the conde lucanor: the first ejemplo

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The Conde Lucanor: The First EjemploAuthor(s): Harlan SturmSource: MLN, Vol. 84, No. 2, Hispanic Issue (Mar., 1969), pp. 286-292Published by: The Johns Hopkins University PressStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/2908021 .Accessed: 31/03/2014 14:31

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NOTES i

The Conde Lucanor: The First Ejemplo

In general, the arrangement f stories n medieval exemplary ollectionsfollows ittle or no thematic rder. On the contrary, uch works re usuallyrandom collections f unrelated tories. Boccaccio is in fact the first majorwriter of a story ollection to show an interest n internal organization,by prescribing theme, nterpreted oosely, by means of his frame tory;in it, each of ten narrators grees to tell one story n a given theme eachday, with the theme and order of speakers changing daily. Even moreimportantly, occaccio uses certain of the initial tales to establish anatmosphere nd a frame f reference or the entire ollection.1 Some of thecollections found in Spain have a rudimentary rganization; n the caseof the Libro de los engaios there is a complete frame story, which setsit apart from others uch as the Libro de los gatos and the alphabeticalcollections.2 None of the

early Spanish exemplum works, however,make

use of individual stories to establish or to validate the author's intentor his attitude toward his material.

The Conde Lucanor clearly falls within the type of collection n whichthe stories follow no thematic order, being bound by a simple framewhich functions ndependently or each story. Strictly peaking, n fact,we may refer to the collection as having no frame, but rather anatmosphere-producing etting whose purpose is simply o allow the storiesto be told. We cannot deny, however, hat some element of organization,however minimal, s used by any author of such a work in determiningthe order of the stories.In the Conde Lucanor this order of stories s difficult o determine withexactness, as the four manuscripts how some variation in this respect.In all of them, however, he story f the king and his privado begins thecollection. According oAmador, t appears in first lace in all the extant

1Gino Rizzo, Thematic Structure in the Decameron: The First ThreeNovelle, paper presented to the Kentucky Foreign Language Conference, April26, 1968.

2 See Joseph A. Mosher, The Exemplum in the Early Religious and DidacticLiterature

of England (New York, 1911),for a classification f

exemplarycollec-

tions. The alphabetized collections are represented n Spain by the Libro de losejemplos por A.B. C. (edited by J. E. Keller, Madrid, 1961).

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M L N 287

manuscripts, ut occurs as twenty-third n the edition of Gonzalo deArgote y de Molina, 1575.3 In editions which follow Argote in placingthe privado story ater in the collection,4 n incongruity esults when,

in the fourth ale (the third n all the manuscripts), he story s referredto by Patronio: ca si de otra guisa melo dixieredes, bien cuydaria quelo dixieredes por me provar egund a prueva que el rrey izo su privadoque vos conte el otro dia en el exiemplo que vos dixe. 5 Since this refer-ence appears in the fourth tory n Argote and the third n all the manu-scripts, the privado story must, on the basis of textual evidence, beintended as either second or first.6 ue to its nature, we may be certainthat it is meant to be first, or an examination of its theme reveals thatit provides n introduction nd a justification or the entire ollection.

What then of the story and its function? The famous privado ex-emplum7 as an individual story s a good example of Juan Manuel'snarrative art; its position in the collection makes it doubly important,in that t sets the tone for the remaining tories nd establishes he neces-sary credible relationship between the Count and his advisor, Patronio.It provides the reader's introduction to the Count, who appears as apowerful figure, s evidenced by the problem he presents: that anotherman muy grande et mucho onrrado et muy poderoso has confidedin him and wished, himself etiring romworldly ife, to leave all his landto Lucanor. In presenting he problem, the Count reveals a suspicion

that t may not be quite as it appears, for he refers o his would-be bene-factor s one que da a entender ue es cuanto mio amigo; thus Lucanorappears alert and wary. He also displays a degree of humility, ince heis asking for advice. However, he is not made overly dependent on hisadvisor; Patronio prefaces his remarks by saying bien entiendo queel mio consejo non vos faga grant mengua, pero pues vuestra voluntades que vos diga lo que en esto entiendo y vos conseje sobre ello, fazerlohe luego (p. 6, 11. -9). A double function s served by this comment, nmaking Patronio himself ppear humble, while helping to maintain the

8See Josh Amador de los Rios, Historia critica de la literatura espafola, vol. IV(Madrid, 1863), pp. 592-619.

' This order is followed, for example, by the edition in the Colecci6n Austral(Buenos Aires, 1947).SDon Juan Manuel, El Libro de los enxiemplos del Conde Lucanor et de

Patronio, edited by Hermann Knust (Leipzig, 1900), p. 20, lines 14-17. Allpage and line references re to this edition.

6 It may be noted that Juan Manuel's reference n exemplum 3 is proof thathe is aware of an organization of some sort and did not intend the stories tobe separated.7The story made several appearances in European exemplary collections sinceits transmission with the Buddha birth stories in the

legendof Barlaam and

Josephat, first ntroduced to the West by St. John of Damascus. See G. R.Woodward and H. Mattingly, t. John Damascene, Barlaam and loasaph (Londonand New York, 1914).



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independence of the Count. This balance between the wise and wittyadvisor and the noble advisee is essential for the atmosphere n which theauthor wishes to present his stories.

Patronio offers is advice to the Count by means of the story f a kingand his privado. Although this king has great trust n his privado, ealousmembers f the court attempt o make him doubt his favorite's ntentions,insisting hat he seeks personal power and advancement. They suggestthat to test the young man, the king tell him he wishes to leave thekingdom forever, ntrusting ll he has to his favorite, ncluding heregencyuntil his young son is of age. As a result, the privado, confused, asksadvice of his privado -a captive in this case-who warns him that heis perhaps being tested. Patronio's story ends as the privado, on thecaptive's advice, goes to the king in mendicant's lothing announcing his

readiness to accompany his monarch nto exile, thus proving his loyalty.And Juan Manuel's story closes with Lucanor accepting the advice ofPatronio illustrated y the story, ealizing that the man who offered imgreat wealth might have been testing is loyalty n a similar manner.

This first xemplum, more than any other n the collection, tresses headvisor-advisee elationship. For the frame to be convincing, nd thusfor the occasionof the telling of the stories o be credible, he reader mustbe convinced that it is correct and appropriate for the Count to askadvice of Patronio, and that it is equally correct and appropriate forPatronio to fashion his reply in exemplary form. Steiger feels that nos

desconcierta desde un principio la singular discrepancia entre la funci6nasignada a cada uno de ellos, porque, de hecho, el que solicita el consejoes, bien mirado, el mas fuerte, l mas grande y el que domina. 8 JuanManuel obviouslywas aware of the discrepancy nd the possible objection,and his first tory s intended in part to convey his own idea as to theappropriateness f the relationship.9

The story mbodies three evelsof advisor-advisee elationship: Lucanor-Patronio; rey-privado; privado-cativo. The first wo of these pairs areessentially he same-a powerful man is advised by his favorite ounsellor.The last

pair,the

privadoand the captive, further mphasizes he advisor-

advisee relationship by illustrating t on a different ocial plane.

Arnald Steiger, El Conde Lucanor, Clavileio, XXIII (1953), p. 6.The most important impression which must emerge from the portrayal of

the two is that the Count is a man who is interested n knowing the truth,and that Patronio is one who is capable of inspiring confidence nd presentingthe truth through his advice. The name itself, atronio, is suggestive f patrem-padre, as well as of patr6n, perhaps chosen by the author for ts hint of fatherlywisdom. It would be difficult o suggest an analogue for the name of Lucanor,although Steiger mentions lux-luz, and thus a connotation of illumination. Healso mentions Lucan, the Roman poet from Cordoba, Lucanor of the Tristranlegend, and the Arabic LuqmAn (Lucamin) who was an Arabic fabulist(op. cit., p. 4). The most important aspect of the name chosen for the Countis, however, his title itself: he is made noble.



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In the structure f the story, with its three-way arallel, the two pairsof advisor and advisee in Patronio's tale must, f only by juxtaposition,reflect pon the characters f the Count and of Patronio. In the first f

these pairs, the king and his privado, the obvious comparison s that of theking to the Count. In the delineation of the king's character, we learnthat the monarch-and thus by parallel the Count-is a very astute man.He is not to be considered a weak figure or istening to the remarks fhis courtiers gainst his privado. He does not react in haste, but ratherJuan Manuel tells us that he estava con grant recelo, pero non se quisomover en ninguna cosa contra aquel su privado fasta que desto sopiesealguna verdat (p. 7, 11.6-8). And it is the duty of a ruler not to acceptanyone into his confidence ategorically; e must rather, n order to rule

wisely,e

constantlylert. The

king's subtletymerges n his manner of

implementing he muy engannosa plan of his courtiers. lyly, e gradu-ally conveys o the privado that he is tiring f worldly ife and considersthat all is vain, et entonce non le dixo mas. It is only after ome days,when the privado has become accustomed o this supposed change, that hemakes his final announcement, hus avoiding any suspicion of trickery.

The character f the privado is drawn in such a way as to complementand enhance that of Patronio. His characterization s indicative of theauthor's ubtle art. From others, we learn that the privado is held in highesteem by the king-a fact worthy f note. In his reaction to the king's

plight we see his human side; he tells the king,E quando el privado del rrey esto le oyo dizir, estrannogelo muchodiziendol' muchas maneras por que lo non devia fazer. Et entre as otrasdixol' que si esto fiziese, ue faria muy grant deservicio Dios en dexartantas gentes commo avia en el su rreyno ue tenia el bien mantenidasen paz et en justicia, et que era cierto que, luego que el dende separtiese, que avria entr'ellos muy grant bollicio et muy grandes con-tiendas, de que tomaria Dios muy grant deservicio t la tierra muy grantdapno, et quando por todo esto non lo dexase que lo devia dexar porla rreyna, u muger, et por un fijo muy pequennuelo que dexava, queera cierto que serian en muy grant aventura tan bien de los cuerposcommode las faziendas. (p. 8, lines 5-16).

He appeals to the king's concern for the souls in the kingdom first, hento concern for the queen, then for the fijo muy pequennuelo -a mosteffective nd subtle use of the diminutive, which suggests he human andfatherly ualities of both the privado, who says t, and the king, whom itis intended to affect.

With the characters f the king and the privado established, he latterchanges his role, and can now be considered to reflect more Lucanor

than Patronio since he in turn seeks advice, that of un cativo quetenia en casa, who was a philosopher nd a wise man. It is, of course,appropriate for him to seek the advice of a wise man, just as it is appro-



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priate for Count Lucanor to seek the advice of Patronio. The characterof the cativo, who now assumes the role of privado, is further nhancedby the suggestion hat he was responsible for the king's high opinion of

his favorite.10 The captive, learning of the king's announcement, en-tendio que era (the privado) caydo en grant yerros comencolo maltraermuy fieramente (p. 9, lines 24-5). His strong eaction ndicates that hefeels great personal concern for the privado, and also that he is to beconsidered highly despite his position n society, which is the lowest.

The story f the privado comes to Juan Manuel from long medievaltradition, nd in order better o understand ts author's ntent, t is usefulto compare his version of the tale with its antecedents. Although wecannot be entirely ure of the exact form of the tale which Juan Manuelcame to know, earlier versions of the story were widely circulated duringthe Middle Ages. The original tale seems to stem directly from theBarlaam and Josephat tradition. The story f these saints first ppears inthe works of St. John of Damascus in the eighth century, hen in thetenth-century ives of the Saints by Simeon Metaphrastes. It was trans-lated from he Greek to Latin not later than the twelfth entury, nd fromGreek and Latin it passed into most European languages.1 A short version,widely disseminated hroughout urope, is found in the Legenda Aureaof Jacobus de Voragine (1228?-1298), contemporary f Alfonso X.12

The version found in St. John of Damascus deals with a virtuous manwho must conceal his

Christianityn the court of his

paganking. The

good man is the king's favorite, ut has enemies n court. Once while ona royal hunt he happens upon a wounded man, whom he takes into hisown home. The wounded man says that he is a physician of wordswho may someday be of assistance to his benefactor. The good man'senemies tell the king that he is a Christian and is vying for the ear of

10 Et todas las cosas que aquel privado del rey avia de fazer et los consejosqu'el avia a dar, todo lo fazia por consejo de aquel su cativo que tenia en casa(p. 9, lines 14-17).

11 ee Woodward and Mattingly, op. cit., pp. xiv, xv. The attribution to St.John of Damascus has been disputed; see ibid., pp. ix-xi for a resume of thepolemic. Another possible route to the West was through the Arabic version,the Kitab Balauhar wa Budhasaf, or the Book of Baluahar and Budhasaf, about800 A.D. The earliest surviving version is the Book of the Perfection of theFaith and the Accomplishment of Felicity composed by Ibn Babuya of Qum(d. 991). See David Marshal Lang, The Wisdom of Balahvar, London, 1957,for a discussion of the Arabic tradition. The Spanish manuscript of the Barlaamis probably of the fifteenth entury. We have no evidence of vernacular editionsbefore the thirteenth entury.

12 Jacobus de Voragine, The Golden Legend, edited by G. Ryan and H.Ripperger (New York, 1941). The Latin version can be found in Migne's

Patrologia,Greek Series, vol. 96: the reference to this

exemplumis found in

column 879. The best Latin edition of the Legenda Aurea is by Th. Graesse(Osnabrick, 1890).



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the people, stealing their hearts. The king, wishing to learn the truth,takes their advice in announcing to his favorite that he repents of hispersecution of the Christian monks and wishes to become a Christian

himself, eaving the kingdom to enter a holy order. The Christian reactsstrongly, rying with oy:

Its (the world's) happiness and its sorrow re more frail than a shadowand, like the traces of a ship passing over the sea, or of a bird flyingthrough the air, quickly disappear. But the hope of the life to comewhich the Christians preach is certain, and as surety ure; howbeit inthis world it hath tribulation . . 13

He notes the king's evident displeasure t his reaction, nd, remembering

the physician of words,asks him how he

may escapethe

dangerhe

now senses. He is advised to crop his hair and go to the king ready toaccompany him to the monastic life. He does so, proving his loyalty,and as a result receives greater honor than before.14 This episode isalmost identical in the Legenda Aurea, although the treatment f thestory f Barlaam and Josephat s greatly bbreviated there.

Comparison reveals that Juan Manuel's alterations n the traditionalaccount point to those aspects which he wishes to stress. His story s farfrom translation, ut rather s evidence that he was a master at usingexisting tradition for his own purposes. The main alterations re three.

In Patronio's story he king is no longer pagan, eliminating he elementof religious conflict which was the reason for the inclusion of the accountin the life of a saint.15 The king thus becomes a more universal figure,and the story cquires more universal value. Also, the allegation of theprivado's disloyalty s altered in two ways: it concerns material goodsand power entirely n the Lucanor version, nd it is completely nfounded,whereas in the original the good man's enemies were partially correctin their accusation, n asserting hat the king's favorite was a Christian.The third significant modification akes the form of a substitution: he

physician f words, wounded man encountered pparently by chance,is replaced by the cativo, who had long been the preferred dvisor of theprivado because of his demonstrated ood counsel. The implication ofChristian charity nd its reward found in the original account is thusreplaced by a deliberately stablished dvisor-advisee elationship.

Although the stories in the collection appear to follow no specifiedorder, and although the simple frame situation functions ndependently

18 St. John of Damascus, op. cit., p. 43.Ibid., pp. 37-47.

1 This point is noted by Diego Marfn, El elemento oriental en D. JuanManuel, Comparative Literature, vol. VII, 1955,p. 5, who says concerning thetreatment f the story hat D. Juan Manuel, como siempre, maneja el materialmas artisticamente, on deliberada sencillez de construcci6n.



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for each of the stories rather than providing thematic ontinuity, uanManuel's work differs rom most other medieval collections of exemplain that the author establishes an atmosphere which is essential to the

proper understanding f his stories. This is provided by the privado story,which functions s an introduction o the entire collection and, due toJuan Manuel's skillful treatment, rovides a justification or the advisor-advisee relationship upon which the collection depends.

University f Massachusetts HARLANSTURM

Juan Ruiz's Defence of LoveAn article which recently wrote n collaboration with Mr A. D. Deyer-

mond set out to demonstrate he Archpriest f Hita's hitherto unnoticedliterary ebt in the Libro de buen amor to the early fourteenth-centuryprose work El libro del cavallero Zifar.1 We showed that Juan Ruizalmost certainly ased his fable of the Ass and the Lap Dog (st. 1401-08)on the version ontained n the Zifar (ch. 53), and that both works ontainthe same unusual form of the modesty topos, a significant umber ofidentical commonplaces-both earned sententiae and popular frases pro-verbiales-and several close verbal correspondences. In all cases theseseemed to us to be straightforward eminiscences f or borrowings rom heZifar. My purpose in this note, however, s to suggest hat at three pointsin the LBA the Archpriest ot only uses material from he Zifar, but alsosubtly parodies his source, nd in so doing underlines his own moral mes-sage in the paradoxical fashion that is so typical of him.

It would be difficult o find two works more distinct n their generaltone than the LBA and the Zifar. Although personally egard the Arch-priest's book as fundamentally erious, the overwhelming mpression tleaveson the reader s

undoubtedlyne of brilliant xuberance nd robust,

earthy humour. It has been amply demonstrated n two recent studiesdevoted to Juan Ruiz's mastery f irony nd parody that very ittle escapeshis joyous iconoclasm.2The predominant one of the Zifar, on the other

1A. D. Deyermond and Roger M. Walker, A Further Vernacular Source forthe Libro de buen amor (to appear in the Bulletin of Hispanic Studies).

Anthony N. Zahareas, The Art of Juan Ruiz, Archpriest of Hita (Madrid,1965), deals at length with both irony and parody; A. D. Deyermond, SomeAspects of Parody in the Libro de buen amor (to be published shortly nLibro de Buen Amor Studies, ed. G. B. Gybbon-Monypenny London, Tamesis

Books]), adds much to our understanding of the Archpriest's parodic methodand to our appreciation of the diversity of his victims. I am grateful to MrDeyermond for allowing me to consult the typescript f his article.

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the conde lucanor: the first ejemplo

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