescibiera
2b
Th e joining of Goncalo Gudiel in Part II
and
Cifar in
Part
IV is primarily accomplished
through
contact
wi th G od.
God s
influence on t he Ca rdinal is seen mainly
through
the
loyalty
an d
friendship shown towards him by the people, an attribute which, in turn reflects
his love for them. God s
influence in
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T PROLOGUE OFT
CAVALLERO
c ;IFAR
19
ca n el en todos los fechos, asy
comma
adelante oyredes, podredes ver e entendredes
po r
las sus obras. 3a-b)
In addition, their life history is similar: both are Christian leaders, th e Cardinal because
of his position in
th e
church,
an d
Cifar
who, as Cauallero de Dios, propagates the faith; each
is associated with a saint, the Cardinal with Jerome and Cifar with Bartholomew.
By far the most interesting relationship concerns Boniface an d
Cifar,
Although th e Pope
as a religious leader is a key figure in the development of fourteenth-century civilization, a
role similar to that
played by Cifar wh o preaches in the timeless kingdoms of fiction,
th e
most striking point to be made is their extreme oppositeness. Cifar is praised lavishly for his
Christian values,
bu t
nothing good is said about Boniface whose actions denote the absence
of Divine Grace. Boniface s absolution of all sinners indicates a lack of intelligence an d
honesty. His concern
that
all travellers repay their debts no matter what the source suggests
at least tw o points.first, he is far more preoccupied with the pilgrims financial welfare than
he is in curing their souls; an d second, he places greater value on material goods than he does
on
spiritual matters. Although he finally relented, his initial refusal to allow the
Cardinal s
body to be transferred from Rome despite repeated requests, the absence of any justification
for his position, an d his difficulty in communicating with colleagues all suggest a lack of
flexibility.
These defects acquire greater significance when we take into consideration on e
additional point: the trait responsible for persuading the Pope to allow the Cardinal s body
to be removed from Rome is mesura: E otrosy queriendo el obispo onrrar a toda Espana,
no n auja otro cardenal enterrado, njnguno de los otros non osauan al Papa dernandar, e
elcpor la su mesura, esforcose a
demandar. (2a)
On e ha s th e impression
that
m sur is
not
only deliberately used to communicate an
unfavourable message about the Pope, b ut t ha t it also defines the essence of th e difference
between Boniface
an d
Cifar,
If
mesura
is responsible for changing the
Pope s opinion,
is it
no t possible
that
Boniface is lacking
that
quality? A conclusion may be reached by
considering a variety of factors. T he author s main technique is to contrast Boniface
with
Cifar a nd t he
other
laudable
figures-the
Cardinal, Queen
Maria
an d
Ferrand
Martines.
The basis for this contrast is th e presence of Divine Grace
(Cifar)
an d its absence (Boniface),
th e quality that controls all others. T he t ra it which most completely summarizes all of
Cifar s positive values is
mesura
although the term, perhaps even deliberately, is not
applied to him.
On
the
other hand,
Boniface was
hated
by his contemporaries
an d
is
portrayed as an arrogant man with unlimited authority
an d
desire for
power.
In sum, one
reaches the inescapable conclusion that the author is attempting to
portray
the Pope s defect
as th e opposite of mesura that is,
desmesura
or
cobdicia
Th e meaning of
cobdicia
is
explained by
A. Bly
an d
A. D. Deyermond in an article defining this flaw as it applies to
Alexander in the
Libra de Alexandre:
T he opposite of
cobdicia
for th e Alexandre poet is
normally no t caridad (the antonym which the works of D. W. Robertson an d his followers
would
lead us to expect),
bu t
mesura Cobdicia seems more closely akin to desmesura
than
to th e cupiditasof the theologians; it means not knowing when to stop. The fate of a ma n
dominated by cobdicia is a very serious one indeed, for in the corpus of the romance the
author
explains
that
this trait is t he r oo t of all evil, even worse
than
death:
M uy mejor
es ,
dixo el cauallero,
auer
ombre la muerte ante que la cubdicie
(35a)
la grand cobdicia trae al ombre a grand peligro e a grand desonrra de sy
104b
la onestidad es noble cosa e ta n virtuosa e ta n santa que con la su virtud
no n
se tira asi falagandovos con el
poder
grande de
hondad.
E sy la cosa fuere prouechosa
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MARILYN A OLSEN
e non onesta njn buena deuedes consejar que aquella non faga comoquier que aya en
ella pro et gancia, Ca esta non viene synon de cubdicia que es rayz de todos los
males. 92b) .
In sum, Part I in the Prologue is directly linked to Part II and to Part IV. The
interrelationship between these three sections is so strong
that
it would he strange if Part III
were
no t
also tied to the othe r segments, a nd it is in two ways: the stress on
od s
role in
endowing people with intelligence, and the motif of the candle, with the explanation
that
its
light reflects God s will:
Ca Dios es comjenco et acabarnjento de todas las cosas e entre todas las o tra s
ciencias que encienden, la candela que a todas estas alunbra, sseso natural es, ca .
njnguna ciencia que ombre aprenda no n puede ser alunbrada njn enderescado
sic
syn buen seso natural. 3a)
Since Part III is linked to both Part II and IV, it is automatically but indirectly connected
to Part
I
But we may also conclude
that
it is directly linked to
Pan
I through the
oppositeness of the values presented. The virtues stressed in Part III, primarily deriving from
God s grace, contradict Boniface s qualities which stem from a lack of divine inspiration.
Since each section and each major figure of the Prologue is in fact joined to all others, the
next topic to be explored is the a uthor s purpose in creating ties between Boniface, the
Cardinal and Cifar, One interpretation which should be investigated takes its point of
departure from Memory, a concept stressed in Part
10
Memory is an ancient term which
acquired particular significance in the Roman world where, in both Classical
an d
Vulgar
Latin, it referred to a reponing of something, the preparation of a written-historical account
and the faculty of recollection which is transmitted to posterity.
11
It was also
on e
of the
five
divisions of rhetoric, the technique by which an
orator
could accurately deliver long
speeches by retaining a series of images in a certain order. Its scope was gradually extended
to include material of moral value. For example, Cicero considered Virtue to consist of
Prudence, Justice, Fortitude and Temperance, with Prudence being further subdivided to
include Memory, a classification justified on the basis
that
both Prudence
an d
Memory
share a common ideal, namely, that past experience is a storehouse of wisdom which serves
as a guide to future actions. Since the past moulds the future, it is of far greater value than
either the present
or
future, for only in the past are both the beginning and end of actions
verified.
Both the functional and interpretive value of Memory are utilized in Part III of the
ifar
Prologue where it is carefully woven into the text:
E porque la memoria del ombre ha luengo tienpo e non se pueden acordar los ombres
de las casas mucho antiguas sy non las fallo pa r escripto, e pa r ende el tresladador
[si
de la esto ria que adelante oyredes, que fue trasladada de caldeo en latjn e de latjn
en romance, e puso e ordeno estas dos casas sobredichas porque las que benjan
despues de las deste tienposera
quandoel
ana jubile]o] ha de ser; par que puedan yr a
ganar los bien auenturados perdones que en aquel tienpo son otorgados a todos los
que alia fueren, e que sepan que este fue el primer cardenal que fue e nter ra do en
Espana. 2b)
II II III
E par ende deuemos creer que todo ombre ha cunpljdo saber de Dios solo e non de
otro njnguno, ca por razon de la mengua de la memoria del ombre fueron puestas
estas cosas
a
esta obra, en la qual ay muy buenos enxienplos para se saber guardar
ombre
de yerro sy bjen quisieren beujr e vsar dellas. 3a)
Technically,
emoria
links the moral values of Boniface in Part I to those of Cifar in Part IV
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T
PROLOGU O T CAVALLERO CIFAR
by stressing
that
the actions of both should be preserved for posterity. We may then
conclude
that
one of the author 's purposes in joining the actions
of
Boniface, Goncalo
Gudiel and Cifar is a moral one: the unrestrained, immoderate actions of the Pope served as
a model of errors
that
were avoided by the Cardinal and that would be shunned by the
Knight Cifar, Furthermore, the use of Memory in the Prologue leads the reader to believe
that the 'cosas' to be learned are encountered in the rest of the work, thereby establishing a
direct connection between the Prologue
and
the romance.
The
author's technique of presenting parallels, similarities and opposites with the goal
of tying together the various sections of the Prologue and of illustrating the defects of
Boniface in contrast to the attributes of the Cardinal and Cifar, are far too numerous to be
purely coincidental; the elaborate network could only have been achieved by an author who
was consciously aware of his methods. But the ultimate judgement confirming the accuracy
of this analysis and interpretation lies itt defining the thematic structure of the entire
romance. Several similarities between the Prologue and romance should be noted,
and
particularly crucial is Part III of the romance, as revealed in the investigation
of
Roger M.
Walker.
12
Walker explains
that
this section, labelled by Wagner as the 'Castigos del Rey de
Menton
contains several basic concepts which are repeated throughout the book. First, a
ruler is incapable of administering justice without the aid of a priest; second, not only is the
fear
and
love of God man's most sacred duty, but God's greatest gift is the endowing of
people with intelligence, for without mental acuteness a ruler becomes arrogant
and
will
reign with
locura
and
torpedat;
third, friendship is of incalculable value; fourth, money
should be spent wisely. Finally, Walker explains the importance
of
an apothecary's
prescription:
The apothecary's prescription in Chapter 125 contains nine main ingredients: the
fear of God, the will to observe God's commandments (i.e. love of God),
and
a list of
seven virtues which, in all but one case, agrees with the church's list of contrary
virtues to the seven deadly
sins-humility
homildat ,
meekness
paciencia ,
chastity
castidat ,
charity
caridat ,
temperance
mesura ,
diligence
tcostanca-firmezai.
The
last virtue given in the
Castigos
is
uergilenca,
whereas the church list has liberality. In
,view of the prominence given to liberality in the rest of the
Castigos and
the fact that
shame is never mentioned again, we may be entitled to postulate some textual
corruption
at
this point.
13
A direct correspondence exists between the themes in Part III of the romance
and
those
encountered in all four parts of the Prologue. In addition, the overall organization of the
Prologue resembles
that
of the romance. Both contain the same number of divisions,
although exactly how many is debatable, since both three and four sections are possible.
Four parts may be defined as follows: (1) Cifar begins his adventures as Knight of God; the
Pope pardons all sinners
who
travel
to
Rome, including Ferrand Martines
who
promises to
bury Goncalo Gudiel in Toledo; (2) Cifar becomes King of Menton where his experiences
end; the Archdeacon transfers the Cardinal 's body to Spain, thereby terminating the
historical half; (3) this section in the romance contains the advice of GHar given to his sons
on how
to rule,
and
includes themes which summarize values stressed in Parts I, II, and IV;
in the Prologue, Part III provides a summary of themes found in Parts I, II and IV;.(4) in the
romance the last section is devoted to the adventures of another figure, Roboan; in the
Prologue the author introduces the Knight Cifar and depicts his attributes.
If one prefers to separate the romance into three parts, as stated in the 1512 Seville
edition which joins the first
two
sections, this does not disturb the parallels drawn with the
Prologue where the first
two
historical sections may also be fused to form
OJ e
unit. The
distinction between three sections and four may be relevant,
not
for the numerical value
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M RILYN
A.
OLS N
they represent,
but
for the symbolic significance associated with them, an aspect of this
work which should be investigated in greater depth.
Finally, the very end of the romance (pp.
149-51
my edition) reiterates the main
thematic points in the Prologue: Roboan makes a
romeria ;
the reader is told that the
adventures of Roboan s son are to be found in
un libro en caldeo ;
one should have faith in
God;
and
he who begins a project should 6nish it with the end being consistent with the
beginning. That is, the themes in the Prologue, togetherwith those highlighted at the end of
the romance, form a frame within which the basic narrative evolves.
In conclusion, the author has chosenhistorical events as a pointof departure from which
he builds an elaborate literary structure. Formodern readers the surface isdeceptive because
it disguises one major point: both literary and historical figures rest on the same foundation.
This foundation, consisting qf repetitions, parallels and contrasts, links the lives of
Boniface, the Cardinal and Cifar, and all are firmly fused byMemory. The author s creative
genius is
not
to be found either in the material or in the themes,
but
in the elaborate
apparatus by which he joins tremendously diverse material into one whole unit.
future
studies of the readings of both manuscripts confirm Walker s analysis, we may then
conclude
that
the Prologue foreshadows the thematic structure of the romance as a whole. 15
NOTES
1
The f;ifar
is preserved in three
extant
versions: MSM,MS P,
and
S, a 1512 Sevilleedition.
The
first folio of
M,
both
recto
and
verso, has been lost
and
the textof all three is different, However, it is
not
yet possible to define
these differences for M
and
S have no t been transcribed separately.
The
content of the Prologue of M
and
P is
essentially the same although some key words are different; S has been totally altered.
The
Seville edition does
indicate
the
end of the Prologue, a
point
which coincides with Wagner s limits for his edition.
All references are basedon myedition: M. A.Olsen,Libro del Cauallero < ;ifar (Madison: Hispanic Seminaryof
Medieval Studies, 1984), an edition based totally on MS P.
The
first
modem
edition of the < ;ifar contained a
mixture of P
and
S
and
was published in
1872
by Heinrich Michelant. The second modern edition, the
1929
version edited by Charles Philip Wagner, is based on M,
but
he mixes with M many portions of P
and
S: Charles
PhilipWagner, ed., El Libro del Cauallero Zifar El Libro del Cauallero de Dios), PartI,
Text
[no more published],
University of Michigan blicarions in Language and Literature, 5 (Ann Arbor: University of Michigan, 1929; rpr,
Millwood, N.Y.: Kraus, 1971). All
other
modern editions are primarily based on Wagner:
Martin
de Riquer,
1951; Felicidad Buendia, 1954; joaquin Gonzalez-Muela, 1982; and the very recent edition of Cristina Gonzalez
which I haveno t seen.
The
1983 English translation of CharlesL.Nelson is also based on Wagner. All references in
this article to the Wagner edition are cited as
Edition.
2
james
F. Burke, History n Vision: The Figural Structure of the Libro del cauallero Zifar (london:
Tamesis, 1972); Marta Ana Diz, La construcci6n del Zifar , NRFH, XXVIlI
(1979),105-17, at
115-16. Roger
M. Walker, Tradition
n
Technique in El Libro del cauallero Ziiar (London: Tamesis, 1974), 118, hereafter
cited as
Tradition
n
Technique. The
article of FernandoGomez Redondo, El pr6logo de
-
8/10/2019 Olsen - Prlogo Del Zifar Creativity
9/9
THE PROLOGUE OF THE CAUALLERO
CIFAR
McSorley, An Outline History
of
the Church
Centuries SrLouis, Mo.
and
London: B.Herder Book Co., 1983);
La Diuina Commedia, ed. C. H. Grandgent, rev. by Charles S.Singleton {Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard U.P., 1975}.
7 Tradition and Technique, 118, 123.
8 A lt ho ug h W ag ner Edition, XV) believed that the eulogy of Queen
Maria
isa marginal gloss, he does
no t
explain the basis for this conclusion and my own examination of the manuscripts does
not
support his thesis. This
does
not
mean
that
he may
not
be correct,
but
we should
not
accept this theory
without
further investigation.
9 P. A. Bly and A. D. D ey er mo nd , T he Use of ligura in the
Libro
de Alexandre ,
The
Journal ofMedieval
and
Renaissance Studies,
II 1982),
151-81, at
161.
10 The following material is a synthesis of ideas contained in the following works: Ernst Robert Curtius,
European Literature
and
the Latin Middle Ages,
trans. Williard R.Trask N.Y.:
Harper and
Row, 1953);James j.
Murphy. Rhetoric in the Middle Ages Berkeley: Univ. of California Press, 1974); Frances A. Yates,
The
Art of
Memory
C hi cago: Univ. of C hi cago Press, 19 66). See also the old but excellent Lateiniscb Deutscbe Schul-
Worterbuch, ed. F. Ingerslev, 9th ed. Brunswick: Friedrich Vieweg und Sohn, 1881); A Latin Dictionary, ed.
Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short, rev. ed. of Freund s Latin Dictionary Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1975).
As far as I know, only two studies analyse Memory in Spain: Dorothy Sherman Severin,
Memory
in
La
Celestina London: Tamesis, 1970); also, John K. Walsh. Memoria. voluntad y enrendimiento ,
Reuista
de
Archivos, Bibliotecas y Museos, in press. For a more general study see: A. R. D. Pagden, The Diffusion of
Aristotle s Moral Philosophy in Spain, ca.140ka. 1600 , Traditio. XXXI 1975),
287-313.
1am indebted to E. Michael Gerli for sending me his unpublished typescript El castillo interior y el a rte de la
memoria , and for b ri ng ing to my att en ti on a n umber of i mp or tant studies: P ed ro M ej ia, Silva de Varia
Leeton
[sic]
Vol. II Madrid: Sociedad de Bibliofilos Espafioles, 1934); joseph F. Chorpenning, The Literary and
Theological
Method
of the Castillo Interior , JHP, III 1979), 121-33; Colbert Nepaulsingh, The
Concept
Book and Early Spanish Literature , Mediaevalia, The Early Renaissance. Acta, Vol. V, 1978,
133-55;
Rene
Taylor, Hermetism and Mystical Architecture in the Society of Jesus , in Baroque Art: The Jesuit Contribution,
63-91, ed. Rudolf Wittkower and Irma B.j affe New York: Fordham U.P., 1979). See also Heiner Gillmeisrer,An
Intriguing Fourteenth-century Document: Thomas Bradwardine s De arte memoratiua ; Archiu
fUr
das Studium
der neueren Sprachen und Literaturen, CXXXV (1983),111-14.
11 By Vul gar Latin I am referring to the s poke n language which includes both popular speech sermo
plebeius) and the colloquial language spoken by educated Romans sermo cotidianus).
12 Tradition and Technique,
Chapter
IV.
13 Tradition and Technique, 132. It should be taken into consideration that Walker s conclusions are derived
from t he W ag ner edi ti on w hereas my s tu dy is based t ot al ly on MS P as t rans cr ib ed in my edi ti on .
14 The Sevilleedition states: Este libro que es dicho del Cauallero Cifar tiene tres partes. La primera es de la
vida y aduersidades y prosperidades desre cauallero Cifar. La segunda esde los castigos que dio a sus hijos Garfin y
Roboan. La tercera esde los [sic] cauallerias y prosperidades del infante Roboan su hijo fol. 2r). I have transcribed
this paragraph from the copyflow of S, and have modernized the capitalization and punctuation. For a discussion
supporting the tripartite structure of the romance see R. G. Keighrley, The Story of Zifar and the Structure of the
Libro del Caballero Zifar ,
MLR
LXXIll 1978), 308-27.
15 This article is a reworking of a chapter in my doctoral dissertation at the University of Wisconsin, under
the direction of Lloyd A. Kasten: The Manuscripts. the Wagner edition and the Prologue of the Cauallero Zifar ,
1975. At the 1976 ML A in New York I presented a revised version of the topic at the Seminar on Romances of
Chivalry.
I wish to
thank
Thomas Bestul, Steven Kirby, Paul Schach, Joseph T. Snow
and
R ichard T yl er for t heir
suggestionson an early version of this rypescript. I am most grateful to Roger M. Walker for his comments on the
final text.
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