Another Manner of Humanistic Literature during the Fifteenth and Sixteenth Centuries: the vitae Christi by Isabel de Villena and Cristóbal de Fonseca
Roxana RECIO
Original title: Otra forma de literatura humanística de los siglos XV y XVI: las vitae Christi de Isabel de Villena y Cristóbal de Fonseca
Published in Isabel de Villena (1430-1490)
Keywords: Franciscan literature, Isabel de Villena, Vita Christi.
This article analyzes the vitae Christi written by Isabel de Villena (fifteenth century) and Cristobal de Fonseca (sixteenth century) from the the point of view of the European tradition and the reform brought about by the Franciscan order, which was in favor of reaching the people in the vernacular. Issues such as alleged femininity, use of popular language with sentimental overtones, dependence on fictions from different periods, debt to specific sources, and structuring works with a specific reader in mind are examined. After reviewing twelve specific points on those two works, it is concluded that, while not denying the enormous importance of Fonseca’s work, Isabel de Villena, institutes a literary manner that will become fundamental in the development of religious narrative in the Iberian peninsula.
Narrative as a Vehicle for Group Cohesion: Experiential Learning, Collective Experience and Sublimation in the Vita Christi by Isabel de Villena
Miryam CRIADO LÓPEZ-PICAZO
Original title: La narración como vehículo de cohesión grupal: aprendizaje experiencial, experiencia colectiva y sublimación en la Vita Christi de Isabel de Villena
Published in Isabel de Villena (1430-1490)
Keywords: Franciscan literature, Isabel de Villena, Vita Christi.
This article explores narrative strategies used by Isabel de Villena to achieve her educational objectives: to move, to channel behaviors and, ultimately, to strengthen interpersonal bonds and, therefore, the emotional interconnection of her community. Furthermore, by examining the construction of characters such as Mary and Mary Magdalene, this study also shows the effectiveness of experiential learning, collective experience and sublimation in the process of instruction and indoctrination of the Poor Clares of the Holy Trinity Monastery in the fifteenth century.
On the teaching will in the work of Isabel de Villena
Vicent J. ESCARTÍ
Original title: Sobre la voluntad didáctica en la obra de sor Isabel de Villena
Published in Isabel de Villena (1430-1490)
Keywords: 15th century, Isabel de Villena, Medieval catalan literature, Teaching, Valencia, Vita Christi.
The Vita Christi of Isabel de Villena is an excepcional work. She wanted to give live models to her sisters of religion, and that is why the role of the female protagonists of the life of Christ gain relief in the pages of his work. This article emphasizes the teaching of the abbess of the Trinitat present in this book and in other works known and now lost.
Sister Isabel de Villena: from religio amoris to amor religionis
Antonio CORTIJO OCAÑA
Original title: Sor Isabel de Villena: de la religio amoris al amor religionis
Published in Isabel de Villena (1430-1490)
Keywords: Amor religionis, Love literature, Religio amoris, Sor Isabel de Villena, Vita Christi.
The Vita Christi by Sor Isabel de Villena was written for the nuns of the Monasterio de la Trinidad in Valencia. The female readership would have felt an immediate affinity with some of the female characters in this work (Virgin Mary, Mary Magdalen). These characters and their love for Christ are presented with a technique and emphasis that imitates that of other love narratives from the same period. Although diverse in context and intention, all these works share a new relevance given to affectivity when dealing with love as a theme, thus helping blur the boundaries between religio amoris and amor religionis.
Two readings of Mary’s life: the Vita Christi by Isabel de Villena and Vida de la sacratíssima verge Maria, by Miquel Peres
Carme ARRONIS I LLOPIS
Original title: Dos lecturas de la vida de María: la Vita Christi de Isabel de Villena y la Vida de la sacratíssima verge Maria de Miquel Peres
Published in Isabel de Villena (1430-1490)
Keywords: Devotional Literature, Isabel de Villena, Life of Mary, Marian Literature, Miquel Peres, Vita Christi.
The Vita Christi by Isabel de Villena and La vida de la sacratíssima verge Maria by Miquel Peres are two devotional works appeared in Valencia in the late Fifteenth Century, and both are characterized by its Marian subject. However, they have been never analyzed together in search of possible dependencies or divergences. This work exposes for the first time how, despite the thematic proximity, each author offers a different text in order to present the role of the Virgin in the evangelical facts.
