Abstract

Las Siete Partidas, the Cantigas de Santa Maria and Calila e Dimna are three works produced by the Alfonsine taller, totally different from each other in genre, form and purpose. At first they would seem to have little in common, however, as this study has shown, there is a central core of themes and ideas common to all three, namely: el espejo de principes, la sabiduria, la amistad, la ventura and the treatment of minorities and others considered socially inferior. ;Through the study of the similarities and differences among the works we are able to "reconstruct" certain aspects of the values and way of life of Alfonso el Sabio's Spain, and come to a deeper, more contextualized understanding of these three major works, and their possible status in Medieval Spain. ;Although Calila e Dimna has such different origins to the other two works we discover that its philosophy does not vary much from that of the others: it differs in its far more practical approach. ;The present study thus demonstrates how Calila e Dimna can be seen to complement the ideas and beliefs expounded in the Partidas and the Cantigas. Where the Partidas is somewhat vague about practical measures concerning human behavior, Calila e Dimna furnishes the reader with specific examples which can be applied to personal circumstances. While Las Siete Partidas and the Cantigas provide the reader with a set of standards to be reached in life, Calila e Dimna supplies practical advice on how to achieve those goals. Moreover, the treatment of Fate in Calila e Dimna is quite similar to its depiction in the two Christian-based works. The three basically espouse a more or less static society. ;The social and moral ideals of Calila e Dimna closely parallel those of the Medieval Christian Church, and Alfonso's own plans for the structure of Spanish government and society, thus suggesting a possible reason for its selection for translation by Alfonso el Sabio