Sin, Vice, and Bad Behavior in Early Spanish Literature

Sponsoring Organization(s)

Texas Medieval Association (TEMA)

Organizer Name

Paul E. Larson

Organizer Affiliation

Baylor Univ.

Presider Name

Carlos Hawley

Presider Affiliation

North Dakota State Univ.

Paper Title 1

Vice (Cantigas de santa Maria), Sin (Libro de buen amor) and Bad Behavior (Conde Lucanor)

Presenter 1 Name

Joseph T. Snow

Presenter 1 Affiliation

Michigan State Univ.

Paper Title 2

Serpents, Incest, Serial Killers, Blind Singers, and Snake Oil Salesmen: Toward an Oral Traditional Ecology of the Penitencia del rey Rodrigo Ballads

Presenter 2 Name

Alex McNair

Presenter 2 Affiliation

Baylor Univ.

Paper Title 3

The "Good Book of (Mis)Behavior," or, Men Behaving Badly

Presenter 3 Name

Abraham Quintanar

Presenter 3 Affiliation

Dickinson College

Paper Title 4

Sex Sells: A Medieval Tool to Teach a Moral Lesson

Presenter 4 Name

Jaime Leaños

Presenter 4 Affiliation

Univ. of Nevada-Reno

Start Date

17-5-2015 8:30 AM

Session Location

Valley III Stinson Lounge

Description

This session will examine different forms of behaving badly: gambling, sexual desire, lying, stealing, and gratuitous wicked behavior in early Spanish literature—cantigas, Libro de buen amor, El Conde Lucanor, for example. These works demonstrate a small scattering of the sin, vice and bad behavior that functions at the heart of many medieval Spanish works, many with an avowed didactic thrust. These works strive tirelessly, even though narrating human shortcomings, to model exemplary social and religious behaviors, and to advocate a life free from the eternally threatening flames of damnation. Indeed, the universality of unacceptable behaviors may be one of the clearest characteristics of the broader canvas of medieval humane letters in Spain and throughout Europe.

Paul Larson