Law and History in Cervantes’ Don Quixote by Susan Byrne (review)

Abstract

Reviewed by: Law and History in Cervantes’ Don Quixote by Susan Byrne Shannon Polchow Byrne, Susan. Law and History in Cervantes’ Don Quixote. Toronto: U of Toronto P, 2012. Pp. 240. ISBN 978-1-442-64527-1. Susan Byrne pens a well-researched examination of Don Quixote by using the developing relationship between history and jurisprudence during the sixteenth century, in order to provide insight into Miguel de Cervantes’s narrative techniques. It is through the works of Italian historian Paolo Giovio and Spanish jurist Gaspar de Baeza, along with Spanish legal code, that Byrne is able to deliver a unique reading of Cervantes’ text. In the initial chapters of Law and History in Cervantes’ Don Quixote, Byrne lays the foundation for the textual analysis in the latter half of her study, moving from more global discussions of history and jurisprudence in Spain in the sixteenth century to more detailed connections between Cervantes and the aforementioned authors: Giovio, a historian with mendacious tendencies according to many, and Baeza, a jurist who translates Giovio’s Histories into Spanish while inserting his own commentary into the translation. In the first chapter, “History, Jurisprudence, and the Creation of the Novel,” Byrne demonstrates the relationship that exists among history, law, and literature. As she notes, “law developed out of usage and custom, that is, the history of similar acts and decisions rendered on them” (7). However, it is in literary texts where one reads of how society behaved before those laws. For example, as legal debates over the Fuero Juzgo and the Siete Partidas become prevalent, there emerges a tension between the law and the actions commonly practiced, and that tension plays out in Don Quixote. The other thematic thread that runs throughout is Cervantes’s insistence on calling his work a history, as opposed to fiction, and how this view connects the author to the ideals of Giovio and Baeza, thereby further creating a convergence of history and jurisprudence in the text. Historian Giovio insists that his elogia are not untruthful and that writing history requires prudence, while jurist Baeza emphasizes that one gains prudence through reading history. Cervantes combines these two ideas and offers several versions of a tale, which allows the prudence of the reader to reach his own conclusions. In chapter 2, “Giovio, Baeza, History, and Law in Cervantes’ Works,” Byrne further explores Cervantes’s connections with Giovio and Baeza, validating her reading of Don Quixote. [End Page 510] In the third chapter, “Jurisprudence in Spain, Seventh to Sixteenth Centuries,” Byrne discusses the rise of legal code and its development in Spain, beginning with the seventh-century Visigoth Judge’s Book to Alfonso X’s Siete Partidas, the 1505 Leyes de Toro, and numerous glosses of legal code that appeared in the sixteenth century. However, the increased number of glosses brought chaos to the legal forum, with no real consistency on how to interpret the law. Byrne’s observations highlight the chaotic nature of the legal system in Spain, noting that “this confusion would continue throughout the sixteenth century, by the end of which the Spanish legal system is in such a chaotic state that, much like Don Quixote, no one even bothers to abide by the laws” (48). This confusion manifests itself in Don Quixote through numerous episodes in the text. Byrne moves from theory to analysis in the fourth chapter, “Laws Broken, Glossed, and Made: Don Quixote.” The chapter is divided into four major sections, which highlight legal glosses involving the protagonist. The first includes a study of the etymology of quebrantar and how Don Quixote breaks the law when he tilts at windmills. The second examines the knighting ceremony and its relationship with the Siete Partidas. Next there is a detailed reading of the galley slave episode, highlighting the struggles between Spain’s civil and ecclesiastical courts. Finally, Byrne explains why Don Quixote must legally renounce his days as a knight errant. Chapter 5 “Laws Broken, Glossed, and Made: Sancho Panza et al.” continues in the same vein as the previous chapter, but with the focus on Sancho. The highlight is a reading of Sancho’s time on Barataria through a legal lens, as Cervantes parodies various...