Spring/Summer 2009 - University of Toronto Press Publishing

gm end i er va a l l ian nt ed r er se tn a i s s a n c e s t u d i e s
The Laughter of the Saints
Parodies of Holiness in Late Medieval and
Renaissance Spain
Ryan D. Giles
Between the fourteenth
and seventeenth centuries
in Spain, a large number
of parodic works were
produced that featured
depictions of humourous,
satirical, and comical
saints. The Laughter of the
Saints examines this rich
carnivalesque tradition of
parodied holy men and
women and traces their
influence to the anti-heroes and picaresque roots of
early modern novels such as Don Quixote.
The first full-length treatment of the ways in
which Spanish writers imitated religious depictions
of saints’ lives for comic purposes, Ryan
D. Giles’ erudite study explores the inversion of
oaths, invocations, pious legends, and liturgical
devotions. Analyzing a variety of texts from Libro
de buen amor, to later works such as the Celestina,
Carajicomedia, Lozana andaluza, and Lazarillo de
Tormes, Giles not only sheds light on Golden Age
Spanish literature, but also on the origins of the
comic novel. A well-argued and convincing work,
The Laughter of the Saints reveals the uproarious
results of the collision of official and unofficial
methods of storytelling.
Ryan D. Giles is an assistant professor in the
Department of Romance Languages and Literatures
at the University of Chicago.
Romanesque Architecture and
Its Sculptural Decoration in
Christian Spain, 1000–1120
Exploring Frontiers and Defining Identities
Janice Mann
The decades following
the year 1000 marked a
watershed in the history
of the Iberian Peninsula
when the balance of
power shifted from
Muslims to Christians.
During this crucial period
of religious and political
change, Romanesque
churches were constructed
for the first time in Spain.
Romanesque Architecture and Its Sculptural Decoration in
Christian Spain, 1000–1120 examines how the financial
patronage of newly empowered local rulers allowed
Romanesque architecture and sculptural decoration
to significantly redefine the cultural identities of those
who lived in the frontier kingdoms of Christian Spain.
Proceeding chronologically, Janice Mann studies
the earliest Romanesque monuments constructed
by Sancho el Mayor (r.1004–1035) and his wife,
daughters, and granddaughters, as well as those
that were built by Sancho Ramírez, king of Aragon
(1064–1094). Mann examines groups of buildings
constructed by particular patrons against the backdrop
of changing social conditions and attitudes
that resulted from increased influence from beyond
the Pyrenees, the consolidation of royal power, and
intensified aggression against Muslims.
An in-depth study of the rise of an architectural
style, this is the first book to examine early
Romanesque architecture and sculpture of the
Iberian Peninsula as it relates to frontier culture.
Janice Mann is Samuel H. Kress Professor in the
Department of Art and Art History at Bucknell
University.
Approx. 240 pp / 6 x 9 / June 2009
13 photos
Cloth ISBN 978-0-8020-9952-5 £35.00 $55.00 E
Approx. 304 pp / 6 x 9 / March 2009
78 illustrations
Cloth ISBN 978-0-8020-9324-0 £42.00 $65.00 E
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