Amadís De Gaula
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(in English ''Amadis of Gaul'') (, ) (, ) is an Iberian landmark work among the Spanish and Portuguese
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 chivalri ...
s which were in vogue in the 16th century, although its first version, much revised before printing, was written at the onset of the 14th century in an uncertain place of the Iberian Peninsula. The earliest surviving edition of the known text, by
Garci Rodríguez de Montalvo Garci Rodríguez de Montalvo (; – 1505) was a Castilian people, Castilian author who arranged the modern version of the chivalric romance ''Amadís de Gaula'', originally written in three books in the 14th century by an unknown author. Montalv ...
(not Ordóñez de Montalvo), was printed in
Zaragoza Zaragoza (), traditionally known in English as Saragossa ( ), is the capital city of the province of Zaragoza and of the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Aragon, Spain. It lies by the Ebro river and its tributaries, the ...
, Spain, in 1508, although almost certainly there were earlier printed editions, now lost. It was published in four books in Castilian, but its origins are unclear: The narrative originates in the late post-Arthurian genre and had certainly been read as early as the 14th century by the
chancellor Chancellor () is a title of various official positions in the governments of many countries. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the (lattice work screens) of a basilica (court hall), which separa ...
Pero López de Ayala, as well as his contemporary Pero Ferrús. Montalvo himself confesses to have amended the first three volumes, and to be the author of the fourth. Additionally, in the Portuguese ''Chronicle'' by Gomes Eanes de Zurara (1454), ''Amadis'' is attributed to Vasco de Lobeira, who was knighted after the Battle of Aljubarrota (1385). Other sources claim that the work was, in fact, a copy of João de Lobeira, and that it was a translation into Castilian Spanish of an earlier work, probably from the beginning of the 14th century, however, no primitive version in Portuguese is known. A more recent sources attribute ''Amadis'' to Henry of Castile, due to evidence linking his biography with the events in ''Amadis''. The inspiration for the "Amadis de Gaula" appears to be the forbidden marriage of Infanta Constanza of Aragon with Henry in 1260 (see Don Juan Manuel's ' of 1335), as forbidden as was also Oriana's marriage to Amadis. In the introduction to the text, Garci Rodríguez de Montalvo explains that he edited the first three books of a text in circulation since the 14th century. Montalvo also admits to adding a fourth as yet unpublished book as well as adding a continuation, '' Las sergas de Esplandián'', which he claims was found in a buried chest in
Constantinople Constantinople (#Names of Constantinople, see other names) was a historical city located on the Bosporus that served as the capital of the Roman Empire, Roman, Byzantine Empire, Byzantine, Latin Empire, Latin, and Ottoman Empire, Ottoman empire ...
and transported to Spain by a Hungarian merchant (the famous motif of the found manuscript). was the favorite book of the fictional titular character in
Don Quixote , the full title being ''The Ingenious Gentleman Don Quixote of La Mancha'', is a Spanish novel by Miguel de Cervantes. Originally published in two parts in 1605 and 1615, the novel is considered a founding work of Western literature and is of ...
by
Miguel de Cervantes Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra ( ; ; 29 September 1547 (assumed) – 22 April 1616 Old Style and New Style dates, NS) was a Spanish writer widely regarded as the greatest writer in the Spanish language and one of the world's pre-eminent novelist ...
.


Plot

The story narrates the star-crossed love of King Perión of Gaula and Elisena of England, resulting in the secret birth of Amadís. The place called ''Gaula'' is a fictional kingdom within
Brittany Brittany ( ) is a peninsula, historical country and cultural area in the north-west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known as Armorica in Roman Gaul. It became an Kingdom of Brittany, independent kingdom and then a Duch ...
. It has in the past been identified with Wales or France, but it is best understood as a completely legendary place. Abandoned at birth on a raft in England, the child is raised by the knight Gandales in Scotland and investigates his origins through fantastic adventures. He is persecuted by the wizard Arcaláus, but protected by Urganda la Desconocida (Urganda the Unknown or Unrecognized), an ambiguous priestess with magical powers and a talent for prophecy. Knighted by his father King Perión, Amadís overcomes the challenges of the enchanted Ínsola Firme (a sort of peninsula), including passing through the Arch of Faithful Lovers. Despite Amadís' celebrated fidelity, his childhood sweetheart, Oriana, heiress to the throne of Great Britain, becomes jealous of a rival princess and sends a letter to chastise Amadís. The knight changes his name to Beltenebros and indulges in a long period of madness on the isolated Peña Pobre (Poor Peak or Mountain). He recovers his senses only when Oriana sends her maid to retrieve him. He then helps Oriana's father, Lisuarte, repel invaders. A short time later he and Oriana scandalously consummate their love. Their son Esplandián is the result of this one illicit meeting. Rodríguez de Montalvo asserts that in the "original" ''Amadís'', Esplandián eventually kills his father for this offense against his mother's honor; however, Montalvo amends this defect and resolves their conflict peaceably. Oriana and Amadís defer their marriage for many years due to enmity between Amadís and Oriana's father, Lisuarte. Amadís absents himself from Britain for at least 10 years, masquerading as "The Knight of the Green Sword". He travels as far as Constantinople and secures the favor of the child-princess Leonorina, who will become Esplandián's wife. His most famous adventure during this time of exile is the battle with the giant Endriago, a monster born of incest who exhales a poisonous gas and whose body is covered in scales. As a knight, Amadís is courteous, gentle, sensitive, and a Christian, who dares to defend free love. Unlike most literary heroes of his time (French and German, for example), Amadís is a handsome man who would cry if refused by his lady, but is invincible in battle and usually emerges drenched in his own and his opponents' blood.


Principal characters

* Amadís: Greatest of knights-errant, renowned in feats of arms * Perión: King of Gaula, father of Amadís * Elisena: Queen of Gaula, mother of Amadís * Galaor: Brother of Amadís * Melicia: Sister of Amadís * Gandales: Scottish knight, foster-father of Amadís * Gandalin: Son of Gandales, squire of Amadís * Lisuarte: King of Britain * Brisena: Queen of Britain * Oriana: Daughter of Lisuarte and Brisena, beloved of Amadís * Esplandián: Son of Amadís and Oriana * Leonorina: Princess of Constantinople, beloved of Esplandián * Languines: King of Scotland * Agrajes: Son of Languines * Mabilia: Daughter of Languines * Ardian: Dwarf who serves Amadís * Abies: King of Ireland, defeated by Amadís * Endriago: Monster defeated by Amadís * Arcaláus: Wizard who opposes Amadís * Urganda the Unknown: Sorceress who protects Amadís


Literary significance

Called also ''Amadís sin tiempo'' (Amadis without Time) by his mother (in allusion to the fact that being conceived outside marriage she would have to abandon him and he would probably die), he is the most representative Iberian hero 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 chivalri ...
. His adventures ran to four volumes, probably the most popular such tales of their time. François de la Noue, one of the Huguenot captains of the 16th century, affirmed that reading the romances of Amadis had caused a "spirit of vertigo" even in his more rationally-minded generation. The books show a complete idealization and simplification of knight-errantry. Even servants are hardly heard of, but there are many princesses, ladies and kings. Knights and damsels in distress are found everywhere. The book's style is reasonably modern, but lacks dialogue and the character's impressions, mostly describing the action. The book's
style Style, or styles may refer to: Film and television * ''Style'' (2001 film), a Hindi film starring Sharman Joshi, Riya Sen, Sahil Khan and Shilpi Mudgal * ''Style'' (2002 film), a Tamil drama film * ''Style'' (2004 film), a Burmese film * '' ...
was praised by the usually demanding Juan de Valdés, although he considered that from time to time it was too low or too high a style. The language is characterized by a certain "Latinizing" influence in its
syntax In linguistics, syntax ( ) is the study of how words and morphemes combine to form larger units such as phrases and sentences. Central concerns of syntax include word order, grammatical relations, hierarchical sentence structure (constituenc ...
, especially the tendency to place the
verb A verb is a word that generally conveys an action (''bring'', ''read'', ''walk'', ''run'', ''learn''), an occurrence (''happen'', ''become''), or a state of being (''be'', ''exist'', ''stand''). In the usual description of English, the basic f ...
at the end of the sentence; as well as other such details, such as the use of the
present participle In linguistics, a participle (; abbr. ) is a nonfinite verb form that has some of the characteristics and functions of both verbs and adjectives. More narrowly, ''participle'' has been defined as "a word derived from a verb and used as an adject ...
, which bring ''Amadís'' into line with the
allegorical As a literary device or artistic form, an allegory is a narrative or visual representation in which a character, place, or event can be interpreted to represent a meaning with moral or political significance. Authors have used allegory throughou ...
style of the 15th century. Nevertheless, there is a breach of style when Garci Rodriguez de Montalvo presents the fourth book. It becomes dull and solemn, reflecting the nature of the intruding writer. The first three books are inspired in deeds and feats by knights-errant, dating back to the 13th century, while the fourth book emerges as a less brilliant attachment of the 15th century. The pristine style of ''Amadís'' can be perceived in the few original famous pages analyzed by Antonio Rodríguez Moñino: It is lively and straight to the facts of war and love, with brief dialogs, all quite elegant and amusing. ''Amadís of Gaula'' is frequently referenced in the humorous classic ''Don Quixote'', written by Miguel de Cervantes in the early 17th century. The character Don Quixote idolizes Amadís and tries to imitate him. Historically, ''Amadís'' was very influential amongst the Spanish
conquistador Conquistadors (, ) or conquistadores (; ; ) were Spanish Empire, Spanish and Portuguese Empire, Portuguese colonizers who explored, traded with and colonized parts of the Americas, Africa, Oceania and Asia during the Age of Discovery. Sailing ...
es.
Bernal Díaz del Castillo Bernal Díaz del Castillo ( 1492 – 3 February 1584) was a Spanish conquistador who participated as a soldier in the conquest of the Aztec Empire under Hernán Cortés and late in his life wrote an account of the events. As an experienced ...
mentioned the wonders of ''Amadís'' when he marveled at his first sight of
Tenochtitlan , also known as Mexico-Tenochtitlan, was a large Mexican in what is now the historic center of Mexico City. The exact date of the founding of the city is unclear, but the date 13 March 1325 was chosen in 1925 to celebrate the 600th annivers ...
(modern Mexico City) – and such place names as
California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...
come directly from the work. The English literary historian Helen Moore in her 2020 book ''Amadis in English: A Study in the Reading of Romance'' suggested the book has been popular over the centuries because: The British writer
C.S. Lewis CS, C-S, C.S., Cs, cs, or cs. may refer to: Job titles * Chief Secretary (Hong Kong) * Chief superintendent, a rank in the British and several other police forces * Company secretary, a senior position in a private sector company or public se ...
said that ''Amadis'' was among his "own favourite reading" and that he had an "early & lasting love of Oriana."


Origins

As mentioned above, the origins of the book of ''Amadís'' are disputed.


The existing texts


The version of Montalvo

The only known complete text of is that of Garci Rodríguez de Montalvo, a Castilian writer. The earliest surviving text (book) is from 1508, although scholars accept that there were earlier editions. If this text had been based on a Portuguese original, there would be linguistic evidence in the text. As there is none, the text of Montalvo must have been written in Castilian.


Manuscript fragments

The only known manuscript are the 15th-century fragments found in a book binding (a discarded manuscript, in this case ''Amadís'', was used as raw material for binding another book), and identified and published by . He claimed sole ownership of only Book IV. The existence of a prior version of Books I to III has been supported by Antonio Rodríguez Moñino's identification of four 15th-century manuscript fragments (). The name "Esplandián" is clearly visible in one of these. The fragments belong to the collection of the Bancroft Library at the
University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California), is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after t ...
. They show that, contrary to the usual view that Montalvo ''expanded'' the first three books, instead he abbreviated them.


Earlier mentions of Amadis

In the Spanish translation of Egidio Colonna's ''De regimine principum'', ''Amadís'' is mentioned and also the poet Enrico, who could well be Enrico de Castiglia. Egidio Colonna was in Rome in 1267 when Henry of Castile was elected Senator. The translation was made around 1350 under King Peter the Cruel. This is the oldest mention of ''Amadís''.


Sequels in Spanish

''Amadis of Gaul''s popularity was such that in the decades following its publication, dozens of
sequel A sequel is a work of literature, film, theatre, television, music, or video game that continues the story of, or expands upon, some earlier work. In the common context of a narrative work of fiction, a sequel portrays events set in the same ...
s of sometimes minor quality were published in Spanish, Italian, and German, together with a number of other imitative works. Montalvo himself cashed in with the continuation '' Las sergas de Esplandián'' (Book V), and the sequel-specialist Feliciano de Silva (also the author of ''Second Celestina'') added four more books including '' Amadis of Greece'' (Book IX).
Miguel de Cervantes Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra ( ; ; 29 September 1547 (assumed) – 22 April 1616 Old Style and New Style dates, NS) was a Spanish writer widely regarded as the greatest writer in the Spanish language and one of the world's pre-eminent novelist ...
wrote ''
Don Quixote , the full title being ''The Ingenious Gentleman Don Quixote of La Mancha'', is a Spanish novel by Miguel de Cervantes. Originally published in two parts in 1605 and 1615, the novel is considered a founding work of Western literature and is of ...
'' as a burlesque attack on the resulting genre. Cervantes and his protagonist Quixote, however, keep the original ''Amadís'' in very high esteem. The Spanish volumes, with their authors and the names of their main characters: * Books I–IV: 1508 (Garci Rodríguez de Montalvo): ''Amadís de Gaula'' * Book V: 1510 (Garci Rodríguez de Montalvo): '' Las sergas de Esplandián'' * Book VI: 1510 (Páez de Ribera): ''Florisando'' * Book VII: 1514 ( Feliciano de Silva): ''Lisuarte de Grecia'' * Book VIII: 1526 (Juan Díaz): ''Lisuarte de Grecia'' * Book IX: 1530 (Feliciano de Silva): '' Amadis of Greece'' * Book X: 1532 (Feliciano de Silva): ''Florisel de Niquea'' (Parts I-II) * Book XI: 1535 (Feliciano de Silva): ''Florisel de Niquea'' (Parts III-IV) * Book XII: 1546 (Pedro de Luján): ''Silves de la Selva''


Translations, continuations and sequels in Castilian and other languages

Castilian sequels: * – original anonymous text in Castilian: 1511 * (son of Palmerin de Olivia) – original anonymous text in Castilian: 1512 In Germany and England, ''Amadís'' was known chiefly through its French translations, sometimes much revised, and in England the cycle was generally referred to by its French title ''Amadis de Gaule''. The French translations did not follow the Spanish book divisions exactly, and the entire cycle in the French version extends to 24 books. Note that the book numbers of the French translation do not always correspond to the book numbers of the Spanish originals, and in both languages, "book" is not the same as "printed volume"; physical printed books sometimes contained more than one "book" of the series. French translations, with their translators: * Book I: 1540 ( Nicolas de Herberay des Essarts) * Book II: 1541 (Nicolas de Herberay des Essarts) * Book III: 1542 (Nicolas de Herberay des Essarts) * Book IV: 1543 (Nicolas de Herberay des Essarts) * Book V: 1544 (Nicolas de Herberay des Essarts) * (Spanish book VI was rejected as apocryphal) * Book VI: 1545 (Nicolas de Herberay des Essarts) (actually Spanish Book VII) * (Spanish Book VIII was rejected because it told of the death of Amadis) * Book VII: 1546 (Nicolas de Herberay des Essarts) (actually Spanish Book IXa) * Book VIII: 1548 (Nicolas de Herberay des Essarts) (actually Spanish Book IXb) * Book IX: 1551 (Giles Boileau & Claude Colet) (actually Spanish Book Xa) * Book X: 1552 (Jacques Gohory) (actually Spanish Book Xb) * Book XI: 1554 (Jacques Gohory) (actually Spanish Book XIa) * Book XII: 1556 (Guillaume Aubert) (actually Spanish Book XIb) * Book XIII: 1571 (Jacques Gohory) (actually Spanish Book XIIa) * Book XIV: 1574 (Antoine Tyron) (actually Spanish Book XIIb) * Books XV–XXI: 1576–1581 * Books XXII–XXIV: after 1594 The German Continuation: * Books XIX–XXI : 1594–5 The Italian Continuation: * Books XIII–XVIII (Mambrino Roseo da Fabriano) In Portugal, the Amadis cycle also launched other adventure series, such as: * (''Palmeirim of England'') – original Portuguese text by Francisco de Morais Cabral: c.1544 (published 1567) * – original Portuguese text by Diogo Fernandes * – original Portuguese text by Gonçalves Lobato * (''Chronicle of Emperor Clarimund'') – original Portuguese text by
João de Barros João de Barros (; 1496 – 20 October 1570), nicknamed the "Portuguese Livy", is one of the first great Portuguese historians, most famous for his (''Decades of Asia''), a history of the Portuguese in India, Asia, and southeast Africa. Early y ...
* – original Portuguese text by Gonçalo Fernandes Trancoso


Operas

*'' Amadis'' (1684) by
Jean-Baptiste Lully Jean-Baptiste Lully ( – 22 March 1687) was a French composer, dancer and instrumentalist of Italian birth, who is considered a master of the French Baroque music style. Best known for his operas, he spent most of his life working in the court o ...
*'' Amadis de Grèce'' (1699) by André Cardinal Destouches *'' Amadigi di Gaula'' (1715) by
George Frideric Handel George Frideric (or Frederick) Handel ( ; baptised , ; 23 February 1685 – 14 April 1759) was a German-British Baroque composer well-known for his operas, oratorios, anthems, concerti grossi, and organ concerti. Born in Halle, Germany, H ...
*'' Amadis de Gaule'' (1771) by Jean-Benjamin de La Borde and
Pierre Montan Berton Pierre Montan Berton (7 January 1727 – 14 May 1780) was a French people, French composer and conductor (music), conductor. He resided primarily in Paris and was an opera director. Pierre's son Henri Montan Berton (1767–1844) was also a c ...
*'' Amadis de Gaule'' (1779) by
Johann Christian Bach Johann Christian Bach (5 September 1735 – 1 January 1782) was a German composer of the Classical era, the youngest son of Johann Sebastian Bach. He received his early musical training from his father, and later from his half-brother, Carl ...
*'' Amadis'' (first performed 1922) by
Jules Massenet Jules Émile Frédéric Massenet (; 12 May 1842 – 13 August 1912) was a French composer of the Romantic music, Romantic era best known for his operas, of which he wrote more than thirty. The two most frequently staged are ''Manon'' (1884 ...


References


External links


Full text in Spanish

''Amadis de Gaula''
– images of a 1526 edition of the original Spanish text
''The ancient, famous and honourable history of Amadis de Gaule.''
ooks 1 and 2- Early English Books Online
Vasco Lobeira: ''Amadis de Gaul'', Book I
translated by Robert Southey, who erroneously says the author's name was Garciordonez de Montalvo.
Volumes 2-4 in English. The Gutenberg Project
* – Italian libretto by Nicola Francesco Haym for the opera by Handel * {{DEFAULTSORT:Amadis De Gaula 1508 books Arthurian literature Renaissance literature Book series 16th-century Spanish novels Characters in Spanish novels Novels set in England Don Quixote Etymology of California Gaulish people Damsels in distress