El Conde Lucanor: A Collection of Mediaeval Spanish Stories 9780856683251, 0856683256, 9780856683268, 0856683264

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HISPANIC CLASSICS

JuanManuel

ELCONDE LUCANOR Jua

821.134.2"04/14"

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JUA con

403337000001

A Collection of Mediaeval Spanish Stories Edited with an Introduction, Translation and Notes by '

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John England ro

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CONTENTS

I

© John England 1987. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or stored in a retrievaJ system or transmitted by any means or in any form including photocopying without the prior pennission of the publishers in writing

Acknowledgements Abbrevlationa Bibliography

iv

ISBN 0 85668 325 6 (cloth) 0 85668 326 4 (limp)

INTRODUCTION

1

British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data

Juan Manuel, Infante of Castile El Conde Lucanor. - (Hispanic Classics) I. Title II. England, John, 1947111.Series 863'.I PQ6401.E5

The publishers gratefully acknowledge the financial assistance of the DirecciOn General del Llbro y Bibliotecas of the Ministerio de Cultura de Espaiia for this translation.

Printed and published in England by Aris & Phillips Ltd, Teddington House, Warminster, Wiltshire.

V

vi

First Prologue Prologue STORY t. The King's Favourite 2. The Good Man and His Son 3. King Richard's Leap 4. The Genoese and His Soul 5. The Fox and the Crow 6. The Swallow and the Other Birds 7. Doiia Truhana 8. The Cleansing of the Liver 9. The Two Horses and the Lion 10. The Man Who Ate Lupin - seeds 11. Don 111.in and the Dean of Santiago 12. The· Fox and the Cock · 13. The Man )Vho Caught Partridges 14. St Dominic and the Usurer 15". Don Lorenzo Suarez 16. Fernan GoD.-zcilez'sReply 17. The Half-hearted Invitation ·18~ Don Pero Melendez de Valdes 19·. The Crows and the Owls 20. The· King and the Alchemist 21. The Young King · and the Philosopher 22. The. Lion and the Bull 23. How Ants Provide For Themselves 24'. The King Who Teste.d His Sons · 25 _Saladin's Advice to tht Count - of Provence 26. The Tree of False/10od NOTES

Index. of Spanish titles

30 32

36 44 50 58 62 66 70 74 76

80 84 92 98 102 106 112 116 120 124 128 134 140 146

150 156 168

27.

The

Emperor, Alvar H8iiez, and Their Wives 174 28. Don Lorenzo Suarez Gallinato 190 29. The Fox Which Played Dead 194 30. King Abenabet and His Wife 198 31. The Cardinal's Judgement 202 32. The King and the Confidence-tricksters 204 33. Prince Manuel's Falcon 210 34. The Blind Leading the Blind 214 35. The Young Man Who Married a Shrew 216 36. The Merchant's Return 224 37. Fern3n GonzAlez After the Battle of Hacinas 228 38. The Drowning Man 230 39. The Man, the Swallow, and the Sparrow 234 40. The Seneschal of Carcassonne 236 41. King AI-Hakam of Cordoba 242 42. The Deceitful Beguine 246 43. Good and Evil, and the Wise Man and the Madman 254 44. The Return of Count Rodrigo 260 45. The Man Befriended by the Devil 268 46. The Philosopher and the Women of Ill-repute 274 47. The M;oor and His Sister 280 48. The YoUng Man Who Tested His Friends 284 49. The Man Whos~ Kingdom Was Taken from Him 292 50. •Saladin· and the Lady 296 51. The .Proud King 310

322

350

1 t. !

iv

V

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ABBREVIATIONS

During the preparation of this work I have been fortunate to receive willing assistance from many people, but limitations of space allow me to mention just three: Brian Tate, whose encouragement and advice were crucial in the early stages; my wife Marie, who made many improvements to the translation, and then proof-read the whole work; and Audrey Stapley, who expertly produced the typescript of the whole whilst coping at the same time with the many demands of a busy department. Any errors are my own. A more general debt of gratitude is owed to Ian Macpherson, of the University of Durham, who some twenty years ago first introduced me to Juan Manuel. If this book were to arouse interest in Juan Manuel amongst those who have never read his works before in the same way that Ian Macpherson 1 s enthusiasm and insights aroused my interest, I would be more than satisfied.

(i)

Works of Juan Manuel

Abreviada Armas c'antares Cavallero Caza Engefios Estados Infinido Lucanor Sabios (ii)

BH BHS BICC CENT

~ H

HR

JMS MLN MLR

DC RABM RoN RPh

Cr6nica abreviada [Concise Chronicle] Libra de las armas [Book of Arms) Libra de los cantares [Book of Songs] Libra del cavallero et del escudero [Book of the Knight and the Squire) Libra de la caza [Book of Hunting] Libro de los engefios [Book of Siege-engines] Libru de los estados [Book of Estates) Libra infinido [Unfinished Book) El Conde Lucanor [Count Lucanor] Libra de los sabios [Book of Philosophers]

Others Bulletin Hispanigue Bulletin of Hispanic Studies Thesaurus. Boletin del Instituto Don Juan Manuel. VII centenario Filologia Romanza Hispania Hispanic Review Juan Manuel Studies Modern Language Notes Modern Language Review •bras completas Revista de Archivos, Bibliotecas Romance Notes Romance Philology

Caro y Cuervo

y Museos

BIBLIOGRAPHY vii

vi

SELECTEDBIBLIOGRAPHY I l 2 3 4

5 6

7

MODERN EDITIONS OF JUANMANUEL'SWORKS Juan Manuel, El Conde Lucanor, ed. Jose Manuel Blecua (Madrid: Castalia, 1969; 2nd ed., 1971) _ Juan Manuel, Libra del Conde Lucanor et de Patron10, ed. Germ8n Orduna (Buenos Aires: Huernel, 1972) Juan Manuel, Libra de los estados, ed. R.B. Tate and I.R. Macpherson (Oxford: Clarendon, 1974) _ Juan Manuel: A Selection, ed. I.R. Macpherson (London: Tamesis, 1980) , _ Juan Manuel, •bras completas, ed. Jose Manuel Blecua (Madrid, 2 vols: Gredos, 1981-3) Juan Manuel, Libra del Conde Lucanor, ed. Reinaldo Ayerbe-Chaux (Madrid: Alhambra, 1983) Juan Manuel, Libra del Conde Lucanor, ed. Reinaldo Ayerbe-Chaux and Alan Deyermond (Madrid: Alhambra, 1985) [Modernized edition]

II

BIBLIOGRAPHY

8

Devoto, Daniel, Introducci6n al estudio de don Ju~n Manue~ Yen particular de 1 El Conde LuCanor 1 : una bibliografia_ (Madrid'. Castalia, 1972). For more recent bibliographical information, see items 4, 7 and 17.

III

STUDIES (BOOKS)

9

Ayerbe-Chaux, Reinaldo, 1 El Conde Lu~anor': ~ateria tradicional y originalidad creadora (Madrid: Porrua Turanzas, ~975) Barcia, Pedro L., An8lisis de 1 El Conde Lucanor' (Buenos Aires: Centro Editor de America Latina, 1968) Blecua, Alberto, La transmis~6n textual de 1 El Conde Lucanor' (Barcelona: Universidad Autonoma de Barcelona, ~980). lectura 1ntel1gente D;z Matta Ana Patronio y Lucanor: ... ' el tiempo gue ' es turbio- 11 (Potomac,la Maryland: scr1p. t a "en Humanistica, 1984) . Don Juan Manuel. VII Centenario (Murcia: Universidad de Murcia and Academia Alfonso X el Sabio, 1982) Gimenez Soler, Andres, Don Juan Manuel: biografia y estudio crilico (Zaragoza: 'Real Academia EspaAola, 1932) Huerta Tejadas, Felix, Vocabulario de las.obras de don Juan Manuel (1282-1348) (Madrid: Real Academia Espanola, 1956) Lacarra, Maria JesUs, Cuentistica medieval en Espana: los origenes (Zal'agoza·: Universidad de Zaragoza, 1979) . Macpherson, Ian (ed.), Juan Manuel Studies (London: Tames1s, 1977)

10

11

12 13 14 15 16

19

Marsan, Rameline E., Itin8raire espagnol du conte mediBval (VIIIe-XVe siecles) (Paris: Klincksieck, 1974) Sturcken, H. Tracy,_Don Juan Manuel (New York: Twayne, 1974)

IV

STUDIES (ARTICLES)

18

I

1

20 21 I

22

I

"'

23 24

li .,

25

•

26 27 28 29 30

31 32 33 34

35 36

37 38 39

Adams, Nicholson B., and Bond, Frank M., 'Story thirty-three of El Libra de Patronio', H, LII (1969), 109-11 Alvar, Carlos, 'Ay cinquenta enxienplos', BH, LXXXVI(1984), 136-41 Ayerbe-Chaux, Reinaldo, 1 El concepto de la amistad en la obra del infante don Juan Manuel', BICC, XXIV (1969), 37-49 Ayerbe-Chaux, Reinaldo, 'El ejemplo IV de El Conde Lucanor: su originalidad artistica', RoN, XV (1974}, 572-7 Ayerbe-Chaux, Reinaldo, 'Don Juan Manuel y la conciencia de su propia autoria', La Cor6nica, X (1981-82), 186-90 Battaglia, S8lvatore, 'Dall' esempi • alla novella', FR, VII (1960), 21-84 Babes Naves, Maria del Carmen, 'Sintaxis narrativa en algunos ensienplos de El Conde Lucanor', Prohemio, VI (1975), 257-76 Boggs, Ralph Steele, 'La mujer mandona de Shakespeare y don Juan Manuel', H, X (1927), 419-22 Burke, James, 1 Juan Manuel's "Tabardie" and "Golfin 11 ' ,. HR, XLIV (1976), 171-8 Burke, James, 1 Frame and Structure in the Conde Lucanor 1 , Revista Canadiense de Estudios Hispanicos, VIII (1984), 263-74 Caldera, Ermanno, 1 Retorica, narrativa e didattica nel Conde Lucanor', Miscellanea di Studi Ispanici, XIV (1966-67), 5-120 Carreno, Antonio, 'La vergUenza coma constants social y narrativa en don Juan Manuel: el E.jemplo L de El Conde Lucanor', RABM,LXXX(1977), 3-20 Cherchi, Paolo, 111 El Salta del Rey Richalte 11 ', MLN, C (1985), 391-6 Cirot, Gustave, 'L 1 Hirondelle et les petits oiseaux dans El Conde Lucanor', BH, XXXIII (1931), 140-43 Clarke, Kenneth,- 1 The tatal Hairdo and the Emperor 1 s New Clothes Revisited', Western Folklore, XXIV (1964), 249-52 D'Agostino, Alfonso, 'Ricognizioni nel cinquentesimo exemplo del Conde Lucanor', Strumenti Critici, X (1976), 22U-46 Devoto, Daniel, 1 Cuatro notas sabre la materia tradicional en don Juan Manuel', BH, LXVIII (1966), 187-215 Diz, Marta Ana, 'Elmago de Toledo: Borges y Don Juan Manuel 1 , MLN, C (1985), 281-97 England, John, 1 Exemplo 51 of El Conde Lucanor: The Problem of Authorship', BHS, LI (1974), 16-27 England, John, ' 11l,Et non el dia del lodo? 11 : The Structure of the Short Story in El Conde LUcanor 1 , in Juan Manuel Studies (see above, no.17), pp.69-86

viii

40 41 42 43 44 45

46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55

56 57 58

BIBLIOGRAPHY ix

BIBLIOGRAPHY Flory, David A., 'A Suggested Emendation of El Conde Lucanor, Parts I and III', in Juan Manuel Studies (see above, no.17), pp.87-99 Gimeno Casalduero, Joaquin, 1 El Conde Lucanor: composici6n y significado 1 , Nueva ReviSta de Filologia Hisp8nica, XXIV (1975), 101-12 Goyri de Men~ndez Pidal, Maria, 'Sabre el ejemplo 47 deg Conde Lucanor', Correo Erudito, l (1940), 102-4 He~n8ndez Esteban, Maria, 'Seducci9n par obtener/adulterio par evitar en Sendebar, 1, Lucanor, Decameron I, 5', Prohemio VI (1975), 45-66 ' Hitchcock, Richard, 1 D• n Juan Manuel's Knowledge of Arabic 1 , MLR, LXXX(1985), 594-603 Keller, John E., 1 From Masterpiece to R0sum8: Don Juan Manuel's Misuse of a Source 1 , [studios literarioS de'hispanistas norteamericanos dedicados a Helmut Hatzfeld (Barcelona: Hispam, 1974, pp.41-50 Keller, John E., 1 A Re-examination of Don Juan Manuel's Narrative Techniques: La mujer brava', H, LVIII (1975), 45-51 Keller, John E., 'Another look at Exemplo 48 in El Conde Lucanor: "De lo que acontesc;i6 a uno que provava sus amigos 111 , La Cor6nica, XIII (1984), 1-9 Krappe, Alexander H., 'Le Faucon de l'Infant dans El Conde Lucanor', BH, XXXV(1933), 294-7 Lida de Malkiel, Maria Rosa, 'Tres notas sabre don Juan Manuel', RPh, IV (1950-51), 155-94 Macpherson, Ian, 'Dias y el mundo - the Didacticism of El Conde Lucanor', RPh, XXIV (1970-71), 26-38 Macpherson, Ian, 'Amor and Don Juan Manuel', HR, XXXIX(1971), 167-82 Macpherson, Ian, 'Don Juan Manuel: The Literary Process', Studies in Philology, LXX (1973), 1-18 Marin, Diego, 1 El elemento oriental en D. Juan Manuel: Sintesis y revaluaci6n 1 , Comparative Literature, VII (1955), 1-14' Menendez Pidal, Ram6n, 1 Nota sabre una f8bula de Juan Manuel y de Juan Ruiz', in Poesia Brabe y poesia europea (Buenos Aires: Austral, 1941), pp.128-33 Miguel Martinez, Emilio de, 'La f8bula del zorro que se hizo el muerto en Juan Ruiz yen don JUan Manuel (an8lisis literario)', Boletin de la Biblioteca de Menendez Pelayo, LX (1984), 65-98 · Montgomery, Thomas, 'Don Juan Manuel's Tale of Don 1118n and its Revision by Jorge Luis Borges', H, XLVII (1964), 464-6 Munuera, Celia Wallhead, 'Three TaleS from El Conde Lucanor and their Arabic Counterparts', in Juan Manuel Studies (see above, no.17), pp.101-17 Munoz Cortes, Manuel, 1 Intensificaci6n y perspectivismo lingUistico en la elaboraci6n de un ejemplo de El Conde Lucanor.

59

',

60 61

LY

62

:I 63 64

l

65

'

66 67

68 69 70 71

72

73 74

(Un estudio de lingUistica del texto)', in Estudios literarios dedicados al profesor Mariano Baquero Goyanes (Murcia, 1974), pp.529-85 Nykl, A.R., 'Arabic Phrases in El Conde Lucanor', HR, X (1942), 12-17 Prieto, Maria Remedios, 1 Rasgos autobiog~8ficos en el Exemplo V de El Conde Lucanor y estudio particular del ap6logo 1 , RABM, LXXVII (1974), 627-63 -Ricapito, Joseph V., 'El contorno picaresco de El Conde Lucanor', Romanische Forschungen, LXXXIV(1972), 97-107 Rivas, Enrique de, 'Huellas de simbolismo esoterico en el Libra de los engafios y el enxiemplo once del Conde Lucanor 1 , in -Figuras y estrellas de las cosas (Maracaibo: Universidad del Zulia, 1969), pp.73-89 Rodriguez-Puertolas, Julio, 'Juan Manuel y la crisis castellana del siglo XIV', in Literatura, historia, alienaci6n (Barcelona, 1976), pp.45-69 Scholberg, Kenneth R., 'A Half-friend and a Friend and a Half', BHS, XXV(1958), 187-98 Scholberg, Kenneth R., 'Modestia y orgullo: una nota sabre don Juan Manuel', H, XLII ·(1959), 24-31 Scholberg, Kenri"eth R., 'Juan Manuel, personaje y autocritico', H, XLIV (1961), 457-60 Segre, Cesare, 'Negromanzia e ingratitudine (Juan Manuel, il Novellino, Ludovico Ariosto)', in M0langes de linguistigue romane et de philoloqie medievale offerts 8 M. Maurice Delbouille (Gembloux: Duculot, 1964), II, 653-8 Sturm, Harlan, 'The Conde Lucanor: The First Exemplo 1 , MLN, LXXXIV(1969), 286-92 Sturm, Harlan, 'Author and Authority in El Conde Lucanor', Hispan6fila, LII (1974), 1-9 ·Sturm,·Harlan, 'El Conde Lucanor: The Search for the Individual', in Juan Manuel Studies (see above, no.17), pp.157-68 Tate, R.B., 1 Don Juan Manuel and his Sources: Ejemplos 48, 28, l', in Studia hispanica in honorem R. Lapesa (Madrid: C8tedraSeminario Menendez Pidal and Gredos, 1972-75), I, 549-61 Taylor, Archer, 'The Emperor 1 s New Clothes•, Modern Philology, XXV(1927-28), 17-27 Uriarte Rebaudi, Lia Noemi, 1 El ejemplo XI de El Conde Lucanor' Filologia, XVII-XV!II (1976-77), 407-13 ' V8rvaro, Alberto, 1 La cornice del Conde Lucanor', Studi di Letteratura Spagnola, ed. Carmelo Samona (Rome: Societa FilologicR Romana, 1964), pp.187-95

V

TRANSLATIONS INTO ENGLISH

75

York, James, Count Lucanor; or the fifty Pleasant Stories of Petronio (Westminster: B.M. Pickering, 1868) Keller, John E., and Keating, L. Clark, The Book of Count Lucanor and Patronio (Lexington: University of Kentucky, 1977)

76

I

i X

INTRODUCTION

Juan Manuel and the Castilian Succession

I

Fernando 111 /t'/ St111/o}==Beatrice of Swabia (d. 1252)

Enrique cl Scnador=Juana (d. IJ03)

NUi'icz

(lu Pulomilla) (d. ll'>I)

i\lfonlo X =Viula,11c of ,\ragon {]252-8--1)

Diego LOpez de Haro (d. c. 1255)

s~ncho

Lope Diaz de Haro (d. 1288)

I

Maria Diaz di Haroaa lnfantc luao

Juan

I!/

JV

!\1urfo de Molina

"'",,,I "

I

(d. "'"

Tuerto

(d. 1326)

I

Pedro (d. )]'9)

hrnamlo

()295

I

Pedro I (1350-69)

I

Manuel == Cl) Con5lam;:a (d. 128l)=(ii) Bca1rlce of Savoy {d. 1290)

Fernando de la Cerda= Blanche of France

(d.""~

nll)

IV= Co,manr,;a ))12)

Marla ol=,\llon~o XlPo"•••> illl2-50)

(el Cruel}

SanLho

1••Po,mga)

I

F~llpc (d. 1327)

Alfonso Fernando"' Juana :,.;uncz Id. 1333) (la Pafomillu} tlnfanlC5 de la Cerda) (d. 1151)

j"'

Enrique

leonor Go,m;o

or

juan

Blanca Niiiicz= (LIAN de Ja_ Cerda MANUEL (d. IJ.40)

I

Tra51.1imara=/uana

(1369-79)

:"\iifiez Ill (d. 11'>0)

Manuel

11282-1:WB)

Fernando Manuel (d. IHO)

Juan I of Cutl1c (1379-90)

Reproduced from Juan Manuel, A Selection, ed. I.R. 1980), p. xliv, by kind permission of the publishers.

Macpherson

(London:

Tamesis,

Few medieval Castilians arouse as much interest amongst both historians and literary critics as does Juan Manuel. He was a major force in the turbulent political life of the Iberian Peninsula in the f.irst half of the fourteenth century, and his interests extended far beyond Castile, bringing him into contact with Aragon, Portugal, and the Moorish Kingdom of Granada; at the same time, he was a prolific writer, and found sufficient time away from his active political and military involvements to compose a substantial number of literary works covering a wide range of subject-matter. But he is also a figure who ~e can begin to get to know as a human-being, partly because one of the main purposes behind his literary work was to pass on his life's experience to anyone prepared to read or listen to what he had to say. Many modern readers form an unfavourable impresqion of Juan Manuel's character from the way in which he deals in his writings with major themes such as power, honour, and friendship, and a knowledge of certain unsavoury incidents in his life reinforces this impression; however, some of the autobiographical detail which he includes in _his works may lead us to a more sympathetic view of the man: his sleepless nights as a result of insomnia, an affliction which ran in his family; the pleasure he derived from funding building-work, in which he·took an active, personal interest, wandering around the sites chatting to the man carrying out the work; and his fondness for playing practical jokes on his hunting-companions. Although it may be impossible to know another human-being, especially one born more than 700 years ago, if we follow Don Juan's repeated advice on how to assess others by considering all their actions, both great and small, we begin to feel that we know something of 1 el omne en si 1 , the inner man. If Juan Manuel the human-being arouses varied responses, Juan Manuel the writer is less controversial, especially as far as the stories of Lucanor are concerned, for they have received high praise over many centuries. A succession of critics have in recent years analysed the stories and helped to bring out many of the qualities which make Juan Manuel stand out above all other medieval Castilian tellers of short stories, but something of the mystery surrounding all great creative activity remains, conveyed most effectively in a re-working of story 11 (the story of Don Illan) by Enrique Anderson Imbert.(l) In it, the author, a lecturer and writer, becomes jealous of Juan Manuel when told by his girlfriend that story 11 of Lucanor is the greatest short story in Spanish literature. After a petulant show of erudition, by means of which he attempts to prove to his girlfriend t_hat the story is fatally flawed, he determines to re-write the story as he feels it should have been written, but his many attempts end in failure; so he copies.out Juan Manuel's version, and sends it to her with a bunch of roses and a~ admission

INTRODUCTION 3 2

INTRODUCTION

that this is the version that he would like to have written. Whatever faults the stories of Lucanor may have, they are impressive literary creations. Life and times of Juan Manuel (2) Juan Manuel was born in Escalona, near Toledo, on 5 May, 1282, towards the close of a century which had seen the Christian kingdoms of the Iberian Peninsula, and Castile in particular, carry the Reconquest into the heatt of southern Spain. The Christian victory in the battle of Las Navas de Tolosa (1212) had proved decisive, and after. Fernando III had reunited Castile and Leon in 1230, most of Andalusia fell to Castile: Cordoba in 1236, Seville in 1248, Cadiz in 1250. Only the Nasrid Kingdom of Granada remained in Moorish hands. As the frontier was pushed further south, the Christian kingdoms of northern and central Spain began to enjoy a period of relative peace and st_ability, as well as economic growth, and developments such as the foundation of universities and the writing of literature in the vernacular are just two indications of this more settled society. Juan Manuel was born as this period of relative stability was coming to an end. Alfonso X of Castile (1252-84) had seen his eldest son Fernando de la Cerda killed in battle, leaving two young sons, Alfonso and Fernando, the Infantes de la Cerda; in 1284, Sancho IV, the second son of Alfonso X, succeeded to· the throne, but the rival claim to the throne of the Cerda faction was one of the principal factors which contributed to the instability and violence of the reigns of Sancho IV (1284-95), Fernando IV (1295-1312), and Alfonso XI (1312-50). Any assessment of Juan Manuel's life must take into account the fact that he was born at the beginning of this period of unrest, and that no man of his high lineage could simply opt out of the turmoil. There were times when he was betrayed, and his life was threatened more than once; on many occasions he had to move to defend what he clearly regarded as his legitimate interests. On the other hand, he cannot be portrayed as the innocent victim of a violent society, and many of his actions contributed substantially to the violence ~nd unrest; he was prepared to go to any lengths to protect and enhance his position in society, and there are indications in his writings that he did not have a clear conscience about everything he had done. Indeed, most of Juan Manuel's literary works are best understood as the efforts of a mature man to explain and justify what had been a turbulent life in which only some of his ambitions had been achieved. Many of these ambitions stemmed directly from his appreciation of his unique position in society: grandson, nephew, cousin, and uncle of Kings of Castile (and after his death his grandson became King of Castile), yet never likely to become king himself. His

mother was a princess, Beatrice of Savoy, and his father a prince, Manuel; his paternal grandfather was Fernando III of Castile and Leon, the warrior-king whose exploits in leading the Reconquest in the first half of the thirteenth century led to his canonization; Juan Manuel 1 s uncle was Alfonso X, the scholar-king whose court was a centre of cultural activity which transformed the intellectual life of Castile; and his cousin was Sancho IV, who strove to continue the cultural activities of his father, Alfonso. Juan Manuel was to grow up with a strong awareness of his ancestors' achievements, and for his military and literary activities he had great models to imitate in his warrior grandfather and scholar uncle. And he was acutely aware of his unique position in Castilian society: in chapter 6 of Infinido, he explains to his son Fernando that it will be difficult for him to find friends of equal status, because the King of Castile and his heir are his social superiors, whereas everyone else is his inferior. In a rigidly hierarchical society, Juan Manuel 1 s was a powerful, but isolated position. Fram an early age his position was more isolated than it might otherwise have been, as a result of the deaths of his father in 1283 and his mother in 1290; he was fortunate to have had his cousin Sancho IV take over responsibility for his up-bringing, but death intervened once more ta leave Juan Manuel isolated when Sancho himself died of tuberculosis in 1295, shortly before Juan Manuel's thirteenth birthday. His presence at tne bedside of the dying king created a lasting impression, and same forty years later he movingly recounted the events in the third section of Armas;(3) it would be unwise ta regard this account as a wholly accurate version of events, but his feelings for the dying Sancho are probably real enough. It would be soon after the death of Sancho that he began to assume responsibility for running his own affairs, and these would have been complex, as he had inherited substantial properties and duties from his father. (4) Manuel had spent most of his life in the loyal service of his brother, Alfonso X, and was rewarded handsomely for this service; he received lands in many parts of the kingdom, and most importantly several towns, including Elche, in the southeast of the Peninsula. This was land hemmed in by Castile, Aragon, and Granada, but under the jurisdiction of none of them, and these holdings provided an important power-base for Juan Manuel, who could claim the right ta act independently of the monarchy in this region. Manuel had also been granted the title of Adelantado (Governor) of Murcia, a title which his son went to great lengths to preserve. It was felt to be the duty of every nobleman to protect and increase his family's power and status, and Juan Manuel worked hard to continue his father's success; the special status conferred on him by his interests in the south-east made him increasingly aware of his unique position in society. These possessions on the borders of the kingdoms of Castile and Aragon were one of the main reasons why Juan Manuel came into

4

INTRODUCTION

close contact with the royal house of Aragon. Jaime II of Aragon seized Elche and its surrounding territory in 1296, and handed it over to the Cerda pretender·to the Castilian throne as an indication of his support for the Cerda claim. In 1303, Juan Manuel, who was already a widower (he had married Isabel of Majorca in 1299, but she died two years later), went to Aragon on behalf of a group of Castilian nobles to discuss the possibility of lending support to the Cerda pretender; he returned instead with an agreement that he would marry Constan9a, daughter of Jaime II, and although the marriage did not take place until 1312, ~hen she was twelve years old, Juan Manuel now had a formal alliance with one of the most powerful men in the Iberian Peninsula. He had, however, at the same time upset his king, Fernando, who later in 1303 was reported by Jaime Ii to be plotting Don Juan 1 s imprisonment or murder; there was never again a relationship of trust between Juan Manuel and the Castilian Crown. One initiative which might have brought the Crown and the nobility together proved a disastrous failure: Jaime II and Fernando IV agreed to renew the Christia_n efforts to remove the Moors from Spain, and led the sieges of Algeciras and Almeria in 1309-1310. However, Juan Manuel and the Infante Juan (Juan Manuel's cousin) had serious reservations about the whole operation, and when _they both. withdrew from the field, the campaign was doomed· tO failure. The Infante Juan later claimed that Fernando h8d been planning to kill him; Juan Manuel claimed that he was obeying Fernando's orders to stay by the Infante's side to pr_event . him committing acts of treachery. Whatever the truth behind these assertions, i,t was clear that Juan Manuel 1 s reputation had been damaged, 'and that the Christians had failed to unite against a commpn enemy; it was also apparent that unrest would continue for many .years. The death of the sickly Fernando in 1312 did nothing to reduce. the unr~st, as his, son, Alfonso XI, was just nne year old •. Af,tet a period· of uncertainty, three regents Were chosen. to .rule· Castile. dur.ing Alf(;mso' s minority: Maria de Molina, ·Alforiso' s grandmother; . the Infante Juan, his great uncle;. and the Infante Peero· his uncle. Juan Manuel 1 s life continued to be turbulent, part"i~ularly when the inhabitants of Murcia souQht' proteCt.:i,on agains~ their Governdf, ·in much the same way as a generation earlier their predecessOrs. h_ad strongly opposed his father; and on one occasiqn, when a- gue.st- in the .house of ':he Catalan GuillBn de Rocaft,111, h~_s_o· offended his host that he was challenged to a persoRal combat i~ ~eh violent language that even some of Juan Manuel's enell)ies objec-:ted. His attentioo was soon to return to politics, however, when .'t.Wo-of the rege~-ts·, the Infantes Juan and Pedro, died .in 13],..9during a _c·a~pai.gtl which had co~e within a few miles of Gr~nada ~tse~f. Juan Mani.Jel cl~arly reckor,ed himself a st.rong candidate to be. regent1 and he campaigned.vigorously in an effort tb achieve this ambiti0n. ~is positiori appeared to ·be fuvther· str.eng~hefl,ed w_henin 1320 ·the

INTRODUCTION

5

third son of Jaime II, Juan,_was appointed Archbishop of Toledo at the age of nineteen,(5) partly because of his outstanding intellect, and partly through the good offices of Jaime II's agent in Toledo, one Diego Garcia. However, Juan Manuel continued to meet stro~g opposition in many areas, and when the Archbish~p of Toledo, his own brother-in-law, proclaimed himself neutral in the matter, he reacted furiously. In an effort to force Toledo into submission, he had Diego Garcia murdered in a tower in the Alcaza~, and the . body thrown down into the street below; he later claimed that Diego Garcia had been plotting to kill the king. This incident cost Juan Manuel the friendship of his brother-in-law for several years, but it did help him gain the regency in 1321, along with Don Juan 'el Tuerto' (the son of Sancho IV's brother Juan), called 'el Tuerto 1 because of a physical deformity, and the Infante Felipe (Alfonso XI's uncle). Juan Manuel still had to be on his guard against his many enemies; at least one attempt was made· on his life by the Infante Felipe in 1322. Juan Manuel 1 s period as regent came to an end in 1325, when Alfonso XI was declared of age by the Cortes in Valladolid, but he must still have felt able to look to the future with considerable optimism; he retained his crucial link~ with the Cr?wn of Aragon, and he intended to establish a further important alliance by marrying his daughter Constan~a to the powerful Juan 'el Tuerto'. But what Juan Manuel could not have foreseen was that Alfonso XI, almost thirty years his junior, would prove more than a match for him, acting at first with the help of advisers, and later more independently • The first move of Alfonso's advisers was to propose a marriage between the young king and Constan~a Manuel; Juan Manuel saw this as an offer he could not refuse~ and on November 28, 1325, the Valladolid Cortes voted its approval of the marriage. Within a few months, however, it was clear that he had been tricked. The king had Juan 'el Tuerto 1 murdered, and at the same time began to negotiate marriage with the Portuguese Infanta Maria, leaving Constan~a Manuel locked up in the castle at Toro. In vieirJ of this dramatic sequence of events, it is not surprising that many of the ~tories in Lucanor warn against deception, evil advisers, and the imperfections of youth; wisdom is acquired far more agreeably through exemplary stories than from bitter experience. Faced with this attack on his honour, he declared himself no longer the subject of Alfonso, and declared war, seeking assistance from all possible sources; this included an approach to the Moors in Granada. His position was further weakened, however, in 1327, by the deaths of his wife Constan~a and her father Jaime II; without the support of Aragon, his ability to continue fighting Alfonso was severely diminished. Occasional skirmishes continued until 1329, but Juan Manuel, now in his mid-forties, was beginning to give over more of his time to hunting and writing, and his most impressive literary works date from this period. A truce with Alfonso

INTRODUCTION was arranged in October, 1329, partly because the king wished to settle the internal difficulties of his kingdom in order to move once more against Granada; to achieve this peace, he made important concessions, including restoring Juan Manuel to his post of Governor of Murcia. Although the two men were never to be friends, the open warfare between them had ended. Whilst it is true that many of his literary works from this period suggest that he was looking back at his experience of life and taking stock, he also continued to look to the future, as is indicated by the fact that in 1329 he married for the third time, to Blanca NUnezde la Cerda, granddaughter of Fernando de la Cerda. This provided him with a new and powerful politica1 alliance, which helped him negotiate favourable terms in his settlement with Alfonso, and perhaps more importantly, it provided him with a legitimate male heir, Fernando, born in 1332, as well as a daughter Juana, born in 1339. A further positive move came in 1340, when Costan9a Manuel married Pedro I of Portugal, although the latter's subsequent famous love-affair with InBs de Castro must have caused the unfortunate Costan9a further suffering. During the 1330s, Juan Manuel was less involved in public life, and Alfonso was becoming increasingly concerned about the threat from the Kingdom of Granada, particularly as it was now supported by the Merinid rulers of Morocco. There were still moments of great tension between king and subject, particularly over Alfonso's long delay in allowing Costan9a Manuel to go to Portugal to marry Pedro; and with the accession of a new king, Pedro IV, to the throne of Aragon in 1336, Juan Manuel succeeded in negotiating a new treaty with the Crown of Aragon, and was granted the flattering title of Duque de Villena. Once more he felt strong enough to declare himself no longer a subject of Alfonso, although the appropriate document was never delivered to the king: so many messengers had been murdered by Alfonso that Juan Manuel could find no one willing to deliver it. This period of hostility was short-lived: in April 1337, they signed an agreement of mutual trust, and for the next few years Alfonso encouraged his most turbulent vassal to remain present at his court, probably in order to keep a close watch on him. The policy appears to have been a success, as Juan Manuel fought alongside his king in the crucial victory over the Moors at the Salado (1340), and later led the Castilian troops into Algeciras in 1344 after a long siege, a victory famous enough for Chaucer to include it in the achievements of his knight in the Canterbury Tales. King and vassal had thus finally united against a common enemy, and were so successful that the Kingdom of Granada felt threatened; but •with the death o.f Alfonso from the plague in 1350, the threat was once more removed. Two years earlier, on Friday, June 13, 1348, Juan Manuel had died,(6) and his body was interred in the Dominican house which he had founded in Penafiel; no trace of the tomb has survived. No account of Juan Manuel's life can be complete without men-

6

INTRODUCTION

7

tion of the curious turn of events after his death. In 1367, Costan9a Manuel's eldest son Fernando succeeded to the Portuguese throne, but even more remarkable_was the way in which another of his grandsons acceeded to the Castilian throne: one of Alfonso's illegitimate sons, Enrique of Trast8mara, married Juan Manuel's daughter Juana in 1350, and after murdering his half-brother Pedro at Mgntiel in 1369, became Enrique II of Castile; the son of Enrique and Juana Manuel became King Juan I in 1379. There can be no more vivid illustration of the unique position occupied in Castile by Juan Manuel, grandson and grandfather of kings. The works of Juan Manuel Although historians may have reservations about the use of literary works in the preparation of a biography, and many literary critics similarly have reservations about using biographical information when analysing works of literature, any analysis of Juan Manuel must be based on a judicious combination of historical and literary data, and any analysis of his works which ignores his life and his own perception of hiS life will necessarily be incomplete. In his writings he sought to justify his actions and attitudes, and showed great concern about how he would be judged by God and by his fellowmen; one minor, but useful, by-product of this concern is that in 1335 and 1342 he provided lists of the works which he had written, (7) and these lists give us a good idea of the range of his works, although the chronology remains open to considerable doubt: Extant works Cr6nica abreviada (before 1325) Libro de la caza (late 1320s?) Libro del cavallero et del escudero (c.1326-7) Libro de los estados (c.1327-32) Libro del Conde Lucanor (completed 1335) Libro infinido (c.1334-37) Libro de las armas (Libro de las tres razones)(c.1337-42) Pr6logo general (1342) Tratado de la asunci6n (after 1342) Lost works Libra de los cantares Libro de los sabios (8) Libra de los engenos Cr6nica complida Libra de la cavalleria Reglas c6mo se deve trobar

8

INTRODUCTION

INTRODUCTION 9

An enormous breadth of subject-matter is covered in these works: history in Abreviada, falconry in Caza, knighthood in Cavallero, the structure of medieval society inEstados, family history in Armas, siege-engines in Engenas, etc. There is also a strong case to be made for seeing a development in Juan Manuel's literary technique and interests: the earliest surviving text, Abreviada, is an abbreviated summary of one of the chronicles compiled by his uncle, Alfonso X, and other works from this period such as Cantares may also have been dependent on Alfonsine literary traditions. After the traumatic experiences of 1325 onwards, his works take on a more personal tone, and although he still uses traditional material, he uses it in a more individual and introspective way, as even the briefest analysis of some of the key works demonstrates: Libro de la caza Hunting, and particularly falconry, was a subject often dealt with bY medieval writers. Juan Manuel 1 s starting-point for his book was the work of Alfonso X, and he acknowledges this debt in the prologue,(9) but his treatment of the subject is outstanding for its wealth of detail, culled from his own experience and from listening to others whose expertise he knew and trusted. Libra del cavaller6'et

del escudero

· , , A young knight is instructed, by an aged knight who has retire~rom the world, on chivalry and a range of other matters. The starting-point was Ram6n Llull 1 s Llibre del orde de la cavayleria (Book of the Order of Chivalry), but Juan Manuel uses the fictional framework to produce a work with broad didactic aims. One concern· which Juan Manuel returned to in iater works is the analysis of society, and the relative merits of the various groups ihto which society is divided; according to the knight, the priesthood is the highest condition to which man can Bspire, and knighthood is the noblest condition for the laity.(10) Libra de los estados legend, fil his .allotted soul. and the

The fictional framework is based on the Barlaam and Joasaph but the central issue in the-book is how a man can bBst fulresponsibilities in this life, given the social position to him by God, and prepare himself for the salvation of his The social groups dealt with at greatest iength are monarchs nobility,

Libra infinido This book is specifically aimed at ~is son Fernando, and contains both spiritual and worldly advice, drawn largely from Estados, to which he repeatedly refers. The final section is an essay on

friendship, which Juan Manuel bases on his own experience than on written sources.(11) Libra de las armas (Libra de las tres

rather

razones)

This work consists·of three essays on aspects of his family history, dealing with the origins of the Manueiine coat-of-arms, the rea~ons why Juan Manuel and his legitimate sons can confer knighthood on others, although they were never knighted themselves, and an account of his conversation with the dying Sancho IV in 1295. He explains that much of the material derives from stories which he had heard from a variety of people, and that he compared different versions of what he heard in an effort to ensure that what he says is accurate. The common thread running through the three essays is the superiority of his branch of the family over the branch which occupied the throne of Castile. Evidence suggests that Juan Manuel viewed his early literary activity as a continuation of the Alfonsine tradition, and that he operated in a way that was not intellectually challenging (Abreviada, Cantares); however, in matUrity, and after the traumatic events of the mid-132Ds, he became far more ambitious in his literary aims, end made greater intellectual demands on himself. His later works can be read as a literary idealization of a real world which was proving increasingly difficult for him to handle;(l2) although he did not withdraw from the world, it does appear that he found it easier end more agreeable to manipulate his fictional world than the real world, and in these later works, he rationalizes his own conduct over many years. When Petronio, in the introduction to the fiftieth story of Lucanor, explains that the ideal course of action for a nobleman is that he should fulfil his responsibilities in this world and at the same time do good works which will be pleasing to God and help him earn salvation for his soul, it is not too far-fetched to see in this an indication of what Juan Manuel had been trying to achieve in his life; and when Petronio goes on to observe that it is as difficult to attain this dual goal as to put one 1 s hand in a fire and not feel the heat, the hyperbole expresses the difficulty which, in Juan Manuel 1 s view, the Christian nobleman had to face up to . During the last twenty years or- so of his life, writing .occupied a great deal of his time, and he must have been strong-minded to pursue this interest. Literature was still dominated by the Church, and serious literature tended to be written in Latin; there were precedents of monarchs as patrons of learning (Alfonso X, Sancho IV), but in producing original works of prose-fiction, Juan Manuel was not behaving in a manner expected of a fourteenth-century Castilian nobleman. For this he was criticized, and in the opening

10

INTRODUCTION

INTRODUCTION

section of the final chapter of Infinido (13) he answered his critics by repeating the verses with which he had rounded off the second story of Lucanor; he then makes the point that people derive benefit from his books, and that he has not acted in any way irresponsibly in composing these works. If these observations have not silenced his critics, he concludes by commenting that it is better

for him to spend his

doing whatever

spare

other shameful things Analysis ( i)

time writing

people indulge

than .gaming or

in.

of El Conde Lucanor Composition

The final version of Lucanor consists of five parts, and the fifth part was completed in Salmer6n (Murcia) on Monday, 12 June, 1335.(14) The first part originally stood alone, and this was the version seen by Juan Manuel 1 s close friend Don Jaime of JSrica, who suggested to him that any further works should be ·written in a more obscure style;(l5) another indication that the first part originally stood alone is the fact that three of the five surviving manuscripts do not include parts II-V: it is unlikely that these relatively. short sections would have been omitted by copyists. Since the work was composed in at least two different stages, the precise dates of composition are difficult to establish. The lengthy first part must have taken a considerable time to write_, and in any.case the first four parts are potentially open-ended, so that material could have been added to them at any time; stories could have been added to (or taken away from) part I, and_the same is true of the sententiae of parts II-IV. Indeed, it is probable that part I was originally intended to contain fifty exempla, and that the final story is a later addition, perhaps inserted when parts 11-V were being added.(16) It is therefore reasonable to conclude that the work was completed in 1335, but that the exact dates of composition are unknown, and probably unknowable; there is no evidenc,e to rule out the late 1320s as the period when Juan Manuel began work on the first part. The fihal version of the book comprises five parts of uneven length (part I is more than five times as long as the other fbur parts put together). Part I consists of two prologues, the first of which may not properly belong to Lucanor, and fifty-one units called exemplos (•exemplary tales'), although the total number of stories is fifty-three, as nos. 27 a_nd 43 each contain two stories. The exemplos are presented within a fictional framework involving a nobleman, Count Lucanor, and his adviser, Patronio. Parts II-IV retain the characters of the framework, and Patronio tells Count Lucanor a series of sententiae which became increasingly obscure; in the final ones he plays tricks with the word order so that the

11

reader has to reconstruct ~he sent~nc~s before they make se~se. Part Vis a didactic treatise, again in the mouth of ~atronio! dealing principally with spiritual matters. From this description it can be seen that the whole work falls readily into three sections: Book I (exemplary stories); Book II (maxims); Book III (treatise). Given that the exemplary stories_ of Part I wer~ intended originally to form a complete whole, and that most twentiethcentury readers do not read maxims and didactic treatises with enthusiasm, the present edition and translation includes part I only. In composing part I of Lucanor, Juan Manuel drew upon a huge quantity of traditional material, _and we do know something of th~ way in which he worked.(17) It is clear, for example, that unlike many medieval writers, he tended not to use written source-material, and this is one reason why attempts to trace sources for the tales of Lucanor have not borne fruit: for most Of the stories it is possible to find numerous analogues, but impossible to point to a single version from which he worked closely. It also has to be borne in mind that early fourteenth-century culture was far more dependent on the spoken word than is the case with late twentiethcentury culture, and as far as part I is concerned, this is important in at least three stages of the work. First, Juan Manuel is likely to have listened to many more short stories than he read, hearing them in sermons, on his many travels 1 in bed at night when, because of his insomnia, he liked to have things read out to him, etc; many of his stories are constructed around patterns characteristic of orally transmitted tales.(18) Secondly, he probably did not •write' the stories, but dictated them to a scribe who copied down his spoken words; at the end of each story there is a statement to the effect that because he liked the story, he had it written down,(19) and he also refers to the official copy of his works which he lodged in the monastery at Penafiel, and which in many places is corrected in his own hand.(20) Thirdly, he almost certainly had in mind a work which people would be more likely to listBn to than to read for themselves, whether at meal-times, in the evenings, or in bed: when he sent a rough first draft of the Cavallero for comment to his brother-in-law, the Archbishop of Toledo, who was a renowned scholar, he assumed that his brother-inlaw would have the book read to.him, not that he would read it for himself.(21) All this, of course, does not make Juan Manuel a teller of folktales. He did show concern for the subsequent fate of his written work, and whilst he invited suggestions for improvements to his works from those more learned than himself, he wished at the same time to keep control of any changes which were made, and requested that no one should criticize his works unless they had consulted the official version of them housed in Penafiel; he did make some use of written sources, particularly in early works such as Abreviada; and the sententiae of parts II-IV of Lucanor were probably intended for private reading, especially the later c ..cs

I2

INTRODUCTION

INTRODUCTION 13

which have the jumbled-up word order. The most important conclusion to be drawn from what we know.about the composition and dissemination of Juan Manuel's works is that modern readers, with printed texts in front Of them and a strong belief that authors write books in silence for readers to read in silence, must bear in mind that these preconceptions do not apply to literature of all ages, and value judgements about Lucanor should not be based on them. (ii)

didactic.

Themes

Like the majority of Juan Manuel's works, Lucanor is overtly The balance between didacticism and entertainment is

established

from the outset,

via the prologue,

.in which Juan Manuel

uses the medical image of the physician mixing sugar, honey, or other sweet substances with medicine; the book is intended to benefit people in the same way as medicines, and the exemplary stories are designed to make the medicine more palatable, attracting readers who would not otherwise benefit from the wisdom contained in the book. In this aim, he has been successful; the stories continue to be read, the medicine still tastes sweet, although feW would now accept that it has full curative powers. But Juan Manuel 1 s priorities were not those of twentieth-century man, and no matter hoW attractive we find the best of his stories (in almost all of them, he allows the narrative to develop, and leaves discussion of the moral to the concluding sections), it has to be borne in mind that Juan Manuel's principal interest in them was in their exemplarity. When he was composing Lucanor, Juan Manuel was already a mature man; by the time the work was completed, he was fifty-three years old. He had acquired a vast experience of life, and in this and in other works which date from this period, he was concerned to pass on to others the fruits of his experience. He is unusual among medieval writers for basing his works on his own experiences rather than on the accepted wisdom of an established written culture,(22) and he backed up his own experience with what he had learned from listening to others.(23) Whilst the detail of many of the problems which Juan Manuel set out to solve in Lucanor may no longer be directly relevant to a twentieth-century reader, it can be instructive to see his mind at work on the problems which he set out to solve, and to observe how effectively he makes use of his vast_expe:ie~ce; four examples should suffice to show the quality of h1s th1nk1ng. In story 21, in which Count Lucanor is puzzled as to how he can best correct a youth in his charge, Petronio the Cpunt•s adviser, Shows him how to instruct by example rather fhan by_ lecturing or advising, as young people tend to rebel against such an approach, no matter how well-intentioned it may be. In story 24, where the problem is how to recognize which youngsters in Count Lucanor's charge will make the best adults, Patronio 1 s story illustrates

how a person's conduct in trivial mat~ers can serve as an indication of how that person would handle more important matters.(24) In story 35, the problem 1s whether to recomme~d a youn~ man_to m~rry hrew end the story goes on to show a bridegroom imposing h1s :u~horify on his wife in a way that is shocking to the modern . reader; but the final couplet broade~s the m9r~l of t~e ~ale in a way which is not tied to me~ieval social condition~: i~ is es_~ t·a1 he insists to establish the tone of a relationsh+p from the b~gi~ning. Fin;lly, story 46 is an excellent ill~stratio~ of_the importance of a person 1 s reputation, espe~ially lick a public figure: the eminent teacher who loses his reputation through no_fault o~ his own can no longer fulfil his role in society effectively; in the same way as the fourteenth-century nobleman ne~ded to_p:o~ect his fama the modern politician needs to protect his credibility. --J~an Manuel was then, bringing his experience to bear on a wide range of problems: and because the book is made up_of semi~ autonomous units he can focus in each unit on one particular theme without needing fa concern. himself with transitions or gradual progressions. A wide range of themes is presented, alt~o~gh the largest number deal with practical issues of day-to-day living. ~any of these have an obvious arid straightforward moral, and deal with areas such as family life (nos. 27, 35), how to defend ~ne's ow~ interests (no. 8), military strategy (no.12), and warnings against taking unnecessary risks (no. 4). In one way or another, most of the stories tackle the difficult question of how to deal most effectively with one I s fellow "tuman-beings, and in. many stories, the fellow human-beings are liars, cheats, and tricksters. One ~an see in this something which' Juan Manuei had had to confront directly in his life_, as had any fourteenth-c~ntury nobleman; the struggle for power in fourteenth-century Castile was_ceaseless, ~nd anyone who allowed himself to be outwitted found his power seriously reduced.' Juan Manuel had had direct experience of this in his dealings with Alfonso XI, particularly when he was out-manoeuvred by his king ·aver the proposed marriage between Alfonso and Juan ~anuel 1 s dau~hter Costan~a; this type of lesson is learnt less painfully by listening to others than from bitter experience. Another reason why there are so many stories of this type in Lucanor is that they do make good exempla; the eastern tradition of story-telli~g was ric~ in tales about cheats and swindlers, and whether in Arabic, or Latin or Old Spanish translations, they were widely known in the Iberi~n Peninsula, and therefore provided a writer such as Juan Manuel wi~h a wealth of material upon which to draw. As in many of the traditional stories about cheats and confidence-tricksters, deception is often shown succeeding in Lucanor; but in the conclusion to story 26, Petronio points out that the success of such people is_illusory, and even if their fortunes ·do not change in this life, their successes will cost them dear in the next. The world with which Juan Manuel is teaching ;his readers to

.., '

~

.

14

INTRODUCTION

cope is a complex and dangerous place; one of the most difficult things for a man to achieve is an accurate assessment of his fellow men, a topic to which he returned time and again. As he explains in the prologue, it is difficult to generalize about human-beings, a point which he illustrates by making a simple comparison between men's faces (no two are identical) and their dispositions, which vary in the same way from individual to individual; towards the end of the work, Patronio ·makes a similar point at some length in the introduction to story 50, referring specifically to the difficulty of assessing correctly people's intellects and motives. Success in this life depends to a considerable extent on our ability to judge others accurately, and this is especially true of the nobleman who has to deal with large numbers of people, none of whom he can ever know fully. Juan Manuel is therefore cautious when it comes to making generalizations about how to manage other people; as he points out to his son in lnfinido,(25) no two vassals are identical, and the nobleman has to be alert and flexible when it comes to dealing with them. And it is not simply the infinite variety of human-beings which makes the world such a difficult place in which to live: a course of action appropriate at one moment may be totally inappropriate at another time.(26) It is because of difficul_ties like these that Juan Manuel attaches such importance to the question of friendship, and to learning who can be trusted.(27) In the final chapter of Infinido (28) he drew up a list of fifteen different types of friendship, based on his experience of dealing with people, and ranked them in order ·of preference from amor complida ('perfect friendship 1 ) to amor de enqafio ('deceitful friendship'). Although this final chapter of Infinido was probably not composed until 1336 or 1337, the subject must have been occupying his mind for some time, as many of the types of friendship described in Infinido are already present in Lucanor, as is much of the terminology. Patron_io repeatedly urges caution whenever friendship is offered, as a person 1 s real motives may be the exact opposite of what appears on the surface, and the only way of discovering the truth is to put such friendship to the test;. in the same way, Juan Manuel urges caution in Infinido, stressing that the courses of action recommended have been tried and tested. Most of the types of friendship defined in Infinido are present in Lucanor, and similar importance is attached to them. Amor de linage (•family love') and amor de debdo (•friendship born of indebtedness or loyalty') are second and third respectively in the Infinido, and they are seen to be very strong ties in Lucanor; in story 19, the Count sees the possibility of furthering his own interests because the relative and vassal of a powerful enemy claims to have fallen out with his lord, but Patronio's story of the owls and the crows shows that the man is almost certainly intending to deceive the Count (amor de engafio), and is unlikely to have broken the amor de linaje and amor de debdo which he owes his master.

INTRODUCTION

15

Patronio concludes cautiously that assistance from such people can be accepted only if they are kept at a safe distance and are not given access to confidential information; in that way, they have little opportunity to inflict damage. Amor de egualdad ('friendship between equals 1 ) is the fifth class of friendship listed in Infinido, and its importance is illustrated in story 22, the story of the lion and the bull; their power over all other animals is dependent upon mutual trust, and the way in which their power is destroyed when they are made suspicious of each other shows how important it is to protect such friendship. Juan Manuel's approach to these matters is practical, and basing himself on his own experience of life, he preached selfpreservation and self-interest: Juan Manuel's advice in such circumstances tends to be practical and worldly: learn to recognize the situation and identify the cheat or hypocrite, turn the situation to your advantage if you can, steer well clear of him if you cannot. The relevance of the group of tales in Lucanor which deal with friendship is•that Don Juan sees the need to understand the nature of other men as one of the most constantly recurring problems which the statesman has to face in the exercise of his affairs. (Macpherson {4), p.XXV) The majority of the stories deal with practical issues, and are designed to help the reader achieve success in this life; much of Juan Manuel's considerable energy had been directed towards this end, and this is one way in which he is attempting to pass on his accumulated experience. Other stories, however, deal with spiritual matters, and offer advice on how best to ensure the salvation of the soul. Story 40, for example, tells how the Seneschal of Carcassonne lost his soul, even though he made provisions for good works· to be: done after his death, good works which were then carried out by friars who, as a result, were confident that he would be saved. Patronio explains in his conclusion that good works are not an easy option for the nobleman who wishes to achieve salvation, and lays down five strict conditions which need to be met if good works are to hSlp a man save his soul. This type of story, like those dealing with practical issues, also reflects an important part of Juan Manuel's life: Juan Manuel the Christian, the close friend of a number of Dominicans, and the founder and benefactor of the Dominican house in Pefiafiel (29) to which he entrusted his manuscripts and his body. Although the number of stories dealing with spiritual matters is smaller than that dealing with practical issues, this should not be taken as an indication that spiritual matters are secondary. The

16 INTRODUCTION aim of the book, as declared in the prologue, is that it should benefit its readers both materially and spiritually, helping them to achieve success in this world and the next. In this, he is broadly following the teachings of St Thomas Aquinas, which he would probably have encountered through his close contacts with the Dominicans.(30) Juan Manuel 1 s starting-point, particularly in Estados and Lucanor, is the well-established medieval view of society as being made up of three estates or ~rders: oradores (responsible for the spiritual welfare of society), defensares (responsible for governing and protecting society), and labradores (whose labours produced the food and other basic necessities of life). Although social and economic changes were already taking place which were ta ma.ke this analysis of society unte~able, Jua,:1 Manuel never questioned the assump_ti• n that this ordering of society reflected God1 s will, and he regarded any attempt to reject one's position in society as an act of rebellion against God. The structure of society was strictly hierarchical, the lower orders were expected to recognize the authority of the higher, and all had to respect the authority of God. Such a view could be confirmed by reading St Paul:

Let every person be subject to the governing a~thorities. Far there is no authority except from God, and those thaL exist have been instituted by God. Therefore he who resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. (Romans 13, 1-2) When manI s s·ocial responsibilities are viewed in this way, it becomes clear that the dual aims of material and spiritual success need not be mutually exclusive; indeed for the nobleman born into a position of power and responsibility, it is essential to . accept these responsibilities and carry them out to the_best o'. his ·ability, and failure to do so would be an act_of re~ellian against God. He will need power and money, and at times will be called upon to act violently, but he must never shirk his_responsi~ilities, whatever the physical and spiritual dangers. It is for this reason that Patronio is pleased that the Count asks for advice in story 3 according to his estate, and he lectures the Count on the dangers of renouncing the world; and it is for this reason that so much of the advice is aimed specifically at the second Estate, the defensares, because all advice must take into account the particular circumstances of the individual being advised. The Count, like Juan Manuel, is a powerful member of the second Estate. Given that material and spiritual success are not mutually exclusive, we can appreciate that the individual pieces o'. advice contained in each of the fifty-one units are not totally isolated,

j 1

INTRODUCTION 17 but are intended to fit together like the pieces of a mosaic to provide a complete guide as to how a nobleman can fulfil his responsibilities to himself, his fellow men, and God. Some stories deal with practical issues of day-to-day living; others deal with spiritual matters; and a significant group, in many ways the most complex stories, attempt to combine both world.ly and spiritual advice. Such stories approach matters from a variety of angles. Story 48 shows how to put friends -to the test, but then moves on to compare human friendship with that offered by God, concluding that only in God can we ever find a perfect friend; story 49 deals with how to achieve material success in. this life, whilst at the same time preparing for the salvation of the soul; and story 3 presents a solution to life's problems grounded in the conditions of fourteenth-century Spain: by fighting the Moors, one can serve· God and at the same time accumulate wealth and honour. If Works of literature are born of tension, then this is clearly the tension at the heart of the work: the conflict between the material and spiritual ambitions of man. When viewed in these terms, it can be seen that underlying Lucanor is the same tension as that underlying Juan. Ruiz's Libra de buen amor [B_ookof Gciod Love], in which man's physical and spiritual aspitations come into open conflict.. The difference, of course, is that whereas Juan Ruiz uses humour and irony to cope with this duality, Juan Manuel uses reason to find solutions to the problem. His solutions are designed for members of his own social class, and are grounded firmly in the social and political conditions of the Iberian Peninsula in the fourteenth century. They do not, however, represent an easy way out as man's task in carrying out his responsibilities in this life in fhe face of a hostile world is extremely difficult. Moreover preparing for the salvation of the soul is even more demanding and ;n awesome combination of wisdom, virtue, and determination is needed to fulfil both aims. (iii)

LHerary

techniques

It is largely his authorship of part I of Lucanor that has brought_Juan Manuel the good reputation which has lived on long after ris death, and it is his skill as a teller of short stories that has continued to attract readers over many centuries·(31) one 1 of the many ironies surrounding Juan Manuel is that he is more highly regarded for his fictions than far the important lessons he felt he was teaching or for his skills as a soldier or politician. He felt the need to defend himself against the charge that he was wasting his time by writing, which was not an activity generally regarded a~ being worthy of a nobleman (see note 13, above); but whatever his successes or failures in other areas of his life, his contribution to t~e development of Castilian literature, and to prose-fiction in particular, was a solid and lasting achievement.

l 18

INTRODUCTION

In evaluating his literary achievement, it is important to remember the context in which he was writing. Letters were still principally the concern of the First Estate, the clergy, and whilst it is true that Juan Manuel's literary activities are an indication of the gradually increasing secularization of literature, the quantity and variety of his literary output made him unique in Spain and unusual in Europe. It is significant that he recommended others to imitate almost every aspect of his life, but did not press them to imitate him as a writer; and he was particularly cautious when encroaching on subject-matter which he felt might more properly be regarded as the exclusive concern. of the clergy. (32) The process of secularization was reflected in the gradual change from Latin to the vernacular, as the various vernacular languages would be less inhibiting for secular writers who lacked the day-to-day contact with Latin which the clergy had, and opened up possibilities of a much wider audience than for works written in Latin, but Castilian still had a long way to go before it was to become established as a standard literary language. Indeed, when Juan Manuel was writing, Castilian prose was still very much in its infancy, and in particular there was no well-established tradition of original prose-fiction in Castilian. The use of the vernacular in full-length narrative poems -became widespread in the first half of the thirteenth century (Poema de mio Cid [Poem of the Cid], Berceo, Libra de Alexandre [Book of Alexander], etc.), but prosewriting in Castilian was very limited until it received the stimulus from Alfonso X (1252-84). The scholar-king used Castilian for chronicles, legal texts, scientific works, books on pastimes, etc., and in the thirteenth century a number of works of fiction of oriental origin were translated into Castilian, including Calila e Dimna (1251?) and the Libro de los enganos [Book of Deceits) (1253); similarly, wisdom literature, much of it derived directly or indirectly from Arabic, was being written in Castilian, and translations of parts of the Bible were made. But although all this adds up to a substantial number of texts written in prose in Castilian, it is nevertheless the case that original prose-fiction did not have a firm,base when Juan Manuel was writing; Sancho IV had composed the Casti os e documentos ara bien vivir [Documents and Advice on Leading a Good Life , a book of advice to his son containing a number of exemplary tales, and a full-length prose romance, the Libra del cavallero Zifar [Book of the Knight Zifar], dates from the early years of the fourteenth century, although even in this work the prologue claims that it is translated from Arabic. The range of subject-matter Which Juan Manuel dealt with using Castilian prose as the medium shows that he was prepared to follow the example of his uncle, Alfonso X, and use Castilian in ways that it had rarely been used before. One very powerful tradition shapes the Lucanor: the exemplary tale.(33) This genre was widely cultivated in the Middle Ages, and

INTRODUCTION

19

Spain had a particularly rich mixture of traditions. The presence of the Moors in Spain meant that the oriental tradition of storytelling had a direct route into the Peninsula, and some Arabic works were translated into Castilian (Calila e Dimna, Libra de los engaAos), whilst others provided much of the source material for the Latin Disciplina clericalis of Petrus Alfonsi, a work composed early in the twelfth century. Material from classical antiquity, such as Aes9p 1 s fables, also circulated widely, and all sorts of incidents from history and fiction came to be regarded as suitable material for exemplary tales. Stories circulated by word of mouth as well as in writing, and it is likely that Juan Manuel came across many of the stories he re-told in oral rather than written form;(34) inevitably, our knowledge of oral stories from the Middle Ages is sketchy, but one context in which it is known that stories were transmitted orally is via sermons, where an exemplary story could fulfil its dual purpose of providing entertainment and reinforcing the lBsson being taught. Given Juan Manuel's close connections with the Dominicans, the preaching friars, it is highly probable that it was from them that he heard some of the stories which he used in Lucanor; such an assumption does not, of course, rule out other contexts in which he would have listened to stories: his many journeys, meal-times, winter evenings, during bouts of insomnia, etc. In composing Lucanor, then, Juan Manuel was working within one well-established tradition, both in terms of individual stories and the use of a frame to link them. The frame was of great importance in the oriental tradition, and frequently consisted of a narrative whose Development depended on the impact of the short stories; in the Libra de los engaAos, for example, the life of a prince accused of rape depends on the king 1 s reaction to a sequence of stories intended to shed light on whether the prince is guilty. Also common within the eastern tradition was the structure of a story~within-a-story, which attained a high degree of complexity in works such as Calila e Dimna, where characters in stories tell stories about characters who then tell stories... Such Chinese-box structures were carefully worked out, and the reader has to be alert to follow them as they unravel. The frame which Juan Manuel used is not as complex as this, but is closer to the frame of a work such as the Discipline clericalis, in which a father instructs his son via a series of exemplary tales; the frame of Lucanor has little narrative interest, as neither the characters nor the situations develop, and most modern readers who read the work straight through from beginning to end find the static framework a problem.(35) But the frame is not quite as simple as it appears at first sight, and it does have a number of positive features.(36) First, it establishes the social context of the advice, which is specifically aimed at a Count, a rank of the greatest distinction in fourteenth-century Castile. Although the advice is generalized

20

INTRODUCTION

in many cases, it is initially directed at a member of Juan Manuel 1 s own social class, and many of the Count's problems reflect situations which Juan Manuel had had to face.(37) Secondly, the frame makes possible a separation of narrative and fiction: the initial conversation between Count Lucanor and Petronio, and the concluding remarks -of Petronio, allow the moral of the story to be analyzed at length, whilst almost all the narratives are presented without interruption or comment from Petronio. The tales are clearly didactic tales, and need to be regarded as such, but. the pleasant fictions are designed to hold our attention even if we are not inclined initially to explore the didacticism. Thirdly, the frame allows us to see the advice put into practice. Juan Manuel makes it clear that a person is not wise until he translates his wisdom into action, and it is for this reason that the Count asks for a single, simple piece of advice in the introduction to story 50: if he learns one important lesson which he will be able to remember and put into practice, he will be better off thqn he was before. The frame takes the advice offered beyond the level of theoretical wisdom by showing at the end of each story that the Count followed the advice and found it beneficial. Fourthly, Juan Manuel uses the frame to develop different levels of fiction. At the end of each story, he refers to himself in the third person approving the story, having it included in the book, and composing the final verses which express the moral concisely; he had used a ~imilar technique mare adventurously in Estados (see above, note 19). In Lucanor, the mare subtle play with levels of fiction occurs in the relationship between the characters of the frame and the characters of the narratives, with the teacher-pupil relationship between Petronio and the Count reflected in a number of slmilar relationships in the stories. Story l deals with the relationship between a king and his adviser, who is saved from disaster by the advice of .a philosopher who lives under house-arrest with him; story 2 tells of the way in which a father teaches his son a lesson by setting up a sequence of events which bring home the truth to his son in the same way that Patronio's fictions instruct the Count and the reader; story 3 tells the story of g hermit who is visited by an angel who in turn tells the exemplary tale of King Richard the Lionheart. In various guises the relationships and situations in the stories reflect the relationship between Count Lucanor and Petronio, and also the relationship between the book and the reader; the good advice which many characters receive and act upon is a reflection of the good advice which the Count receives and acts upon, and is also a reflection of the good advice which the book offers and which the reader should act upon. If we can evaluate Juan.Manuel's use of a fictional framework as a qualified success, the evaluation of his use of traditional material in the narratives can be made with fewer reservations; Juan Manuel excelled in the re-working of traditional material, as was

INTRODUCTION

21

demonstrated in the excellent book by Reinaldo Ayerbe-Chaux which appeared in 1975.(38) As Ayerbe-Chaux pointed out, there were different versions of most of the stories from Lucanor circulating in the Middle Ages; few, if any, of the stories were invented by Juan Manuel. This fact is not surprising, as medieval writers aimed at re-working and re-creating traditional material rather than at what is now understood by the term 'originality'; more unusual is the freedom with which he handled the traditi.onal material, a freedom so great that it is· almost impossible to pinpoint the sources of any of Juan Manuel's stories. For this reason, any comparative study can only examine the differences between Juan Manuel's version of a tale and the many analogues which may exist, in the hope of discovering that the differences form a consistent pattern; a comparison between Juan Manuel's version and any one other version will tell us little about his literary skills. The starting-point for a medieval story-teller was the choice of material, and in this Juan Manuel showed good judgement. He rarely selected material which lackeP narrative interest or the potential for narrative development,.and as he wished his book to reflect the immense variety of human-beings, his stories deal with a huge range of subject-matter: historical personages, fictional characters of various social classes, animal fables, allegorical characters. All this traditional material is handled with great freedom. No importance is attached to historical accuracy, which is subordinated to narrative interest and didactic purpose, a~ in stories 9, 16, 27 and 37; stories which traditionally dealt with spiritual matters are given worldly morals (nos.l, 4), whilst in etory 48, what starts off as a story dealing with the practical issue of how to recognize and test one's friends ends up as a spiritual allegory. Many of the better stories combine several different elements and create an effective whole out of the diverse material: story 11 combines the elements of the ungrateful pupil, the teacher who teaches his pupil a lesson by means of an illusion, and the popular association of Toledo with necromancy; story 48 combines the story of the fatheJ.' who advises his son to test his friends by means of a deception invoiving a dead animal with a traditional allegorical interpretation of various classes of friends; and story 50 contains a number of common motifs, such as the quest, the riddle, the blind seer, and the journey which leads to selfknowledge. Juan Manuel's greatest literary achievement is that he brought to life material which, at least in the form in which we know it today, was largely unimpressive. The care and skill with which he brought together elements from different sources gives us a clear indication of how Juan Manuel developed many of his stories into complex and aesthetically pleasing totalities. Although his characters do not develop beyond those of short-story characters, many of the narratives arise from the responses of individual characters to particular circumstances,

,

INTRODUCTION

22

INTRODUCTION

as is the case with the central character in story 45 who is persuaded to make a pact with the Devil at a vulnerable moment, when he has lost his former prosperity; the central character in the similar story as told by Juan Manuel 1 s contemporary Juan Ruiz (39) is simply a thief. In other stories, the narratives arise out of the contrast between the inexperience and ignorance of youth and the maturity and wisdom of adulthood; nds.2 and 48 both show an experienced father teaching a young son a lesson by setting up situ~tions which have an obvious outcome that the son fails to perceive in advance. The psychology is rudimentary, but the fact that the characters are given some psychological depth does provide for greater narrative complexity. This is particularly the case with the many stories of deceptions and confidence-tricks. In most versions of the fable of the fox and the crow, for example, the cr~w is gullible and is taken in by the most outrageously inappropriate flattery;(40) the fox in Juan Manuel 1 s version, however, has to develop a complex line of reasoning in order to deceive the crow into believing that he would like to hear him .sing. Stories 20 and 32 describe elaborate confidence-tricks which require elaborat.e preparations and a gradual process of deception of the character who has been selected as vi·ctim; the slow build-ups not only make for excellent stories, but also illustrate vividly the dangers that Juan Manuel is warning against: the world is full of people out to deceive, and their determination and skill are such that they cannot always be seen for what they are at first glance-. However, such is the complexity of the world that some deceptions are carried out for the benefit of the 'victim'; the youth in story 21 and the nephew in story 27 both benefit from being the object of elaborate hoaxes. Many of the better tales rely on Juan Manuel's willingness to develop a complex sequence of events, and in particular there are many stories whose artistic merit results from a structure which J~an Manuel probably took over from oral tales, namely the repetition of sequences of similar events, followed by a final reversal or contrast.(41) Stories 11 and 30 are perhaps the best known of the stories of Lucanor, and both are constructed around this pattern. In story 11, there is a repeated sequence of events as each time the Dean is promot~d, his benefactor Don Ill8n requests the newly vacated post for his son, the Dean refuses, offering the post instead to_one of his~own relatives, but promising to repay him later, to which Don Illan agrees; the cumulative pattern of repetitions is broken at the end of the fourth Sequence, when Don Ill8n refuses to accept the Dean's ingratitude any longer, and brings him back to reality (the whole sequence had been an illusion brought about by necro~ancy). The build-up and Final reversal are artistically pleasing, and the structure is admirably suited to the subject of black magic: if the reader feels as the story progresses that the events lack verisimilitude, he realizes in retrospect that they

23

belong to the realm of fantasy, not reality. Story 30 is briefer, and deals with just three sequences of events: Queen Ramaiquia weeps over nothing, the king requests an explanation, she explains, he gives her an extravagant gift to stop her crying. The reversal comes at the end of the third sequence, when instead of giving in to her whims, he reminds her with biting sarcasm of all he has done for her; the king, like the reader, has had his patience exhausted, and this effectively simple structure conveys the lesson forcefully. This type of structure, common in oral stories, was rare in written" stories in the Middle Ages, and if this was a technique which Juan Manuel learned from oral stories and then used in the composition of his own written stories, then this transfer from one medium to another was achieved with remarkable success. It is not only in the structures of the tales that we can observe traces of oral culture, as many features of his style such as repetition, heavy use of the coordinating conjunction et, etc., are strongly suggestive of oral style; if his practice was to dictate his works to a scribe, the presence of such features is the more to be expected. Juan Manuel's ideals as far as style is concerned are apparent from his many comments on the subject: the four qualities which he seeks ar~ clarity, completeness, concision, and elegance.(42) This combination of qualities reflects the dual aim of didacticism and entertainment, although in both theory and in practice greater emphasis is placed on didactic than on ornamental features of style. In almost all his works, the didacticism is conveyed clearly, and on the few occasions that the style is cryptic (e.g. the use of the word omne ('man') in story 25), all doubt or ambiguity is removed as the story progresses; completeness is apparent in the many detailed introductory and concluding remarks of Petronio, and takes precedence over concision, which Juan Manuel defines as expr~sing something fully in the fewest possible words. 1 It iS rather mor~ifficult to know what he understood by 1 elegance • Did he have in mind~stylistic details such as repetition, parallelism, symmetry, and the use of rhetorical techniques? Would he have included devices such as the appropriate use of proverbs and the use of direct speech at key moments in the stories? Or was he thinking of the overall elevated,cultured tone of his language, with its long, complex sentences, which he would have considered the fitting style for his serious treatment of serious issues? Whatever he had in mind, it is evident that in part I of Lucanor, he did not sacrifice clarity and completeness for the sake of elegance. Manuscripts

and editorial

There are five surviving

manuscripts

criteria of Luc_anor: (43)

24

INTRODUCTION

INTRODUCTION . 25

1) [S]

MS 6376 of the Biblioteca Nacional in Madrid. The codex is vellum, and the handwriting is characteristic of the second half of the fifteenth century. It contains all the extant works of Juan Manuel, except for Abreviada, and the five parts of Lucanor occupy folios 129v-196v; folio 160 is missing.

2) [P]

MS 15 of the Real Academia de la Lengua in Madrid. It is a fifteenth-century copy, and does not include Parts II-V.

3)

[HJ

MS 9/5893/E-78 of the Real Academia de la Historia in Madrid. The handwriting is fifteenth-century, and the manuscript does not include Parts 11-V.

4)

[MJ

MS 4236 of the Biblioteca Nacional in Madrid. It dates from the fifteenth century, and like [PJ and [HJ, it does not include Parts II-V.

5)

[GJ

MS 18415 of the Biblioteca This is a sixteenth-century five

Nacional in Madrid. copy, and contains all

parts.

The sixteenth-century edition by Argote de Molina (see note 31) was based on three manuscripts, although it is not clear whether any of the three manuscripts he used have survived; if not, we have indirect, limited access to three further manuscripts. From the· brief description of the manuscripts above, it is clear that Juan Manuel's 'official' version, deposited in the monastery at Penafiel, has not survived; in editing Lucanor, I have followed the recommendations of Alberto Blecua (44) in basing the text on that of the best manuscript, [S], using [G] to fill in major lacunae such as the last few lines of story 27 and almost the whole of story 28, which occupied folio 160 of [SJ. Readings from [PJ, [HJ, and [MJ have been taken into account where [SJ is faulty. I have aim'ed at transcribing the text of [S] as closely as possible, keeping emendations to a minimum; such emendations appear in square brackets, and are often based on suggestions by previous editors, especially Blecua and Ayerbe-Chaux. Although I have attempted to keep emendations to a minimum, I have at the same time attempted to offer a clear and readable text by r·egularizing word-division and supplying punctuation, capital letters, accents, and paragraph divisions. Abbreviations in the manuscript, except for the tilde over the letter I:!_, have been resolved, and I have regularized the vocalic and consonantal use of_!! and !!!._, and 1., j, and y: thus ujeron is transcribed as vieron, jua as iva, Iohan as Johan, and cuydan as cuidan. The loss of a final vowel from an enclitic pronoun is indicated by an apostrophe:

dixol', consejol', etc.; and when the preposition_§_ is omitted before a word beginning with the letter.§., this is indicated.by a circumflex accent over the initial.§.: fazer dano 8guel mio enemigo. Finally, as is becoming increasingly common in editions of Old Spanish texts, I use an accent to distinguish the following forms:, (preposition) (a+ el) (1 where') ('and') ~ pronoun) nos (unstressed (•or') Q so ( 'beneath' ) pronoun) (unstressed VOS y_ ( 'and') a al do

a §1 d6

(= ha·, hay)

('other' ) ( 'I give•) (= he) n6s (stressed pronoun} 6 ('where') s6 ( 'I am') pronoun) v6s (stressed y ('there')

"

The translation Every translator faces the choice of how to aim for literal accuracy and how at the same time to aim for an idiomatic re-working of the original text. As the present translation is not intended tO stand alone, but is offered with the original text, I have concentrated above all on accuracy, assuming that many readers will have some knowledge of Spanish and wij.l be using _the translat~on to clarify the Old Spanish text. At the same time, I have attempted to make the style of the translation acceptable to the modern Eoglish reader; but given Juan Manuel's concern that he might be mi_&:understood as a result of careless work by scribes, the tranSl"ator\s first aim must be accuracy. I have been particularly aware of t~,±s in translating certain key words such as estado and verquen(.;.§.r ·whi,ch have very precise meanings in the works of Juan Manuel; the conlmei:itary on the translation discusses this type of word in detail. The other major difficulty concerns Juan Manuel's narrative style and sentence structures. In his narrative style, there are· strong traces of the additive oral style, with heavy use of the . copulative et. Such a style cannot be reproduced in modern wri~t_en English; but I have left some traces of it, as to remove it cam~ pletely would distort unacceptably the original style. The same-.is true of the long, elaborate sentences which Juan Manuel uses frequently when making a detailed analysis of a subject. The modern English reader may find such periods awkward, but when they are simplified, ·Juan Manuel's careful reasoning is lost, and a distinctive feature of his style is destroyeu. Juan Manuel, who feared that his works would be distorted by copyists, has so far not been well served by English translators.(45) The translation by York gives only an approximate idea of the content of Lucanor; that by Keller and Keating is full of serious misunder-

26

INTRODUCTION

standings, many of which give a completely misleading what Juan Manuel said. It is hoped that the present will at last make Juan Manuel's masterpiece accessible speaking audience. NOTESTO THE INTRODUCTION (Numbers in brackets refer to the number of the item in the Bibliography) l 2 3 4 5 6

7

8

9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19

INTRODUCTION: NOTES

impression of translation to an English-

Enrique Anderson Imbert, La sandia y otros cuentos (Buenos Aires: Galerna, 1969), pp.99-104. More detailed information about Juan Manuel 1 s life and times can be found in Gimenez Soler (14) and Sturcken (19), pp.15-56. See DC (5), I, 134-40. See Derek Lomax, 'El padre de don Juan Manuel', in CENT (13), pp.163-76. On the relationship between Juan Manuel and the Archbishop of Toledo, see R.B. Tate, 1 The Infante Don Juan of Aragon and Don Juan Manuel', in JMS (17), pp.169-79. This is the date given in a seemingly accurate document discussed by Derek W. Lomax, 1 The Date of Juan Manuel 1 s Death', BHS, XL (1963), 174. Recently, however, Luis Rubio Garcia, in 'La fecha de la muerte de don Juan Manuel' (CENT (13), pp. 325-36), has drawn attention to a document of October 12, 134.8, drawn up at Juan Manuel 1 s request. The list of 1335 appears in the first prologue to Lucanor, p.l, and the 1342 list appears in the general prologue to the collection of Juan Manuel 1 s works which is represented by MS [S]; see DC (5), I, 32-3. Cantares and Sabios may now have been identified; see James R. Chatham, 'Escorial MS T.1.1 of the Cantigas de Santa Maria and Two MSS of El Conde Lucanor', Revista de Estudios Hisp8nicos, XVIII (1984), 441-53. See DC (5), I, 519-23. See DC (5), I, 43-4. See Macpherson (51). This is the principal conclusion of Reinaldo Ayerbe-Chaux, 'Don Juan Manuel y la corona de Arag6n, la realidad politica y el ideal de los tratados', in CENT (13), pp.17-26. See DC (5), I, 182-3. -See DC (5), II, 491. See DC (5), II, 439-40. Further details are given in note l to story 51. There is an excellent analysis of this topic in Macpherson (52). See England (39). This is a straightforward example of Juan Manuel's inventiveness in playing with different levels of fiction by appearing

20

21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29

30 31

32 33

34 35

36 37

38 39

27

in his own work as a character. The technique is developed in a more complex way in Estados, in which he appears as a good friend of one of the fictional characters and is invited by him at the _end of part I to write the book; see Estados (3), p.207. This is the manuscript referred to in the first prologue, p.l. See DC (5), I, 40. For --;-discussion of this, see Macpherson (52). He refers to this in the prologue ta Caza, for example; see DC (5), I, 521. -See Sturm (70), p.160. See DC (5), I, 167. See DC (5), I, 181. JuanManuel 1 s treatment of friendship is analysed in Macpherson (51). See DC (5), I, 182-9. Documentation concerning the foundation of the Dominican monastery can be found in Jose Luis Martin, 1 Don Juan Manuel. Fundador del convento de San Juan y San Pablo de Penafiel', in CENT (13), pp.177-85. See Macpherson (50). Part I of Lucanor was one of the few works of medieval prosefiction to be published in the Golden Age. The edition was by Gonzal.o Argote de Molina (Seville: Hernando Diaz, 1575), and there is a modern facsimile edition, with introduction by Enrique Miralles (Barcelona: Puvill, 1978). See Macpherson (52), p.13. On the history and development of the exemplum, see J-Th. Welter, L'Exem lum dans la litt8rature reli ieuse et didacti ue du Mayen ge Paris, 1927); and Salvatore Battaglia, 'L'esempio medievale', FR, VI (1959), 45-82, and 'Dall 1 esempio alla novella', FR, VII (1960), 21-84. See England(39), pp.85-6. This does not mean that the order of stories is necessarily random; the work is introduced by two stories which deal with the giving and receiving of advice, there is a growing insistence on the need to do good works in the stories towards the end of part I, short and long tales tend to alternate, etc. These and other suggestions which have been made concerning the order of the stories carry some weight. See Alberto Varvaro (74). We should not, however, assume that the Count represents Juan Manuel; if he did put himself in the frame, it would be mare accurate to see the combined attributes of the Count (power) and Petronio (wisdom) reflecting his view of himself in the 1330s. See Ayerbe-Chaux (9). Libra de buen amor, stanzas 1454-75.

28

INTRODUCTION: NOTES

40

There is an obvious contrast with Juan Ruiz 1 s version in the Libra de buen amor, stanzas 1437-41; his version is full of boisterous humour.

41 42

See England (39). See Macpherson (52),

pp.9-10.

43

For further

see Blecua 1 s introduction

44 45

21-22, See A. Blecua (11), p.127. See items no.75 and 76 in the Bibliography.

details, and II, 9-18.

to DC (5),

CONDE LUCANOR

I,

,.

30

31

(Primer prologo]

FIRST PROWGUE (1)

Este libro fizo don Johan, fijo del muy noble infante don Manuel deseando que los omnes fiziessen en este mundo tales • bras que le; fuessen aprovechosas de las onras, et de las faziendas, et de sus estados, et fuessen m8s allegad • s a la car-rera par que pudiessen salvar las almas. Et pus • en e1 los enxiemplos m8s aprovechosos que 81 sop • de las cosas que acaes9ie:on, por_que los omnes puedan fazer est • que dicho es. Et ser1a maravilla side qualquier cosa que acaezca a qualquier omne non fallare en este libro su semejan9a que acaes9i6 a otro. Et porque don Johan via et sabe queen los libr~s contes9e muchos yerros

en los

trasladar,

porque

las

letras

sem_~J~~ unas a

Otras cuidando par la una letra que es otra, en escr1v1endolo, mUdas;e toda la raz6n et par aventura conf6ndesse, et los que despues fallan aquello escripto ponen la culpa al que fizo el libro; et porque don Johan se re9el6 desto, rueg~ a los que leyeren qu~lquier libro que fuere trasladado del que el compuso, ode los l1bros que e1 fizo, que si fallaren alguna palabra mal puesta, que non pongan la culpa a e1 fasta que bean el libro mismo que don Johan fizo, que es emendado en muchos logares de su letra. Et los libros que e1 fizo son estos, que e1 a fecho fasta aqui: La cr6nica abreviada, El libro de los sabios, El libro de la cavallerfa, El libro del infante, El libro del cavallero et del escudero, El libro del Conde, El libro de la ca~a, El libro de los engeiios, El libro de los cantares. Et estos libros est8n

en el monesterio de los fraires predicadores que e1 fizo en PeAafiel. Pero, desque vieren los libros que e1 fizo, par las menguas queen ellos fallaren, non pongan la culpa a la su enten9i6~! mas p6nganla a la mengua del su entendimiento, par que se atrev10 a sse entremeter a fablar en tales cosas. Pero Dias sabe que lo fizo par enten9i6n que se aprovechassen de lo que e1 diria las gentes que non fuessen muy letrados nin muy sabidores, et par ende fizo todos los sus libros en roman9e et est • es senal 9ierto que los fizo para los legos et de non muy grand saber comma lo e1 es. Et de aqui adelante comien9a el pr6logo del Libro de los enxiemplos dei Conde Lucanor

et

de Patronio.

This book was composed by Don Juan, son of the most noble Prince Don Manuel, with the desire that men should act in this life in such a way as to increase their honour and prosperity, benefit their estates,(2) and follow more closely the path which can lead to the salvation of their souls.(3) In it he set down the most profitable exemplary stories he knew concerning events which did actually happen, so that men may fulfil what is stated above. And whatever happens to any man, it would be astonishing if in this book he cannot find something similar in what happened to someone else. Don Juan is well aware from past experience that when copies of books are made, many errors occur because letters resemble each other, and that if in copying one letter is mistaken for another, the whole meaning is altere_d, quite possibly for the worse, with the result that those who later come across the text put the blame on the author; and because Don Juan feared this, he asks those who read any book copied from the one which he compiled or from those which he wrote, should they find a word out of place, not to blame him until they see Don Juan 1 s own copy, which is in many places corrected in his own hand.(4) The books which he has written to date are the following: The Concise Chxoni•cle, The Book of the Philosophers, The Book of· Chivalry, The Book of the Prince, The Book of the Knight and tpe Squire, The Book of the Count, The Book of Hunting, The Book ot Siege-engines, and The Book of Songs. These books are in the.

monastery of the Friars Preacher which he founded in PeAafiel.(5) But if they consult the versions which he had made and st~Il find fault with the books, they should not blame his good inteh-.~ tions, but. the lack of judgement which led him to dare to meddle. in such matters. But God knoWs he wrote it so that what he set down should profit those who are neither highly educated nor very learned, and to this end he wrote all his works in the vernacula'r'_ which is a clear indication that he wrote them for laymen of limited learning like himself.(6) And at this point the prologue to, the Book of Sto~ies of Count Lucanor and Patronio begins.

32

33

[PrologoJ

En el nombre de Dias, amen. Entre muchas cosas estrafias et marabillosas que Nuestro SeAor Dias fizo, tovo par bien de fazer una muy marabillosa; 8sta es [que} de quantos [omnes] en el mundo son, non 8 uno que semeje a otro en la cara; ea comma quier que todos l • s omnes an essas mismas cosas en la cara, los unos que los otros, per • las car as en si mismas non semejan las unas alas otras. Et pues en las cares, que son tan pequeAas cosas, ha en ellas tan grant departimiento, menor marabilla es que aya departimiento en las voluntades et en las entenciones de los omnes. Et assi fallaredes que ningUn omne non se semeja del todo en la voluntad nin en la entenci6n con otro. Et fazervos he algunos enxiemplos par que lo entendades mejor. Todos los que quieren et desean servir a Dios, todos quieren una cosa, per • non lo sirven todos en una manera, que unos le sirven en una manera et otros en otra. Otrosi, los que sirven a los sefiores, todos [los] sir.ven, mas non los sirven todos en una manera. Et los que labran et crian et trebejan et ca~an et fazen todas las otras- cosas, todos las fazen, mas non las entienden nin las fazen todos en una manera. Et asi, por este exienplo, et par otros que seriBn muy luengos de dezir, podedes entender que comm• quier que los omnes todos sean omnes et todos ayan voluntades et enten9iones, que atan poco comm• se semejan en las caras, tan poco se semejan en las enten9iones et en las voluntades; per • t • dos se semejan en tanto que todos usan et quieren et aprenden mejor aquellas cosas de que se mas pagan que las otras. Et porque cada omne aprende mejor aquello de que se mas paga, par ende el que alguna cosa quiere mostrar [a otro], d8vegelo mostrar en la manera que entendiere que ser8 mas pagado el que la ha de aprender. Et porque [a] muchos omnes las cosas sotiles non les caben en los entendimientos, porque non las entienden bien, non toman plazer _en leer aquellos libros, nin aprender lo que es escripto en ellos. Et porque non toman plazer en ell •, non lo pueden aprender nin saber asi comm• a ellos cumplia. Par ende, yo, don Johan, fijo del infante don Manuel, Adelantado Mayor de la frontera et del regno de Mur9ia, fiz este libro, compuesto de las mas apuestas palabras que yo pude, et entre las palabras entremeti algunos exiemplos de que se podrian aprovechar los que los oyeren. Et est • fiz segund la manera que fazen los fisicos, que quando quieren fazer alguna melizina que aproveche al figado, par raz6n que naturalmente el figado se paga de las cosas dul9es, mezcla[n] con aquella melezina que quiere[n] melezinar el figado, a9Ucar o miel a· algUna cosa dul9e; et par

PROLOGUE

In the name of the Lord, amen. Amongst the many strange and wonderful things which our Lord God created, He thought it fitting to create one wonder in particular: namely that of all the men in the world, no two have identical faces; for although all men have thB same features, nevertheless their faces as a whole are not identical. And since there is such great diversity amongst faces which are but small things, it is little wonder that there should be diversity in men1 s dispositions and intentions. Thus you will find that no man is_iden~ical to another in his disposition or intentions.(!) I will give you some examples to enable you to understand this better. All those who love and wish to serve God all desire the same thing, but they do not all serve_him in the same way, for some serve him in one way and others in another. Similarly, those who are in service to lords all serve them, but they do not all serve them in the same way; and those who farm and work the land and play and hunt and do other things, all do the same thin~s, but do not judge them or do them in the same way. So from this example, and from others which would take too long to tell, you can appreciate that although all men are men, and although all have dispositions and intentions, just as their faces differ greatly, so do their dispositions and intentions; however, all are alike in that they seek out and learn to handle best those things which please them most. And because everyone learns best what he most likes, so anyone who wishes to teach someone somethin~ must teach him i~ in the way which he considers to be most pleasing to the on~ who is to learn. Since subtle matters are beyond the understanding of many men, because they do not understand them correctly, they de~ rive no pleasure from reading those kinds of books or from learning what is written in them. And because it gives them no pleasure, they cannot master or understand it as they ought. Therefore I, Don Juan, son of Prince Don Manuel, Governor of the frontier and Kingdom of Murcia, wrote this book which is composed in the most elegant style of which I was capable, and in the text I included exemplary tales which should profit all those who care to listen to them. I did this following the methods used by physicians: when they wish to prepare a_medicine whi~h will heal the liver, since the liver naturally likes sweet things, they mix sugar or honey or something sweet with the medicine designed to heal it; and because the liver likes anything sweet, it seeks_to take it in and thus draws with it the medicine designed to do it good. The same is done for any organ which needs medicine: _ they give it with something which by its very nature that organ will

PROLOGUE 34

PROLOGUE

el pagamiento que el figado 8 de la cosa dul9e, en tir8ndola para si, lieva con ella la melezina quel 1 8 de aprovechar. Et esso mismo fazen a qualquier miembro que aya mester alguna melezina, que sienpre la dan con alguna cosa que naturalmente aquel mienbro la aya de tirar a si. Et a esta semejan9a, con la mer9ed de Dias, ser8 fecho este libro. Et los que lo le_yeren [si par] su voluntad tomaren plazer de las cosas provechosas que fallaren, ser8 bien; et aun los que lo tan bien nan entendieren, non podr8n escusar queen leyendo el libro, par las palabras falagueras et apuestas queen 81 fallar8n, que non ayan a leer las cosas aprovechosas que son Ymezcladas, et aunque ellos non lo dese[e]n, aprovecharse an dellas, asi comma el figado et los otros miembros dichos se aprovechan de las melezinas que son mezcladas con las cosas de que se ellos pagan. Et Dias, que es complido et complidor de todos los buenos [fechos], par la su mer~ed et par la su piadat, quiera.que los que este libro leyeren que se aprovechen dBl a servi9io de Dias et para salvamiento de sus almas et aprovechamiento de sus cuerpos, asi comma (1 sabe que yo, don Johan, lo digo a essa entenci6n. Et lo que Y fallaren que nones tan bien dicho, non pongan culpa a la mi enten9i6n, mas p6nganla a la mengua del mio entendimiento. Et si alguna cosa fallaren bien dicha o aprovechosa, gradBscanlo a Dias, ea El es aquBl par quien todos los buenos dichos et fechos se dizen et se fazen. Et pues el pr6logo es acabado, de aqu! adelante comen9are la manera del libro, en manera de un grand senor que fablava con un su consegero. Et dizian al sefior, conde Lucanor, et al consegero, Patronio.

Y

wish to consume. May it please God, this is the way this book will be written.(2) If the readers willingly take pleasure in the profitable things which they find therein, that is good; and even those who do not understand it as well will, as a result of the charm and elegance of the words which they come across as they read the book, be unable to avoid reading the profitable things included in it.(3) And although they may not wish to do so, they will profit from them, just as the liver and the other organs benefit from the medicines which ar~ mixed with things , . they like. And may God, in whose perfection all good acts or1g1nate,(4) through His love and mercy bring it about that those who read this book profit from it in the service of God, for the salvation of their souls and to the benefit of their persons, just as He knows that I, Don Juan, do write it with this intention. If they find that it contains anything that is not well expressed, they sh-ould not blame my intention, but put it down to my lack of understanding. And if they find anything well expressed or profitable, they should thank God for_ it, for He is the one through whom all good words and deeds are spoken and done. Now that the prologue is finished, I shall begin the book. It takes the form (5) of a great lord speaking to his adviser. The lord was called Count Lucanor, and the adviser, Patronio.(6)

35

37

36

1 DE LO QUE CONTES