A Medieval Pilgrim's Companion : Reassessing, El Libro De Los Huespedes, Escorial Ms.H.L.13 (North Carolina Studies in the Romance Languages and Literatures, No. 261)

Rating:
Summary: Excellent Literature About Literature
Review: Tom Spaccarelli was one of my professors at the University of the South (Sewanee TN). He was a major influence as a teacher -- fanning the flames of my passion for Medieval and Renaissance literature -- and has remained a major influence as a friend. I hear his voice on every page of this book. But for those who don't know him, I'll let him introduce the work himself (from Chapter I, INTRODUCTORY REMARKS). "The codex traditionally known as Ms. h.I.13 of El Escorial, which I have named the *Libro de los huespedes,* has generally been edited by medievalists as nine separate works ... "This now traditional fragmentation of the codex has resulted in our failure to perceive that the book was compiled and comprehended in its own time as a unified work. Modern editions of the separate chapters, produced in the tradition of scholarly concepts such as source texts, regularization of language, literary genres, the primacy of the relationship author/work, etc., have diminished our ability to comprehend the unique and unified nature of the LH, thereby distorting our knowledge and appreciation of the canon of medieval Spanish literature. I intend to show in this study that the LH is a text intimately related to the pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela and to various religious, literary, and artistic traditions associated with it. To restore the integrity of this text, I believe, is also to provide a more historically accurate view of medieval Spanish culture and of the concerns and issues that fired the enthusiasm of medieval people."

Rating:
Summary: Excellent Literature About Literature
Review: Tom Spaccarelli was one of my professors at the University of the South (Sewanee TN). He was a major influence as a teacher -- fanning the flames of my passion for Medieval and Renaissance literature -- and has remained a major influence as a friend. I hear his voice on every page of this book. But for those who don't know him, I'll let him introduce the work himself (from Chapter I, INTRODUCTORY REMARKS). "The codex traditionally known as Ms. h.I.13 of El Escorial, which I have named the *Libro de los huespedes,* has generally been edited by medievalists as nine separate works ... "This now traditional fragmentation of the codex has resulted in our failure to perceive that the book was compiled and comprehended in its own time as a unified work. Modern editions of the separate chapters, produced in the tradition of scholarly concepts such as source texts, regularization of language, literary genres, the primacy of the relationship author/work, etc., have diminished our ability to comprehend the unique and unified nature of the LH, thereby distorting our knowledge and appreciation of the canon of medieval Spanish literature. I intend to show in this study that the LH is a text intimately related to the pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela and to various religious, literary, and artistic traditions associated with it. To restore the integrity of this text, I believe, is also to provide a more historically accurate view of medieval Spanish culture and of the concerns and issues that fired the enthusiasm of medieval people."

Rating:
Summary: Modern appreciation of medieval tales
Review: Whether you are a dedicated medieval scholar or merely have a layman's interest in the area, there is much insight to be gleaned from this highly expository and very readable treatise.
Ever wonder what all that symbolism meant in thousand year old Christian art? Or how it related to those who created and heard the oral histories of the time? This fascinating book ties together explorations of language, medieval history, religious mythology and physical as well as spiritual pilgrimage, and their impact on modern understanding of this turbulent period.