Libro de los Engaños

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).

The manuscript that contains the Libro, found in the Real Academia Española in Madrid, is usually referred to by

Tradition & Lineage

Branch of the tradition

East

Recorded Secondary Versions

Libro de los Engaños
- Old Spanish Libro de los Engaños

Connected Manuscripts

	Has Language	Has Location	Has Date Range Of Production

Language & Composition

Place of composition

Sevilla, Spain

Date of Composition

1253

Modern Scholarship & Editions

Modern research literature

Lacarra (2009)

Pattern of Embedded Stories in This Version

Has Short Title	Has Sequence Number	Has Narrator
Leo	1	First Master
Avis – The Bird	2	First Master
Lavator	3	Empress
Panes	4	Second Master
Gladius – The Drawn Sword	5	Second Master
Striga – The Prince and the Ogress	6	Empress
Mel	7	Third Master
Fons	8	Empress
Balneator	9	Fourth Master
Canicula – The Weeping Dog	10	Fourth Master
Aper – The Boar and the Fruit	11	Empress
Canis – The Faithful Dog	12	Fifth Master
Pallium	13	Fifth Master
Simia	14	Empress
Turtures	15	Sixth Master
Elephantinus	16	Sixth Master
Nomina	17	Seventh Master
Ingenia 1 – The Trick: The Wiles of Women Collection	18	Seventh Master
Lac venenatum	19	Prince
Puer 3 annorum	20	Prince
Puer 5 annorum	21	Prince