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- Title
Horror and Ambiguity in La Historia del Noble Vespasiano.
- Authors
Gónzalez, Cristina
- Abstract
This essay studies the 15th Century Spanish narrative Vespasiano as an ambiguous horror story that appealed to the public precisely because of the shocking nature of the events narrated. These describe in graphic detail the killing of Jews by the Romans during the siege of Jerusalem in A.D. 70. In addition to providing an account of the cruel punishments received by all those who participated in the death of Jesus Christ, this work can be read as a lament for the destruction of a city which 15th Century readers would very much like to have recovered from the Muslims, who ruled it at that time. The story of the destruction of Jerusalem became the standard by which contemporary horrors were measured. That is why Vespasiano was very popular in the Americas. In a stroke of genius, commercial publishers of the printing press's early years took a medieval narrative about the Jews, with connotations regarding the Muslims, and marketed it as a modern horror story, a mirror in which the public of the Age of Discovery could see itself. And the public did indeed recognize the image.
- Subjects
LA historia del Noble Vespasiano (Short story); HORROR tales -- History &; criticism; JEWS in literature; MUSLIMS in literature; PUNISHMENT in literature
- Publication
Cincinnati Romance Review, 2013, Vol 36, p85
- ISSN
0883-9816
- Publication type
Essay