The Vision Of Heaven And Knowledge In Castilian Literature: From Alfonso X To Alfonso De La Torre

Abstract

The depiction of heaven was a delicate political issue at the Castilian court in the last decades of the thirteenth century. This chapter deals with three visions of heaven found in three medieval pseudo-philosophical Castilian texts. The first vision was generated as political propaganda by Alfonso X's court as his political star declined, and can be seen as a pinnacle in the effort to create a universal learning that existed during the Alfonsine cultural renaissance. As a counter reaction, Alfonso's rebellious son, king Sancho IV, produced a slightly different depiction of heaven that attempted to strengthen his image as champion of Christian orthodoxy. Almost 150 years later, an obscure scholar named Alfonso de la Torre wrote a philosophical textbook in Castillian- the Pleasant Vision of Sciences -which can be seen as another attempt to blend and redefine similar diverse cultural trends inherited from the past. Keywords: Alfonsine vision of heaven; Alfonso De La Torre; Alfonso X; Castilian literature; Christian; king Sancho IV; Pleasant Vision of Sciences