Abstract

ENE, Petre. The use of disability in medieval spiritual writing: religious particularities. Desde el Sur [online]. 2019, vol.11, n.2, pp.87-105. ISSN 2076-2674.  http://dx.doi.org/10.21142/DES-1102-2019-87-105.

Disabled bodies, perceived as objects of curiosity, reflect a scenario in which cultural and religious stereotypes converge, creating and destroying notions surrounding the idea of malformation, reconfiguring social roles, and raising interesting questions regarding the disabled body and its place in the Spanish medieval world. In this way, this work invites a conversation regarding the symbiotic relationship between the disabled and the "other" in stories deeply imbued with mythological content and Christian spirituality. The goal of this analysis is to identify a correlation between the treatment given to a sick person and those who confess a creed distinct from that associated with the reader’s set of beliefs. In order to understand how the narrative uses disability and how a disadvantage can be transformed into a virtue, we will examine two medieval works: Cantigas de Santa María by Alfonso X and Los Milagros de Nuestra Señora by Gonzalo de Berceo. The aim is to establish a link between religion and disability. We will consider both literary representation and certain illustrations from the Codice Rico, in which various forms of disability are depicted.

Keywords : Cantigas de Santa María; disability; iconography; Los Milagros de Nuestra Señora; Berceo; Alfonso X the Wise.

        · abstract in Spanish     · text in Spanish     · Spanish ( pdf )