El Cratilo cervantino, rey septentrional y criado real de Vandalucía

• Main Author: Colahan, Clark
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: Spanish
• Published: 2019
• Subjects: Sulpicia; Miguel de Luna; historiografía morisca; neo-goticismo; Arctic; Cervantes; Duda; Guardián; Hielo; Noruega; Norway
• Online Access: https://dialnet.unirioja.es/servlet/oaiart?codigo=7014512

Recent criticism locates Cervantes’ fictional kingdom of Bituania along the north coast of Norway. The region’s legends, as recorded by historians such as Olaus Magnus, contain elements that appear in the Persiles —kings tam-ing powerful horses and rescuing ships trapped in arctic ice, pirates wintering on their vessels— but the name Cratilo has never been used among Norwegian royalty. Where, then, did Cervantes find it in the context of Scandinavia and why did he give it to the exemplary foster father of his narrative’s princess Sulpicia? It is promi-nent in the Morisco Miguel de Luna’s La verdadera historia del rey Rodrigo, which Cervantes certainly knew and that was written to refute the reigning Hapsburgs’ neo-Gothicism. Luna’s character is a Visigoth and the foster father of another prin-cess, Egilona. Both young women become the victims of aggression by plebian men, but in each case they are saved by a heroic young nobleman; Persiles rescues Sulpicia, a Moorish general Egilona. Both princesses fall in love with her savior, but are ultimately thwarted by more powerful political/narrative forces. In sum, the Nor-wegian Cratilo makes Cervantes’ case that Gothic, i.e., Scandinavian, morality is excellent, not the moral decay that Luna attributes to Visigoths and the Vatican to northern Protestants. La crítica reciente ubica el ficticio reino cervantino de Bituania sobre la costa norteña de Noruega. Las leyendas de la región, recogidas por historiadores como Olaus Magnus, contienen elementos que figuran en el Persiles —reyes que doman caballos potentes y rescatan tripulaciones marinas atrapadas en el hielo ártico, piratas que invernan en sus barcos— pero el nombre de Cratilo nunca se ha utilizado entre la realeza noruega. ¿Dónde, entonces, lo encontró Cervantes en el contexto de Escandinavia y por qué se lo confirió al ejemplar guardián de Sulpicia, la princesa de su narrativa? Se destaca el nombre en La verdadera historia del rey Rodrigo del morisco Miguel de Luna, obra que sin duda conocía Cervantes y que ...