Orejas, narices y pies: estudio fisiognómico del Arcipreste

Abstract

The following article analyses the enigmatic portrait of the Archpriest. The Libro de Alexandre, the Libro del caballero Zifar, and the portrait of Theodoric are among the resources consulted in order to decode its mysteries. Scholars have resorted to parody, ideals of beauty, and physiognomic science in their search to discover what Juan Ruiz intended with his depiction. The conclusions are as mixed and ambiguous as is the text. Luce Lopez Baralt, Americo Castro, and Graciela Candano have used terms such as metissage, disharmony, and plurality to refer to the Libro de buen amor. They apply as well to the portrait on the Archpriest. In the stanzas setting forth the portrait of the Archpriest, dona Garoza asks the astute dona Urraca to describe the Archpriest’s physical characteristics. Dona Garoza hopes thereby to understand the Archpriest’s personality. The reader anticipates that the Archpriest will emerge as a paragon of male physical beauty. He does not. Dona Urraca describes his appearance as uncomfortably disproportionate: some features are too large, others too small. The portrait that emerges does not in any way reflect the harmonious ideal proposed by Saint Thomas Aquinas, nor the unified aspect set forth in Arab physiognomic handbooks. The Archpriest’s appearance is grotesque and unbalanced: a far cry from the ideal chivalric hero.