Libro de los Engaños: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 10:58, 3 April 2025

The Old Spanish version of the Book of Sindibad, titled El libro de los engaños e asayamientos de las mugeres (The book of the deceptions and trials of women), represents a unique link between the 'Eastern' version of the narrative and the literary traditions in European languages. The Libro was composed in 1253, commissioned by don Fadrique, son of King Fernando III and the brother of King Alfonso X 'el sabio' (the wise). The translation of the Libro into Castilian from an Arabic source was part of a larger project of literary translation in thirteenth-century Spain, and the court of Alfonso X in particular; just a year or two before the composition of the Libro, for example, the translation of Kalilah wa- Dimna into Old Spanish was completed (see Keller 1975, Lacarra 2009).

The sole suriving manuscript that contains the Libro, found in the Real Academia Española in Madrid, was composed sometime in the 14th century. It is usually referred to by the title of the first text in the manuscript, El Conde Lucanor, by Juan Manuel. It is worth noting that El Conde, which is also a collection of exempla, contains a version of the story Vulpes - a story found in several of the 'Eastern' versions, but not included in the Libro. According to Ramos (2005), this may explain its absence from the end of the Libro - the scribe had already copied a version of the narrative earlier in the same collection and did not wish to repeat it. However, that absence may also be incidental, as Vulpes only occasionally appears in the Arabic 'Seven Viziers' narrative in the One Thousand and One Nights, and is not found in the One Hundred and One Nights — the Libro's closest analogue, and possibly its source (Lacarra 2009).

The manuscript itself has sometimes been critically designated as not one, but two texts: the 'basic' or central text in a clear miniscule, and the 'almost three hundred' interlinear and marginal emendations, which Keller describes as 'so pronounced as to provide a surprisingly divergent set of readings, often completely changing the meaning' (Keller 1975, p. 276). In fact, several editions - Bonilla y San Martín, Libro de los engaños (1904), Comparetti, Ricerche intorno al libro de Sindibâd (1869), and González Palencia, Versiones Castellanas del Sendebar (1946) - follow the emendations rather than solely the base text.

Identification and general Information
Reference Number
Siglum of the version of the Seven Sages	Libro de los Engaños
Version Number
Title
Author

Tradition and Lineage
Branch of the tradition	East
Adapted from (version)
Adapted into (version)
Source for composition and adaptation information

Recorded secondary versions
Libro de los Engaños Old Spanish Libro de los Engaños

Connected manuscripts

Language and Composition
Original language of version	Old Spanish
Language of text	Old Spanish
Regional or specific language of version
Translated into (languages)
Place of composition	Sevilla, Spain
Date of composition	1253
Islamic date of composition
Hebrew date of composition
Source for date of composition

Modern Scholarship and Editions
Modern research literature	Lacarra (2009), Ramos (2005)
Modern Editions

Notes and Commentary
Note
Notes on motifs
Notes on the frame

Pattern of embedded stories in this version

Connected prints
No connected prints

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 |Has Description=The Old Spanish version of the Book of Sindibad, titled ''El libro de los engaños e asayamientos de las mugeres'' (The book of the deceptions and trials of women), represents a unique link between the 'Eastern' version of the narrative and the literary traditions in European languages. The ''Libro'' was composed in 1253, commissioned by don Fadrique, son of King Fernando III and the brother of King Alfonso X 'el sabio' (the wise). The translation of the ''Libro'' into Castilian from an Arabic source was part of a larger project of literary translation in thirteenth-century Spain, and the court of Alfonso X in particular; just a year or two before the composition of the ''Libro'', for example, the translation of ''Kalilah wa- Dimna'' into Old Spanish was completed (see Keller 1975, Lacarra 2009).
-The sole suriving manuscript that contains the ''Libro'', found in the Real Academia Española in Madrid, was composed sometime in the 14th century. It is usually referred to by the title of the first text in the manuscript, ''El Conde Lucanor'', by Juan Manuel. It is worth noting that ''El Conde,'' which is also a collection of exempla, contains a version of the story [[Vulpes]] - a story found in several of the 'Eastern' versions, but not included in the ''Libro.'' According to Ramos (2005), this may explain its absence from the end of the ''Libro -''  the scribe had already copied a version of the narrative earlier in the same collection and did not wish to repeat it. However, that absence may also be incidental, as Vulpes only occasionally appears in the Arabic 'Seven Viziers' narrative found in the One Thousand and One Nights, and is not found in the [[A101 (Hundred and One Nights)|One Hundred and One Nights]] — the ''Libro'''s closest analogue, and possibly its source (Lacarra 2009).
+The sole suriving manuscript that contains the ''Libro'', found in the Real Academia Española in Madrid, was composed sometime in the 14th century. It is usually referred to by the title of the first text in the manuscript, ''El Conde Lucanor'', by Juan Manuel. It is worth noting that ''El Conde,'' which is also a collection of exempla, contains a version of the story [[Vulpes]] - a story found in several of the 'Eastern' versions, but not included in the ''Libro.'' According to Ramos (2005), this may explain its absence from the end of the ''Libro -''  the scribe had already copied a version of the narrative earlier in the same collection and did not wish to repeat it. However, that absence may also be incidental, as Vulpes only occasionally appears in the Arabic 'Seven Viziers' narrative in the One Thousand and One Nights, and is not found in the [[A101 (Hundred and One Nights)|One Hundred and One Nights]] — the ''Libro'''s closest analogue, and possibly its source (Lacarra 2009).
+The manuscript itself has sometimes been critically designated as not one, but two texts: the 'basic' or central text in a clear miniscule, and the 'almost three hundred' interlinear and marginal emendations, which Keller describes as 'so pronounced as to provide a surprisingly divergent set of readings, often completely changing the meaning' (Keller 1975, p. 276). In fact, several editions - [[Bonilla y San Martín, Libro de los engaños (1904)]], [[Comparetti, Ricerche intorno al libro de Sindibâd (1869)]], and [[González Palencia, Versiones Castellanas del Sendebar (1946)]] - follow the emendations rather than solely the base text.
 |Has Siglum=Libro de los Engaños
 |Has Branch Of Tradition=East