Prolegomena to an Edition of Villalón's "Scholástico"

Abstract

A recent article on Cristobal de Villalon offered a mise au point of of the scant details known of his life, re-examined briefly the authenticity of his five extant works and drew attention to the curious calligraphic problems posed by the collation of a hitherto unknown manuscript of the Scholastico with other documents pertaining to its author. Villalon has enjoyed, in recent years, a kind of succes de scandale, as a result of M. Bataillon's ascription of the Viaje de Turquia to Andres de Laguna, and his relegation to anonymity of the Crotalon and the Dialogo de L·s transformaciones. An obscure figure, Villalon deserves to be known better than he is: avidly studious, keenly sensitive to things artistic, a critic whose outlook is uniquely modern by comparison with that of his contemporaries, he exemplifies commendably the spirit prevailing in the 16th century, not only in Spain but also elsewhere in Europe.