The ''Book of the Knight Zifar'' (originally ''Livro del cavallero Cifar'', in modern orthography ''Libro del caballero Zifar'') is the earliest fictional adventure tale in

prose Prose is a form of written or spoken language that follows the natural flow of speech, uses a language's ordinary grammatical structures, or follows the conventions of formal academic writing. It differs from most traditional poetry, where the f ...

in the

Spanish language Spanish ( or , Castilian) is a Romance languages, Romance language of the Indo-European language family that evolved from colloquial Latin spoken on the Iberian peninsula. Today, it is a world language, global language with more than 500 millio ...

. It was written around 1300, probably by a cleric of Toledo, Ferrand Martínez (not

Ferrand Martínez Ferrand Martinez (fl. 14th century) was a Spanish cleric and archdeacon of Écija, most noted for being an antisemitic agitator whom historians cite as the prime mover behind the series of pogroms against the Spanish Jews in 1391, beginning in the ...

, Archdeacon of Écija), who is mentioned in the prologue. The book has much affinity with contemporary works of

chivalric romance As a literary genre, the chivalric romance is a type of prose and verse narrative that was popular in the noble courts of High Medieval and Early Modern Europe. They were fantastic stories about marvel-filled adventures, often of a chivalric k ...

. The ''Book of the Knight Zifar'' has been transmitted in two manuscripts. The first is a fifteenth-century codex known by the letter "M", and catalogued as MS. 11.309 in the

Biblioteca Nacional de España The Biblioteca Nacional de España (''National Library of Spain'') is a major public library, the largest in Spain, and one of the largest in the world. It is located in Madrid, on the Paseo de Recoletos. History The library was founded by ...

in Madrid. The second is Spanish MS. 36, called codex "P", in the

Bibliothèque Nationale de France The Bibliothèque nationale de France (, 'National Library of France'; BnF) is the national library of France, located in Paris on two main sites known respectively as ''Richelieu'' and ''François-Mitterrand''. It is the national repository ...

in Paris. The latter, compiled in 1464, is generally referred to simply as the "Paris manuscript" and is well-illustrated with colourful miniatures. Two further examples of the ''Knight Zifar'' printed in Seville in 1512 survive. The book is an adaptation of the legendary life of

Saint Eustace Saint Eustace (Latinized Eustachius or Eustathius, Greek Εὐστάθιος Πλακίδας ''Eustathios Plakidas'') is revered as a Christian martyr. According to legend, he was martyred in AD 118, at the command of emperor Hadrian. Eusta ...

, who before his conversion was a Roman general named Placidus (''Plácidas'' in Spanish). The knight Zifar is a medieval Placidus-cum-Eustace, and his story shares in part the didactic function of Eustacian

hagiography A hagiography (; ) is a biography of a saint or an ecclesiastical leader, as well as, by extension, an adulatory and idealized biography of a founder, saint, monk, nun or icon in any of the world's religions. Early Christian hagiographies migh ...

, but in other respects is epic and chivalric. After being separated from his family, Zifar finds himself King of Menton. His son Roboam, after receiving an education, is separated from his family, only to end up emperor.

Modern editions

{{wikisource, Libro del Caballero Zifar The edition of Wagner (1929) is still definitive, and was reproduced, with minor modifications, by both Riquer (1951) and Buendía (1961). *Heinrich Michelant. ''Historia del Cavallero Cifar''. Bibliothek des Litterarischen Vereins in Stuttgart, CXII. Tübingen: 1872. *Charles Philip Wagner. ''El Libro del Caballero Zifar''. Ann Arbour: University of Michigan Press, 1929. *

Martín de Riquer Martin may refer to: Places * Martin City (disambiguation) * Martin County (disambiguation) * Martin Township (disambiguation) Antarctica * Martin Peninsula, Marie Byrd Land * Port Martin, Adelie Land * Point Martin, South Orkney Islands Austral ...

. ''El Caballero Zifar''. Selecciones Bibliófilas. Barcelona: Ariel, 1951. *Felicidad Buendía. ''Libros de Caballerías españoles: El Caballero Cifar, Amadís de Gaula, Tirant el Blanco''. Madrid: Aguilar, 1960. *Joaquín González Muela. ''Libro del Caballero Zifar'', 2nd ed. Madrid: Castalia, 1990

982 Year 982 ( CMLXXXII) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe * Summer – Emperor Otto II (the Red) assembles an imperial expeditionary force at Tara ...

*Cristina González. ''Libro del Caballero Zifar''. Madrid: Cátedra, 1983. *Charles L. Nelson. ''The Book of the Knight Zifar: a Translation of El Libro del Cavallero Zifar''. Lexington: The University Press of Kentucky, 1983 and 2015
Sample
*M. A. Olsen. ''Libro del Cavallero Çifar''. Madison: HSMS, 1984. *Manuel Moleiro y Francisco Rico. ''Libro del caballero Zifar. Códice de París''. Barcelona: Moleiro, 1996
Online
Spanish literature 1300s works