From Duel to Dispute The Argument between Pacífico and Cupidio within Valerián de Hungría (1540)

Abstract

This article highlights the variety that characterises the Spanish romances of chivalry as a genre. The uniqueness of Valerián de Hungría by Dionís Clemente (1540) is given by its rich content and lexicon. By the end of the book, the author includes a heated debate between two knights whose opinions about love contrast. They are Pacífico and Cupidio. Such a dispute needs to be studied in light of the bibliography about the genre within the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, in order to find out which elements Clemente re-elaborates. The investigation develops through the comparison with a few episodes taken from other romances of chivalry, but also with the ideology spread within contemporary works in which the same themes of Valerián are remarked.