Subtitulo : The Many Lives of a Saint's Life

Description:
The legend of St. Catherine of Alexandria was enormously popular in Europe during the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, and her story was told many times in verse and prose narratives in several languages, and in painting and sculpture. Spanish redactions of her story are numerous and varied but have received much less attention than those in other languages. They appear in santorales but also in independent versions, some by well-known authors. In Spain, the transmission of the story begins in the late Middle Ages and extends to the twentieth century.

The Preface describes the adventure of collecting a representative sample of St. Catherine narratives, and the General Introduction explores the genre of hagiography and traces the development of the story from its origins to its manifestations in several languages in medieval Europe. An example of the category of hagiographic narrative known as the virgin martyr story, St. Catherine’s has elements common to the other legends, but features several that are distinctive.

An Anthology of Texts presents reading editions of prose versions of the St. Catherine story from santorales and early printed editions; a chapter of a catalogue of illustrious women by Alvaro de Luna; two anonymous romances; poems by Teresa de Jesus, Lope de Vega, and Sor Juana Ines de la Cruz; excerpts from a lengthy prose life; one scene from each of the fi ve acts of a beautiful Jesuit tragicomedia; and a cuadro religioso of Emilia Pardo Bazan. The final section, Reading the St. Catherine Story, is a survey of extensive critical treatment of the legend. A Glossary provides modern Spanish equivalents of words that may puzzle those who are unaccustomed to reading medieval texts.

The various Spanish retellings of the legend of St. Catherine of Alexandria have diff erent emphases, and some feature elements that appear to be unique. In all of them, the story is colorful, dramatic, and compelling and has appeal for diverse audiences.


CONTENTS:

Preface….7

General Introduction….11

Anthology of Texts

A Castilian Manuscript Santorales…..35
- ‘Santa Caterina,’ Lazaro Galdiano MS 419…..39
- ‘La historia de santa Caterina, bienaventurada virgen y martir,’ Biblioteca Nacional de Madrid MS 12689….44

Sixteenth-Century Printed Santorales….65
- ‘La vida de santa Catarina de Alejandria, virgen y martir ilustrisima’ A Santoral of Alonso de Villegas….68

A Castilian Catalogue Compilation…..81
- ‘De Elisabeth, madre de san Juan Bautista y de Pelaya, y de Cassia y de santa Caterina’ Alvaro de Luna, Libro de las claras e virtuosas mugeres….82

Medieval and Renaissance Poems….89
- Romances Tradicionales….90
- Santa Teresa de Jesus, ‘A la martir santa Catalina’….92
- Lope de Vega, ‘Romance a Santa Catalina’….93

Encyclopedic and Artistic Redactions
- The Narrative in Verse of Felipe Ponce…..95
- The Ponce Narrative in Context…..102
- The Dramatic St. Catherine….104
- Tragicomedia de santa Caterina…..111
- The Comedia in Context…..153

Two Female-authored Accounts of St. Catherine of Alexandria….157
- Sor Juana’s St. Catherine…..157
- Villancicos, ‘Santa Catarina’…..159
- St. Catherine in Twentieth-Century Prose….179
- Pardo Bazan’s Cuadro religioso, ‘Santa Catalina’…..180
- The St. Caterine of Dulce dueño…..184
- In Conclusion….187

Reading the St. Catherine Story…..189

Glossary….195

Works Cited…..199