The ("General History") is a universal history written on the initiative of Alfonso X of Castile (1252–1284), known as (the Wise). The work was written in

Old Spanish Old Spanish (, , ; ), also known as Old Castilian or Medieval Spanish, refers to the varieties of Ibero-Romance spoken predominantly in Castile and environs during the Middle Ages. The earliest, longest, and most famous literary composition in O ...

, a novelty in this historiographical genre, up until then regularly written in Latin. The work intended to narrate the world’s history from the beginnings (Creation, as narrated in the

Bible The Bible is a collection of religious texts that are central to Christianity and Judaism, and esteemed in other Abrahamic religions such as Islam. The Bible is an anthology (a compilation of texts of a variety of forms) originally writt ...

) until the time of Alfonso, but it was never completed. The extant work covers from the creation until the birth of the

virgin Mary Mary was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Saint Joseph, Joseph and the mother of Jesus. She is an important figure of Christianity, venerated under titles of Mary, mother of Jesus, various titles such as Perpetual virginity ...

, in the biblical section, and until year zero, in the history of the non-Jewish peoples. For the writing of this huge work, many older books were used as sources. Most of them were written in

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

, but there were French and Arabic sources, as well.

Structure

The ''General estoria'' is divided into six parts (“partes”), the last of which was never completed. This structure was conceived to match the schema of the six ages of history as explained by

Augustine of Hippo Augustine of Hippo ( , ; ; 13 November 354 – 28 August 430) was a theologian and philosopher of Berber origin and the bishop of Hippo Regius in Numidia, Roman North Africa. His writings deeply influenced the development of Western philosop ...

: the first part would have covered the facts happened between the creation and the

great flood A flood myth or a deluge myth is a myth in which a great flood, usually sent by a deity or deities, destroys civilization, often in an act of divine retribution. Parallels are often drawn between the flood waters of these myths and the primeva ...

(first age), the second part would have narrated the history between the great flood and the birth of

Abraham Abraham (originally Abram) is the common Hebrews, Hebrew Patriarchs (Bible), patriarch of the Abrahamic religions, including Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. In Judaism, he is the founding father who began the Covenant (biblical), covenanta ...

(second age), the third part would have covered the history from this moment until the reign of

David David (; , "beloved one") was a king of ancient Israel and Judah and the third king of the United Monarchy, according to the Hebrew Bible and Old Testament. The Tel Dan stele, an Aramaic-inscribed stone erected by a king of Aram-Dam ...

(third age), the fourth part until the

Babylonian captivity The Babylonian captivity or Babylonian exile was the period in Jewish history during which a large number of Judeans from the ancient Kingdom of Judah were forcibly relocated to Babylonia by the Neo-Babylonian Empire. The deportations occurred ...

(fourth age), the fifth part until the birth of

Jesus Jesus (AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the Jesus in Chris ...

(fifth age), and the sixth from this moment until the reign of Alfonso X. But following the intended division of one world age narrated in each part, the first books would have been very short, and the last unmanageable. This led to the division of the work in parts (called in

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

“partes”) of similar length, the first covering the first and second ages and nearly the first half of the third, the second narrating the second half of the third age and the first of the fourth, the third “parte” covering the second half of the fourth age, and the fourth and fifth parts narrating the fifth age of the world. From the sixth “parte” only the first pages are known, possibly the only ever written. To achieve the ambitious aim of narrating the whole of mankind’s history, many sources and a complicated structure were needed to relate both the Jewish and the non-Jewish history. The redactors of the ''General estoria'' were able to ascertain which events happened at the same time in different civilisations thanks to a work by

Eusebius of Caesarea Eusebius of Caesarea (30 May AD 339), also known as Eusebius Pamphilius, was a historian of Christianity, exegete, and Christian polemicist from the Roman province of Syria Palaestina. In about AD 314 he became the bishop of Caesarea Maritima. ...

, the second part of his ''Chronicle'', known as ''Canons'' (''Chronikoi kanones''). They set then to work, narrating first some years from the Jewish history (drawn mainly from the

Flavius Josephus Flavius Josephus (; , ; ), born Yosef ben Mattityahu (), was a History of the Jews in the Roman Empire, Roman–Jewish historian and military leader. Best known for writing ''The Jewish War'', he was born in Jerusalem—then part of the Judaea ...

, and

Petrus Comestor Peter Comestor (, "Peter the Eater"; ; died 22 October 1178) was a 12th-century Kingdom of France, French Theology, theological writer and university teacher. Life Peter Comestor was born in Troyes. Although the surname (Latin language, Lati ...

), then all things happened in the same years in other cultural circles, such as

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

Carthage Carthage was an ancient city in Northern Africa, on the eastern side of the Lake of Tunis in what is now Tunisia. Carthage was one of the most important trading hubs of the Ancient Mediterranean and one of the most affluent cities of the classic ...

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

. For these contents, the sources are more numerous. The

Alfonsine Alfonsine ( or ''Agl'infulsèn'') is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the province of Ravenna in the Italian region of Emilia-Romagna. It is located east of Bologna and northwest of Ravenna. It is located between the Senio River and the Adriat ...

redactors did not maintain a strict distinction between historical and non-historical works, and treated mythological material, such as

Ovid Publius Ovidius Naso (; 20 March 43 BC – AD 17/18), known in English as Ovid ( ), was a Augustan literature (ancient Rome), Roman poet who lived during the reign of Augustus. He was a younger contemporary of Virgil and Horace, with whom he i ...

’s ''

Metamorphoses The ''Metamorphoses'' (, , ) is a Latin Narrative poetry, narrative poem from 8 Common Era, CE by the Ancient Rome, Roman poet Ovid. It is considered his ''Masterpiece, magnum opus''. The poem chronicles the history of the world from its Cre ...

'', as history. Therein they were guided by the euhemeristic interpretation of myths, following which they thought gods and goddesses were in reality old kings, queens and heroes, worshipped as deities after their deaths. The second unit in the organisation of the work, following the "parte" (part), is the one that wears the name of a biblical book: for example, the section in the first “parte” labelled as Éxodo (Exodus) contains the translation (with glosses and commentaries) of this book from the

''and'' the history of all things happened at the same time in the whole world (among them, the beginnings of

Athens Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...

). This textual behaviour begins to waver in the fourth “parte”, which covers the first half of the fifth age, after the

(590 a. C.). Once the Jewish people have lost their “señorío” (political independence), the chronology is no longer guided by a Jewish ruler, but by the ruler of the most important empire (i. e. first

Babylon Babylon ( ) was an ancient city located on the lower Euphrates river in southern Mesopotamia, within modern-day Hillah, Iraq, about south of modern-day Baghdad. Babylon functioned as the main cultural and political centre of the Akkadian-s ...

, then

Macedonia Macedonia (, , , ), most commonly refers to: * North Macedonia, a country in southeastern Europe, known until 2019 as the Republic of Macedonia * Macedonia (ancient kingdom), a kingdom in Greek antiquity * Macedonia (Greece), a former administr ...

and

); the name of the biblical books is likewise no more a cover for all world happenings of a period, but contains only the translation of that book, whereas the name of a “heathen” (gentil) ruler (e. g. Nabucodonosor /

Nebuchadnezzar Nebuchadnezzar II, also Nebuchadrezzar II, meaning "Nabu, watch over my heir", was the second king of the Neo-Babylonian Empire, ruling from the death of his father Nabopolassar in 605 BC to his own death in 562 BC. Often titled Nebuchadnezzar ...

) gives their title to textual units where other material is also contained. Inside the biblical books or the section dedicated to the reign of a ruler, the following unit is the “libro” (book), which comprises from four or five until 80 or 90 “capítulos” (chapters). Not all biblical books are divided into minor books, many are directly organised in “capítulos” (the first procedure is usual for the First and Second parts, the last for the Third and Fourth). The non-biblical history is much too important to the Alphonsine redactors to occupy only a couple of chapters at the end of a biblical narration, and since the second Part, the outstanding features or figures of the non-biblical world are often given a continuous spell of hundreds of chapters where only the history of this figure (e. g.

Hercules Hercules (, ) is the Roman equivalent of the Greek divine hero Heracles, son of Jupiter and the mortal Alcmena. In classical mythology, Hercules is famous for his strength and for his numerous far-ranging adventures. The Romans adapted the Gr ...

Romulus and Remus In Roman mythology, Romulus and (, ) are twins in mythology, twin brothers whose story tells of the events that led to the Founding of Rome, founding of the History of Rome, city of Rome and the Roman Kingdom by Romulus, following his frat ...

) or historical fact (e. g.

Trojan War The Trojan War was a legendary conflict in Greek mythology that took place around the twelfth or thirteenth century BC. The war was waged by the Achaeans (Homer), Achaeans (Ancient Greece, Greeks) against the city of Troy after Paris (mytho ...

, Theban War) are treated. These “estorias unadas” (united or unitary stories) are situated at the end of the reign of the current Jewish ruler (following whose time the Alphonsines order, as has been explained, the chronology).

Sources and source treatment

Prior to beginning the work on the ''General estoria'', sources were thought of, looked for, copied, and translated. Probably not all desired works were found; on the other hand, many historical or mythological works from the Antiquity were not widely known in the Middle Ages (e. g.

Homer Homer (; , ; possibly born ) was an Ancient Greece, Ancient Greek poet who is credited as the author of the ''Iliad'' and the ''Odyssey'', two epic poems that are foundational works of ancient Greek literature. Despite doubts about his autho ...

). Among the most important sources are the

(''Historia Scholastica''),

('' Antiquitates Iudaicae'', not the original Greek, but a Latin version),

(''Canons'' or ''Chronikoi kanones''),

(''

'' and '' Heroides''),

Lucan Marcus Annaeus Lucanus (3 November AD 39 – 30 April AD 65), better known in English as Lucan (), was a Roman poet, born in Corduba, Hispania Baetica (present-day Córdoba, Spain). He is regarded as one of the outstanding figures of the Imper ...

(''

Pharsalia ''De Bello Civili'' (; ''On the Civil War''), more commonly referred to as the ''Pharsalia'' (, neuter plural), is a Latin literature, Roman Epic poetry, epic poem written by the poet Lucan, detailing the Caesar's civil war, civil war between Ju ...

''), Pliny (''Historia naturalis''), Flavius Eutropius (''Breviarius historiae Romanae''),

Orosius Paulus Orosius (; born 375/385 – 420 AD), less often Paul Orosius in English, was a Roman priest, historian and theologian, and a student of Augustine of Hippo. It is possible that he was born in '' Bracara Augusta'' (now Braga, Portugal), ...

(''Historiae adversus paganos''),

Geoffrey of Monmouth Geoffrey of Monmouth (; ; ) was a Catholic cleric from Monmouth, Wales, and one of the major figures in the development of British historiography and the popularity of tales of King Arthur. He is best known for his chronicle '' The History of ...

(''

Historia regum Britanniae (''The History of the Kings of Britain''), originally called (''On the Deeds of the Britons''), is a fictitious account of British history, written around 1136 by Geoffrey of Monmouth. It chronicles the lives of the List of legendary kings o ...

''), the '' Historia de preliis'', the ''Histoire ancienne jusqu’à César'', probably the ''Fet des Romains'' and several Old French ''romans''. Not only the number of the sources, but also the scope of their utilisation is astounding: for example, more than half the verses of the ''

'' are contained in the ''General estoria'', together with lengthy explanations and allegorical interpretations drawn from several glossators; two thirds of the '' Heroides'' are inserted in the text in the suitable moment (Second and Third parts), and the whole of the translation of

’s ''

'' is contained in the Fifth part. After being translated, the different sources were combined in the historical relation. The sources treating the same fact were compared, and their similarities and differences carefully exposed; the narration of some years of the Jewish history always precedes, as said above, the part of the text dedicated to the happenings of the same period in other civilisations. Translation and commentary, facts and interpretation go hand in hand, completed by recapitulations and analogies with contemporary realities. Most of the content of the sources is acceptable for the Alphonsine redactors, and censorship or modifications due to a wish to avoid some thing are not frequent. Nevertheless, it is possible to find some places where this does occur: a very poetic tone appears to be sometimes objectionable, as personifications, metaphors or apostrophes are often not translated; the physical transformations narrated in the ''Metamorphoses'' need to be allegorically interpreted; some character traits (cruelty, doubts) are eliminated from the description of kings or powerful men and women.

Manuscripts and editions

More than forty manuscripts of the ''General estoria'' are known. Given the dimensions of the work, they only copy one part or, sometimes, two half parts. Only the First and the Fourth Part are copied in currently extant manuscripts from the royal

scriptorium A scriptorium () was a writing room in medieval European monasteries for the copying and illuminating of manuscripts by scribes. The term has perhaps been over-used—only some monasteries had special rooms set aside for scribes. Often they ...

, the rest are only known through later copies. Several of these later copies don't contain a whole part, but a selection, normally either the biblical or the non-biblical contents, and sometimes a copy contains e. g. the biblical content of two parts. For the Fifth part, no manuscript is known that copies the whole text: three contain the non-biblical section, three only part of the non-biblical section (only the translation of ''

''), and one the biblical section. It is possible than this part was never quite completed and the different materials combined in one narration. The First and Second parts of the work were edited and published in 1930 and 1957-1961 by Solalinde and Solalinde, Kasten and Oelschläger. Several scholars have published transcriptions of the text of some manuscripts and partial editions, which contributed to the better knowledge of the work. 2009, a team of philologists published the whole of the work.See references under Sánchez-Prieto. Since 2016, an international team has been working on a digital edition, with wide-ranging scholarly notes, and translation into English, through the projec
"The Confluence of Religious Cultures in Medieval Historiography"

Notes

References

*Ashton, J. R., “Putative Heroides Codex AX as a Source of Alfonsine Literature”, Romance Philology, 3 (1949–50), 275-289. *Eisenberg, Daniel, “The General Estoria: Sources and Source Treatment”, Zeitschrift für romanische Philologie, 89 (1973), 206-227. *Gormly, F. The Use of the Bible in Representative Works of Medieval Spanish Literature, 1250-1300. *Fernández-Ordóñez, Inés, Las ‘Estorias’ de Alfonso el Sabio, Madrid, Istmo, 1992. *Fraker, Charles F., “The Fet des romains and the Primera crónica general”, ''Hispanic Review'', 46 (1978), 199-220, reed. in Ch. F. Fraker, ''The Scope of History. Studies in the Historiography of Alfonso el Sabio'', University of Michigan Press, Ann Arbor, 1996, pp. 133–154. *García Solalinde, Antonio (ed.), Alfonso X el Sabio, General Estoria. Primera Parte, Madrid, Centro de Estudios Históricos, 1930. *García Solalinde, Antonio, Lloyd A. Kasten, Victor R. B. Oelschläger (eds.), Alfonso X el Sabio, General Estoria. Segunda Parte, Madrid, C.S.I.C., 1957, 1961. *Gómez Redondo, Fernando, “La corte letrada de Alfonso X (1256-1284)”, ''Historia de la prosa medieval castellana'', I, Madrid, Cátedra, 1998, pp. 423–852. *González Rolán, Tomás y Pilar Saquero Suárez-Somonte (eds.), Alfonso X el Sabio, ''La historia novelada de Alejandro Magno. Edición acompañada del original latino de la Historia de preliis (recensión J²)'', Madrid, Universidad Complutense, 1982. *Jonxis-Henkemans, Wilhelmina (ed.), ''Text and Concordance of the “General Estoria VI”. Toledo ms. 43-20'', Madison, Hispanic Seminary of Medieval Studies, 1993 (microfichas). *Jonxis-Henkemans, Wilhelmina (ed.), ''Text and Concordance of the “General Estoria V”. Escorial ms. R.I.10'', Madison, Hispanic Seminary of Medieval Studies, 1994 (microfichas). *Jonxis-Henkemans, Wilhelmina, Lloyd A. Kasten y John Nitti (eds.), ''The Electronic Texts of the Prose Works of Alfonso X, el Sabio'', Madison, Hispanic Seminary of Medieval Studies, 1997 (CD-ROM). *Kasten, Lloyd A., “The utilization of the Historia Regum Britanniae by Alfonso X”, ''Hispanic Review'', 38 (1970), special issue (5) “Studies in memory of Ramón Menéndez Pidal”, pp. 97–114. *Kasten, Lloyd y Wilhelmina Jonxis-Henkemans (eds.), ''Text and Concordance of the “General Estoria II”. BNE ms. 10273'', Madison, Hispanic Seminary of Medieval Studies, 1993 (microfichas). *London, G. H. y Leslie, R. J., “A Thirteenth-Century Spanish Version of Ovid’s ‘Pyramus and Thisbe’”, ''Modern Language Review'', 50 (1955), 147-155. *Parker, Margaret A., “Juan de Mena’s Ovidian material: an Alfonsine influence?”, ''Bulletin of Hispanic Studies'', 55 (1978), 5-17. *Pérez Navarro, J. (ed.), ''General Estoria, Cuarta parte. Libro del Eclesiástico'', Padua, Università di Padova, 1997. *Sánchez-Prieto Borja, Pedro y Bautista Horcajada Diezma (eds.), Alfonso X el Sabio, ''General Estoria. Tercera Parte (IV. Libros de Salomón: Cantar de los Cantares, Proverbios, Sabiduría y Eclesiastés)'', Madrid, Gredos, 1994. *Sánchez-Prieto, Pedro (dir.), Alfonso X el Sabio, ''General Estoria. Primera parte'', ed. Pedro Sánchez-Prieto; Alfonso X el Sabio, ''General Estoria. Segunda parte'', ed. Belén Almeida; Alfonso X el Sabio, ''General Estoria. Tercera parte'', ed. Pedro Sánchez-Prieto; Alfonso X el Sabio, ''General Estoria. Cuarta parte'', ed. Inés Fernández-Ordóñez y Raúl Orellana; Alfonso X el Sabio, ''General Estoria. Quinta parte'', I (biblical history), ed. Elena Trujillo; II (non-biblical history), ed. Belén Almeida; Alfonso X el Sabio, ''General Estoria. Sexta parte'', ed. Pedro Sánchez Prieto y Belén Almeida, Madrid, Fundación José Antonio de Castro, 2009.

External links

Selections in Spanish and English (pedagogical edition) with introduction, notes, and bibliography in ''Open Iberia/América'' (open access teaching anthology)
{{Authority control Old Spanish literature Universal history books Alfonso X of Castile 13th-century history books