Abstract

The Coloquio de Gila by Lope de Rueda, which came to light less than a decade ago, presents the figure of the black woman Sofía with a number of identifying characteristics. Some of these characteristics are already found in poetic texts that contain a noticeable element of dramatisation and were written towards the end of the fifteenth century, such as those by Anrique de Mota and Rodrigo de Reinosa. But it is in the sixteenth century that the ‘black woman’ character type appears in literary works by Jaime de Huete, Feliciano de Silva, Gaspar Gómez de Toledo, Gil Vicente and Diego Sánchez de Badajoz. These works constitute a sufficiently wide repertoire to examine the black woman character type and to establish the characteristics of this type on the basis of the literary texts in which she appears.

Abstract

This text focuses on a chief masterpiece of the Renaissance, Castiglione’s The Book of the Courtier, and aims to identify its influence on Inca Garcilaso’s work. Considering that he had this book in his library, we will examine the different levels of influence of Castiglione’s work, especially the translation into Spanish by the poet Juan Boscán. This study will address not only the importance of the translator, but also the significance of a piece that brought together all the ideals of the Renaissance: the perfect courtier’s form, style and attitude are omnipresent in Inca Garcilaso’s work and life.

Abstract

This is an introductory study to Gaspar de Villagrá’s History of New Mexico (1610) in the context of the Cortés epic cycle tradition. The concept of «epic continuity» is utilized in order to better understand how the poem adheres to epic tradition at the same time that it goes through formal changes needed for its renovation. Part of the renovation is the inclusion of prose as a legal defense strategy, and its use as a vehicle for the struggles of Mexican Creoles. It is proposed that this poem belongs in a Frontier Creole epic sub-cycle.