Abstract This research compares and contrasts the social values articulated by "The Song of Roland" (anonymous), Fernando de Rojas "Celestina" and selected works of Voltaire. The research sets forth the context in which the various works emerged and discusses the extent to which "Roland" reinforces prevailing social values, whereas "Celestina" and Voltaire's "Zadig" depart from the views of social conservatism of their respective periods.
From the Paper "There is in Song of Roland very little irony, except the irony of situation in the fact that Roland dies a hero's death. Roland is tormented, but it is the torment of grief over Oliver and the sense that the mission of saving Spain from the Saracens has not yet been accomplished. There is, also, very little humor in Song of Roland. In an early scene, Charles is described as being "light of heart" because he has conquered Cordova, but the pleasant mood is quickly overtaken by the grand purpose of religious conquest. Contrast this with Celestina, wherein the slyness of the servants and the bawdiness of Celestina set an altogether different tone: "Be merry, old stinkard, frolic with thyself, old wench, for thou shalt get more by this one suit than by soldering of fifteen cracked maidenheads" (Rojas 37). In the work of Voltaire, there is a good deal of movement on the continuum toward irony. Indeed, the whole of Zadig should be considered a work of satire."
Abstract Born on March 10, 1452, at Sos in Aragon, Ferdinand V was the son of John II of Aragon and Juana Enriquez of Castile. This paper shows that as Ferdinand the Catholic of Spain and the husband of Isabella I, heiress apparent to the Castilian crown, this dynamic monarch laid the foundations of Spanish unity and imperial power. The paper explores how Ferdinand was instrumental in the "discovery" of America by Christopher Columbus in 1492 and the introduction of Spanish power in the "New World" which altered the entire history of the Western hemisphere.
From the Paper "In Aragon, Ferdinand approached his problems connected with Catalonia in a more constitutional way. The Sentence of Guadalupe in 1486 offered a compromise solution to the difficult peasant question in Catalonia, where the municipalities were assured a degree of autonomy. In Catalonia, the king remained essentially what he had been in medieval times, namely a supreme lord but with strict limits on his powers. But in Castile, the Crown was in a position to exercise absolute power, while in Catalonia and throughout Aragon, power was limited by the traditional contractual relationship. This contrast was to be profoundly important for the later history of the two Crowns and lay at the root of the major rebellions, especially that of 1591, that the citizens of Aragon were to undertake against Castile."
This paper discusses medieval female archetypes as represented in three stories: Don Juan Manuel's "El Conde Lucanor", M. D?bax's "Romance de Gerineldo y la Infantia", and Fernando de Rojas's ?La Celestina?.
1,110 words (approx. 4.4 pages), 3 sources, 2004, $ 38.95
Abstract This paper explains that medieval women were rather powerful and revered members of the community and identifies a number of archetypes: mother, wife, home builder, Lady (of the Knight), maiden, goddess, and temptress. The author points out that wives of knights and nobles were given powers similar to those of the men in their families, especially if the women had been placed in charge, in times of war. The paper relates that not all women were treated as equals, as presented in "El Conde Lucanor" where, in this story, the woman is very much the man's servant.
From the Paper "What female archetypes appear in "La Celestina"? This play, by Fernando de Rojas, deals with the eternal themes of forbidden love, honor, and death. There are many female archetypes present in this play: in Elicia and Parmeno, and in we have examples of women as temptresses, as they tempt their co-servants, Sempronio and Areusa, to sleep with them. The dialogue between, and surrounding, these couples, is written in such a way that we, as readers, are forced to enter in to the belief that the men could not help but be seduced, at the hands of these "evil" temptresses."
