The Historia de la linda Melosina and the Construction of Romance in Late Medieval Castile

Dedicated to M. Jane Raphael

Published in 1489 in Toulouse by the partnership of Juan Parix and Estevan Cleblat, the Historia de la linda Melosina is one of the earliest printed chivalric romances destined for a Castilian readership. The Toulouse imprint translates Jean D’Arras’s Roman de Mélusine, a French chivalric romance of the late fourteenth century, which enjoyed enormous popularity in France and Germany during the last quarter of the fifteenth century. The Toulouse imprint bears the distinction of being the first Castilian translation of Jean D’Arras’s Roman although scholars have attested the existence of two later editions of this translation. ¹ Various economic and cultural practices influenced the production and marketing of a work intended for the Castilian market. The Toulouse edition of the Historia de la linda Melosina offers crucial information concerning the complex dynamics of foreign book production during the incunabular era. This essay will specifically look at the roles played by publishers in the creation and diffusion of texts for a foreign market.

According to Cynthia Brown (61–62), in the early years of print texts acquired identity and importance through the involvement of a publisher who, recognizing the market potential of the work, decided to bring a book to press. In some cases, individual publishers adapted the original work in order to suit the needs of their readership (Chartier, The Order 13). In the case of the Historia de la linda Melosina, it is possible to arrive at an understanding of some of the social-historical conditions which shaped the production and reception of this literary text. At the center of the process stand the publishers who participated in the selection and adaptation of works for consumption by an imagined public (Eamon 112).

The colophon to the Toulouse edition makes clear the role played by the publishers in bringing this book to press:

Fenesçe la ystoria de Melosina enpremjda en Tholosa por los honorables e discretos maestros Juan Paris e Estevan Cleblat alemanes que con grand diligençia la hizieron pasar de françes en castellano. E despues de muy emendada la mandaron ynpremir. Enel año del Señor de mill e quatro çientos e ochanta e nueve años a .xiiij dias del mes Julio.

(fol. 163v) ²

The colophon space generally identifies publication site, date, and publishers. In addition, this colophon advertises the collaboration of both publishers in the translation and production of this book. The inscription of the publishers’ functions creates a textual signature which legitimizes the publishers’ control over the printed text. According to Brown, the use of such textual signatures in early printed texts often coincided with a need to affirm authorship over a work (166). In point of fact, the colophon omits any reference to the original author of the Mélusine and takes pains to describe the publisher/translator function. This identification conforms with practices found in various early printed texts. Translators often assumed the mantle of authorship without acknowledging the original author (Brown 184–87). The Toulouse imprint appropriates that strategy and assigns quite clearly the proprietorship of this work to Parix and Cleblat. The colophon in effect becomes an important promotional device which links the textuality of the Historia de la linda Melosina to the efforts of Parix and Cleblat.

While these paratextual strategies ensure recognition of Parix and Cleblat, they also bring into relief the important role played by publishers in the transmission of vernacular texts during the early years of printing. Parix’s involvement in the production of printed text dates from the 1470s. Historians generally credit Parix with establishing the first press in Spain in Segovia in about 1472 (Odriozola, Nacimiento . . . 17–27). ³ After a couple of years in Segovia, Parix transferred his operations to Toulouse where he continued producing books. ⁴ In 1488, he joined Estevan Cleblat in publishing ventures which targeted the Castilian market. This partnership produced a number of imprints, among them a series of texts intended for Castilian readers. The Castilian imprints included the Fábulas attributed...