Las estacas de don Quijote: Tradición literaria, romancero cidiano y parodia en el primer Don Quijote de la Mancha (17, 19)

This article argues that in part one of Don Quijote de la Mancha Miguel de Cervantes developed a new narrative formula based on the parodic treatment of ballads. This formula subverted literary conventions through the incorporation of unexpected elements in unexpected ways. Its aim was the desacralization of what was previously considered venerable, for example the figure of the Cid Campeador. This present article focuses on how two Cid ballads allowed Cervantes to ridicule not only the notion of chivalric heroism, but also a hero and a nationalism that was becoming obsolete within certain circles of Golden Age Spain.