Abstract: The oldest extant manuscript of the Libro de Alexandre (manuscript O , ca. 1295) contains three striking additions to the poem. Two of them are illustrations: in the first, King Alexander recounts the Trojan War to his troops, while in the second the soldiers mourn the monarch's apparent death after his bath in the Cydnus River. The third insertion is an excerpt from the Libro de los buenos proverbios : two consolatory letters written by a dying Alexander to his mother Olympias. This article reconsiders manuscript O in light of these additions, situating them in relation to the political and cultural milieu of Sancho IV, and, more specifically, the historiographical and wisdom literature on Alexander the Great composed for Alfonso X and for Sancho IV. We argue that the codex's insertions offer a careful reflection on the nature and legitimation of Castilian royal power, probably intended for Sancho's court.
Abstract: The Libro de Séneca contra la ira e saña , an anonymous Castilian translation of Seneca's De ira , was conceived as a mirror for princes. The translation is closely linked to the rediscovery of Seneca's Dialogues in the thirteenth century, and it is likely that the Latin exemplar reached Castile by way of the Franciscan order. In its didactic intent and its prose grounded in sententia, the Libro de Séneca exhibits structural affinities with the Castilian sapiential tradition while also offering substantial innovations in terms of its subject matter, intended audience, and syntactic complexity. It also uses a classical yet Christianized original source and reorganizes the translated material. The involvement of the Franciscans in the circulation of the Dialogues —and possibly in the Castilian translation itself—is also noteworthy given the preeminent place occupied by Seneca in the moral philosophy cultivated by the order's masters. The Christianized portrayal of Seneca and the scholastic reorganization of the translated material served to guarantee the doctrinal orthodoxy of the treatise.
Abstract: This article investigates King Sancho IV of Castile's agency in commissioning the Castilian translation of Brunetto Latini's Li livres dou trésor , a work whose secular and heterodox approach appears to contradict Sancho's return to religious orthodoxy. By contrasting the existence of royal prologues in the encyclopedic Lucidario and Castigos (works similarly produced under Sancho's patronage), with the lack of such a prologue in the translation of the Trésor , this study highlights Sancho's involvement in the transmission of knowledge within the royal cultural enterprise and the apparent ideological disparities it entails. To address the paradox of his patronization of a translation that perpetuates the Alfonsine legacy, this paper proposes that the decision was a political strategy to align Castile with Western traditions and enhance the Crown's prestige during a period of resistance to Islamic influences. I propose that the Castilian translation of the Trésor served as a symbolic bridge, arguably paving the way for Sancho's direct involvement in the Lucidario and establishing a cultural model defined by religious orthodoxy, thereby redefining his father Alfonso X's political and cultural program.
Abstract: While traditionally overshadowed by the cultural achievements of Alfonso X, the reign of Sancho IV (1284-1295) constituted a pivotal moment in Castilian intellectual history. This introductory essay revisits the scholarship on Sancho's cultural project, tracing the shift from models that emphasized a centralized, Toledo-based enterprise to interpretations that foreground a more pluricentered landscape shaped by Mendicant theology, intellectual networks, and collaborative scholarly activity. The essays collected in this special issue explore how concerns with orthodoxy, political authority, and royal patronage informed literary and cultural production under Sancho IV and María de Molina, revealing the period as a formative bridge between the reign of Alfonso X and the emerging culture of late medieval Castile.
Abstract: The connection of the fourteenth-century Libro del caballero Zifar to the cultural movement known as molinismo suggests that its didactic purpose is closely linked to a specific code of values. The text functions as a "mirror" reflecting the patterns of conduct expected of both knights and rulers. Within the Estoria de Roboán , the episode of the Islas Dotadas takes the form of a chivalric adventure that conceals a moral lesson. Roboán as protagonist experiences firsthand the consequences of the lesson being conveyed. The marvelous nature of the Islas Dotadas provides the clearest indication that this is a self-contained episode designed to test Roboán's chivalric and moral development. The inclusion of Dido's letter to Aeneas, voiced by the Empress Nobleza, serves to condemn the love affair and reinforce the values upheld throughout the work.
