A watershed in Berceo studies.
In this volume the author presents a fresh look at the whole corpus of works traditionally ascribed to Gonzalo de Berceo, and examines the security of the attribution of these works to the thirteenth-century Riojan poet. A detailed examination is offered of the varied manuscript traditions of the works that make up the corpus (with particular emphasis paid to the vagaries of scribal copying and the varied scribes who did this copying), together with an in-depth study of their place within the versification of early cuaderna vía, with particular consideration given to the use of dieresis and apocopation. The poet's intellectual, ideological and aesthetic shaping of his worksis examined with an emphasis upon his ecclesiastical interests, his learning, his interest in Canon Law, his attitude to his sources and a discussion of his biography and allegiances.
This book marks a watershed within thestudy of Gonzalo de Berceo and the works associated with him, and will have relevance to all subsequent editions and studies of the poet.
ANTHONY JOHN LAPPIN is a lecturer in Spanish at the University of Manchester.