The Labyrinth of Fortune (Dumbarton Oaks Medieval Library) - Hardcover

Book 20 of 20: Dumbarton Oaks Medieval Library

De Mena, Juan

 
9780674290914: The Labyrinth of Fortune (Dumbarton Oaks Medieval Library)
Hardcover
ISBN 10: 0674290917 ISBN 13: 9780674290914
Publisher: Harvard University Press, 2025

Synopsis

A classic, Dantesque political epic from medieval Spain that inspired Cervantes and Góngora, in its first English translation.

Why do the injustices of the past still afflict the present? With this question, Juan de Mena is transported to heaven by a vision in the Dantesque The Labyrinth of Fortune. Composed in 1444 by Mena, a royal chronicler and Latin secretary in the court of Juan II of Castile, El Laberinto de Fortuna became the most important political allegory of medieval Spain. Allegorizing the past, present, and unknowable future through the figure of Providence, the poem reflects on the contentious kingship of Juan II and frames the Reconquest of Moorish territories―the foundational mythos of the emerging nation―as a virtuous, sacred task that would restore justice and the moral order because it fulfills a destiny ordained by God. This is the first English translation of a masterpiece that enriched the Spanish language with a density of learned allusions and a new Latinate humanistic style that deeply influenced subsequent writers such as Miguel Cervantes and Luis de Góngora.

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About the Authors

Frank A. Domínguez is Professor Emeritus of Spanish at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Ryan D. Giles is Professor of Spanish at Indiana University, Bloomington.

"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.

Publisher
Harvard University Press
Publication date
2025
Language
English
ISBN 10 
0674290917
ISBN 13 
9780674290914
Binding
Hardcover
Number of pages
336