The genre of the printed «Amadís»

an attempt to dignify the narrative discourse from the perspective of historiography

Abstract

This work analyzes the way in which Garci Rodríguez de Montalvo authorizes the «Amadís de Gaula» that he edited at the end of the 15th century. That is why he presented his potential readers with a work that fit the horizon of rhetorical expectations that they could expect from a historical work. A minor, marginal kind... but history nonetheless. To do so, he offered a very particular vision of the history genre in which a fictional story like «Amadís de Gaula» would have a place. Likewise, he cited some models of history and historians of indisputable prestige with which his work could be contrasted. Finally, he warned his readers that this new version appeared augmented with a string of exemplary and doctrinal speeches, so that its reading would ultimately be profitable and not simply entertainment; as expected from a history book.