CHIVALRY THROUGH A WOMAN'S PEN: BEATRIZ BERNAL AND HER CRISTALIÁN DE ESPAÑA: A TRANSCRIPTION AND STUDY

Abstract

This doctoral dissertation is a paleographic transcription of a Spanish chivalric romance written by Beatriz Bernal in 1545. Cristalián de España, as the text is referred to, was printed twice in its full book form, four parts and 304 folios. It was also well-received outside of the Iberian Peninsula, and published twice in its Italian translation. This incunabulum is quite a contribution to the chivalric genre for many reasons. It is not only well-written and highly entertaining, but it is the only known Castilian romance of its kind written by a woman. This detail cannot be over-emphasized. Chivalric tales have been enjoyed for centuries and throughout many different mediums. Readers and listeners alike had been enjoying these romances years before the libros de caballerías reached the height of their popularity in Spain. Hundreds of contributions to the genre are still in print today and available in numerous translations. Given this reality, it seems highly suspect that this romance, penned by a woman, and of excellent quality, is not found on the shelves next to other texts of the genre. Cristalián, despite what scholars of the genre have erroneously posited, was not an obscure text in sixteenth-century Spain. Bookstore and print-shop inventories of its time list numerous copies of Bernal's romance in bound book form, which confirm that Cristalián was circulating for at least sixty years. The purpose of this dissertation is two-fold. In order for Cristalián to be included in conversations of any nature, it must be made available. This transcription of Book I and II seeks to accomplish that. Secondly, current scholarship must re-imagine erroneous constructions of sixteenth-century reader's preferences. These prevalent constructions have often excluded noteworthy contributions to literature, especially those written by women. My aim is to redress this imbalance by analyzing Beatriz Bernal's written text and her writing strategies. The first three sections of the accompanying study more thoroughly address the challenges facing women writers in sixteenth-century Spain while also considering issues of literacy, reader preferences, and text distribution of the period. The last sections of the study are devoted specifically to the chivalric genre, and to Bernal's exemplary romance, Cristalián de España. Also included in the appendix are woodcuts from both Castilian editions, the proemio from the second edition, the chapter rubrics from Book I and II, and an index of characters from the narration.