Juan de Menaâs El Laberinto de Fortuna, Petrarchâs Africa, the Scipcio/Caesar Controversy Frank DomĂnguez Juan de Mena is widely regarded as one of the poets responsible for introducing the Italian Renaissance to Castilian writers.1 Nevertheless, as most critics have remarked, Mena only partially assimilates the Renaissance aesthetic, making him, at most, its harbinger. While basically agreeing with this assessment, this paper posits closer ties between Mena and the work of humanists in Florence and Ferrara by examining El Laberinto de Fortuna [End Page 137] (1454), Menaâs famous allegorical epic poem, for traces of one of the greatest controversies of its time: whether one should emulate Scipio or Caesar.2 Juan de Mena begins El Laberinto de Fortuna, with three stanzas: A brief dedication to the King, Juan II (stanza 1: âAl muy prepotente don Juan el segundoâ), a general complaint about the fate of men (stanza 2: âTus casos fallaces, Fortuna, cantamos,â),3 and an appeal to the muse of epic poetry for inspiration (stanza 3: âTĂș, CallĂope, me sey favorableâ). It is only in the fourth stanza that he introduces one of the major themes of the poem, when he asks why the Cid and the âagenoresâ are regarded differently in spite of their comparable achievements:4 Las Trezientas 4 ¶ Como no creo que fueffen menoresque los africanos los hechos del cid.ny que ferozes menos enla lidentraffen los nueftros que los agenores.Las grandes hazañas de nueftros mayores,la mucha conftancia de quien los mas amayaze en tinieblas dormida fu fama,dañada de oluido por falta de auctores.5 [End Page 138] Menaâs comparisons, as usual, are intentionally unclear. While âafricanosâ seems to be a common adjective that designates descent from a region, who are the âagenoresâ? The late fifteenth-century editor of Las Trezientas, HernĂĄn NĂșñez, wondered whether the word really meant âajenos,â because he considered that it might be a case of epenthesis (i.e. an addition to a word) to fulfill the requirements of meter.6 But Mena, who often plays with the ambiguity occasioned by sound, does not need to do so in this case. As both ancient and modern editors of El Laberinto have observed, âagenoresâ means âthe Thebans,â because Thebes was founded by Cadmus, the son of King Agenor of Phoenicia, an âAgenoridesâ.7 The word therefore means the people of the ancient kingdom of Thebes and, metaphorically, all of the people of North Africa.8 But is this what Mena is saying? NĂșñez himself answers the question by stating in a later gloss to the stanza: âPuĂ©de fe entender que no fueron menores los hechos del cid ruydiaz que los de Annibal africano, ⊠o âŠ, que no fueron menores que los hechos [End Page 139] de los dos Scipiones africanos, delos quales el primero venciĂł en africa a AnnĂbal, et hizo tributaria alos romanos la ciudad de Carthago, y el fegundo, nieto del primero por adopciĂłn, la deftruyĂł del todoâ (Las Trezientas 1499, 4b).9 Verses 4a-4c therefore compare the deeds of the Cid to the deeds of the Scipionesâwho received the agnomen âafricanosâ by right of conquest but were not really Africansâwhile âlos agenoresâ are the foes of âlos nuestrosâ and refers to the African origins of the enemies of both men. The verses claim that the reputation of Roman Scipiones, who defeated African Carthage, is greater than the reputation of the Cid, who vanquished an equally dangerous and equally African invader during the Reconquest. The reason for the comparison, however, is to ask an implied question: Why this difference? Menaâs answer is immediate: Although the Cidâs deeds are knownâbecause Mena was able to refer to themâEl Cid has not been memorialized by writers worthy of being called âauctoresâ. As a result, his fame lies âen tinieblasâ.10 The stanza comments on the ability of writers, in particular epic poets, to confer fame on heroes like the Scipios. Because Spain has not had such...