Item talk:Q21763

Contenido Map of the County of Castile after 932 as depicted in the Poema de Fernán González -- Map of the Iberian Peninsula in 1252 -- From the Islamic invasion to the reign of Alfonso X: a chronology -- The dynasty of the counts of Castile in the early tenth century -- The rulers of Castile (House of Burgundy): 1126-1284 -- The tale of Fernán González -- Inventing the past: a tenth-century hero in a thirteenth-century context -- Men of learning and juglares: the art of the mester de clerecía and the use of stylistic features associated with oral poetry -- Kingship and the social order, conquest and crusade: the themes of the Poema de Fernán González -- Note on the Spanish text -- The translation -- Select bibliography -- The Poema de Fernán González -- Commentary.

Summary 'Fernán González 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 (though in essence erroneously) accepted to have played a strategic role in achieving independence for Castile and freeing it from dominance by the kingdom of León. The Poema de Fernán González was composed (by an unknown author) in the mid-thirteenth century as an enduring celebration of his triumphs and an account of his life and deeds, intertwining fact and legend. This new translation is set against a detailed study of the historical context of the Castilian conflicts and a factual account of the life and achievements of Fernán González. The political situation of the time in which the poem was composed is also considered, as are the manner in which the ’history’ it espouses came to be handed down and elaborated over three centuries, the possibility of a pre-existing rich oral tradition surrounding this iconic figure, and the sources employed by the poet in constructing the poem.' --Cubierta