La clerecía del Fernán González

The Poema de Fernán González is usually regarded as a hybrid text—while its subject matter is deemed epic, its expression, intentionality, and ideology are considered clerical. This article studies several elements shared by Fernán González and the other poems of the mester de clerecía school: the same stanza (the cuaderna vía) and poetic rules; similar modes of composition, transmission, and reception; and common structural, thematic, and verbal patterns. The article concludes that the Poema de Fernán González fully participates in the common artistry of the mester de clerecía and therefore can be regarded as the attempt to produce epic poetry by this learned clerical school.     

Conflicto político en el Poema de Fernán González

This article deals with the ways in which different political conflicts surrounding the emergence, independence, and consolidation of Castile as a political agent are managed and solved in the Poema de Fernán González. It shows how internal conflicts within the Castilian community are settled by favoring an authoritarian vision of leadership, discouraging consensus and shared decision making. Regarding conflicts with other political domains, the poem legitimizes Castilian independence by means of a narrative that makes natural Castilian claims on Visigothic heritage, while at the same time presenting Castile as following legal procedures and as a victim of external aggression.     

¿Qué sabemos del Cantar de Fernán González?

The Poem or Book of Fernán González was probably written c. 1250 by a monk of San Pedro de Arlanza (Burgos, Castile) to strengthen the legendary foundation of his monastery by the tenth-century Castilian Count, Fernán González, and to promote his tomb cult there. The Arlanza poet was competing with the benefits that Santiago and San Millán de la Cogolla were trying to get on legendary accounts of the champion of the independence of the County of Castile from the Kingdom of León. It is clear that this is a work of monastic propaganda, designed to attract pilgrims and donations; therefore perhaps a better title for it would be Poem of the Foundation of San Pedro de Arlanza. The Arlanza poet was fond of the popular and orally transmitted Romance epics (Hispanic and Carolingian songs). He knew Siete infantes de Salas, the tradition of the Youthful Deeds of Rodrigo (Gesta de las Mocedades de Rodrigo), the anti-Carolingian song(s) of Bernardo del Carpio, and the Roncesvals Matière. We also suspect that the poet was recasting a now-lost epic cantar de gesta of Fernán González. This cantar was probably also known by Gonzalo de Berceo, who was actively working in San Millán de la Cogolla, a few years earlier, trying to attract pilgrims and donations. In this article, I try to analyze how much we know of the lost Cantar de Fernán González and if the Monastery of Sahagún (León) also reappropriated it for its own propaganda.     

Topoiesis: Procesos de espacialización en la literatura (crítica y metodología)

ABSTRACT

Space in literary texts has been widely studied but poorly systematized. There is no valid method of analysis that gives space a critical meaning. For instance, critics have eluded the fact that time and space cannot be considered separately. On the other hand, they have used concepts or methods from disciplines aside literature such as anthropology, biology, psychology, or geography that do not help clarify the meaning or signification of a literary text. We begin this article by giving a review of the main theoretical and critical positions regarding space in literature from the second half of the twentieth century. We do this in order to evaluate the main results those studies have attained. Later on, we propose a methodology that may clarify the significance of space in a literary text. The concept topoiesis (as far as we know, it has not been used in the humanities) represents for us a key word. It helps us to distinguish one main process where space can turn from a signification practice to the production of meaning in a literary text.     

Reflexiones en torno al teatro en la producción crítica de Alberdi y Sarmiento

This article examines the important role played by Juan B. Alberdi's and Domingo F. Sarmiento's literary articles in advancing the modern nationalist discourse in Argentina. I argue that in their performance reviews, these two men of letters advocated for the formation of a national theater in an effort to promote a national cultural expression.     

La exportación de la Ilustración Peruana. De Alejandro Malaspina a José Ignacio de Lecuanda (1794–1799)

Este artículo analiza la desconocida divulgación de la ilustración peruana en Madrid a partir del discurso que sobre la ‘idea del Perú’ impulsó la Sociedad de Amantes del País en el Mercurio Peruano a fines del siglo XVIII. Este proyecto utilitario de los mercuristas se hizo manifiesto durante tres momentos: primero, en la confección del informe político sobre el Perú que redactó el marino ilustrado Alejandro Malaspina en 1795; segundo, en la divulgación que impulso el ilustrado vasco José Ignacio de Lecuanda en las páginas del periódico titulado Viajero Universal en 1798; tercero, en el diseño que patrocinó el propio Lecuanda en el Cuadro de historia civil, natural y geográfica del Perú pintado por Luis Thiebaut (1799). El estudio discute las razones por las cuales Malaspina y Lecuanda creyeron que la exportación de este proyecto ilustrado iba a convertir al Perú en un reino utilitario para la Monarquía hispánica.     

La prudencia de Cortés: teoría política y práctica retórica en la Historia de la conquista de México de Antonio de Solís

The Historia de la conquista de México, published by Antonio de Solís in 1684, and later extensively reissued and translated, has been praised for the ‘elegance’ and ‘sweetness’ of its style. From very early on these qualities made the Historia to be read as a prose model worthy of imitation. Different scholars have studied Solís's sources and the way he manipulated them on the one hand, and, on the other, the extent of the reliability of his account. However, very little has been said about the actual writing practices of the Historia in the context of contemporary historiographical theories, or the author's own ideas about history or politics. This paper analyzes how some of these rhetorical techniques (I particularly focus on the use of oratio figurata, sententia, and epiphoneme) gave shape to Solís's political ideas, in particular the concept of prudence.