El Conde Lucanor

1335 Don Juan Manuel, El Conde Lucanor

Don Juan Manuel:
-son of the infante don Manuel
-grew up in the reign of Sancho IV
-went to the cathedral of Toldeo’s school
-honored, rich, and a favorite of the royal family until Alfonso XI refuses to marry his daughter, Constanza (in 1327?), to whom he was promised
-long and prolonged disagreements between Juan Manuel and the young king AlfonsoXI until Juana Núñez (la palomiella), Juan Manuel’s mother-in-law from his third marriage, gets an agreement settled in Madrid in 1337 after which point Juan Manuel has his possessions and titles returned to him.

Other (extant) works:
-before 1325: Crónica abreviada
-1325-26: Libro de caza
-1326-38: Libro del caballero et del escudero
-1330 Libro de los estados
-1336-7: Libro de castigoset de consejos (Libro infinido)
-after 1337: Libro de las armas

1335 EL CONDE LUCANOR:
Consists of three main parts, divided into 5 by Juan Manuel:
1. (pt.1) 51 ejemplos
2. (pts. 2-4) three sets of proverbs (consisting of 100, 50, and 30, respectively)
3. (pt. 5) a brief treatise on Christian doctrine
Much is said about the various masks and roles Juan Manuel takes on in theConde Lucanor, which, according to the editor, creates a “juego de espejos que refractan una imagen autoral inasible a veces y sugerente siempre”.

His ejemplos and proverbios follow the didactic tradition of la sapiencial, which appears on the peninsula around the end of the 12th century, in which the ejemplo contains not just the short tale, but also the moral or religious teach and the humanapplication of the moral. The first part (the ejemplos) describe the advice/guidance for human nature to act well in one’s position in life and achieve salvation.

Generic models and influences: Alfonsine historiography, Arabic literary tradition (frame tale in particular), juridical documents

PRÓLOGO GENERAL: In the first person! Announces that he is putting together this collection ofall his works because he wants to avoid the problems that come from copying and recopying originals. Gives a story to illustrate: a caballero wrote a wonderful cantiga that everyone liked. One day the caballero was riding along and came across a zapatero (what’s this in English? Cobbler?) who was singing his song but messing it all up, so much so that everyone who heard it thought it was a badsong. So the caballero took some scissors and cut up all the shoes the zapatero had made. Then he rode away. When he saw this, he yelled after the caballero, who came back and suggested that they take the matter to the king. They did, and after explanation, the king imposed a fine on the zapatero and simply told the caballero not to do that anymore. So if you read any of (Juan Manuel) hisworks, know that any errors are most likely due to bad copyists. And if you find any errors in this, the official compendium of his works, they’re due to loss of mental acuity. [Since the writings themselves, after first publication, were really so good]. Then there’s a list of all 12 of the works, not including the Conde Lucanor.

ANTEPRÓLOGO: In the third person! (“este libro fizo don Johán”)Basically reiterates the same echándole la culpa al otro for mistakes as in the Prólogo general, also lists the Works, but there are only 9 of them this time. Instead of the little story, it says that he wrote this book for the salvation of souls, and it contains so many things that “sería marabilla” if something were to happen to an individual that was not accounted for in some way in the book.It also states that it’s in Romance, so it’s for the not-so-well-educated people just like Juan Manuel. [ha!]

PRÓLOGO: God made men in this marvelous way: that even though they all have the same parts (of the face in particular), each has a unique expression of those parts, so that no one exactly resembles the other. And so it is with the souls and wills of men. All who want to serve God...