La autoría ficticia de Juan Unay

Abstract

This paper reflects on the question of fictional authorship based on the case of the Libro de los grandes hechos, an apocalyptic text circulated in Spanish, Catalan, and Portuguese during the fifteenth century. All versions attribute its creation to a supposed visionary friar of the order of the “Sancti Spiritus” named Juan Unay (or similar). However, no other documents on this figure exist. To analyze this problem from both theoretical and practical perspectives, I will organize the paper in three sections. First, I will introduce two general approaches with which to address the study of authorship in the field of medieval apocalyptic literature. Secondly, I will explore the different hypotheses developed by specialists regarding the authorship of the Libro de los grandes hechos. Finally, I will propose my own interpretation of the identity of Juan Unay with the help of Umberto Eco’s concept of the “model author.”