The Task of the Cleric: Cartography, Translation, and Economics in Thirteenth-Century Iberia 9781442621817

Table of contents :
Content
Acknowledgments
Illustrations
Introduction
1. The Cleric’s Compass
2. Bricks and Mortar
3. Coins on the Desk
Afterword
Appendix
Notes
Bibliography
Index

Citation preview

THE TASK OF THE CLERIC Cartography, Translation, and Economics in Thirteenth-Century Iberia

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The Task of the Cleric Cartography, Translation, and Economics in Thirteenth-Century Iberia

SIMONE PINET

UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO PRESS Toronto Buffalo London

© University of Toronto Press 2016 Toronto Buffalo London www. utppublishing.com Printed in fhe U.S.A.

El Printed on acid-free, 100% post-consumer recycled paper wifh vegetablebased inks.

Library and Archives Canada Cataloguing in Publication

Pinet, Simone, author The task of fhe cleric :cartography, translation, and economics in thirteenfhcentury Iberia/Simone Pinet. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-1-4426-4993-4 (cloth) 1. Libro de Alexandre. 2. Alexander, fhe Great, 356 B.C.-323 B.C.- RomancesHistory and criticism. 3. Romances, Spanish- History and criticism. 4. Geography and literature- Iberian Peninsula- History -13fh century. 5. Cartography- Iberian Peninsula- History -13fh century. 6. Politics and literature- Iberian Peninsula- History -13fh century. 7. Economics and literature- Iberian Peninsula- History -13fh century. 8. Clergy- Iberian Peninsula- History -13fh century. 9. Iberian Peninsula- LiteraturesTranslations- History and criticism. I. Title. PQ6411.L32P55 2016

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C2016-900259 -4

This book has been published wifh fhe help of a subvention granted by fhe Hull Memorial Publication Fund of Comell University. University of Toronto Press acknowledges fhe financial assistance to its publishing program of fhe Canada Council for fhe Arts and fhe Ontario Arts Council, an agency of fhe Government of Ontario.

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Contents

Acknowledgments Illustrations

vii

ix

Introduction

3

1 The Cleric's Corn pass 2 Bricks and Mortar 59 3 Coins on the Desk Afterward

134

Appendix 137 Notes

143

Bibliography Index

185

173

95

13

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Acknowledgments

As books tend to do, this one acquired debts to a large number of people. I would like to thank especially Emily Apter, Henry Berlin, Josiah Blackmore, Oiane Brown, Marina Brownlee, Joshua Clover, Jean Dangler, Maria Judith Feliciano, Michelle Hamilton, Elisabeth Hodges, Jacques Lezra, Albert Lloret, Julia Lupton, Oscar Martin, Ignacio Navarrete, Ken Reinhard, Jesus Rodriguez-Velasco, and Michael Solomon. I also thank the students of two iterations of the course I taught in which I rehearsed the ideas for the book. I am fortunate to have had brilliant students in both; the finished piece of writing does not do justice to their insight, creativity, and spontaneity. I have presented arguments from this book at different professional conferences and colloquia and am grateful for comments and suggestions from my always generous colleagues, especially Frank Dominguez, Emily Francomano, Clara Pascual-Argente, and Barbara Weissberger. At Cornell I thank my friends and colleagues for their wit, rigour, and laughter, especially, in no particular order, Cynthia Robinson, Rachel Prentice, Maria Fernandez, Liz Anker, Jeannine Routier, Pedro Erber, Richard Klein, Jonathan Culler, Edmundo Paz-Soldan, Lament Dubreuil, Maria Antonia Garces, Laurent Ferri, Pietro Pucci, Brett de Bary, and Tim Murray. Generous support for research and writing came in the form of a fellowship from the John S. Guggenheim Foundation and a grant from the Program for Cultural Cooperation of Spain's Ministry of Education. I am grateful for the erudition and helpfulness of the staff of the Real Biblioteca del Escorial, especially Jose Luis del Valle Merino, its director; the Biblioteca Nacional de Espafia; the Archivo de la Corona de Arag6n; and the Real Academia de la Historia. A fellowship from the

viii Acknowledgments Society for the Humanities at Cornell provided the intellectual energy and time for researching and writing chapter 2 in particular. From that wonderful group I'd like to especially mention Chris Nealon, Meg Wesling, Charles Kronengold, C.J. Wan-ling Wee, and Rachel Prentice. Lucas and Manu walked La Rioja with me looking for arches and ghosts, and waited outside libraries (and churches, and monasteries), always asking the right questions and demanding simple answers. To them is owed any clarity this book has to offer. My parents listen patiently and encouragingly to what I inevitably lecture them on. As always, I thank them for their support. Very preliminary or exploratory versions for what would become chapters 1 and 2 were presented at conferences in Spain and published in the proceedings ("Sera todo en cabo a un lugar: Cartograflas del Libra de Alexandre," in Actes del X Congres internacional del'Associaci6 Hispanica de Literatura Medieval, ed. Rafael Alemany, Josep Lluis Martos and Josep Miguel Manzanaro [Valencia: Institut Universitari de Filologia Valenciana, 2005], 1321-34; "Babel historiada: Un episodio del Libra de Alexandre," in Literatura y conocimiento medieval: Aetas de las VIII Jornadas Medievales, ed. Lillian von der Walde, Concepci6n Company, and Aurelio Gonzalez [Mexico City: Universidad Nacional Aut6noma de Mexico, Universidad Aut6noma Metropolitana, El Colegio de Mexico, 2003], 371-89). A partial version of chapter 3 appeared as "Between the Seas: Apolonio and Alexander," in In and Of the Mediterranean: Medieval and Early Modern Iberian Studies, edited by Michelle M. Hamilton and Nuria Silleras-Fernandez (Nashville: Vanderbilt University Press, 2015), 75-98; an early partial version appeared as "Towards a Political Economy of the Libra de Alexandre," diacritics 36.3 (2oo6): 44-63. I thank the editors for their kindness in allowing their use here. Finally, I thank Suzanne Rancourt, whose guidance and sense of humour have been unexpected gifts. A Bruno, siempre.

Illustrations

x Illustrations

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