{"id":3079,"date":"2017-05-01T11:38:46","date_gmt":"2017-05-01T15:38:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/manuscript-studies\/?p=3079"},"modified":"2017-10-11T14:34:59","modified_gmt":"2017-10-11T18:34:59","slug":"mapping-the-legend-of-bernardo-del-carpio","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/manuscript-studies\/2017\/05\/01\/mapping-the-legend-of-bernardo-del-carpio\/","title":{"rendered":"Mapping the Legend of Bernardo del Carpio"},"content":{"rendered":"

The legend of Bernardo del Carpio is one of the most problematic of Iberian epic legends. First, unlike tales based (however loosely) on heroes such as Rodrigo D\u00edaz de Vivar (el Cid<\/em>) or Fern\u00e1n Gonz\u00e1lez, there was never\u2014as far as we know\u2014a historical Bernardo del Carpio. Second, although four thirteenth-century versions of his deeds have survived in writing, we have undoubtedly lost at least two others. Finally, the version of Bernardo\u2019s tale recorded in Alfonso X\u2019s Estoria de Espa\u00f1a <\/em>(EE <\/em>from here on) presents contradictory information that introduces a second legend into the mix.[1]<\/a> Fortunately, the EE <\/em>also contains clues that allow us to hypothesize on the development of Bernardo\u2019s story, such as mentions of their source materials and vestiges of rhyme. Furthermore, numerous geographical references, when considered visually and in conjunction with the chroniclers\u2019 allusions to their sources, reveal insights into the now-lost versions of Bernardo\u2019s life and deeds.<\/p>\n

The Estoria de Espa\u00f1a<\/em>\u2019s Bernardo del Carpio<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Before the EE <\/em>(1270-1289), aspects of Bernardo\u2019s legend were reported in three other texts: Lucas de Tuy\u2019s Chronicon mundi <\/em>(c. 1239), Rodrigo Jim\u00e9nez de Rada\u2019s De rebus Hispaniae<\/em> (1243), and the historical introduction to the Poema de Fern\u00e1n Gonz\u00e1lez <\/em>(c. 1250). The EE <\/em>is the most detailed version, including numerous episodes not reported in earlier accounts.<\/p>\n

In the EE<\/em>,\u00a0<\/em>Bernardo’s deeds are reported in Chapters 617, 619, 621, and 623, set during the reign of Alfonso II, King of Le\u00f3n (791-842), and Chapters 648-52, and 654-55, set during the reign of Alfonso III (866-910). He\u00a0is born from\u00a0the illicit union between Jimena, Alfonso II\u2019s sister, and San D\u00edaz, Count of Salda\u00f1a (\u201cSancius\u201d in the Latin texts). The irate King imprisons San D\u00edaz in Luna and sends Jimena to a convent, though Bernardo is raised in the court. Although more detailed than the Latin texts, the above is the account of Bernardo\u2019s origins also described by Lucas de Tuy and Jim\u00e9nez de Rada. However, the Alfonsine chroniclers subsequently mention a contradictory story that some told “en sus cantares et en sus fablas,”\u00a0or in their songs and tales (Alfonso X 351). Bernardo is again illegitimate, though his mother is Timbor, sister of Charlemagne, who is enticed by San D\u00edaz while making a pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela.<\/p>\n

As an adult, Bernardo joins forces with Marsilio, Muslim King of Zaragoza, in the victory over Charlemagne\u2019s troops at Roncesvalles. He is later made aware of his lineage through a game of backgammon, which prompts his first failed request for his father\u2019s freedom.<\/p>\n

The hero next appears in Alfonso III’s reign. He is an invaluable knight, aiding the King in victories over Muslim armies at Benavente, Zamora, Polvorosa, and Valdemora. The hero then plays a crucial role in the victory over French troops at Ordej\u00f3n, defeating his cousin, Bueso. After each battle, Bernardo requests his father\u2019s freedom, which Alfonso consistently denies.<\/p>\n

The following year, a confrontation between Bernardo and the King leads to the hero\u2019s banishment. Bernardo founds El Carpio and ravages Salamanca and surrounding areas, until Alfonso agrees to release San D\u00edaz in exchange for the fortress. However, they soon discover the Count has died. The hero is subsequently presented with his father\u2019s corpse and is again exiled. He travels France, where he is received by Charles, his uncle, though rejected by Timbor\u2019s son, his half-brother. Dejected, he returns to Spain; conquers A\u00ednsa, Berbegal, Barbastro, Sobrarbe, and Montblanc; and settles near the Canal de Jaca, where he marries and spends the remainder of his life.<\/p>\n

Mapping the legend of Bernardo del Carpio[2]<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

In their retelling, the Alfonsine chroniclers mention at least 25 place names. On the following map, the locations mentioned have been categorized into five groups. The first consists of the toponyms that are mentioned across all three chronicles. The next four refer specifically to the EE<\/em>: toponyms linked directly or indirectly to cantares<\/em>; those linked to an estoria<\/em>; those linked to both cantares <\/em>and an estoria<\/em>; and those with no reference to either cantares <\/em>or an estoria<\/em>.<\/p>\n

\"\" <\/strong><\/p>\n

At first glance, two regions stand out: the vertical strand stretching from north to south in modern-day Castilla y Le\u00f3n and that stretching across the Pyrenees. With a few exceptions, the geographic dichotomy also reflects a division in source materials. Of the points stretching from north to south in Castilla y Le\u00f3n, the estoria <\/em>is mentioned frequently; on the other hand, direct or implicit references to the cantares <\/em>abound in the Pyrenean region. I will center the remainder of my discussion around these now-lost cantares<\/em>.<\/p>\n

In the EE<\/em>, the chroniclers reference cantares <\/em>about Bernardo four times:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. His birth to Timbor (sister of Charlemagne), who meets San D\u00edaz along the Camino de Santiago and accompanies him to Salda\u00f1a (Alfonso X 351)<\/li>\n
  2. The battle against Bueso at Ordej\u00f3n (371)<\/li>\n
  3. The return of San D\u00edaz\u2019s corpse at El Carpio (375)[3]<\/a><\/li>\n
  4. Bernardo\u2019s experience in the French court and subsequent conquests (375-76)[4]<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    When these episodes are considered with respect to the toponyms included on the above map, four outliers stand out: Roncesvalles and Zaragoza, for their lack of reference to the cantares<\/em>; Ordej\u00f3n, for its geographic distance from other localities connected to cantares<\/em>; and El Carpio, for the thematic disparity between the return of San D\u00edaz\u2019s body and other episodes associated with\u00a0cantares<\/em>. While Ordej\u00f3n is a curious case, I omit it from this discussion, as the chroniclers reference both cantares <\/em>and an estoria <\/em>as they report the battle against Bueso.<\/p>\n

    Regarding Bernardo\u2019s alliance with Marsilio, King of Zaragoza, and the battle of Roncesvalles, the Alfonsine chroniclers do not mention cantares<\/em>. Rather, they rely on the Chronicon mundi <\/em>and De rebus Hispaniae<\/em>, following the Latin versions faithfully and citing them frequently. However, drastic differences between Lucas de Tuy\u2019s and Jim\u00e9nez de Rada\u2019s accounts of Roncesvalles and those of their predecessors\u2014not the least of which is Bernardo\u2019s presence in the battle\u2014suggest there existed at least one other source that included Bernardo at Roncesvalles. Considering the hero\u2019s ties to Charlemagne and France, it is possible that some version of Roncesvalles figured into the materials that related Bernardo\u2019s birth to Timbor, his battle with Bueso, and his altercation with his half-brother at the French court. In the following map, therefore, Roncevalles and Zaragoza are classified among episodes pertaining to at least one cantar de gesta <\/em>about Bernardo, which I term the Cantar de Bernardo<\/em>.<\/p>\n

    The delivery of San D\u00edaz\u2019s corpse presents an entirely different issue, as the chroniclers reference the cantares <\/em>in an episode with no apparent connection to any other incident linked to such sources. Rather, the details relate to Bernardo\u2019s conflicts with Alfonso III. Given that neither the Count of Salda\u00f1a\u2019s imprisonment nor El Carpio coincide with any other incident connected to the cantares<\/em>, it is unlikely that the Cantar de Bernardo<\/em> included the delivery of his father\u2019s corpse. A plausible alternative is that the incident pertained to an independent, episodic cantar<\/em> that centered on the conflict between Alfonso and Bernardo. The chroniclers\u2019 reference to their sources also hints to the independent nature of this cantar<\/em>: instead of mentioning only the cantares<\/em>, the chroniclers reference both romances <\/em>and cantares<\/em>: \u201cEt algunos dizen en sus romances et en sus cantares\u2026\u201d (Alfonso X 375). Such terminology perhaps served to differentiate the source that narrated the delivery of San D\u00edaz\u2019s body from the repeatedly-cited cantares<\/em>. As such, despite a reference to the cantares<\/em>, I do not include El Carpio among toponyms associated with the Cantar de Bernardo<\/em>.<\/p>\n

    Consider the revised map:<\/p>\n

    \"\"<\/p>\n

    While there are other important outliers that I will not discuss here (such as Ordej\u00f3n), reclassifying Zaragoza and Roncesvalles among episodes linked to a Cantar de Bernardo <\/em>and omitting the delivery of San D\u00edaz\u2019s corpse from such Cantar<\/em> further illustrate the bipartite nature of the Alfonsine Bernardo del Carpio<\/em>. On the one hand, we have the illegitimate nephew of Charlemagne consistently at odds with his French relatives, whose tale\u2014set in the Pyrenean region\u2014would have been known through at least one cantar<\/em>. On the other, we have the illegitimate nephew of Alfonso II, who repeatedly battles his uncle due to his father\u2019s perpetual incarceration. His tale would have been set in present-day Castilla y Le\u00f3n and would have been known through an estoria<\/em>. When the toponyms of such sources are mapped, we have the visual representation of two independent tales that eventually merged to form what we now know as the legend of Bernardo del Carpio.<\/p>\n

    [1]<\/a> Given the contradictory details, scholars have generally agreed since Jules Horrent\u2019s 1951 La Chanson de Roland dans les litt\u00e9ratures fran\u00e7aise et espagnole au moyen \u00e2ge<\/em> that the EE<\/em>\u2019s version of the legend of Bernardo del Carpio is, in fact, a compilation of two independent legends.<\/p>\n

    [2]<\/a> Thank you to Matthew Sisk in Notre Dame’s Center for Digital Scholarship for his tremendous help in putting these maps together.<\/p>\n

    [3]<\/a> Despite this direct reference to the cantares<\/em>, El Carpio is mentioned in all three chronicles (though the episode in question only appears in the EE<\/em>), and is categorized on the map as such.<\/p>\n

    [4]<\/a> Although the chroniclers do not directly reference the cantares <\/em>during their description of Bernardo\u2019s conquests after leaving the French court, the details appear to continue the episode initiated upon the hero\u2019s confrontation with his half-brother. That, along with the fact that such details do not stem from either Latin chronicle, make a connection with the cantares <\/em>plausible.<\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

    Katherine Oswald, Ph.D.
    \nVisiting Assistant Professor of Spanish
    \nUniversity of Notre Dame<\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

    Works cited<\/p>\n

    Alfonso X, el Sabio. Estoria de Espa\u00f1a<\/em>. Ed. Ram\u00f3n Men\u00e9ndez Pidal (Primera cr\u00f3nica general <\/em>de Espa\u00f1a que mand\u00f3 componer Alfonso el Sabio y se continuaba bajo Sancho IV en 1289<\/em>). Vol. 2. Madrid: Gredos, 1955.<\/p>\n

    Horrent, Jules. La Chanson de Roland dans les litt\u00e9ratures fran\u00e7aise et espagnole au moyen\u00a0<\/em>\u00e2ge<\/em>. Paris: Les Belles Lettres, 1951.<\/p>\n

    Jim\u00e9nez de Rada, Rodrigo. Opera Omnia, Pars I<\/em>. Ed. Juan Fern\u00e1ndez Valverde. Brepols: Turnhout, 1987.<\/p>\n

    Lucas de Tuy. Chronicon mundi.\u00a0 <\/em>Ed. Emma Falque. Brepols: Turnhout, 2003.<\/p>\n

    Poema de Fern\u00e1n Gonz\u00e1lez. <\/em>Ed. Itz\u00edar L\u00f3pez Guil. Libro de Fern\u00e1n Gon\u00e7\u00e1lez<\/em>. Madrid: Biblioteca Nueva, 2001.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    The legend of Bernardo del Carpio is one of the most problematic of Iberian epic legends. First, unlike tales based (however loosely) on heroes such as Rodrigo D\u00edaz de Vivar (el Cid) or Fern\u00e1n Gonz\u00e1lez, there was never\u2014as far as we know\u2014a historical Bernardo del Carpio. Second, although four thirteenth-century versions of his deeds have … <\/p>\n

    Continue reading “Mapping the Legend of Bernardo del Carpio”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2568,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[264204,264206,264210],"tags":[76097,76099,76100,76096,76072,76025],"class_list":["post-3079","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-disciplines","category-history-disciplines","category-romance-languages-and-literatures","tag-alfonso-x","tag-bernardo-del-carpio","tag-cantar-de-gesta","tag-historiography","tag-iberia","tag-medieval-literature"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/manuscript-studies\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3079","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/manuscript-studies\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/manuscript-studies\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/manuscript-studies\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2568"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/manuscript-studies\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3079"}],"version-history":[{"count":24,"href":"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/manuscript-studies\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3079\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3106,"href":"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/manuscript-studies\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3079\/revisions\/3106"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/manuscript-studies\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3079"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/manuscript-studies\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3079"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/manuscript-studies\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3079"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}