La historia como ficciónla Crónica de Don Pero Niño

Abstract

This dissertation provides some basic clues needed to help unravel some of the complex patterns in the deeds of Don Pero Niño as told by Gutierre Díaz de Games ( hereafter Games): without an understanding of which , a reconstruction of the elaboration behind El Victorial (hereafter El V) would be another. To introduce the theme of the elaboration of El V, the first chapter gives examples of how readily available historical data has been modified for political, economic, or other reasons in chivalric narrative written at the time of the Christian-Moslem conflict. Then a series of techniques used by games is discussed in the elaboration of El V. Much of this chivalric material related to the texts found in El V is a common source in the re-elaboration of other historiographical narrative, among them, books of chivalry in the fifteenth century, some of which are compared with El V. As another example of modification, in the second chapter, examples of varying interpretations of passages from El V illustrate the fusion of two literary, chivalric genres; namely the historiographical narrative and the books of chivalry, as lived by knights-errant like Pero NIiño in imitation of chivalric values. A review of the historical development of general European historiographical narrative which influenced Iberian chivalric narrative, in the third chapter, lays the foundation for an examination of the roots of the widely varied Iberian Peninsular chivalric narrative shared b y chronicles and books of chivalry as reflected, in particular, in the themes and leitmotiv of El V. The next three chapters review the development of chivalric material from the thirteenth to the fifteenth centuries and connect this material to El V. Each of these three chapters traces the development of a selected theme highlighting the doctrinal and social themes underlying the chivalric narrative in El V. The fourth chapter focuses on a rhetorical analysis of the Christian doctrine in El V. as it is applied to the behaviour and values of knighthood. Various stylistic approaches are used to illustrate how the literary patterns of the time were used didactically to show opposing vices and virtues at play in the text. As reflected by Games in El V, the fif the chapter reviews the development of the rituals created around knighthood and chivalric tradition outlining the obligatory passage of arms, chivalric models, symbolism and rites used to underline the patterns of vices and virtues supporting the leitmotifs discussed in the previous chapter. The sixth chapter traces the narratology as developed by Games by focusing on the response of the reader in El V. The specific dialogue assigned to Pero Niño is also analysed in the context of a series of functions as designated by Games. As a result of the analysis of the doctrinal and social themes in the previous three chapters, the seventh chapter deals with the problems editors and critics have in an attempt to classify the narrative material in El V. Here, El V. is compared to other genres of chivalric narratives which have structures in common with the model as drawn up by Games. Having analysed the doctrinal and social themes and compared other genres of chivalric narratives with El V as chivalric literature in the previous chapters, in the eighth chapter, a chronological listing of varying conceptions of El V by editors and literary critics, is examined. These classifications are perused in an attempt to discover how the changes in cultural taste in society influenced the categorisation of El V. As used in those classifications, in continuation, there is a revision of the terms "chronicle", "history", and chivalric prosse of books of chivalry as they related to the chivalric narrative of El V. The conclusions, in chapter nine, firstly revise the results of the previous eight chapters and how the narrative in El V can represent multiple functions by way of the "novelesque" techniques adapted by Games. Secondly, the conclusions of these chapter are applied to the main purpose of this study: 1) to clarify the author's fictive and historical role in El V as discussed in the objectives; 2) to assess the place El V reserves within the fictive chivalric tradition; 3) to make the complex allegorical and chivalric references as accessible to the modern reader's enjoyment as possible and 4) attempt to restore the edification of the text to what it must have been for the original audience.