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.
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 [...]