New translation of the thirteenth century account of the life and achievements of the tenth century Castillian leader Fernán González and historical study of his life and of the historical background to the poem.

New examinations of the figure of Charlemagne in Spanish literature and culture.

Drawing on arguments for and against the expulsion of the Moriscos, and using previously unpublished source material, this book compares the case against banishment made by the Christian humanist Pedro de Valencia with that in favour pleaded by Catholic apologists.

Fernan Gonzalez lived from about AD 910 to 970. The popular image of him is of a fearsome warrior who gave his people protection from their enemies (both Muslim and Christian), and a wise and respected lord who enabled them to live in security and harmony. He was generally accepted to have played a strategic role in achieving independence for Castile and freeing it from dominance by the kingdom of Leon. The Poema de Fernan Gonzalez was composed (by an unknown author) in the mid-thirteenth century as an enduring celebration of his triumphs and account of his life and deeds. Fact and legend have become intertwined and there is much within its stanzas that is certainly not closely based on historic facts! This new translation is set against a detailed study of the historic context of the Castillian conflicts and a factual account of the life and achievements of Fernan Gonzalez. The political situation of the time in which the poem was composed is also considered, as is the manner in which the 'history' it espouses came to be handed down over three centuries, the possibility of a pre-existing rich oral tradition surrounding this iconic figure, and the possible sources employed by the poet in constructing the poem.

Mester de clerecía is the term traditionally used to designate the first generations of learned poetry in medieval Ibero-Romance dialects (the precursors of modern Castilian and other Romance languages of the Iberian Peninsula). In its time, this poetry was anything but traditional. These long poems of structured verse reappropriate the heroic past through the retelling of legends from Classical Antiquity, saints’ lives, miracle stories, Biblical apocrypha, and other tales. At the same time, the poems recast the place of their authors, and learned characters within their stories, in the shifting dynamics of their thirteenth and fourteenth century present. Contributors are Pablo Ancos, Maria Cristina Balestrini, Fernando Baños Vallejo, Andrew M. Beresford, Olivier Biaggini, Martha M. Daas, Emily C. Francomano, Ryan Giles, Michelle M. Hamilton, Anthony John Lappin, Clara Pascual-Argente, Connie L. Scarborough, Donald W. Wood, and Carina Zubillaga.

The topics covered by this pioneering collection of essays range from peninsular Spanish to Latin American literature, from the eleventh to the twentieth centuries, and from the subject of women as portrayed in Hispanic literature to the literature of Hispanic women writers. Some pieces present polemical feminist arguments, other are more traditional. All the contributors use their subject to take new stands on old controversies, ask new questions, and reevaluate important aspects of Hispanic literature. While there is ample evidence in these essays of the dual archetype in Hispanic literature of women as icon and woman as fallen idol, the collection reaches beyond these stereotypes to more complex sociological and theoretical concerns. Although such research has ben abundantly pursued by scholars of English and American literature, it has been notably absent from Hispanic studies. This anthology is a comprehensive introduction to its subject and a stimulus to further work in the area. Contributors: Fernando Alegría Electa Arenal Julianne Burton Alan Deyermond Rosalie Gimeno Harriet Goldberg Estelle Irizarry Kathleen Kish Luis Leal Linda Gould Levine Melveena McKendrick Francine Masiello Beth Miller Elizabeth Ordóñez Rachel Phillips Marcia L. Welles This title is part of UC Press's Voices Revived program, which commemorates University of California Press’s mission to seek out and cultivate the brightest minds and give them voice, reach, and impact. Drawing on a backlist dating to 1893, Voices Revived makes high-quality, peer-reviewed scholarship accessible once again using print-on-demand technology. This title was originally published in 1983.

Contributors: W.G. van Emden, Jim Simpson, Sally L. Burch, David Hook, Marco Dorigatti, Mark Chinca, Janet M. Cowen, Alison Stones, Roger Middleton, Karen Pratt

The relationship between war and religion is nothing new. For millennia, humankind has waged war over religion and derived religion from war. It is not surprising, then, that military leadership and religious conviction frequently coincide. This study documents the long tradition of the religious warrior in Western history and literature, with a special focus on Civil War general Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson. It also provides a general survey of the religious antecedents of Jackson and other more modern American military heroes. The book begins with an introduction to the Confederate general, largely from the perspective of those who lived with and served under him, whose testimonies attest to his courage, initiative, innate tactical talent, deep religious faith, and eccentric personal habits. The author analyzes the extent to which Jackson's national zeal has elevated him to the status of a religious martyr, remembered today within an epic frame of sainthood and heroism. Concise comparisons are drawn between Jackson and his Old World predecessors, including Ulrich Zwingli, John Knox and Oliver Cromwell. Similar associations are made between Jackson and such Civil War contemporaries as William Dorsey Pender and Oliver Otis Howard. A chapter addressing the representation of "Stonewall" in modern Civil War literature and film, particularly in the novel and subsequent motion picture Gods and Generals, provides an insightful juxtaposition of Jackson's status among the "gods" of the Civil War and his own reverence for the God of his Presbyterian faith.