Latines en La Araucana (o cómo leyó Ercilla La Eneida y La Farsalia)

Abstract

There is no doubt that The Aeneid and The Pharsalia were very important sources in the composition of La Araucana. However, we do not know for sure whether Ercilla read Virgil and Lucan in their original version or in translation. This work attempts to resolve this question. In order to do so, the passages of La Araucana are compared with the Latin versions of the works of both poets, as well as with their Spanish translations. The work concludes that Ercilla used the Castilian texts, although in some cases he may have referred to the Latin text of The Aeneid.