Spanish Erasto

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The Spanish translation of the Erasto narrative, titled Historia Lastimera del Principe Erasto (The Lamentable History of Prince Erasto) was printed in Antwerp in 1573. The name of the author, Pedro Hurtado de la Vera, was a pseudonym for the writer Pedro Faria, possibly from Plascencia in Spain, who lived in Flanders in the early 1570s. Hurtado de la Vera's adaptation of the Italian Erasto mostly closely reproduces the content of the narrative, though he tends toward abbreviation (Farrell and Andrachuk, 1996). However, in their introduction to their edition of the text, Farrell and Andrachuk note that Hurtado de la Vera's Erasto demonstrates a significant omission: the episode in which the stars foretell the prince's fate and prompt his vow of silence is absent. As such, the prince's refusal to speak upon his arrival at the court makes little sense; this may have contributed to the texts relative lack of popularity, Farrell and Andrachuk suggest.

However, despite the fact that the Spanish Erasto was not widely circulated (compared with the 16th-century French and Italian transmissions), it was nevertheless cited as the source for the 1709 French translation composed by the Chevalier de Mailly.

A note on the printers of Pedro Hurtado de la Vera's text: most catalogue references include the full printer information from the title page, claiming that it was printed "En casa de la Biuda y herederos de Iuan Stelsio" (in the house of the widow and heirs of Johannes Steelsius). The widow and heir of Johannes Steelsius, a woman named Anna van Ertborn, inherited her husband's business after his death. On the final page of at least some copies of the text, however, another printer is named: Daniel Vervliet, who ran another printer's shop in Antwerp. Daniel Vervliet is therefore sometimes listed as a 'collaborator' in catalogue references to this text.

General Information
Language within Version
Narrative / Scholarly Group
Parent Versions Erasto (Es)
Child Versions
Author Pedro Hurtado de la Vera
Title Historia Lastimera del Principe Erasto
Siglum of the version of the Seven Sages
Branch of the tradition Seven Sages of Rome
Language & Composition
Language of version Spanish
Translated into (languages) French
Place of composition Antwerp, Belgium
Date of composition 1573
Source for date of composition
Literature & Editions
Modern research literature González Palencia (1946)Farrell and Andrachuk (1996)
Modern Editions
Recorded branch of this secondary version
Connected prints
Adaptations
Adapted from (version) Italian Erasto
Adapted into (version)
Source for composition and adaptation information
Languages in Use
Regional or specific language of version
Notes
Note
Notes on motifs
Pattern of embedded stories in this version

Connected manuscripts

 Has LanguageHas LocationHas Date Range Of Production