Abstract
The name given to Juan Ruiz's work in surviving mediaeval references (Santillana's Prohemio, the Arcipreste de Talavera, the fifteenth-century poema cazurro) is simply “ el libro (or ‘ el tractado ’) del Arcipreste de Hita “. But in 1898 Menendez Pidal pointed out that the work itself contains clear references to the title which the author wished it to have, namely “ el libro de buen amor ”. This title has been adopted by all editors from Ducamin onwards, and is generally accepted. Such objections as have been raised (e.g., by W. Kellermann and F. Capecchi) have been answered by Maria Rosa Lida in her latest contribution. But what does the buen amor of the title mean ? The question obviously has a bearing on the interpretation of the Libro as a whole. Opinions expressed may be classified as follows : (a) buen amor means courtly love, as does the Provencal bona amors (Menendez Pidal, F. Lecoy, H. J. Chaytor) ; (b) it means the love of God (J. Cejador, L. Spitzer, F. Weisser, Ulrich Leo, T. R. Hart) ; (c) i...
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